May 2012

Is there anything worse than sick child?  Especially when they are young and are unable to tell you what is wrong.  Recently one of our boys got the stomach virus and was throwing up and had an upset stomach. It was hard keeping him comfortable and nights were even harder, because even though he was tired, he did not want to sleep.

The first thing that I did, was call my mom and ask her what to do. This was my first experience with a sick child and even though I thought that I knew what to do, I wanted some reinforcements from someone with more experience.  After we talked, I felt better and felt more comfortable with what I was doing, which was just comforting him and making sure that he kept drinking fluids to stay hydrated. We also called the Dr’s office to let them know and also to find out if there was anything else that we could do.

And yes, we all ultimately got the stomach virus, but it is one thing to get it as an adult, but a sick child is hard to watch, especially when you are the parent.

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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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