Exhausting Friday...

Yesterday was exhausting. I got the boys up and fed and we left the house by 9:30. We made 7 stops in 5 hours. The boys were exhausted. It was good to get everything done in one outing and the boys were excellent. By the last stop or two, I was sitting in Publix parking lot and telling myself "We can do this!" Wal-Mart doesn't carry several items that we use on a weekly basis (Kefir, our meat, dried fruit for Peanut, etc.) so we always know for grocery shopping, we're gonna have to make two stops, but for Friday, since we were already finished with 5 stops by this point, I knew the boys were tired and I was too. I had planned to write a list of what was left and send Hubbie early Saturday morning, but I thought that was silly. We were RIGHT there and the boys could do it! So we did it and they did!

Once we came home, I hurriedly put away all the food and started prepping and making dinner for us and a MOPS mom. The boys were tired and cranky, so I went ahead and put them down for a late nap so that I could focus on the kitchen items that needed to be done. The boys slept beautifully, so I went ahead and woke them up early, we loaded up the car- much to Bubbie's dismay- and left for our friend's house.

Funny story about the food...well...not hilarious for me after the hectic and crazed day I had had.... I burnt the bread I was suppose to take and then I doubled the casserole and it looked like the items were floating in water.... I mean, it just wouldn't cook. I thought, oh brother! what am I suppose to do. Thankfully I had more rolls- not as many as I intended to take her family- but enough (I hope?!) and the casserole seemed to come together okay. We'll see what she says next time I chat with her!

The boys were VERY happy to finally be home and settled. Bubbie said several times that he was glad to be home! I was too! It was a good day and productive...at least on the outside of our house...now its time to tackle the inside... It looks like a bomb went off! :)

Friday! Whew!

We made it.... I am so glad its Friday. This week has been a doozy! I'm not sure Hubbie has ever worked quite this much. I am so ready for the month of January to be over. It was a good month. We found out that we were expecting no. 3. We were able to buy our van. We get our income tax stuff, so we can file and we don't (as far as we can tell) owe Uncle Sam. So, I mean, all in all, its good. We've had some rough patches. I mean, buying the car with cash really made us empty our pockets and scrounge for pennies! We had to clear out some of the "envelope" money and dip into our reserves, which is fine and dandy and what its for and it'll be built back up in no time, but then Hubbie's car needed tires. If you haven't checked on the price for tires lately...they are expensive! So, anyway...when we were already low, we had to buy tires. And this was all before the 15th of the month and Hubbie only gets paid once... so its just been a long, low money month. I am ready to be able to stock my pantry, because we are BARE! and buy some things that we've been needing all month!

Tomorrow I plan to register the boys for "school". We have decided on a school that has both a Mothers Day Out program and a Preschool program. Bubbie will go half days- 5 days a week. I really struggled with this decision, but Hubbie helped me with this one and I trust his judgment. He will be almost 5 by the time school starts. Peanut will go to Mothers Day Out once a week- for 4 hours. We have the option of sending him twice a week and it might be better for him, but I just think he's so young. I know he won't be by August, but still...he's my baby. I think I'll hang on to him for a while longer. So, one day a week I'll have 4 hours to myself. I will really enjoy this luxury from the beginning of August until baby no 3 comes- middle to end of September. Those will be fabulous half days and I REALLY look forward to them. Once the baby comes, it'll be a chance for me and baby no 3 to bond in complete quiet, run errands, me to take a shower or maybe clean. I am somewhat settling for this school. Don't get me wrong. Its great. It has great reviews. I loved the curriculm and the structure. I even met the teachers and director on Open House day and I didn't have a problem with anything.... I just wish I lived closer to my "dream" school. Its a 25 min drive and that would be a 25 min drive 4 times a day and 5 days a week. I can't imagine doing that with a newborn and a 21 mo old. Ha! Yeah...I would be insane. Even if I could carpool. I'm sure there would be days and weeks that our schedules wouldn't mesh and I'd end up having to still go. I just don't know if that's a wise use of money (gas) and time. So, we'll do this school for this year and play it by ear....no one ever says you can't pull your kids out. Lord willing, our kids will not be as sick as Bubbie was this past fall....but I'm bracing for it. Kids do get sick a lot and seem to be spreading-germ-factories!

After registering the kiddos, I plan to have some time to myself. I think I'm going to meet a friend for breakfast and then go shopping and run a few errands. Nothing specular or fancy...just some time away from the kids. It'll be nice for the kids to spend time with Daddy too. They've barely seen him this week.

I am getting baby fever(yes, I know I'm pregnant) and itching to find out what this baby is so I can go shop for baby bedding and clothes! I can't wait to find out... even if its a boy...it'll still be fun to shop and know! :) I have found so many cute websites and clothing ideas and bedding pictures. I saw the cutest idea for a wall mural for a baby boy's bedroom. It was just precious. I just can't wait to find out and get started! Unfortunately, I've been told that the docs are waiting even longer these days- with Bubbie I found out week 16, Peanut I found out week 19.5 and now....week 21. Ugh! Like May! Double Ugh! :) Oh well..... it'll be worth it once we find out and actually use a name. Speaking of names, we've gotta nickname this lil dude...or dudette.... baby no 3 is so wordy and uncaring. Any suggestions?

An Award

Marianne from The New Frugal Mom gave me this award today for commenting and reading! How lovely!


Marianne's blog is a new blog that I've found recently and I'm not really sure how. I have really enjoyed reading her posts and look forward to making this in my "new-to-me" bread machine! I also plan to give "Krogering" a try. I've never been much for Kroger and find their prices a bit high sometimes, but you should see the deals this gal comes out with!

So, thank you to Marianne and now I am to tag 6 more people with this award. This is being awarded to 6 gals that comment on my blog the most. I can always count on them for a nice word of encouragement or just a comment to know that they've been reading! Thanks gals!

1. Heidi- God's Grace in Practice
2. Chris- What's In Sissy's Head
3. Lauren- Baseballs and Bows
4. Kelli- Gohn Crazy
5. Jana- Sidetrack'd - that has had a REALLY rough month...going on two.... Love you SIL!
6. Lisa - Just a Spoon Full Of Sugar

I did want to say, I love commenters and to know that you've read my blog is wonderful! Thank you for taking your time to read about our lives!

