5.02.2014

Thoughts on Friday


TGIF.   My brain is fried today. It was quite a doozy of a week around here so you're getting a stream of consciousness.

-If you saw my instagram this week you saw that our basement flooded.  This same thing happened last year 3 weeks before Miller was born during a big rain storm.  We thought we had taken care of the problem last year.  Apparently we had not. 
All the new carpet and potentially some of the furniture down there is ruined. We had a restoration company come out and they told us that there really isn't anything they can do to save it.   I wanted to cry and stomp my feet like a 3 year old.  So right now Kyle's office and the playroom/tv room is out of commission.  Sometimes with this house it feels like one step forward and two steps back.   I know it could be a lot worse, trust me. 

- Miller is currently going through a phase, I guess it's separation anxiety, where he hates his bedroom and going down for bed.  Anytime I take him upstairs for a nap/bedtime right when we walk into the room he starts to fuss or cry.  I can usually get him distracted with changing clothes/diaper, reading books but the second I pick him up to put him in the crib the water works start.   These aren't small tears either this is a big fat break your heart cry.  It's awful.  I hate it.   This has been going on for about 2 weeks now and the first couple of days I didn't know what was wrong so I would race back into his room.  Now I'm trying every day to give him 15 minutes before I go back in and by that time he is usually calmed back down.   
This is the part of motherhood that I wasn't prepared for.  For me it's so hard to sit there and listen to my baby cry and scream because he doesn't want me to leave him in his room.  It breaks my heart.  I know that he can't process the fact that I'm still near him and in the same house and that makes me feel even worse. I hate to think that he feels alone.   Does anyone have any advice to get through this?  Will it last a long time?

-We decided to start budgeting and tracking our money.  For the month of April we spent an outrageous about of money on grocery bills.  I know some of this is my fault because I'm guilty of going to Target and throwing extra things in my cart that we don't need.   The only things I can think that would help would be 1.) meal planning and only buying that food each week and 2.) shopping only at grocery stores and not Target where I clearly can't control my temptations.  Any suggestions on how to cut down on grocery bills?

- In good news I bought the dress that I blogged about on Tuesday and it's so cute.  I was finally able to make it to Nordstrom yesterday since the rain had stopped and they had two left with one in my size.  I will share pics after this weekend. 

Here are some quotes for your weekend:

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12 comments

  1. oh no- I did not hear about your basement! The house I lived in after college (that my parents bought for renting) had a semi-flooding problem in the basement to where the floors would get ruined. It was awful. you will get through it! We demo'ed some floors this week in our new house. hard to leave our nice clean new (current) house and go over to the dust bowl at this point! ha!

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  2. I'm so sorry we didn't get to have lunch yesterday but it sounds like you had your hands full with the basement. That's so frustrating!! Will your homeowner's insurance help cover some of the replacements? The crying it out thing is SO hard but definitely necessary - stick with it. Does he have a lovie or anything to cuddle with to soothe himself? Remember, it takes about 3 weeks to break a habit or start a new one - it will happen! When I left my job and our income was drastically cut, we started sticking to a strict grocery budget (that was the largest thing we could cut as well). We try to stick to $120-145 per week now for all 4 of us. It means good meal planning and one single trip to the grocery store (even if you realize you forgot an ingredient). Going meatless 1-2 nights per week also helps (substitute lentils or beans) and once farmer's markets reopen, shop for fruits and veggies there! The nice thing is that we waste little food now but also have little crap around the house to snack on. It's little changes that make a huge difference in your budget! Good luck!!!

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  3. Boo! Hope this next week is better. I grew up in a house where the basement flooded and after a really big storm, think 3 feet of water in the basement, it was devastating watching all my mother's hard work to make a playroom for us, get washed away. We also lost a bunch of family pictures and our old school work that my mom kept. After that, she stopped storing stuff down there, they ripped out the floor and just let it be. We're also going through a clingy, I'm going to flip if mom's not touching me phase. It's so hard and I'm trying to remember that she's only this little once but that doesn't make it easier. Like you, I hate thinking that she thinks I'm not coming back or doesn't realize that I'm just in another room. No advice, just support! You're not alone mama! Oh, and those pictures at the end of the post had me laughing out loud. The spending one? haha that is my life! We overspent in April, too. Target is the devil!

