my life as a mom

Cloth Diapering 101: What you REALLY Need to Know

2011-10-13T16:00:00.012-04:00

Why Choose Cloth?

This is different for everyone, but my reasons were pretty simple. First of all, it’s MUCH less expensive to use cloth diapers than disposables. Yes, there’s a big cost up front for the initial purchase, but there are adjustable size diapers on the market, as well as the opportunity to buy/sell gently used cloth diapers that your child has outgrown. It also costs money to wash diapers, but it’s a nominal amount if you don’t use a coin-op laundry. Secondly, if you plan to have more than one child, they can use the same diapers your older child(ren) used with no additional cost. Third, there are no chemicals, so no allergies. The biggest thing you have to worry about is what kind of laundry detergent to use when you wash them (and we’ll get into that, don’t worry).

I have a brother and sister who were born when I was 9 ½ and 12, respectively. My mom cloth diapered them part time, so I’ve always been around it. When I got married, I honestly didn’t know anyone did it any differently! It seemed so obvious to me, I couldn’t imagine using disposables all the time. Sure, I saw the benefit when we left the house, but at home, I didn’t understand why anyone would choose to go the more expensive route.

That brings me to my next point, which is that it’s the green alternative – a disposable diaper will take around 500 YEARS to decompose, though no one knows for sure because they haven’t been around that long. Plus, you’re literally throwing your money in a landfill somewhere. According to Consumer Reports, you’ll spend $1500-$2000 per child on diapers alone before they’re potty trained – think how many diapers that equals, rotting in a landfill somewhere. That thought alone kind of makes me gag.

My second son wearing a fitted diaper at about 10 months old

Since I started cloth diapering, I’ve learned that disposables have been linked to problems like infertility. Wait a minute, say what? It’s true - have you ever noticed how many of our peers struggle to get pregnant these days? Studies have linked this trend to increased use of disposable diapers. The chemicals used to make them more absorbent can have horrendous effects on babies’ reproductive systems, plus the heat generated because they are not breathable makes baby boys more prone to problems as well. In fact, did you know that the key ingredient that makes disposables so super-absorbent has been BANNED BY LAW from use in feminine hygiene products? If I’m not going to put something on or in my body, I certainly shouldn’t put it on or in my child! That alone was reason enough for me. There are many factors that lead to this choice for my family, but the biggest one was a health issue.

When I was pregnant with my first child, I brought up the idea of cloth diapering to my husband. I cited the many benefits: save money, no chemicals from disposables (or sposies, as I’ll call then from now on), no dirty diaper rot in my trashcans, no need for any kind of diaper disposal system, and so on and so forth. He adamantly refused to entertain the idea. He insisted they were gross, smelly, and old-fashioned, and that sposies were the wave of the future, both convenient and hygienic.

Our son was born, and we started him off in sposies. He had sensitive skin, but we adapted his diaper changing routine to keep him from getting rashes. Everything seemed to be going well until we approached his first birthday. He developed a severe diaper rash that just would not go away. We tried everything we could think of – rash creams, ointments, powders, Vaseline, Mylanta, air drying, switching wipes, rinsing with plain water instead of wipes, switching diapers. . . we even went to the doctor for a prescription. Nothing helped. It kept getting worse. My poor baby was bleeding, blistered, and miserable. He ran away when he knew he needed a change. He cried as I carried him back. He screamed till he was blue in the face while I changed him as quickly and gently as I could.

My oldest son in a pocket diaper when he was about 14 months old

I was out of ideas to keep my husband happy with the diapering situation while still seeing that my child was happy and healthy. So I sat down and did the math: to keep our son – an only child at the time – in sposies for one more year, assuming he didn’t go up in size and that he used the same average number of diapers per day would cost $620. That’s not even including things like wipes, ointment, powder, and our son’s constant misery and pain. I knew cloth had to be cheaper than that, but the only cloth diapering I’d ever been exposed to were the prefolds, pins, and plastic pants my mom had me help put on my younger siblings.

I started researching my options online and found that MUCH had changed in the cloth diapering world since my mom had started in the mid-80’s. Yes, there are still prefolds, pins, and plastic pants, but there are so many more options out there now too. There’s a LOT to try and make sense of, so here’s a run down of the basic styles of cloth diapers in use today. All of these will LOOK like a diaper once they’re on, they’re just made of cloth. They have Velcro or snap closures and elastic at the leg openings as well as along the back (usually). Some are front closure (like a sposie), while others have side closures. Neither is better or worse than the other, it's mostly a matter of the fit on a particular baby and your personal tastes. I like side snap diapers best, but only because I feel like I get the best fit on my son with them. I only have 2 or 3 side closing diapers, the rest of my 3 dozen or so diapers have front closures. Keep in mind there are many variations on these, and this list is likely not all-inclusive. It’s just what I’ve seen, heard about, and tried myself. Here it is:

Fitteds

These diapers are fitted to a specific size and have no waterproof layer. When you're home, you really don't NEED a cover, as long as your baby isn't wearing pants or shorts. If you're putting him down for a nap or leaving the house, use a cover. Fitteds usually have inserts that snap into the diaper for easier cleaning and faster drying, as well as adjustable absorbancy. These are the diapers most people like for the really cute prints.

(photo credit: Short Rounds Diapers)

Pockets

The most popular type of pocket diapers (which we own 18 of, though at one point we had 4 dozen) is the BumGenius One-Size 3.0 pocket diapers. About a year ago, BumGenius came out with a One-Size 4.0 Pocket Diaper, which is basically just a newer, better version of the 3.0. These diapers are basically a pocket - the outer layer is waterproof and generally a solid color (not always though, sometimes you can find some really fun prints), while the inner layer is microfleece or some other soft fabric that wicks moisture. Then you have liners you stuff into the pocket based on the baby's size and absorbancy needs. The nice thing about the ones we have is they're adjustable size – My 2 ½ year old wore them as a newborn and they still fit him now! They fit up to 35 lbs, give or take, which is really nice. There are other brands that are not one-size-fits-all, so keep an eye out for that.

(photo credit: CottonBabies)

AOI's (All-In-Ones)

These are exactly what they sounds like. These diapers have the waterproof cover, absorbent layers, and soft fabric against baby's skin in 1 piece. There are no separate covers, no snapping in or stuffing layers for more absorbancy - just put it on and go. These are the closest to a disposable diaper that you can get with cloth. However, they take FOREVER to dry - 2-3 times longer than other types of diapers - so they can be a hassle in that regard. They also cost more than other styles.

(photo credit: Swaddlebees)

AI2's (All-In-Twos)

These diapers combine all the convenience of AIO's with the drying time of a fitted by using a snap-in liner that you can remove for washing and drying purposes. However, these tend to be the most expensive type of diapers.

(photocredit: Diaper Junction)

Prefolds and Flatfolds

These are the cloth diapers your mom and grandma used. Prefolds are rectangular and usually have 2 lines sewn length-wise down the diaper, dividing it into thirds. There are as many ways to fold a prefold as there are babies. YouTube has a ton of videos to demonstrate the more popular techniques. Flatfolds are what a prefold would look like if it hadn’t been sewn into that nice, neat little rectangle. There’s more folding involved, and I’ve never personally used one, but everyone I’ve ever heard of that tried them absolutely loved them and never went back. They’re one of the most customizable diaper styles out there, so you can get the exact absorbency your baby needs exactly where they need it.

(photo credit: Green Mountain Diapers)

Hybrids

Hybrid diapers are things like gDiapers. They combine a washable, waterproof cover with a disposable (generally flushable) insert. Many people who use them will use a prefold as an insert at home and save the disposable inserts for when they’re out and about.

(photo credit: gDiapers)

See what I mean? There are so many options! Now, you may have noticed, a few of these styles don’t have a water-proof layer (fitteds, prefolds, and flatfolds). There are nearly as many options for covers as there are for diapers. You’ll need 2-4 covers total - 1 to use, 1 to have ready. Just alternate throughout the day and wash when they get messy on the outside or it's time to wash the diapers (wool is a different story, but I’ll talk about that in a minute). Here’s a basic list:

Plastic Pants

This is what my mom used when her kids were in diapers. They’re vinyl with elastic at the legs and waist. They go on like a pair of pants. They’re cheap, they’re easy, and they wipe clean in a pinch. I haven’t used plastic pants with my kids, but I know they work. They’re also the cheapest option.

(photo credit: CottonBabies)

PUL

PUL is a laminated polyester fabric. It’s popular because it’s much trimmer and cuter than the plastic pants of yesteryear, but it’s still affordable. There are many companies that make these kind of covers – some have snaps, some have Velcro. It’s all a matter of personal preference. Solid colors are most popular, but you can find prints if you look hard. PUL covers are nice because the inside is laminated, so if it gets messy, you can just wipe it off and hang it to dry.

(photo credit: CottonBabies)

Wool

Wool is by far the most expensive, but also, in my opinion, the cutest. I have a few pairs of wool pants (also known as longies – there are shorties and skirties too) that I use on my toddler in the winter. I like them because they're just knitted pants that do double duty as a waterproof diaper cover as well. These require special care and HAND washing. They need to be lanolized after each washing to ensure they remain waterproof. Unless they get poop on them, you don’t need to wash these more than every 6th or 7th use. Lanolized wool has antibacterial properties, so not only are they waterproof, breathable, natural fibers, but they’re good for your baby or toddler as well.

(photo credit: Cranky Pants)

Fleece

Fleece covers are a great alternative to wool when you want something warm, but don’t have a ton of extra money to spend. They’re waterproof, though sometimes you’ll experience compression wicking (small amounts of leakage where something presses against a wet diaper, like a carseat buckle). I personally have never had this issue, as I buy only the highest quality fleece for diapering purposes.

(photo credit: I made this myself!)

