Formely Undecided

Well, the last entry I had updated with a new blog account but, due to recent indecisions on how to go about it and lack of time I was unable to keep up with my Littletown, USA blog. I am still obsessed over miniatures and believe I will be until I add another obsession to my list but, I'm not going to dedicate a whole blog on that subject alone seeing that I haven't had the time to work on anything with my beloved dollhouse since our recent move.



Move? Yup, my dear hubby took a leap and contacted the owners looking to rent a 3 floor, 2.5 bathroom, 2 bedroom townhouse with a gated yard overlooking a golf course. 2 months after contacting them on a whim off a number posted at a bus stop (and several times being on edge when they couldn't find their new home) we moved into a townhouse! Yes, a HOUSE.



This has been one of the biggest homes we've lived in since we've started a family. We've always lived in 1-2 bedroom apartments on one floor. I still can't believe we have this home to rent! And with the best "landlords" ever! They wanted us to take the house because they really loved our family the 1st time we met so they kept us updated and in their minds while they house hunted and finally gave us a lease! They even gave us free reign with what to do with the yard since it was overgrown and not really used much...and guess what!? The first time I visited the house I knew it was meant to be because they had chosen to paint the interior rooms in yellows, greens, and chocolate milk brown (colors I obsessed over when considering to paint our old apartment!)



I count my blessings every day and hope that my husband keeps his job in this economy nowadays to keep us living here as long as possible. I love it here. The neighbors seem to all know eachother and I'm still thrown off guard when I step out of my door and neighbors say hi to me and call me by my first name! Yup, one of those neighborhoods:) Bobby has even adapted to his new school and I thank God for that b/c we were very worried about him changing schools. Luckily our new next door neighbors' son jsut moved in 1 month before us and happened to go to the old school with Bobby. So it was good for him to see a familiar face. Also, because he was in flag football, alot of his teammates happen to be at that school too so great all around!



As far as the house...I love the fact that we have a separate "family room" right off the kitchen so that we can set up a playroom/media room for the kids (Bobby loves his video games). I love that my dining room finally is situated by our backyard sliding doors because it overlooks the golf course and lets in alot of light. I even like the sound of the occassional "PLICK!" sound of a golf ball being hit by the golfers right outside my backyard, early in the morning. Did I tell you that my son/daughter's room has its own bathroom (Finally got to put my ducky theme to use after losing an extra bathroom with the last move when we downsized). Oh...and we have an ATTIC! My hubby and I decided to share that space, me for my art studio (which I've finally named after my favorite place) and a "Man's room") where the hubby and son can hang out. So happy! Anywho, I'm glad that he took the initiative this one time because now he feels like he's found a home for his family after he's felt stuffed into apaprtments since we've had our kids. We don't own it but it's close enough of a home to him and I'm happy for him and our family. Personally, every one of our past homes were "homes" to me because my lil' family lived there but, I'm not complaining. I'm just shocked, after doing a once over before turning in our keys, to see how we fit all our stuff that now occupies a 3 story townhouse, from a 1 floor 2 bedroom apartment! Even looking at my son's old bedroom shocked me because, though it fit all his furniture fine, his old room looked like a closet. I can't even believe that all the scrapbook stuff I have occupying half of our attic now was even in the apartment...and in our walk-in closet no less. So, you see, we're happy with the new place and space. My son's new room is HUGE! Bigger than anybedroom we've ever had. In the future Madison might join him in there but, I'm thinking maybe when Bobby gets older we might make the the attic into his bedroom, convert the family room into a man/art room and give Madison his bedroom!! I get giddy with the possibilities of decorating her room and his separately!! I already have pics saved and pages in my inspiration file for them both! But for now, Madison's in our room. Oh..dreams..



Anyways, I've had issues with blogging in the past. I was either having issues downloading pics, didn't find my blogging voice, or just no time. I've decided to turn a new leaf and make a committment. I'm not going to obsess over if I sound good enough for others to read. I obsessed over that for so long because I wanted to emulate the cool blogs I lurk. I always felt I needed to sound more interseting and have "eye candy" all the time so it kinds deterred me from writing alot of the times. I'm also not going to obsess over not having pictures uploaded. I have accepted my fear of losing photos taken and lost in the midst of uploading. Yes, I lost 3 months + Madison's 1st trip to Florida to visit my parents while trying to upload pics so I'm a little leary of that. So, until I figure something out, I will not post pics. I also have decided to start a new blog all together. Because I could'nt devote alot of time to my hobby exclusively, I decided to delete my Littletown, USA blog. I will start a new blog but it will be based on my life as it is now, for my kids. On online scrapbook for them. Considering I'm usually on the comp lurking my favorite blogs and always, worrying that my kids might not have a rememberance of our life because I'm not "caught up" with our scrapbooks, I figured I'd turn my habit of being on the internet into something productive. So...with that being said you can now join me on my new blog...a new journey for me...again:)

Wow...it's been a while since I last posted and alot's happened since...the biggest news is that we now have an 11 month old daughter named Madison, after trying for so long. She's a miracle baby cause we tried for 4 years and out of the blue, we get the news that I was 1 month pregnant (as opposed to having gallstones which they first thought at the hospital). Other news is that my son just completed kindergarten and will be going to 1st grade in September...wow...how time flies!

