This past week our family entered a brand new phase. Since May 1, Haley (and sometimes I) haven’t been able to sleep in longer than four hour increments. We went on our annual trip to Lake Tyler for Independence Day and something magical happened. Without us needing to have her stay in bed crying or do some weird sleeping night feed, Caroline decided it was time for her to sleep through the night. Four days in a row Caroline has slept in her own crib from approximately 10 PM until 6 AM the following day. Haley couldn’t be happier and I couldn’t be prouder of my baby girl. Hopefully she keeps up her awesome work at the game of life!
Category: Family
Coaching Change
This week is one of the biggest in my career as a teacher. It might be on par with my appointment to department head of the history department at my school and the day I was hired in my district (which was tougher since I was alternatively certified). This week I officially signed paperwork that says I will teach from now on, but not coach. It’s a bittersweet ending, but one that is the best for me and my newly formed family.
I have coached since the day I entered the classroom. To be honest, coaching was really something I wanted to try as well as a way to get my foot in the door with a district. When I was single, I thought I could coach for the rest of my career. Sure there were long nights and early mornings, but what else did I have to do? As I began to progress through engagement and into marriage time became more precious. Suddenly there were more forces at work pulling me all over the place. I wanted to do everything, but I was severely limited due to my coaching responsibilities. My wife and I began talking about what a family would look like and our desires for how it would operate. We didn’t agree on everything, but we did agree that coaching and family life don’t go together in our household. We decided that when we began our family it was time to begin looking for the ability to teach but not coach. I lucked out this year because some situations happened that opened up a full time history teaching position for me to take. Part of my brain thought I would have to leave my district and search for a position that didn’t require me to coach, but luckily that didn’t happen.
I’m really happy to be able to commit to more family events this upcoming school year. I’m excited to be able to take off a Monday, Tuesday, or Friday during the football season without being deathly ill. I’m really excited to be a true department head for the history team. I’m sad to not be around the awesome group of coaches at my school as much, but I’m excited to begin the rest of my teaching career.
Workouts and Growth
Most teachers I know have some goal that they set for their summers. Sometimes it’s to spend time with their families, travel a lot, or even spend time reworking their classroom for the following school year. For me, this summer is being characterized by waking up early to do P90X early in the morning before the rest of my family wakes up and growing a beard.
I have done the P90X program before, but this summer (so far) I have really committed to staying with the schedule. It’s been really good for me to wake up a little early and work out because it gives me time to finish and relax a little bit before our baby gets up and it’s family time. The workouts usually take about an hour (sometimes more) and I use my upstairs game room to keep the noise to a minimum downstairs. Oddly enough, I’ve really enjoyed trying the Yoga portion of the program even though I’m terrible at it and usually give up well before the end. I’m also still working to finish the Ab Ripper portion of the program, but I get better every time I try it. I’ve also been going on long-ish walks every night when I have the opportunity. I started downloading podcasts to keep me entertained on my walks. I’ve even thought about starting back up on the Couch to 5K program, but as of yet I have not. Overall I’ve enjoyed the summer workout regime and hope to keep it up through the summer and into the school year.
I have a love/hate relationship with the beard growing enterprise. Some days I really love the look of me in a beard. I’ve always humored the idea of growing a full beard and I usually grow some sort of facial hair during the summer, since I can’t grow any during the school year. The problem I’m finding with my beard is that some days it doesn’t bother me at all and other days it is itchy and almost unbearable. My goal was to grow out my beard for the entire summer, but depending on the day that may or may not happen. For now, I’ll keep it and I’ll post some before and after pictures after I shave again.
First Father’s Day at Pecan Lodge
When my wife, Haley, came up to me about a week ago and asked me what I’d like to do for my first Father’s Day it took me approximately a second to respond with, “Could we go to Pecan Lodge for lunch?” I explained to her that it had made Texas Monthly‘s list of the 50 Best Barbecue Joints and had gotten rave reviews with other local and national reviewers and she said ok. Little did she know that meant we also had to brave the line to get such awesome food.
