November Ramblings

This month I did something a little different for my ramblings post. Usually I sit down a few days before the end of the month and try to recall everything we did (and have a hard time), this month I jotted down a reminder note for myself whenever something bloggable happened.  So as you might expect, this post was much easier to write…and it’s pretty long. So lets just jump right in and get random, shall we?

* I became an aunt this month! My sweet little niece – Mallory – was born on the third, my sister in law went into labor and had her on her actual due date. That almost never happens. She is tiny and adorable and Elijah is constantly asking if he can go “pet the baby”.

* Adam got lasik eye surgery this month. He was having problems reading things even with his glasses on, so we decided to bite the bullet and fix his eyes rather than going and getting a new prescription and glasses. Levi and I watched the whole procedure, there were windows looking into the operating room and a flat screen that showed a super close up of his eye. They don’t knock you out, but rather just give you some Valium to help you relax. Anyway, the surgery was really quick and kinda creepy to watch, but he has 20/15 vision in both eyes now (that’s better than 20/20). He is always having eye competition’s with me now, he’ll point out a far away sign or billboard and say “can you read that sign? How about that one?”

* I love Thanksgiving. We did three this year (Thursday, Friday, hosted Saturday) and I want to say it’s my favorite holiday. It’s hard to say that I like it better than Christmas, but I don’t think Thanksgiving gets the attention it deserves. It’s just such a fun and EASY holiday. You gather up your family and friends, and you eat and hang out. No presents, no decorating, no fuss. I am thankful that we live within an hour of all our family members and that we sincerely enjoy spending time with each and every one of them. I know a lot of people aren’t able to say that and I feel so blessed that I am able to. So if you are related to me and reading this, thank you for being awesome.

* Elijah started climbing out of his crib this week. I have been dreading this day, the day that I can no longer put him and his crib and know that he will be there until I am ready to get him out. Now he comes creeping into my room in the wee hours of the morning, or comes creeping out during nap time, or I see his little face peering at me when Adam and I are vegging on the couch at night. He is so quiet about it too, so quiet in fact that my super sensitive baby monitor doesn’t pick up his movements. Seasoned parents, please give me some advice. What worked for transitioning your kids into toddler beds? I really don’t want him wandering around the house, I don’t want him to wake up Levi (they share a room), and he can very easily unlock the deadbolt on the door and go outside, which makes me nervous. I know every kid is different and it’s probably not as big of a deal as I am making it out to be, but if you had something that worked like a charm I would really appreciate you sharing.

*For  awhile now I’ve been thinking about turning my blog into a legitimate business and incorporating it. The only thing holding me back is that I’m not sure it is really necessary and it will probably cost around $500 or so. So I got to thinking about why I really honestly wanted to make my blog an LLC, and I realized that I mostly just want to be able to keep all my blog money and personal finances separate. So I got to googeling and found that you can just file a DBA (Doing Business As) with your county and that will allow you to open up a business bank account. Bonus points that it only cost $16 to do! So now I’m feeling mighty official and organized, my blog has it’s own bank account, debit card, and paypal account. All my monthly checks get directly deposited and blog expenses come out of the business account. Now if I could just figure out what the heck counts as a business expense for a DIY blog that would be awesome. One day I might still incorporate my blog, but for now I’m happy with just separate bank accounts…I might change my tune once tax time rolls around though!

* I don’t want to get all political on everyone, but this month was election month and Adam and I enjoy politics. As far as the results I’ll just make one quick statement…Dang it. Dangitdangitdangit. Here is a photo I instgramed on election night of Adam watching the results roll in… he was clicking between all the different news channels and furiously doing math in his head.  Man he’s sexy when he gets into nerd mode :)

* Definitely – can’t spell it.  I spell it wrong every single time I type it…so wrong, in fact, that spell check doesn’t even know what to suggest as the word I meant to use. Then I go to google and type it in so I can get the “did you mean…” and it can’t help either. So I’ve started typing in “Definitely Maybe” (the Ashton Kutcher movie) to trick google into me with the correct spelling.  I can’t believe I just admitted that, but there it is.