Now that we’ve covered all the diaper and cover info, there are a few more things you’ll need to get started. Not all of these are a must, but they are nice and make things much easier:

Diaper pail

This is non-negotiable. You need somewhere to keep dirty diapers till it’s time to wash. It doesn’t need to be fancy, just functional. I use a plastic Sterlite trash can with a locking lid that I got at Target. I rarely use the lid because I’ve found that leaving it open actually makes things smell much less.

Wetbag

Some people prefer a wetbag to a diaper pail. You have to choose one – though you can do both – but you can’t do neither. A wetbag is a bag w/ either a drawstring or zipper at the top and is waterproof. They’re generally lined with PUL and have a fun print on the outside. They come in all sizes, and many places will do a custom size if you ask. One option I like is when the maker sews a small square of fleece or flannel to the INSIDE so you can put a couple drops of essential oil on it to keep things from smelling gross.

(photo credit: CottonBabies)

Sprayer

In my opinion, this is an absolute MUST. Once your baby is eating/drinking anything other than breastmilk (even if it's only formula), you need to spray the poop off. I’ve tried every method I could think of to avoid buying a sprayer (they run about $50), and nothing worked. I tried the dunk and swish I remember my mom doing, I tried scraping (ew!), I tried using my shower sprayer. None of it did anything for poop. The sprayer hooks to the toilet (there are instructions included with the sprayer) and is pretty easy to install.

(photo credit: CottonBabies)

Pins or Snappis

If you do prefolds or flatfolds (or certain brands of fitteds, like Bagshot Row Bamboo Fitteds), you'll also need diaper pins or snappis. Snappis are far less likely to stick a baby with a sharp end, and they're so much easier to get a good fit.

(photo credit: CottonBabies – Snappis and Pins)

How to Use a Snappi Video:

(link: http://youtu.be/2_r2K1d9WFM)

Cloth Wipes

Cloth wipes are great when you cloth diaper. You don’t have to try and figure out what to do with a poopy wipe after you’re done changing a diaper, and when you make your own wipes solution, you know exactly what you’re putting on your baby’s most sensitive parts. Personally, I use baby washcloths and a spray bottle of water. I like to add a couple drops of tea tree oil and peppermint oil to my water b/c they have healing, cooling properties that are soothing for little butts. When we're out and about, I use disposable wipes, but I like the cloth ones when we're at home.

(photo credit: CottonBabies)

Dye-Free, Fragrance-Free Laundry Detergent

You need to wash in a dye-free, fragrance-free detergent. Do NOT use dryer sheets or fabric softener. The perfumes in them will make the diapers smell worse. Hanging diapers to dry is popular (it saves energy, plus the sun will help bleach any stains and kill bacteria), but I just always use the dryer, mostly because we don’t have anywhere to hang them. You only need to use about half the amount of detergent you'd normally use, then do a 2nd rinse to make sure you get it all out. I like to rinse with no detergent before I wash, wash with detergent, plus white vinegar in the bleach dispenser, another rinse, then dry. The vinegar will help get out stink and stains without having to use bleach. The pre-wash rinse will get any junk off the diapers before the actual washing.

(photo credit: Charlie’s Soap)

This seems like an awful lot of stuff to invest in without knowing if you’ll like it or if it’ll work for your family. Thankfully, there’s a solution for that: Jillian's Drawers. It's a trial program where you fill out the form online and pay $161.94. They send you enough diapers to last about a week, which you get to try for 21 days. Then, at the end of the 3 weeks, you send back whatever you don't want and they refund your money. If you send everything back, they'll refund you all but $10; you’re also free to keep everything and get no refund, or return a few things and get a refund on those items only. The diapers are all brand new, no previous users, so you need to prep them (wash and dry a few times), but otherwise that's it.

What if you don’t have $160 just lying around? You still have options! You can start by buying 1 or 2 diapers per month off a site like DiaperSwappers (it’s free to join). It's mostly used diapers, though you can find new ones every now and then. They're generally a big discount off what you'd pay for them brand new. Then, if you decide you don't like cloth or a certain diaper just isn't working for you, you can put it back up for sale there. You just need a PayPal account for the buying/selling, and until you get feedback there, most people are happy with feedback from other places (like eBay or Amazon, as well as places like Etsy or Hyena Cart). We’ve gotten many of our diapers from DiaperSwappers, and I love them! I’ve also sold quite a bit of things we weren’t using anymore and gotten great deals. The best part is, the prices aren’t set in stone; if you see something listed for more than you’re willing to pay, make them an offer of what you are willing to pay. Many times, the seller will say yes! Sometimes they’ll also take a trade or a partial trade as payment.

Here’s an idea of what we have in our house and what works for our family:

My Diaper Stash

18 BumGenius One-Size 3.0 Pockets that I had snap converted (when I bought them, they only had Velcro closures; BG has since added the option to get snap closures)
8 medium-sized fitteds from various companies (my favorites are the 3 Short Rounds fitteds I lucked into – 2 were free, and the 3rd was only $7 including shipping)
3 medium-sized thirsties PUL covers
4 woolies – 1 recycled (pants made from the arms of a sweater), 1 interlock, on crocheted, and one knitted. My favorite is the interlock.
3 wetbags - One holds 2 diapers or 1 diaper and a set of dirty clothes, one holds about double that, and the 3rd holds about 40 diapers (I got that one for when we drove to Maryland from Colorado last summer and knew I wouldn't have access to a washer for 3-4 days).
Diaper sprayer – hooked up to the toilet in the kids’ bathroom.
Diaper pail – really just a heavy-duty plastic trash can I got at Target.

My second son in a fitted diaper when he was about 10 months old

Flannel liners – I have a few dozen of these that I use occasionally. If your little one needs to us a diaper rash cream or ointment, these liners are really great for keeping the goop off the inside of the diaper and causing stains.
Baby washcloths – I have probably 4 or 5 dozen of these, and they’re perfect for wiping my son’s little butt. I had about a thousand of them anyway, and I never used them. It seemed like the perfect solution!
8 oz. spray bottle – I use this to spray my cloth wipes before using them. I just fill it up with tap water, add a couple drops each of tea tree oil and peppermint oil, and keep it next to my pile of wipes.
Newborn stuff: 24 unbleached Indian prefolds, 4 thirsties PUL covers, and 2 or 3 Snappis

My Newborn Stash and BumGenius Diapers; I dyed the prefolds with Dylon dyes because I think white diapers are boring diapers.

Stuff I’ve Tried and Hated

* Flushable liners – some people love them and think they’re great, but my kids have sensitive skin and complained that it made them itchy. It wasn’t worth the money I was (quite literally) flushing away for the convenience. However, if they hadn’t had sensitivity issues, these would have been GREAT for dealing with poopy diapers without having to spray them off.
* Keeping cloth wipes wet – I haven’t personally tried this, but I’ve heard they get moldy in a day or 2, so I just never went there.
Closed diaper pail – can you say, “Pee-ew!” Yeah, that’s what I thought. Just don’t even try it.
* Wet diaper pail – it encourages mold and mildew.
* Rockin’ Green Cloth Diaper Laundry Products – soap residue builds up in your diapers (especially microfiber, yuck!) and makes them dingy, gray, and stinky. They make a product called “Funk Rock” which is supposed to help with this problem, but everyone I’ve heard of who’s tried it has told me it just made the problem worse.

Tips & Tricks I Love

* Baking soda in the diaper pail – just a little sprinkle of baking soda after each diaper addition will help absorb smells and moisture while keeping the rest of your house smelling great. This is also why I do a pre-wash rinse – I don’t want to find out what it would do to my washer if I added vinegar to the mix! I get all the baking soda off first, THEN add vinegar.
* No wetbags – once my son started having more solid poop, I stopped carrying a wetbag with me. If they don’t have liquid poo, you can just wrap the diaper up the same as you would w/ a sposie and stick it in the diaper bag. Some people like a wetbag anyway, but I’ve found the diapers are far easier to deal with (smell-wise) when they haven’t been in a waterproof bag for a couple hours.

My Wash Routine

This will vary from person to person. It’ll depend if you have a high efficiency or traditional washer and dryer, how many diapers you have vs. how many kids are using them, how much other laundry you have to do, and how much you hate doing said laundry. I only have 1 in diapers right now and we have a pretty large stash for him. I also own HE machines. I wash 3 times per week in addition to my regular laundry (I have 2 dedicated laundry days; I do NOT do my diapers on those days).

1) Cold rinse, no detergent.
2) Sanitize cycle with detergent. I also add white vinegar to the bleach dispenser.
3) Cold rinse, no detergent
4) Dry

Every now and then (generally every 2-3 months for me), you’ll notice your diapers aren’t absorbing well or look dingy or smell. . . funky. You’ll need to strip them when that happens. It’s pretty easy, just tedious. I’ve never stripped anything other than my BumGenius inserts, which are white, and I haven’t needed to do it since I got my HE washer. That being said, here’s what I did in my top-loader for my white inserts:

1) Normal wash routine, but don’t dry.
2) Separate the inserts from the rest of the diaper laundry. Put all the non-insert things into the dryer.
3) Add ½ c bleach and 1 tablespoon blue Dawn dish soap and run the hottest cycle.
4) 2 additional very hot washes with not detergent, bleach, or anything else.
5) Dry

I do not use cloth when my son has diarrhea, and I use sposies at night, mainly because his pee has a lot of ammonia in it, and when we’ve tried him in cloth at night, he wakes up with chemical burns every morning. My older son didn’t have this problem, so he wore cloth at night.

I like to use prefolds with PUL covers or wool for newborns, simply because it’s the best way to get a good fit every time and prevent leaks while still protecting their little umbilical cord stump from getting bumped or irritated.

Helpful Links and Resources:

www.cottonbabies.com
www.diapersetc.com
www.diaperswappers.com
www.greenmountaindiapers.com
www.hyenacart.com
www.jilliansdrawers.com
www.youtube.com (for tutorials on how to use cloth diapers and their accessories, as well as how to make your own diapers if you want)

paper crane tutorial

2011-03-30T23:13:00.004-04:00

today i found out about osh kosh's cranes for kids program. for every paper crane you bring in or take a picture of to mail in or post to their facebook page, they'll donate an article of clothing for tsunami survivors in japan. so, in the spirit of giving, for anyone who doesn't know how to make a paper crane, i've put together a tutorial for you. all you need is a square piece of paper and your hands. once you get it down, they take less than 5 minutes to make.

