Today's Daily Dose

Reading

2011-01-09T14:13:00.000-05:00

Well, it's been a while, eh? After several weeks of slow going, we're back to our regular 3-4 day per week homeschooling schedule. I've taken a break from our favorite (and only) phonics book for a little while and we've just been doing a lot of random reading around the house. I'd like to share with you some of my favorite books that our kids enjoy reading from.....

While this set is called "Baby's First ______", it's obvious that babies don't read. Rather, a baby would identify the pictures on the pages. But the reason I really like these books is that the pictures are good for babies, but the text is great for early reading. We have five of these, although there are several more in the series (and one was missing for the pictures). The other day, Keaton sat down with me and read through every word in all five books. I am so proud of him!

So, first up....SOUNDS. The thing I appreciate the most about this book is the fact that some sounds are not actually real words (like "zzzzz" for sleeping), which forces kids to actually read the words and not just say what they see in the picture (which my daughter prefers to do).

Next we have.....COLORS. Pretty self-explanatory, I think.

WORDS. Really specific title, I know. I think this is what happens when an author wants to put a bunch of random things together that have no connecting theme whatsoever.

And finally, Reagan's favorite....the purple book. I mean, SNOOZE. As you may have guessed, this book includes all things bedtime-y.

But the reason it's her favorite has little to do with the subject matter.

That's right! It's a flip book!

And...the red book is called TOYS. And it's missing. Most likely carried off my our youngest child.

Anyway....I bought these books at Borders in the kids clearance section last year, so I have no idea if they are still around. But they do also sell them on Amazon (though the price is about triple what I paid).

Now that we've conquered all the words in these books....

we're onto these....

Will keep you posted. :)

If You Want To Read About My Woes

2010-11-02T18:26:00.000-04:00

In case you missed it, yesterday I announced my pregnancy and mentioned that I would be putting up a blog specifically related to being pregnant with hyperemesis. I've only written my history so far, my first four pregnancy experiences, but here is the link to that blog:

Hyperemesis......Again

Since the purpose of writing that blog is primarily so people can understand and be more aware of what hyperemesis actually is and how it effects (affects?) a woman's pregnancy, I'll tell you up front that there will likely be mention of things like bleeding, bowel movements, vomiting, and the like. So.....not quite G rated. If you're not interested in reading about any of the aforementioned things, I suggest you just stick to this blog. :) Or if you prefer to look at pretty pictures, my photography blog.

Homeschool, Day..........?

2010-11-01T17:54:00.000-04:00

I'm too lazy to check the calendar right now, but we're treading along with homeschooling. I've long given up the idea of unit studies as I found them to be extremely time-consuming. We are focusing on reading, writing and identifying letters and numbers (up to 20) right now and we throw in some books about random things as well. It's far more enjoyable for me than when I was spending hours and hours just coming up with 20 books and an outline for one unit study!

The kids are doing really well with their reading and slowly becoming faster at identifying words and sounds. I am loving the book we're using and am so thankful for those who recommended it to me.

I also cannot go on without putting in a plug for the show Sid the Science Kid. I am not much for Barney, Elmo, Sesame Street, etc., but this show is seriously full of learning. My three older kids love it and I appreciate the fact that they are gleaning some science by watching it....especially since I'm not all that interested in science myself. I know there are better moms than me out there who refuse to turn on the TV for their children, but I have not found myself on their tier just yet.

In other news, we are very excited to be welcoming our fifth child into the world early next summer! Due to my only being a few months along and very sick, school has been a little bit slower the past few weeks. We're doing at least 2 days per week, but my goal is 3-4. I appreciate the flexibility of homeschooling and know that my kids are doing great despite the fact that we are taking a few more breaks than planned.

How sick does one have to be in order to alter their school calendar? Well.....when pregnant, I suffer from hyperemesis, a condition of severe morning sickness and excessive nausea and vomiting that effects about 1% of pregnant women. I literally never feel good. Like....ever. In fact, I rejoiced over a 2-minute period of normalcy this morning when I first arose from my bed.

Due to the fact that this condition is almost always misunderstood by others and doesn't really receive much exposure, I've decided to record my journey on another blog. When I get things up and running, I'll post a link to it for those of you who are interested in reading more about that. In the meantime, if you're interested in learning more about this condition, you can visit the HER Foundation website.

Homeschool, Day 16

2010-09-04T10:46:00.000-04:00

Well, here we are....four weeks into our school year and I'm finally beginning to feel like we're in a bit of a rhythm. The kids seem to be enjoying it and - although I am continuing to find it extremely time-consuming - I'm really enjoying it too. Sienna does ask me on a fairly regular basis when they're going to go to a "real school" and I always answer, "I don't know".

We haven't committed to homeschooling for our kids' entire lives. We haven't even committed to homeschooling for a few years. But we made a choice to try it out this year and see how it goes. It's a difficult line for me. I feel insanely busy - more busy than I've ever been before - but part of the reason I'm so busy is because I'm also working. I know that my children are more important than working, but I'm also trying to create a business that will allow my husband to be able to work less. It's quite the conundrum, and we certainly haven't figured it all out yet.

After the first 5-day week of homeschooling, I decided to cut the school days down to 3 or 4 days per week. Five days was just...a lot. And since there are plenty of 3- and 4-day kindergartens out there, I feel that this is perfectly acceptable. I'm finding it really fun to relearn everything (and even learn some new things) as I teach my children. We did a unit study on the days of creation for the first few weeks of school and now we're onto a unit study on safety and emergency preparedness. I find the unit study method of teaching to be fun, but I wonder if I'm making more work for myself than is necessary. At any rate, it's working for now, so we'll stick with it for a while.

Today is Saturday, so I'm off to have some fun. But some of you (eh hem) have been wondering how school is going, so I thought I would update while I had a few minutes.

Homeschool, Day 4

2010-08-12T13:48:00.001-04:00

First things first....can I please see a show of hands for those of you who are absolutely in love with Ree Drummond (aka The Pioneer Woman)?

*raises both hands and waves them wildly in the air*

She makes me laugh. She makes me cry. She makes me wish I lived in the middle of nowhere and raised cattle for a living.

Wait, scratch that. I prefer the city. But I do love Ree. And today she happened to post a fabulous article on homeschooling that I just love. (Am I using the word 'love' too much?) I found her post both refreshing and helpful on the ever common topics of PATIENCE and SOCIALIZATION.

If you're a homeschooling parent, know a homeschooling parent, think homeschooling parents are weird, think homeschooling parents are awesome, used to be homeschooled, hope to homeschool some day, or never ever EVER want to homeschool your kids....I really recommend checking out that post.

But obviously, it's not for everyone.

Heh heh.

And now, back to us.

School has been going okay, although I definitely feel like I'm just making it up as I go. (Someone please tell me this is normal.) Yesterday I spent a good portion of the day creating a unit study on the days of creation. I finished, wrote down the call numbers for the dozens of library books I planned to borrow, and hauled the entire family (minus the hubby, who was working hard) to our local library.

Because I'm a terrible mom who constantly feels overrun by her four small children out in public, I've never taken my entire clan to the library before. (Please hold your gasps for the end of the blog post. Thank you very much.) They were thrilled to find a large play tractor, puzzles, a puppet show area, and computers among other things which I found to be highly distracting to grabbing the books we needed and leaving. I'm one of those evil mothers who would rather her children stand by her for eight tiny minutes so I can get the books I need than allow my children to run around screaming like banshees with the other ~~goblins~~ kids.

I think it took me about 45 minutes of chaperoning, running to grab a few books, chaperoning, instructing my kids to lower their voices, running to grab a few more books, chaperoning, deciding it just wasn't worth it to look for every single book on my list, insisting that my children lower their voices right this second, and finally allowing them to grab a few books that weren't school related to get myself in line. Then came the real fun.

Why on earth do they have almost exclusive self-check lines everywhere you go these days?! They are highly non-conducive to a woman shopping/borrowing/purchasing with three toddlers and a baby on board. And then, for the love of all things yellow, WHY is it so crucial that I put a completely blank card in the back of each book?????

Have I mentioned that my husband has been working 16-hr days 6 days a week for about 2 weeks now and I'm lacking just a little bit of adult social interaction? You can probably tell.

Anyway, we finally made it home with all 24 school books, 3 books about Barbie, and a book about a pirate-eating monster who lives in the sea.

Today we started our unit study (the days of creation one) and the kids really seemed to enjoy it. I have seven days left in that unit, so I guess it's time to get started on another one already. It seems mildly daunting and certainly never-ending, but it's actually.....kind of.....fun!

I'm enjoying spending so much time devoted to teaching my kids and (I think) they are enjoying it too.

And now, if you'll excuse me....I need to go read to my kids....

Homeschool, Day 1

2010-08-09T22:23:00.000-04:00

Day 1

My oldest child is 5 1/2 (Keaton). My next child is 4 1/2 (Sienna). And then we have a (nearly) 3yo (Reagan) and a 10 month old (Savannah). I decided to start both the older kids in Kindergarten together. So we'll see how that goes.

I planned to start school around 9 this morning. We started closer to 11. I remembered that my first day of school was rarely learning anything but was mostly social interaction with classmates and a lot of details - you know, covering books, prepping for classes, getting an overview of what we'd be learning, and the like. So I decided to make today similar for my kids. I handed out school supplies, discussed what we would use each thing for, and then - the best part - I let each of the kids pick out two pencils.

These pencils have been accumulating (although not so much as of late) since I was a small child and I've finally come around to the fact that they are completely useless if not...well....used. So use them we will!

Then we did a little bit of actual school. We talked about the difference between uppercase and lowercase letters, reviewed how to spell their names, and discussed today's date and how it falls in the calendar.

Then we made personal pizzas.

Please note the educational part of this: round bread, red sauce, stringy cheese. Oh yes. Highly educational.

Then we ate our pizzas. I think you know where I'm going with this.

And that was pretty much the end of the first day of school. To my amazement, Reagan actually sat at the table the entire time we were doing school, making our pizzas, etc. I told her more than once that she was free to get down and play if she wanted to. But I think she must have thought she was going to be left out of something really awesome, so she stayed.

We'll see how tomorrow goes.

Hey, Guys! Remember Me?

2010-08-09T14:21:00.000-04:00

Since this blog is still around, I figured I might as well update it. I was considering starting a homeschool blog or even some sort of personal journal, but this just seems easier to me.

Oddly enough, in the months since I've been gone this blog still reels in an average of 100 or more hits per day and continues to warrant the occasional comment to my inbox, which I find extremely strange. Must have a lot of good info in here that I had forgotten about! Anyway, seems kind of lame to delete something that is apparently so useful.

That being said, stick around and visit if you'd like to hear about our new adventure called HOMESCHOOL. I may update occasionally, I may update every day, I may never update. We'll see how it goes.

The Transition

2009-11-20T12:12:00.003-05:00

I've been contemplating this transition for a while now. All the "famous" (and I use that term loosely) photographers who blog say it's true. You'll gain a better blog audience if you blog about yourself. Your life. Your dreams. Your aspirations. You.

Over the past few months, I've gotten a lot better at doing that. But it hasn't affected my business at all because, well, I do it here. On this blog. And so I believe the time has come that I combine my personal life blog with my business life blog. To be honest, it's really difficult to keep up with both. But up until recently, I always thought that there should be some separation between my life and my business. And there is some separation. But on the homefront of blogging, it just seems that it would be easier (as well as advantageous) for me to end the separation.

So I'm going to try this out. I don't know if it will last, but I'm gonna give it a shot. I may still blog here sometimes or I may not. We'll just have to see how things go. But for now, I encourage you to follow me over on my photography now-turned-personal/photography blog:

Indy Photography Blog

Have a great weekend, everyone!

Silly Girl!

2009-11-16T12:35:00.002-05:00

My

little

Savannah

is

growing

up

so

fast!

Get Your Finances In Line In 2009: October Recap

2009-11-14T08:52:00.004-05:00

Quick recap since we're already halfway through the month of November. I don't have time for many details, but since nobody (but me) cares about these posts anyway, it's no big deal, right?

We just barely missed the 70% mark this month for our FFEF. I just do mean JUST. But that's okay. We had some other things come up, so all is well. :)

November is proving to be pretty profitable so far. And by 'profitable', I don't actually mean we're making any more money. Just that things are falling into line properly. So hopefully I'll have some fun things to report in next month's finance recap.

We're still trying to figure out exactly how much to budget for our trip to Texas. I have a particular amount in mind, but I think I may save a bit extra to be on the safe side. Does anyone have any recommendations on the amount?

Here are some details to help you out:

-6 people (but only 5 requiring daily nourishment 3x a day - 2 adults, 3 toddlers)
-2 hotel stays en route and 4 nights hotel stays while in TX
-gas from IN to TX
-a few sightseeing things (we plan to go to San Antonio and probably a few other places along the way)
-misc. (because you know there's always something)

I'd really appreciate any insight anyone has on this topic. I've had a hard time gauging this because we've only taken one vacation since we've been married and it was just my husband and me. Plus, that was our "honeymoon" vacation, so we splurged a bit. But isn't that what vacation is for? :)

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REVISED GOAL #1: Save up and pay CASH for our trip to Texas next March. ---- 35% completed ----

Goal #2: Fully fund our 6 month emergency fund and put into a money market account to be left UNTOUCHED unless there is an actual emergency. ---- 69.9% completed!! ----

Goal #3: Save for my husband to get a "new" (that means used) car. ---- Still on hold. No major issues with the car at this time. ----

Goal #4: Raise retirement contributions to 12% (with a 4% match).

Goal #5: Open a money market account for each of our children.

Goal #6: Begin paying extra principal on our mortgage.

Goal #7: Establish a will and testament. ---- I admit it. I am a total failure in this department. ----

Goal #8: Get disability insurance for both my husband and me. ---- I mention this to my husband occasionally. He seems to think it's like a one-page worksheet that I can fill out for him. Not so much. I'm blaming this one not being done on him. :) ----

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P.S. The birds have not eaten me! (Yet.)

I'm Being Watched

2009-11-13T11:35:00.003-05:00

I'm not normally the paranoid type. I'm really not. But today has been different. I have had this feeling that I'm being watched. That at any moment I may be attacked, and attacked with a vengeance.

In my backyard....there is something peculiar going on. There are large dancing shadows and black coats.

Do you see those birds? They are huge.

H.U.G.E.

And they are watching me.

Not only are they watching me.

*Shudder*

There are also noises.

Loud unnatural noises.

I'm not even kidding. They are making me nervous. Surely only 3 or 4 of them could overtake me if I dared set foot outside my back door.

So I refuse to do so. I will sit inside and watch them watch me. And while I'm watching them watch me, I will try not to think about all the horrible possibilities that could fall upon me if I move even an inch closer to the windows or doors.

That's right. I'm now convinced that even being near the door might get my eyes pecked out or my skin eaten up.

Seriously. The birds are scary. And if you don't hear from me next week, you'll know what happened.

Busy

2009-11-09T09:45:00.003-05:00

While you're thinking about how to respond to the previous blog post, rest assured that I'll be busy all day.

The Great Debate

2009-11-08T21:23:00.004-05:00

Well, first off....let me just say that life has been crazy around here. We have had 4 out of the 6 people in our house sick this weekend, puking and the like. I don't think I need to go into details there. I'm sure you get the picture.

On top of that, I had two photo sessions last week (on top of having my own pictures taken), which is probably nothing to a photographer in any normal state of life, but considering I just had a baby 5 weeks ago, it's a pretty big deal over here. Also, I'm still trying to learn all the tricks to working Photoshop CS4, so....it's fun, but time-consuming.

Now....onto, eh hem....THE GREAT DEBATE.

Ok, so it's really not that big of a deal, but it's something my husband and I have been discussing. The issue is the television.

You see, we're not big TV-watchers over here. Well, to be correct, we're not TV-watchers at all right now since both of our TVs are of the box generation and neither of them were privileged enough to be hooked up to one of those fancy new devices which generate the ability to see the current HD channels.

But there is one time of year that I really like to watch TV. It's Christmastime. There are all those old holiday cartoons and Christmas specials and (dare I admit I like to watch these?) Hallmark movies.

I said it. I like Hallmark movies.

And then there's football. Nothing we really care about in this house, but since apparently many other people do, we always feel as if we can't invite people over for lunch on Sundays because, well....we definitely won't have the game on. You know, considering the whole...lack of ability to put it on.

I admit that a tiny part of me wants to get a new TV because I know there is a really great kids channel that is now available to non-cable subscribers. And well, since I run a business and everything, I do occasionally (or probably more often than I'd care to admit) place my children in front of some sort of educational (or not) movie while I'm working. I figure they'd probably enjoy mixing things up a bit.

Oh, and speaking of work....can you imagine how great those sweet little newborns would look if you got to see them on a beautiful 42" LCD screen? Uh yes. Gorgeous.

But I'm afraid I'll put my kids in front of it even more often than I already do, and frankly, I'm afraid of getting attached to it myself.

So the debate is up in the air. And clearly I've presented both sides of this debate equally and given both sides fair playing time here in this presentation.

What are your thoughts? How do you keep TV under control in your home? Do you consider "Sunday fellowship" and "potential business help" to be valid reasons to invest a few hundred dollars into an unnecessary piece of electronic equipment? I'd really love to hear your opinions on this topic and I'm sure you all have one. Please share. And I'll keep you posted on how The Great Debate is going on in our home.

I'm Not Dead

2009-11-04T23:45:00.002-05:00

Just busy. And that's about all I have time to say before I head to bed.

Oh! But I will mention that I finally figured out how to find and put up the code for my photography website! Some of you have expressed interest in advertising for me on your own blogs, so if you'd like to do that, you can now simply grab the code at right (it's immediately under my own advertisement photo) and add it to your blog as an HTML widget. Or however your blog works. :)

Good night, everyone. Sleep tight.

Foto Friday...Etc...

2009-10-30T00:36:00.003-04:00

Wow, it's Friday already! (Already?) Lots of things to report....

1. I think pink eye has officially left our house. Hopefully. Keaton got it last Wednesday and Sienna woke up with it on Sunday morning. So far, Reagan is in the clear, but I suppose I need to give it a few more days before I know for sure. I know of at least three other children and one adult at our church who also had pink eye last week/weekend, so apparently it's going around.

2. Savannah is 1 month old today! She has her 1-month checkup this morning and I'm anxious to see how much she's grown. She's been unusually fussy for the past few days and not sleeping or eating like normal, so it's been a tiring week in that respect. Due to her nasal congestion (she's had a cold for 75% of her life now!), I suspect an ear infection. But we'll see how things go at the doctor's office. She hasn't had a fever at all, so I could be totally wrong on that.

3. My studio lights arrived last Friday and I promised myself I'd finish a huge project (that I had not even started when they arrived) before opening them up and taking a look at them. So FINALLY on Sunday night, after completing my project, I got to see them. They. Are. Lovely. But just as quickly as we got them out, we put them away for fear that the kids would knock them over when they got up Monday morning. We're waiting for french doors to go on sale at Menards and then we plan to make the studio an official room of it's own. Until then...the lights will not stay up. It's just not worth it.

4. I had two fantastically fun photo sessions last week! One with an adorable little newborn and one with my daughter, Sienna. Since it's Foto Friday, I feel the need to post a photo. But since both of these sessions were suuuuuper great, I'm going to post one from each. Because I'm nice like that. You can check out the full posts over on my photography blog. :)

Baby Jacob:

Sienna:

Have a great weekend, everybody! Don't forget to "fall back" tomorrow night!

Rocking Her To Sleep

2009-10-28T22:50:00.003-04:00

Sometimes it's the little things in life that bring the most joy. Tonight I rocked my sweet Savannah to sleep. Did it take 20 minutes away from the work I was trying to do? Yes. But was it worth it? You bet!

And speaking of sweet dance moves (say whaaaat?), check out how talented this little rock star is already....

I know. A girl after my own heart. And fortunately for her, her moves are about as sweet as mine too. ;)

DIY Moby Wrap

2009-10-28T12:02:00.005-04:00

I'd like to preface this post by saying that there is a reason I stay behind the camera lens. I'm not good in pictures. I'm just not. I know everyone says that, but good grief, I'm terrible in front of the lens. I'd also like to apologize for the quality and tone of the pictures you're about to see. It was very dark in out kitchen when these were taken last night, but I insisted that my husband take a few pictures for illustration purposes. Ok, moving on with the post....

There are hundreds of different wraps, slings, and baby carriers on the market these days. I've never really been much into "babywearing" as it is called, but I did used to have a carrier that I used once or twice with our past children. But this year, with Savannah being born at the peak of swine flu season and the beginning of cold season, I decided it might be wise to keep her close for the first several weeks of her life. I consulted with my friend Cari who owned what appeared to be an extremely comfortable wrap.

Perhaps you've heard of the Moby wrap. It's gaining more popularity from what I can see, but in case you're not familiar with it, let me sum it up for you. The Moby wrap is a piece of 100% cotton, 6 yards in length and approximately 30 inches in width, that can be wrapped several times around your body for ultimate comfort and support when carrying your baby or toddler. Now, personally....I have no idea why anyone would ever want to wear their toddler. But that's another topic for another day.

Anyway, after chatting with Cari, I decided that I would peruse the clearance fabric section at a few stores before I went and paid $40 for a wrap that I wasn't even sure I'd like. So I went to Joann and found a lovely green fabric - 100% cotton. The only downside was that the ends rolled a bit, but....eh, no biggie. It was about 60 inches wide, so I actually got two wraps for a total of $15. I was pretty happy.

But I thought it might be fun to have more than one color.

See how I try to save money but then end up spending the same amount by buying more "frugal" things? I know. It's bad.