* Since Adam and I have been married we have had one thing that we have always disagreed on. We really don’t disagree on much, but here is our big problem… I am a night owl and he likes to go to bed early, which also translates into him getting up early and me wanting to sleep in. I know, I know..boohoo, our big problem is that we don’t want to sleep at the exact same time. The issue is that we always try to go to bed together, so either he would stay up and be exhausted because I wasn’t ready for bed, or we would go to bed early and I would lie in bed awake while he snored like a freight train. It had gotten a little better since we have had kids because I have to get up early so I’m tired earlier, but still. THEN this blog started growing and requiring more time. Except that the kids won’t let me get anything done computer wise during the day, then after they go to bed Adam wants me to hang out with him and not be on the computer. I’m very glad that my husband likes me so much, but it was getting frustrating not being able to get anything written and having so many unanswered e-mails and comments. SO I came up with the perfect solution. I went to bed with Adam at 10 or so, and then as soon as he fell asleep (so like 30 seconds later) I would sneak out to the living room and get my work done. It was going really well for about a month, then one night he caught me. He proceeded to give me so much crap about it that I agreed to start getting up with him in the morning (at 6) just to shut him up. So I have been waking up with him in the mornings for about a month now, and I have to say…it is awesome. You have no idea how much I hate saying that, but it is true. After we wake up I have an hour (or sometimes more) to work before the kids wake up. It helps that I can’t do anything besides sit in bed and type on the computer, since I’m terrified to make a peep, wake the kids, and ruin everything. But I am able to have some guilt free work time and Adam and I are tired at the same time. I’m not hungry for breakfast at 6am so I sit there and awkwardly stare at him while he eats, but besides that we are pretty much in sync. And it only took 8 1/2 years.

*I bought my new fancy camera on Black Friday! It’s a Canon Rebel T3i and I am super excited to learn how to use it and take awesome magazine worthy pictures. Give me a month or so and Better Homes & Gardens will be knocking down my door, lol. Anyway I just got in in the mail today, so here is a crappy iphone pic of my fancy new camera. Ironic, huh?

I also bought the beginners photography course, Shoot Fly Shoot, from The Lettered Cottage. I have watched a few of the videos so far (I think there are 11), and they are amazing. Really, they describe things so that you actually understand them and even though I haven’t even used my camera yet I don’t feel too intimidated my taking it off of the auto setting. Anyway, if you are interested in purchasing their classes you can do so HERE.

 Wow, I think that covers everything this month.

Oh wait, I almost forgot my monthly video and favorite pictures of the month. Information overload, anyone?

 

 Doesn’t that above picture just melt you heart? Poor little Levi is sick right now and I’m praying that it stops with him and doesn’t travel through the family. We can not all get sick in December, it’s too busy. Not only do we have the standard Christmas craziness, but in our family there are seven birthdays, including my own. Whew, I think I’m ready.

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32 Comments

  1. Glad you did a DBA and didn’t Inc.! If you ever need any basic advice, you know I ran my own small business for 3 years before my blog, so I might be able to help. Might. ;) an LLC isn’t a bad option if you’re worried about liability down the road. Anyways, love your ramblings as always! :) -V

  2. By the time our fourth was born, I was wise to the ways of toddlers… haha… I got the drill, made new holes and lowered the crib mattress enough that I’d get another month or two without the climbing… then I lowered it again… and again, so the last time the mattress was actually on the floor, but still in the crib. Doing that, he stayed in until he was nearly three, and he switched into a toddler bed SO much easier then any of the others, and I was able to keep my precious easy nap and bedtimes… Good luck!!!

    1. LOL Michelle… that’s pretty genius! I could skip all the drilling and just take off the bottom and put the mattress on the floor inside of the crib. Or wait, do the rails stop too short to do that? I’m really just try to postpone the inevitable, Elijah is already almost three. I’ve actually just started telling him that that climbing out of his crib is disobedient, and in this house disobedience gets a spanking. He’s been much better, and in the mornings he yells across the house from his crib and asks if he can climb out. Still, when he wakes up I’m going to go take a look at it and see if I can drop it to the floor :) Thanks for the idea!

  3. I’ve thought about incorporating too but never knew that this DBA thing was an option! Sounds like a great compromise. And if you ever figure out what counts as an expense for blogs like ours, I’d love to hear! I’m also interested in any advice you get about kiddos sneaking out of bed!

    1. Yes, you should…I feel way more organized with all my blog money automatically getting deposited into it’s own bank account. Plus with a separate bank account you can get a separate paypal account as well.

      I have a ever growing stack of (mostly Home Depot) receipts that I really hope will be business expenses, but have a feeling they won’t be. I *think* that thing you do to your primary residence can’t be a business expense. I don’t know, but I’m sure I will by tax time… I think I’m going to have to suck it up and hire a CPA to help me. OR you could just e-mail your new BFF Sherry and ask her :)

  4. We have chain locks high on the doors that lead outside or to the basement so that at night I can just set the chains and know that no little person (anyone 8 or under) will be making their way out of the house. I’m a mommy of four and I have sleep walkers :) I have a tall walk-through gate on the bedroom door that my 2 year old is in. She transitioned to a toddler bed a few months ago. She can’t get the gate open…which buys me time in the mornings. She has toys in her room that she can get to without my help and usually plays for a few minutes before calling for me. I’ve never had trouble with my kids waking each other…I have two to a bedroom too. Even if both kids in a room do wake up, they usually just end up playing together – and longer (which just buys me even more time) :) Hope I jump started some ideas for you :)

    BTW…I’m jealous of the new camera! :D

    1. I was planning on getting the chain locks, but never thought about a baby gate on their bedroom. That is a great idea, especially for naps. I don’t care if Elijah naps or not (well…), but I really want him to stay in his room and read/play quietly/leave me alone for an hour or so every afternoon. If I did that I could take the side off his crib and just make his entire room the “crib”. Hmmmm…

      Thanks for the idea Heather!