Today started off just like a normal day with morning feedings. After the 6:00 AM feeding we casually began loading up the car to head down to my parent’s house in Irving, about forty minutes south of us in Denton. We made it to their house at about 8:45 AM and that gave the grandparents about 30 minutes of play time before he next feeding. At 9:15 AM my dad and I left for the dreaded line since Pecan Lodge is located in shed #2 of the Dallas Farmer’s Market. We made it to downtown Dallas, parked and were at shed #2 by about 9:40 AM. I was a little surprised we could get inside because every review I had read said the building didn’t open until 10:00 AM, but we entered and began to notice the intoxicating aroma of smoked meats. We quickly found Pecan Lodge and followed the line until the end, and we estimated the line to be about 50 people deep. For good food that’s understandable, but Pecan Lodge didn’t even open until 11:00 AM! My father and I took turns waiting in line until my mother and Haley came around 10:30. We sent them to go save a table for us and we continued to wait in line getting hungrier and hungrier. Finally at a little after 11:00 AM we heard the dinner bell ring signaling that food was now being served (the first person in line when they open gets to ring the bell). The line inched forward one person at a time until we got to the front. We ordered “The Trough” which is the family style barbecue plate with sausage, pulled pork, pork ribs, brisket, and a beef rib as well as an order of mac and cheese (or as the sign had it labeled “crack and cheese”). As soon as we ordered they made the announcement that they were out of beef ribs…boy were we lucky! Soon thereafter, a gentleman from the back brought out our tray loaded with food (pictured above) and we got down to business. We ate to our hearts content on the tray of smoked meats and there was plenty left to take home for later. Our consensus winner was the brisket. It was thick cut, rubbed to perfection, and literally fell apart when you tried to grab some with your plastic fork. I personally was not a fan of the mac and cheese, but it was all gone by the time we left. Since our table was right out in front of Pecan Lodge, we talked with a lot of passer-bys asking us what different meats were on our tray. All this time our six week old daughter Caroline slept in her stroller, only stirring to get a bottle of milk at noon. Altogether a wonderful first trip into public with our baby girl and an outstanding first Father’s Day.
On the way home, Haley and I talked smoked meats. Her father competed in barbecue competitions in the past and still to this day owns a large smoker-on-wheels trailer and Haley always said he made the best brisket she had ever tasted. She even admitted that Pecan Lodge had the best brisket she had ever tasted. I’ve had her father’s brisket and I’ve been to a handful of other places on Texas Monthly’s list (although none rated as high or higher on their list) and this was by far the best brisket I’ve ever tasted. I look forward to trying out some other places on the list, but until I find something better, Pecan Lodge sits alone at the top of my personal best barbecue I’ve ever eaten.
Spending to Save?
As I posted about a few days ago, Haley and I added to our family a little over a week ago. Clearly, we knew our first child was on the way for quite some time and we planned on saving as much money as we could so that we could pay cash for her hospital stay. We did achieve our goal, but as always we ran into old Murphy’s Law and were forced to spend on some things now that should help us save money in the future.
The first thing that happened was my garage door opener (we have a split garage, so we have two) went out and needed to get replaced. It took shorter than I expected to get it replaced and since Haley was already on her maternity leave we didn’t have to take time off work. This is the one repair that happened that doesn’t directly translate into savings in the future. We don’t benefit much from the change, except it’s a lot quieter and it works a lot better than our last one. My fear is that this is an indicator that our other opener is on its last legs and may need to get replaced soon. That being said, I’m so happy to have a garage door opener that isn’t so loud that it wakes up the entire neighborhood when it opens. That is the other benefit since two rooms in our house are located directly over our garage.
The second thing we’ve done in the past couple of weeks is to refinance our house. In all honesty, this is a no-brainer for us and we started it about a month ago, but it all culminated this week. We refinanced to a 30 year fixed-rate mortgage that was at a considerably lower interest rate. This lowers our monthly rate be a few hundred dollars and gives our budget a little more flexibility in the coming months with a new baby. We wrapped most of our closing costs into the new mortgage and only had to pay a few hundred dollars, but we will get some money back from escrow and our old mortgage company. This is going to be huge for us down the road because we will probably never see interest rates this low for a long time and our local bank and title company has been wonderfully accommodating since we have a newborn to schedule around.
The last thing that we’ve had to spend money on is we had to buy a new dryer. Since we’ve moved into our house about two years ago our dryer has been spotty at best. We have days that it works perfectly and days that it won’t dry a thing. We reached our breaking point this week with it and ordered a new one. Before this I tried everything to give it a last burst of usefulness. I cleared the vent on the indoor and outdoor side with a nifty little brush, changed the basic dryer hose with a semi-rigid hose to promote air flow, and even took a leaf blower to the vent to clear it all out. When all of this didn’t work we decided to have it replaced with a newer model. This model is going to be more efficient and will no doubt dry clothes faster than our current one. On top of that, we cleaned out the fire hazard that was our clogged venting, so this was a no brainer.
All these things were stressful decisions to make because we were eating into savings, but in the end they will for sure make living with an infant much easier and cost efficient. I think sometimes I get caught up in the short term without thinking about the long-term implications. Either that or I’m rationalizing the spending of a lot of money. I think that these were the best decisions for my family both now and in the future.