A Ball of Emotions!

I have been a ball of emotions lately. Whether its been sad or happy or crying or whatever! I just seem to be like a yo-yo going up and down! I've been sad because Hubbie has been working so very much. Its very hard to not have him coming home at his normal time. I can't remember the last time all four of us sat down to eat a meal. Maybe it was Sunday after church....but even that feels like forever ago. I called my Bible Study Fellowship leader on Monday and told her that I would be missing my discussion group that night, because Hubbie was going to be pulling another late night. I started crying when I told her our wonderful news. I am so thrilled to tell ANYONE we are expecting, but, for some reason, when I mentioned a few things that have been on Hubbie's and my mind, concerning the baby, I got a lump in my throat and had a difficult time speaking. This baby is such a blessing. We continue to smile when we think about our family growing and are (AGAIN) thrilled, but the idea of this child potentially becoming our last....well.....its sad and heartbreaking and just not a thought that I like to think about. I don't know if our family will ever be finished and maybe some women never get rid of that nagging feeling, but I just know that I am 26- almost 27 yrs old- and that is so young to have my baby days ending.

Thankfully I have been feeling fine tummy wise. If I eat a normal size meal, I'll feel yucky. I try to eat more small meals, but I tend to eat 3 meals and no snacks. I have not been deathly sick once, so I am very thankful for that. I can't imagine being really sick and Hubbie working as much as he has this month. Most of all, I'm just tired. Ready for nap time when it finally gets here and SO ready for bed time! Its about all I can do is make it from nap to bed time, get the house semi-straigthened, dishes finished and then I collapse on the couch and wait for Hubs.

So, I am ready for Spring and sunny weather so the boys can go outside and play. I am ready for Hubbie's work schedule to be not quite so hectic and for him to be home more. I am ready to stop feeling so darn tired and lazy!

Blog Post

I've gotten this email several times and instead of emailing a lot of people that might dislike me for emailing them a forward, I'm going to do it as a blog post! If you want to play along, let me know so I can read yours too!

USING ONLY ONE WORD

Not as easy as you might think! Now forward, change the answers to suit you and pass it on. It's really hard to only use one word answers. Be sure to send back to the person you received it from!

Where is your cell phone? table

Your significant other? Hubbie

Your hair? brown

Your mother? Nana
Your father? Pops

Your favorite thing? my brighton jewelry

Your dream last night? odd since being pregnant i have LOTS of odd, strange and bad dreams

Your favorite drink? coke

Your dream/goal? i'm living my dream and acheieved my life long goal- wife and mother and now staying at home. i would really like to go to college and do some sort of financial counseling business
What room are you in? living
Your hobby? blogging

Your fear? death of people i love
Where do you want to be in 6 Yrs? debt free, own a home

Where were you last night? home

Something that you aren't? fake
Muffins? blueberry

Wish list item? house

Last thing you did? facebook chat w/ hubbie

What are you wearing? sweats

TV? on
Your pets? none

Friends? super fabulous! the best ever!

Your life? at the moment, stressful
Your mood? annoyed

Missing someone? yes
Drinking? no
Smoking? no
Your car? van
Something you're not wearing? lipstick

Your favorite store? Target

Your favorite color? green

When is the last time you cried? monday

Who will resend this? since i'm not sending this, who knows!?

Where do you go to over and over? the fridge- filling kids cups OFTEN

Five people who email me regularly? ?

My favorite place to eat? MOES

Favorite place I'd like to be at right now? on a full, paid vacation with my husband, kids, parents, both brothers and their wives

Menu Plan Monday

I was suppose to post this yesterday and forgot about it! For more, visit Laura.


Monday- Impossible Cheeseburger Pie with veggies (Hubbie working late Mon and Tues)

Tuesday- leftover pie w/ veggies

Wednesday- Mexican food w/ chips and salsa

Thursday- Chicken pot pie

Friday- Campbell's Chicken and Rice casserole

Saturday Lunch- Sandwiches and chips
Saturday Dinner- leftover pot pie

Sunday Lunch- Leftover chicken and rice
Sunday Dinner- JTEAM/ bring food

Save Me Money!

I guess I'm on a blogging roll today since this is my second post today. Needless to say, its been a long day cooped up inside the house. Its cold and nasty and dreary outside. If you want to read about our cloth diapering day, read here.

For quite a while I made all of our bread, from scratch, by hand about once a week. Then the summer got here and it was hot and we got busy and Peanut started moving....and excuses, excuses, excuses. Needless to say, I haven't baked bread in months! I decided a few months ago that I would be on the lookout- either at a yard sale or on craigslist- for a bread machine. I finally found one yesterday, on craigslist, for $10. Woo Hoo! We went and picked it up last night. I can't wait to try it out. As I was reading the manual, I couldn't believe that there is a machine that mixes and rises and bakes your bread?! And all you have to do is dump the ingredients. Gosh! How lazy can I be?! It does everything...rolls, banana bread, sandwich bread, french bread! Jeesh! We're gonna be bread eating fools!

Day 1 of Cloth Diapering...

After lunch and the boy's bath (Peanut was especially dirty, so I went ahead and gave them their bath after lunch), I decided to give cloth diapering a try on this cold, wet afternoon. Since we have no where to go and Hubbie will be at work late, what better day to give this a try. I put a Cushies all-in-one on Peanut and I disliked it. It was big and bulky. It didn't seem to fit properly and it was the right size (per weight). I quickly took it off of him and decided to go with the old fashioned prefold and cover. I folded and wrapped Peanut according to all the videos on YouTube and NewBaby. I used my little snappi(best invention EVER!). Then I put the cute Bummis cover on and away he went. He has had no problems with walking or crawling. He dirtied one prefold during rest time. I had no trouble cleaning and removing the poo from that. I WAS surprised at how stinky the cloth diapers get. I didn't realize how well the disposables hide the pee smell. Yuck!