So I went to Walmart. They had no suitable fabrics in their clearance section, but I did run across some polyester knit fabric for $2/yard. I know polyester is warmer than cotton, but this fabric was a neutral color and, well, it was only $2/yard. So I bought 6 yards and made two more wraps.

It's an addiction, I realize. You don't have to tell me.

And yes, I did ask my husband if I looked fat as he was taking these pictures. Every woman does! Right?

Why yes, I do love reading the nutritional facts on the back of the peanut butter jar. Did you know that a serving size is 2 Tbsp?

I wound up sewing the edges of the second fabric I bought but haven't yet gotten around to sewing the edges of the green fabric. One of these days it'll happen. Maybe. But anyway, I now have 4 wraps (unnecessary, I know, but I'm giving at least one away) that cost me a total of $27. Not bad, if you ask me.

I'll leave you with what my husband calls "the paparazzi picture":

....you know...because I look ridiculous. Well....more ridiculous than normal anyway.

Get Your Finances In Line In 2009: September Recap

2009-10-27T14:00:00.002-04:00

Wow, this is super late! I usually try to post our financial update in the first week of the month and here I am posting it on the 27th day of the month. Yeesh!

Well, anyway...as you all know, our little Savannah finally arrived on September 30th, fourteen full days past her due date. (Little stinker!) So after those few extra weeks of eating out and getting take out way more often than was probably necessary, I was very surprised to discover that we actually had a fairly good month for our savings account!

We were hoping to make it to 70% of our FFEF last month (a pretty lofty goal) and we got pretty close. We also started saving for our trip in March. Other than that, nothing too exciting took place.

So here we go....

REVISED GOAL #1: Save up and pay CASH for our trip to Texas next March. ---- 25% completed ----

Goal #2: Fully fund our 6 month emergency fund and put into a money market account to be left UNTOUCHED unless there is an actual emergency. ---- 66.6% completed!! ----

Goal #3: Save for my husband to get a "new" (that means used) car. ---- Still on hold. No major issues with the car at this time. ----

Goal #4: Raise retirement contributions to 12% (with a 4% match).

Goal #5: Open a money market account for each of our children.

Goal #6: Begin paying extra principal on our mortgage.

Goal #7: Establish a will and testament. ---- I admit it. I am a total failure in this department. ----

Goal #8: Get disability insurance for both my husband and me. ---- I mention this to my husband occasionally. He seems to think it's like a one-page worksheet that I can fill out for him. Not so much. I'm blaming this one not being done on him. :) ----

So there you have it. We will surely make it to 70% of our FFEF this month, and I'll be SO excited to report whenever we reach 75%! (I have a thing with fractions, apparently.) We were really hoping to reach 100% by the end of 2009, but we also realized that it likely wouldn't actually happen. And now we're saving for our Texas trip, so that's pulling a little bit of what would have gone into our savings. But we're so looking forward to our trip! So we imagine it will probably be closer to March or April that we can completely fund our FFEF.

Keep on keeping on!

"Not Me!" Monday

2009-10-26T23:56:00.001-04:00

Oh dear, it's been quite the week around here! We've been up to a lot of things, but here are some things that I most definitely have NOT been up to!

I did not serve my three oldest children leftover McDonalds for breakfast one morning because I was too tired to find them something else to eat. I also did not intentionally delay breakfast three days over the past week in order to feed my children brunch because I was too lazy to make three meals each day. I always feed my children three, balanced meals per day.

There is no way that I got SO thirsty after grocery shopping that I had to drink some OJ directly out of the carton while sitting at a stoplight. I would never do something so disgusting as that!

I did not encourage my children to participate in "pajama day" more days than I care to mention. We are neat and orderly in this house and we most certainly do NOT just sit around in our PJs all day long. Nope, not us!

There is no way that I somehow managed to go four days without taking a shower - "broken" water heater or not. That would be nasty. And I would never do that. Ever.

When writing a 'thank you' card out for the owner of my husband's workplace (who sent us flowers after Savannah was born), I did not spell the owner's first name wrong. My husband has worked there for almost 6 years and there no is reason for me to ever do something like that. So of course...I didn't.

I most certainly did not drink three large fountain Cokes in a 36-hr period. I care about my body way more than that!

While going over my to-do list for the day, I definitely didn't add things to the list that I had already completed just to make it look like I had gotten more things done with my day. I never do things like that. And I certainly don't do it on a regular basis! No way!

I did not just write a few things that actually took place weeks ago but have been sitting in my "Not Me!" Monday draft since then just to add more items to my "Not Me!" list. I never do that.

And finally....I don't care what you've heard about this....but it absolutely isn't true that I found my 2 year old daughter in the pack 'n play bassinet WITH my 3 week old baby! But you know, if that had happened, it surely wouldn't have been because I was going to get (none other than) a diaper out of the bathroom to change a certain someone. A certain someone who was directed to stay in MY bed. Not transition into the pack 'n play.

For more "Not Me!" Monday fun, head on over to MckMama's blog!

Pink Eye

2009-10-23T23:47:00.001-04:00

And Speaking of DIY....

2009-10-22T11:32:00.001-04:00

Here's a little hint of what's to come....

DIY Cloth Nursing Pads

2009-10-22T08:35:00.002-04:00

Preface: I'm sure this is TMI, but I produce milk like a cow. Apparently I was created to have babies and nurse them. Seriously, my milk supply is ridiculous. I don't say that to brag as I have many many friends who sadly are unable to nurse due to a low milk supply (among other reasons), but I'm just telling you so you understand my need to make my own nursing pads.

Ok, read on....

With my first child, I used disposable nursing pads. I don't even want to think about how much money we wasted on those things. BUT I thought the reusable ones were too expensive. Since, you know, I went through probably 24 a day.

With my second child, I used a mixture of both. Primarily the tiny little Gerber reusables. But I had to do laundry CONSTANTLY and I still never had enough. So then I would switch to disposable. Again, big money waster.

With my third child, I think I almost exclusively used the few Gerber reusables that I had left. But by this time, they had mostly gone missing and I found myself using burp clothes as a substitute. (Don't laugh - I'm serious!)

When I got pregnant with my fourth child, I thought....There HAS to be a better way! I had a friend who had purchased some handmade cloth nursing pads online and she swore by them that they were way better than the store bought kind (and actually large enough too!), so I started to look into those. But the cost was ridiculous. At least, in my frugal mind.

So I did what I'm pretty well-known for doing when I think something is way overpriced. I decided to make some myself. I called Gretchen and asked her if she had any idea how to make nursing pads and she referred me to this DIY tutorial. It was exactly what I needed!

Since there's absolutely no reason for me to repeat the steps here, you can just go to that tutorial to see how I made them. Here are a few pictures of mine:

Having made these and used them now I can attest to the fact that these are INDEED far superior to the store bought kind and definitely better than the disposables. They are also, eh hem, much gentler on the skin. If you know what I'm sayin'.

These took me longer than I expected due to all the cutting and sewing, but it was well worth it. In fact, I only made about 14 and need some more so I just bought more flannel last night and am planning on making some more this week. (Yay! Flannel just happened to be 60% off at Joann!)

I highly highly highly recommend these.

Did I say highly?

My Hair Is Greasy

2009-10-19T21:25:00.003-04:00

Some of you are wondering where I've been. Some of you could care less. And some of you haven't even noticed I've been gone.

Hey, it's okay. We can't all be perfect blog-stalkers.

The past few days around here have been a little crazy. But then, what day isn't crazy around here? That's what I thought. None. Anyway, I've been busy doing all sorts of meaningless tasks. And on top of that, I've actually done a few useful things as well. Let me name those things so you don't think I'm lying.

Seven loads of laundry.
I can't get over how one tiny new baby can increase the necessity to do laundry by such great quantities. I used to do laundry twice a week. Now I do it daily.

Eight print orders.
As much as I enjoyed shooting this wedding, I will not lie. I am going to be SO happy when all these pictures have arrived, been sorted, invoiced, and delivered. It's exhausting just to think about, but I know I'm almost done.

Twenty-one freezer meals.
That's right, ladies and gentlemen (but mostly ladies)....I've officially tried once-a-month-cooking. And just two weeks after I pushed a baby out! I know, I'm so amazing. And humble. Actually, my husband helped A LOT. (!ithout even being asked!) After my 2 1/2 hour grocery trip during which I visited three stores and spent close to our entire month's grocery budget....I came home, and during the next 24 hours we cooked up a total of 21 freezer meals.

I just know somebody is going to ask for the recipes for all the things we made, but I'll go ahead and tell you now that I probably won't get to that. So, you can ask if you want to but.....don't expect much.

Here's the list of what we made:

(2) chicken alfredo casseroles
(2) alfredo sauces (to go w/ fettuccine)
(2) lasagnas
(2) meatloaves
(2) sets of meatballs
(2) chicken soups
(2) beef stews
(2) chicken pot pies
and portioned cooked beef into meals for (2) tacos, (1) sloppy jo, (2) chilis.

So that's that.

One broken water heater.
On Monday morning, I discovered the hot water wasn't working. This was, of course, after I had already washed one load of laundry in "hot" water and one in "warm" - both of which were quite obviously COLD. I flipped the breaker and the reset button and all was well.

On Tuesday morning, I went into the bathroom for a quick shower. Not expecting the water heater to be not working again, I completely undressed, got into the shower and there discovered there was no hot water.

Nice.

So yesterday evening my husband drained the entire tank and in doing so discovered an ungodly amount of some sort of (calcium?) buildup. It was nasty. And it took forever. But this morning we had hot water! However, I still haven't had time to take a shower. So my hair is greasy. And I'm pretty sure I stink.

Don't judge. We're not having visitors today!

As it turns out, our water heater wasn't actually broken, per se. But really...."One temperamental water heater" just didn't have the same ring to me.

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On an entirely separate note, look who loves to smile at Mommy!

Stop it. It's totally a smile.

On Becoming Confident....Again

2009-10-16T09:36:00.003-04:00

Things are slowly returning to some sort of normalcy around here. Yesterday the kids and I washed, dried, and/or folded about 8 loads of laundry. My kitchen is looking relatively clean most of the time. And I've actually made the bed most of the days this week.

Adjusting to four has been somewhat difficult. I can now confidently tell people that going from 3 to 4 is BY FAR the hardest. At least, for me. But I'm getting back into working (trust me, it's very part time), blogging, and - eh hem - showering on regular basis. Which is nice. For everyone.

Reagan has officially learned what a spanking is and she generally obeys if reminded of the consequences of not obeying. She is adjusting to being a big sister rather than a baby and she's finally showing some signs of attempting to speak words.

Keaton and Sienna are doing well with everything. They are regularly helping me with chores around the house and growing more and more independent each day.

Daniel is back into the full swing of his regular work schedule and I am remembering what it's like to get up in the middle of the night to feed a hungry baby.

As for Savannah...she has a cold. Poor thing. I keep debating about whether or not I should take her in to see the doctor. She goes back and forth with her symptoms, so I keep going back and forth about what I should do. Motherhood is full of difficult decisions, isn't it?

On a very positive note, she is regularly sleeping 5-7 hours during her first stretch of the night and otherwise eating every 3-4 hours the rest of the day. She's also a very fast eater, so my nighttime rousings are short and to the point, which lends me to be feeling very well and rather energetic considering I have a 2-week old and 3 toddlers in the house. But knowing that I should be taking it easy is difficult and I'm still trying to keep things slow.

We hardly left the house this week due to Savannah's cold. I don't want her to get any sicker, of course, but I admit that I'm feeling stir crazy. We usually go to church three times a week, but this week we've stayed home due to the germs.

It seems there is always something to get done around here. And speaking of getting things done...it is lunchtime already.

I guess I better get cracking on that.

Whirlwind

2009-10-14T07:41:00.003-04:00

That's about the only way I can describe our household as of late.

A week after coming home from the hospital with our sweet baby girl, my parents arrived for a visit. Simultaneously arriving with them (although not necessarily from them) was....the common cold. It struck my mom, my husband, and two of my children - thankfully, not Savannah. And I'm doing pretty well so far, although I did experience a sore throat one day over the weekend. I've been weighing whether or not we should go places (mainly church) in the midst of this cold/flu season with such a teeny tiny baby. I've never before questioned these things, but the pediatrician got me all paranoid about Savannah getting sick. She does have an occasional cough and is sneezing fairly regularly, but we think she's doing fine.

She's still nursing like a champ and, may I also add, WAY faster than any of my other children EVER ate....which just so happens to be totally convenient for me, now a mother of four children under five. She's been pulling one 5-6 hour stretch and one 4-hour stretch each night for close to a week now, and I'm very thankful for that. She's just as adorable as she was last week, but if you want to see a few more pictures of her you can do so here.

In other news, since I was kind of thinking Savannah would arrive, you know, before 14 days after her due date....I had planned several newborn photo shoots for the month of October for the new direction I plan on taking with my business. Not wanting to miss out on all those sweet babes, I have kept all of those plans regardless of the fact that I'm still rather tired from just giving birth 2 weeks ago. So in case I thought I did not have enough to do, I scheduled two sweet little ones this week for pictures.

I'd also just like to take this time to tell you how much I hate myself for signing up for a million different email newsletters over the past 11 years of my life. It's so time-consuming to actually opt out of all those newsletters now and I've had the same email address for all 11 of those years I mentioned, so....I guess I'll just continue to delete my past mistakes. And hopefully I'll learn from them.

And now it's time to put my nose to the grindstone. The kids are up and I still have some work that must be completed before my afternoon session, so....ta ta for now.

Another Non-Birth Story Post

2009-10-06T14:59:00.001-04:00

Judging from the comments I've received....you all need to learn some patience!

I kid, I kid. The birth story is coming. Eventually.

But for now, I just wanted to let you all know that there are a few more pictures of my sweet Savannah over on my photography blog if you'd like to see her at 5 days old instead of 5 minutes old. :)

I Didn't Even Check My E-mail

2009-10-05T10:19:00.003-04:00

It's probably pathetic that it's significant in my life. But as I lay in bed last night, I realized I didn't even check my e-mail yesterday. Not once did I flip open my laptop or sit down at the computer. I fed my baby. I diapered my baby. I went to church. I went grocery shopping. I did laundry. I fed my baby. I diapered my baby. I took a nap. I had visitors. I ate. I fed my baby. I diapered my baby. And I let my husband take care of the rest.

I've never really been very good at this whole "resting" thing after having a baby. But I'm trying. Sort of. Several people at church yesterday said, "I can't believe you're here!" which I found very confusing since most people should know by now that I am always on the go shortly after having a baby. It would be strange to me if I had not been at church 4 days after giving birth. I mean...what would I really do at home? Sit? I was so happy to finally hear one of my friends say, "I knew you'd be here today," because I was starting to wonder if anyone really knew me at all.

I'm learning new things this time around. I mean, I suppose one learns new things every time around. But this time is different for me.

When I had my first child, I tried to weigh the advice of everyone and their best friend. It was challenging and time-consuming, but I finally figured out my "way" of doing things, specifically feeding my baby. From the time they were born, I always fed each of my children every three hours unless they were sleeping. It was extremely rare for me to feed them more often.

For one, I find nursing to be very painful for the first several weeks. I've had nurses and lactation consultants check each of my children's latches and nobody can ever find anything wrong. The age-old saying that nursing shouldn't hurt beyond the first few days just doesn't ring true for me. And I'm glad I finally figured out that everyone is different rather than constantly trying to change things in order to "get it right" even though I was already doing it right. I've accepted the fact that nursing is painful for me and not for others. But I love doing it, so I always push through.

For two, I had to give myself a rest. It wasn't uncommon for me to have cracked, bleeding, or blistered nipples from nursing even just every 3 hours. There was no way I could do it more often and still keep doing it. It just wasn't going to happen.

And for three, I didn't want my child to run the show. Infants are selfish selfish selfish by nature and I thought that, from the very beginning, it was important that they learn to have a little patience with mommy. My children never starved. They just waited a bit longer than so-and-so's baby. I couldn't stand mothers who nursed their babies non-stop when it was absolutely clear to me that there was no possible way their baby was hungry since they just ate 15 minutes prior to now.

While I still generally fall into all three of those categories, things are a little bit different this time around.

I have found that, with excessive amounts of lanolin after each feeding, things seem to be doing a bit better. I have a bit less pain and so far have not had any bleeding or blistering. (Praise God!) This is a huge blessing because Savannah has a different idea of eating than my other three children did. She ate like a champ at the hospital! Every 3-4 hours for about half an hour each time. It was ideal. Normal. Average. But once we got home and my milk came in, things changed. She started wanting to eat for only 5-10 minutes at a time before she seemed to lose interest. Feeling that she may lose weight from this type of eating, I began to feed her a bit more often. And you know what? Everything's fine.

She's not any more spoiled than my other children were. She simply doesn't eat as much at a time. I admit that I'm a little anxious about her doctor's appointment on Friday as I'm very curious to see if she is indeed losing weight or gaining as she should be. I'm praying that she will begin eating more and that she will gain weight as she should, but in the meantime I will just continue to feed her as I have determined is best for her. And I will continue to keep my lanolin nearby. :)

As far as others things are going....

The kids love Savannah. Reagan loves to say "BABY!!" as we suspected she would.

Nights are going okay. Savannah generally does 3-4 hour stretches at night and is pretty good about going back to sleep after eating/diapering.

We are having meals delivered most nights. It's a HUGE blessing.

I'm trying not to overdo it. I'm working on making a list of household chores and choosing ONE per day for the next week or two. And I'm going to try my best to stick to that.

Life with four is very different than life with three. But we're adjusting.

......and the baby is crying.....

CHOW TIME! :)

It's A Girl! (A Big Girl!)

2009-09-30T10:22:00.002-04:00

Savannah Paige was born early this morning (September 30th) at 3.34am after 8 1/ 2 hours of labor. She weighs 8 lb, 13 oz and is 21 1/4 inches long.

More details to come....when Mommy brain has subsided a bit and I've gotten in some time to sleep.

If You're On The Fence About The Swine Flu Vaccine...

2009-09-28T08:55:00.002-04:00

As with ALL vaccinations, but especially with new ones, please make sure you are well-informed about the pros and cons before simply taking the word of one (or even several) doctors.

This Is The Week

2009-09-28T08:16:00.002-04:00

Tomorrow is my last and final pre-natal appointment and I admit I am growing a bit anxious. I really don't want to have to make a choice regarding how I will be induced and considering Wednesday is my cut-off date, I'm getting a little nervous.

I realize this whole thing sounds absurd to most people considering that MANY of my friends opt to be induced every time. But when you're crazy like me and you want to do things naturally and let things go on their own...and then when things don't go on their own...it gets to be a little frustrating.

As some background for those who don't know....I was induced at 41 weeks with my first baby almost 5 years ago. I was told via ultrasound that he looked to be about 6 lbs and the doctor was concerned that he might not be getting enough nutrients from the cord, so they suggested induction. Being the naive, young, first-time-mom-to-be that I was....I assumed that was my only option.

My son was born about 10 hours later, after me being constrained to my hospital bed and enduring several hours of extremely strong contractions, at a beautiful weight of 7 lbs, 6 oz. Thus began my realization that technology is not always all that it's cracked up to be.

My second child was born 14 months later and came all on her own at 41 weeks and 1 day. Her labor and delivery was beautiful! I labored in (and out of) the tub for several hours and she arrived 7 hours after I arrived at the hospital birthing center. My midwife was FANTASTIC and, regardless of the fact that my daughter's heartrate dropped slightly with each contraction, the midwives thankfully allowed me to be closely monitored and did NOT send me to c-section as many doctors would have.

My third child followed 18 months after my second. I had weeks of irregular contractions (not unlike this pregnancy), had been dilated to 5cm for several days, and finally just requested that my midwife break my water at 38 weeks and 5 days. Basically, I got impatient. The whole process lasted about 16 hours and, despite the fact that I wasn't in any pain at all until it was time to push, once we got to that stage, it was miserable. My daughter's head wasn't anterior (facing down, as it's supposed to be) or posterior (facing up), but rather it was sideways. This required my midwife to twist her a bit with each contraction for...I don't know how long. It seemed like forever. I think it was realistically a few hours. But regardless, it was terrible. I can't help but wonder if this would not have happened if I had simply let nature take its course.

So this time around, I am praying that things will happen on their own, as they were intended to do. Please join me in praying that this baby will arrive before my appointment tomorrow morning. And if God chooses for the baby NOT to arrive by then, then pray that I will have the wisdom to make a wise decision concerning Wednesday's unfoldings.

Hope you all had a great weekend!

People Are Calling

2009-09-26T07:02:00.003-04:00

When my phone rings more than 3 times a day, I know there must be a reason. Apparently when one is well past their due date and misses one measly day of posting on their blog, said person's phone begins to ring off the hook. With that assumption in mind, I'm going to say that several of you are interested in what's going on.

I wish I had a good answer for you, but the truth is....there is nothing going on.

I had an appointment with another non-stress test yesterday. (I think it was my fourth non-stress test in the past two weeks.) No major news to report. I have another appointment on Tuesday if baby is not here by then. Wednesday is my 42-week marker and since I'm not really comfortable going beyond that date, I think I can safely say that the baby WILL arrive in the month of September. (Sorry, Mom!)

BUT, please join with me in praying that an induction will not be necessary and that our little one will be happy to come into the world all on its own accord before that date. And puh-lease, people, trust me when I say that I WILL update this blog as soon as possible after the baby is born. :)

Have a great weekend, everybody!

Renewed

2009-09-24T08:01:00.002-04:00

I feel good today. In fact, I feel great today.

Still no baby, but for the moment, I am totally content with that.

