Happy Thursday, everyone! Since I unfortunately haven’t had
the chance to post regularly throughout the past couple of weeks, I decided to check
in today with a list of three random facts about life lately in my little
corner of the world.
1. Stephen and I celebrated Valentine’s Day a bit early last
week with mini cheesecakes and moscato wine during the winter storm that
brought a full foot of snow to our area – the most we've seen in four years. On Saturday night, we also headed to –
where else? – the Kennedy Center to attend the Metropolitan Opera National
Council’s Middle Atlantic Region Auditions for young artists. While this may
not sound especially thrilling to everyone else, I was actually very excited to go,
since I’d always wanted to witness the audition process and was quite lucky to even
get tickets at all to this popular annual event. Of course,
the performers were incredibly talented, and it was such a fun evening!
 |
| Brr! Posing in front of a cute little snowman someone built the day of the storm. |
2. Ever since I turned 30, my “baby fever” has definitely
kicked up a notch, though there’s still of course the question of deciding when exactly the time will be right to start a family. Do those of you who are
already parents have any helpful advice about how you ultimately decided it was
the right time, especially in terms of finances? I've read some pretty daunting articles about the "start-up" costs for having a baby, plus the costs throughout the first year, not to mention during his or her entire childhood.
3. A few weeks ago, Stephen and I went to a very helpful home-buyers’
seminar, and this weekend, we’ll be going to yet another one as we continue to
think about when and where we might like to buy a house. The first seminar was
geared specifically toward first-time buyers, offering a step-by-step overview
of the house-hunting process, while this next one will be more focused on
determining what you want in a house and how you’d like to tailor your search. Even
though it’s a bit stressful knowing that this is yet another big life decision
we’ll need to make, it’s also been exciting to start considering
our options.
I hope you all have a fantastic day and a fun weekend ahead!
For us deciding to have kids a big factor in the timing was our age, I was 31 when I had Hunter and since I knew I wanted two kids with a few years in between I knew I couldn't wait forever. Plus you never know how long it will take to get pregnant. As for the finances, yes it can be expensive but there are SO many ways to save money. Babies really don't need all that much it's just hard not to go overboard and over spend. Finances is definitely one of the biggest issues for us with deciding on baby #2.
ReplyDeleteYeah, age is also a bigger factor for us now that we're in our 30s and may want to have more than one kid. I hope there are definitely ways to save, because some of the stuff I've read is a little overwhelming!
DeleteYour Valentine's Day sounded really neat. How fun to see the auditions!
ReplyDeleteAnd are you guys thinking about buying in DC, or are you still planning to move back to Cali? House buying is so exciting!
Thanks, Morgan! The auditions really were so much fun! We're thinking of buying in DC and staying here for a longer period of time now, partly due to the better job market in this area. I'm excited to hopefully get a place of our own and get settled!
DeleteIt sounds like the way you celebrated Valentine's Day was very nice and sweet. Planning on buying a home sounds so exciting. I really wish I was getting close to buying a home.
ReplyDeleteTracy @ Sunny Days and Starry Nights
Thanks! It was definitely a great Valentine's Day celebration. Thinking about buying a house really is exciting, but also very scary at the same time. It has taken us so long to get to the point of even considering it.
Deletethat sounds so cool of an experience to witness!!!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Elle! It really was!
DeleteSounds like such a fun V day!
ReplyDeleteHmm, it's crazy to say but lately I've been thinking about babies too. Still nervous but I've come to the conclusion that no time is going to be the right time so I just have to get on with it. I say that but of course I'm shaking in my boots, ha.
And that's exciting! House buying is such a hard task that any type of help with making it a smoother process is so worth it.
I know what you mean, Faith, about shaking in your boots. LOL! But I think you are right, that sometimes there's no real "lightening flash" or anything letting you know it's the right time. I guess at some point, we just have to trust our gut and take the leap!
DeleteBuying a home is really exciting, but overwhelming at the same time. I'm glad to hear you guys are being responsible and taking it slow. We had a pretty stressful time, but it was worth it. It'll be the one year anniversary of moving into our home tomorrow!
ReplyDeleteHappy move-iversary, Nali! :) I agree that it is definitely exciting and overwhelming all at once, with so many things to consider. Hopefully, it will eventually work out for us the way it did for you!
DeleteMmm muscat and cheesecakes sound like great Valentine's Day treats!
ReplyDeleteI would have loved to watch the auditions too! you are in such a great area!
I'm almost there and can definitely agree - starting a family costs a lot of money. We are at the point where we are quite comfortable being in this situation though. The first year costs are really high, especially if you factor in child care. That being said, we have been incredibly fortunate to get great gifts and hand me downs, But I've still spent quite a bit on clothing, feeding, and clean up related goods. I've heard of average start up costs being at least $1000 and that actually sounds low to me. Once the baby goes through phases of feeding and growing, a whole new set of tools come into play.
Remember to streamline where possible. The world of baby related goods is a huge, well run industry with far too many superfluous options. Figure out what is really essential and get lots of suggestions (though I cut down my best friend's suggestions down significantly! Urban mommy hood is quite different!)
I'm here to help if I can! I do far too much research on this stuff. ;)
xoxo,
Chic 'n Cheap Living
Thanks so much for all of this great advice! I agree that there are probably many items available that you don't really need to buy. I will definitely take you up on your offer of more help and advice when the time comes!
DeleteOur lifestyles have changed with each kid and we have never felt that the 'expense' of them has been too much. Where we were spending money on bar tabs and nice clothes for me, we now spend on wine at home and diapers! We are still able to budget just fine and I promise the kids are worth it the sacrifice, obviously, since i now have a truck load :)
ReplyDeleteThanks for your advice, Kate! The more practical info I get from people with kids, the better I feel. I know it will definitely be a huge financial commitment, but I also know you're right that the kids are well worth it! :)
DeleteI think your Valentine's date was PERFECT!.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Laura! It was! :)
DeleteOoh I love the idea of a home owners seminar. We may need to attend one! The snowman is awesome. In regards to the baby honestly you and hubby both have to be ready. You can't never be too financially ready to start a baby...just be on the same page about when to start and everything will fall into place because you will both be working towards the same goal.
ReplyDeleteThanks for your advice, Mrs. Pancakes! We will definitely be making sure we are both ready when the time is right. :)
DeleteHow exciting that you are thinking about buying a home!! And that snow man is too cute :)
ReplyDeletexoxo
Suzanne from written by suzanne
Thanks! Thinking about buying a home is definitely scary, but also exciting at the same time!
Delete