Once Peanut was diapered again, he was on the go. So far, day 1 of cloth diapering is good. I still have not gotten the wet bags for outings or a container or bag of some sort for the soiled diapers. For today- since I know I'll be washing a load or two tonight or tomorrow morning- Peanut was VERY messy at lunch-I used a bucket filled with soapy water. There is no sun out today, but the weatherman is promising a beautiful day tomorrow, so hopefully I can get the soiled diapers washed late tonight or early tomorrow and lay them out to dry in the sun during our playdate and errands in the morning.

For more on our journey of cloth diapering, read here.

The Beginning of My Cloth Diapering Journey

Hopefully my decision to cloth diaper will not land me on my b-hind, but we'll see. I have thought about cloth diapering for quite a while. Shortly before Peanut made his appearance Hubbie and I talked about it, but it seemed like such an added chore. I was a new stay at home mom and very pregnant and miserable. I did not want to think about doing anything more than absolutely necessary. My SIL and I had talked about it a few times off and on over this past year. When she and Stephanie made the bulge to cloth diaper, I got excited! They could be my guinea pigs (I mean that in the nicest and best way possible! Y'all don't look like guinea pigs!). They could figure out what type and answer all my cloth diapering questions!!! And they have! My SIL started cloth diaper out of necessity, because Boo was having REALLY bad diaper rash and other issues. So, once they began and I had talked to Jana a few times, I started to do research. Boy! I was overwhelmed. Little did I know about there are about a MILLION different sites, with different brands and styles and colors and sizes and accesories. Its like an unknown maze for me and one that seemed too daunting several times. Then Dana sent me an ad on craigslist for cloth diapers. I thought...hmmm....they are cheap and maybe this could be a good way to start cloth diapering. Just buy a bundle of things off craigslist (yes, another plug for craiglist! its awesome!) and see what you got and what works and go from there. I did buy $10 on 2 big bags of cloth diapering materials. Once I got the bag of stuff, I called Jana. I was still absolutely confused. Jana pointed me in the right direction, but I still had a ton of questions! So I wrote down what I had gotten from the seller and went online. I couldn't figure what I had gotten and what I needed to be able to use them on Peanut. Then, along came the diapering queen (ha!), Kelli, from Gohn Crazy. I had read her blog for awhile, but usually just read her on my google reader, so I guess I had never REALLY paid attention to her "about me". It said she loves cloth diapering! I thought Ah! Ha! Maybe she'll let me pick her brain. And boy! have I! She has been absolutely fantastic. She has cloth diapered both of her kiddos and has tried everything. She has a reason for using the diapers she uses and has really given me a lot of pointers and directed me in the right path. I even called her Friday and she let me ask her questions while she has sick kiddos at home! What a gal! So, between our chat, Facebook and email, I've been able to narrow down what I have, what I need to get to start cloth diapering with Peanut and kinda how to get started.

So, once we decided to begin to research and talk about cloth diapering, our idea was to begin to cloth diaper Peanut in hopes of knowing what we're doing and it not being so new for when and if baby no 3 came into our family! Well, surprise! surprise! the following week, we found out that we are expecting, so getting cloth diapering going has been a main priority.

The main reason we are cloth diapering is because with two kiddos in diapers, that is a lot of money every month, plus the added cost of wipes- it just seems natural to cloth diaper. Like I said, we've contemplated it before. I've thought about the water, gas and electricity bill increasing and seen several sites list that it costs about 73 cents a load to wash cloth diapers. Although, ha! ha!, I have another cheap-o, bo-neap-o method!!! I am going to line dry my diapers! I live in Georgia people. Its warm or hot from about March or April until almost November. Our Decembers have had temperatures in the 80's so I think I can definitely save money by line drying and shoot! maybe I'll like it and do it with more of our wash items- like towels, etc. Cha Ching!!!

In the lot of items that I bought from the craigslist lady was 12 covers (different sizes, brands and styles), 3 snappy's (for prefolds) and about 10 prefolds. The seller threw one all-in-one in since I was asking so many questions and she has almost potty trained her last child. I have decided to use prefolds and fitted diapers. For the new baby, I will use prefolds with covers until the baby gets over 10-12 lbs. Since I have no small covers, I am going to buy these one size wraps from WonderWraps. How awesome! These covers will grow with the baby and by that point I will more than likely need some more for Gray- since I only have 2 size Large covers- and they can share. They cost $12.95, so I'm gonna start searching for a better deal or maybe find some used. I do need to purchase more prefolds before we get started. I also need to purchase some wash cloths or wipes, a wet bag for outings and I have been told by my cloth diapering genuis- that these things are awesome! So we'll splurge for one of these! We will also need to come up with a way to keep the spoiled diapers. Jana uses a tupperware container. Kelli uses a big wet bag. I've also read to go to Target or Wal-Mart and buy a trashcan with a lid. Not sure which way we'll go. We need to figure out if we'll use a changing table for the newest member of the family. We got rid of ours after Bubbie got older, so we'll see... but I need to learn a diapering method with a central diapering station.

So, this seems like a very slow going journey, but eventually we will get there. We did a cost evaluation online to see just how much money we'll save. From what we can figure out is that if if we did this for 2 kids from birth to 3 yrs old, we'd save about $3600 over the span of 3 yrs. Since we're starting a little over a year late with Peanut, its a little less and we're also not buying diapers for baby no 3 for a while, so its probably less.... so we'll see.

Its gonna be more work and Hubbie and I've talked a lot about it. Hopefully this will be good for our family and work out well. We will continue to buy some disposables for overnight trips and for Mothers Day Out/Nursery/etc. I think I can train the gals at MOPS to learn how to use cloth diapers since its the same women in the class each time. Nursery, at church, might be a little different, since its all volunteer and different people every time. We'll just see how it goes! I think by going mostly prefolds, it'll be much MUCH cheaper! And definitely if I keep a look out on craigslist, ebay and other places like that... if I can find them gently used, then I'm sure to save a lot of money.

Any tips or suggestions?! Help this momma out!!!

Plans and Goals...

