What would you do for a million dollars?

...To send your two kids to college... (That's what it will cost in 20 years BTW, and we thought infertility treatments were expensive)

DH and I already think/talk/plan a lot for our kids' futures (we're planners like that) and the other day on our long road trip up north we were talking about a friend and engineer colleague of DH's who since he is employed by a top university just north of Chicago, which DH does many projects for, he would have been able to send his daughter there for free.  Though she decided to study elsewhere farther from home (his wife is a prominent attorney and their younger daughter is disabled) so they ended up not getting it gratis in the end.  I'm familiar with this lovely perk, several of my professors and staff back in the day did or were planning to take advantage of this, but of course it eliminates the options that your kids have when it comes to college picking, so we discussed how important it is for kids to have this choice.

I know when I was looking at colleges, my parents were pretty hands off, like with most things, though they both made it known that our state university would be just fine with them.  So I applied to and was accepted into their honors program as one of my fall back options.  While a great school, it was too big and too Greek for me.  When I applied early to my first choice (an Ivy) and was deferred to the regular admission pool, I was pissed and decided to go to my second choice (a seven sister), which I quickly got very excited about.  Unfortunately, I ended up being very unhappy with the environment and education generally, though I made some great friends, so I transferred out to another school in Boston after my sophomore year.  I have warm feelings for the school I graduated from, though it could not have been more different than the first.  I wouldn't necessarily recommend the course I took to finish my degree, but I own it and I think where you choose to go to school is one of the more important and earliest big decisions you make as a young adult.

Though it would likely mean a pay cut for him to work on the other side when the time came (he's a consultant), it obviously would pay off in the end.  I'd love for the kids to go to college out East, like I did, but there is always summer school in Boston, and grad school wherever they want. 

Would you make this choice for your kids?  Or have it as a fall back and let them choose the school or the money (to buy a house or something)?  One of the nice features of 529s is that you can always change the beneficiary or you are allowed to withdraw an amount equivalent to a scholarship without penalty.  But not saving in hopes of this working is not really a responsible option as you never know what'll happen (they outsource their project management between now and then, get rid of the perk, etc.)

House Stalking

Three guesses who this is...

 

A fellow '99er in a yearbook profile

It probably goes without saying that I'm not a fan, but we were college classmates and I have a weakness for houses. 

I recently got my nails done for the first time in over a year (the only place I read the rags) and saw that she (Elisabeth Hasselbeck) bought a new house in Greenwich.  She and her family, Tim (a '00 grad) is now a fantasy football analyst and their three young kids, were most recently Upper West Siders, but they've fled to the burbs, giving her View driver quite a hike.

Their old place was 2,300 sq. ft (for the low 3's).  You have to think that she could have gotten more for it had it been better/professionally decorated and staged, but I digress...

Now I love blue more than anyone, but I'm not sure all this cornflower works

 but love the built-ins and the cabinets

 

and the rug...

 

the view that The View bought...

  

 

Hey, that's my chainlink rug in the den



And the new place...

Apparently $4MM will buy a nice 7,600 sq ft. Colonial in foreclosure in CT, though her decorator has a LOT of work to do...  It would be interesting to see when they make it theirs.  Who am I kidding?  Most people only head to the shelter mags when they are going to put their house on the market.  Have you noticed that too?

 

Nice curb appeal

 

The man and his dog in a painting.  It is too much.

 

I actually really like the master as is, but it seems like it is in a different house

 

Love Serena and Lily?

I didn't end up using them much for our nursery, but they have lots of great finds (love their Hanna jammies) and non-baby stuff too.  Get $100 credit for $50 from Bloomspot (you can buy more than one!) for the next ten days only!  Enjoy!

Shopping Small

Being small business owners ourselves, DH and I try to make an effort to patronize local and small businesses whenever we can.  But honestly, it is difficult and getting more so all the time.  I actually had to look up where to spend our credits for Small Business Saturday last weekend (we ended up at our fave local sushi place and produce market to spend both), since it was not usable online like last year. 

Even though it is super close, Wal-mart is already on the "avoid if at all possible" list and Amazon is working hard to get itself on there too because of their sketchy business practices.  When you have two small kids, online shopping is nothing short of a godsend, but so is the chance to get out of the house once in awhile, even when it is with said children. 

Where we live is adjacent to the largest single retail area in the state (i.e. the mall is somehow/sadly the largest tourist attraction in all of IL.)  While this means that conveniently pretty much every store has an outlet within minutes and many of my faves: Costco (double carts, samples), Whole Foods (underground heated parking), IKEA (dark chocolate, and soon Smaland), Target, Buy Buy Baby, Baby Gap, Anthro, Starbucks, Janie & Jack, etc., etc., it is also heavily dominated by chain stores.  After living in Wellesley (Natick), Brighton (Chestnut Hill), and downtown Chicago, my mom still jokes (only half jokingly) that I choose where to live based on the local shopping.  One of my fave kid's stores is Land of Nod, which started as a small business, but was then bought by Crate and Barrel (a Chicago institution), which the Segals have since sold to a German retail conglomerate.

One of my fave new finds this year has been The Honest Company, which was co-founded by Jessica Alba (probably the least interesting thing about and best thing for marketing the company).  Their stuff (natural and adorable diapers, baby and beauty products, and household cleaners) is not cheap, but it is really nice.  We've been happy with everything we've tried, and we've tried almost everything.  I highly recommend it if you are inclined to such products, shopping small (if not always local), and patronizing responsible companies.

