Cost of Children!

I have seen repeatedly the breakdown of the cost of raising a child, but this is the first time I have seen the rewards listed this way. It's nice, really nice!

The government recently calculated the cost of raising a child from birth to 18 and came up $160,140! That doesn't even touch college tuition. For those with kids, that figure leads to wild fantasies about all the money we could have banked if not for (insert your child's name here). For others, that number might confirm the decision to remain childless.

But $160,140 isn't so bad if you break it down. It translates into $8,896.66 a year, $741.38 a month, or $171.08 a week. That's a mere $24.44 a day! Just over a dollar an hour.

Still, you might think the best financial advice says don't have children if you want to be "rich." It is just the opposite.

What do your get for your $160,140?



Naming rights. First, middle, and last!


Glimpses of God every day.


Giggles under the covers every night.


More love than your heart can hold.


Butterfly kisses and Velcro hugs.


Endless wonder over rocks, ants, clouds, and warm cookies.


A hand to hold, usually covered with jam.


A partner for blowing bubbles, flying kites, building sand castles, and skipping down the sidewalk in the pouring rain.


Someone to laugh yourself silly with no matter what the boss said or how your stocks performed that day.


For $160,140, you never have to grow up. You get to finger-paint, carve pumpkins, play hide-and-seek, catch lightning bugs, and never stop believing in Santa Claus.


You have an excuse to keep: reading the Adventures of Piglet and Pooh, watching Saturday morning cartoons, going to Disney movies, and wishing on stars.


You get to frame rainbows, hearts, and flowers under refrigerator magnets and collect spray painted noodle wreaths for Christmas, hand prints set in clay for Mother's Day, and cards with backward letters for Father's Day.


For $160,140, there is no greater bang for your buck. You get to be a hero just for retrieving a Frisbee off the garage roof, taking the training wheels off the bike, removing a splinter, filling the wading pool, coaxing a wad of gum out of bangs, and coaching a baseball team that never wins but always gets treated to ice cream regardless.


You get a front row seat to history to witness the first step, first word, first bra, first date, and first time behind the wheel.


You get an education in psychology, nursing, criminal justice, communications, and human sexuality that no college can match.


You get to be immortal.


You get another branch added to your family tree, and if you're lucky, a long list of limbs in your obituary called grandchildren.


In the eyes of a child, you rank right up there with God. You have all the power to heal a boo-boo, scare away the monsters under the bed, patch a broken heart, police a slumber party, ground them forever, and love them without limits, so one day they will, like you, love without counting the cost.


You also have the wonderful benefit of eating (low calorie) egg salad sandwiches for 2 weeks straight...after Easter Sunday each year!

Trees....

Trees
By Joyce Kilmer

I think that I shall never see
A poem lovely as a tree.

A tree whose hungry mouth is prest
Against the earth's seet flowing breast;

A tree that looks at God all day,
And lifts her leafy arms to pray;

A tree that may in Summer wear
A nest of robins in her hair;

Upon whose bosom snow has lain;
Who intimately lives with rain.

Poems are made by fools like me,
But only God can make a tree.

Stopping by the Woods on a Snowy Evening....

Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening
By Robert Frost

Whose woods these are I think I know.
His house is in the village, though.
He will not see me stopping here
To watch his woods fill up with snow.

My little horse must think it queer
To stop without a farmhouse near
Between the woods and frozen lake
The darkest evening of the year.

He gives his harness bells a shake
To ask if there's some mistake.
The only other sound's the sweep
Of easy wind and downy flake.

The woods are lovely, dark and deep,
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep.

Growing Like Weeds!

I took this picture yesterday. I am so pleased that Alex & Mallory seem to like each other. I try to take as many pictures of Alex being sweet to his sister as I can so that I can prove to him someday that he really did love this sister at one time! He was giving her kisses yesterday and he is really good about playing nicely with her. Once in a while, he tries to smash Sam into her face but it doesn't happen very often.

Both kids are about to need some new clothes. They are both outgrowing all of their summer clothes and it is starting to get cooler here. I love shopping sprees! It reminds me of school starting when I was a kid and I always loved getting new clothes! Maybe I will get them some school supplies too! School supplies for a 5 month old baby? Sure! School supplies never go out of style.

I came across a poem yesterday that took me back 25 years. My Grandpa Leonard used to recite this poem to us when we were kids! I will never forget it. There was another poem too and I searched and searched last night until I found it. I am going to post them in separate posts.....

