Five Years!

Five years of Marriage……

So here is my blog about our life as a married couple of 5 years (can you believe it!?!) When we first got married we were poor…I’m talking eating mac and cheese and hot dogs for a week straight poor! We had one car between the two of us and we couldn’t have been happier. Our marriage was paid by us, we had jobs and were settling into newlywed life….. then we found out we were pregnant with Olivia……. We were overjoyed, ecstatic  and then panic set in. How the hell would we raise a child when we had NO money!?!? We figured out a plan that I would go back to work, Liv would be in day care every day except one  (the one day my mom had off so she would drive up to babysit). Well that plan was great until we had our first bundle of joy and realized that while it looked great on paper it was not realistic for us.  Some parent’s this is ideal for, however this was not how we thought it would be. Dropping her off at 6:30 in the morning and Steve picking her up at 5:30 at night when she was 8 weeks old was not how we were going to raise our daughter. After 1 month I quit my job and took her out of daycare. Mind you we both have degrees but what I wanted most was to be able to see my daughter’s first steps, first words etc, and I knew the way we were headed we would never see those milestones.  I started waiting tables nights, and working weekends, while Steve worked during the day. This worked out great for us for about a year and then we got the itch…. You know you wonder if there is more out there then living paycheck to paycheck, passing your child off to each other as we switched when one of of us went to work.  We started looking at different parts of the States where we could live that the cost of living would be cheaper. Right around that time, Steve was offered a promotion and included a move to Nashville! This was a big decision for us, we had jobs in New England that were steady, we had family that could always help us out in a pinch, however we still couldn't catch up on bills, felt like we never got to spend time as a family and the thought of owning a home was inevitable .  Our families had mixed emotions on our move, but ultimately it was our decision and we decided to take the chance and had 1 month to pack up and move! It was exciting time in our lives, Liv was about 18 months old……. and……then we found out we were pregnant again with Maddie! This didn't change out decision but did make it a bit more difficult in terms of moving… throwing up every ten minutes for 20 weeks, moving to a place where we knew NO one…and yet  it was one of the best decisions in our marriage!  We had to depend on each other for everything, we had no family to call if we needed someone to watch Liv, we spent holidays alone, once Maddie was born and had colic I remember Steve walking in the door from work and just handing him a screaming Maddie and just crying because she wouldn't stop crying... yet despite all of these obstacles we were really truly happy. Fast forward to 2.5 years later and we couldn't be happier.  I am able to be a stay at home mom, which I love, we are buying a house this summer, I am able to go up for a few weeks with the girls each summer, we have taken great family vacations, and Steve is graduating this May with his Master’s! Our five years were not always easy, but we saw the bigger picture and we both had the same goals. I look back and think we were so young, we were basically teenagers (ok I was 23 but still). Our lives are now filled with birthday parties on the weekends, Saturday morning mickey-mouse pancakes, and bedtime for all of us by 8pm! Our date nights have been replaced by eating dinner at 4:30 usually at a restaurant that has balloons (classy  I know), and romance is loading the dishwasher or doing the laundry without me asking! We are the kind of family that all squish in to sit together on one couch ( including the dogs) when there is other seats to sit in, just so we can all cuddleJ  I count my blessings to feel so loved by such a great husband, to have an amazing father to our girls, and to know he would do anything for us! I smile as I think what the next 5 years as in store for us.....