When I look back at my marriage post at 7 years, I must say that the past year has been easier than the year before.
You must think I'm crazy for saying so. But I really do find the transition from no kids to one kid bigger than the transition from one to two kids.
When Gabriel was born, I didn't have to learn everything from scratch. I knew how to change a diaper, soothe a baby, breastfeed, put a baby to sleep, dress a baby and the list goes on. Hubby was also a second-time Dad so he could also depend on his experience with Sammy to help him to deal with Gabriel.
Of course both kids have extremely different personalities, but that's a different story altogether.
In short, what I wanted to say is that, the past year has been less tumultuous with 2 kids than it was when we only had Sammy.
It's true that with 2 kids, we have wayyy less time for ourselves. There's always something to be done and a kid who needs something from you. Not to mention the noise level that has gone up significantly with a baby's cries and a toddler's constant talking - which I'm happy about, don't get me wrong. I'm actually very happy that Sammy has started conversing more with us! :) But yeah, the house is never quiet anymore.
Oh and don't get me started on the laundry. On some days, it feels that all we're doing is hanging laundry, folding laundry, ironing laundry and putting it away before starting the same cycle one day later.
But somehow I must say that hubby and I really do make a great team! He's awesome at folding clothes while I'm great at ironing. He cleans up while I cook. He earns the money while I spend (just kidding!)
I reckon it's got something to do with him being a German and his need for order. His folded clothes are seriously the most 90-angled clothes I've ever seen - for homefolded clothes I mean. He even has a certain way to put his socks, such that I have to put the new socks on the left and he would wear them from the right to ensure that each sock is worn as equally as the others. The same goes for his office shirts. He literally goes through his wardrobe from the right to the left.
I think it's these little quirks that makes a person endearing (and frustrating too of course). But mostly endearing. Lol.
I really appreciate and treasure this guy. He supports my decision to be a stayhome Mom and as such, has taken the responsibility of being the sole breadwinner. It's not easy supporting a family of 4 in Stuttgart where things are pretty expensive. For one thing, eating out does costs a bomb here. My friends from the States were comparing how much cheaper it is to eat authentic Asian food there compared to here.
I digress. I'm thankful for this hubby who not only works but also helps out with the housework so that I don't have to do everything by myself. He loves spending time with the family and the kids adore him. He tries his best to answer my calls when I call him in the middle of the day if I need something (urgently) from him.
We would like to have more regular date nights, but we're very thankful for the couple of dates that we've had so far when the in-laws took care of little bubs.
I must say that the best thing that we enjoy doing at this moment of our lives, with a 2.5-year old and a 8-month old baby is ...... Going for M.A.S.S.A.G.E.S!
It's so physically exhausting taking care of young kids that we are just so desperate to give ourselves and our bodies a break when we have a chance to. Since we discovered a superb Thai massage parlor during my birthday last year, we have been longing to go back there. Hence, our wedding anniversary was the next best opportunity!
So we decided to pamper ourselves to a 2 hours mix Thai-and-oil massage. It was excellent! We loved every.single.minute of it. And hear this. The usual price of massage is 1€/minute (ie. 50€ for a 50-min massage). But at this place, we paid 75€ for a 2 hour massage. Isn't that great? Ok, try not to think about how much a massage costs in Asia. For German prices, what we paid was really price-worthy.
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| All excited for our massage! |
I'll leave you with something I wrote about my hubby on Facebook for our wedding anniversary.
I've been married to this guy, Stephan
for 8 years today! I'm a very blessed wife, mother to 2 boys and am
really contented with my life. Thank you Jesus for helping our paths
cross and bridging all the intercultural differences that we faced! It's
been a real adventure to follow my heart and looking back, I'm so glad
that I took this step to venture into the unknown of marrying this guy
halfway across the world, whom I was in a long-distance relationship
with for 3 years. Love you hubby!
Where we went for our massage:
2 comments:
Happy 8th Anniversary. Many many more to come. I can feel your happiness from your post.
CL - Thanks a lot dear! :) I'm very thankful for my hubby too. We're not perfect but we're perfect for each other. :)
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