With the new baby coming sometime in September (I'm sure because of the scheduled c-section my doc will insist on, we'll have a definite date, but for now we'll just say the middle to the end of September), Hubbie and I quickly figured out that we have a lot to do before we make our family of four, become a family of 5. Two of the most important things on that list are vacations. We plan to take a family vacation sometime this Spring. Just to get away- relax and cut loose. Since we began paying off debt we have not taken one. We truly believe that while you are paying off debt that vacations do take away money from going towards debt. Especially people that are living month to month and are having a hard time paying their monthly bills, to us they shouldn't be taking any vacations....so I'm going against our beliefs here and demanding a vacation from Hubbie. I think after 3 yrs of paying off debt and working extremely hard- its time for a mid way break! :) A lot of people insist on a vacation every year, but we don't. Like I said we've decided to use our extra income to go towards debt...so this year we will take a family vacation to nowhere special- no plans or activities or extended family or friends....just us enjoying each other without cell phones and computers and work!

The other important thing for Hubbie and I to do this year is to take a vacation without the kiddos. It may only be a night or two and somewhere nearby, but we had planned to do this after Peanut was weened and with Christmas and birthdays, we just never did it. This will be a priority for us to celebrate our 7th wedding anniversary (in June). Hubbie is REALLY excited. I'm more nervous and scared about leaving my baby. I know he's a year now and weened and sleeping through the night, but still...I'm gonna miss my boys like crazy! I am looking forward to Hubbie and I to be able to talk and eating at a nice restaurant and not having to worry about whether I can split a meal with the baby or if the restaurant has a cheeseburger for Bubbie!

So along with those two things we have a list of items that need to be bought or borrowed, no matter whether its a boy or a girl.

Also, we want to pay off one of our last two remaining credit cards. They've been going down, slowly, but surely, but this one card's monthly payment is kinda high, so having that extra money every month would be fabulous with another baby being added to our family, so that is kinda no. 1 priority.

Of course, we need to save up the money for the deductible and make sure we won't be required to pay anything else. I do not like having medical or dental procedures or visits or anything without knowing up front what it will cost us. I want to be prepared- whether its saving that money or holding off on something until we have the funds. I do not like unexpected bills! I like to be prepared!

So, we have a few other things on the list that are semi-trivial, but things that we want or need before the big day!

We are praying that the Lord will provide the money to do these wants and wishes! The majority of these things are not needs and we will survive if we don't do any of them, but it sure would help in making a more comfortable home for our 3 kiddos!

A Winner!

We have a winner for the AquaJuice giveaway.

From Random.org.....

There were 10 items in your list. Here they are in random order:

1. Blogger quitecontrary1977 said...
2. Blogger janetfaye said...
3. Blogger Kristin said...
4. Blogger ann_was_here said...
5. Blogger Lauren@Baseballs&Bows said...
6. Blogger Kim said...
7. Blogger ann_was_here said...
8. Blogger cpullum said...
9. Blogger Jana (sidetrack'd) said...
10. Blogger Fun with the VanVeelens said...

Timestamp: 2009-01-24 01:38:21 UTC

Quitecontrary you are the winner! Congrats! And thank you to all who entered!

One More Day....Aqua Juice Contest

Don't forget...last day for the contest. I'll pick a winner this evening once the kiddos are in bed. Sign up here!

Awesome Opportunity

I know the pic has a glare, but I wanted to show what I got yesterday! Free detergent! Its a smaller bottle than I normally buy, but hey! its free! and its something to clean my clothes! I'll take it!!!

About a year ago I signed up with Clorox MomWire. I didn't really know if I'd get anything worth while or if it would just be coupons, but this has been such a wonderful opportunity for me as a blogger and mom. I've gotten free products- Clorox wipes, several coupons for free clorox wipes, the Clorox wand and set of refills, a book for Bubbie to help teach the importance of washing hands, etc. and yesterday I received a coupon for a free bottle of Clorox's new detergent. I'm sure I've gotten something else....just trying to remember what it was....oh yeah. I remember now. I got a bottle of the Clorox Anywhere spray. I really liked the spray, but decided to make my own at home to save money!

Signing up for this has been great! Its awesome.....getting free cleaning supplies in the mail!!! The goodies come in the mail a few times a year and I am so glad I signed up!

Its Snowing.....

All weekend long people were talking about snow! Let me tell you....it doesn't really "snow" here in podunk "Lu town". The most we get is flurries or ice. People around here are so silly. The day the weatherman mentions "snow"- the stores are out of milk, bread and eggs! Ha! I mean, come on! The worst thing we've had was a really bad ice storm a few years ago. So, this morning, when I saw little snow specks falling I called Bubbie to come and see. As soon as he saw the snow, he said, "I told you Mama. I told you God would make it snow!"


Once we got home from MOPS, the "snow specks" started coming down even heavier and actually do resemble "snow". The boys and I are sitting by the front window and admiring the snow...that is sticking to a few things!

Yes, Bubbie, you were right....God is good! He gives us such a beautiful thing to watch fall! The best part about our non-snowing town- we don't have to clean up or drive in the mess!

Note: to see the "snow" you might have to click on the pic to enlarge it!

UPDATED @ 4:30PM....the "snow" has stopped falling. anything that had accumulated on the ground, cars or toys has melted and the sun has come out! It was nice while it lasted. Now, bring on Spring!!!

Menu Plan Monday January 19, 2009

I'm back! I've continued to make my own meal plans at home, but they are generally pretty boring, so I decided not to post them. On Saturday afternoon, as I was making my grocery and meal plan list for the remainder of the month, Hubbie asked why I haven't been posting my menu, so I've decided to jump back on the bandwagon- boring menu plan and all! Enjoy!




Monday Lunch- Hubbie off! Yeah! Chicken salad and pita chips and salad
Monday Dinner- Leftover Lasagna, bread and salad

Tuesday Dinner- Hot dogs, oven fries and beans

Wednesday Dinner- Grilled Cheese and Taco Soup

Thursday Dinner- Homemade Pizza and Breadsticks

Friday Dinner- Leftover soup (from Wednesday) and cornbread

Saturday Lunch- Leftover pizza
Saturday Dinner- Date Nite! Kids eat chicken fingers and veggies

Sunday Lunch- Chicken Casserole and cornbread
Sunday Dinner- Visiting with G'parents that will be in town! Yeah!