Last night, I only had to get up to go to the bathroom once. ONE TIME! Can you believe it? To top that off, I actually slept the entire time from 10pm until almost 8am. I don't think I've slept like that in weeks. I know that this is nothing short of a great blessing from the Lord. There is absolutely no reason that a woman who is 41 weeks pregnant should sleep that well. Many of you have been telling me that you've been praying for me and I can really feel the prayers right now. As silly as it seems, I have not been praying for rest. I've been praying for the baby to just come. And despite the fact that the Lord has chosen for that not to happen yet, I am feeling so blessed today. So refreshed. So renewed.

As far as how things are going....progress is being made and my contractions have become increasingly strong when they do come, but they have not brought forth the child of my womb just yet. :) I have what will likely be a final appointment tomorrow, at which time my midwife and I will discuss my options for bringing this child into the world. I am still praying that that appointment will not come and that the baby will come on its own before then, BUT if God's timing is later than that, I am confident that He is in control. My midwife doesn't really like to let her patients deliver past 41 weeks, but I think I've talked her into letting me wait until Monday, which would be 41 weeks and 4 days.

I continue to covet your prayers and encouragement, but know that the Lord has been so good to me and has renewed my strength in this time of waiting!

"Those who wait for the Lord will gain new strength; They will mount up with wings like eagles; They will run and not get tired; They will walk and not become weary." (Isaiah 40.31)

More Alive Than Ever Before

2009-09-22T05:36:00.000-04:00

I have to be honest. I find it slightly odd that it still affects me as much as it does. I mean, I hardly even knew her.

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It's been a whole year since Caden's reunion with the Lord and I still find myself randomly bursting into tears while driving down the interstate or desperately searching for a Kleenex during the worship service.

I still vividly remember the conversation I had with Cari that morning. We had scheduled pictures to be taken of Cari and Caden the following week. They were going to be a birthday present for Andy. We talked about the location, the timing, and who I would coerce into watching my kids. She was excited. I was excited. And Caden was sick. I probably wouldn't see them the next morning at Bible study due to Caden not feeling well, but we'd see each other on Sunday.

Oh, sweet Caden.

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Even though we had attended the same church for several years, Cari and I were never really close. Not that we were intentionally distant, but our friendship just hadn't really blossomed yet.

I think I first met Cari in the nursery at church. We were both pregnant at the same time (me with Reagan and her with Caden) and we chatted about baby names, January due dates, and parenting tactics as we watched the other babies. Cari had the most adorable pregnant belly and she hated when I told her that. I knew she felt miserable, but she was still adorable.

When Caden arrived in January, she was born with a ridiculous amount of hair. I don't remember much else about her arrival, but her hair was a defining characteristic that I'll never forget.

Cari and I went to the zoo once together last spring with our kids. A bird pooped on Cari's shoulder. She took a picture with her phone and sent it to Andy. It was hilarious. And if you don't believe me, there's proof. Cari cleaned up the mess with a baby wipe and we discussed how well prepared mothers are for life's unexpected adventures. Caden was probably too little to care or even take note of where we were or what was going on, but she smiled a lot.

She was always smiling.

As Caden grew, I enjoyed working in the nursery once a month and particularly loved holding Caden. She was a cuddler, something none of my children so far have been, and I enjoyed holding a baby who was content to just sit. She usually fell asleep. I usually rocked.

One week Cari came to playgroup at Cristi's house. Cari tells the story way better than me, but let's just say we had a pretty hilarious pacifier episode involving Caden, Reagan, and an identical "missing" pacifier.

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Since I had just spoken with Cari that morning, the email came as a total shock. Not that it would have been any less shocking had I not just spoken with Cari, but the effect seemed magnified to me. I read and reread it. Several times. I just couldn't believe what I was reading. It was like someone was playing a cruel joke on me. Except nobody would joke about this. Nobody.

Daniel was in the living room watching tv and I called him over to where I was sitting at the computer. Unable to speak, I pointed to the screen. And the tears began to flow.

I don't know how many times in the past I've cried for another person's loss, but if there were many times before this one...this was the worst. I buried my face into Daniel's side and sobbed for what seemed like forever.

I just couldn't believe it.

As the next few days passed, I didn't know what I should do. I wasn't that close with Cari, so I didn't want to bother her by calling, but I wanted her to know I cared. So I left a card with the office staff for her and Andy. And I prayed for them. Constantly. I cried when I looked at my own children, not being able to even imagine mourning the loss of one of them.

At Caden's celebration service, I was trying to hold it together but was failing miserably. It just wasn't right. Caskets shouldn't even come that small. As I tried to pull my eyes away from the picture slideshow on the screen, I couldn't help but be reminded that those pictures we had planned would now never happen.

Even though I knew it was ridiculous, I felt like it was somehow my fault. I should have scheduled them earlier. It would have been such a beautiful gift for them.

I tried to choke back the tears and be strong for Cari and her family as I neared the family line. But when it was mentioned twice to me by family members that it was "too bad we wouldn't be able to get those pictures now", I couldn't hold it in any longer. By the time I reached Cari, I was a mess.

I couldn't manage to say anything and wouldn't have known what to say anyway, so I just hugged her tightly. She hugged back even tighter and then asked how I was doing.

She asked how I was doing. What is wrong with this woman? I thought.

I had to leave the ceremony with Reagan about halfway through, but what I distinctly remember what seeing Andy and Cari in the front row worshiping the Lord with all their hearts. I didn't know how they were doing it, but I thanked the Lord that they were able to do so.

After the ceremony ended, I offered to help with getting the food set up to keep my mind off of why I was really there. I didn't feel like I was close enough with the family to go to the cemetery for the burial but I wanted to stick around for a while.

When everyone returned and the eating began, it was the strangest atmosphere. Everyone was laughing, talking, joking, and carrying on in good spirits. Yes, there were tears. But it truly was a celebration of Caden's life and of her homecoming with Jesus.

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For months, all I could do when I saw Cari was hug her. I never knew what to say and I honestly felt guilty for having my own children still here with me. It didn't seem fair that I had three perfectly healthy children on earth and her only child was now in heaven.

Six weeks after Caden's passing, Cari told me they had just found out she was pregnant. Six weeks pregnant. I couldn't believe it. I blabbered on about some conversation I had just had with a mutual friend and how I had wondered if she was pregnant because of a comment she had left on a blog before finally realizing that I hadn't even congratulated her! I'm such a dork sometimes. I was so happy for them, but the emotions were so mixed for everyone. Mourning the loss of a child and rejoicing over the conception of another is not something that often comes simultaneously in one's life.

Cari came along to a photo shoot shortly after that to watch my kids while I worked. I had hoped they would forget that she had previously always had a baby with her because Daniel and I simply didn't know how or if we should explain to our kids about Caden's passing. My worst nightmare came true when Cari got into the van and my son asked, "Where's your baby?" I could tell Cari was somewhat uncomfortable with the question (and rightfully so), but she very casually answered, "She went to live with Jesus." and we both cried a little. I felt like an idiot who should have duct-taped her kids' mouths closed that morning. But Cari understood. And thankfully that answer was sufficient for a 2 and 3 year old.

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The months have passed and my children have slowly begun to understand that, while Andy and Cari (and even baby Rigg) are still here on earth in their own house, Caden spends her days playing with Jesus on streets on gold. They ask about her often when I browse Cari's blog and they catch glimpses of the picture of Caden on the sidebar. It's getting easier for me to say, "Yes, Caden is with Jesus now" and they seem comfortable with that. They are now old enough to comprehend that she "got very sick" (as I tell them) and then went to live with Jesus instead of with her mommy and daddy. But that they will all see each other in heaven again someday.

Rigg was born in June and has been loved and cherished by everyone who has met him. He has very clearly helped Andy and Cari to bear the pain of losing a child, not by taking her place, but by adding joy to their lives and reassuring them that their Savior does indeed love and care for them. Even in situations we may not understand.

Cari and I have grown closer as I have shared in this pain with her over the past year. She and Andy stand as a "Christian rock" to many, but - as they should - they credit it all to the Lord. He is truly what is holding them together and He is who will sustain them in the months and years to follow.

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Just last week, Cari mentioned a quote she had recently read by D.L. Moody. I think it's absolutely beautiful and couldn't be more truthful:

“Soon you will read in the newspaper that I am dead. Don’t believe it for a moment. I will be more alive than ever before.”

Praise God that we can know that Caden now spends her every moment with our Savior in heaven! She is NOT dead. She is now more alive than ever before.

"The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away. Blessed be the name of the Lord." - Job 1.21

Discouraged

2009-09-22T03:03:00.005-04:00

I admit it. I'm feeling pretty discouraged these days. As much as I know that babies DO generally come when they are ready, I'm getting fairly frustrated with this one. Last Monday, I was nearly certain I was in labor and would soon deliver my baby into my arms. Then yesterday, I was even more certain as my contractions were closer and stronger than last week and seemed to be gaining in intensity. But then, after we put the kids to bed....

*ker-SPLAT*

Gone. Done. Over. Nothing noteable to speak of.

I'm trying to be patient. I'm trying to do what's best for my baby and myself. But I'm getting tired. Oh-so-tired. I know I'm not even a week past my due date, but for some reason I thought surely a FOURTH BABY would arrive at least on time, if not early. Perhaps I just set my expectations too high.

In the meantime, I am trying. To not be so emotional. To treat my children with kindness even when they are running around the house squealing. To feed my family three meals a day. To keep my mind on things that are positive. To remember that all children are a blessing, even when they don't arrive when I want them to. To sleep. To keep up with the laundry. And to be thankful.

".....be patient with everyone...." (1 Thessalonians 5.14)

Happy Birthday, Baby Girl!

2009-09-21T10:57:00.001-04:00

I know there are only a few more days that you will be my baby, so I'll call you that as long as I can!

Happy Birthday, Reagan!

Nope

2009-09-19T04:21:00.002-04:00

I'm not doing it any more. I'm not even going to say, "I hope my baby comes on _____day," because, as can be noted, that obviously is not helping the situation.

It is now Saturday, the 19th. It's two days past my due date and my little one is sitting comfortably in my womb. My doctor has informed me that my womb is "just too comfortable" for him/her. I told her that I wasn't sure there was much I could do about that.

My second non-stress test went well yesterday. For some reason, I sat in that darn room w/ the monitor attached to my stomach for nearly 2 HOURS. But I didn't care. I was reading. And it was quiet. And someone else was watching my kids.

I know, I'm a horrible mother.

After my appointment, I scheduled my next non-stress test for next Wednesday and went on my merry way. My kids got a "snack lunch" today because I was exhausted and we got home right around naptime. Honeycomb and iced tea.

I know. Just pretend I never told you.

I took Reagan in to see her pediatrician this afternoon since she has been extra whiny, clingy, and sniffly lately. I suspected an ear infection and wanted to check on things before the weekend hit and (hopefully) my labor. She was fine. Teething, but fine. And for once, I was actually glad to have paid the $20 co-pay for no reason. It eased my mind and that was most important today.

As we were leaving, I had *the talk* with the nurses in the office.

"Oh my!"
"Yesterday?"
"Are they going to induce you?"
"I bet you're so ready!"

I have to admit, I'm getting tired of it. And I know that if I make it through tomorrow, I'll get it at church too. I know I should just be grateful that my little one is alive and well in there (and I am grateful), but...you know....I'm tired. With all the trips to the bathroom, nighttime contractions, my lack of ability to get comfortable with this giant....BELLY....thing, and my children waking me in the night, I'm hardly sleeping much anymore.

On the upside, I read an entire 550-page book in 4 days this week. I don't think that's happened since, like....ever. I credit most of that to several hours at the doctor's office and my husband's graciousness in allowing me some extra sitting time while he takes care of the kids in the evening. And if you've never read "The Oath" by Frank Peretti, I recommend it. I read it way back in middle school but it was nice to read it again.

But back to the baby....

Your continued prayers are appreciated. (Even coveted, I might add.) And, as always....I will keep you posted.

Finally Friday...

2009-09-18T03:41:00.002-04:00

My sister-in-law called yesterday afternoon to "check in" on me since I hadn't posted a blog entry yesterday. Well, rest assured, everyone. There is no baby yet. But you all will be the first to know when there is.

Well okay....you'll probably be like....the 20th to know. But whatever. Quit whining.

I can't remember if I mentioned this last week or not, but....I've always gone into labor on a Friday. I know I'm getting restless. And I know that the fact that I've always labored on Fridays has absolutely NO bearing whatsoever on when this child will arrive, BUT....

I sure do hope it's today.

Happy Friday, everyone!

My Goodness, Has It Really Been Six Days??

2009-09-16T10:31:00.003-04:00

Sorry for the lack of updates. There is still no baby on this end and I've basically been an emotional basketcase for days now. I'm not really sleeping anymore (up every 30-45 minutes) and am therefore completely exhausted. I have no motivation to cook, clean, or do much of anything else. It's probably just an attitude problem that I should take care of, but I also know that I'm physically and emotionally tired and I don't want to wear myself out.

I never really expected to make it to 40 weeks with my FOURTH pregnancy, but here I am....39 weeks and 6 days. And still no baby. I have an appointment today for a non-stress test as well as an ultrasound to check on things. After I scheduled my appointment, I thought to myself....I probably should have just declined the ultrasound. At 40 weeks of pregnancy, ultrasounds are EXTREMELY inaccurate, specifically when determining the size of the baby. Large weight estimates are oftentimes a reason to urge labor induction (regardless of the fact that ultrasounds usually estimate weight incorrectly and can be up to THREE POUNDS off) and considering I was measuring a bit large a few weeks ago, I'm sure that would add to any "large estimates" via ultrasound, if that happened. So I'm praying that the ultrasound tech will be wise in her estimate, that my doctor and midwife will continue to be supportive of waiting things out if a large weight estimate becomes the only indication of "concern", and that I will be wise in discussing my options with them.

If all goes well, I plan to continue waiting on baby's timing (really, the Lord's timing) and attempting to be patient in the process.

Thank you to those of you who have been praying for me and thinking of me these past few weeks. I appreciate it!

Get Your Finances In Line In 2009: August Recap

2009-09-10T08:40:00.000-04:00

Well, lots of things have conspired since my last update. Or so it seems. I'm currently EXCEEDINGLY pregnant and feeling very exhausted.

Cooking has been on the back-burner as of late since my energy level has dropped through the floor, it seems. In fact, I bought about 6 boxes of cereal while I was out running errands this weekend and informed my husband that we could just live on that until the baby comes. He seems skeptical and I can't figure out why.

Seriously though, we've been getting take-out more often than usual and my grocery trips have been far less organized (and coupon-involved) lately, so our food budget was a bit higher than normal last month.

Also, we just found out that my cousin is getting married in March! I'm SO excited to make a trip down to Texas as I haven't been there since I was a child! My cousin also requested that 3 of our 4 children be in the wedding. While we anticipate that that will be an interesting added bit of work, my parents will be there as well so I'm sure we can manage all the wedding festivities and kiddos with their help. Since Texas is a 2-day trip each direction with our munchkins, we're looking at some hotel stays and lots of meals on the road, so our trip savings is starting now. We're so grateful that the Lord has allowed us to reach so many of our financial goals in the past few years so we are able to plan and save up for this trip.

Alright, so....jibber jabber....here's the new, updated version of our goals:

Goal #1: Save up and pay CASH for our 5-day vacation to Mackinac Island in June! :) ---- 100% completed ----

REVISED GOAL #1: Save up and pay CASH for our trip to Texas next March. ---- This goal is brand spanking new and we plan to start stashing away for this in September. ----

Goal #2: Fully fund our 6 month emergency fund and put into a money market account to be left UNTOUCHED unless there is an actual emergency. ---- 56.2% completed!! Not a huge gain from last month, but September is an extra check month for my husband, so we're hoping to make it to 70% by the end of this month! We'll see how things go with the new baby.... ----

Goal #3: Save for my husband to get a "new" (that means used) car. ---- After some adjustments by my husband last month, the car is currently running well, so this is not high on the priority list right now. ----

Goal #4: Raise retirement contributions to 12% (with a 4% match).

Goal #5: Open a money market account for each of our children.

Goal #6: Begin paying extra principal on our mortgage.

Goal #7: Establish a will and testament. ---- Still thinking about working on this... ----

Goal #8: Get disability insurance for both my husband and me. ---- I really meant to have my husband do this paperwork over Labor Day Weekend. But then I forgot. Shame on me. ----

We're so excited to be reaching our financial goals for the glory of Christ and are glad so many of you enjoy hearing our story. We hope you find it to be encouraging and motivating in your own lives!

A Very Un-Laboring Labor Day

2009-09-08T10:19:00.002-04:00

Yes, it's true. I did no laboring on Labor Day.

With the exception of my husband being home from work, yesterday was a pretty average day around here. I did my normal Monday laundry and cleaning. The kids had oatmeal for breakfast and leftovers for lunch. My husband and I took turns napping (since we both appreciate a bit of extra sleep these days!) and I contemplated the upcoming arrival of our new little one.

Chick-Fil-A was offering a free chicken sandwich to anyone who wore their favorite sports team apparel, so we threw on our Colts t-shirts and headed over there for dinner. The kids played in the play place and then I grabbed a few groceries and miscellaneous items at Meijer on the way home.

Like I said, fairly average. And definitely no labor involved. At least, not the kind of labor I was hoping for.

I had read online that fresh pineapple can induce contractions (although I'm pretty skeptical of all natural induction methods and truly believe that babies come when they are good and ready), so I grabbed a pineapple while I was at the store. After we put the kids to bed, I chopped it up and grabbed myself a plate. I got through about 3 pieces of it before my tongue was on fire. I think it was probably due more to the limeade I had drank just before the consumption of the pineapple than the pineapple itself, but either way...I was done at 3 pieces.

Obviously I have nothing to report this morning, so my guess is that either:

1) pineapple must be consumed in LARGE quantities, or
2) pineapple works just as well as every other natural induction method (i.e. not at all).

Tomorrow is my last and final "scheduled delivery date" (tentatively scheduled by me and for me). I guess having a baby on 09/09/09 would be kind of cool. Maybe I would actually be able to remember this one's birthday when asked! Then again, I'll have four children within 5 years of each other, so.....I probably still wouldn't remember.

Daniel said that 9/11 could be another day to add to the "scheduled delivery date" calendar, but I just can't imagine my poor child having to share that holiday with such a terrible tragic anniversary of our nation's history. I think he mostly just meant that it would be memorable, much like 09/09/09, but I'd prefer to skip over that day altogether.

But we'll see.

As far as preparing for the baby in general, Daniel and I both still feel like the whole thing is kind of surreal. I imagine it will seem more real once the baby actually arrives. At least, I hope so! :) I've been remembering random odds and ends that we need and have been picking those up as I'm out running around. I'm sure there's something I'm forgetting, but for the most part, I think we finally have everything that I've been meaning to get: baby Tylenol, gas drops, diaper rash cream, lanolin, etc. You know.....all those little things that tend to fall between the cracks while preparing for baby but suddenly seem desperately important once the baby arrives. At least, that's how it is for me.

In case you're wondering, I'm still planning to blog about how I made my own nursing pads and how we redid our kids' bedrooms on a budget. It's just...taking longer than anticipated. But sit tight. It is coming! Eventually....

I hope you all had a great (extra-long) weekend!

It's Sunday

2009-09-06T17:05:00.002-04:00

I don't generally blog on Sunday, but today, since my family is outdoors playing in the sunshine and I'm exhausted due to my busy weekend thus far....I'm indoors and I'm blogging.

Get over it.

Yesterday felt like a crazy day for me even though I barely left the house. I was awakened shortly after 6.30am (thank you, girls) and suddenly felt the need to do TONS of laundry and clean all the bathrooms. (As a sidenote, I absolutely REFUSE to clean the bathrooms in this house one more time before this baby comes.) So I did just that. I did washed, dried, folded, and put away four loads of laundry. And cleaned the bathrooms. All while my husband napped. (He had worked an early morning shift.)

I had planned to go out and run some errands in the afternoon when my husband reminded me that we had a "End of Summer" party to attend. I decided to take a short nap instead. Well, that nap ended up being about an hour and a half and it was lovely.

Around 4.30p, we drove the 3-mile trek to my brother- and sister-in-law's house and enjoyed some very tasty food which was NOT prepared by me. It was great. We headed home a few hours later, sweaty kids in tow and headed for the tub. All three kids were washed, dried, dressed, brushed, and in bed by 8.30p. Whew!

Daniel and I sat down to watch I, Robot while he gave me a foot massage. I ate chocolate chips.

Hey...you know you do it too.

We both managed to make it through the whole movie and went to bed around 10.30p.

I have no idea what was going on with our children last night, but it seemed like nobody was sleeping. I don't recall them having much sugar at the party, but they must have had something because it seemed like there was a child in our room every 30 minutes for a good portion of the night. Of course, it's normal for me to be up that often....but definitely not normal for them. Eventually everyone got back to sleep and surprisingly slept until nearly 7.30a this morning.

I squeezed in a shower while Daniel made breakfast downstairs and we got to church -- *gasp* -- early.

I know. We're amazed too.

I only had to use the restroom twice in the 2 1/2 hours we were there, which was a miracle in and of itself. We had driven two vehicles so that after church I could run some errands.

I hate running errands. I was really ONLY running them for the SOLE purpose of "walking the baby out". Well, that and Daniel said we were out of eggs. So I made my way around the mall, Motherhood Maternity, Bed Bath and Beyond, Kohl's, JoAnn, Walmart and Meijer before I headed home late this afternoon.

Still no baby.

I decided that we could live on cereal until the baby comes, so I bought 3 large bags and 2 boxes of cereal as well as a few gallons of milk! Ok, I also bought a few other things (like eggs), but mainly I bought cereal.