Well, I still scrap once in a blue moon and no, I haven't done Madison's baby book yet but, I have saved alot of her baby stuff from the hospital and since. I aslo have been recording details of her month-by-month onto her 1st year calendar and have been taking pics to eventually make one. I'm thinking on doing something more artistic with her book and my inspiration is Corey Moortgat who has done a beautiful job with her 2 sons' and her upcoming birth of her daughter's baby books. I also intend on making her baby photo album with pics(1,600 pics so far!!) printed into wallet-sized pics and placing it into our family scrapbook binder under her own section OR maybe in another 12x12 American Crafts binder of her own. So, as long as I keep up with her calendar and storing pics and memoribilia in one place, I won't feel guilty about not being "caught up"...something some of us scrapbookers struggle with. After all these years I've learned that what matters to me most are the details and pics so as long as I have those recorded, creating something artistic with it can wait for my mojo to re-appear.

Anywho, my new passion...yes, a new one, is miniatures! Have you seen what people can do with dollhouses and miniatures for them lately?! I was never for the Victorian-type dollhouses so I never really thought outside of the box enough to venture on my own designs but recently I stumbled upon Altera's Mini World , Mini Modern and Annina and after wiping my drool off my chin LMAO, I got hooked! So...I will be over at my new blog Littletown, USA, for the most part, and once in a while I'll come here for family updates and news....so please, come over and visit me in my new lil "studio". --Paula:)

A word of Encouragement to those I Love...

To those friends and family members (you know who you are) that are going through tough times lately...whatever that entails, I want you to know that I am here for you; as an ear to listen, a shoulder to cry on, a caretaker, or an excuse to "go out" to step away from life sometimes. We all go through tough times (and I know I have been through some) and I want to thank you for being there for me. I just hope that I can be the same for you when times are rough on your end too. Chicas, I do love you all...my sisters and "the girls". I may have a few friends in my life but you have done the love and work of 100 and I wouldn't trade that for anything more. I love you all....and don't give up...I'm here if you need me:) Love ya chicas:)

Soooo talented!

Ok...this is Crazy-sick....can you believe this is all coming from him?! Too cool!

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Thankful for....

left to right: Cynthia, me, and Melissa (my sisters and I at Bliss August 2007)

Ok...so I'm thinking of doing a Gratitude Post every day or so (depending on how often I get on the comp). After reading Kelly's post and then thinking about how my sisters and friends took me out of my "humble abode" for some "Me" time, I was grateful for having people, "My people" (heard in Grey's Anatomy) in my life. Soooo....I will be trying to commit myself to a post a week, at least, to thank those in my lfe. Today I want to thank my sisters for inviting me to Bliss with them a couple of weeks back (and out bowling with Cynthia...loving bowling!!). I haven't gone out with them in a while, or a club for that matter, for a looooong while and so Cynthia called me up and asked me out...fun was had by all LOL (especially you Melissa) anywho...thanks Cynthia and Melissa (and Joia too) for a fun "Girl's Night Out" Love you!

Me and Cynthia at Jersey Lanes (bowling)

LOL..too funny:)

yeah, 2 posts in one day?! But I saw this on another blog and thought this was cute so I tagged myself LOL...


1. YOUR ROCK STAR NAME: (first pet & current car) Dooby Hyundai

2.YOUR GANGSTA NAME: (fav ice cream flavor, favorite cookie) Vanilla Bean Chocolate Chip (LOL)

3. YOUR "FLY Guy/Girl" NAME: (first initial of first name, first three letters of your last name) P. Rid

4. YOUR DETECTIVE NAME: (favorite color, favorite animal) Red doggy

5. YOUR SOAP OPERA NAME: (middle name, city where you were born) Cristina Maputo

6. YOUR STAR WARS NAME: (the first 3 letters of your last name, first 2 letters of your first) Ridpa

7. SUPERHERO NAME: (2nd favorite color, favorite drink put "The") Blue The Chia

8. NASCAR NAME: (the first names of your grandfathers) Vicente Sabastiao

9. STRIPPER NAME: ( the name of your favorite perfume/cologne, favorite candy) Moonlight Path Mounds (OMG this one's cracking me up!!!)