Bundle of Joy
On Wednesday May the 1st at 12:49 PM, the Horner household went from a two person house to a three person family! Caroline Horner came into the world and it has changed our family so much. Haley and I have been overwhelmed with the outpouring of support from both of our families. Both sets of aunts and uncles have been in town and both grandmothers are going to be taking turns helping us (and by us I mean Haley mostly) with the first few weeks with a new baby. Haley and I have already learned so much in a few short days and are excited to be parents. We are so blessed to have families willing to help out as much as ours are. Stay tuned for pictures and updates!
It’s the Final Countdown
We’ve done everything we’re supposed to by now. We have gotten the nursery together, had multiple baby showers, interviewed pediatricians, contacted relatives, made numerous visits to the hospital, and attended three classes through our hospital. I’ve read books, she hasn’t…which is a bit odd. We’ve done everything we can think of to get ourselves and our home ready for our baby to come home, so now we wait.
For the first time today it hit me that in not too much longer we’ll be a family of three. I’ve said that before, but this time it’s hit me hard. I think it’s because the other couple due right around us is on the maternity/paternity leave and that means ours isn’t much behind them. I’m nervous, scared, excited, lost for words…everything all at once, and that’s strange for me. Hopefully, everything works out as it’s supposed to and everything will go relatively smoothly. We have a doctor’s appointment tomorrow with a sonogram scheduled, so I guess I’ll know more tomorrow.
Classes Are Done
Monday Haley and I finished our pre-baby coursework. Our hospital offers three classes for new parents, and while they aren’t mandatory they are recommended. At first I was a bit hesitant, but after going to them all we really learned a lot and feel better about the prospects of taking home our child in six weeks or so.
- The first class we took was called “Prepared Childbirth.” Of all the classes we took, I feel like this was the most important because it at least gave me a basic understanding of what to expect when we motor off to the hospital. They went over hospital procedures, choices we needed to make, and generally got us to understand how you birth a child at their hospital. We also got to go on a tour of the pre-natal and postpartum areas of the hospital, which will come in handy.
- The next class was the “Baby Care and CPR Class” which was super-helpful as well. They told us about basic baby care and when we needed to seek medical attention. We also got a crash course in infant CPR and what to do if the baby begins to choke (which is pretty likely). We also took another tour of the hospital during this class.
- The last class was also the one I was most weary about going to, “Breastfeeding Class.” While I still maintain that I would have been fine not going to this class, the understanding of how everything needs to happen as well as how often it should be happening was very helpful. They offered another tour, but we declined.
Overall I wouldn’t say that I’m ‘prepared’ for the big day, but I feel like I have a better understanding than I ever had before. We’ve also gotten the nursery done (pictures to come) so now my only thing left to do is pack a backpack for our trip to the hospital.
Pediatrician
Today was definitely a first for me. I went to a baby related doctor’s appointment with no baby in tow (she’s not due for another two months) or my wife. I went and me with our soon to be pediatrician’s office to get information and see the office. Usually they have group meetings with the doctors and multiple parents, but today I lucked out and got to spend a few minutes one-on-one with one of the doctor’s at the practice. I was a little shocked when the founding doctor of the practice walked in wearing jeans and a very fashionable shirt, but I got over that very quickly. He wanted to know a lot about my wife and the details of the pregnancy. We spent a few minutes talking about the particulars of the practice and how they operated. I asked some very benign questions to him and he reassured me. Did I mention that all of this happened in an examination room? I walked out of the office with only one dilema, the fact that it had taken me around 15 minutes in traffic to make it about a mile and a half from my house. I decided to do some reconnoissance work going home and I figured out that there is a less traveled, very easy back way to the office from my house. I’m sure at some point I’ll have some sort of disagreement with their office, but for now I’m satisfied with our choice of pediatrician and it’s a good thing to have in my back pocket as we move forward in the pregnancy.
In Process
I like to pride myself in finishing what I start. I like to think that when I put my mind to it I can get things done in a timely fashion. You would think that having our first baby in April of this year would push me to get everything set and ready for her arrival in the swiftest of fashions, but I’m really not feeling like it.
I don’t mean to say that I’ve been lazy. We’re getting things done, but they just aren’t happening at our usual pace. For example, I spent a weekend during our Christmas break knocking out DIY jobs around the house, but restoring the house to a livable space still hasn’t happened. Our upstairs area is an absolute wreck, but we’re waiting on certain things to happen before we can really move forward. Another example is that the nursery is waiting to be painted. We’ve moved stuff out and even picked out a color to paint it, but that’s where it stands…bare room with paint swatches on the walls to compare colors. It’s about time to buckle down and get things done again and I’m hoping this weekend I’ll get motivated to at least start the painting of the nursery because I hate painting and would like to get it done.
The silver lining here is that I realize my laziness and thus my conscience will only let me get so far gone before it goads me into action.