Baking for this week. Hubbie made a batch of these for the boys, but man! I'm having a hard time not eating all of them. They are so good. We used BaylorMom's recipe. I plan on making a batch of banana bread for breakfasts this week and Hubbie also made 2 batches of his famous granola bars. Yummo! And so much cheaper than buying them in the store! He made a batch of chocolate chip and a batch of cranberry, raisin, wheat germ and flax seed. These are so yummy for afternoon snacks and quick breakfasts!

For more Menu Plan Monday, visit here. Also, don't forget to sign up for my contest here. Oh! And one more thing, if you haven't heard our news, go here!

The Big Announcment!

Drum roll............



We're pregnant! Yes, you read right! We are expecting baby no. 3. We are ecstatic and excited and thrilled and happy. I'm not nervous or anxious. I am so at peace about this baby. God was in TOTAL control of this situation and we couldn't be more pleased with the future.


Right after baby was weened, Hubbie and I had a really serious talk about continuing to stay off B.C. It was a very tough decision, because it could mean ANYTHING. Hubbie and I both felt at peace about the decision and gave up control. A few days later I brought the Lord a few concerns about putting our family in His hands completely. I mean, little things, that aren't deal breakers, that can make adding another baby more of a stress were on my mind. One of them was the sell of the car. Another was the health insurance deductible. Little things like this. A few weeks later, out of the blue, our car sold and we were able to buy a van with cash. This past week Hubbie came home and said that his job is switching insurances and get this- instead of having to pay a deductible AND 20%, like we had to with Peanut, we only have the deductible and the insurance picks up the rest! Isn't that incredible? And such a God thing!

I found out that I was expecting this past Thursday. I have had a little nausea, but nothing awful...yet....but we'll take one day at a time.

Like I said, we are all thrilled. We are not hoping or praying for a girl. Hubbie and I are both at peace with whatever this baby turns out to be. We have boys names picked out and ready and not even thinking of girl names AND I love the idea of having 3 boys! Lord willing, in less than 8 mos, we'll bring home our baby no. 3!

Bubbie is okay with the news and only wants to add this last baby. He says we have to leave room in the van for Nana and Pops... so to him- 3 kiddos is enough! Of course, Peanut doesn't have any opinion, but it is kinda sad to look at him and know he won't be my baby in the Fall. He is just so darn cute and cuddly.

So, keep us and especially this baby and the pregnancy in your prayers. They would be greatly appreciated. I am praying for a healthy, safe pregnancy and no complications- like no placenta previa this time around or breech babies or anything serious...just a normal pregnancy with no serious problems!

Check out the contest, go here and sign up.

AquaJuice Giveaway

Being part of MomSelect gives me to opportunity to review different products. We were thrilled to get a package today on this cold, cold day from MomSelect to reviewq! Inside the package was a bottle of Welch's AquaJuice. We received the apple juice flavored water and surprisingly, it tasted really good. I am more of a water drinker and don't need the extra flavorings in order to drink it, but Bubbie on the other hand, does not like water anymore and I have been known to add a little flavoring in order to trick him to drink the sippy cup of water! I gave Bubbie a cup of the AquaJuice, knowing it was partly water, and he drank it and asked for more, so I think this has my kiddos approval! My favorite part of this drink is that it does not have high fructose corn syrup. So many products on the market are advertised as a kid friendly, healthy, organic and "mom" approved, but yet, it still has the corn syrup. I am very pleased with this product and will continue to have this in our house.

MomSelect and Welch's would like to give you an opportunity to try this out too. I am thrilled to be able to give away one bottle of AquaJuice to one lucky winner.

In order to be eligible to win, please comment. If you would like to earn extra entries, twitter or write a blog post about this contest. Make sure you include links to MomSelect and Welch's and back here to Hyperactive Lu, so people know where to sign up. Also, comment back here with your links to the extra entries (twitter or blog or both!)So you can earn 3 entries! How cool is that! The lucky winner will be drawn next Friday evening. Good luck!

How Cool!

While wandering through Target or as I like to refer to the store, Tarjey, I saw that they are now selling nursing covers. Now the designs aren't quite a fashionable as these and still about the same price (although I was able to find my new from a store closing on ebay), but still if you're not to buying things online or want/need something today, its a great thing to have! The nursing covers that Babies R 'Us offers are UGLY!

Tarjeys is also selling wraps, like my sleepy wrap and Hotslings. They don't sell very many sizes in the Hotslings. They usually sell a size 3 and 4 and I have a size 4... if you're busty at all, you're gonna need a larger size or at least measure yourself before buying. Mine is too small now that Peanut is larger, so I think I'll invest in another one, just a size 5 this time.

So if you're in the market for any of these, take a look at Target. You might be able to save a little on shipping. My favorite thing is to find these things used or discounted online through craigslist or Ebay! I love saving money!!!

With all this Target promoting, I should have been put on the payroll!

Life Is Good...

Last night I got some of this.....

-if you haven't looked it up, its a great study on Moses right now.

and one of these......

-or as I lovingly refer to them as....my cup of loooovvveeeeee.
Haven't tried on? French Vanilla is awesome! Hmmm......yummy!

And then I came home to the kiddos in bed, sound asleep and the folded clothes, on the coffee table, were being put away by my dearest and sweetest Hubbie.......

Bad day gone. Life is good.

Bad Mood Mommy

I was sitting here and it finally dawned me.... I am in a bad mood. Not just a sorta funk, but down right bad attitude, ready to pitch a fit because I can't get my way mood. Ha! Very unflattering for a gal my age.

Why am I in a bad mood? Not exactly sure if it was one thing or not. Last week was extremely busy, stressful and just unpleasant. I was thrilled to be selling the car and it was surreal, but at the same time it caused a lot of stress with Hubbie at work. He can't take time off because of a project and he had deadlines last week and he was having to look at cars before work, during lunch break or leaving early. The day we bought our van, Hubbie had only intended to be away from work until lunch time. When he found the Odyssey, he knew he needed to go ahead and make the purchase. It just took longer than expected. He didn't even get to work until 4:30 and he had deadlines and meetings the next day. He was at work until 1:30am- got a few hours of sleep and then went back in to finish up. That was enough stress.