10.WITNESS PROTECTION NAME: (mother's & father's middle names ) I could tell you this, but then I would have to kill you... LOL



Laterz.....

Purging...my soul and home...lol

Bobby and I at my Brother-in -laws' wedding (early 2007)

Disclaimer: This will be a looooonng post but long overdue...LOL...and yes, in person, I talk more than this....ask everyone...LOL God bless their souls :)

Hey there All! Long time no talk! First, I want to thank all of you for the kind, sweet words you wrote me regarding my last post. I have been getting better with the whole "anticipating" a pregnancy and I'm leaving it in God's hands. Though it'd be great if I had another child, we are very blessed and truly happy for Bobby, our 4yo son. We couldn't have asked for a more perfect child...and if God meant for us to have 1 perfect child to fill our days, that's more than I can ask for. Karla, I'd like to thank you for having my link on your blog too...though I didn't mean to make you cry:)

Ok...so here goes the purging of my soul....I never really knew what it meant to "wait until I could afford something" or "budgeting for a small purchase" til this year...and it's not because I'm "well-off" I think it was because being a single-income family in the Princeton area, has finally caught up to us...and yes, we were living a little above our means (can I say daycare, SAM's club, "scrapbooking" and a nice cable package for this SAHM). So yes, it's a little embarrassing to tell you all this but I've gotta come clean....

So, it's been about 6 months since I last wrote and since then, things have been an uphill battle. My hubby and I have been stressing (big time) with the $$ and bills for the past months. Struggling meaning, late with rent. Yes, I'm sad to say I've joined the ranks of "late" renters. After not having this problem for the past 7 years of renting, it was a huge blow to our ego and our relationship. He was stressing not knowing how to stop the huge ball from rolling in the wrong direction, and me trying to keep a straight face for the sake of his sanity and our relationship...all the while wondering why and how we got into this huge mess.

Well, after months of penny-pinching, cutting down to basic cable, not shopping at Sam's for months, not even stepping foot in Michaels' or anything scrappy (alright I do have a membership with SOMO but it's ending soon:( only using our cells now instead of a home phone, and buying the bare-neccesities (I really mean bare), we are still in a mess but getting better. As of the beginning of August I decided to be inpsired by Run's House and Justine's roles at home and decided to handle all the bills. Why?

1) because it makes me feel important. Don't get me wrong, I am important for the simple fact that I have the role of a Mom and wife but I've always been one to pride myself of handling my business. After deciding to stay home, my budget-management responsibilities relied heavily on my hubby since I wasn't bringing home any of my own money anymore. So now having a say where it goes, brings me back to feeling responsible with other "wordly, businees duties"...
2) I decided to do this because I now know exactly how much is being doled out monthly and how much I have to spend (or not spend LOL). Women, if you're married and stay home, I encourage you to try this if you don't know what bills you have or what your money is being spent on because it empowers you and makes you appreciate you're hubby ALOT more for what he does everyday (Rob, sorry for all the times I nagged you about the amount of time you were working crazy amount of hours...without you, we wouldn't be living a cozy life at all). Not only that but, in case anything does happen to your hubby (God forbid) you won't be stuck trying to figure out stuff concerning who gets paid, what you used to pay for, or trying to teach yourself how to budget from scratch (my hubby says he doesn't want me to be stuck if anything ever happens to him). So with that said, I encourage you to try see where it all goes for at least 3 months. I'm budgeting at 3 months at a time to make it easier to me. Anyways,
3) I do this is because it frees my hubby sooo much! He doesn't stress much anymore because he trusts me. He says that I'm usually right (yes ladies, I have the best husband...but then again, I am usually right LOL) so anything I do right now can only make matters better.

So, I have it mapped out and we should be okay (money in savings) by mid-October and all things caught up by the end of December. And, hopefully this time around, be able to afford my hernia operation (one year later). Yes, couldn't have it done in January because the bill of $1,000 was sprung on me one week prior to the operation, because I have sucky insurance right now. Anywho...onto the better side of things....

We are moving! Okay not to a house but to a smaller condo at the same condo community. It's gonna be small because we are losing a den (which was being used as my scraproom) and our guest bathroom but, it's for the better. It's alot cheaper and it's still in the area so I'm happy about that since I love it here and don't know anywhere else I'd rather live (did I say I'm never buying a house in NJ? HUGE property taxes!) So until I figure out what state I want to be in permanantly, I will rent. I know, I pay the same amount (if not more) in rent then my friends do their mortgage right now but...whatever. We're moving LOL.