I'm sorry. But cooking completely wears me out these days.

And speaking of cooking....it's now nearing 5.30p and I have no thoughts on dinner whatsoever. None.

We have two chicken breasts in the fridge that I'm sure will turn into something magically delicious (if my husband has anything to do with it), but I'm just not sure what exactly. Guess I should get on that....

Hope you all are enjoying a great long weekend! I'm looking forward to Daniel being home an extra day this weekend, although to be honest, I'm really hoping to have this baby soon.

But I'm sure you already knew I was going to say that. :)

Do The Duggars Have Too Many Children?

2009-09-05T12:13:00.003-04:00

I'm sure most of you have heard by now that the Duggars have announced that they are now pregnant with their 19th child!

While I could sum up my thoughts on this on my own, I found that this recent post by MckMama did a pretty good job for me. So go read it. It's a good read, I promise.

And you know, if you want to, feel free to come back here and comment. But that's optional. :)

What's The Deal?

2009-09-04T15:40:00.003-04:00

Surely you've noticed the lack of any sort of real blogging this week. No, I haven't had the baby. But let me catch you up on our life....

Monday you heard from me. I thought I might have been in labor when I had contractions 2-3 minutes apart for about an hour. But after that hour turned into 2 hours and then 3 and 4 with no sign of increasing strength or intensity in sight....I gave up timing and went to bed.

Lame.

Tuesday. I don't remember Tuesday at all. But I'm pretty sure it happened, because I remember Wednesday.

Wednesday we dropped off some peanut butter bars at a friends' house and went to visit Gretchen. Our kids ran around screaming and playing and we talked about water breaking, my birth plan, and how peach crisp is WAY better with ice cream. I left my water bottle at her house and nearly died.

I'm a little attached to my water bottle.

Eh hem.

After dinner our family took a walk. We pulled the girls in the wagon while Keaton rode his bike. Everyone had a meltdown about 3/4 of the way through. It was pretty exciting.

Thursday morning the kids and I went to playgroup. The weather this week has been perfect, but that has nothing to do with playgroup. We enjoyed snacking and I enjoyed eating food that somebody else made. The kids and I found a petrified, flattened frog outside our van door. Sienna lost one of Reagan's shoes, but Nicole found it. (Thanks, Nicole, even though you don't read my blog.) Gretchen returned my water bottle to me (and my son's shoes). I love Gretchen.

In the evening, we took another walk after dinner. Keaton and Sienna both rode bikes and I pushed Reagan in the stroller. There were no breakdowns to speak of, thankfully. We saw two cats who appeared to be ready to fight and one dog without a leash, but the kids remained relatively calm.

Today is Friday. I had an appointment with my midwife this morning. She informed me that I'm barely dilated (which was actually good news, since it means I don't have to be so worried about rushing to the hospital if I ever actually go into labor). I picked up my kids, we visited my husband for lunch, and came home to have a rather eventful naptime. I got a phone call from my old youth pastor and we chatted for about half an hour. I routinely call and harass them via telephone messages but rarely hear back, so it was nice to catch up.

While catching up, I completely spaced dinner and am now rushing that so we can finish up before we leave for game night.

Whew!

In between all those times, I've been trying to think about things other than going into labor. I'm not very good at that, but I'm trying.

Hope you all have a great Labor Day Weekend! I'm hoping it will truly be a laboring weekend for me! :)

Foto Friday!

2009-09-04T14:14:00.002-04:00

This picture was taken while my husband was getting all of our baby things out of the garage attic last weekend. Reagan still thinks she's the baby and decided she was going to hang out in the infant seat. My favorite part about the picture is the knee pads. Sienna put them on her and said, "She needs to wear these because I'm going to drive."

I'm Not In Labor

2009-09-02T21:28:00.000-04:00

Just trying to keep myself occupied with other things....

Just Waiting

2009-08-31T11:44:00.004-04:00

My husband told me yesterday that it would be easier for me if I would just pretend the baby was not coming for several weeks. That way I wouldn't be living in a constant state of anxious anticipation.

I told him that it would be a lot easier to do that if I wasn't contracting all the time and if three times a day I thought I could be in labor due to their frequency and intensity.

I've shared with several people that the whole thing makes me a little bit nervous. As I mentioned the other day, when I was in labor with Reagan, even after my water had been broken, I didn't have any painful contractions until it was time to push. If that would happen again this time around....well, I don't know that I would even be at the hospital in time. (Do you see why I really want my water to break?)

I feel kind of like a blubbering fool lately when I post here on my blog. All I can really find to talk about is this impending birth. But all of you mothers know that once you're to this stage in the game, it pretty much consumes your thoughts. And by the way, if any of you want to call my husband and let him know that this is normal, that'd be great!

This weekend while I was just waiting, we managed to get quite a few things done. Which is good, because you know how people always say that the baby won't come until you have everything ready. Well, either that or it'll come before you have anything ready. But whatever. That second one is obviously not the case for me, so we don't even need to go there.

So our productivity list from the weekend looks like this:

-Went on a date w/ my hubby (thanks, Angel!)

-Played outside with the kids

-Made kitchen curtains

-FINALLY bought a new infant car seat (our old one was expired) and stroller

-Worked in the garage and hung lots of stuff from the ceiling (My husband's car might actually fit in again now that we're temporarily done with all our woodworking projects!)

-Cleaned out our master closet

-Put together the pack n play w/ bassinet

-Cleaned off changing table (being used as shelving) and prepared it for baby

-Got hubby's and baby's stuff ready for hospital (just need to get my own stuff ready!)

-Got baby stuff (swing, bouncer, playmat, etc.) out of the attic and set up

-Organized some business stuff in my office

-Made 7 sets of nursing pads (more on that later....)

Everything is pretty much ready. We have approximately 30 boxes waiting to go out w/ the trash tomorrow evening (although I'm not sure if they'll take all of that), and our garage is looking pretty great. The car seat is in the van, the baby's newborn "room" is almost complete (still lacking the nursing chair), my midwife is back to work, and this mommy is R.E.A.D.Y.!

So now....I'm just waiting....

It's Like Reagan All Over Again

2009-08-28T15:34:00.003-04:00

Twice last night I thought I could be in labor. My contractions were coming about 3 minutes apart and I was NOT sleeping. (As usual.) I was trying to decide if I should get up and pack my bags or stay in bed and try to rest.

And then they stopped.

I had the exact same type of "symptoms" when I was pregnant with Reagan exactly two years ago. Contractions would start up and would come consistently 5-8 minutes apart for at least an hour and then....they would just....stop.

It's enough to drive an expectant mother crazy, let me just tell you.

I don't remember specific triggers when I was pregnant with Reagan, but this time around, I pretty much have a contraction every time I get up. If I use the stairs, it's a definite. And if I do any sort of sudden movements (in reaction to, say, a suddenly screaming child), it's an absolute.

All of this would be fine and dandy if the contractions would just LAST. But they don't. I remember now why I begged my midwife after 3 weeks of this nonsense to please just break my water. Which she did. And out came Reagan! After that whole...head getting stuck sideways incident, that is.

I suppose many of you don't really care about the details of my almost labor stories, but I like to blog them to keep them on record for later. It's all for me, really. You just get the pleasure of sharing in it.

-------------------------------

Today my friend Cari called to tell me a VERY funny story and I mentioned to her that I had just been vacuuming my blinds. Yes, the blinds that cover the windows to our home have now been vacuumed. After I got off the phone, I proceeded to vacuum the edges of most of the ceilings downstairs as well as most of the floor edges with that little tiny crevice attachment. Now I'm becoming very irritated that we have no way of reaching (and therefore, cleaning) the window in our foyer.

The things pregnant people feel the desire to do will never cease to amaze me. Even when I'm the one doing them.

-----------------------------

But back to Reagan. Isn't she cute?

Fourth Time's A Charm?

2009-08-27T21:40:00.005-04:00

You know the story.

A very pregnant woman sets out to go grocery shopping. She packs her children into the car and drives to the store. There, she hustles and bustles (or rather, waddles) around, trying to get everything on her list before her children get too cranky. Or tired. Or hungry. Or whatever.

As she reaches for a box of cereal, she feels it. There's a gush. And suddenly....oh dear.

"Cleanup in Isle Seven!!"

-------------------------------------

As weird as I realize it may sound, I've always wanted this to happen to me. It sounds so storybook, so picturesque, so perfect. I've always wanted my water to break spontaneously. You know, without the use of that darned crochet-type needle being administered by my doctor. Having my water break on its own would just be so serene. And quiet. And crazy. But exciting! And messy.

I'm sure you're with me.

Of course, most women who experience spontaneous water breakage don't actually have a GUSH. It's more like a trickle. Or so I hear.

You see, I'm now nearing the end of my fourth pregnancy and I have yet to experience this. A gush or a leak. Today, I was actually quite sure that my water had broken. But, after waiting in the doctor's office for TWO HOURS, it was to be discovered that...nay, no amniotic fluid is present.

It was kind of a bummer, to be honest. You see, as my contractions seemed to increase (or so I thought), the more I began to settle in with the idea that my baby might come tomorrow.

On the other hand, my midwife just had a death in the family so she's out for the weekend and I'd really like her to be present at the birth. She's very supportive of my birth plan and, considering I've only met the doctor who oversees her twice, I'd much rather give birth with someone familiar.

On the other other hand, I'm pretty sure I might have mentioned that I'm hardly sleeping at this point. So sleep was sounding pretty amazing. Even if it only came in 3 hours stretches.

On the other OTHER other hand (my goodness, how many hands do I have??), I realize that I am just now 37 weeks and that it's ideal to be closer to 38 weeks before delivering. Especially if it's a boy. Which we don't know.

If only contractions were a reliable source of labor indication for me. Unfortunately, with my last baby, I had zero painful contractions until I was near the pushing stage. And really, I had had contractions 20 minutes apart for about 3 weeks by the time I gave birth. So now I typically don't even bother timing them or attempt to measure their intensity since it seemed very unreliable last time.

All that blabbering to say this: I'd really like for my water to break on its own. Just once. I'd like to KNOW it's time to head to the hospital, not just wonder if I'm making the right decision to call my husband home from work and pack all my bags in eager anticipation...only to be turned down upon arrival.

So maybe....just maybe....the fourth time's a charm.

Sleep Deprived

2009-08-25T07:22:00.004-04:00

I absolutely believe it's true when they say that nobody would have more than one child if they truly remembered what it was like.

And I'm not just talking about the labor and delivery part. I'm talking about the anxious waiting, the strained ligaments, the inability to see to shave your legs, the swollen extremities, the trips to the bathroom every 20 minutes, and the total lack of sleep in the 3rd trimester. Really, my sleeping hasn't been too bad up until this past week. I had been sleeping in 5-6 hour chunks. Now I'm just grateful if I can get back to sleep after my waking every 1 1/2 - 2 hours.

If I ever did (and I don't know if I ever did) blame mothers for their children getting into things or injuring themselves while they slept on the couch....I definitely don't do that anymore. Yesterday I took two naps while my kids played, because of course, I hadn't slept the night before. Nor did I sleep well last night. Perhaps because I took two naps yesterday. Or perhaps because I had to use the bathroom a lot. Either way, it's a vicious cycle. One I can't wait to end.

If I sound like I'm complaining, I'm really not. Well okay, that's a total lie. I am. But I'm trying to be content with this stage of my pregnancy. I know that I was about done with the whole thing by around 32 weeks so now, at 37 weeks, I'm totally over it. But I will wait...patiently, I hope.

Although I'm still praying for September 2nd. :)

PROJECT DAY 101

2009-08-24T08:34:00.002-04:00

We made it through Saturday! We had quite the - eh hem - ambitious to-do list, but we actually made very good progress on everything! My "kankles" at the end of the day were living proof that I was on my feet way too much that day. But I'll spare you a picture of that.

The weather this weekend was PERFECT. It was amazingly cool (I'm talkin' like 70s - yes, in August!!) and balmy with a bit of rain. But it worked out great for our indoor projects.

My husband's main project on Saturday was making three twin platform beds for our children. I was way too lazy to get my camera out while he was actually making them and totally forgot to get pictures before we put the mattresses on top, but you can see the type of beds he made here. These beds are VERY sturdy and were pretty easy to make. Or so I hear. :) We custom fit the height of the beds so we could store some specific things under them in order to free up some space in our closets.

My main project was making curtains for both of the kids' bedrooms. I made living room curtains last week, but these curtains were a bit more complex. I added a liner to each panel since we wanted our kids' bedrooms to be as dark as possible. And the girls' curtains were made of two different fabrics on the front also. Considering I'm not a very experienced seamstress, these two sets of curtains took me most of the day. I also made the decorative pillows on the kids' beds and have plans to make bed skirts once my matching fabric arrives at Joann.

I wanted to make a crib set, but since we don't know the gender of our soon-to-be-born babe, that'll have to wait until after the little one arrives.

Ok, ready for some pictures?

I thought so.

Alright, first up are our lovely new living room curtains. I realize they don't look spectacular as is, but I still haven't gotten around to making the tie-backs for them. Just picture it in your head, if you don't mind. (These are currently hanging in our bedroom until my husband has time to build a curtain rod for the living room.)

Next is Keaton's bedroom:

His room doubles as our guest room when my parents come down
to visit, so....hence, the futon.

A (blurry) close-up of his curtains...which are pretty basic...

The girls' bedroom:

Their curtains (my masterpiece)...

And there you have it, folks! Our PROJECT DAY in picture form!

As I said before, I still have bed skirts on my list of things to make as well as a few throw pillows for the futon in Keaton's bedroom (which will take a matter of minutes), and I'm trying to finish up some fabric wreaths for the wall in the girls' room.

The comforters and stackable crates are from Walmart. I plan to do a full post later on how we pulled off these room makeovers on a budget, so stay tuned for that.

Oh! And I guess I shouldn't forget to mention that our kids were SOOOOO excited about their new rooms. It was pretty hilarious. They ran around from bed to bed, climbing on each one and squealing with delight. We were glad they liked them.

Alright, so now that you've seen our weekend in complete details....what did you all do this weekend?

A Little Lost

2009-08-21T13:59:00.004-04:00

My children are gone for the weekend with my father-in-law and his wife, and I'm feeling...well...a little lost.

I have a to-do list that needs accomplished. I'd really enjoy a nap (although I'm not tired). I need to take a shower. I need to eat lunch. And I need to run to the post office.

Yet here I sit.

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In other news, I had my 36-week appointment this morning. Everything looks good, baby's head is down, and my midwife said I'm measuring a little big (although I'm quite sure of my dates, so nothing was changed). I was able to complete my birth plan this morning and go over it with my midwife at my appointment. She seemed very supportive of everything (except one tiny disagreement, but she didn't push me on it). I may post my birth plan at a later date...in case any of you are interested.

Next Friday marks my "safe date" and I'm praying for September 2nd if baby is ready.

I know it sounds silly to some to pray for a specific date, but as our Sunday School teacher is always saying, we should pray specifics. Of course, God is under no obligation whatsoever to fulfill my desire to birth on September 2nd and His timing is always perfect, but that date would work out very well for our schedule. That's all I'm sayin'. :)

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Tomorrow is our big PROJECT DAY. We are pretty much geared up for all the things we'd like to accomplish and we've already decided in advance that our work day will end at 5pm, so we can be sure to get in a (probably final) date before the new baby comes. I'm excited for the changes we are planning to make once our projects are completed. I'll keep you posted....

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The weather here in Indy is absolutely GORGEOUS this weekend! Hope it's just as nice where you are!

I'm Pretty Sure

2009-08-19T15:09:00.003-04:00

I'm pretty sure I absolutely positively MUST have set a personal record yesterday. I mentioned yesterday morning that my to-do list was 24 items long. However, as the day progressed, it seemed to magically grow. It's amazing how to-do lists do that sort of thing. Anyway, at the end of the day when all was said and done, I had completed - are you ready for this?? - twenty-five out of twenty-seven things on my list.

I know. I'm pretty proud too.

I'm also pretty sure that the (almost) completion of my ridiculously long to-do list is also the reason that I had ankles the size of softballs last night.

And I'm pretty sure it's the explanation for how I was able to eat three times my body weight in chocolate chip cookies over the past 24 hours.

And I'm pretty sure it explains why all I've done today is...well...nothing.

On an entirely separate note...I'm in the process of writing a birth plan for my labor and delivery this time around. You'd think I would have one sitting around from my previous birth experiences, but as it turns out...I've never actually made one before.

I did some research online and talked with a few of my friends and I think I sort of understand what I want to incorporate into it. I want to be detailed, but I don't want it to be so long that nobody will bother reading it.

Have any of you written a birth plan? And if so, were your wishes followed?

I could really use some help in this department.

Dirty Faces, Messy Hair

2009-08-19T15:03:00.004-04:00

That's just how my girls roll sometimes....

And if you look close enough, you can see the GIANT bruise on Reagan's forehead from her um...eh hem...accident yesterday.

More on that later. Maybe.

A Daunting To-Do List

2009-08-18T09:12:00.003-04:00

Yesterday I had a mental to-do list. Since I mostly just worked on sewing projects all day....that to-do list didn't quite get finished. Well, okay....so I barely touched it with a 10-foot pole. Today I wrote down EVERYTHING I need to do today. My list is a full page long.

I left sewing off the list today and I still have 24 things written down - 7 things checked off as of 9am.

So why am I blogging? Because I need a short break, of course. :) Blogging is NOT on my list, but I did want to tell you that I finished my living room curtains yesterday! My husband is planning to make a curtain rod for the living room so right now they are being tested out in our bedroom. Me likey.

Ok, I'm going to get back to my list now. And before you all tell me to lighten up on the to-do list, please know that "relax" is on my list too. :)

It's Bizarre, Really

2009-08-17T09:10:00.003-04:00

The whole nesting thing is such an odd reality. And it's definitely a reality. Don't even try to fight it, because if you do....well....just don't. It won't work anyway.

Nesting hits everyone a little differently. Some people can't clean out enough nooks and crannies in their home. Some people can't stop organizing. Some people can't get enough of cleaning their refrigerator. I've been hit with lots of different kinds of nesting over the spread of my four pregnancies, but this time...it's sewing.

I can't stop coming up with sewing projects. I have on my list this week:

1. Make living room curtains
2. Make bedroom curtains for my son's room and my daughters' room.
3. Make bedskirts for all three kids' beds.
4. Finish cloth book.
5. Make fabric wreaths for girls' room. (Kind of a sewing project....but not really.)
6. Make decorative pillows?
7. Make nursing pads.

And that's just until I think of something else.

Yes, some days I go crazy and clean the kitchen 3 times. Some days I very thoroughly vacuum the stairs. But today, in addition to my laundry and vacuuming and sweeping and toilet cleaning and cooking and trying to pretend it's not still five whole weeks until my baby is due....I'll be sewing. :)

And don't worry, I'll keep you posted on my projects with pictures and fun details and all that jazz.

Happy Monday!

If It Isn't One Thing, It's Another

2009-08-14T14:01:00.002-04:00

Warning: This post mentions poop.

Reagan, our youngest little one, has had quite the week. She's had diarrhea on and off (but mostly on) since Monday or Tuesday and has hardly eaten anything. She's normally a really good eater, but this week even the things she loves she was not interested in. Last night, I was starting to wonder if perhaps she had an ear infection, so I decided I would call this morning to get her in to the doctor's office before the weekend hit. (We so appreciate our pediatrician and he doesn't work on Mondays, so if it's a Friday and I have even the smallest inkling that my children might need to see a doctor in the next few days, I generally take them in that day just to be on the safe side.)

But, as an aside, I'm really NOT one of those moms who takes her kids in to the doctor all the time. In fact, most of the time I feel bad about not taking them in sooner when I find out they have some really progressed....whatever. But anyway....

This morning Reagan woke up later than usual and seemingly only woke up because she had rolled off her mattress. (She just moved out of her crib this week, so she's currently sleeping on a mattress on the floor.) I went in to get her and she was extremely lethargic. In fact, she fell back asleep half on the mattress and half in my lap. I moved her back onto her pillow and let her sleep for about another hour.

She had perked up a tiny bit by the time of her appointment at 11 o'clock, but she hadn't eaten anything and had actually thrown up once this morning. She was looking pretty pathetic and I admit I was selfishly really disappointed that she seemed too weak to walk. Thankfully, she fits over my belly pretty well. But she was still heavy.

The doctor checked her out. No ear infection. No diaper rash. No other visible problems. Her throat looked fine, but he said he'd check it just in case. (Since, remember, Sienna had strep last week?)

Apparently our children have some really bizarre strep symptoms (diarrhea is not a symptom of strep, but Sienna had it too) or perhaps a strange strain of strep is going around right now, but either way....Reagan's strep swab was also positive.

I was just glad it was treatable.

Since Keaton was with me, the doctor went ahead and looked at his throat. He said it looked fine, but of course....so did Reagan's. Since he knows I'm not a "medicine happy mom" (in fact, I'd say I'm pretty much as close to the opposite end of the spectrum as you can get), he went ahead and wrote me a prescription for Keaton as well and said if he starts to show any symptoms in the next 2 weeks to go ahead and get his prescription filled. The doctor and I both agreed that it would be best to get this whole strep thing out of the house before the new baby comes. So far, my husband and I are clear and I'm praying things will stay that way.

When we got home, Keaton did not finish his lunch (one of his favorites!) and said he wasn't feeling well.

Great.

At least we have the prescription if I decide we need it. I'll be watching him closely over the next few days. Hopefully this lunch deal was just a fluke, but we'll see....

*Sigh*

Motherhood is such an adventure!