Busy Children!

The Children have been very busy and therefore, MOMMY has been very busy. Alex continues to amaze me with his manual dexterity...he is putting the puzzle shapes into the right holes and putting the coins into the toy pig. He is trying so hard to talk and sometimes he does say a word but he doesn't do it again for a long time. The lastest was Banana...he said Nana. I was so excited! He is going up and down the stairs really well now. It makes him so happy to go down on his belly like he is supposed to. Oh and Alex is quite the dancer. Any music causes this kid to bounce up and down and move his head.

Mallory just turned 5 months old and grew a bunch. All of a sudden her clothes don't fit! She is also rolling, back to front...but now seems to have forgotten how to roll back. She spends much of her time on her tummy and Alex loves to come over and play with her...his idea of playing anyway. Which consists of taking whatever toy she has her eye on and handing it to me. He is also very good at putting her pacifier back in her mouth...weather she wants it or not!

The name of Alex's favorite toy is....

SAM!

Larry? Really? Who answered that?

Stay tuned for a new poll! This one will be about Mallory!

I'm 15 Months Old!

Alex is 15 months old, as of yesterday. He is growing so fast and seems to be either learning or unlearning something new everyday. Right now, he loves to throw things. But he doesn't know the difference between throwing balls (which are okay) and throwing the remotes and books (which are not okay). From what I have read, you can't teach them to throw one thing vs another at this age so we all have to wear protective gear until he outgrows this or turns 10.


We also have daily temper tantrums. The slightest thing can make him frustrated and cause him to pound his fists into the floor or whatever has offended him. I'm also told that this is normal and that he will outgrown this too. I'm beginning to think that Erick has joined Fight Club...and you know the rules of Fight Club!


Alex has also decided to be a vegetarian. He will take one bite of meat (mostly chicken) and then throw the rest on the floor. But he will eat all of the veggies and fruit that you put in front of him. Oh, and bread. He loves bread. He will never survive on the South Beach Diet!

Alex has always been fond of the toilet. Mostly he would just splash in it so all the bathroom doors have been shut for some time. Well, Wednesday afternoon Alex picked up my cell after I got off the phone with Hubby and held it up to his ear like he was talking. I ran and grabbed the camera and of course he stopped doing it. I went into the bathroom to knock some mud off from my shoes and he came in behind me and plop! In went my cell phone. I grabbed it out of the bowl, turned it off and dried it off. We left it to dry off for two days and now it works great! I am amazed! And so glad that I didn't get an iPhone afterall. That would have been $600 down the toilet...no pun intended!

4 Months Old!

Mallory is FOUR months old today. I can't believe it. She is still so little and baby like. We tried to feed her oatmeal yesterday and she didn't want any part of it. I think it will be a few more weeks until she is ready. I'm really not in any hurry for her to start eating real food. The longer she can stay my little baby, the better. She is such a sweet and happy baby. Even Alex thinks so, he loves to give her little kisses. And she lights up with the brightest smile when he gets close to her. I can't wait until these too can play together. I think they will have a great time. Next week, Mallory has her 4 month appointment so we will find out how much she weighs and how much she has grown.

Mallory looks so tiny in the high chair. And she has her lips tightly together like...don't feed me anymore of that FOOD! I just love the look on her face.


A recent development...Mallory thinks she doesn't need naps anymore. And she laughs and laughs at me when I wrap her in her blanket. She and I both know that she will get out. But I wrap her anyway and she finds it hysterical.


This is Alex in the same high chair at 3 and a half months. Look how HUGE he is! He started Oatmeal before his 4 month birthday and he loved it. Something tells me Mallory will not eat everything we put in front of her like Alex does.
It will be interesting to compare the kids stats at 4 months.

Just a pickin!

His nose,that is. Alex has discovered the fine art of nose picking. And if he happens to be hungry he eats his treasure. I'm told that PooPa used to do this too. I'm hoping this is the last of PooPa's habits that Alex picks up.

Alex has been having a rough couple of days. He is breaking two more molars...this time on the bottom. He is in a lot of pain and sleeping has been difficult. Luckily, a little motrin takes the edge off. He still has a lot of teeth that need to come in so this is not the last of it.

Alex also has a old new word. Thank you. He said it a long time ago but has picked it up again. He says it anytime you give him something or when he gives you something. He is so polite! It sounds like TANK GOO. So cute!