In February 2023 we took a trip to Colorado for my brother’s wedding. We normally wouldn’t choose to go back to Colorado and especially wouldn’t choose the coldest month of the year, but it was for a very happy reason.
Aeden enjoyed the air travel and seeing snow for the first time. He also liked being with his family who has missed him and us quite a bit. We were happy to catch up with all our friends as well. We tried to do fun inside things like visit the Denver Aquarium, the Greeley Train Museum, the science museum in Fort Collins, the mall and of course lots of restaurants that we had missed (I think we actually gained weight in that month’s time!!).
The wedding in Breckenridge was beautiful and we really liked the gorgeous cabin we stayed in. Congratulations to Justin and Aundrea!
Of course it was quite the shock to the system to go from the tropical warm days to bitter cold so we were very happy and grateful to return once again to our now beloved home!
With the owner of the Love Castle, Don Cuchi Carrero
I had the recent pleasure of talking with the owner of the “Love Castle” or the conch house in Rincon. I have written briefly about this strangely cool place before, but I never knew the back story. We just happened to run into the owner one day and struck up a conversation and got it on video. It turns out he is looking to sell it although he is still (and always) doing more work to it!
We are constantly on the lookout for new plants, trees and flowers. It seems that most of the viveros have all the same common plants: trinitarias, hibiscus, bromelias, orchids, citrus, avocados. What they don’t have are heliconias, gingers, plumerias and all the exotic fruit trees. We are currently on the lookout for durian, Australian finger lime, and reina de las flores (this is a common tree, but for some reason we have a hard time finding it for sale).
Also looking for Rainbow Eucalyptus like this one seen on the side of the road
At the last pulguero in San Sebastian we had a good score! We found another Ylang Ylang tree (the fragrance is so divine, it is used in Chanel No 5), an achiote tree (a natural food dye for the color red and very cool looking fruit), a huge Tibochino espiga and a Raffy palm (that’s what the vendor called it). At Jardines Eneida we also found some new trees like a Cordia, Saman and mamayito (lemon drop mangosteen).
The meadow area after a good mow -we need to mow about every 2 weeks now that it’s raining so much
I also found this nepenthes pitcher plant that reminded me of well…you know
All the rain has brought out the mushrooms
And so we bought some garden art to commemorate them
Rainy days at the cabin. Notice the new railings!
Still not sure if we want to put rails on the bridge though
The mosquitos come out a lot more in the rain, so we put a mosquito net on Aeden’s play pen outside, that he promptly pulled down 🙂
He’s our little farmer so we did an impromtu photo shoot with him
Our little red is getting so big! 9 months now
Aeden’s 9 month video update
In order to find the heliconias and ginger varieties we want, we have to find direct vendors. The rhizomes don’t do super well in pots for long periods of time, so they have to be directly transplanted as soon as possible into the ground. They also need a lot of space and water, that the average home gardener can’t often provide (hence why they are not commonly found in the stores around here). Well, I found someone online who specializes in them! Not only did Carlos sell us some amazing rhizomes, he also delivered them from San German and helped us identify many of our wild species. We hung out for quite a while and got to know him pretty well. We scored some plants, but even more importantly a new friend who is as geeked out about botanicals as we are! He is a student at the University in Mayaguez and knows a TON about plants.
If you’ve been following this blog for any time, you know that we retired young and moved to the Caribbean to live the life of our dreams. Some people have made the comment to us that it is all fine and dandy to do that as a single person or couple, but it is altogether different with kids. And that is somewhat true. Having a child changes a lot about your life and realigns priorities quick. Children definitely don’t make things any cheaper.
However, I would say that it is completely feasible to live financially independent with kid(s). Being frugal and budget minded was what got us here and it certainly doesn’t (or shouldn’t) go away when you have kids. If you have good financial habits you just sort of incorporate them into the new life with child. Here are a few tips and tricks we have learned so far in our journey as frugal parents.
Hand-me-downs!
Baby stuff only lasts a short while. Take any offer of hand-me-downs that you can get, whether as a gift or bought secondhand. Many times they are only 3-6 months old and in great shape. We have a hand-me-down crib, breast pump, carriers and lots and lots of clothes and toys among other things. The only thing we have bought new was a dresser/changing table.
Photo credit: Laura Malischke
Breast feeding
Breastfeeding is not as easy as it looks and can even be painful (as it was for me in the beginning), so I completely sympathize with moms who aren’t able to do it, or do it for long. But it really is the best gift you can give your baby to start them out: from a strong immune system to parental/child bonding, it is an amazing thing. But the added bonus is that it is free! If you added up how much we would be spending on formula we have probably already saved hundreds of dollars.
Diapers
I really wish I could say that I use the reusable diapers we were given more than I do. We don’t have a washer and dryer near the house (actually we don’t have a dryer at all), so cleaning diapers would be a huge chore. That said, they are a great money-saving and environmentally friendly option and we have used them some. The good thing about disposables, however, is that you don’t have to change them very often because they can soak up a LOT of liquid, so one diaper often lasts through a whole night and you don’t need to worry about diaper rash as much. We were gifted a huge pack of diapers when Aeden was born and have only recently gone through them. I estimate we will need to spend about $40/month on them until he’s ready to be potty trained (around 2 years old).
Healthcare
Thankfully here in Puerto Rico health care and insurance isn’t too expensive. To have our baby covered by health insurance is about $90/month and has very low co-pays ($10/doctor visit).
Britton and Aeden by the sea
So all in all our expenses have increased about $150/month since having our baby which isn’t too bad! Since we are both home we can do things to increase our income (like selling flowers, renting out the cabana, etc) and take turns watching the child. Babies really don’t need much. They just need to be fed, cleaned and loved. And that, my friends, is priceless.
