BOTW: Frozen veggies and more!

Our Target ran a special promotion this past week of "Buy ANY 7 frozen food items, get a $5 Target giftcard."  We went earlier in the week and purchased 7 bags of frozen veggies at $1/bag and received our first $5 gift card.  We went a few days later and I broke all of the above into three different transactions.  This purchase brought us a few bags of frozen veggies ($1), a few bags of rice + Veggies ($1), one bag of pasta +veggies ($1 something...), a can of frozen fruit juice ($1 something...), 5 frozen pizzas ($1 each), a bag of frozen pineapple ($2), and a large bag of chicken tenders ($6)

All in all this is over $25 worth of food--we brought it all home (after using coupons and my $5 gift card from earlier in the week) for less than $8!

The veggies, fruit & fruit juice are not uncommon purchases for our household--given that my daughter insists on eating mostly veggies and fruit (and nothing else...!)  The pizzas and chicken tenders were add-ons for some quick lunches in the upcoming weeks--and they worked into the sale quite nicely with coupons.

What about YOU?  What bargains did you come across this week?

36 weeks...& still here!

Oh I have a blog? It must have slipped my mind in between thoughts of “wait? Was that a real contraction?” & “better get all the bathroom cabinets re-organized before the baby comes…”

36 weeks. (well, in my opinion---there is some slight difference in due dates with my doctor—but their given date is two days later than mine…which doesn’t make a lick of difference.)

So here we are, theoretically 36 weeks pregnant. I’m up 24 pounds this pregnancy—and quite possibly half of that is really the baby. We had an ultrasound several days ago that revealed another big baby on the way (Lucy was 9lbs.) After measuring three times, we were put at a current estimated fetal weight of 7lbs 4 oz & 38 weeks and some odd days---about a month ahead at that point. Measurements were anywhere from 36 weeks and some odd days to 39 weeks and some odd days. Awesome. There’s also the possibility my cervix has further dilated, but we’ll wait for a doctor’s confirmation on that….and because I don’t have a scanner at the moment, here are some photos of our ultrasound photos. Yes, baby is chubby…& extremely squashed inside me. Both factor in to the cankle effect & the round face J

In other news,  I am UNCOMFORTABLE. There is no room left for this child and I have body parts in my ribs, stomach & further down. I wake up several times at night & rest a lot during the day (you know, when you can with a toddler) because I have a lot of contractions…whether or not they are “practice” doesn’t diminish how uncomfortable they seem to be. I’m slowly starting to swell, headaches have returned & I’m physically feeling D.O.N.E---however, I’d prefer baby hang out until the due date---for optimum health.

In the meantime, we are not ready for baby. The cradle, crib, swing, bouncy seat, etc remain to be set up & bags are not packed. I have, however, created detailed packing lists & a last minute checklist.  I’ve been nesting in other ways…like re-organizing our pantry with a shoe organizer we weren’t using, cleaning out my bathroom cabinets & of course washing every article of bedding that goes on our bed. It would be a travesty if baby arrived and I hadn’t washed our comforter J

This weekend we are working on cooking for our freezer.  Mostly meal components this time, with a few full meals ready to go.  I'm exhausted just thinking about it---but I know having a freezer full of food ready to go will be awesome in the next several weeks!

BOTW: Free wipes...again :)

I know, I know...diapers and wipes are probably getting a bit old...but honestly?  They're some of the best deals I'm finding lately & I'm not getting out to do much shopping, so you get another post on baby products.

This week's bargain was an 8 pack of Huggies Natural Care soft-pack wipes.  Subscribe and Save price on Amazon was less than $10 and I had a $10 off Amazon baby store coupon--so, free wipes..shipped free to my door=awesome.

(side note, I received my March Parents magazine and there was a $10 off coupon vs the 20% off one.  There's a rumor that there are multiple magazines this month in which you can find the $10 off coupon--happy hunting!)

Share your bargains!  I want to know what good deals you got this week!

"you're a good mom..."

I turned and looked at him, stunned by what I just heard.  Surely he wasn't talking to me...but then again I was the only mom in the car & he wasn't on his cell phone....

"What?"

He repeated, "you're a good mom.  I love how you are with Lucy & how you interact with her."

"thanks," I replied...still pretty shocked.  How I interact with her?  Does he recognize that Lucy is the one I'm often correcting while on the phone with him?  Lucy, get out of the trash...Lucy, we don't play with pads & pantiliners.....Lucy, you've already ate three yogurts today....Lucy, I'm sorry I broke your heart....but it's not okay to eat dryer lint...

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The day after this short conversation with my husband on the way home from church just happened to be Valentine's Day.  Lucy had taken a GREAT nap (2 hours!) & was in a GREAT mood.  I decided we'd make sugar cookies and decorate them for Daddy. 

Problem.