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  4. So sorry about the basement! Homeownership is ROUGH! Can't wait to see the dress on you and styled! And I could never take the crying either - I always ended up snuggling my little guys until they fell asleep - I'm the same as you, I cannot stand for them to think they are alone and I left them!

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  5. So sorry to hear about your basement that's awful :(. I'm sure Miller is just I a stages no will grow out of it soon! These things usually seem to go hand in hand with teething too. Sending you hugs and wine!

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  6. Ugh I hurt for you over the basement. I have had our garage flood twice but concrete is not too terrible when that happens. I feel you on spending an insane amount on groceries. We live in walking distance to a Safeway and Whole Foods. So I never meal plan. I know this is a huge problem as not only does our fridge and pantry always feel empty - but we eat out a lot as a result too. Would love to know what you come up with!

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  7. I am so sorry to hear your basement flooded. I am so amazed and happy for yall to be tracking your money. I seriously want to get serious about tracking our money too but then I think "Oh no, we just bought that grill and this and that, I don't want this month to count.' And a year later.... we still want to track our money, lol.

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  8. What a rough week - I'm so sorry. Sometimes owning a house is an exercise in extreme frustration. I hope Miller's bedtime sadness goes away quickly. The crying is so tough - I never was (and still am not) good listening to B cry. It breaks my heart and I can't help but go in an snuggle. Luckily Dad's a little tougher so it balances out. Hope this weekend is the start of a great new phase for everything!

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  9. So sorry to hear about the basement. How frustrating! My son went through that around Miller's age too. We tried a lot of things, but a couple that seemed to help were music (lullaby CD) and a Glow Worm. As soon as he learned how to turn the Glow Worm on (light and music) he'd snuggle with it until he fell asleep. It's so hard to hear them cry like that! As my friend always says, this too shall pass!

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  10. True~ these days are hard.... but thank goodness they are not forever! I remind myself that no mother ever wishes she hugged her child less. I nurse/ hold until pretty close to asleep or all the way. When she is 18, I'm sure she will sleep by herself fine ;) There isn't a push or reason to make her older than she needs to be. Breaks my heart, as I'm sure it is supposed to.... so we will hold them. You ARE doing a great job! Just processing everything, loving & caring for your family is the best, first step. Thank you for sharing! Prayers coming your way too ;)

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  11. So sorry to hear about the basement. I'd be so angry too! That does not seem fair that it happened twice. And boo that M won't sleep in his room. Surely it's a phase that will eventually pass (isn't everything a phase). I can't handle the crying either. I'm a total pushover. And if you figure out a way to dramatically cut your grocery bill, PLEASE pass that info on. I only shop at the grocery store and we still spend a fortune on groceries.

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  12. Hey Nat! I am so sorry about your basement! That is so frustrating. Hopefully you guys can get it fixed soon. As for budgeting groceries, Shawn and I have really gotten better about doing this, because we had to. Our goal is to only spend $100 a week on groceries (that's for just the two of us), and we eat out at a restaurant as a treat once or twice a month and eat at a quick place about once a week. We plan (and when I say we, I really mean me!) out our meals on Sundays and buy food for the week. In the last few months, we have been eating a lot more meals without meat, which really helps with spending less at the store. I have been making some great recipes with no meat, that still fill Shawn up and that he really likes. Let me know if you want me to pass a few along! It is definitely hard to plan for the entire week in advance, because you never know what may come up and sometimes cooking a meal seems so daunting at the end of the day. I try and pick up some things for quick meals that I will make on these days -- frozen pizza, or just plain whole-wheat pasta and sauce. And if I have time, I prep for the next days meal in advance while I am cooking something else so that I won't have as much work to do the next day/night. We love leftovers too -- make something big like chili or BBQ chicken in the crock pot and you will have leftovers for lunch or another dinner. If anyone had any other tips, I would love to hear them too! As for tracking the rest of our money, we are still working on that : )

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