My little baby had diarrhea for a week. First it started with just a few times a day and then each day it increases till 8 times a day. My mother told me it might be because she is teething and she urged us to take the baby to the pediatrician as soon as possible. I called up a sister-in-law and she said that if it’s a stomach virus, it should go away in a few days. After almost a week, my baby wasn’t getting any better and we took her to the pediatrician and she said the baby is allergic to the formula (soy) which we have been feeding the past few months. So we had to switch to the most expensive formula (Similac alimentum) for 2 – 4 months until the baby gotten better or even get over the soy formula. We can then slowly introduce her back to soy or regular formula. Even though the formula is more expensive but as parents, we are willing to cut back on ourselves and everything else to give what’s best for our baby. I am sure this is the same for most of the parents in the world.
The past two days had been around 90 degrees or more. We live on the top floor with only one working air conditioner. It’s very hot on the top floor. The one working air conditioner is in our master bedroom. We also have a portable air conditioner which the exhaust hose is broken while I cleaned it. We are looking to buy the replacement part as soon as possible. Our baby wasn’t able to sleep well even though the fan was on. She woke up almost every hour because she was hot and her back was damp. We are also looking to buy a wall unit air conditioner for our living room which we could live without while we were single. Now that our baby spends most of her day time in the living room, we have to keep the living room in the right temperature. You probably ask why didn’t I have the baby sleep in the master bedroom with the air conditioner on? There is no room and we do not want the baby to stay in our bed. We afraid we roll over at night and crush the baby while we sleep.
With all that said, we will be spending a lot of money on the air conditioner and formula for the baby the coming months.
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
The recession & changes I've made at home
I haven’t always been a very wasteful person or a very frugal person. I was willing to pay more for certain things and being very cheap on things of little value to me. Because I left my job last year in August to prepare for first time parenthood and become a full-time homemaker temporarily, I have been watching what our money spend on. Besides clipping coupons, here is a list of what I have done so far.
1) We have redeemed our American Express credit card points for American Express gift cards and we use them when we buy diapers, formulas etc…
2) I normally buy fresh herbs just to make one dish and then I leave the rest in the refrigerator and forget about them or till they rot. It was a waste of money. All I need to cook is just a pinch of herb not a whole bunch. We (well I) decided to buy a T5 fluorescent plant light (I believe it costs roughly $80+shipping & handling=$93.07) to plant herbs at home. I spent about $30 on seeds from Home Depot and $8 on gardening pots from a local vendor. It’s been a few weeks, and I see sprouts. I can’t wait till I can cut them. It’s a total investment of a little over $100. I believe in the long run, it’s worth the investment and the convenience, especially during the snow storms when you need just that one herb for your recipe.
1) We have redeemed our American Express credit card points for American Express gift cards and we use them when we buy diapers, formulas etc…
2) I normally buy fresh herbs just to make one dish and then I leave the rest in the refrigerator and forget about them or till they rot. It was a waste of money. All I need to cook is just a pinch of herb not a whole bunch. We (well I) decided to buy a T5 fluorescent plant light (I believe it costs roughly $80+shipping & handling=$93.07) to plant herbs at home. I spent about $30 on seeds from Home Depot and $8 on gardening pots from a local vendor. It’s been a few weeks, and I see sprouts. I can’t wait till I can cut them. It’s a total investment of a little over $100. I believe in the long run, it’s worth the investment and the convenience, especially during the snow storms when you need just that one herb for your recipe.
3) We used to go out to eat once a week. Now, we do take out once a week, cook at home and my husband pack food from home for his lunch which he normally spends $6-$10.
4) I had a 5/1 ARMS 30 years mortgage for my investment property from 2005 and it will reset in 2010. I thought I would’ve sold the house within the next 5 years but because the economy, selling isn’t a good choice. We decided to refinance through LendingTree to a fixed rate 30 years mortgage. When the market picks up later, we will have a choice of selling for a profit (or at least break even) or keep it as our retirement investment. Right now, it’s still in process, it should close within the next few weeks. We will finally have a very small (9.38%) positive cash flow after paying principal, interest, insurance, taxes and property management fee. Total savings from refinancing is 9.78%.
5) I finally decided it was time to change the investment house insurance after calling for quotes from 4-6 different companies from a few months ago. The renewal date was on tax date and I was able to save $168.78 per year (631-462.22). That is 26.74% saving over the old insurance company. Why didn’t I do this earlier? It had a lot to do with being laziness the past few years. With the recession, it didn’t take long to start thinking of saving money.
6) In March, I’ve opened a STAR mutual fund in Vanguard. This account requires only $1000 rather than $3000 to start investing. I wanted to eventually invest in other mutual fund when it accumulates up to $3000. The money from this fund will help me get my short to mid-term goals accomplished.
What have you done differently since the recession begins. Perhaps you have something that you like to share which I can learn from?
4) I had a 5/1 ARMS 30 years mortgage for my investment property from 2005 and it will reset in 2010. I thought I would’ve sold the house within the next 5 years but because the economy, selling isn’t a good choice. We decided to refinance through LendingTree to a fixed rate 30 years mortgage. When the market picks up later, we will have a choice of selling for a profit (or at least break even) or keep it as our retirement investment. Right now, it’s still in process, it should close within the next few weeks. We will finally have a very small (9.38%) positive cash flow after paying principal, interest, insurance, taxes and property management fee. Total savings from refinancing is 9.78%.
