Living Life

How does a Parent Survive during the Holiday Season?

How does a Parent Survive during the Holiday Season?

Christmas Eve is upon us. We all know the time of year. A time for family gatherings and a time to share gifts with the people that we love and cherish. Every year, I have been a part of gift exchanges and purchased gifts for nieces and nephews, but this is my first year purchasing and feeling the pressure of Christmas morning for our very own daughter.

Life Hack: Staggered Paternity Leave

Life Hack: Staggered Paternity Leave

As many of you may know, my wife and I have two children. Our oldest daughter is almost 23 months old and our youngest is 3 months old. It is a lot of fun interacting with our children on a daily basis. I detailed the joys of spending time with my family in my post: We are on a Mini-Retirement Trial. Being a teacher, I get a lot of time off in the summer. It just so happens that the birth of our second child happened while I was already off of work. This allowed me to be home for four weeks, before heading back to work. In August, I dove back into teaching and my wife stayed home with the kids.

Successful People Sharpen the Saw

Successful People Sharpen the Saw

Growing up and still today, I am intrigued by the civil war era. I have books upon books on the civil war and 5 or 6 on Abraham Lincoln alone. Because of my love of this time period, Abraham Lincoln has always been my favorite President. There is something amazing about a guy who never gave up on his bid for public office, despite so much failure early in his career. There is something amazing about a President whose plan was to still unify the country after the war had ended. Most people wanted him to punish the south. 

Three Years into our Mortgage: How's it Going?

Three Years into our Mortgage: How's it Going?

Sometimes it's amazing to think that we have owned a home for 3 years. Not only is it amazing to think that we didn't have any kids just 3 years ago. It is amazing at how things can change. Since the purchase of our home, we have had two kids. It has been an amazing three years, so let's dig into the numbers!