Love You Forever

When I was little, my mother often (and when I say often, I actually mean every night as it was one of my favorites) read me Love You Forever.  I have fond memories of her reading to me, rocking me in her arms and singing the same song the mother in the book sang to her son.  I remember giggling at the part when the mother would climb a ladder into the son's room as an adult. 

I am superstitious to a point, so I waited until I entered the second trimester to purchase anything for Baby.  The day I was officially out of the first trimester, Boyfriend and I went out and bought two items, a small toy (that Shrek immediately chewed up) and this book.  I envisioned reading this book to my own child, rocking and singing.  At some point in the pregnancy, Boyfriend decided to read the book to my swollen belly.

It was such a sweet picturesque moment, me lying in our bed, Boyfriend and Shrek were both lying next to my belly as I laid on the bed, Baby was kicking and twisting in response to her father's voice.  I was filled with happiness and was giggling at Boyfriend's version of the song.  Then he started to read the last few pages.

If you haven't read the book before, I'm going to spoil it for you; it implies that the mother dies.  Imagine me, 8 months pregnant, having this incredibly sweet moment with my budding family, reading a book about a mother dying.  I start crying and laughing, crying because it was just so darn depressing, laughing because only my mother would love reading me a book about death.  I don't know how as a child I didn't pick up on the death aspect, I suppose because of the innocence only a child has.

All the same though, I still plan on continuing the tradition of reading Love You Forever to Baby.  I mean, it can't be any more morbid than the nursery rhymes that she will sing on the playground.

10 Things

I won't even being to pretend I'm some wise woman who has a lot of insight into the meaning and purpose of life. I have however, learned a few things along the way that I hope that I can pass onto my daughter.

1.  It is ok to be cheap (I prefer the word frugal) about a lot of things.  There are some items though, that you should never purchase the off brand.  Laundry detergent, paper towels, toilet paper, and good smelling candles.  These are all things that when I try to be frugal about, I end up purchasing so much more or using twice as much as if I had just bought the name brand.  There a handful of other things, but seriously, saving $1 is not worth scratching your delicate lady bits for a month with rough toilet paper.

2.  Boyfriend and I haven't always been the best at budgeting our money.  We always pay our bills and manage to put a small amount into savings but probably not the amount we should be.  We do however, prioritize our spending to make sure that we have the best quality life possible.  We made the decision to purchase a home much smaller and less expensive than what we were approved for and drive cars that are not luxury at all yet do the job in a comfortable manner.  This has enabled us to spend the rest of money on experiences.  We probably won't die leaving Baby a large inheritance, but she will have mementos of family vacations, fine dining, and cool toys that last so much longer than the money we spent.

3.  Don't leave your partner's favorite cooking thermometer in the roast while it is still cooking.  This will ruin said thermometer and will leave you with one grumpy partner.  Especially if your roast comes out like beef jerky.  Then they will just be grumpy AND hungry.

4.  Menthol shaving cream should be reserved for men's faces only.  This is self explanatory.

5.  Really, there are so few things in life that you NEED to stress about.  Seriously.  I make a conscious choice not to stress about anything that I don't need to.  It isn't that I don't care, I do, but if it is beyond my control (stuck in traffic, someone isn't doing something they said they would, my dinner was disgusting, again) then there isn't a reason to waste energy worrying over it.  This comes especially handy when you are planning a wedding, buying a house, or having a baby.  Three of life's most stressful, but exciting, times.

6.  Along with not stressing, make a concerted effort to not waste mental energy regretting anything.  If it is done, its done.  If you did something that you now look back at and realize that it probably wasn't the best choice-don't do it again.  Again, this often makes me look like I don't care but that really isn't the case, I just want to do better next time.

7.  Have one really good thing that you can cook.  I pretty much destroy and food that isn't baking, however I am known for my Hot Wing Dip.  I'm only good at it because it is essentially mixing ingredients together and putting it in a hot oven, but all the same people love it and request it all the time.  I'll be honest and I've never once tasted it (I don't like spicy things) and it looks disgusting but it is what the people want so I always oblige.



 8.  Boyfriend is always right.  There might be a few times she argues with her Daddy that she will be right, but just trust me when I say 99% of the time he is right.  I've been down that path a few too many times with him so I would like to save her some time.

9.  In my vows to Boyfriend, I told him I would "be slow to anger and quick to forgive".  I think this is useful in all of our relationships.

10.  When you are with Boyfriend, and you start to smell something funny, don't believe him that it was Shreky.  He can only use that excuse so many times.