I don't know how to make sugar cookies...or frosting....  I did manage to track down a recipe for frosting quickly & I just used a pre-packaged mix for the cookies.  Second problem: I only had a star shaped cookie cutter.... 3rd problem: I was missing my egg beaters & measuring spoons....

The cookies burned (I assumed they likely would), the frosting was lumpy & I guessed while measuring ingredients.  I had flour from one end of my kitchen to the other---and I was covered as well.  (note: it is not attractive to cover your clothes in flour when you're trying to look cute for your husband on Valentine's Day).

I positioned Lucy in her high chair and tried my best to get her to actually decorate cookies...but she was far more interested in eating sprinkles, frosting & even the cookies.  She wrapped her lips around the sprinkles and treated herself & figured out if she shook them hard enough, they'd spray up in the air and fall down.  Sprinkles soon covered her tray, fingers & my kitchen floor.  The photos captured the moment perfectly.

And then....my husband walked in the door.  He kissed me (as always), told me Happy Valentine's Day & said...

"see, you're a good mom..."

And you know what?  I believed him.  I've lost my patience a lot lately and not been as gentle with my daughter as I need to be.  I've felt frustration over her temper tantrums, teething & never-ending colds.  I've placed my needs above hers....and I've wished away some days.

But, that day....that day I WAS a good mom.  I didn't have an agenda, I didn't let my expectations get the best of me, I didn't let the mess bother me & I didn't care about the finished product.

I focused on the journey to getting to the finished....albeit, messy, product.

And it was a very fun journey....

not much to say...

I haven't felt incredibly inspired this past week to post much.

I'll blame it on the third trimester, a cold working it's way through my body, a teething toddler, a long to-do list or the fact that I'm preparing to welcome a second baby.

But really?

I still feel a lot of this & this.

patience is not a trait I'm carrying off well these days.

not. even. close.

trust is also a far cry from any description I'd give myself.

but hope?

Hope is what I'm working on.

Thankfulness.
Peace.
Joy.
Faith.

...working on those too.

So many people love her...

Last night my husband and I had to make an unexpected visit to L&D Triage.  I had fallen earlier in the day while holding Lucy and was having a lot of contractions.  I had mentioned on facebook about my "mishap" (read: tripped over my daughter's flipped over play grocery cart and fell forward with her in my arms) 

A friend from church had commented that we were welcome to bring Lucy over if we needed to go get checked (and she just lives up the road!)  Well, after a quick chat with the doctor on call, there was no way out...we had to go get checked.  We dropped Lucy off at the friend's home without knowing when we'd be back to get her (it was already almost 9pm at this point.)

An hour into monitoring, the nurse informed us the doctor would have us monitored for an additional 3 hours.  We decided to pick Lucy up from the friends home and Jonathan would meet my brother-in-law and drop her off to spend the night with her Aunt & Uncle...and four cousins :)

We are so very thankful to the friend that volunteered her home & help late at night!  What a blessing!  We were also thankful that my brother-in-law was willing to drive 30 minutes to pick his niece up (at 11:30pm).  (The plan is for Lucy to stay with them when we go into actual labor...which is hopefully a ways away!)

Anyways, the whole scenario made me feel so blessed to have people in our lives that love us & our family...and that unselfishly do what they can to help in the midst of random situations.  I knew Lucy was well cared for in both situations....which is an awesome feeling when you're having to leave your kiddo and not sure when you'll be back.

I'm thankful that we have family "close" enough that Lucy knows them & loves them as much as they love her.  I'm thankful that she feels comfortable in my sister's home and knows just where to go to find her favorite toys there & how to sneak snacks like her cousins do.  I'm thankful that when she refuses to sleep in her pack n' play, that I know she slept well snuggled in bed with her Aunt & Uncle....and they are totally used to having their own kiddos "camp-out" with Mommy & Daddy in the middle of the night.  I'm so thankful that because my sister and I talk often, she knew Lucy hadn't been feeling well, was teething, and about what routines we're trying.  She already knew what medicine I had been giving her and what Lucy's current favorite foods are....and even if she hadn't, I'd trust her opinion any day!

While I prefer planned sleepovers as opposed to the impromptu one that occured last night, I'm blessed to get to see that people care about us...and moreso care about my daughter enough to help us out...no questions asked.

That's a blessed feeling.

BOTW: Two favorites....

No pictures this week...

I noticed as I was cleaning out our stockpile last week that we had no toothpaste in the reserve stash.  I then remembered I had a raincheck to CVS to redeem! 

The raincheck was for Colgate toothpaste at 2.99, get 2.99 in ECB...so, essentially free (really wish I would have had a coupon to make an even better deal...but still.)  I was able to purchase two ($6), I used a $5 ECB from the previous week and paid $1 + tax out of pocket and got back $6 in ECB for my next purchase!

:)

Also at CVS this week, Coke 12 packs were $3 a piece, and if you spent $15, you got an additional $5 in ECB.  I bought 5 Coke products=$15, used my $6 ECB from the toothpaste and paid $9+tax out of pocket for the soda (less than $2 per 12-pack) and earned an additional $5 in ECB.