1) fold your paper diagonally so you have a triangle.

2) fold the triangle in half, then do it again.

3) open the last fold. now flatten the section that's on top so it forms a square.

4) flip the whole thing over and flatten that triangle section into a square as well.

5) there will be a crease running diagonally down the center of your square. fold one of the side corners in so the edge is flush w/ the crease. in this picture, the bottom of the paper is where all the corners are and you can see into the inside of the paper.

6) repeat w/ the opposite side. then flip the whole thing over and repeat on the back side.

7) it should look a little like an ice cream cone. fold the "ice cream" portion down over the "cone" portion. make sure to fold it BOTH ways, toward the front AND the back.

8) open the "ice cream" and "cone" flaps on one side so you have a square again.

9) pick up the TOP layer of paper only at the bottom of your square and make sure the paper bends where you made the crease from folding down the "ice cream."

10) flatten it out, making sure to carefully crease the edges so the paper doesn't rip.

11) flip over and repeat steps 9 & 10 on the other side.

12) you should have a very long, skinny diamond shape. fold the corner in so the edge is flush w/ the seam in the middle. there will be folds visible after you do this - make sure the folds are lined up like in the close up picture here.

13) repeat this on the other flap of the diamond.

14) flip over and repeat steps 12 & 13 on the 2nd side.

15) you should have an ever skinnier diamond shape now. lift one flap and fold it completely over itself. after doing this, you should have 3 flaps on one half and 1 flap on the other half.

16) flip over and fold the extra 3rd flap over itself so you again have 2 flaps on each half.

17) fold each of the narrow flaps up toward the thicker flaps.

18) again, fold one of the flaps completely over itself so you have 3 flaps on one half and 1 flap on the other half.

19) flip it over and repeat so you again have 2 flaps on each half.

20) the wider flaps are the wings - pull them GENTLY away from each other. the narrow flaps are the head and tail. it doesn't matter which is which. the side you choose for the head needs to have the tip bent down about 1/2 to 1 inch from the point (depending on how large a piece of paper you use). viola! you're done!

note: this is NOT the kind that you can pull the tail and get the wings to flap. i never learned how to make that type, but i've heard it's much more complicated.

hooded towel tutorial

2011-03-24T23:38:00.005-04:00

ok, so i've never done a tutorial before, but i hope i do a good job and it's easy to follow. please let me know if there's anything i need to change/improve/clarify.

you know those flimsy, non-absorbent hooded towels you find in the baby section of stores like target and walmart? or the ones at babies r us? why pay $20 for something that won't really do anything when you can make a nice one for less than half the cost in any color combo you like? i say: DON'T! here's a step-by-step tutorial on how to make your own hooded towel at home:

1) you will need a sewing machine, a serger if you've got one (though the serger isn't necessary, it IS nice), 1 bath towel, 1 hand towel, 1 to 1 1/2 inch wide ribbon (optional; if you get by the yard ribbon, get 18-24 inches), and a pair of scissors.

2) fold the hand towel in half and cut along the fold.

3) cut a length of ribbon about 2-3 inches longer than the WIDTH of the half-hand towel.

4) fold the ends of the ribbon under and pin them in place (these will be removed after the next step, so it doesn't need to look pretty).

5) flip over and pin the ribbon in place, making sure to pin through the ribbon ends on the bottom side. remove pins from bottom side.

6) sew both edges of the ribbon to the towel, making sure to keep the ribbon ends tucked under.

7) fold the towel in half so the ribbon is on the inside and the raw edge is doubled over itself.

8) serge (or use a zigzag stitch on a regular sewing machine) the raw edges together. i like to round the corner so it'll fit my kids' heads better, though this isn't necessary (if you're using a regular sewing machine for this step, trim the excess towel after you put in the seam, then use frayblock along the edges to keep it from fraying when you wash the towel). then, turn the hood right-side-out.

9) find the middle of a long edge on your bath towel and mark it w/ a pin or fabric pencil.

10) line up your serged/sewn seam on the hood w/ the marking on the bath towel and pin in place.

11) pin down the rest of the hood edge to the towel edge. when it's pinned correctly, you will NOT be able to lay it completely flat.

12) sew the pinned edges together. you will likely have to lift the sewing machine foot over the edges of the hood since it's quite a jump in fabric height.

13) clip your strings - you're done!

rockin green giveaway!

2010-09-19T12:08:00.003-04:00

so i've recently fallen in love w/ rockin green cloth diaper and laundry detergent, and was PSYCHED to see a giveaway on survey junkie! to check it out, click here. enjoy!

enfamil is spreading lies again!

2010-05-21T22:12:00.004-04:00

so enfamil is at it again - claiming that their baby formula is superior to other brands, even though the proof is not there. their claim is that their formula is the one one w/ the "triple health guard" that improves growth, brain and eye health when compared to other formulas. this visual is used in their tv ads, as well as on their website:

it basically says that if you use any other formula to feed your baby, they'll have crappy vision when they're a year old, but if you use enfamil w/ triple health guard, they'll have almost perfect vision. it's a load of crap b/c all formulas are THE SAME!

but i almost forgot - enfamil DOES have something different! they have CHOCOLATE flavored formula! (and vanilla too, don't forget that!) as if we didn't already have an obesity epidemic in this country, we're now going to offer liquid candy to our babies!

my question is this: what's so wrong w/ breastfeeding our babies? there are a very few select women who cannot produce enough, but MOST moms can have an ample supply if they never supplement, even in the beginning. there are medical conditions that make breastfeeding difficult, dangerous, or even impossible, but those cases are vastly outweighed by moms who simply choose not to nurse. there are so many misconceptions out there surrounding breastfeeding, and i hope that i can help to dispel some of those myths. even if i have to do it one mother at a time, i hope i can make a difference for someone. :)

recommitting

2010-03-07T17:57:00.004-05:00

ok, i suck. a lot. i just realized i haven't posted anything in over 6 months! i'm promising to do better from now on, so here's my first entry in my new attempt. this is the story of what happened after trevor was born that made it necessary for me to pump for him:

trevor was born june 7, 2007, at 41 weeks, 1 day. i'd known since before he was conceived that i wanted to breastfeed my kids, so my first reaction when they laid him on my chest was to nurse him. i couldn't get him to latch. the nurse couldn't get him to latch. they called in the hospital's lc, and SHE couldn't get him to latch. he had low blood sugar, so they gave him a bottle of formula when i'd tried, for an hour, to latch him w/out success.

during our 2 day hospital stay, i tried again and again, with varying degrees of success. my nipples were red and raw, blistered and bleeding. i cried every time i was able to get him to latch b/c it hurt SO MUCH! but i was willing to do it b/c i knew it was best for my baby and everyone said it would hurt for a while. like an idiot, i believed them.

we went home when trevor was 2 days old. on the way home, he started crying b/c he was hungry, so we stopped at a friend's house so i could try to nurse him. he wouldn't latch. my friend tried to help me, but she couldn't get him to do it either. she was baffled - she'd nursed 4 kids successfully and never had a problem like this!

we got home and another friend came over to try to help, again with no success. while she was w/ me, my husband went to the airport to pick up my mom. neither of them were able to help me either. in the meantime, we were giving the baby formula, so my mom suggested stopping the formula to force him into nursing. so that's what we did.

my milk came in that night and the baby would. NOT. NURSE! i became impossibly engorged and it HURT. trevor was hungry, so he wouldn't sleep, but he wouldn't nurse either. i knew the only way to relieve the pressure was to get the milk out, so i tried the manual pump i'd gotten second hand. it didn't work. i called the pediatrician because it was 4am and i hadn't slept in 21 hours, my baby wouldn't stop crying, and i couldn't get him to eat anything. the doc on call said to go buy a pump asap, pump, and get some rest. after all, my mom and husband were there, so why was i the one awake all night w/ a baby?

when the store opened, my husband was there buying a new pump for me. i told him he'd better be there as they were unlocking the doors b/c i was in so much pain i couldn't sleep. when he got home, i tore the box apart and pumped w/out bothering to sterilize anything. i was desperate. i got maybe 1 oz. from both sides combined, but it was enough to relieve the pain and get some sleep. while i rested, my mom and husband gave the baby some more formula.

after that horrible first night home, he started nursing a little bit. he's latch on, i'd cringe and cry while he sucked for a while, then we'd both be exhausted and fall asleep. this repeated every few hours for the first week.

on friday morning, when trevor was 8 days old, my mom flew home and my husband went back to work. i gave my son a bath in the morning, snuggled w/ him, and nursed him throughout the day. he took a few naps, and i thought to myself, "i can do this. it's getting better."

it was 2pm, and it'd been almost 3 hours since he'd nursed, so i tried to wake him up. he refused. i tried the things the nurses at the hospital has suggested - tap the bottoms of his feet, undress him, change his diaper, rub him tummy. nothing worked. i called my mom, who is an emt, and asked for more suggestions. she had me try cold water on his feet and a light sternum rub. he barely flinched. i was beside myself w/ fear b/c i couldn't get him to wake up! my husband came home for his "lunch" break during swing shift around 4pm and saw me crying on the phone w/ my mom. when i told him what was going on, he said to call the doctor.

when i got in touch w/ the on-call doc, they started asking me about his schedule - when was the last time he ate? is he normally hard to wake? did he have a fever? when was his last wet diaper? that last question was what clinched it - he hadn't peed since his bath that morning at 8am. i knew b/c he peed on ME and though i'd checked his diaper several times during the day, it never needed to be changed. they said to go to the emergency room IMMEDIATELY.