On a completely unrelated and positive note, we sold our bunk beds this morning in preparation for a project we'll be completing next weekend. It was a nice set in good condition, but I was still a little amazed that we were able to get as much out of it as we were. My husband, on the other hand, thinks we "gave it away", it seems, as we sold it with the mattresses. But they were 10-year old mattresses. And really, we have absolutely no need for a full-size mattress anymore. We could have used the twin, but I figured if someone was interested in it, we might as well just sell it too and get a new one since each of our children will likely be sleeping in a twin bed until they leave the house!

More on THE PROJECT coming soon....

$74.10 Richer

2009-08-13T20:57:00.002-04:00

I seriously thought this day would never come. You know, the day your husband comes home from work to find you in the middle of the closet with EVERY SINGLE ITEM OF CLOTHING you own strewn around you as you desperately try to decide where you should put each exact article. Earlier, you were at the store and purchased more body wash and toothpaste than you'll ever need in a lifetime. Then you came home and made 12 meatloaves and 6 pans of lasagna....just in case you don't feel like cooking for a few weeks. And you know, just in case you can actually stomach that many repeated meals in just 18 days.

Well, I'm happy to tell you that none of those things happened today. But the nesting thing has definitely settled in with me. I'm a slightly uncomfortable 35-week pregnant woman who suddenly needs to get all sorts of unimportant things done in a matter of 2 weeks. Just in case.

Today I happened to notice a large pile of miscellaneous paperwork, doodads, memorabilia, and other random things in the corner of our bedroom. And even though I was going to go downstairs and put up an ad on Craigslist, then clean the kitchen, and then think about dinner....instead, I plopped down on the floor and began to dig through: THE PILE.

I had just gotten started when I found some checkbook ledgers. Empty, of course. Perfect! I'm always needing these! (You know, because I'm always putting them somewhere like...uh...in an unknown pile.) About 10 minutes later, I found some more checkbook ledgers. This time they were accompanied by some actual checks and - GASP! - money!!!

I must have looked like a kid in a candy store. I just know it. Because I grabbed it up as quickly as I could and counted it twice to be sure. Yep! Sure enough! Three 20 dollar bills!

God is so good.

I said a quick "thank you" to the Lord for helping me find this at the perfect time (more on that later) and continued on. I happened upon a black lock box that I was pretty sure we'd never used. But when I opened it up, I discovered that we had, in fact, used it once for a garage sale.

$4.10 never felt so great!

By this point I was feeling fantastic! So fantastic that I actually LEFT the entire pile sitting out - although, now the pile was more like....eh hem....8 piles. But you know....small ones. :)

To top it all off, I was playing a game this morning on the Huggies website and won $10 cash! (If you'd like details on this game, please visit this link.) So all in all, my pockets are $74.10 heavier than they were this morning.

Figuratively speaking, of course.

Good News, Bad News, Etc....

2009-08-13T12:23:00.002-04:00

Good News: Yesterday we went to the Indiana State Fair.

Bad News: It's always in August. August is HOT.

Good News: Yesterday wasn't bad, considering it's mid-August.

Bad News: I still sweat like crazy.

Good News: I remembered to bring my camera.

Bad News: I didn't take any pictures.

Good News: We got in free with coupons.

Bad News: We still had to park forever away.

Good News: We ate fair food.

Bad News: We paid $19 for 3 grilled cheese sandwiches, cotton candy, and an elephant ear.

Good News: That's far less than we usually spend.

Bad News: That didn't include a funnel cake. My favorite.

Good News: My husband made me a funnel cake last night.

Bad News: The first one got a little overcooked.

Good News: It still tasted pretty good.

Bad News: The kitchen is now a mess.

Good News: Naptime is coming!

But Seriously...I'm So Blessed

2009-08-11T14:43:00.002-04:00

On Sunday morning, we turned our 7am alarm off and waited for one of our children to reawaken us. It rarely happens that ANY of our children sleep past 7.15am, but if it's going to happen, it always does so on a Sunday morning. No. Fail.

So when our son broke into our room at 7.55am, the fun began.

I realize that for most reasonable people with three small children, allowing for just 45 minutes to eat breakfast, find clothes, get dressed, brush teeth, and leave the house is, um....a little absurd. But for us, well...unfortunately, it's all too common.

To further complicate the fact that we had gotten up late, I wasn't feeling fantastic and was still lying in bed listening to the commotion going on around me. Our middle child was in the bathroom. Our oldest child was in his room getting dressed. And our youngest child was laughing hysterically at my husband as he made funny noises while changing her diaper.

A sudden tear came to my eye as I realized....I am so blessed.

It happens every so often that this realization comes to me. And it's unfortunate that I can't recognize these moments more often.

I mean....Do I really wallow in self-pity so much that I can't even see all the good things going on around me? Is it possible that I think so much of myself that my awareness of all of God's blessings is utterly and absolutely lacking in my life?

Apparently so. Otherwise, these moments wouldn't be moments at all. They would be life.

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When my grocery cart is full and I hand over the cash to the clerk....am I thankful for God's promise to always provide what we need?

When my husband comes home from working a 12-hour day just so I can stay home with our children....do I really appreciate all the hard work he does for our family?

When my daughter asks for a hug 15 times a day.....do I savor the moment? And the fact that my daughter is here to ask me for such a thing....15 times a day?

When my children recite their Bible verses every evening before bed....do I understand the beauty of the habit they are forming because of my husband's diligence to teach them?

When I drive in my mini-van with the A/C blasting through the vents, see my children with their toys in their laps, and pop in my favorite CD....do I consider how lavishly rich we are in this country?

When I go to each midwife appointment and hear the sound of a beating heart, when I feel the incessant kicking all day every day and feel the sharp pains that come from carrying a child for 9 months....do I comprehend the absolute beauty of the miracle inside me?

And when I completely forget I have an appointment until the day it's scheduled and urgently call around to find a last-minute baby sitter for my three children....am I thankful for all the people the Lord has surrounded me with who are always willing to lend a helping hand?

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God is so good. And I am so ignorant of His goodness sometimes. But I'm grateful for the times he clunks me on the head to show me that...seriously...I am so blessed.

"Not Me!" Monday

2009-08-11T03:01:00.002-04:00

Just pretend I live on the west coast. Well, and then pretend it's about an hour earlier. There! Now we have no qualms about the timing of this "Monday" post. :)

It's time for the (almost) weekly edition of "Not Me!" Monday! I just know you're as excited as I am. So let's get started...

This week, I did not forget to make dinner every single stinkin' day. Because, you know, I'm pretty sure that's not even possible. Not even for a pregnant woman with 3 toddlers running around her house.

My husband and I, being the UNselfish parents that we are, did not tell our children they couldn't go out and ride their bikes one evening simply because it was so hot and we were too lazy to prepare for what would have been the inevitable bathtime to follow. We always ALWAYS think about our children first.

There is no way that while I was sitting in bed w/ my laptop, I reached over for a Kleenex, dropped my cell phone off my nightstand and proceeded to nearly fall out of bed trying to retrieve it. I am not that lazy that I wouldn't just set the laptop aside and pull my legs out of bed to get it.

I did not go through the McDonalds drive-thru wearing a Colts t-shirt and, when asked if I was ready for the season to start, totally pretend that I actually care about football (and more specifically, the Colts) just so the drive-thru guy (who was clearly a die-hard fan) wouldn't have his sweet, football-lovin' heart crushed by some stupid girl who happened to have just pulled out a t-shirt from the closet that, amazingly, still fits her.

I also did not just put in that last paragraph about something that actually happened at least a month ago and pretend it happened last week just so I would have something to write about. Because I would never do that.

While attending game night last weekend, I did not seriously pull out my bright green t-shirt spouting the words "I am not a model. I just look like one." and wear it. In public. Even though that shirt is strictly a home shirt only (and I honestly don't remember where it came from), there is no way that I found it just too funny for a 34-week pregnant woman to be wearing such a shirt and therefore, had to wear it. Again, in public.

I did not break down and cry about 5,947,227 times about various things that probably matter to absolutely NOBODY else in the whole world. Because pregnant woman don't do that sort of thing. Ever.

And speaking of things I never do, and therefore naturally didn't do this week either....

I did not raise my hands to the Lord while singing loudly in my car on the way to my last doctor's appointment, even though the entire world might have thought I was trying to give them some sort of hand signal through my front windshield. I never do bizarre things like that, especially if the words to the song I'm singing (or rather, not singing - ehem) start out with "We stand and lift up our hands..."

And finally....after kind of looking forward to it (although seriously wondering if I would have the energy to do it), I did not miss a (probably) fun night out with some girlfriends simply because - are you ready for this? - I totally forgot. As I've mentioned about a bazillion times, I DO NOT forget things that are important, that I'm looking forward to, or that really matter. Why? Because, you guessed it, pregnant woman do NOT do those sorts of things. Even if they've been reminded twice in the same day.

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Ahh, well I feel better now. :) Head on over to MckMama's blog, My Charming Kids, for more Not Me! Monday posts!

Foto Friday!

2009-08-07T08:58:00.001-04:00

Here's one of my favorites from a session I did last Friday. As usual, you can see a few more on my photography blog. :)

Get Your Finances In Line In 2009: July Recap

2009-08-07T08:44:00.004-04:00

As I mentioned last month, we had a pretty dull June. We weren't able to contribute anything extra to our FFEF (but we didn't borrow from it either!), so I added a note that I was excited to see what July might bring.

Well, our mortgage company must have been reading my blog because our mortgage payment went down significantly last month. I'm talking, like 20%. We have been anticipating this drop in our payment for over a year, but it just seemed like it would never happen! We are so happy that it finally has!

Not only does this free up some extra cash every month to put towards our FFEF, it also lowers the needed amount for our FFEF goal. I did some reworking of the budget and we were very pleased with the results. As it turns out, we just may be able to make our 6-month FFEF by the end of the year! We'll see!

So now, with our lower FFEF goal, here is our progress:

Goal #1: Save up and pay CASH for our 5-day vacation to Mackinac Island in June! :) ---- 100% completed ----

Goal #2: Fully fund our 6 month emergency fund and put into a money market account to be left UNTOUCHED unless there is an actual emergency. ---- 54.8% completed!! We're over the 50% mark!! This means we have 3 months of expenses in our bank account!! What a great feeling!! (Are you sensing my excitement? Lol) ----

Goal #3: Save for my husband to get a "new" (that means used) car. ---- My husband's car has been in and out of service for various things over the past several weeks, as it happens to be right now, but he's planning to fix yet another thing on it this weekend or next. He's so resourceful and, even when I think it's probably about time to get another car, he finds some really cheap (or free) way of keeping his little Subaru around just a little longer. Have I mentioned that I love my husband? ----

Goal #4: Raise retirement contributions to 12% (with a 4% match).

Goal #5: Open a money market account for each of our children.

Goal #6: Begin paying extra principal on our mortgage.

Goal #7: Establish a will and testament. ---- Still thinking about working on this... ----

Goal #8: Get disability insurance for both my husband and me. ---- If my husband ever has a free moment, he'll fill out this application. For real. ----

And there you have it, ladies and gentlemen! A very exciting month for us! The Lord has truly blessed our endeavors to be faithful with what He has given us. We can't wait to see what He will do next!

How's the summer panning out for all of you?

Dear Body, Forgive Me

2009-08-06T00:02:00.003-04:00

About once every 3-4 months I do a HUGE grocery shop. It consists of stocking up on all things pantry-like, including but not limited to: canned fruits and veggies, baking products (think flour, sugar, salt, soda, etc.), ground beef, chicken breasts, and sometimes household goods like toilet paper.

Tonight was such a shop. And let me tell you....boy, am I exhausted! I hadn't done a real grocery shop since June, so we were certainly ready for one of these babies! I convinced myself that I had the energy to do it, and so off I went. Well, okay...so it was more like me convincing myself that I really had to do it since there is no such likelihood that I'll be in the mood for one at any time during the rest of my pregnancy. And it was more like dragging myself to the store. But I digress.

I used to shop at about 3 stores every time I went out, but after a while I discovered this was rather cumbersome, so now I generally stick to 1-2. Tonight was a 2-store shop and I feel pretty good about the deals I managed to snag at both stores.

Now granted, I did spend slightly over our monthly grocery budget tonight alone. But again, this type of bulk shopping happens only once every 3-4 months and it's allowed that I go a bit over.

Right?

And considering I picked up 48 rolls of toilet paper, 2 giant boxes of diapers, a giant box of baby wipes, and 4 boxes of tissues (hey, cold season is just around the corner!) amongst all the other stocking up I did....I consider it a pretty good night. And really, we shouldn't need to grocery shop again for like, forever.

I left the boxes of diapers, wipes, tissues, toilet paper, and all other non-urgent things in the van and dragged in all the other stuff. I have now officially unloaded all the groceries, filled the fridge and freezer to near capacity, and set out all the dry goods to be put away in the morning.

All things considered, I feel great.

But my poor belly and legs hate me right now.

Strep Throat

2009-08-05T15:48:00.003-04:00

It struck me as an odd time to develop something like this, seeing as it is mid-summer, but regardless of what I thought of it....we discovered today that my daughter has strep throat.

I'm not entirely convinced that strep is to blame for all the diarrhea, upset stomach, and vomiting...but we'll see how things turn out after the medication gets into her. That is, if she can keep it down.

She's on strict orders to only eat half a cracker at a time (every 1-2 hours) and drink 1/2 ounce of liquid every 30-45 minutes. Once she doesn't seem to be throwing up anymore, then she can resume regular eating habits (if her appetite returns). But I suspect there will be a lot of whining around the house until then.

Since I figured finding a babysitter for Friday was probably out of the question since all my babysitter-swapping friends have children of their own, I had to reschedule my appointment for Monday. Perhaps that will make me seem further along. Or something.

Anyway, my apologies to anyone who's been in contact with Sienna lately. I'm hoping this will stay contained, but with 5 people in this house...we'll have to wait and see.

Soon, Very Soon

2009-08-03T15:27:00.004-04:00

Well alright...so technically it could be up to 8 weeks away, but I'm shooting for 4, okay? :)

Soon this new baby will enter the world. And although I've done this hospital bag thing what seems like a million times before (although really, only three), I feel completely unprepared this time around. So on that note...I'd love to know what you all found absolutely indispensable while at the hospital before/during/after giving birth.

I know a few things that I haven't brought in the past but plan to bring this time are:

1. SOFT TOILET PAPER. (What are those hospital people thinking when they put that scratchy stuff in the labor and delivery rooms?!?!?) My personal favorite is Charmin Ultra Soft. It will be my best friend.

2. Lots of snacks. Because, yes, I cheat while I'm in labor and eat. (Just don't tell the nurses.) And also because meals just don't seem to come around often enough. Plus, my sweet supportive husband needs something to eat too! Especially while he's coaching me.

3. My laptop. The only reason I haven't brought this in the past is because I never had one before. But this time I do. And hopefully there will be no problems w/ the internet connection so I will have plenty of things to read/write about/pursue while waiting for my release.

4. My camera. DUH.

Alright, so....do you have any must-have recommendations?

Foto Friday!

2009-07-31T03:34:00.002-04:00

I blog about Cari a lot. Well, probably more than any other one person out there. But you know, not incessantly.

Yesterday she brought over her sweet baby for some newborn pictures and, my goodness, was he perfect! Here's one of my favorites from our session, but you should really go check out the rest! :)

Happy Friday!

Blame It On The Pregnancy

2009-07-30T01:44:00.002-04:00

Yesterday was a bad day. And when I say bad, I mean, like....REALLY bad. And when I say REALLY bad....I mean, yes, of course it would pale in comparison to anyone living in a third-world country, anyone who has recently lost a loved one, or anyone who has any number of serious problems to deal with. But for me and my comfortable American way of living....it was bad.

I was hardly functional. Like, if there was such a thing as pre-partum depression and if this state of mind lasted for more than a week, I'd consider drugs. The legal kind, of course. But, be things as they are, I'm pretty sure I can just chalk this one up to the pregnancy.

I'm not really sure what the deal was, to be honest. I was processing some news I had recently learned about from a friend (really terrible news, mind you), realizing that I have absolutely nothing ready for this baby whenever he or she makes her entrance (all the while knowing full well that babies don't really need anything), thanking the Lord that my work schedule is almost complete for this summer (but wondering what I'll actually do with my time until I pick back up this fall), and dealing with a lot of screaming children....and little sleep on both my part AND theirs. And my feet were swollen. I hate that feeling.

It was a bad day.

When my husband got home, I told him I was sure I was on the verge of some sort of emotional breakdown. Not that I'm entirely sure what an emotional breakdown actually is. But I was sure.

And as we were tag-teaming dinner, the tears began to flow. I normally lock myself away somewhere so my children don't have to wonder "what's wrong with Mommy" but yesterday I just didn't have the energy to move. I cried in the middle of the living room floor. Then next to the Kleenex box. Then in the kitchen.

My middle child, Sienna, was thankfully the only one who seemed to notice.

"Mommy?"

"Mommy?"

"Mommy?"

....she kept saying with a very concerned look on her face. I couldn't bear to respond because, honestly, I had no idea how to sum up into words what was actually wrong. Finally at the dinner table, she got out, "Why were you sad, Mommy?" at which point I still didn't really know, so I just asked her to finish her dinner.

It's hard explaining things to kids. It really is. Especially when you're having a bad day.

As I was getting ready for bed last night, I read the daily Proverb, chapter 29. As I oftentimes am when reading the book of Proverbs, I was struck with how straightforward (and truthful) the writer is.

"A fool always loses his temper, but a wise man holds it back." (v 11)

"A child who gets his own way brings shame to his mother." (v 15)

"When a wicked man rules, people groan." (v 2)

And the selfishness of the day came back to me. Is it okay to have a bad day? Sure, sometimes it's unavoidable. Is it okay to cry in front of your kids? Hey, sometimes it happens. But feeling overwhelmed is simply a lack of trust in God. And yesterday, I was seriously lacking in that area. So today my verse to remember is this:

Philippians 4.6-7

Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God which surpasses all comprehension will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Tasty Tuesday - Homemade No-Bake Cheesecake

2009-07-28T05:02:00.003-04:00

Some people ONLY like baked cheesecake. Some ONLY like what I prefer to call cream cheese pie - which is technically unbaked cheesecake. I happen to be a fan of both. But there is one particular restaurant who has a cheesecake that I just absolutely LOVE. Fortunately for my figure, the restaurant is located where my parents live and not here in Indy. Nevertheless, I've been wondering for years what sort of recipe they use for their cheesecake.

While browsing cheesecake recipes the other day (why yes, that is my idea of fun), I discovered this one.

Oh. My. Goodness.

This is almost identical to the restaurant cheesecake that I love so dearly except for one tiny discrepancy. I think this one is actually a little bit better. Yes, better!

It's easy, it's delicious, and it's oh so fattening! So give it a try. I bet you'll love it! (Even my husband who doesn't care much for unbaked cheesecake thought this stuff was amazing.)

10-lb Cheesecake

2 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup melted butter
3 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
2 (14 ounce) cans sweetened condensed milk
1/2 cup lemon juice
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 (12 ounce) container frozen whipped topping, thawed

Stir together graham cracker crumbs, sugar, and melted butter. Press into a 9x13 inch baking dish.
Use an electric mixer to beat the cream cheese until smooth. Beat in the sweetened condensed milk, lemon juice, and vanilla extract until well blended and smooth. Fold in whipped topping. Pour filling into crust and smooth the top.
Refrigerate until firm, 2 to 3 hours.

Once this baby is firm (or before that, if you prefer), top it with fruit if you'd like. Personally, I like it just the way it is, but I may try some raspberry mixture and whipped cream next time. (They have this variation at the restaurant I spoke of earlier and it is DEEE-LISH!)

Man, now I really wish I had some cream cheese in the house....

"Not Me!" Monday

2009-07-27T07:11:00.006-04:00

Since I didn't participate in "Not Me!" Monday last week and since last week MckMama hosted a "Not My Child!" Monday instead of the regular "Not Me!" Monday, this week will be a combination of both.

(And, sidenote: While we're talking about MckMama, please pray for her son Stellan. I've posted about him in the past and the 'Pray for Stellan' button in my sidebar is devoted to him. He has been out of the hospital for a few months now but went back in for some experimental drug treatment since the combination of drugs he has been on doesn't seem to be working any longer. Since being admitted, his condition has gone downhill. Way downhill. Please pray for him and his family. You can find details on his mommy's blog.)

Ok, now back to "Not Me!" Monday....

After spending the morning at the park one day and doing laundry the next, I most certainly did not find a small pile of pebbles at the bottom of my washing machine. My children would never steal rocks from the park and then keep them in their pockets for me to later find in the washer.

I definitely did not burst out laughing when my son exclaimed yesterday on the way home from church, "Hey, look at those hot dogs growing over there!" while pointing at the cattails in a nearby ditch. I would never harm my child's self-esteem by laughing directly in front of them at something they don't know about yet.

I did not fret and hide my left hand all weekend (or be sure to explain the situation to all within hearing range) because I was sure I looked like a statistic (single pregnant mom) everywhere I went without my rings on. While dropping them off at the jeweler's to get a new layer of rhodium (shiny stuff) on them, I did not consider asking the jeweler why they don't offer one-size-bigger-than-normal "loaners" to pregnant moms, so they could still appear married even if their fingers were each the size of a small boulder. Or if they just wanted to send their rings in to get shiny-ized again. I am not that concerned about my image!

My husband and I certainly did not take advantage of my mom's babysitting offer and leave the kids with her all day long on Saturday. Just because we could. We also did not go out to lunch, then get ice cream at Coldstone, and then buy popcorn and soda for our movie because we are not gluttons. We always stop eating as soon as we are full and never spend money on "date food" three times in one day. That would just be wasteful! And speaking of wasteful, we definitely didn't stop and get more popcorn on the way out of the theater just because there were free refills. And even if we had, we certainly would have eaten it all right away and not left it on our counter for 2 days until it got stale.