Divali

So skinny, but such a strong girl

And busy, and into everything

Visiting with great G-ma G over Thanksgiving

Don't let the innocent face fool you, she's trouble...

Real life with a sensitive child...

Your questions answered

So, as you may have noticed I'm not the most attentive blogger.  Sorry about that. I spend my days chasing two almost toddlers around (he has started crawling too, and she just pulled up to her feet for the first time today, eek!) and when the days are over I usually feel like they've slipped me a roofie. Lately (meaning over several months) I've gotten questions from folks who either don't leave a reply e-mail address or when I do find a way to reply it gets kicked back and FB is also not letting me send/reply to messages.  Much of this is on my Pinterest site, but no worries, here goes...

Where are the twins' outfits from in their pictures?

Mari's blouse and sweater are from H&M (one of my many fave places to get their clothes, love their organic basics) and her leggings and List's sweater are from Pearls and Popcorn.  His oxford is Polo RL and jeans are Old Navy.  They are sockless since it was 80 degrees.  H&M unfortunately does not offer online shopping, but P&P does.  I got the P&P stuff (among other pretties) late last year for a song from Vente Privee (Amex's deal site), but they are still available (and on sale) on their website.

Are you planning the twins' first birthday party yet?

Yes, in that we have a date (1/5, in an attempt to avoid the holiday madness), location (we've rented the clubhouse to accommodate all those who were vocally disappointed I wasn't able to have a shower), and invites and TY notes (that match their birth announcements)are in hand.  I have picked up some decorations and am working on the food.  Stay tuned...

Where are their cart/highchair covers from?

They are both from Itzy Ritzy, their Ritzy Sitzy covers.  I got them (and everything I'd ever want from their website) when they had a half off sale, so follow them and watch for sales if you don't want to pay full fare.  Another gadget that we find helpful is the Tiny Diner placemat since we've started taking them out more and more and they prefer to feed themselves.

What is your pumping schedule?

Well right now I'm pumping three times a day (first thing in the morning, early afternoon when the kids are napping, and then again before I go to bed).  I dropped the fourth late afternoon pump at about ten months after doing that for several months.  Previously I had pumped up to 5-6 or more times/day, but found that pumping more did not increase my supply or yield, it just resulted in lots of pumping with a smaller yield with each pumping.  They have been on 100% BM for several months, but I have had no extra to freeze.  I used to pump for 20 mins each time, but with my latest issues, I'm stopping at 15 and not sacrificing much if any milk.

How much does all that life insurance cost?

For $2MM/ea. in 20 year term policies through ING our premiums for both of us are roughly $2K/year.  This obviously will vary by person (gender, age, health history), but my share (35 yr. old woman, best rate class) was ~$750.  DH (36 yr old man) is also healthy and had a normal cholesterol level, but since his split of good/bad is a little wacky (which is often hereditary), he is in the next to best rate class and pays more.

As always, feel free to e-mail me at kthappy76@gmail.com for a more prompt response.  Be well and thanks! :)

Six more weeks

I can not believe how close we are to the twins' first birthday.  Their party is scheduled for just after the new year, but the big day is just over a month away.  Oh my goodness...

A sampling from our photo shoot...

We are still plugging along with the pumping schedule, though this last week was a doozy.  Mastitis and bleeding, coming from inside (hello pink milk)

and outside (my nipples might come off completely), don't make for a good way to finish up.  I thought I might have to stop completely over the weekend, but we are still going for now.  I obviously can't speak for those who feed at the breast or only have one mouth to feed, but this breastfeeding thing is certainly not for wimps, that is for sure.  I'm already plotting out what I'll do with all my time when I am done pumping.

I am so happy that it has worked out for us, that I had some milk and pumps (and formula too, so no one starved to death), but I'd be lying if I said I enjoyed it or would happily do it again (but since we are done, I guess that doesn't really count).  Definitely worth it, but not easy that's for sure.  It might be one of my only personal accomplishments from the last ten months.  That and helping me lose all the baby weight (the fifty I gained and another ten for good measure).

And Halloween went great, the kids didn't like their hats (of course the part of their costumes I spent the most time on), but fun was had by all

The complete Paddington, including a suitcase for marmalade.

Now that Mari is mobile, she doesn't want any part of holding still for pictures.  She must be moving at all times.   The smallest and bravest one was Madeline...

 

Waiting

It is ridiculous that I haven't posted in a month, since I have way too much to post about (not the least of which that Mari has been crawling nearly all of that time).  But obviously I've found that my real life (happily) gets in the way of blathering on about life. 

We are waiting (not so) patiently for the pics from our first professional shoot (last week) with the kids since their newborn shoot at the hospital.  I was going to/meant to do them sooner, but it just didn't happen.  Thomas was AMAZING and came very highly recommended by several friends of mine.  Apparently he used to work for Mario Testino, yes, that Mario Testino (that was the post that blew up my blog last year, of course).  It was an amazing day, our last really warm one.  The only problem was Alistair was having some issues and cried during almost the entire shoot, so we'll see what we end up with.  Until then, by yours truly and in their new wagon, which they adore...

I finally took the class, but I still don't take many great pictures with my new DSLR.  Oh well, practice, practice, practice...  Happy Hallows' Eve!

P.S. Thanks to everyone for all the wonderfully sweet things you say about our adorable kids.  Obviously we are completely smitten, but it is now my life's mission to make sure this doesn't go completely to their heads and they think they can skate by. ;)  We can only credit the wizardry of multicultural genetics, which apparently ensures that your kids will be better looking than either of their parents.