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Timmy & Charlie: Feb-March 2017

Posted on March 21, 2017

Here’s an update on the Rowdy Routch’s and adventures with Timmy and Charlie. My goal is to write a post like this every month or two so I can look back on how the boys grew.

February was full of days that reached 60+ degrees. It was such a treat and a reminder that it is much easier to entertain little ones when it is nice outside. We snuck in a few days at the park and sometime in the backyard playing in the sandbox and on the swing set.

Jordan worked many long hours during busy season coupled with travel. We missed him a lot and had our bedtime routine via FaceTime many of the evenings. This picture of him at the park with the boys was taken during the only 2 hours we spent with him that week. We are glad he is slowing down at work and home for dinner lately. We are thankful for his work ethic…he’s always hustling whether at home or at the office. He’s the energizer bunny!

Charlie is growing so fast. In the last 2 months he has transitioned from needing to be held by mommy constantly to a little explorer who is gaining independence and curiosity. I used to long for a few minutes to put him down and now I find myself calling for him to come back in the room. Timmy started walking at 9 months and Charlie will be 9 months soon. I realized that Charlie could be running around the house in a few short months. When Timmy started walking the moments of holding him on my lap or hip became few and far between.

I decided about a month ago that everyday I was going to rock Charlie to sleep for his afternoon nap. I really want to be intentional about enjoying this stage. With the second child I can appreciate how quickly it comes and goes. Charlie has been getting a lot of teeth lately. He now has three teeth on top and two on the bottom.

Timmy will be 3 years old in one month. He is becoming his own little person. One of my favorite things lately is holding a conversation with him. I like asking him questions and getting his opinion on things. He can call someone on the phone and chat with them independently without me translating or mediating too much. It is cool to move beyond simple exchanges based on basic needs and encouraging him to share his thoughts and feelings about situations. He still loves all things animals and dinosaurs. We officially quit potty training and will try again this summer. He was getting frustrated and wasn’t making progress. He is really into surprises lately and it doesn’t take much to get him ultra excited. I take every opportunity to create these magical moments over simple things like stickers, ice-cream, or a new book. I love how their excitement level can go from 1 to 10 over simple things, it is one of the best parts about having little ones!

Now that Charlie is a speed crawler and able to maneuver around the room (holding onto furniture) Timmy is anxious for him to become a playmate. Some of Timmy’s favorite phrases lately are, ‘Chase me Charlie!’; ‘Charlie lets explore!’; ‘Charlie come under the table with me.’ It is so cute and I love watching their brotherly bond grow.

That’s the latest on my little loves. The next update may include Timmy’s 3rd birthday and Charlie walking?!?

Mom Life

Stay-At-Home Mom Hopeful: 4 Steps to Consider

Posted on March 1, 2017

After our second child was born I decided to quit my job to be a stay-at-home mom. Since then several women have told me they have hopes of being a Stay-At-Home mom one day and wanted to know how we were able to make it work financially. In hopes of empowering other families with the freedom to make this choice I am sharing some of the steps we took.

So here it is! Four steps to consider that will help you prepare for being a stay-at-home mom one day. There are certainly many ways to make this happen but here are the steps we took. I hope it helps!

1. Keep your options open.

Motherhood is such a wonderful and exhausting experience. As much as you try to anticipate what it will be like, there is no way to predict how you will feel once you become a mother. Keeping this in mind, the best thing you can do is give yourself options. Continue working full time, working part time, or be a stay-at-home mom…it is hard to predict what the right balance will be for your family until you are living it! My best advice is to put yourself in a position that will make all three a realistic option. This will give you freedom to be the type of mother you want to be and not feel trapped.

Two years before getting pregnant with our first child I intentionally took a job with a small company and planned on making myself a valuable employee to later ask for a more flexible schedule. After having our first son I was able to go back three days a week. Options!

2. Don’t increase your lifestyle with your increased income.

Hopefully as the years pass you and your spouse are in careers that will continue to grow in opportunity and pay. Most people who make more money, spend more money. It’s hard to fight that natural inclination. This vicious cycle stops you from getting ahead or creating a buffer for a lifestyle change later on such as cutting back on hours or going down to one income.

When we were shopping for our first home we mocked up a budget based on my husbands salary only and bought a house we could afford on his salary. We did this to leave room in our finances for me to stop working if I wanted to and if not we would get ahead on paying off our mortgage. That’s a win-win! We also made the commitment to not have car payments. We have an ongoing savings account for a car because we plan to always buy our vehicles with cash. When it was time to buy a kid friendly vehicle we bought a used SUV and paid cash. Our second vehicle is a 2006 Chevy cobalt that has been paid off for like 8 years.

3. Pay off debt ASAP!

It is hard to reach any level of financial freedom until you pay off your debt. The best thing you can do to reach financial freedom for your family is to pay off debt as quickly as possible. We paid off over $100k in debt in 5 years. Before we had children we had two full time incomes and we put every extra penny down on debt. We held our expenses steady for 5 years as our salaries increased. We kept only the bare minimum in the bank for emergencies. Crush that debt immediately and everything will be easier sooner. If you don’t have kids yet you should use this time to pay off credit cards, student loans, car loans etc. This will give you options later. If you already have kids, start now!