So, with any large purchase, like the van, it just puts me on edge... we depleted our savings account in order to pay for the van with cash. No problem and in reality, its not big deal. The savings account with be built back up in a month or two, but then Hubbie drops a bomb on me- he needs tires for his car! Argh! Money! Money! Money! Everywhere I turn someone is asking me for money. I can say that God is so good. He meets our needs and I'll really worry about a medical bill or something and I'll find out that the insurance has picked it up....so I don't need to worry about money, but just the added stress of yet another cost that wasn't expected....argh! more beans and rice!!! ;)

Even though this might have put me in a funk- I am very thankful, relieved and grateful for the sell of the car, the find of the van and Hubbie's wonderful and relaxed management co-workers, bosses, etc. that enabled him to be able to be away from work a lot last week and the cash to buy a van without credit.

So, why would Hubbie being stressed put me in a bad mood? Well, it didn't necessarily... I mean, I don't want my husband to ever be worried or annoyed or upset and I knew he had a lot on his plate last week, which made my load even great. A lot of things that he would normally handle, I ended up doing, which is fine, I'm not complaining, it just made my normal crazy, busy and stressful week of to-dos and things a little more chaotic with two kiddos. So, come Saturday I was depleted. Hubbie left early Saturday morning to run a race downtown and he was only gone for about 4 hours, but those 4 hours were awful when Hubbie is normally home helping on Saturday morning. I was READY for a break from the kiddos. I think they had sensed our stress and Bubbie was more than TALKATIVE and Peanut was teething and clingy and ahhhh! I was ready to leave the house and say good-bye for 2 hrs! That didn't happen on Saturday! As soon as lunch was finished with and the house semi-straightened- Hubbie did something TOTALLY out of character- he got the ladder, went up on the roof and started cleaning the roof off, raking and getting the yard cleaned.....which is FANTASTIC....I am just the person that usually initiates change and order and cleanliness and I was, again...ready for a break! When the kiddos went down for the rest, I was done!!! :) I wanted to be lazy, do no chores and just be done! Hubbie and I got quite a chuckle out of Hubbie's need to be busy on Saturday, because its just so unlike him and I love the change....just not on this particular Saturday!

Sunday was fine- we woke up, worked at church, came home, ate lunch, boys napped, I got about 30 mins on the couch alone and Hubbie did a few more projects around the house and off we went to JTEAM. Last night was different at JTEAM, not as many people there, so not as many teenagers to help watch the kiddos, which was fine, but Peanut was quite the handful. Nothing made him happy. He didn't want to be held, but he didn't want to be let go either... he was just cranky and Sunday nights are so difficult for me and the baby. Peanut goes to bed between 6 and 6:30. Its not something I originally planned, but just a time he gets really cranky and sleepy, we put him down and he's out until the next morning around 6 or 7am. So, with small groups starting at 5:30 and going until 8 some nights, Peanut is just finished and done and ready for bed.... so last night I ended going upstairs with the kiddos so that Peanut could be loud and cranky and play. I didn't necessarily mind and the church even paid me (which I really didn't want) for being in the room, but its so frustrating to be there to socialize and talk and learn, but have to tend to your children instead. So many Sunday nights are like this for me. Even if there are more teenagers to watch the kids, either the baby starts crying or he's a handful before we get started and I don't get dinner until all the food is gone....whatever....Sunday nights are just frustrating and something that I want to do, but I almost wonder if its worth it for our family with a baby.

So, if Sunday night wasn't enough, I woke up this morning and realized that I had a MILLION things to do that I had forgotten about over the latter part of last week and the weekend. Boy! Is that a bummer when all you want to do is play around on Monday....the one day this week that we have nothing planned....so I've been a busy bee with a baby clingy and crying....

So with all these things in the past week that have put me in a funk, I can say that I am quite a blessed lady. I have a God that loves and cares for me and that answers even the silliest of my prayers! My husband has a job and only one and works tirelessly for us to provide a home, cars, food, clothing and all the other necessities and wants. I have a family that loves us, helps us, encourages us and most of all is there for us. I have friends and a wonderful support system that I could call day or night on and they would be here in a flash! We love our church home and friends. We feel that this is the place God called us to be and we love it- especially our JTEAM. I have two kiddos that are healthy and have been since after Thanksgiving (by the grace of God and answered prayers!) and even though they are VERY talkative, wild and have to get all 4 teeth at once....they are great kiddos and I wouldn't know what to do without them. We have a new-to-us van that is paid for and is another answer to prayer.


So I am blessed and lucky and all those things and I sure as heck don't need to be in a bad mood, but I am....so I guess I'll pray that I get out of the funk quickly and beg Hubbie for a BREAK soon. I've been with the kiddos non-stop for almost 2 mos and I'm done. I need Mommy time-no chores, to do lists, cooking, baking or shopping....just time alone- to do NOTHING!!! Its been a while since I've gone this long between a break, but with Christmas and birthdays and stuff, our schedule has been crazy! Its time to let this momma out.....

What Happened?

Ever since Bubbie was born, our Decembers have always been hectic.  Well, really, August through December have been crazy.  It never fails.  Didn't matter whether we had one child or three.  Things just pile up and we want to do so much and see so much and spend as much time together possible and spend as much time outdoors as we can.  I have always said, though, that January is our slow month.  Very boring.  It has always been a nice break after a crazy and hectic few months.  Well, no more boring Januarys.  I have just written in the last "need-to-do" and our calendar is packed.  How in the world did this happen?!  What happen to my lazy month?!  Between Hubbie's crazy schedule and caring for 3 little boys, this mama is going to be one tuckered gal come February! 

The things on our calendar are exciting though.  Fun things.  Things that need to be done.  Possibly even a few days off for Hubbie to spend with us after quite a while without a vacation!  I really don't remember his last "vacation"... it was probably the beach in July!  Thankfully he's had holidays off, but if we're talking real vacation time, its been since July. 