i grabbed my pump, the diaper bag, and some food for myself and my husband got the rest of the night off, then we rushed to the hospital we'd left only days before. when the triage nurses saw him in my arms, unconscious, they brought us to a room and immediately pulled a doctor in to see our little boy.

they asked the same questions the on-call pediatrician had asked, plus a few others. i told them about his latching issues and how it hurt so much when he did. they decided to run some tests to figure out what was wrong w/ him.

when they tried to get a needle in him to draw blood, he FINALLY reacted - it took myself, my husband, and 3 nurses to hold him down! they drew the blood they needed and sent it to the lab to be tested. the lab called back and said to redraw the blood b/c there was no serum in his blood. so we all held him down again for another blood draw. the same thing happened w/ this sample - no serum. the doc said to run the tests on what they had.

when the results came back, we were shocked - he was severely dehydrated and jaundiced. his billirubin level was 26! 18 is considered critical and needs to be hospitalized. the doc told us if we'd waited any longer, he would have needed a blood transfusion!

trevor's pediatrician was called w/ the results and they ordered an iv and billi lights. we were taken to a room in the pediatric wing and told to weigh all diapers we changed and to keep trying to nurse him, weighing him before and after each feeding.

in the morning, they sent a lactation consultant to work w/ us again, but to no avail. they said he'd been latching incorrectly the whole last week, which was why he was so dehydrated and why i was in so much pain. the 3rd day we were in the hospital, when trevor was 10 days old, he was still losing weight from his birth weight. he weighed 9 lbs., 8 oz. at birth. at 10 days old, he weighed exactly 8 lbs. it was at that point that the doctor said he needed to have a bottle, and that my only choice was what to put in it - i could pump and give him breastmilk that way, or i could throw in the towel and give him formula.

so i started pumping. i was devastated that i couldn't get my baby to nurse, but i knew this was best for all of us. my nipples could heal from the trauma they'd endured that first week, and more importantly, my child would be getting the nutrition he so desperately needed.

i was lucky w/ pumping; my body responded well to it. when trevor was 6 weeks old, i was making 60 oz. daily! he had formula for the first month because his docs said he needed the extra calories b/c he'd lost so much weight, but after that, he only had breastmilk until it was time to wean. i continued to produce about double what he needed until i weaned at 10 1/2 months - i had stored enough in the freezer so that he had breastmilk until he was 13 months old AND i'd been lucky enough to donate over 4000 oz. privately to other moms in need. i suffered 2 bouts of mastitis and a never-ending round of thrush (it lasted for just over 5 months), and went through 2 pumps and thousands of breastmilk storage bags. it was the single hardest thing i've ever had to do.

it was ALL worth it. trevor is now a happy, healthy, intelligent, wonderful little boy who is about to turn 3. he is an awesome big brother to my second son, scott, w/ whom i'm lucky enough to be able to have the nursing relationship i'd always dreamed of. trevor understands how important "mommy milk" is - he's excited for scott to nurse and likes to sit w/ me on the rare occasions that i choose to pump, pointing at the milk in the bottles, telling me all about the "mommy milk" that will go to his baby brother. sometimes, he'll even tell me when scott needs to nurse and i don't realize it. everything we went through during that first week and a half was worth it b/c of who he is now. :)

what it's like to be a kid

2009-08-20T17:34:00.000-04:00

i just saw this and had to share: http://www.pampers.co.uk/en_GB/video/babyseyes.jsp

enjoy!

oh yeah

2009-08-19T00:16:00.002-04:00

so in case it wasn't obvious already, we're moving to colorado. in a month. no, jon doesn't have a job yet, and yes, we're nervous, but we know it'll be ok in the end and that everything will work out. we have faith that this is what we need to do and that heavenly father will provide for us if we do what we're supposed to do. we're preparing as much as possible (saving $$, getting food storage, etc.) and crossing our fingers for the rest. if you need our new address, let me know and i'll make sure you get it. :)

all kinds of crazy ideas these days!

2009-08-19T00:13:00.003-04:00

so i had another idea yesterday. . . when we get settled in colorado next month, i'm thinking about opening an etsy shop. :) i figure that i can make things that people would probably pay decent $$ for, so why not? i would probably stick to jewelry and hairbows at first, but might also branch into cloth diapers if the ones i'm making for trevor turn out well. we'll see. no baby carriers though, i don't want to deal w/ the legal issues involved there! too much to worry about and have to protect myself from in case anything happens. i don't want that kind of stress. but yeah, i just wanted to let you all know! :)

it came out of NOWHERE!

2009-07-29T11:35:00.001-04:00

seriously. i woke up sunday morning and it hit me like a ton of bricks! ok, here's the deal. . .

so, ever since i was a kid and discovered how much i loved to read, i've wanted to write a book of my own. i made a couple of attempts, but they all kinda fizzled out before they really ever got started. well, when my alarm went off sunday morning, it interrupted a dream i was having - that dream was the push i needed. in it was born the premise of the story. :) i've started writing, but it's slow going, since i have to do it in between chasing after trevor, taking care of scott, and all my other motherly and wifely duties. so far i've got the first chapter done. . .

here's what i can tell you so far:

zoe morgan is a 19 year old college junior w/ her whole life planned out - and everything's going exactly the way she wants. but you know what they say about the best-laid plans. . .

ryan appears in class on the first day of the new semester. zoe doesn't know what it is about him that draws her to him, but she can't afford this right now. it isn't part of the plan. what she doesn't know is that he's a faerie prince, sent to the human world like a foreign exchange student, so he can learn the diplomacy skills every good leader needs.

as if that weren't enough, she finds out she's actually 1/4 faerie herself, and as such, she learns she can never REALLY fit into the human world. all of zoe's plans come crashing down around her as she struggles to figure out if ANYTHING she ever believed was true and to figure out her place in the new world she finds herself a part of.

new blog

2009-07-17T16:23:00.004-04:00

i just wanted to let you all know that since this page is getting overrun by my gratuitous deal-seeking/coupon-using/food-hording, i decided to start a whole new blog dedicated to my obsession. it's couponcrazymama.blogspot.com. from now on, THIS blog will not have deals or savings info posted here. i WILL post a link to the other blog though! bye! :)

i really do have a life outsife of coupons, i swear!

2009-07-02T17:31:00.002-04:00

ok, so i haven't WRITTEN in a long time, mostly just posted pictures and told about awesome deals i got. . . SO i figured it's time to remedy that. :)

life has been good lately. jon is busy looking for a new job so that we hopefully won't have to worry about money too much when his contract ends in december. he's found alot of great opportunities in colorado and is applying for anything he's interested in. he really wants to end up in denver, but it's actually looking like most the jobs are in colorado springs, which i'm happy about. i'd prefer to go there, so i don't mind at all. he claims there will be more to do in denver, but the way he talks, you'd think colorado springs was in the middle of the boonies. not so much. i doubt we'll get bord in the springs too easily, and even if we do, it's not like denver's that far - we can always drive up there for a day if we want to. anyways, we'll go wherever the jobs lead us, whether it's denver or the springs. :)

trevor's experimenting w/ new words, trying to figure out how to pronounce things so we can understand him. my current favorite is instead of saying "cookie" he says "booty" :) it's so awesome when he runs through the house going "booty! booty! booty! yay, booty!" :D i LOVE it! today i tried to get him to say tv, but it came out sounding like "baby". . . oh well. he still refuses to say his own name, even though i KNOW he can say it. he's excited that he can say grandma (maw-maw), cj (dee-day), and danielle (don't even ask me, i can't say it the way he does). . . he asks to call them almost every day lately. . . he mostly just says hi over and over, then when he's done, he'll say "bye bye! i yuh you!" (i love you) and hand the phone to whoever's closest. . . sometimes i'll get him to demonstrate a cute pronounciation or he'll decide to count (he can get to 10 on his own!). . . he's comepletely obscessed w/ balls, cars, trucks (which he calls "yucks"), and going to the park (he asks to go play, then says "down, up! wheee!" which mean slide and swing, respectively). he comes completely unglued if he had a single speck of dirt or anything else on his hands or feet and cries andsays "all yuyi!" (all yucky) until someone cleans him up. . . he loves scott and likes to tell him hi all day long and pat his belly. if he's awake and the baby's sleeping, he's always very concerned about where scott is and just keeps calling "baby! where did he go? there he is!" until scott wakes up and we bring him to the living room too. . . :) he just can't seem to get enough time w/ his brother, which is good, especially since i'm sure they'll have their moments as they get older. :)

scott is growing so fast, it's hard to believe he's almost 3 months old! he's still nursing like a champ, but will THANKFULLY also take a bottle. he sleeps 8-10 hours at night and he a very happy boy when he's awake. he loves to look around and watch what's going on around him; he LOVES to be on his belly and just hold his head up and look around! he can also roll over to his back when he wants to, although he gets upset that he can't get back onto his belly from there. . . he's ticklish and loves to snuggle whenever he gets the chance. it's hard to belive he's only been here for 3 months, it feels like we've known him forever!

i'm doing really well too. i've started going to yoga classes again, which has shown me how truly out of shape i am now. i'm working on getting my body back to how i want it, but it'll take time. part of me doesn't feel like it b/c jon and i know we want at least 1 more kid, but i just don't like the way i look right now and that trumps the lazy part of me. i'd rather do something to feel better about my body image than to wallow in it until we're done having kids. when i'm not chasing trevor down or taking care of scott, i keep myself busy w/ books, the internet, coupons, and the few tv shows i like that aren't running reruns right now. i'm doing what i can to prepare for this move and change in career or possible lack thereof. coupons are helping to save some money and bulk up our food storage. those are the 2 main things i can do at this point. . . they'll be of the most value to us if we end up w/out income for a while. i'm also looking a little bit for places we might want to live when we get out west, although not very actively, since we have no idea if jon will have a job by then or not, and if he does, we don't know where yet. i'm mostly just getting ideas so that when the time cames, we CAN make that decision more quickly.

that's about it, i guess. i should go anyways, i think trevor just woke up and it's dinnertime too. :)

harris teeter: take 2

2009-07-02T17:27:00.002-04:00

i made a 2nd trip to harris teeter to take advantage of their super doubles this past week. they didn't have a couple of things i wanted, but that's the chance i took in waiting till the last minute. . . anyways, i ended up getting 2 jack daniel's bbq sauces (as if i needed more bbq sauce, right?), 2 lysol prays, 5 tubs of blue bunny ice cream, 4 4-packs of yogurt (1 danactive, 4 activia), and 4 boxes of bandaids. i had $1 off coupons for each item (although only 2 ice cream coupons b/c they wouldn't take more than that on them, but i only paid for 2 b/c they were on sale b2g3, so i still got a pretty sweet deal). i paid $27.48 and saved $41.19 (60.03%). happy evelyn! :)

publix - mwahahahahaha!

