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Growing up as a child, I always remembered Mother’s Day being a day that we bought my mom flowers and watched my father cook lunch for us. I don’t remember any of the meals being anything elaborate, but they were good enough to satisfy our appetite and give my mom the day off.

In celebration of these memories, I am planning the same thing for my wife on this Mother’s Day. I will be giving my wife the day off so that she can relax and enjoy quality time with our twin boys. Even though I do a majority of the cooking anyways, it will still be a nice gesture for her and every other mother that shows they are loved and appreciated.

For this Mother’s Day, I am taking part in the FoodNetwork virtual Mother’s Day event with The Communal Table.

Here is the menu for my wife’s Mother’s Day lunch on Sunday, May 13:

Ingredients:

Grilled Chicken

1/2 pound of grilled chicken
salt & pepper
1/2 tsp of fresh rosemary and thyme mixture

Glaze

2 tbsp of Dijon mustard
1 tbsp of olive oil
1 tbsp of whole grain mustard

Grilled Asparagus

1 bunch of asparagus
2 tsp blood orange olive oil

(asparagus should be marinated in the blood orange olive oil for 12 hours previous to cooking)

Directions:

1. Lightly season the chicken with salt and pepper. Generously season the chicken with the fresh herbs. Cook on medium heat until the chicken is lightly browned. Apply glaze on chicken after it is cooked.

2. Cook the asparagus on the grill until slightly charred and tender.

3. Serve and enjoy!

This recipe is quick and easy to follow, and it can be used for any type of meal.

See what our friends are bringing to the table and tell us what you would bring to the table on Twitter by using the hashtag: #pullupachair.

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I’ve been asked numerous times if it is hard traveling with twins. And though I usually laugh off the question, I try to give the person some idea of what we do to not only prepare & pack for a for a trip, but also how we handle the drive too.  So this is what we do and have found to be the most beneficial:

Prepare & Packing

  • We start packing the night before
  • We factor in whether or not there is a washer and dryer where we are going, as that helps determine how much we pack
  • We have all major things, i.e. 2 pack n plays downstairs and put in order of how they should be packed into the car first thing the next morning
  • Gas the car

The Drive

  • Have all snacks ready to go
  • We are able to get about 3 – 4 hours a time with our drive before we have to stop.
  • Plan ahead and and look at possible places that you can stop. Whether a restaurant or Starbucks, find a place that allows you to stretch your legs, use the restroom, but a place that is comfortable for your children so that they can take a little bit of a break.

Traveling with twins can be a challenge, but it is really what you make it. Depending on the age of your children will determine if you’ll have only a few good hours on the road before your first stop, so make the most of it.

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Being a part is really hard, harder than any job that I have ever had in my life.  The reality is that parents need a night off every once in awhile, because they need to recharge and regroup.  It is not only for the parents to stay connected with each other, but it also makes them better parents.

Since the boys have been born, we’ve been able to get 2 nights away from the boys. Did we miss them, absolutely. But we also needed a night off too. We’ve not left the same town as the boys, as a family member kept our boys, but we went to dinner, saw a movie and also a concert, and stayed a local hotel and just relaxed. We had a full night of rest. We did not have to worry about anything those nights. We just focused on us. Because before the boys were here, it was just us.

So take a night off. And if you aren’t comfortable with with leaving your children with someone else over night, at least do a dinner. But do yourself a favor, take a night off and recharge, so that you can be a better parent to your children.  Take a look at some of the local coupons sites, find a quiet place to go and just relax, but also save some money too.

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I can not tell you how many times that my father and my grand father have told me to save today and not to count on having Social Security benefits available to me when I retire.  I am trying to take the necessary steps today planning for my future and for the future of my family. Here is what I am currently doing to ensure that we are financially set for the long haul, and not factoring in Social Security benefits into the equation.

  1. Pay off debt – this will allow for more money to be put in our savings and money market accounts.
  2. Invest – Even though I have stopped by individual stocks for now, I am investing about 8% of my current salary and my employer puts in an additional 2%. So, about 10% of my current salary is going into my 401 and I am hoping to have that up to about 15% in 2 years. I try with each pay raise to add at least 1 – 2% to my investment. And, to simplify my investment, I went with a target date fund, based on my year of retirement, so the fund managers will automatically adjust the holdings as needed each year. Going from more of an aggressive holding now, to a less aggressive and risky holdings the closer that I get to retirement.
  3. Save for college tuition – The more that we can save over the next 18 years, the better off that not only my wife and I will be, but more importantly, the boys will need to borrow that much less. I would like to be able to pay for the majority of their college tuition so that the boys can go to college without going into debt.
  4. Social Security – Though I am not factoring this  into my retirement, I did go to Social Security Estimation of Benefits to see that if I wait and work until I am 70, that my monthly take home will be over $2,800. However, if I retire and start drawing Social Security at the age of 67, then my monthly payment will be $2,100.

Planning for the future is important and I am a web developer, not a financial planner. So, if you have questions as it pertains to your financial goals, take the necessary steps to get the best information for you and your family. Here are two local resources:

Our children will have enough to deal with as they become adults, I would like to try to help them and teach them that it is ok to save and more importantly, how saving today can give them so much more in the future.

 

 

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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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