Oh and speaking of calendars, after writing in several activities in my calendar later on in the year, I noticed that several of my months have been scribbled on by a certain cute boy.... Hmmm.....  too bad he doesn't earn allowances yet.  Otherwise he'd be buying me a new calendar! 

Don't Write Often!

I don't write often about good deals I find, unless its at a garage sale or Goodwill, but its very rare. Don't think I'm not looking or finding them. There are SO many blogs that have links and who posts devoted to coupons, where to save money, the CVS game, etc. etc. etc. But today, I do have a favorite of mine that I wanted to share.

Money Saving Mom has a link for a $2 off 2 of Johnson's Buddies soaps. I do buy these soaps. I try to stay away from fun, expensive items that are really NOT necessary to the survival of my children, but I love the Johnson Buddies soaps. They have the mess bag around them so that Bubbie can hold on to it and they last FOREVER! They are so worth the money. Usually they are the cheapest at Wal-Mart and they keep them in the baby section with the Johnson and Johnson soaps, lotions, etc. I used this coupon today to buy Bubbie some detangler (yes, he needs it desperately... his hair is so thick and unruly and I don't always have time to wash it in the mornings. And comb downs with water do not work on this kiddo's hair!!!) and some soap.

Anyway. Check it out. Its a great coupon if you already buy the stuff and especially if you can find a sale on it!

Giveaway!

Jenn from the Coupon Coop is giving away a Coupon Binder! Hop on over to her blog, write a post about it and then sign up!!!

The Results are In

I FINALLY took Peanut in for his 1st year check up! What an exciting day that was!!!! I always love taking my boys to the doctor. Not only are they always well behaved, but our doctor's office is really nice and germ free! They never make us wait and usually the heat is on, even if its 80 degrees outside....so we love our doctors!!!!

Ok, if you can't tell, I was being MAJORLY sarcastic. I hate taking the boys to the doc. I had to cancel the appointment 3 times, so obviously the appointment wasn't TOO important for me!

So, anyway, my Peanut is still a peanut... He did gain a lot of weight from his 9mo appointment to Monday- he weighed 17lbs 5 oz at 9 mos and weighed in at 20 lbs 5 oz the other day. He definitely has the long torso, but short legs after his daddy....he is 28 inches long. The doc said his hemoglobin and iron levels were great, which I was a little nervous about, because of lots of friend's breast fed babies needing to be put on iron drops....so I was prepared!!!

Peanut is still cruising along a few steps at a time. I think the most we've gotten to now is 10 steps. He crawls so stinking fast...faster than you can get to something. Its kinda funny to watch him crawl now! Ha!!! Like a machine! He loves to make you laugh and smile and get tickled at him. He plays with his brother and they are too cute together. We've started letting Bubbie keep his trains in the bedroom and closing the door when its Bubbie's play by himself time. That allows Brother to keep his trains and track intact and baby brother out. The plan is to get a playyard and set aside a corner of the room so that baby brother could be in the room and still not messing with the tracks.

The doc suggested we begin weening him off a bottle. Not sure about y'all and your second child, but I couldn't care less whether he drinks from a bottle or a sippy cup! I mean, he really just learned the bottle and holding it a few months ago, because before that the only drink he did drink was breast milk.... so if he does switch to the sippy cup without issues- great! but if not- no skin off my back!!! :)

He is teething 4 teeth AGAIN! My child is efficient. He can't do one tooth at a time...he's gotta do all 4 which makes him miserable at times and we go through a lot of shirts!!!


His next appointment is in April (since I'm 3 weeks behind for his appointments now). He did get two vaccinations on Monday and did really well. Monday was a B-A-D with trying to sell the car, looking for other cars, borrowing my mom's car....it was just a whirlwind of activity and things that had to be done! The boys were troopers and I had the car packed with snacks, music and books and I prayed a lot!!!

God Watches Out!

I am the brand new owner of a (as Lauren put it) new-to-me Honda Odyssey. It has low mileage for the year. It is white, seats 7, has great storage, but no CD player!!! Guess Hubbie will be installing that soon! Poor Hubbie has spent all day going back and forth between the dealership and the mechanic's shop. We passed on a Toyota Sienna. It has sludge problems with the oil. If you want to be honest about it, looks like the owners did not change their oil. The mechanic said to not even give the van a second thought and we did not pay the mechanic to take a look at it. All he had to do was hear about the check engine light and other things that Hubbie had observed and he said not to buy it. My mother took Hubbie up to the Honda dealership early this morning and he was able to test drive a Honda Odyssey, pick us up so that I could take a look and then swap cars with Nana. It was a mess, but thankfully everyone got to where they needed to be! Hubbie went back to the dealership around lunch time and has been haggling with them ever since. God does answer prayers. We have all been praying for wisdom. Hubbie and I never felt right about the other vans. Something would always keep us from even considering one- whether the price, the consumer reports website or someone's person experience with the brand, etc. With this van, Hubbie got an email yesterday about it selling for one price and then when he went in there today to negotiate they gave him a figure $2000 more! Hubbie has worked at a car lot before. It was the worst job he has ever had. It was a bad time in our marriage....stressful and something I begged him not to do. God had a plan though. He used that time in Hubbie's life to prepare him for this sell. Hubbie was able to haggle and "show" the dealership that he knew all the angles and ploys. They weren't able to pull anything on Hubbie. We got it smack dab in the middle of our ballpark figure! We are going to have to move some money around and eat beans and rice (just kidding!) this month and next, but we'll do fine. I am thankful that God was watching out for us and I'm gonna start praying over this van so that it'll last us MANY MANY YEARS, a few more children and need very little fixing!

The Car Search Is On...

Well.......................................................... the car SOLD!!!!!!!  I didn't believe it.  Even when I saw the checks in my hand.  We've been waiting and talking and hoping and praying for this day and it finally sold last night at 6:30.  Now the real fun begins.  We looked at a few vans yesterday.  We were almost sold on a van until we called up my dad and asked him to check consumer reports.  The year and make/model of the van we liked has MUCH WORSE THAN AVERAGE problems on the transmission and climate control.  If you live in Georgia, you know you do NOT want your AC going out.  It is quite hot the majority of the year here and we don't have $2000-$5000 to replace the transmission AND climate control.  So, we continued to look.  Hubbie found a better type of van today- more reliable make, good year, low mileage and RIGHT PRICE!  We're gonna test drive that this evening.  Of course, if we like the drive, etc., we'll have our local mechanic check it out first, but if he gives us the "go ahead", maybe we'll have a car by the end of the week!?  That would be super exciting.  