While stopping by Motherhood Maternity the other day and attempting to purchase a few nursing bras before the baby actually arrives, when the very young, obviously-never-had-children attendant asked how they fit, I did not go into a lengthy dissortation about how frustrating it is that bra companies can't seem to figure out that you can't use the same pattern for a size A cup as you can for a size E cup. I did not feel the need to tell her that making the pattern bigger is not the answer but rather making an entirely different cut might solve the problem. I never offer my full range of thoughts on issues when asked a simple question because I know there are boundaries. And therefore, the very young, obviously-never-had-children attendant who was now looking rather sheepish did not feel the need to mention that another woman said she had found a better bra at Walmart. (Go figure.)

And finally... there is no way I completely forgot to attend a party for a friend of mine who is in town from Brazil for a few weeks. I am always tack sharp when it comes to things like that! Oh, and did I mention that I always write everything on my calendar? Yep, cuz I don't want to miss a thing!

Normally, this is where I'd link you over to MckMama's "Not Me!" Monday post but considering she is spending time in the hospital with her sweet baby right now, I don't know if she'll be posting an edition this week or not. But you can always check here and if I see a post, I'll link to it later.

Happy Monday, everyone!

Absolutely Nothing

2009-07-27T06:58:00.002-04:00

Nothing but laundry and cleaning and feeding my children, that is. That's what's on the agenda for today.

After spending last week dropping my two older kids off at VBS every single day, running various errands every single day, going out on a date with my hubby on Saturday (thanks, Mom!), going to church yesterday, and working 2 days last week...I am utterly wiped.

Last night I was so tired I cried. Just from being tired. I told my husband I was so glad this is my last week of working until the baby comes. I honestly have no idea how people work a full-time job until their due date. Maybe they're superwoman. Or maybe they don't already have 3 toddlers at home. Either way, I know without a shadow of a doubt that I am SO blessed to be able to stay at home with my children.

So today, in honor of me, I'm doing ABSOLUTELY NOTHING. Nothing but laundry and cleaning and feeding my children, that is. You know, the normal we're-staying-home-and-not-going-anywhere-because-the-weekend-just-ended kind of Monday.

And I'm very happy.

Foto Friday!

2009-07-23T23:38:00.000-04:00

I know I've been touch and go on Foto Friday as of late, but since I had a super sweet little newborn in here this week, I really want to show him off. I know I already put a plug in for him earlier this week, but hey...I'm a sucker for the little guys. What can I say?

Ok, now...again, I beg you....go see the rest!

In Anticipation Of Something Great

2009-07-23T23:19:00.003-04:00

I'd like to proudly announce that it took me less than the anticipated 4-6 weeks for all of the wedding photos from my last wedding to be sorted, processed, resized, and uploaded to an online gallery. Perhaps your wedding photographer had your pictures to you in three days and you're, like, totally unimpressed. Perhaps your photographer took something more like three months and you, like, can't believe how fast I am. Either way you look at it, for a frazzled mom with (almost) 4 kids under 5...personally, I'm impressed.

So there.

I'd also like to proudly announce that I made it to the grocery store this morning! I'm somewhat ashamed to admit that the last time I went grocery shopping was (gulp) on July 3rd. Yes, the July 3rd that was X'd off the calendar a whopping THREE weeks ago. But I am so thankful that we are capable of keeping, and do keep our home fairly well stocked with the essentials.

So no, my children were not living on Raman noodles and Kraft mac 'n cheese. And no, we weren't drinking powdered milk and Tang.

It's extremely rare that I make it to the grocery store midweek in the morning, but when I do, I love how many markdowns I find. I also get a kick out of the fact that they call all that nearly expired stuff the "Manager's Special". I mean, really. We all know the only reason it's "special" is because if nobody buys it today, it's going to go into the trash.

Anyway, I scored some yummy OJ and some organic yogurts for a pretty sweet price. So I was happy about that. And while I'm talking about good deals, let me just rant and rave for one tiny second about something that is NOT a good deal.

DIAPERS.

Who does Huggies think they are kidding?? Like I'm not going to notice the fact that there are now 36 diapers per package instead of 42?? Oh, and also the fact that the price has not gone down, not stayed the same, but has actually risen?? Oh man, don't even get me started!!

Seriously. I don't want to talk about it. So drop it already.

Moving on....

Tomorrow is Friday and I'm very happy about that. I know lots of people love Saturdays, but I think I must just thrive on the anticipation of something great - or something like that - because I love knowing that Fridays bring about the anticipation of Saturday. Once we actually reach a Saturday, I can no longer be anticipatory because thinking of Sunday only leads me to think of Monday. And well, I'm not a big Monday fan. I mean, I don't use the word "hate" too often, but...if I did....well, I'm just sayin'.

ANYWAY....

Fridays are good. And if you didn't follow anything I just said in that last paragraph, go back and read it again. Eh, you know what? Nevermind. Don't even bother. It probably doesn't make a lick of sense anyway.

Happy (almost) Friday, everyone!

Only 8 Weeks To Go

2009-07-22T13:30:00.003-04:00

My goodness, is it Wednesday already??

I'm totally slacking in the blogosphere right now. I have a whole slew of post ideas but none of them seem to be at the top of my priority list. In real life, I'm in the midst of processing lots of pictures and picture orders, keeping my house clean, helping organize a school supply drive, trying to keep my children in their rooms at naptime, watching our new grass grow, being kicked in the cervix, cleaning my kitchen five times a day, taking my kids to VBS every morning this week, and you know...all that other normal stuff.

I'm pretty wiped out and am definitely feeling very pregnant. My mom is visiting this week, so that's offering me a nice break from doing all the kid things. But there are still things I have to get done. Namely, grocery shopping. UGH.

I had great intentions of making a lot of freezer meals before this little one arrived, but I just don't know if I'm going to have the energy for that. I hardly have the energy to make one meal for each day of the week. How on earth would I have the energy to make 4 or 5 at a time??

If you're bored and would like something to do, you should really go look at Gretchen's adorable baby boy over on my photography blog. I took his newborn pictures this week and he was so precious and cute and squishy! So you should go look at them. It'll make you smile. I promise.

Sucker Punched

2009-07-16T22:23:00.004-04:00

Warning: Graphic pregnancy speech ahead.

There's a weird phenomenon that takes place after you've gotten pregnant and had a child...and specifically after you've done those things multiple times. Your personal life becomes not so personal and you share things with people that the average un-pregnant person would never share. Like for instance, the details of and goings-on which occur near your cervix.

If you've never been pregnant, you'll absolutely in no way be able to understand what I'm about to say.

I hate being punched, kicked, and prodded....in my cervix. I mean, I know the kid can't help it, but come on.

Early on in the pregnancy it's just kind of a strange feeling but as I near the end, I can't help but wonder what the heck that child is thinking! I literally expect to feel the warm sensation of amniotic fluid running down my legs every time I get sucker punched down there. It's highly uncomfortable and always leaves me wondering when it was that I had all that caffeine. Because surely these things don't just happen.

I have 7 weeks left before I am considered full-term (or 6, in some areas) but I sure feel like I could deliver this child at any moment. I know I've probably said this over and over again, but I seriously feel like I've been pregnant for all of about 12 months. It's totally ridiculous.

I know the baby is not "fully cooked" yet, so I'm trying to be patient, but it would be a whole lot easier if this little one could just stop with the rampant kicking and punching down there.

I'm just sayin'.

More Than We Bargained For

2009-07-15T15:40:00.005-04:00

Yesterday morning while my kids were reading in their rooms, I decided to hop in the shower while I had the chance. When I got out of the shower, I clothed myself in my bath robe and went to my bedroom window to open the blinds. Since our backyard is fairly private and since I typically dress in the bathroom, I generally open the blinds early in the morning. But when I peeked out the window as I began to open them, I saw four men with their backs to me staring into my backyard.

It took me a second to gather my thoughts before I realized that I recognized one of the men as my last bride's father. He's a local landscaper and we bargained a sweet deal for her wedding. He would do some yardwork for us. I would shoot the wedding for about half price.

You see, we'd been wanting to clear our some of the brush behind our lawn for quite some time. In fact, my husband had butchered it several times with his machete, but it kept growing back. Apparently bushes do that sort of thing if they aren't properly dug up.

The land isn't actually ours. It is part of our neighborhood's "protected tree area". But thankfully that area doesn't include protecting bushes, so we decided tearing them out would be a great way to give us a bit more space in the backyard. And also, to keep them from taking over our lawn.

So back to yesterday. The kids and I really enjoyed watching the bushes being dug up, torn down, and pushed aside, the seed being spread, and the - uhh...cover? - being put on top of the seed to help it grow. The area looked relatively larger than I had anticipated, but that was okay with me.

When my husband got home, we had dinner, put the kids to bed, and decided to wander out to the backyard since neither of us had actually been back there to fully evaluate the whole situation. As we walked, the yard seemed to stretch further and further back. I honestly can't believe how much room there is!

As we tried to figure out how we managed to get such a wide open space that was so much larger than we had originally thought it would be, we came to the following conclusion: There was somewhat of a clearing behind some of the bushes. Our theory is that when our landscaper reached the clearing, he just kept pushing the bushes further back so we could use that clearing as part of our yard.

Whether or not that is actually the case, we absolutely can't believe the space back there! "It's like a park," my husband said. And I conquer.

We didn't break any rules, but we sure hope the neighborhood association doesn't mind this extra large clearing in our "backyard". I can't wait for the grass to grow and for the kids to be able to have shade to play in during the day! Our yard is pretty sunny until late in the afternoon, so morning play has always been fairly restrictive due to the risk of sunburn that runs so high in our family. But now we will have an open space, a space to run, a space to live. It's so beautiful.

Oh, what? You can't picture this? Is that what you're saying, Katy? Well, just for you...here are some pictures. (Even though you could totally just run over and view it for yourself.) :)

Here's what our yard looked like shortly after the landscaper arrived yesterday:

And here is what it looks like today:

(And to be fair....the picture really doesn't do it justice. We gained about 10-15 feet of space from our lawn to the big tree in the middle and then at least 25 feet beyond the tree.)

Now grow, grass! Grow!

It Makes Me Laugh

2009-07-15T04:45:00.002-04:00

In my absolute delusion of being awake at 4am, I'd like to point you to what may possibly be one of the funniest blogs on the web. If you ever have about 15 hours to waste, this, my friends, is the place to do it. I literally laugh out loud every single time I visit this blog and I can just about guarantee you will too. Unless of course, you have no sense of humor. In which case the guarantee will not apply.

Cake Wrecks

I'd also like to say that if I typod every word in this post and my grammar leaves something to be desired, please assert all errors to the time of day this post is being written. Or my pregnancy. But a combination of both would be ideal. You can never have too many outs, right?

A Lot of Laundry

2009-07-14T08:19:00.002-04:00

Yesterday was one of those days. One of the few days I've had with this pregnancy where I feel alive and capable of doing almost anything. (Anything, that is, except scuba-diving. I have a terrible fear of being eaten by a shark.)

I don't know if I did any laundry last week. Well, okay...I think I remember doing laundry, but I know for certain that I never folded any. I was trying to blame that on the fact that my laundry table had been moved downstairs for our cookout the weekend before, but when my husband brought it back upstairs midweek that kind of ended my excuse. But I still didn't fold it. I just felt so tired.

I remember doing a fairly thorough cleaning before our company arrived on the 4th, so I wasn't too concerned about the bathrooms or floors. But the kitchen....ohhh, the kitchen. It's a place that seems to never be finished. There's always something to do in the kitchen.

Sweeping. Mopping. Dishes. Emptying the dishwasher. Loading the dishwasher. Cleaning the table. Cleaning the countertops. Oh, and who could forget cooking? Which of course, leads back to all of those things again.

Most days I hate the kitchen. Some days I detest it. Last week was a detestable kitchen week. I did manage to load the dishwasher once or twice and I tried to keep everything rinsed after meals, but I admit that my husband was stuck doing a lot of the kitchen work that I should have done myself. Thankfully, he is quite the servant in the kitchen and quietly picked up where I had left off (or rather....not done anything).

This weekend was no better. I continued to stare into the kitchen and hoping that if I wished hard enough the kitchen fairies would appear and put everything in its place.

Unfortunately, no fairies ever came.

Not only could I not find any kitchen fairies, I also couldn't find any vacuuming fairies, laundry fairies, or grocery shopping fairies. WHERE ARE ALL THE FAIRIES?!?!

Eh hem. Sorry.

Anyway, when I woke up yesterday morning I was determined to pick up, clean up, and straighten up the house. I totally pooped out around 1.30pm but made a short comeback after dinner to vacuum the stairs and the upstairs (which only gets done about once a month). All in all, with some help from my children, I managed to:

- wash, dry, and put away 4 loads of laundry
- load and unload the dishwasher
- clean the countertops, sink, and kitchen table
- sweep the kitchen floor
- vacuum 14 stairs + 3 bedrooms + 2 closets + 1 loft
- compose 3 blog posts
- process some wedding pictures
- reorganize our closet shelves
- fill in my business calendar
- research some insurance questions
- pay several bills
- feed my children - twice!
- strip and remake 3 beds and 1 crib
- rearrange (again) the laundry baskets in our quest to find the most efficient way to do laundry in this house
- completely forget about dinner

That's right. In all that work, I totally forgot to plan dinner. But thankfully, the Lord has given me a very forgiving husband. He ran to the bread store, grabbed a few loaves of bread (since we were totally out) and came home to help make our "breakfast dinner": toast, eggs, and sausage.

Um...can we say nesting may have set in? I think so.

Speaking of which...I am 31 weeks this Thursday! On one hand, it seems like I have so far to go. On the other hand, I could be having a baby in 7 weeks! I have about 5,000,009 things I want to do before the little one arrives, but....I'll just stick to doing what I am capable of and the rest will get done eventually.

Today I have a photo shoot with an adorably cute and squishy newborn and I can't wait! Check my photography blog later this week if you'd like to see pictures. :)

Happy Tuesday, y'all!

This Post Is For Cari

2009-07-13T15:12:00.005-04:00

Ok, that's totally untrue. I was getting ready to write it anyway but since, while I was readying myself, she left a comment asking about it....I'll pretend it's just for her. I mean YOU, Cari. This post is just for YOU.

Last Friday, we did go to Chick-fil-A. Twice. We always go twice because my husband hates to miss out. The funny part is that this year he actually printed out the cow spots from the C.A.D. website and went on his lunch. But he still insisted that we go again for dinner. So we did.

What can I say? He's the boss.

Anyway, our first trip to Chick-fil-A was only mildly terrifying. (My husband thinks it's hilarious that I use the phrase mildly terrifying so often, by the way.) When we arrived, I coerced my children out of the van and immediately locked it so they could not try to get back in. Ok, so I locked it because my camera was in there. But whatever.

There was some whining on the way in, despite the fact that we hadn't actually seen the cow through the window. But I was sure it was there and kept reassuring my children that "even though the cow will be there, you don't have to be afraid". It totally didn't work. But back to the story....

A few of my friends were already there with their children when we arrived, so one of them helped usher us all in. When she announced that there was NO COW in the store, my children relaxed and so did I. A little.

We ordered our food, sat down and began to eat. And then it happened.

Along came Cow. Giant, scary, head-way-too-large-for-its-body cow.

My son actually did quite well. My daugther cried into my shoulder for the next 30 minutes. I know I'm the meanest mom in the world for forcing them to stay inside the restaurant, but hey...I was eating!

The manager stopped by our table shortly after the cow began its rounds on the other end of the restaurant. I mentioned to him that two of my children were pretty scared of the cow and kindly asked him if there was any way he could request that the cow remain a reasonable distance from our table. Since the people who work at Chick-fil-A are the nicest people on earth, of course he complied. But the presence of the cow was still enough to leave my middle child clinging to me for dear life.

After playing in the playplace for a while after eating (or not eating, as my terrified children did), we managed to make it out of the restaurant with minimal psychological damage.

Due to the emotional trauma of the day's events, I was hoping my husband would not be interested in going again, but alas...my dreams were dashed to pieces when he said "But I was planning on Chick-fil-A for dinner."

So we set out for the next closest Chick-fil-A. I was already Chick-fil-A'd out and still pretty full from lunch, so I insisted that my husband wear the adult cow suit and I just wore a "Eat Mor Chikin" sign so I could get a little something.

When we arrived, I was SO happy to see a rather empty parking lot and no scary cow in sight. Let's face it....Castleton is just way less cool with the south side of Indy. (Just kidding, Castleton folks.) :)

The cow never did show up, a non-happening for which I was very grateful, and we enjoyed a peaceful (albeit, very familiar) dinner. As we were going outside to get back into the van, I realized I hadn't taken any pictures. So here I give you the one, THE ONLY, picture taken from our Chick-fil-A day:

I know. The adult cow suit is totally envious. Too bad you can't see the udders in this picture.

And Cari, next year you need to join us so you can see all of this chaos played out LIVE in front of your very own eyes. It's really rather entertaining. You know, if you thrive on the excitement that comes from a small child's tear-filled eyes and screams of horror at the sight of something so scary, so monstrously huge, so terrifyingly awful as THE CHICK-FIL-A COW.

Get Your Finances In Line In 2009: June Recap

2009-07-13T14:36:00.000-04:00

June was a fun and kind of crazy month here at the Stone household. We went on vacation and it was fantastic. We spent every penny of our vacation budget and never once felt bad about it! Now I absolutely understand the beauty of going on vacation with cold hard CASH. Noooo stinky credit cards. Pew.

Three members of our family had dentist appointments and....I can't exactly remember what it was but something else happened last month that sort of through a loop in our average monthly expenses. Sadly, we weren't able to contribute any additional funds to our FFEF, but we also didn't have to take any money from it either...which is a blessing!

Last week we got an overpayment from our escrow account (now that the Indiana tax fiasco seems to finally be settling out) so we are planning to use a bit of that for some extra things we've been needing and hopefully we'll stash some of it into our savings in addition to our regular monthly funding.

This month's "update" looks pretty identical to last month....

Goal #1: Save up and pay CASH for our 5-day vacation to Mackinac Island in June! :) ---- 100% completed ----

Goal #2: Fully fund our 6 month emergency fund and put into a money market account to be left UNTOUCHED unless there is an actual emergency. ---- 40.5% completed ----

Goal #3: Save for my husband to get a "new" (that means used) car.

Goal #4: Raise retirement contributions to 12% (with a 4% match).

Goal #5: Open a money market account for each of our children.

Goal #6: Begin paying extra principal on our mortgage.

Goal #7: Establish a will and testament. ---- Still thinking about working on this... ----

Goal #8: Get disability insurance for both my husband and me. ---- We're still in the process of finalizing this for my husband. Which really means, I have the paperwork in my email inbox and that's about as far as we've gotten. ----

Since June was so dull, I'm extra excited to see where we'll be by the end of July!

It seems unlikely BUT I'd love to be able to say that we have completed our FFEF by the end of 2009! Doing so would require some extra pay (extra business for me and/or OT or a raise for my hubby) and probably some extra scrimping, but OH MAN would that be fun! We'll see how things go....

It's Gonna Be Big

2009-07-09T22:02:00.002-04:00

Next to me sits a bag. In that bag is a package of toddler-sized white t-shirts, two toddler-sized white skirts, a toddler-sized pair of black shorts, and 5 sheets of felt. What's going to happen next is going to require a scissors, some safety pins, and way too much creativity for 10 o'clock at night on a Thursday.

That's right, ladies and gentlemen, I am about to create for my children three very (sarcasm implied) snazzy cow costumes for the big day.

As I briefly mentioned in yesterday's post....tomorrow (Friday, July 10th) is Cow Appreciation Day at Chick-fil-A. And if you've never been to Chick-fil-A on Cow Appreciation Day before...well, you've just never lived. It's like you've walked into a movie where cows are the only actors. Even the friendly Chick-fil-A employees moo at you and somehow turn their hands into hooves.

Ok, I made up those last two sentences, but here's the deal:

If you dress like a cow from head to toe, you'll get a free meal tomorrow. If you wear a cow accessory (bet you didn't even know cows wore accessories, did ya?), you'll get a free entree.

It's that simple!

Personally, I plan to dig out our adult-sized cow costume and wear that, of course, having in tow my three small calves wearing their very snazzy homemade cow costumes. And we will partake in C.A.D. together as a little cow family (minus daddy cow). It'll be grand.

Oh, except for the part where my 3 and 4-year olds scream at the top of their lungs when they see the giant scary Chick-fil-A cow walking through the restaurant. And especially if he tries to stop at our table or any table with a 10-foot radius of ours.

But I'm just going to pretend that isn't going to happen.

Even though...it totally will.

I Don't Want To Go Inside!

2009-07-08T15:01:00.002-04:00

Yesterday was totally exhausting. I have no idea what was going on with my body, but I was completely wiped. Even the thought of getting off the couch to sweep the (desperately-in-need-of-being-swept) kitchen floor made me dizzy. So I didn't. I didn't do anything. And I'm not even joking. You should have seen the house when I got up this morning.

Well okay...no. Maybe it's best that you didn't.

But when I woke up this morning, I was so happy to feel normal again. Whatever 30-weeks-pregnant-with-my-4th-child normal is....that's how I felt. After extensively cleaning the kitchen, I decided it would be fun to make a Chick-fil-A run. I had to go to the bank anyway and I knew Chick-fil-A was giving away free peach milkshake samples so I figured the kids would enjoy those. And playing on the playground there.

But as soon as we arrived I knew it wasn't going to work out.