5) I finally decided it was time to change the investment house insurance after calling for quotes from 4-6 different companies from a few months ago. The renewal date was on tax date and I was able to save $168.78 per year (631-462.22). That is 26.74% saving over the old insurance company. Why didn’t I do this earlier? It had a lot to do with being laziness the past few years. With the recession, it didn’t take long to start thinking of saving money.
6) In March, I’ve opened a STAR mutual fund in Vanguard. This account requires only $1000 rather than $3000 to start investing. I wanted to eventually invest in other mutual fund when it accumulates up to $3000. The money from this fund will help me get my short to mid-term goals accomplished.
What have you done differently since the recession begins. Perhaps you have something that you like to share which I can learn from?
Sunday, April 19, 2009
Life and death
This post was supposed to be posted on 3/7/2009 but I never got around to do it. It is a short post but it isn’t a simple one.
I have experienced life (in December when I gave birth) and death (in February when my 98 years old grandmother past away) in the past few months makes me appreciate life and the little things in life a lot more. I learn to forgive and forget. I learn to let go of the bad experience in the past. I learn to care a lot more of what I eat on a daily basis after watching what my grandmother go through in the hospital. I learn my other grandmother is also taking a lot of medicine to keep her blood pressure down.
In addition to the bad economy, I learn to want to work as soon as I can have my mother watch over my little baby.
I have experienced life (in December when I gave birth) and death (in February when my 98 years old grandmother past away) in the past few months makes me appreciate life and the little things in life a lot more. I learn to forgive and forget. I learn to let go of the bad experience in the past. I learn to care a lot more of what I eat on a daily basis after watching what my grandmother go through in the hospital. I learn my other grandmother is also taking a lot of medicine to keep her blood pressure down.
In addition to the bad economy, I learn to want to work as soon as I can have my mother watch over my little baby.
Thursday, February 19, 2009
Pregnancy and discoveries
As I looked back from the first moment I found out I was pregnant, my body went through a 360 degree changes during pregnancy. I realized how difficult it is for woman to be a mother. Women carry the baby for 10 months while watching what we do and eat. We go to doctors often and special treatments as we age or as our physical health need. We go through educating ourselves how to be parents and what to expect as the baby approaches.
For me and my husband, we found new respect for staying-at-home mothers especially single mothers. My husband and I took a Lamaze class to educate ourselves. It was very useful for first time parents. I would recommend first time parents to take it. Knowing the topic of pregnancy and parents is vague and I know I will repeat the subject again because I am not specific on anything here. One thing for sure is that we rush to buy a lot of stuff which we wished we didn’t. One of the items is the diaper bag. We shopped and bought one. Later, after our Lamaze class ended, we got a diaper bag from Enfamil. And after giving birth, we got another diaper bag from the hospital from Similac. So now, we have 3 diaper bags at home. We did not however buy a new crib, changing table and clothing. We got used ones either from craigslist or from hand me down from family or friends. We did spend a lot of money on a high chair/table which is convertible/adjustable heights. It has 3 uses. 1) It can use as a high chair for the baby. 2) It comes with a chair so it can be used as a table for little children to sit and draw. 3) It can be used as a side table next to the couch as we are doing right now until the baby gets older. It has wheels so we can roll it anywhere. It is also adjustable so we can adjust its height for the baby or for our use. When we finally received this item, my husband regret spending that much on it. After using it as a side table, he loves it and considering buying a used one online (ebay) for a cheaper price. I do not think we will as I told him. Another wonderful truth I found after being a mother is Huggies newborn diapers are better than Pampers. Huggies newborn diapers have a cut that is better fit for the baby’s attached umbilical cord.
For me and my husband, we found new respect for staying-at-home mothers especially single mothers. My husband and I took a Lamaze class to educate ourselves. It was very useful for first time parents. I would recommend first time parents to take it. Knowing the topic of pregnancy and parents is vague and I know I will repeat the subject again because I am not specific on anything here. One thing for sure is that we rush to buy a lot of stuff which we wished we didn’t. One of the items is the diaper bag. We shopped and bought one. Later, after our Lamaze class ended, we got a diaper bag from Enfamil. And after giving birth, we got another diaper bag from the hospital from Similac. So now, we have 3 diaper bags at home. We did not however buy a new crib, changing table and clothing. We got used ones either from craigslist or from hand me down from family or friends. We did spend a lot of money on a high chair/table which is convertible/adjustable heights. It has 3 uses. 1) It can use as a high chair for the baby. 2) It comes with a chair so it can be used as a table for little children to sit and draw. 3) It can be used as a side table next to the couch as we are doing right now until the baby gets older. It has wheels so we can roll it anywhere. It is also adjustable so we can adjust its height for the baby or for our use. When we finally received this item, my husband regret spending that much on it. After using it as a side table, he loves it and considering buying a used one online (ebay) for a cheaper price. I do not think we will as I told him. Another wonderful truth I found after being a mother is Huggies newborn diapers are better than Pampers. Huggies newborn diapers have a cut that is better fit for the baby’s attached umbilical cord.
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Woman in Transition
I have been an independent career woman until I got married and have our first child. I am now staying home (temporarily) raising our baby girl and attempting to start my first blog on life in general as a woman in transition. I will touch different areas of life such as career, parenting, relationships, culture and whatever that's interesting that comes up.
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