2009-06-29T22:27:00.003-04:00

ok, so publix this week was AWESOME!!!!! seriously, wow! ok, so don't laugh, but i got 18 french's mustards (i said don't laugh!), 21 kraft bbq sauces, 10 loaves of pepperidge farms bread, 4 sara lee strawberry cheesecakes, 2 bertolli frozen meals, and 2 lysol all purpose sprays. i used 50 cent off coupons for all the mustards and bbq sauces, 55 cent manufacturer's coupons + 75 cent off target coupons for the bread (hooray for comptitor's coupons!), $1 off the cheesecakes, $1.50 off the bertolli meals, and 50 cents off the lysol. all the 50 cent coupons doubled for $1. . . i paid $31.62 for $144.51 worth of stuff. i saved $112.89 or 78.12%. holy freakin cow! oh, and i got rainchecks for more bread. . . and mustard.

ok, so here's the deal w/ the mustard b/c i know you're all trying ot figure out what use i could POSSIBLY have for all of that. the truth is, i DON'T have a use for it. BUT it served my purposes in the store. here's why: it's on sale b1g1 for $1.89. well, that, coupled w/ a 50 cent off coupon for each one means i GET PAID 11 cents for every 2 i take out of the store. i also got paid 51 cents for every 2 bbq sauces. :) oh, and the pepperidge farms bread was 69 cents per loaf after my coupons (on sale for $1.99 each, minus 55 cent coupon AND 75 cent coupon). lysol was 69 cents for 2. the cheese cakes and bertolli meals weren't AS great a deal, but still probably the best i can ever hope to get, so i get them anyways. it was a VERY happy day! :) here's my haul--

ps - if you need mustard, let me know! :)

cvs = cheap sunscreen!

2009-06-29T22:22:00.003-04:00

ok, so i kow last time i posted about cvs i said i'd be getting sunscreen for free, but it turns out the ad was printed wrong and i did have to pay. . . but not TOO much, and i still got an AWESOME deal. i got 2 coppertone no-rub sprays (a tanning oil for $9.99 and spf 70 for $10.99), used $1.50 off coupons for each, plus my 12 ecb's from last week and paid $6.61 for $21.61 worth of stuff. i saved $15 even, which is 69.41%. oh yeah, and i got 8 ecb's for next week (so if you include the ecb's, it's like i got paid to get the usncreen. it's all in how you look at it!). yay! :)

i harris teetered :)

2009-06-29T22:18:00.003-04:00

so harris teeter is doubling coupons up to $1.98 in value, making it worth my time to drive down there to get a few things. tonight i got 2 boxes of bagel-fuls ($2.75 each), 6 boxes of band-aids ($2.55 each), and 10 pints of ben & jerry's (on sale at 2/$6). i had coupons for $1 off each of those things, which all doubled to $2. i paid $15.85 for $61.75 worth of stuff, meaning i saved $45.90 or 74.33%. happy, happy evelyn! :D

cvs this week

2009-06-26T20:37:00.003-04:00

ok, so this was the best i've ever done, i'm pretty sure. . . :) only one transaction, BUT it was awesome. i got 4 bottles of sobe lifewater and 12 soyjoy bars. used 2 b1g1 coupons for the sobe's and 2 coupons for $1/5 soyjoy bars. sobe's were on sale b1g1, soyjoy on sale for 4/$4 (plus it got 4 ecb's for every 4 you buy!). i paid $10.51 and got 12 ecb's to use next week! :) wahoo! i saved $11.84 just from the sale prices and coupons - 52.98%! next week i'll use the ecb's on a deal to get 2 coppertone sunscreens for NOTHING out of pocket. yay! :) (if you count the soyjoy bars in the picture there are only 11 - i ate one before i got a chance to take the picture)

trip to maryland

2009-06-16T22:11:00.003-04:00

so we went up to maryland for the first weekend in june for my brother's wedding reception. while we were there, we also celebrated trevor's 2nd birthday w/ family, as well as scott's baby blessing. we figured all our family was already there, so it just made sense. here are pictures from the trip:

trevor and danielle at the zoo on saturday for trevor's birthday--

our family after scott's blessing on sunday--

trevor's birthday "party" at my grandma's house sunday evening--

my grandma holding scott at the party--

scott, konked out on the bed in our hotel room monday morning--

we had a good time (for the most part); i'm sure my parents and siblings especially enjoyed getting to see the kids! it was a tiring trip, but worth it to spend some time w/ family. it took us about a week to recover from it though! :)

scott's 2 month portraits

2009-06-16T21:44:00.003-04:00

so my neighbor offered to do pictures of scott for us - here are a few of my favorites:

unfortunately, he was a little cranky by the time we got to the ones w/ his blessing outfit on, so they weren't happy pictures, but oh well, i think the screaming one is still cute in its own right. :)

publix. . . again

2009-06-16T21:41:00.002-04:00

so i went back to publix tonight to get the rest of my stuff. . . i didn't do a picture this time, but i ended up w/ 4 more jars of ragu and 3 bags of chex mix for a grand total of $3.12! :) yay! i got rainchecks for 2 more laundry detergents and 4 more boxes of brownie mix. happy evelyn! :)

publix - getting back into coupons

2009-06-16T15:36:00.002-04:00

ok, so w/ jon getting out of the military at the end of the year and us not knowing if he'll have a job by then, i figured it was time for me to get back into coupons in a major way to help save some money. i saved big on the things i got, but i bought larger quantities than i would have in the past. . . combined w/ the few things we needed RIGHT NOW, i spent a little less than normal on proceries, but not significantly. i'm hoping that in the weeks and months to come, i'll be able to save more so that i can really cut our grocery bill as much as possible. anyways, here's what i got:

14 jars ragu spaghetti sauce (46 oz. each)
40 breyers yocrunch yogurts
2 all small and mighty free and clear laundry detergent (32 loads each)
3 bags chex mix
1 pompeiian olive oils
4 i can't believe it's not butter sprays
4 boxes pillsbury brownie mix

i realized this morning that i forgot to include a couple of key coupons, so i'll be going back to use them tonight, but in the end i still got a graet deal - i paid $43.73, but SAVED $96.64 or 68.85%. obviously, if i hadn't forgotten those few coupons, i'd have saved even more, i just was in a hurry and wasn't paying attention. . . oh well. i'll be going back for some more chex mix and the all small and mighty. . . i also forgot the olive oil coupons, but i don't need to buy any more of that, so i'll see if there's anyone around here who wants them. . . i also forget to get myself soe rainchecks for the brownies, lysol wipes, and ragu sauce b/c they ran out before i'd used all my coupons. . . so i'll have to do that today too. oh well, not bad for a first try, huh? :) (the picture doesn't have the yogurts or spray butters b/c i'd already put them away when i thought to take the picture and didn't feel like getting them back out)

cvs this week

2009-06-16T15:22:00.003-04:00

so i'm not 100% done w/ cvs this week, but the things i still need to get are repeats of what i've already gotten, so i figure whatever, i'll just post it now.

1) 3 excedrin migraine 24-ct. geltabs, 1 dial 16 oz. body wash, 24 oz. renu multiplus solution. coupons: $1/1 excedrin x3, $1/1 dial body wash, $1/1 renu multiplus solution. paid $27.58 out of pocket, got 10 ecb. saved $12.00.
2) 4 johnson's 15 oz. baby washes, 4 scrubbing bubbles automatic shower cleaner refills. coupons: $1/1 johnson & johnson baby product x4, $3/2 sbrubbing bubbles shower cleaner x2, 10 ecb from previous purchase. paid $4.98 out of pocket. saved $35.12.

total spent = $32.56; saved $37.12 or 53.27%. i was most excited about the shower cleaner - the regular price on those was $5.29 each, but i only paid $1.50 each after the sale price combined w/ coupons! :) i'll be going back for more excedrin, dial, and multiplus solution. . . and possibly some more johnson's baby stuff. we'll see. . .

cvs last week

2009-06-16T15:06:00.004-04:00

ok, so i've been meaning to sit down and do this for a few days and now i have WAY more than i care to do at once, but oh well. . . anyways, i got to cvs at like, the last possible minute last week - 930 on saturday night - they close at 10 - to get last week's deals. . . not the greatest week, but not the worst either. mostly i just didn't have as great of luck as i have in the past, but i got stuff we needed, so it's all good.