Soooo right now we're in the process of purging BIG TIME...and I'm okay with that because I believe in using everything you've got and if you don't use it, you don't need it...a far cry from how I used to be but I'm glad I am the way I am now. It frees alot and those who have purged know this. My mom, on the other hand doesn't think so. She believes in having the "finer" things in life. In always being prepared (even if it means having 3+ sets of "fancy" dish sets for speacial occassions). Love you Mommy:) She thinks I'm "settling" to go from a 2 bedroom, 2 bath, den w/fireplace condo to something smaller when I should be looking into owning a house. So yeah, to her, I'm taking a step backwards. Of course this is coming from my parents who live in a huge house in Florida, having homes that always looked like it belonged in a home decorating magazine, and having anything you could possibly need in a seconds notice. But mind you, it hasn't been easy. They came to this country right before I turned 1 y.o. so they started from scratch with one baby at the time! I guess I should ask them for advice on how to save and budget...LOL.

Anyways, my Mom always says she doesn't undertand why I don't strive for more...a bigger house, a job, more "fancy" things but I believe what I have is enough. I don't need too much around me to make me happy. I do "want" for alot of things but have come to realize what I have is what I "need." What makes me truly, and I mean TRULY, happy are not always material things (ok...except for the occassional new stamp sets or scrapbook paper LOL ) but all that I will ever really need to make me happy in this world are my husband, my son, my friends, and my family. My extras in life are going to the cafe with the girls, bowling, laughing my butt off with hubby at something we're watching or his funny recollections of "old school" memories and jingles, going out with my sisters, acting silly with my son, a Starbucks Grande Chia latte at Barnes and Nobles, a nice, breezy, warm night walk...browsing antique shops on cobblestone, tree-lined streets. Stuff like that. My mom doesn't get me in that sense. Don't get me wrong, I'd LOVE to eventually own a converted warehouse/barn/firehouse loft with at least one exposed brick wall (love indoor brick walls), with a space for a garden (rooftop perhaps) but I will eventually get it (I'm confident because I usually get what I strive and work for...minus another child but I digress...) So I'm not stressing what she says. She means good and I do love her for that:) Anways, I always assure her that all I've got is all I'll need.

So yeah..."less is more" in my books...and I'm making someone somewhere happy with my donations:) Maybe this new move will start us on the right path again...Rob, remember how I said I want us to get back to our life on Murray street? Loved that year there. Maybe this is God giving us a hand at reclaiming our simple life like the one we had before? :)

Another piece of good news? My husband is going from working 80+hr job and a second weekend job, one of them a 1.5 hour commute from home...to a new job!!! Only 10 minutes from home and only 40hrs a week with reasonable hours from either 3pm-11pm or 11pm-7am! That means more time with him home! Not only that but they offered him way more than what he was expecting so he doesn't really "need" to get another job! Also, if I really wanted to and needed to, those hours are great if I decided to work a part-time while he was home with Bobby!! Yahoooo!!!!

Lastly, to be completely honest with everyone, I LOVED my son's 1st year experience with school at his daycare. LOVED it! Unfortunately, with our money situation lately, re-enrolling him in school for Pre-K in a Princeton daycare at close to $500 a month for 2 half days a week was not feasible. Therefore, we did not re-enroll him. We were stressing about it but came to the consensus that 1) he will be going in January 2) Um...yeah, I was a daycare teacher so I will be "homeschooling" him in the meantime 3) we will be trying to enroll him in gymnastics (loves jumping and such and seems interested) for him to interact with kids his age...not to mention that it costs 1/2 of a month's daycare tution to enroll him in gymnastics for the whole season of fall 4) Bobby hasn't asked about school...for him, it's still vacation 5) it's not mandatory to attend daycare here....I never went to pre-k or Kindergarten and I'm fine. I went to one year nursery and then straight to first grade and look at me:) LOL....

Anyways, believe me, it was a hard decision seeing that we and our family stress the importance of education (my family is one of doctors and engineers so my parents were are a little wary about us not giving him a "solid foundation") but he will have about 12+ years of being in school. So, with that said, I will be teaching him at home with all the materials I still own that I taught at school with before...and see Daddy, I told you, my $88,000 college education did pay off...all I've learned will be taught to Bobby...the next generation:) Just kidding, it's something he once said in jest but took back when he realized it didn't sound right. LOL. Love you Daddy:)

So yeah, three new things on our horizon! Hopefully with these changes and me handling our bills (helping the hubby out) we can get back to the life we once had.....barely watching tv (had only 6 channels at the time), rollerblading, going out for walks daily (but now with Bobby), riding bikes, spending every minute together, gardening, etc. A time when the bare neccesities were the best thing you could hope for and cherish, since it was all you had to live off of. Right now, I'm getting so excited about reclaiming the hard-core "domestic-goddess" role I once had a la Martha Stewart and my daily inspiration! Love ya girl! You help me dream when times are down....oh and I love white in my house too! LOL. Ok, enough with my cheesy giddiness....LOL

Well, that's all for now...phew! You still there? LOL...til next post!