Any good bargains you'd like to share???

33 weeks

How is that even possible?

I'm having (another) baby next month!

In the past two weeks my nesting has definitely kicked in (added with the fact that I think the iron supplements might be helping my energy finally & I'm not working from home right now...)  I cleaned out our entire linen closet, re-organized our stockpile, made a note of what items I needed to start stocking back up on, etc...  I then moved onto the laundry room and did similar work on those shelfs, as well as asked my husband to move the washing machine so I could mop & scrub the sides of the machine clean.  Because, how on earth could I bring a baby home if the sides of my washing machine were not clean?!?!  :)

There are many more areas on my "to tackle" list...so stay tuned :)

As for me + baby....

-Movement is slowing down and is much more purposeful (read: less kicking and more shifting from side to side...)
-Still having a lot of lower pressure and into my legs
-I move a LOT at night...can't seem to get comfortable (or warm enough?)...and when I do, I'm having to get up and go to the bathroom
-I have been craving milk like crazy.  I never...ever...drink milk.  But something about milk +graham crackers lately has really been hitting the spot.


I've expressed before my huge desire for wanting breastfeeding to actually work this time....or maybe I just really want to redeem the experience?  I'll be honest, when it was all said and done, I did not enjoy breastfeeding Lucy at all.  It was problematic, frustrating & not successful.  I've been reading some breastfeeding books I found at the library as well as talking with my doctor a lot---our hope is to curb the problems we had last time early on so that nursing CAN be successful this time!

Wrap up of January

In the midst of trying to stay warm in record weather here in the Midwest, wiping one very snotty nose on a very grumpy little girl & resting when possible as Baby #2 is due in less than 7 weeks....I'd forgotten to post a "How we did in January" type post.

You can see what my original focus for 2011 was here.

I've had some "extra time" on my hands lately as I've not been working from home the last few weeks as I had been.  That, followed by some strong energy bursts, has led to some actual traction on these goals.

Personal: I actually have a craft space set up and I am using it!  I've been sewing a bit lately and working on some projects for baby #2.  I'm also almost finished with a book I started last week, Escape.

Household:  I've crossed off a few items on the "need to do before baby is due" list, including cleaning out our pantry and re-organizing, re-organizing the laundry shelf & deep cleaning around the washing machine and dryer.  :)

Financial:  We haven't really started the $20 bill challenge, mostly because any free time has been devoted to organizing this space...  stay tuned as we have all year to work on the $20 bill challenge, and lots of ideas...

As a Wife: I started reading a "marriage" book, Sacred Influence.  Jonathan and I have been having regular date nights in and had a nice night out for his birthday---a first in months for us!

As a Mom:   Lucy and I had a "date day" last week when the temperatures soared above 50 degrees here.  We ran a few errands and grabbed some chicken nuggets to celebrate

.....so that's where I stand. 

I'm pretty pleased with progress we've been making outside of goals, specifically with preparing for baby & just enjoying down time now that there has been less work to do.  Financial strain aside, this period of not working has proved to be productive.

Still a little girl...

We're quite fond of our little girl with a big personality & we're anxious to see what the new kiddo will be like. Most nights we talk before bed about our concerns & fears of bringing another one into the mix. This timing is God's, not ours, and we are therefore trusting Him to prepare our hearts to parent two little ones.

A few weeks ago my husband so elegantly discussed his fear of "making Lucy grow up too soon." I think he put into words what I've been fearful about & knowing his fear and stance on the issue has been an incredible tool as we discuss how to parent.

I think it's easy to get focused on the fact that there is going to be a new baby in the home & to get so wrapped up in that, that I forget that Lucy is still very much a little one as well. She'll be 20 months when baby arrives & it's my heart's desire to recognize that and treat her like a 20 month old.

I need to respect her development at a 20 month old level...and not force her to "grow up" and "be a big girl." That's probably a big reason why we're not planning to introduce potty training, take away the pacifier, push her out of her crib, etc...

She's not there yet, and even if she was...it would be a waste of our time to train her now (only to have her likely revert back) once baby arrives. (Here's where my college training is paying off at home!)

Of course, I have pretty strong opinions and thoughts about how and when we'll potty train...and I'll be honest, they don't line up with most of society. I can tell you one thing, getting Lucy potty trained is not high on my priority list & I'm not one bit concerned about it. Nor am I concerned about getting her to sleep in a toddler bed just yet...or about taking away her beloved pacifier.

God's grace has equipped me to be ok with those things...(as have some child development theories!)

I won't say I'm excited about having two in diapers...nor is it super convenient to have to borrow a crib to have both kiddos in cribs for a short time. But God's timing is proving to be quite exciting.

So bring on the extra diapers, crib, pacifiers, etc....

We can deal with it.