1) 3 dove body washes (24 oz. each) + 3 $1/1 coupons = $19.47 out of pocket, but got 10 ecb. saved $8.07 total between coupons and the sale price.
2) 1 camping chair, 3 bottles optifree replenish (10 oz. each) + $1/1 coupons for optifree and 10 ecb = $22.64 out of pocket. saved @21.60.

total spent = $42.11; saved $ 29.67 or 41.33%. like i said, not the greatest week, but not bad either, especially considering we would've ended up paying full price for all of it in the near future, so why not save some now, right? (i didn't bother w/ the camp chair in the picture, but you get the idea)

pictures of scott

2009-04-17T15:28:00.002-04:00

ok, so i got the pictures loaded onto the computer and into photobucket last night so that i can post them here. enjoy! :)

and b/c i didn't get around to it before he was born, here are the pictures of scott's room. . .

scott pieter is here! :)

2009-04-15T16:43:00.001-04:00

ok, so around 715 saturday night i started having contractions, but figured they were just more braxton hicks b/c i get them ALL the time. i took trevor on a walk hoping it might turns them into something more or make them go away. . . they kept building, but nothing too bad. i got trevor his bath and put him to bed, got his easter basket out and did some laundry and dishes. i figured if i WAS in labor, i didn’t wanna come home to a stinky dirty house. the friend who was gonna drive me to the hospital came over and we decided to watch a movie, but ended up leaving in the middle of it. . . i got to the hospital around 1215. my contractions weren’t regular, but they were bad enough i knew it was time to go anyways. the l&d nurses weren’t so sure, hooked me up to the monitors, and were debating whether to keep me there or send me home. around 2 am, they said they’d check me in about half and hour and see if i’d made any progress, then decide. after telling me that, the nurse asked if my water her broken or anything, and RIGHT THEN, as she asked, it broke. . . i wasn’t sure b/c it was just a trickle, and i’ve had times before where that happened and it turned out i’d peed myself, so i said that. she said we’d be able to tell on the next contraction, and sure enough, it all just came gushing out. there was ALOT more than i’d expected, but at least then i knew they were keeping me and i was having scott. they checked me and said i was at 6 cm and 80% effaced, and that i had another water bag in there! they said something about a forebag, so i assumed that’s what had broken and the main bag was still in tact and asked them not to break it.

we got a message to jon to call b/c i was in labor, so i got to talk to him for a little while until i started having back labor and had to really focus to get through the contractions. that was around 330 or a little after, maybe. another friend had shown up shortly after i got to the hospital, so i asked her to do some counter pressure on my lower back to relieve the pain from the contractions and it helped SO much! i’d had back labor w/ trevor too, but it wasn’t this bad and i didn’t think to have anyone do any counter pressure. i wish now i had, it was a huge help in dealing w/ the pain.

i started to feel like i needed to push a little, but not like i COULDN’T stop it, so i asked to be checked. i was at 8 cm, but that 2nd bag was what was making me feel the urge to push. it wasn’t terrible, so i figured it would only be an hour or so till i was fully dilated. well, 3 hours later, i was still there - they checked me and i was STILL at 8 cm. i was completely exhausted at that point, it was just after 7 am and i hadn’t gotten any sleep. they said if i let the doctor break the forebag, i’d probably be done much faster. i realized then that i’d gotten confused at first - i thought they said my forebag had broken when really it was the main one that broke. i told them definitely go for it then, break it and get it over w/. the doctor came in and broke it, and there was another huge gush - even the doctor was surprised by how much fluid was in there (explains why i was SO huge though). . . 2 contractions later, i was fully dilated and screaming for them to get the doctor back in there b/c i was pushing and there was no stopping it. the nurse told me not to make her deliver the baby and i told her i wasn’t making her any promises. . .

the doctor came in right about then and they let me start pushing. . . he was doing some kind of counter pressure thing to help keep me from tearing, but it was so distracting that i couldn’t push effectively at all. i kept telling him to stop, but i think everyone though i meant to make the contractions stop b/c they just ignored me and kept saying "you’re almost done, just push, you’re doing great!" finally i kicked the doctor and said "you! stop it!" he did, and after that, i just pushed 3 times and scott was born! :) first thing the doctor said as he put him on my chest was "congratulations, now you can eat anything you want!" :) my one friend was offering me chocolate almost immediately. . . :) i didn’t want it quite then, but i thought it was kinda funny.

scott already knew his mama though - when they took him away to weigh him and a couple other little things, he screamed his little head off, but as long as he was w/ me, he was a happy little boy. i was able to nurse him for about half an hour before they had to take him to the nursery, so i was over the moon about that. :)

i didn’t really tear, but i had to get 2 small stitches b/c my skin stretched and wasn’t fitting together EXACTLY the way i was supposed to. best part though, was that i felt so much better throughout the whole thing. even when they weren’t letting me push yet, i was able to talk and laugh and joke in between contractions like nothing was going on at all, and i did it w/out any drugs. they l&d nurses, as well as my nurses in the maternity ward kept telling me i was a "rockstar" and asking why i didn’t have him at the birthing center (apparently that’s an option, but no one ever told me. . . i couldn’t have though, since i was on diabetes meds, i was considered high risk enough i had to be in the hospital). anyways, w/in an hour after having him, i was up and walking around on my own, i felt great! by the next day, i hardly noticed any soreness, and yesterday, when i left the hospital, i felt more like i was 2 or 3 WEEKS postpartum, not just 2 days. :)

scott is nursing like a pro, although i have had to use a nipple shield b/c he’s got such a narrow, high palette that i get blisters even when he’s latched 100% correctly. it’s helped a ton and a few times i’ve been able to go w/out it too. i’m hoping i won’t have to use it for long. he’s already started gained weight back (yay!), so i’m sure the little bit of jaundice he’s got will be on it’s way out very soon. he’s going to the doctor to check on that and his weight tomorrow, so i’ll let you all know what i find out then.

oh yeah, almost forgot - he was born 749 am on 4/12 (so about 12 1/2 hours of labor - huge surprise, since i was only in labor w/ trevor for a little under 5 hours. oh well. . . ); weighed 7 lbs., 15 oz., and was 20 inches long. when we left the hospital yesterday, he weighed 7 lbs., 7 oz., but today he was at 7 lbs., 8.6 oz. :)

AND even though jon wasn’t able to be there, he’ll be home on sunday! :) yay

holy moley - even MORE macaroni. . . er, pasta. . .

2009-04-11T14:45:00.004-04:00

ok, so i went and got more coupons for pasta yesterday and all i have to say is WOW! i came home w/ 62 boxes of pasta, 2 things of laundry detergent, 2 boxes of ziplock bags, 2 canisters of store brand disinfecting wipes, and some brown sugar and only paid $2.36! yay! and the only reason i even paid that much was b/c i miscounted how many boxes of pasta i had - i had 61 coupons, but somehow must have skipped a box when i counted them. . . oh well though, i really can't complain. :) we won't have to buy pasta for at least a year, maybe 2, and i got it all for free! :) plus, i had JUST gotten a box w/ 20 lbs. of pasta from the cannery in columbia, so we now have over 100 lbs. of pasta in our house. talk about food storage! :) anyways, yeah, i'm pretty happy w/ my spoils, i don't think i could have done much better, poor counting skills aside. . .

holy moley macaroni!

2009-04-09T15:46:00.004-04:00

ok, so it wasn't macaroni, but close enough. my friend told me about a deal on pasta at publix that i decided was just too good to pass up - they PAY you 61 cents per box to get pasta! so yeah, today i went and got 20 boxes of pasta, plus some sour cream, shredded cheese, and a bag of easter candy and paid - wait for it - 27 CENTS! heck yeah! i saved $33.80! :D it's like christmas, i was so happy.

the best part was that it was fun for both trevor AND myself. we had to go to food lion to pull blinkies, which trevor thought was great fun - he'd sit there waiting for the coupon to pop out, asking me the whole time "out? out?" when it came out, he'd look at me expectantly till i told him "get it!" (i dunno why he thought he needed permission each time, but he did). then he'd yank it out and add it to the pile, clap his hands, and shout "yay!" and start the process all over again. we got 33 coupons today, and i'll be going to get more probably tomorrow. the whole thing is fun for me b/c i SO don't mind if a store wants to pay me to take food from them. :)

oh, and the only reason i stopped at 33 today was due to circumstances beyond my control. the first food lion we went to had the blinkie machine up high enough that trevor couldn't reach it while sitting in the cart, and no matter how hard i tried, i could NOT convince him to stand in it, so i had to hold him. we got 30 there before i got tired of that. so we went to another food lion in the hope that the machine would be on a lower shelf. it was, but after 3 coupons, it ran out, so there wasn't much i could do about that. trevor was disappointed, he kept asking me "out? all gone? out?" like he just didn't think that was fair. poor kid. at least this new fun game benefits me as well. . . :) i'll have to find a different food lion tomorrow b/c i don't wanna sit there holding him again, but i want more free pasta, dang it! :)

carrier stash sale!

2009-03-29T22:43:00.005-04:00

ok, so i have more wraps than i'll really use, so i decided to sell some of what i've got. i've had them listed on diaperswappers.com for a while now, but i haven't had any takers. i dunno why i never thought to post it here, but oh well. better late than never, right? ok, so here are the ones i'm wanting to get rid of and the info on them (all of these have been made by me):

1) air force seal cotton wrap. it's 4.8 yds. and only been used maybe 3 times max (like new condition). it's got a seam in the center so you don't have to fumble for it. it's a great wrap, i just don't find myself reaching for it at all. i'm just asking for the cost of the fabric and shipping ($30 total).

2) blue floral wrap. i bought this fabric when we thought i was having a baby girl, but since it's another boy, i don't see myself using it. it's never been used or tried on. it's also cotton, and is 5 yds. it's also got a center seam. i'm asking $40 (including shipping).

