Before I Have a Baby...

Sometime in the near future, meaning next couple years, we want to have a baby. There, I said it. But that's not all. Before we have a baby, there are a few things that I feel I need to check off. We'll call it, my pre-baby check list.

1. Payoff our house!  This is no small task, but we are on the right track. We will hopefully have it paid of in less than 18 months. Whoot Whoot : )
2. Visit Europe Our best friends in the whole wide world are moving to Azerbaijan. Josh and Leslie, well there is just not words to describe them. I love them so very much, and even as I write this, I have tears in my eyes thinking about their journey around the world, and their new lives so far from ours. I don't know why we are friends. If you were to write our lives out on paper, we are very different people. I cannot explain the ease and comfort and understanding that there is when I am with Leslie. I wish more of my relationships were like this. Free of judgement. Giving the other person the benefit of the doubt. Being honest with each other. Freedom to compliment each other. Freedom to be myself. The point to this goal, is that we can and we will visit them. Not sure whereabouts, but before we are with child I will trek across the pond.
3. Keep our house clean for 60 continuous days For me, this is a huge goal. Our house has never been clean for two days in a row. The only time it is clean is when we have company coming. Then they come. Then they eat and we all have fun. Then our house is no longer clean. 
4. Making healthy living part of my everyday life I like eating and I love cooking, so I have no intentions of only eating lean low calorie foods. I like Ice Cream. I like pasta. I like bread. I like steak. I like tacos. I like almost anything. But, I do have every intention of leading a more active lifestyle. 
5. Weekly date nights with my husband

These goals are not needs. They are desires. If I had a baby tomorrow, I would be happy. These are all things I wish to accomplish before I have a baby, and here are the reasons why.

1. Payoff our house To be able to bring a child into a home and family that is debt free would be a huge blessing. There would be little to no stress when it comes to finances. I would not have to work. Without house, car, or other loan payments, life is pretty inexpensive, or at least our lifestyle is. Our basic needs and wants would only cost us about $800/month x 12 months = $9,600/year.
2. Visit Europe This is a realistic goal. Once we have kids, I know that I won't want to leave them for a 2-4 week time period, which is the amount of time we want to spend in Europe. And I don't want to wait until they move out, so now is the most realistic time.
3. Keep our house clean for 60 continuous days I am a happier, more content person when there is a place for everything and everything is in its place. When babies enter your lives, I know that they do not make life easier. I have seen mothers. Women are not the same after children. Not in a bad way, they are just busier and they are more selfless. With this being said, if I can't keep my house clean for 2 days in a row now, how can I expect to keep it clean once there is a baby!
4. Making healthy living part of my everyday life This goes hand and hand with the clean house. If I can't do it now, how can I expect to do it with a baby.
5. Weekly date night with my husband Since we don't have kids, most of our free time is spent together. It is pretty easy for us to find time to do stuff together. But again, once we have kids, it will be more difficult, and there will be more reasons to have date night. My deepest fear is that Kenny and I will fall out of love, which is why date nights are so important to us. Marriage is not easy. It takes work. But it is worth it.

There you have it. I will keep you posted on my goals and my baby aspirations.

Nicole