4. Get on the same page and stay there. 

Obviously, it is important for you and your spouse to be on the same page when it comes to planning for your future. There needs to be a commitment and dedication from both spouses to create a plan and stick to it. This is not something you can do on your own or figure out when you get there. If you want to have a smooth transition that will not send your family into financial distress, now is the time to get on the same page. It would also be unfair to blindside your partner down the road with your desire to be a stay-at-home mom when your lifestyle is not set up for it. Stress city!

Jordan and I always hoped this would be an option one day. We made it a part of our plan every step of the way. BUT I always told him that we would do the best we could and if it didn’t work I would gladly do what was best for our family. Keep in mind that you need to be gracious towards each other without placing blame or pressure on each other.

People often ask me if I miss working, especially because I loved my job and I was really nervous to give it up. Surprisingly, I do not miss it at all. I feel so free to make my family my first priority and I don’t have to worry about checking my email or stressing over an upcoming meeting. Every now and then when I’m taking my kids to the park or to the museum in the middle of the week I feel guilty like I am playing hooky!

Being a stay-at-home mom is challenging because it forces me to be more selfless and humble. I serve others all day with my needs coming last. It isn’t easy but I consider it a great blessing. It is yet another way that God is molding me and shaping me to be more like Him.

And guys, I would be remiss if I didn’t mention that my husband has been planning for this long before I was. When he was studying in school and choosing his career path, he didn’t base it on his personal interests, but on a steady career path that would provide for his future wife and kids. He has been putting us above himself before he even knew us. Thank you God for this selfless man!

Staying home with our kids has been a huge blessing for our family and if you desire to be a stay-at-home mom I hope you are able to do it one day too!

Mom Life

Crawling and Potty Training!

Posted on January 31, 2017

Charlie just turned 7 months old and month 6 was packed with firsts! I feel like he officially transitioned out of that new baby phase. :’-(

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His bottom two teethe came in, he started crawling, eating baby food, and pulling himself up on everything! Now that is he able to play around on the floor and get around a bit Timmy is all about playing games with him which is adorable. He plays hide and seek, plays animals, sings him songs, dances with him, and tries to wrestle him (with me regulating aka saving Charlie’s life). Timmy really is the sweetest big brother! The first thing he says to him in the morning is, “Good morning handsome Charlie!”.

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So far all of Charlie’s firsts have happened at the same time as Timmy’s. We’ll see if Charlie is able to keep up, I think he wants to start walking immediately to chase his big brother.

Charlie is so smiley and easy going. He goes right to sleep when we lay him in and never fusses. He’s sleeping in till like 9:30 which is great. I think he’s trying to make up for the first 5 months of sleepless nights. It’s pretty amazing have an official bedtime for both boys and not having to get up with them again until morning. Jordan and I got our evening hang out times back!

While Charlie is busy moving all around exploring and putting everything in his mouth, we started potty training Timmy. He is going to be 3 years old in April so I felt like it was time to crack down. We have been trying it for a while but we weren’t fully committed.

A couple weeks ago we removed the diaper and pants for 3 days straight…this was not glamorous. We roped off the carpeted areas of the house and went through a lot of paper towels and disinfectant wipes. A lot of people talk about using this method as a potty train fast method. It definitely helped us get further then all the other methods we tried but what I didn’t realize is this is the introduction and then it goes on and on from there, at least for us. We are still having lots of accidents unless we make him go to the potty like every 30 minutes or so. It is a big commitment. We’ve cut back a lot on the places we normally go during the week like story time at the library, museums, friends houses etc. If you are considering getting serious about potty training you might want to consider doing it during a month that you don’t have a lot going on. Although I’ve heard girls are much easier and faster to catch on!

This is the first time I’m potty training so any words of wisdom from experienced mommas? Please share! 🙂

 

 

 

Mom Life Our Home

Welcome!

Posted on January 27, 2017

Hello Friends! Welcome to a blog about the Rowdy Routch’s. This is not a self proclaimed nickname…this is a name I married into. I haven’t been able to shake it over the last 7 years so it looks like it is going to stick. It started with a nickname my husband was given in college…they started calling him J-Rowdy, Rowdy, Rowdy Routch etc. You know, just guys being guys. The weird part of the story is when my husband decided to get a vanity license plate that says ‘J-Rowdy’…yup it’s true. It’s pretty embarrassing, especially when I have to drive his car. Secretly, I kind of love the corkiness of this but that doesn’t stop me from making fun of him for it every chance I get.

As a result, I have become C-Rowdy; Timmy is T-Rowdy; Charlie is C-Rwody squared…I think you get the point. 🙂 We have a few groupies who are self proclaimed Rowdy’s as well.

I hope you enjoy following along as I share our experiences raising our boys and the fun home decor and DIY stuff that I do with my minimal spare time!