3) pool/beach wrap. you have an option on this one. . . i got the fabric to make a wrap for myself to use in the pool and at the beach this summer and it ended up making 2. i have 1 that's finished w/ a center seam, as well as one that's just the fabric. if you want just the fabric, i'm asking you cover just my cost ($30, including shipping). if you want the finished one, i'm asking a little more than normal b/c the fabric is extremely difficult to work w/ and it took me a LONG time to get done. i'm asking $50 (including shipping) for the finished one. finished, it's 4.2 yds. and has a center seam. i want to keep one for myself, though i don't care which.

if you're close enough i don't have to ship it, the prices will each be $5 less. if you want more than 1, i can combine the shipping so it'll be a little less, just let me know. comment here or email me. i have paypal, so payment isn't an issue if you're not nearby. also, these are shipping prices w/in the states. outside the us, i dunno how much it would be, so i'd have to check and get back to you. also, i'm open to reasonable offers or trades, so don't be shy! :)

i would LOVE to try a peanut shell (small) or hotsling (size 3) in boy-friendly colors/prints and would be more than happy to trade for one! :)

my homemade mei tai

2009-03-29T22:34:00.002-04:00

ok, i actually made this a few days ago, but i haven't had a chance to post about it here yet. i'm SO excited about it though, so i have to share. about a month ago, i lost my beloved babyhawk. it was tragic, i mourned it's loss (well, kinda. i was sad, but i didn't cry or anything). . . well ,it had been 3 weeks and it still hadn't turned up, so i decided it was time to take matters into my own hands, hence the mei tai i made for trevor - that was a trial run to see how hard it would be to make one for myself. it turned out that mine was even EASIER than his, probably b/c i had better material AND it was bigger, so i didn't have to be QUITE as exact on certain things. the only thing that was harder was that i padded the shoulder straps on mine, so that took a little extra effort, but was totally worth it. i refuse to have a mt that isn't padded. anyways, i think it turned out REALLY well, so i thought i'd share some pictures w/ you all! :)

the finished product--

action shots--

please excuse the strange look on my face in that last one, i was trying to get trevor to smile by telling him to say "yay" and the picture took in the middle of the word. . . i didn't feel like redoing it, so i figured i would deal w/ it. :)

i'm a tard. no really, i totally am.

2009-03-29T22:27:00.004-04:00

ok, so i had to go to the hospital today. again. *grumble* BUT at least this time it wasn't for a false alarm thinking the baby was coming. nope, i managed to slam my hand in the car door when we were leaving church this afternoon. real swift, i know. anyways, it was almost naptime, so FORTUNATELY, my next-door neighbor took trevor so i wouldn't have to deal w/ a tired, fussing toddler. . . but here's the annoying part - since it's sunday, none of the urgent care places around here were open, so i had to go to the emergency room. you know how DUMB i felt walking in there, 37 weeks pregnant and telling them i think i might have broken my finger? yeah, i must have looked like a complete idiot. anyways, at least this hospital has something they call the "fast track" for minor things like this in the er, so i was in and out in about 2 hours. . . no break, happily, but now i think the docs are even bigger tards than me b/c they're STILL making me wear a brace on my finger. so annoying, i hate it. i just took it off when i got home and haven't really bothered much w/ it since. if it starts to hurt more or i do something to irritate it, i'll put it back on, but for now i think i'm ok.

ok, commence pointing and laughing now, if you haven't already. i totally deserve it for being such an utter moron. :)

so i thought i'd make a mei tai. . .

2009-03-18T18:18:00.002-04:00

ok, so since my babyhawk wandered off a few weeks ago, i figured i'd see if i could make my own mei tai b/c i miss it and i want one now. however, before i spent the money on fabric, i wanted to see how hard it would be, how long it wold take, etc. i had some fabric that i didn't have any use for lying around, so i made a miniature one for trevor - it turned out really well and didn't take nearly as long as i'd expected! best part was that it was about 1000 times easier than i expected as well! trevor LOVES it and was upset when we had to go out for a while and i wouldn't let him bring it. :) anyways, i just wanted ot share a couple picture of him wearing one of his stuffed animals b/c it was so stinkin' cute! :)

oh, and i'll make sure to post the finished result of the one i'm making for myself as well - i LOVE the fabrics, they're great! :)

fighting w/ my ob

2009-03-16T14:28:00.004-04:00

ok, so those of you who remember when i was pregnant w/ trevor know full well that i could not WAIT to get him out and not be pregnant anymore. well, this should make you all giggle a little then. . . b/c i'm fighting w/ my doc now over the fact that they want to induce me at 39 weeks instead of letting nature take its course. i find it kinda ironic myself. . .

ok, so here's the full story:

according to my doctor, it's routine to induce gestational diabetic moms at 39 weeks if they haven't had the baby yet. i know this is to prevent deterioration of the placenta and things like that, so i know it isn't 100% about convenience. BUT if i understand things correctly, a deteriorating placenta should only be an issue if blood sugars aren't well controlled. i'm willing to do whatever i need to in order to keep mine under control till nudger arrives. so when the doc told me today that they wanted me to schedule my induction for 39 weeks, i asked how much say i have in that. i do NOT want to be induced by any means unless it's medically necessary. the doc tried to appease me by saying that instead of doing pitocin, they could try breaking my water and see what happens. that's still not something i'm comfortable w/, so i said so. the end of the conversation about it was something like they'll wait till jon is home from his deployment as long as things look ok. at that point, they WILL induce me if i haven't gone into labor on my own.

i'm not exactly happy about this, but i know that it's my right as a patient to refuse if i really don't want this. what i'm hoping is that the baby will come on his own before they start to insist on an induction and it won't be an issue, but i'm not gonna count on that happening. my biggest worry is for nudger. when trevor was born, even at 41 weeks, he still had some breathing difficulties and needed a shot of surfactant to get him breathing right. i don't wanna risk the same thing happening to nudger just b/c the timing is more convenient for the docs. they can do nst's and things like that to make sure he's still doing well in there, i just get the idea that they don't want to. i WILL fight this though - as long as things look good in there, i do NOT want to be induced. i want nudger to come when he's good and ready, not when some doctor says he should come.

any advice on handling this tactfully and in a way that myself and the docs won't get upset would be GREATLY appreciated! :)

AWESOME trip to cvs!

2009-03-05T09:38:00.006-05:00

ok, so last night was probably my best trip EVER to cvs! :) happy day! here's what i got (just 1 transaction this time): 2 boxes glucerna cereal (on sale b1g1 1/2 off; had $5 off glucerna cereal coupon and $1.25 of any 1 glucerna product coupon), 2 boxes south beach high protein cereal bars (raincheck from last week's sale for 2/$5, 1 coupon for $2 off south beach cereal bars), 2 suave body washes (on sale $2 each). used 10 ecb, paid 21 cents! :) yep, that's it, just 21 cents. i didn't get any ecb's back, but i'm ok w/ that. so, i saved $26.62 or 99.22%! and looking at the receipt, HALF of what i paid was sales tax - GO ME!!!!! :) happy, happy evelyn! :D check out my haul--

yeah, i totally love cvs, it really is like christmas every day! :)

oh, and i would have actually done even better, but when my friend tried to print out more of the south beach coupons for me, her printer didn't like it, so oh well. i was glad she tried, but ultimately, i'm not all that disappointed. i still did GREAT and paid next to nothing for what i got. :)

friday night adventures!

2009-02-27T23:46:00.002-05:00

ok, so i had made plans to go to dinner w/ my friend wendy tonight. . . well, i got WAY more than i bargained for. . . CRAZY, CRAZY night, wow. . .

ok, so when i got to the restaurant, it wasn't just wendy waiting for me. . . apparently she'd used the girl's night out as the cover to throw me a surprise baby shower! :) it was a bunch of people from the ward, plus a few from the other ward that meets in our building. she'd called my friends from the base and the breastfeeding group, but none of them could make it, unfortunately. anyways, the food there was AMAZING (jim'n nick's bbq - i'm SO going back!), and they got me some good stuff for the baby too. oh, and they got a cake that i could actually eat - they made sure to get the whipped cream frosting instead of the super-sugary kind, so i had a piece and it didn't jack my blood sugar numbers, so that's REALLY good! :)

so after we were done w/ that, wendy and i decided to go ahead w/ the original plan and see a movie. we decided to see push. we got there right when the previews ended, so our timing was perfect. well, i wasn't feeling well, but i figured i'd just eaten too much. normally when i go out to eat, i eat about 3 bites then get full (well, except at ihop). . . well, not tonight, i ate EVERYTHING on my plate. it was just too good and i was too hungry! :) so yeah, i figured i'd just eaten too much, so i sat back and tried to relax so i could enjoy the movie. well, about 15 minutes into the movie, i started having contractions. super painful ones in my back like i did when i was really in labor w/ trevor. they were short, but they were coming fast, so that freaked me out. i waited to see if they'd go away, but they didn't, so i told wendy we had to go to the hospital. we were at least able to get vouchers for a free movie since we'd already paid and seen so little of this one.

anyways, sure enough, i was having contractions, but they were only lasting about 20-30 seconds. they gave me a big thing of water and said i had to drink at least half or i'd have to have an iv. they also got a urine sample, but it was totally clear, as clear as water. i heard the nurse tell the doc that it was "beautiful". . . :) i thought that was funny, though i didn't really react at the time b/c i was in pain. they told me that b/c my contractions weren't lasting very long, they weren't really concerned, but the doc checked to see if i was dilating and i wasn't (thankfully). they checked my urine sample and came back and said i was dehydrated. WHAT?!?!?!?! how can that be when it's as clear as water? whatever. so they told me to keep drinking my water. ugh, i was still so full from dinner, i felt like i was gonna puke water up if i drank any more, but i managed to get down the minimum they wanted. about 20 minutes later they came back and said i have a uti. lovely. so apparently that's what was causing my contractions. i'm wondering if it would make it look like i was dehydrated when i wasn't. . . seriously all i do anymore is drink water, so i just can't see how i could REALLY be dehydrated. anyways, at that point i asked if i could be done w/ the water there and go home; they said yes, but to drink more once i got there. they gave me a prescription for an antibiotic, so i'll go get that filled in the morning. . .

so yeah, it was an adventurous evening. started off w/ a surprise baby shower, went to the movies, and ended up in the hospital. i complained to wendy about it too, i kept telling her "i didn't want to do this this time around! i said the only time i'd go to the hospital was when i was actually in labor!" she assured me it was ok and she didn't mind, but i felt so dumb. like i'm repeating history. of course, there really WAS a reason i was having contractions (the uti) and i probably wouldn't have noticed b/c i'm not having any other symptoms. and since the ob office here is dumb and doesn't do a urine sample at every visit like most ob's do, it's not like they'd catch it at a regular appointment. still though, i'm really hoping this was a one time deal.

i'd called my baby-sitter to let her know what was going on and told her that i had no idea what time i'd be getting back, so if she wanted to call her mom, that was fine. when i got home she was here, but she didn't seem to mind having been called in. :)

i'm just glad everything is ok and i know what's going on now. i'll get my drugs in the morning and be on the way to normal once again! :)

my first cvs argument. . .