THE COW WAS THERE.

My two oldest children are terrified of the cow. I mean....really terrified. Keaton is starting to finally get over this (I think) but Sienna was adamant.

"I'm not going inside if the cow is here!"

And I knew she wasn't.

Besides the fact that she was scared out of her mind, I wasn't exactly interested in carrying in two toddlers while they screamed, "I don't like the cow!!!" so I just opted for the drive-thru. It was cheaper that way anyway since I just got myself a meal and then fed the kids at home, but I was kind of looking forward to sitting down, letting them play for a little while, and getting free refills.

Oh well.

Friday is Cow Appreciation Day at Chick-fil-A and I really want to take the kids, all of us dressed like a cow, to get free meals. BUT....I absolutely know without a doubt that the cow will be there. So now I'm trying to decide what to do.

Anyone have suggestions for how to undo this unnatural fear of the Chick-fil-A cow? In like, two days?

Fun, New, and Exciting!

2009-07-06T09:39:00.002-04:00

As I said last week, I plan to get back to normal blogging this week. If you've been wondering what I've been up to lately while I've been NOT blogging as regularly, head on over to my photography blog and check out the latest news at the top of the blog!

I'm Still Alive

2009-07-04T00:55:00.002-04:00

This week has just been very busy. Tomorrow is my husband's birthday (as well as our nation's birthday). We'll be spending the day with friends.

I should be back to normal blogging next week...

Hope you have a great Fourth of July!

Master Grocery List

2009-07-01T13:57:00.002-04:00

I had heard of this thing called a "Master Grocery List" before, but it never really seemed like something I'd be all that interested in. Mostly, it just sounded like WAY too much work. The basic idea of a MGL (Master Grocery List) is to write down all the basics that you keep around the house, put them in a spreadsheet (or something comparable), and check the list each time before you go the grocery store.

Way too much work? I thought so too.

But after years of grocery shopping and hundreds of times of forgetting at least one time almost every single time, I finally decided to give it a try. So on Sunday afternoon, I sat down and began writing out all the things we buy. I didn't want my list to be basic. I wanted it to be detailed. Why detailed, you ask? Because sometimes my husband offers to go to the store for me (or sometimes I ask him) and he gets confused about what exactly I need him to buy. And because I wanted to include the strange things that I don't buy often just so I would know that they were things we DO keep in the house from time to time. And because, well....because I just wanted it that way.

After making my list, I visited several other MGL of other bloggers to make sure I hadn't missed anything. And of course, I had missed lots of things. Especially for a detailed list. So I added more things and finally came up with what I think is a complete list.

I separated my list by similar food type/isle and here is what I came up with:

(I'm listing it here because I found it so helpful when others did the same.)

BAKING

flour

chocolate chips

honey

molasses

sugar

brown sugar

powdered sugar

salt

shortening

canola oil

vegetable oil

olive oil

yeast

gluten

cornstarch

baking powder

baking soda

evaporated milk

sweet condensed milk

cornmeal

muffin mix

cake mix

brownie mix

frosting

cooking spray

vanilla

SEASONINGS

pepper

paprika

thyme

rosemary

parsley

cinnamon

cloves

seasoned salt

CEREAL/BREAKFAST

oatmeal

granola bars

boxed cereal

SNACKS

Oreos

pretzels

chips

candy

fruit snacks

Jello

pudding

raisins

graham crackers

saltines

BREAD

bread

hot dog buns

hamburger buns

pita bread

French bread

MEAT

boneless skinless chicken

chicken quarters

whole chicken

turkey breast

whole turkey

summer sausage

bacon

sausage links

ham

hot dogs

deli meat

ground beef

steak

beef roast

DAIRY

milk

yogurt

margarine

butter

eggs

cottage cheese

ricotta cheese

sour cream

Parmesan cheese

Colby-jack cheese

mozzarella cheese

cheddar cheese

pepper jack cheese

American sliced cheese

Velveeta

cream cheese

FROZEN

ice cream

Cool Whip

ice cream sandwiches

waffles

broccoli

carrots

fish sticks

chicken nuggets

garlic toast

pizza

pot pie

PRODUCE

carrots

green peppers

onions

potatoes

lemons

limes

lettuce – head

lettuce – green leaf

bananas

blueberries

grapes

strawberries

apples

kiwi

watermelon

cantaloupe

celery

green onions

garlic

tomatoes

zucchini

corn on the cob

CANNED/JARRED GOODS

green beans

peas

corn

sweet potatoes

pumpkin

pineapples

pears

peaches

tuna

applesauce

beef bouillon

chicken bouillon

pickles

salsa

HOUSEHOLD

Lysol aerosol spray

toilet bowl cleaner

kitchen cleaner

window cleaner

wood cleaner

dish soap

dishwasher detergent

laundry soap

floor cleaner

fabric softener sheets

scouring pads

PAPER GOODS

aluminum foil

plastic wrap

waxed paper

sandwich fold-over bags

sandwich zipper bags

gallon zipper bags – freezer

quart zipper bags – freezer

straws

trash bags (13 gallon)

paper plates

napkins

paper/Styrofoam cups

paper towels

toilet paper

Kleenex

CONDIMENTS

ketchup

mustard

relish

BBQ sauce

ranch dressing

French dressing

Italian dressing

peanut butter

jelly

vinegar

pancake syrup

chocolate syrup

caramel syrup

hot fudge

DRY GOODS

white rice

spaghetti

thin spaghetti

linguine

angel hair pasta

bowtie pasta

penne

macaroni

lasagna noodles

egg noodles

macaroni and cheese

TOMATO/SAUCES

tomato paste

tomato sauce

spaghetti sauce

tomatoes – diced

tomatoes – chopped

taco mix

chili mix

HBA

razor – mens

razor – womens

razor refills – mens

razor refills – womens

shampoo

conditioner

shaving cream – mens

shaving cream – womens

face wash

body wash

bar soap

floss

toothpaste

toothbrush – adult

toothbrush – child

mouthwash

deodorant – womens

deodorant – mens

tampons

pantyliners

maxi pads

lotion

chapstick

mascara

eye shadow

contact solution

OTC medicine

prescription

vitamins

BABY

diapers

pull-ups

wipes

diaper cream

baby powder

baby food

baby cereal

DRINKS

soda

koolaid

lemonade

tea

coffee

hot chocolate

juice

bottled water

MISC.

sunscreen

bug spray

batteries

light bulbs

stamps

My next part of the plan is to write out, by section, these items on notecards, laminate the cards, and place a few rings in them to keep them together. Then I'll use a dry erase marker to mark what we need and erase it with my finger as I shop. Because that sounds a whole lot easier than making a separate list and trying to cross things off as I buy them...which is what I've been doing for years.

I'll keep you posted on how things go and put up pictures when I finish my "flipbook".

Do you use a MGL? If so, do you have a detailed list or a basic list? Do you take the list with you to the store or do you keep it at home and write out a new list based on the MGL each time you shop? I'd love to know what you've found to be the most efficient way of grocery shopping!

Not Me! Monday

2009-06-29T20:54:00.001-04:00

Last week was hot. SO. HOT. And when you're pregnant, everything feels about 10 degrees warmer than it actually is. So to me, it was like 100 degrees outside. Therefore, I certainly did not refuse to take my kids outside to play. I know how important it is for children to be able to get out and run around every day, so there is no way I would refuse their sweet little pleas all week just because I was roasting.

I am not the mother who fed her children only bagels for lunch one day, promising them a large dinner later. As I've said before, balanced meals are a priority in this family. And that's why, even if I had only given them bagels - which of course, I would never do - they would have been raisin bagels. You know, to get in at least two food groups.

I did not realize while writing up my Master Grocery List that I have been spelling the word "margarine" wrong for 24 years. I paid absolute attention in school and would never make a mistake like that. Over and over again.

I like to blame things on my pregnancy, be that a valid reason or not. But at least I didn't have to blame the fact that I completely forgot to plan one single meal last week on my pregnancy, because I would never do that. I always take care to plan a healthful meal each and every night for my family and always have it ready when my husband gets home from work. Because I'm a good wife like that.

When my husband came home from work several days last week smelling like...well...smelling, there is no way that I nearly gagged each time and insisted that he immediately head upstairs and take a shower before coming anywhere near me. I love my husband no matter what and would never refuse to give him a kiss even if he smelled like a sweat bomb. And even if I might throw up afterward.

To read about all the things lots of other people didn't do this week, head on over to MckMama's blog and check out the links!

The Up Days and The Down Days

2009-06-29T14:26:00.003-04:00

I feel like I'm all over the place right now.

For starters, I feel like I should have had this baby, like....2 months ago. I am not even kidding when I say that I feel like I've been pregnant for a year. Now, arguably....I have been pregnant for a total of 33 months if you put all 4 of my pregnancies together. And sure, all those pregnancies have taken place in less than 5 years. But still. I had a nice 15-month break between the end of my last pregnancy and the beginning of this one. You'd think that would have been enough time for me to have that I-think-I've-been-pregnant-my-WHOLE-life idea out of my head! But no. I feel like a walking blimp.

To make matters worse, about eight thousand people asked me this weekend when I was due. Like I need a reminder.

"September," I would say, hopefully putting their fears to rest. After all, why was I shooting a wedding on a 90-degree day with a huge bump stretching across my midsection? It reminded me of the time my husband and I went to the Brickyard back in August of 2007 and everyone stared at me as if I might give birth at any moment. But granted, I was significantly closer to my due date at that time, and really, with all the miles we walked that day, I guess it might not have been unheard of. But regardless. I know everyone wants to know when the sweet little one is entering the world, but maybe I should just wear a pin or a t-shirt or something that says "Not til September."

But back to feeling all over the place...

My house is so randomly cleaned, I'm almost starting to feel sorry for it. I don't know if I cleaned a darn thing last week. All week. Well....I'm pretty sure I swept the floor a few times. And I might have made the bed. But other than that...I know I did NO laundry, NO bathroom cleaning, and were it not for our dishwasher, I would have done NO dishes.

But yesterday, after sleeping in a bit (hey, weddings are exhausting), going to church, and coming home....I suddenly got the urge to clean. EVERYTHING.

So I created a master grocery list (more to come on that later), did three loads of laundry (or was it four?), cleaned the kitchen, folded up the pack n play that was used one day last week, sorted and organized some junk mail/bills, finally put away the suitcases from our vacation a few weeks ago, convinced my husband to take our old mattress out to the garage, and picked up the bathrooms, living room, and loft. I was feeling pretty accomplished, so I asked my husband to make a McDonalds run to get me some chicken nuggets. And a movie. (Redbox is my new best friend.)

On the way home, his car broke. Again. He thinks it may be fixable, but we'll see. We watched Bedtime Stories, which...by the way...is a pretty great movie, and finally crashed into bed around midnight.

Today I was vanless, which of course meant that something would come up. It's funny how that happens. You can ask any SAHM if this has happened to her and she'll tell you the same thing, I swear. Even though we rarely go out during the week, if the van is not here...I feel totally stuck. And today was no exception. By 10 o'clock I was already considering who I could call to come over for a playdate. And then, to complicate things even further, a friend of mine called asking if I'd like to meet at a park.

"I'd love to!" I replied. "But I can't."

It figures. The ONE day someone invites me to go out...there's no van. But oh well. We enjoyed staying in this morning. We had a late breakfast and then I watched Bedtime Stories again with my kids. Keaton enjoyed it a lot. And since we're always looking for clean movies to buy, maybe I'll have to put this one on our list.

Since I completely missed Not Me! Monday last week, I'm trying to think of some things to write for this week. Check back later to see if I got that post up.

I'm headed to the kitchen to figure out what to make for dinner.....

Impatience

2009-06-26T03:32:00.002-04:00

It's 3:30am and I can't sleep. This happens sometimes when I go to bed early. It's the reason I don't like to go to bed early. But alas, sometimes it just happens.

I'm (im)patiently awaiting the arrival of the - ehhhh, details? - on how to create my new photography website. I was told they would arrive by midnight last night. Someone lied. It's funny, really, because when my husband asked WHAT exactly I was waiting for, I couldn't really tell him. Because I'm not really sure. A template, I guess?

I have my 28-week appointment with my midwife coming up in a few hours. I honestly don't ever remember going from every-4-weeks appointments to every-2-weeks appointments this soon before, but I probably did it with Reagan too since I was seeing the same midwife. I don't really understand the purpose of going in so often. I mean, maybe if it was my first pregnancy and I had a lot of new questions every two weeks. Or maybe if there was some sort of testing that needed to be done.

But seriously? I have to find a sitter, drop off my munchkins, drive the 25 minutes to the office, wait in the waiting room, wait in the exam room, see my midwife for 5 whole minutes if I'm lucky, drive back to pick up my kids, drive home, and feel like I wasted an entire morning.

Am I just whining? I thought so.

Oooo, I saw some really cool lighting this morning. I mean...earlier this morning. (Obviously I'm having some serious sleep issues tonight.) I think it was around 2am when I looked out our window and saw what appeared to be heat lightning to the south. It was either that or just REALLY far away. But considering it's been in the mid-70s at night around here lately, I'm going to stick with my heat lightning theory.

Anyway, the sky was lighting up with bright light every 1-2 seconds but I could hear no thunder. So cool. I really do have a thing for storms. And I'm super thankful that my kids seem to be okay with storms too. For the most part. I have a friend who has 3 small children and ALL of them are terrified by thunder. I know that's probably natural for little kids, but it just seems so sad to me. I mean, they're missing out on all the sweetness of the storm.

Speaking of sweetness, my husband and I were researching some information on different types of wasps, bees, and yellowjackets last night on the internet. Why would we do such a thing? Well, you see, we tend to have an awfully high number of wasps around our home. I was trying to describe one particilar type of stinging insect to him and we were searching for it on the world wide web's database of images. To no avail. But I digress.

Amongst our searching, we learned some of the most interesting things. For instance, did you know that digger wasps inspect their nest for intruders each and every time they bring back their prey before dropping it in for their babies? And did you know that mud-daubers lay eggs inside little cones made of - you guessed it - MUD! and plant a few paralyzed spiders in there and then, after closing up the nest, leave and never come back. The baby mud-daubers hatch from their eggs, become larvae, then actually create a cocoon, are finally born and then eat the (now dead) spiders that their mother left for them weeks prior. And here's another thing: ALL wasps feed their babies (I use the term "babies" loosely here) with spiders. Well, no freakin' wonder we have so many wasps! The woods behind our house is teeming with spiders.

(For the record, I'd rather have the spiders.)

There's something about studying science that absolutely amazes me. It's the idea that there are actually people who think this all happened by chance. That we all just evolved into our own state of being. That the wasps just happened to learn how to lay their eggs inside a mud nest, leaving those baby wasps spiders to eat when they hatched weeks later, and that those baby wasps just happened to grow and form inside the nest all alone, unattended, and then somehow just happened to know how to spin a cocoon around their somewhat unformed frames before officially making their entrance into the world.....is just CRAZY to me.

I don't mean to sound like some sort of religious lunatic here, but...really?! I just cannot comprehend how one could even begin to believe that this life is all by chance. I really can't.

Ahh, sweet sleep. Why do you elude me?

I guess I will attempt to lull myself back into some sort of dream-like state now. Although, when I'm pregnant, my dreams are more like nightmares. But perhaps the Lord will give me rest until the sun rises in just over an hour.

I'm sure I'm going to look back at this post later in the day and wonder why I was rambling so much. But hey, it's early in the morning and I can't sleep. Besides blogging, what else could I possibly be doing?

Exactly.

Confessions of a Toddler Mom: I Encourage My Kids To Watch TV

2009-06-24T22:08:00.004-04:00

I admit it. Especially when pregnant, I sometimes try to get my kids to watch tv just so I can clean the kitchen or take a quick nap on the couch or make dinner or get some business work done. When the digital TV switch happened a few weeks ago, we opted to get rid of TV altogether. That's right. We never got our little box. Even though it was free. So really, when I say TV, I mean movies. I prefer movies anyway since, a) they can be paused, turned off, and restarted whenever we want, b) I can view them prior to them permeating our little children's minds, and c) they are move convenient.

Alright, so I made that last one up. I don't really think movies are more convenient than TV. I just thought the sentence would look better with three points.

Regardless of how many reasons there are that I prefer movies, that is what we have. In fact, on the rare occasion that our children did watch television (you know, when we still had it), they would get confused when I would tell them we weren't able to pause it for later. They simply couldn't understand why they couldn't watch the rest of Barney after lunch.

I fixed this problem by simply buying them a Barney DVD. Because I'm nice like that.

Seriously though, we don't really have that many kid movies. I guess "that many" is kind of a relative term, but I'd say we have about...ehh....15. The limited number is also good because it deters me from encouraging them to sit in front of the screen since I get tired of those 15 movies a whole lot quicker than they do.

But then again....some days it's just so much easier to put in the ear plugs, run the water in the kitchen, and turn a blind eye to things like this:

A Really Bad Day

2009-06-24T10:10:00.002-04:00

Yesterday was a really bad day. My kids disobeyed and disobeyed and disobeyed. Both the older children spent significant portions of the day in their room. I cried while making dinner. Three times. I got sick after dinner.

It was just a really bad day.

The only positive thing I can think of (besides that our A/C works) is that my husband and I watched The Curious Case of Benjamin Button last night. And we got it free from Redbox! Although I did miss part of it due to being sick. But other than that....

I plan to do a movie review on that later. Have you seen it? If so, what did you think of it?

It's Like A Sauna. Only Hotter.

2009-06-23T13:51:00.004-04:00

I don't know what is going on here in the midwest, but apparently somebody has confused June with late August. It's been toasty toasty toasty here and the humidity has been equally crazy. It wouldn't be so bad if, like....the state fair was going on, or you know, I was nearing my due date, or the leaves were starting to turn colors, or really ANY other late August-like activities. But no. It's just hot.

Not that I can complain, because I really can't. I have a few friends who have broken central air right now and I feel for them. I really do. I also feel for the people who don't even own a central air conditioner, because I grew up that way. And it just didn't cut it.

We're so spoiled here in the United States. I mean, really....our lower middle class families have central air. And can pay for it. It's a luxury I try not to take for granted except most of the time I do.

In addition to being crazy hot, I feel like I'm running a million miles per hour this week. But on the upside, my to-do list is actually getting done. I know. Weird. Yesterday when my husband came home, I told him he wouldn't believe how much I got done that day! He said something about how that was nice and then went upstairs to take a shower. I walked into the kitchen to start dinner and realized IT WAS A TOTAL DISASTER.

Ok, so most of what I got done yesterday was done on the computer. Alright, all of it. But I was still feeling very accomplished. I was feeling even more accomplished after I cleaned the kitchen, made dinner, stopped at the Dollar Tree and the party store, visited yet another friend who had a baby this weekend at the hospital, met with my accountability group at Panera, only missed 2 teeny little words in all of my 20-some memorized verses, and made it home in time to see my husband before he hit the sack.

Whew.

And that's not even counting the dentist, the playdate-turned-lunch, all the business details, the emails, the print-outs, the phone calls, and, you know, the HOUSE. (Minus the kitchen.)

I saw on a few other websites that tonight only you can rent a free movie from Redbox with promo code rbxthxu6. Seems like a nice night to relax. I hope we have popcorn.

But until then, we'll continue to enjoy the sauna.

Where Did The Time Go?

2009-06-20T13:02:00.002-04:00

Wow, I totally lost track of blogging this week. So let me catch you up on some of our late-in-the-week activities:

On Thursday...

We went to playgroup. Normal playgroup routine ensued.

I went grocery shopping. I took my husband's A/C-free car to get an oil change while I was shopping and I actually thought I might die from the humidity. It was great.

My husband and I ordered pizza and watched a movie. We like home dates.

On Friday...

We had some friends over in the morning. We hadn't seen each other in about a year, so it was nice to catch up. Our kids played together and we chatted about life. Good times.

We went to (blog co-author) Gretchen's house and our kids played in the kiddie pools outside. We sat inside and talked about how she wanted to try natural labor this time around and about how she couldn't wait for her little guy to arrive.

My kids got a little sunburnt. Despite the ton of sunscreen I put on them before they went out. I blame the pool. And the sun.

I made dinner for a friend who broke her finger this week. Meaty Manicotti. I wanted to eat it all myself but managed to give it to her instead. Oh, how I miss it.

Gretchen called as we were putting our kids to bed and told me her water broke. I was so jealous. I mean, not that I would want my water to break right now, but my water has never broken on its own with any of my children and I just want to know what that experience is like. That's probably weird, I know.

It was HOT!!!! outside.

We got to experience a REAL mattress for the first time in years. It was amazing. Seriously.

Oh, and Cari had her baby.

On Saturday...

I didn't sleep well, so I read for a while early in the morning. Then I went back to sleep.

Gretchen had her baby.

I made a real breakfast for my family (usually my husband cooks on Saturday mornings), did laundry, cleaned the kitchen, picked up the house, made the bed, and thanked the Lord for the energy to do so.

I cleaned out and vacuumed the van. It was hot. But not as hot as Friday.

Now I'm planning to go see Cari and Gretchen at the hospital. Isn't it convenient that they both went into labor on the same day at the same hospital, just for me? I thought so too. :)

We shall see what the rest of the day holds.....

I Am About To Embark On A Grand Adventure

2009-06-17T22:27:00.004-04:00

Not really. I just thought it sounded like a very intriguing title. So of course, if there ever comes a time in my life when I am about to embark on a grand adventure....nobody will believe me. I'll be like the boy who cried, "Wolf!". But I'll take my chances.