A lot of people have asked me and I mean, A LOT OF PEOPLE have asked me if we're gonna buy new or why aren't we buying new?  My answer is HECK NO.  We've had a new car before.  We have driven off the lot and the car depreciated A LOT.  We have had a $600 car payment EVERY MONTH.  We had taken 2 and 3 jobs to pay for that car.  If we HAD too, then maybe we'd finance a thousand or two, but nothing that we couldn't pay off in less than 3 months.  It just isn't worth it to us.  We're trying to get OUT OF DEBT, not get further into it.  Since we began to pay off debt, 3 years ago this month, we made a commitment to not use credit.  We don't.  Now, one day, we will have to to buy a house, but we're gonna have a LARGE (20%) chunk of change to go down on the house, only get a 15 yr mortgage and hopefully pay it off in less than that.  That is the goal, our promise and our family rule.  We pay cash.  If we don't have cash, we don't buy it.  

Not a brag or gloat...just a way of life.  We've been to the bottom of debt's hole.  It looked TOO dark and bleak.  We don't ever wanna go back.  Its just the Dave Ramsey way! 

So, our search continues....to buy a van.  

Reminders

I am constantly reminded that I have little children listening to my words. This past weekend I made little comments about the car selling and finding another vehicle. I don't think I necessarily "let" Bubbie see the worry or stress, but maybe the fact that our car was going to be gone caused some worry for Bubbie. After driving around the car lots yesterday, Bubbie asked if we were getting rid of the current car, what were we going to drive? I told him that that is why we were looking for another one and that he needed to pray( to Jesus to ask Him to find us a car ). Bubbie immediately said "Dear Jesus, Thank you for my toys. Please find us another car. Amen."

Tears were in my eyes while I listened to the most sincere prayer. This is truly what being a parent is all about. Getting to see the simple faith in God in your children.....

Life is good.

When Does Life End?

When does life end? Sounds like a very serious question, doesn't it? Not for my 4 year old. Once you get to age 7, you've reached "age perfection". Bubbie will go through every year and every birthday. He'll figure out how old Peanut will be when he'll be such-and-such age. He does this quite often. He even did this with Nana and Pops during Christmas Eve service. Nice, huh?!

One day he stopped at age 7 and I said, "Next is 8 yrs old"... he got VERY animated and said "No! No! NO! I want to be 7 and that's IT!!" In order to calm him down, I said "Ok and that we'd cross the 8 yr old bridge when we got to it!"

Not sure why 8 yrs old doesn't exist to him or why its so awful, but it is to my Bubbie....

Dare I Say It....

I'll probably jinx myself by writing this post, but hey! here it goes..... we have a buyer for our car. I am still quite apprehensive, because we've been down this road a time or two already. We would have a buyer and everything would be all set, then the person would talk to their spouse and back out. So frustrating to clean the car and get your hopes up and then have to go back. Don't get me wrong as much headache and pocketbook ache that car caused us- it also gave us a good, firm kick in the pants, made us grow up and we learned and grew from it. We took responsibility for the car and didn't file bankruptcy on it AS MANY TIMES AS I WANTED TO. We didn't do it and we pushed through. We were able to pay the vehicle off a year and a half early and that allowed me to quit and stay at home with my family. We could have never done that without our families help and support and my in laws keeping Bubbie and for that- we are grateful. The car has been a wonderful and reliable car and I know that was truly from God. We wouldn't have been able to pay $600 car payment and afford things to fix the car.

When we knew we were expecting baby no. 2, Peanut, we were hoping to be able to sell the car, but like I said earlier, it just never happened. I would like to purchase a van with the money from the sell of the car. Not only for when baby no. 3 comes(Hubbie keeps telling me....if baby no. 3. comes! Oh it will...just not sure when!)so we won't have the added stress of trying to find a larger vehicle, sell the car, etc. I would also like to send the boys to a school (Bubbie prek and Peanut MDO)next year about 20 mins away. If we had a larger vehicle I could carpool with a mom down the street - which would be fabulous, save both of us time and money.

So, today we play the waiting game..... The buyer has said they will purchase it if Hubbie fixes something, so he'll be busy today fixing and then we'll find out when the car will be gone....

Keep your fingers crossed and I'll be praying that the car sells and that finding another vehicle will be a total God send!

Cleaning, Purging and Thoughts on the Chapter Closed...

This week we have been quite busy around the house. The rearranging has finally been finished and all that is left is the window treatments being moved. While rearranging and putting the house back together, I was able to go through and purge a lot of our stuff. It feel so good to have everything cleaned out, a place for everything and the house orderly. During all this mad chaos I went through my dresser drawers and put my nursing bras and shirts away in my maternity clothes stash- right next to the cleaned breast pump. It was actually a very sad process. Nursing became my life for so long. When I found out I was pregnant, I started to do research. I asked EVERY mother I knew about their experience and any advice. I was like a sponge. I read blogs and website and books. Then the baby came and it was so very difficult.... I stuck with it....even after Peanuts desire to nurse EVERY HOUR ON THE HOUR for days and days.....oh my goodness....just thinking of it gives me the willies....... It was my life. I was a nursing mother. I didn't do certain things because I was nursing. It was like nursing owned me, which was fine, but it almost became my identity. I was a mother of a preschooler and a baby, who was breastfeeding. Some days I have to remind myself that I don't have to nurse or wear that type bra, because I don't have to pull my shirt up, get the hooter hider out and nurse my baby boy 3-10 times that day. Gosh! We are in the same book, but past that chapter and I am happy and thankful. I am glad to be out of that stage, not wearing nursing tops and bra and not having to always find a spot to nurse, but I will always look back at 2008 as the year of nursing my baby and adjusting to two.