April 2012

The boys got the MMR shot over a week ago and before the Dr gave them the vaccine, he told us that there was a 1 in 6 chance that they would have a reaction. My wife and I laughed, pointed to Baby A and said that he would get it and would get it while we were at our families house.

Well, sure enough, we were right. Yesterday morning at their breakfast we realized that he was breaking out into a rash on his stomach. He had started with a running nose and a slight cough the day before as well, which we didn’t think too much about.

Baby A appears to be ok. The rash doesn’t bother him, as he is not scratching it or anything. The runny nose is not that bad, coughing off and on and he did have a low grade fever. So, we are calling the Dr this morning, just to let him know and we will keep a watch on it.

I read several articles last night on the MMR shot and reactions and it seems like his reactions are in line with others. The benefits still seem to outweigh negatives. Here are some of the articles that were helpful:

So we will just wait this one out and hope that he feels better soon.

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My wife and I have had many conversations lately about places that we would like to take the boys as they grow up. This is going to be an on going list that we will update, both once we complete the visit, as well as new places that we want to take them. So, here goes the initial list:

 

Place City State Notes
Dean E. Smith Center Chapel Hill NC We will have to find a UNC game to take the boys to once they are older.
Carolina Basketball Museum Chapel Hill NC Since this is literally next door to the Dean E. Smith Center, we will combine both into one trip.
Baseball Hall of Fame Cooperstown NY My wife and I went for the 2007 induction for Cal Ripken, Jr.
Yankee Stadium New York NY As a life long Yankee fan, it is only fitting that we take the boys.
Wright Brothers Museum Nags Head NC
Arlington National Cemetery Washington DC
Army vs. Navy game
DC Tour Sites Washington DC Standard tour spots, The Capital, White House, etc.
Field of Dreams Iowa IA Where the movie Field of Dreams was shot.
New Orleans New Orleans LA This will be a trip for when the boys get a little older, but it is such a great city to visit.

This list is going to grow and will be an on going updated list. I can not wait for the boys to get older so that they can experience these places.  Any suggestions?  Please let me know.

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I had a long conversation with a co-worker yesterday regarding the topic if it was ok or not to get frustrated with your children? Our conversation started because both of our children did not sleep the night before and we were both tired and talked about how we dealt with the situations. And ultimately, we came down to this:

1) Children, especially if they are young like mine, are unable to communicate with me to tell me what is wrong. So, they get frustrated that they can not tell me what is wrong.
2) We as the parents are humans that do get frustrated, at situations, including when our children do not sleep.

So, in saying that. Is it ok to be frustrated? Yes. But, what is not ok, is taking it out on your children. We both talked about how we dealt with the situation and how we were able to remain calm and here were a few things that we both did:

1) Change of scenery. Meaning that sometimes, you just need to walk away and count to 10 in a different room.
2) Deep breathing. It provides a calming effect, but also always you to relax and regain focus.
3) Most important, remember that these are your children and there is a reason for whatever is happening. In my case, my child can not tell me why he is sleeping. So, we rock. He babbles to me. He sleeps on my chest. We talk. And at some point, he goes to sleep.

Getting frustrated is just a part of life. We get frustrated at drivers. Co-workers. Our spouses. Our sports teams. It is only human nature for us to get frustrated. Just remember that when it comes to your children, that sometimes it is best to take a step back and regain composure before getting frustrated and ultimately reacting or in some cases, over reacting.

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Why pay full price, when there are so many websites now that are offering discounts on products and services that can be used for your local areas.  We get daily emails with local offers:

We have purchased several of these discounted items, such as House Cleanings, Oil Changes from Jiffy Lube, and several local restaurants. We have been able to save a lot of money by doing this. For our oil changes, we were able to save about $45, for the house cleaning we saved about $55 and for the restaurants, we have saved at least $100. When every dollar counts, keeping an eye out for good deals can really come in handy.

Take advantage of local offers whenever possible, because it not only saves you money, but it also helps local businesses.

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Yesterday was the boys 1 year checkups. They are growing as they should, got their shots, and the biggest news of all, no more formula. That is right, as of 3:00 yesterday the boys were switched from formula to milk.

And since I love saving money, here is a quick break down of the savings:
Formula – $40 a week for 2 containers.
Milk – $3.50 for a gallon.

We are estimating that we will need 4 gallons a week, which will be $15 (with tax), which is a $25 a week savings. Saving $25 a week is not huge, but that is $100 a month that can go to pay down debt. Every little bit helps, so bring on the milk. And thus far, the boys seem to love it.

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Saturday’s are becoming more and more our family day. We take a more laid back approach to the day. Cleaning, grocery store and we try to get the kids to the park or at least spend some time outside.

It is important to spend time together as a family. Our weeks are jammed pack with work and meetings, so my wife and I have really tried to make our Saturday our family day. I hope that as our boys get older, that they too look forward to family day as much as I do.

