Friday, January 30, 2009

My Soapbox




Hey peeps. This is really random, but let's call this my soapbox & let me hop on it real quick. When you get pregnant, suddenly you're bombarded with all of these things that you "need" in order to be a good mommy. First, there's the $800 stroller, which promises to be super light & easy to use, plus it has off-road capabilities & can turn on a dime. You find out in about 4 months, that your baby is perfectly fine & most likely prefers the Walmart "umbrella" version that you could have bought for $15.

Then there's the wipey-warmer. Now I don't want to offend all of my good friendys who use this contraption. BUT...I know I personally never had my wipeys warmed, and I turned out fine. Cash does not even know what a warm wipe feels like, therefore, he is not offended that we do not own a special warmer. In my opinion, a wipey warmer is just one more thing people tell you that you need...and believe me, you don't.

Moving on to the other warming trend...the bottle warmer. By a random fluke, Cash's first bottle came right out of the fridge, and you know what...? He's never had a warm bottle since. Again, he has no idea what he's missing, and I am not stuck searching for an outlet in any public place I go because I have to make his bottle warm.

Diaper genies...they tend to stink, and then your house smells like baby poo. Of course you don't smell it because you live there, but other peeps do. I found these great little baggies that are scented & they are $1.99 for 50 at HEB or Walmart. They have worked beautifully. But no one tells you about this when you're preggo. Instead you're guilted into spending hundreds if not thousands of dollars on items you "have to have" but that we as kids NEVER had. Interesting? I think so.

Finally, and then I'll stop...the nursery...It would be so like my personality to fall into this trap, because I love decorating. However, let me just say that there is absolutely no point in making a fab nursery for your child & stretching yourself to the limit financially in doing so...the baby sure doesn't know or care about the color scheme & the brand of the bed/bedding, and no one ever even sees the room but YOU, mom! Unless you have a special gathering of friends over JUST to see the nursery before the baby is born, the room is kind of a waste. Fun to do while preggo & anticipating the birth of your child? Yes. Economically practical? No. My advice: You go girl & do a cute nursery, but stay within your means. Save that money and use it on a fabulous "big kid" room when your baby turns 2. By then they'll have an opinion & some real likes & dislikes, and instead of sleeping in that room for 2-3 short years, they might use their second room for 10! Just some of my thoughts. Excuse the ranting.

Thursday, January 29, 2009

Real Estate Perks

One of the great perks of being a real estate agent is that I have access to finding great homes that are on the market. The problem with this is that I find myself going back and forth between wanting to stay in my house until we have at least 2 children here & moving to a house that is already completely updated so we can stop doing projects EVERY weekend. For instance, since we've moved into our home 3 years ago, we've completely remodeled the kitchen, the guest bath, repainted every wall, added new carpet in the master bedroom & completed a landscaping overhaul. There is still much to do! There are stainless appliances to buy, an awning/deck to build, & a master bathroom to re-do. Again, these are the problems with the real estate world. If I did not see homes on a daily basis that I am obsessed with or that have fabulous updates/decor, I would not know the difference & thus, would be satisfied where I am. Don't get me wrong...I love my house, but it sure would be nice to take a break from home improvement projects & trips to Lowe's on the weekends.

Friday, January 23, 2009

Blogging?




Really? Blogging? I'll have you know that I have refrained from joining this world, as I feel like I have succumbed to all other media-pressures, be it facebook or myspace or itunes or what have you. I even have a brother who will give me a lecture on how self-absorbed it is to blog..."How ostentatious can you be to presume that others would care to read about the daily goings on of your life?" But here I sit...beginning my blog. It is almost 11 PM on a Friday night. I have literally not seen my husband in a week as he has been in Vegas for work. I definitely married up...Blake is so much nicer than I am. I say this because he is currently at our church picking up 9th grade boys & carting them around the city for "Freedom Weekend." Who does that, really? My husband. He is the bomb. My precious, son, Cash is sleeping peacefully in the room down the hall. I truly feel like I am the luckiest mommy in the world...Out of all the babies & all the potential mommys in the world, God chose ME to be Cash's mommy! He really is such a one-of-a-kind...a little show-stopper & my own personal blessing. So...that's a little about me, and it's a pretty good introduction. Looking forward to getting this show on the road!