  5. You would think that the way Dave Ramsey (which I know you are a fan of) has been catching on across America, that the Government would get a clue and learn to budget. It’s so depressing that they can’t even BALANCE the budget when their goal should be reducing debt. Do you know how big of a number a billion is? If I gave you $1 every second day and night, it would take me nearly 32 years for all those ones to add up to a billion and we are TRILLIONS in debt. I can’t even wrap my head around those numbers. Sorry, I don’t mean to start a political discussion, I only bring it up because I know you are budget savvy and responsible.

  6. 5th grade spelling bee, I got out on the word “definite”. So that word’s particular spelling has definitely been impressed upon my brain ever since. Hehe. Your trick to find its spelling is just…. pure greatness. Thank you for sharing. :)

    1. Pure greatness, lol…that is such a nice way to put it :) If 5th graders are expected to know how to spell it I really should not be having so much trouble…I just can’t seem to stop putting A’s in it!

  7. I am SO glad to know I am not the only person who cannot spell definitely right? Seriously, if your blog never provides me with anything else but that validation, I will be a happy camper! :-)

    LOVE the video, as always, your boys are so freakin cute I can hardly stand it! My youngest nephew will be getting his drivers license the day after Christmas and I miss this age so much. I may need to adopt them as nephews, would that be alright? Your new niece is adorable and I loved Elijah kissing her! So sweet!

    Agree with you on the election by the way. . . We voted even though we were living without power for. 13 days thanks to hurricane Sandy! As soon as Mom wakes up I will be playing your video for her, it will make her day as she is stuck in bed right now (cut her leg open, long story). I hope no one else catches what Levi has and that he feels much better soon. Happy Birthday!

    1. Oh my Maureen, 13 days without power! That is quite a lot… good for you for still getting out and voting. I’m guessing you are in NJ/NY? I’m sorry about your moms leg also, I’ll pray for a speedy recovery for her. Being stuck in bed all day sounds like no fun! Levi is still pretty sick, but no one seems to be catching anything so that is good.

      Oh, and my boys are never going to grow up and do terrible things like get drivers licenses, they are going to stay my sweet snugly babies forever. That’s totally possible, right? Riiiight? :)

  8. Your whole post was great but the election post hit home. It’s very hard living in a state where the major city here rules the whole state’s voting. I hate it! Waaaaa

  9. Hi Ashley! Your dilemma with your hubby is the same dilemma I have with mine. Last night he was insisting I go to bed with him and I laid there crocheting a scarf while he snored like a freight train. He’s lucky he didn’t wake up with a ball of yarn in his mouth…LOL

    I’m having a, “It’s a Social Hop like Crazy” party. I’d love for you to hop on over, grab a button and link up your blog.
    http://mydailyphotojourney.blogspot.com/2012/11/social-hop-like-crazy-party.html

    Have a crazy beautiful week!

  10. In regard to transition to the toddler bed from the crib… DO IT NOW! Our baby only climbed out of the crib once and during that one trip she broke both bones in her arm. She had never attempted climbing out before and hasn’t had the opportunity since. We transitioned her out of the crib the next day after the ER visit and rivers of tears (my own). We had the lowest to the floor crib we could find and it still didn’t prevent the fall/break/heartbreak.

    1. Oh my goodness Holly, scary! We have concrete floors in there now that we ripped up the carpet and a fall would be bad news. Okay, I think I’m going to take off the rail and put a baby gate on the bedroom door. Thanks for sharing your story and I’m so sorry that happened to you!

  11. I know how you feel having words you can’t spell. I’m dyslexic and no matter how many times I look them up, I will never learn how to spell somethings. I’ve taken to creating my own auto corrects. For example, one of my words is “minute.” (I always end up spelling minuet) So in Word I set an auto correct “min.” automatically changes to “minute.” Just a thought that might help you. :) love your blog!

    1. I didn’t know you could do that…it’s like spell check on steroids! I wish they had a feature like that on wordpress because I would put it to good use.

      1. Ashley ~ you could always write your blog in Word and then copy & paste it over to WP. That way you can utilize it’s auto-correct features & not have to be ‘online’ to write. That’s how I do it usually. Oh, and I edit all my pics in PowerPoint. How lame is that? You can take the girl out of the office… ~ Dee @deeconstructed.com

          1. PPT is all about photos! I used it forevah in the “real world” so it’s the only one I know the ins & outs of. I have tried the others people have suggested but I keep going back to good ole Ppoint. :)

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