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This morning on the drive in to work I was listening to Sqwak Box, as I do most mornings.  At the 8:30am the jobless claims numbers were released for the previous week.  But something happened this morning that was not expected, the jobless claims was higher than expected, by several thousand (read the story from Marketwatch).  For the record, I am not an economist, I am just an average person that takes interest in what is going on in our economy, because it has a tremendous impact on everything that we do. The jobless claims numbers were released and the pre-market stock numbers dropped. Why, because the stock traders were not expecting the increase in jobless claims and maybe it caused a sense of fear or uncertainty?

The biggest problem with reading these numbers, in my opinion are two things:
1) Two weeks ago the jobless claims were revised from 380,000 to 388,000.
2) The weekly jobless claims that was released today came in at 386,000, up about 7,000 higher than expected, but these numbers factor in seasonal employees.

The problem that I have with the seasonal employees is just that, they are seasonal. It is like factoring into the equation construction employees that file when the weather is bad. The jobless claims is always going to fluctuate, but I think until we change the way that the unemployment numbers are being reported, i.e. only the people that are currently receiving unemployment are factored into the number, not those that have given up on looking for jobs and/or those whose benefits have run out, will we ever have a true gauge on our workforce.

I have seen friends recently that have been included in the jobless claims numbers week after week and it just makes me feel very blessed to be in a situation where I am able to provide for my family. And I can only speak for myself, but those friends of mine that have been out of work, would have given anything for a job, but they just aren’t there. Employers are not hiring right now because of the uncertainty of our economy. Many were told time and time again, wait until after the election and we see what happens. Wait? People can not wait for 7 months without a job. People need to work now. Our country needs to take the necessary steps to get our workforce back employed. The “shovel ready projects” that President Obama promoted and I think that he put it best, were not “shovel ready” after all.  The Keystone Pipeline would have employed 20,000 people, but that was shut down.  And this isn’t an attack against the President. But our country needs leaders that can help get our workforce employed again.  We need to create tax incentives for small businesses to hire more workers. We need to give big companies tax breaks to bring their manufacturing jobs back over to the US and hire Americans that want to work, that need to work.  President Obama inherited problems from President Bush, no question about it. And I think that both are equally to blame. I think that it is time to put politics and political gain to the side and let’s do what is right for our country.

Look at it from a real and practical view: the more people that are out of work, means that there is less discretionary income being spent by people. That means that there are less family vacations being taken. There are fewer people going out to eat. Fewer cars being purchased. Fewer homes being purchased. According to an article that I recently read, schools are sending home at record numbers, food for children to eat over the weekend, OVER THE WEEKEND, because their families can not afford for them to eat.  It is all tightly woven together. No job = No money!

So tonight, when I go home and hug my kids and I will be grateful that I am not part of the jobless claims numbers this week. And I am sure that at some point in time, we will face a similar economic crisis in this country again and I will have to sit my boys down and explain all of this to them. Explain why their friends families are losing their homes. Explain why we are not going out to eat as much or going on vacation.

If you are out of work this week, I hope that you are able to find work soon. And if you are like me, who has a good job, feel blessed and don’t take it for granted, because it could be you tomorrow explaining to your children about the economy and why you can not go out to eat tonight, because you recently lost your job.

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I am tired of coming home at night and taking 5 minutes to go through the mail and half of it is just junk mail. At least daily I get offers from credit card companies offering me a new card. Here is the problem, I don’t want anymore credit cards. In fact, I’m trying to cut down my credit cards from 3 to 2. I was told about OptOutPrescreen.com , which will allow you to either Opt Out of pre-approved credit cards for either 5 years or permanently.

I filled out the form today for the 5 year opt out, I did not however provide my social security number. Hopefully this will not only reduce the number of offers that I get, but also help save me a few minutes everyday throwing away junk mail.

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Today, you turn 1, Happy Birthday! It seems like just yesterday I was in the waiting room and the nurse came in to get me to take me back to the OR. And within minutes, you were here. I remember your mom looking at me and saying how much she loved you and all I could think of was how wrinkly you were. But as I sit here today, I can not imagine my life without you.

There were a lot of challenges to get you here, but those are things that I’ll share with you when you get much older. I am just glad that you are here. You have brought a lot of joy to not only myself and your mom, but so many others as well. And I am sure that as you grow older, you will continue to do this as well.

Always remember be true to yourself, family comes first first and that no matter what, you are loved more than you will ever know.

We love you,

Mom & Dad

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I keep reading all of these posts online about Happy Tax Day! What exactly is so happy about it? Granted, this year, we are getting a refund, so it will be a good day, once we get the money. But there again, we filed our paperwork weeks before the deadline and we have to wait 8 – 10 weeks at a minimum before the money is sent to us. Meaning that the Government gets to keep earning interest on it for that period of time.

So Happy Tax Day to you and yours and as you raise your children, help them understand the importance of how they file their taxes, what they should declare for what they are claiming, etc. Because, I for one would like to make sure that I am close to breaking even every year, instead of getting a big refund 3 months after I file my taxes.

And if you do get a refund back this year, if you have debt, pay that down first, but put some away for a rainy day.

Happy Tax Day

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