I'm totally convinced that laptops and cell phones will be the cause of my entire generation developing carpel tunnel by the age of 35. I'm not even kidding. I was processing wedding pictures for several hours this afternoon and then researching some companies for my up and coming new photography website and, let me just tell you, my right hand hurts like crazy. Sure, that's probably a good sign that I should stop typing and just go to bed. But hey, I didn't blog yet today. So lay off.

Due to said activities taking place this afternoon, I completely failed to plan dinner. I mean...completely. Like, there was NO thawed meat, NO thawed freezer meals, NO milk, and NO bread. (Sandwiches are my fallback.) So out I went at 5:47pm to get to the bread store before they close (at 6pm) and grab some milk at CVS on the way home. Oh, and toilet paper. I have this serious fear of running out of toilet paper. Not kidding. And considering all three of the toilets in our house were on their very last roll...this fear was really starting to take over.

Anyway, I had decided on breakfast for dinner and thankfully my husband had offered to get some things started while I ran to the store. Stores. When I returned home, the bacon was cooked and the pancakes were ready to go, minus the milk. I threw some eggs on the skillet and he got to work on the pancakes. Dinner was ready in no time. We're really a great team, I tell ya. And if we ever open that coffee shop/diner when we're both retired...we're gonna serve some suh-weet food. But enough on that. Back to my website...

I feel like I must not be in my early 20s because I simply do not understand all the internet/website mumbo-jumbo. What is a splash page? Drop-down text section? Dual portal? Puh-lease, someone rescue me. If I wasn't so cheap, I'd hire someone to do this for me. But I am cheap. So I'll have to do it myself. Although don't expect me to do it without complaining.

I am fairly confident that I've decided which company I plan to use for my website, but I just need to work out all the details. And yes, of course I'll direct you to it when it's finished. If it's ever finished. If I ever get started.

And since I'm nearing the end of this post, I'm now searching for a picture to put up. I kind of like putting up a picture in every post. It gives me a way to document my life and makes me feel better about myself as a mom. You see, normally I just take a million pictures and they never see the light of day. They just sit on my laptop and I never get them printed. Ever. Unless my mom wants a copy. Otherwise, they just take up space on my hard drive. It's silly, really, but it's what I do. At least for now.

That is seriously the only look she gives me for pictures. I'm not even joking. Oh, what's that? You think I am joking? Well, I'll prove it....

See?

See?

And see?

Well okay, so you can't actually see her face in that one. But just trust me on this. She's making the face. The same face she makes in every picture. So, see? Not joking.

Confessions of a Toddler Mom: I Sleep While My Kids Play

2009-06-16T22:35:00.005-04:00

I know there are several moms out there who are always wide-eyed and bushy-tailed every waking moment their children are up during the day. There are moms who get up at the crack of dawn and have breakfast ready when their kids wake at 7am. There are moms who get a shower, have their quiet time, drink their coffee, and eat their own breakfast before their children even break out of dreamland.

I am not one of these moms.

When the sun rises on our house early each morning (especially early in the summer), I am sleeping. I am sleeping because I stay up at night after my family goes to bed and work on my business. Occasionally I'll watch a movie, read, or do something productive like (ugh!) folding laundry...but in general, I'm working at the computer.

When one of my children comes in to tell me "it's pretty outside", I simply roll over, invite them to join me in the bed, and fall back asleep. They usually don't fall back asleep. They read or roll around in my bed. Once both my older kids are up, they play together or watch a movie in my son's room.

My youngest is still in her crib and happens to LOVE being there, so I generally go in to get her sometime after 9am. Up until 8.30 or so, I enjoy resting between bouts of getting up to see what the latest fussing is about with the other two.

I realize this is probably highly irresponsible, but this is a typical morning for me. Thankfully, my children play together very well and generally don't have too many quarrels. At least not this early in the morning. They always stay upstairs and I can hear them very well (even though I'm sleeping - sort of), so this has never caused any problems in our home.

Considering I'm 6 months pregnant right now, sleeping is a main priority of mine so I try to get as much of it as possible. Granted, I don't sleep nearly as much late into the morning when I'm not pregnant, but right now....well, it's just part of my routine.

Now you may chastise me. But please be gentle. :)

And just because I'm going to try to start posting pictures more regularly on this blog, here's my adorable daughter acting unusually cooperative in front of the camera:

Goodness, how did I get such CUTE kids??

And yes, it's a total coincidence that her outfit just happens to match my newly colored and designed blog.

The Finer Things In Life

2009-06-16T15:29:00.003-04:00

When my husband and I first moved into our house, our first baby in tow, we prided ourselves in our ability to pay for brand spanking new furniture for our bedroom and our dining room. Looking back, while I don't think that was the very best decision, I do see that those things were quite an investment and probably something we still would not have if we hadn't bought them then.

We got a great deal on all of our furniture. We bought it from a man who had intended to start his own furniture business and then became very ill and was unable to do so, so he had discounted all of the original prices significantly. We were very pleased with our purchase. There was only one thing we were missing:

A mattress set.

So, being the "frugal" people that we were...(if only we had known what frugal really was)...we scoured the newspaper for a cheap mattress set. We found a box spring, mattress, and frame - new, for about $120. We knew there were far better things out there, but hey, we needed a mattress set and...since we had splurged on the actual furnishings for our bedroom, we'd just have to get a cheap mattress for the time being.

Four years later, we are still sleeping on that mattress set. It squeaks something atrocious every time a body turns, twists, rises, or sinks down onto it. Sometimes I even think I can hear it squeaking when I look at it. But that's not all. It's also highly uncomfortable. I mean, like....we have 2 layers of egg carton foam on top of it and can still feel the springs in certain areas.

This being my 3rd pregnancy and all, I definitely know what "inability to sleep" means. My husband, on the other hand, works 12 hours a day and can fall asleep standing up if need be. He could sleep on a board, a cloud, or a porcupine and not even flinch until the alarm went off. I, on the other hand, don't quite have the same experience when it comes to sleeping. Perhaps I should simply take up working harder, but...that just doesn't sound like very much fun.

The day before we left on vacation, we saw a sign up in a mattress store window. $199 for a Sealy Perfect Sleeper mattress - ANY SIZE. That would have been a heck of a deal if only we hadn't been about to leave for a 2-week vacation. After having slept remarkably well for a week in various hotel beds, our return home to our squeaky, uncomfortable mattress was....well....difficult, to say the least. And again the "We should really get a new mattress" conversation ensued...as it oftentimes does.

I don't remember exactly how it happened but we discovered, while browsing online, that the $199 Sealy sale was actaully still going on. We mulled over it for about a day before deciding a new mattress would be a good choice. Ahem, a great choice. So when Sunday afternoon rolled around, my husband went over to the mattress store to buy us a new mattress.

Lo and behold, they were all sold out, but they were still honoring the sale so he went ahead and paid for our new mattress. I am now attempting to wait patiently while it is shipped over to the store and due to arrive on Friday. In the meantime, we have moved our mattress to the floor in hopes that perhaps the box spring had something to do with the uncomfortability of it all. It turns out it's not any more comfortable, but it is quieter. A lot of the squeaking apparently comes from the box spring and not the mattress. Once we get our new mattress, we will determine whether or not we should purchase the matching box spring (from Sam's - way cheaper than the mattress store!) or just stick with the one we have for a while.

And speaking of the finer things in life, my little Reagan really has a thing for these jokester glasses we found at the Dollar Tree several weeks ago. They look like super heavy duty Rx glasses when, in actuality, they are simply a strange cut of plastic that appears to magnify your eyes. Feast your eyes on these babies!

Please ignore the war wounds. This girl likes to pick fights with things like doors, hard floors, furniture, etc. And obviously, she typically loses.

"Not Me!" Monday

2009-06-15T14:37:00.002-04:00

In general, I dread Mondays. It's the day my husband goes back to work for the week. It's the day my kids tend to be ridiculously wound up. And it's the day I oftentimes wake up WAY too tired to function. The house is usually a mess and I'm so exhausted I don't even want to think about cleaning it.

Yes, Mondays are definitely not my favorite day. But I will say that, since blogging "Not Me!" Mondays...my Mondays are just a tiny bit more favorable. I mean, they're still my least favorite day of the week by far, but...I'm just sayin'.

Last week, I definitely did not let my clean laundry sit out on the laundry table for 4 whole days rather than just putting it away. I also didn't leave all our trip luggage and baggage lying around the house, some of it unopened and unpacked for the duration of the week.

I did not eat about 10 pieces of peanut butter pie in 5 days just because it was in the fridge. I have way more self control than that!

I definitely did not skip the free cookies at the grocery store - even though my kids behaved like angels - just because I hate the mess they make all over my kids' clothes, the cart, etc. I would never deprive my children of something so tasty solely because of a teensy little mess!

My husband and I did not laugh hysterically while our three young'ns ran around my studio this weekend, trying on various scarves (props I have lying around) and looking - and acting - rather silly. And I certainly don't have any pictures to prove it!

Nope! None of that ever happened at our house!

Speaking of our house, there is absolutely no way that my daughter wet her bed one afternoon during her nap and I completely failed to change her sheets for like....4 days. That would just be way too disgusting for something I would do! (To rest your fears, the sheets have indeed been changed now!) :)

I'm linking this up to MckMama's "Not Me!" Monday post, so head over there for more funny things nobody did this week!

Her First Pigtails!

2009-06-15T11:04:00.002-04:00

So stinkin' cute!

Unfortunately, they only lasted about 15 seconds.

Well, there's always next time....

What in the world is going on?

2009-06-13T07:00:00.004-04:00

So this morning I accidentally typed in "TodaysDailyDose.com" rather than "TodaysDailyDose.blogspot.com". The thing that tipped me off was the first post. It was my May Finance Recap that I posted about like....ohhhh, 2 weeks ago or so. Now, earlier this week when I visited my old domain, it was totally vacant. Open. White. Nothing there. Now this? I hvae no idea what that's about, but hopefully they will seriously take it down soon so all of my faithful readers will be able to catch up on about a gazillion posts. If they find the new address, that is. Apparently nobody has. Yet.

In other news...all our of trip laundry (and other laundry) has been put away! Our upstairs loft is clean and dry! Well, okay, so there's probably some peed-on laundry in the laundry basket and I'm sure there is at least one stain on the floor up there. But other than that. On Monday (and Wednesday) I washed and dried the laundry. On Wednesday, I folded and sorted it. And on Friday, I actually put it away. It only took 5 days! Isn't that great?!

Oh, what? That's horrible? That never happens in your house? You can't believe someone would leave clean laundry sitting out that long?

Psh!

In other other news...we're having a garage sale today. Our neighborhood association sent out a newsletter a few months ago and I'm pretty darn sure it stated that our neighborhood garage sale was going to be in August. You know, like it always is. But lo and behold, when I left the house Monday evening to go - umm, wherever I was going - there was a cute little white sign out by our neighborhood entrance.

"Neighborhood Garage Sale - June 12-13"

Nice. Thanks for the notice.

Being 6 months pregnant and sore, I'm rather unfond of bending, reaching, sorting, and all other things garage-sale-preparingish. Of course, I would have been no more fond of all that in August. But still. I was ready for August. I had time for August. Four days was just....too soon.

So I gave it up and decided we would not have a sale this year. At least not in coordination with our "neighborhood sale"....which really shouldn't be called that since, honestly, I think about three families participate. But I digress.

I was feeling mostly confident with my decision to sit out the garage sale festivities this year when I dropped off my kids at my friend Cristi's house yesterday so I could run to my midwife's office for the oh-so-cherished glucose test. (Blek!) But when I left her house, I noticed this lovely this arrangement in her neighbor's garage.

A neat row of hung baby clothes lined one side. You know, like they were just waiting for their turn at a neighborhood garage sale. And that was that.

As a pregnant woman, I reserve all rights to change my mind about any thing at any time concerning any issue. And so I did. Change my mind, that is. I came straight home - well, I went and took my test first, then picked up my kids, then came straight home....so kind of straight home - and set to work unloading all those bags of clothes that people have given me over the past several months and sorting through what I wanted to keep and what I wanted to rid myself of.

It was rather freeing, I must say. Those bags have been sitting around for...well...far too long. And if you've given me a bag of clothes - ever - yes, this is my exact routine for handling them. Let them sit in a closet for at least 6 months and then open them up....just in time to see that all the clothes you have given me are now too small for my growing children.

So anyway, the garage sale....

The worst part about setting up for a garage sale is pricing everything. The second worst part is cleaning the garage. I mean, we do strive to keep one half of the garage clean at all times, you know, so I can do things in it. Like park. But the other half is sort of my husband's workshop and so it always needs picked up when it's time for a garage sale. Or time for anything else.

I figured out the easiest solution for both of these issues. No price tags - just one sign. All similar clothing is the same price. All similar items are the same price. Everything else is 25 cents. Oh, what? That's not that original? Well, whatever. It works.

As for the cleaning part...well, okay...I didn't really come up with an easy solution for that one. We just had to clean. But since we didn't have enough garage sale items for a full garage, it really wasn't too bad. :)

Last year (or was it the year before last?) we made the bulk of our profit from selling chocolate chip cookies. Because I have, like, the best chocolate chip cookie recipe. In the world. (And if you click on that link, you will too.)

In addition to being a great seller, they're also really delicious to eat while I'm, um, working so hard out there. So it's 7:27am and I'm still trying to decide if I should whip up a batch of dough before I head out to start our 8 o'clock sale.

If it gets excruciatingly boring out there today, I'll probably be back here blogging about some other really exciting aspect of my really exciting life. That is, if I finish working on the engagement book, wedding pictures, business cards, emails, and all other business-related things.

On the other hand, perhaps I'll just skip that and go straight to blogging. Because I just love you that much.

Spiders Have Taken Over

2009-06-11T13:06:00.002-04:00

Disclaimer: This post describes spiders in detail. If you don't like spiders....well, just suck it up and read it anyway. :) Ok, but really. You can skip it if you want. But I will call you a wimp. Ok, end disclaimer.

I used to be really afraid of spiders. And when I say really afraid, I mean like...terrified. I'm gonna blame the whole fear issue on my mom who's also pretty afraid of spiders. Growing up in Wisconsin, I thought a BIG spider was like, you know, the size of a nickel. But after I moved to Indiana, I realized that big spiders were closer to, you know, a half dollar. Or bigger.

The first year we moved into our house was horrible. We moved in during the month of April. Yes, the month that spiders start emerging from their dark cavernous homes. Or wherever they live. And since our house was the very last house on our street to be built, and also since our house butts up against a small wooded area...well...let's just say the spiders were confused. I imagine they were pretty used to roaming our property before it was our property. And they didn't seem to have any problems continuing to roam our property even though it was now our property. I, on the other hand, was NOT a fan.

Every morning I would come downstairs there would be at least 2 or 3 large brown spiders crawling across our living room or kitchen floor. Since my husband was off doing other things that he deemed more important than staying home and killing spiders for his wife all day (like...working), I learned pretty quickly that I had to kill them myself or...or....or else. Or else was not something I was interested in researching, but I was pretty sure it had something to do with spider breeding and infestation and a lot of other bad things. You know what I mean. You've seen Arachnophobia. So we invested in a few flyswatters (although I generally use shoes) and I overcame my fear of large brown house spiders. And eventually they learned their place and opted to stay outdoors. At least most of the time.

Then one day I discovered wolf spiders. Oh. My. Word. Those things should be outlawed. They are so huge and hairy and black and....hairy. Oh, and did I say HUGE? Eww. They mostly hung out outside our patio door, but one creeped up on me once while I was working in the garage. I literally thought I was going to die. It was eyeing me like it hadn't eaten in at least 5 weeks and I was like a deer in headlights. Well, sort of like a deer in headlights. Except I RAN. Inside, of course. And I didn't go back out for about a week. Alright, alright...so it might have only been a few hours. But I did watch my back for about a week.

We've been in our house about 4 years now and I've gotten pretty used to the occasional large brown spider, all the little "dust spiders" that build homes in the corners of my house, and the occasional small black spider roaming around. I always kill the big ones because...eww. But I've learned to leave the little guys alone, for the most part. I mean, they're not going to hurt me and it's so much work to go find a shoe. I mean, a flyswatter. But I've got to tell you something. I think while we were out of town, all the spiders got together and had some sort of evil spider convention because they have really taken over!

Everywhere I look there's a spider! A little guy here, a teeny tiny guy there. I've found them scaling the kitchen walls, crawling across our bedroom ceiling, dangling from my laptop....the nasty things are everywhere! I can handle it if I see one every once in a while, but this is really out of control!

So perhaps I'm making this into too big of a deal. But regardless, I'm thinking we're going to need to investigate some of those spider-killing sprays that go around the outside of your house. And I should probably stop typing about spiders, because now I can literally feel them crawling all over me. *Shudder*

A Tiny Burst of Energy

2009-06-10T22:56:00.003-04:00

The Lord never ceases to amaze me with His sense of humor. Right after - and I do mean, like, immediately after - I complain about not getting my 2nd trimester burst of energy, what else could possibly happen than...you guessed it...a burst of energy! And it was perfectly timed as well since, as I believe I mentioned, I had seven meals to make this afternoon. Sure, they were seven identical meals....but regardless. Seven meals is seven meals.

So I made those, popped one in the oven and 6 in the freezer, unloaded the dishwasher, cleaned the kitchen, folded some laundry, cleaned out part of the fridge, washed a few dishes, unpacked some bags (yes, still from vacation), fed my family, made 2 peanut butter pies <>, took care of a few business things, and I'm now about to start working on an engagement album. That is, if I don't fall asleep first.

After successfully managing to go grocery shopping with my kids this morning plus all that other stuff I mentioned before....and now yet another paragraph of accomplishments for today...I'm feeling extremely productive! Which is a nice feeling since I've basically felt nothing but UNproductive this week up until this point.

There are still a lot of clothes to put away, but at least they are all folded. Well, except for that load that just finished in the dryer. Laundry never ends in this house. But I suppose that means I should be grateful we have so many clothes to choose from every day!

Speaking of clothes, look what Reagan found tonight...before the unpacking of the suitcase had commenced:

I know. She's too cute. You don't have to tell me.

Are You Lost?

2009-06-10T14:15:00.003-04:00

Yesterday was the day I officially got kicked off my custom domain (which was WAY overdue) and went back to my address being a Blogger address. I checked my stats today and noticed that my typical numbers have been down since yesterday. My assumption is that several of my readers had TodaysDailyDose.com linked either from their blog or from some other source and therefore are not being redirected since that domain is now open. Hopefully everyone finds their way back eventually.

I noticed this morning that today is the first day since returning home from our vacation that I've felt relatively normal. I'm not entirely sure that normal really even exists in this house, but I did get out of bed before 9 this morning and didn't feel like I immediately needed to head back to bed. Which is probably good, because my kids were definitely up for the day.

I also noticed this morning that we desperately needed groceries. Well, okay....so I noticed that as soon as we got home on Sunday night. But whatever. We needed them today for sure.

I don't generally take my kids shopping with me for a few reasons:

1. If I'm coupon shopping, I simply can't keep my coupons, list, and kids straight.
2. I like to get a break from them, so I usually go at night when my husband is home with the kids.
3. I tend to lose track of the things on my list and end up running back and forth through the grocery store about 7 times to get everything on it.
4. There's generally not room in the cart for both kids and food.
5. I hate the looks and comments. YES, I have three children under five. And YES, I'm pregnant again. NO, we're not Catholic. YES, we think they're all a blessing. And, for the love of....whatever.....YES, we do know what causes it!

Unfortunately, today I had no choice. I had to get to the store before late tonight because I have cooking club tomorrow and needed to get my meals made and frozen before tomorrow morning. (Who would have thought that an entire chicken and rice meal won't freeze in less than 12 hours?) So I took them along.

Things actually went pretty well. There was minimal whining and I managed to get through TWO grocery stores to get everything that was on my list...on sale. We also happened to arrive at Meijer shortly after they did all their manager special markdowns, so we scored some 25 cent organic yogurts and some 99 cent OJ half gallons....which was perfect since both yogurt and OJ were on my list anyway. :) On the downside, I literally thought I was going to pass out when we reached the check-out line. I hadn't eaten nearly enough for breakfast and it was ridiculously hot in there. At least to me.

But we're home now and....Whew! I'm wiped!

While the kids ate lunch, I put the groceries away....which included washing and re-containerizing the grapes and blueberries. I know. I'm proud too. I have set out my aluminum pans for my cooking club meals, labeled each aluminum foil "lid" and am now attempting work up the energy to make 7 pans of chicken and rice. It's actually the easiest thing on the planet to make, but when you're 6 months pregnant and you just took all 3 of your toddlers to two grocery stores....well, let's just say this momma needs a short breather!

I have about a bazillion things to catch up on business-wise and am attempting not to get burnt out with all the catch-up work that's constantly on my mind. I realized today that I'm just about to enter my 3rd trimester with this little one and - HELLO! Where's my 2nd trimester energy boost?!

Actually, I can't complain. I did get a short burst of energy that lasted about 4 weeks last month. I did lots of organizing and planning in that time, so I guess that's better than nothing. With the baby quickly approaching, I'm going to try to start making some meals/foods ahead of time like I did last time with Reagan. It really was a blessing after she was born (and even shortly before she was born) to just be able to pull something out of the freezer when I was too exhausted to cook. Co-author Gretchen does OAMC every month, which I find totally admirable, but having tried it myself....I also found it way exhausting. So I like to do a little at a time, making extras when I cook my regular meals. So I'll be trying that again. I'd like to make a list of all the foods I'm going to freeze, but...well, I have this thing with lists. I make them and then....I lose them. It's horrible, I know. But it happens. Way too often. So maybe I'll blog the list. Then I can't lose it!

Ok, I believe I need a bit more sustainance and then I will be set to go on making all those dinners. Wish me luck!