2009-02-26T19:30:00.004-05:00

ok, so last time i posted about going to cvs, i mentioned getting a rain check for the neutrogena deal. they FINALLY had the product i was looking for (i went in 5 different times before they had it on the shelf), so i went to get it last night. . . well, first i'll tell you what all i got, then get into the issue i had w/ the cashier. . . just 1 transaction last night: 2 bars neutrogena original face wash, vo5 shampoo, vo5 conditioner, 250 ml cvs mouthwash. used cvs coupon for free 250 ml mouthwash and cvs coupon for $3 off any 2 shampoo or conditioners. vo5's were on sale for 77 cents each. paid $4.84, got 10 ecb's for next time! :)

ok, so here's the issue i had: i double checked when i got the rain check for the neutrogena deal to make sure i'd still get the ecb's to use later. they said yes, not a problem, they've done it before. ok great. so when they went to ring me up last night, they said they couldn't do it b/c my total was less than $10, so they couldn't give me ecb's. as in i couldn't earn more ecb's than i spent. then they were trying to tell me the bars of face wash ($2.99 each) weren't part of the deal b/c the deal was to buy $20 worth of neutrogena products and get 10 ecb. i told them no it wasn't, it was buy ANY 2 neutrogena products, get 10 ecb. they finally found the ad (i hadn't thought to save one from the week before, so partly my fault on that) and saw that i was right. they kept trying to tell me that they couldn't give me the 10 ecb's b/c my total wasn't enough. i FINALLY understood that what they were trying to do was take the $10 off my total right then instead of giving me an ecb print out. i told them no, i didn't expect that, i wanted the print out to use the ecb's later.

it took TWENTY MINUTES to finally get to the point where i understood their issue (b/c they never told me they were trying to apply the ecb's to the total right then). anyways, once i explained what i wanted (and KNEW they could do), they finally got it. i paid for my stuff, they printed out the receipt. then to get the ecb's, they had to scan my receipt and the register AUTOMATICALLY printed my 10 ecb. FINALLY! at least it all worked out in my favor, but geez! i was ready to leave w/out the neutrogena stuff, that didn't bother me at all, but still, it was aggravating that it took so long. they just kept saying exactly the same thing over and over again w/out trying to make their point any more clear. at least i'm smart enough that i figured it out w/out any help from them and was able to get my point across so that it got worked out in a way that made everyone happy. . .

normally the people at this cvs love me, the manager is always excited when i come in to see what kind of deals i'll get this time. . . he wasn't there though, and the 2 that WERE there weren't the brightest crayons in the box, that's for sure. . .

president's day rocks!

2009-02-16T20:53:00.002-05:00

ok, so i just have to say that i love president's day, if for no other reason than it's a great day for sales! :) i spent WAY too much money today, but i got alot of stuff so it was all worth it! :)

first i hit once upon a child. they weren't having a sale, but i figured i'd still get a better deal there than anywhere else. i got a ton of stuff there for nudger, as well as a pair of sandals for this summer for trevor. i spent almost $40 there. . .

next i went over to the outlet mall. i got a 5-pack of onesies and a 3-piece outfit for nudger for $26 plus tax (not spectacular, but definitely better than full price). then i went a few doors down to children's place and found a onesie for nudger, along w/ some things for trevor for next winter. the onesie is for christmas, it says "silent night? i don't think so!" :) so cute! then i got trevor a long-sleeved t-shirt, 2 sweaters and a jacket, each for $4.99! SCORE! :D

in the end i spent almost $100 just on clothes today, but it was all stuff we'll use, so i don't feel too bad. plus we had the money for once, so that justifies it almost as much as the sale prices, in my mind. :) here's a few pictures of everything i got:

carter's--

children's place--

once upon a child--

oh, and so i don't forget, i also got the cloth diapers organized, so i wanted to show those off too. we have 2 dozen bumgenius one-size 3.0 pockets for trevor, as well as another 2 dozen for nudger. then i also got 2 dozen prefolds which i just finished dying last night, 4 thirsties xs covers, and 2 snappis. i decided to try out the flushable liners from cottonbabies.com to see how those work out too. . . never used liners before, but i'm hoping it'll make cleaning up poopy diapers a little easier. . . anyway, here's a few pictures of the newborn stash--

interesting cvs experience. . .

2009-02-16T19:22:00.002-05:00

so i haven't been so great about going to cvs to take advantage of their deals recently, but i went today b/c they had some things i want/needed/couldn't pass up the deal. :) i didn't have any coupons this time, so i didn't do as well as i have in the past, but i still saved $ over what i'd have expected. . . thing is, i shouldn't have saved as much as i did, but the cashier messed up. . . first it was an error NOT in my favor, which they corrected. then they made an error that WAS in my favor, but didn't believe me when i pointed it out. so i walked away w/ a little more $ in my pocket than i expected. . . first, here's what i got:

1) 6 suave body washes @ $2 each, 2 crest pro-health rinse (1L bottles), 2 aussie leave-in conditioner. paid $ 27.78, earned 7 ecb.
2) high school musical 3 on dvd. used ecb from previous purchase, should have paid $ 13.90. in reality, i paid $10.68. . .

ok, so the first mistake they made was they only gave me 3 ecb when i should have earned 7. they fixed that w/ no issue. however, it wasn't till after they'd rung me up for the 2nd trasaction that i realized this. i was slightly annoyed w/ the cashier b/c instead of handing me the whole receipt w/ the ecb's on it, he tore off the ecb's and gave me what was left. so i had no idea if i had the right amount or not. he proceeded to ring up the movie and scanned the ecb's, which wasn't an issue since i'd said i wanted to do it that way. however, i didn't realize it wasn't as cheap as it should have been till AFTER i'd swiped my card. he had to void that sale out and redo it, making sure to get the right amount of ecb's first. we had to go through my purchases b/c the computer hadn't recognized the for whatever reason. we figured out it had shorted me 4 ecb, so he rang it up correctly this time. HOWEVER, after he scanned the dvd and put in the ecb's, the computer thought i'd paid full price for the dvd the first time (instead of $3 less), so i got refunded $7.50 in cash. when i said that wasn't right the casheir said no, it was fine. . . so yeah, it was interesting, to say the least. here's a picture of my spoils--

holy huge baby, batman!

2009-02-11T10:45:00.003-05:00

so b/c trevor was so big when he was born (9 lbs., 8 oz.), my doc is concerned w/ how big nudger is gonna be. that was BEFORE we found out i have gestational diabetes. oy. if i'm able to keep the gd under control (which i seem to be doing ok at so far), it shouldn't have any effect on how big he is. . . anyways, b/c of the concern they have (and let's face it, i'm scared too), they wanted me to have another u/s to measure him. at 21 weeks, he was measuring about a week ahead of schedule. well, today, at just over 30 weeks, he's measuring TWO weeks ahead. . . he's about 4 lbs., 5 oz. according to their measurements, and if he stays on a normal growth curse between now and whenever he's born, he'll likely weigh in around 10 lbs. BUT since he's been accelerating so far, i expect that trend to continue. i am absolutely TERRIFIED of how big this kid will be in the end! and unfortunately, w/ how fast i labored w/ trevor, i'm not expecting there to be time for any drugs - especially since i refuse to have narcotics, i hate the way they make me feel. if i have anything, i'd want an epidural. but most likely i won't have time for anything at all - i'm nervous about getting there in time to begin w/! anyways, just thought i'd share my new panic w/ you all, as well as the new u/s pictures. enjoy! :)

awesome video

2009-02-11T10:44:00.002-05:00

i got this video in an email today and i bawled like a baby when i watched it. hope you all enjoy it as much as i did! :)

gestational diabetes. yuck.

2009-02-05T14:07:00.003-05:00

so i found out last friday (1/30) that i have gestational diabetes. boo.

they had me come in monday to give me a meter to check my blood sugar and showed me how to use it. then, i was supposed to see a nutritionist to make sure i've got a good idea of what i should or shouldn't eat. well, they STILL haven't gotten me the info to contact this person, nor has the nutritionist contacted me. i'm getting REALLY frustrated b/c i keep going over my goal, but i feel like i'm not doing anything inherently wrong. the only thing i've figured out is that i can't eat fruit. or certain veggies. SO NOT GOOD! i had a salad yesterday and that was fine, i even had a few raisins on it. i'm sure some other veggies would be ok too (carrots, broccoli, both of which i love), but so far, applesauce and corn both send me over my goal and that sucks. it really irritates me. . . especially when i had some cheesecake yesterday at lunch and that was ok, but the corn in my dinner last night sent me over. ugh. i'm really annoyed b/c they said it could be up to 2 WEEKS before the nutritionist calls to set up an appointment!

TWO WEEKS!!!!!

that's ridiculous! in the mean time, i'm totally guessing (and guessing wrong, apparently) at what i should be eating. . . and i have a doctor's appointment next week, most likely before i'll be able to see the nutritionist, where they're gonna look at my numbers. . . i'm nervous they'll see that i'm going over and make me do insulin shots. i SO don't wanna do that if i can avoid it. i just need some help figuring out what i CAN eat. . . the only things so far that i know for sure i'm ok on are salad, bagels w/ cream cheese, and peanut butter sandwiches. i can't live on that alone for the next 3 months. . . i seriously just want to cry right now, i hate this. . . :*(

britax and cottonbabies.com deals! :)

2009-02-05T13:53:00.003-05:00

so we got our tax return today. we'd planned to use part of it to buy the things we need before nudger arrives (more cloth diapers, double stroller, etc.), so i went ahead and ordered all that stuff today. . .

well, i was happy to find that this week is britax's semi-annual sale and i saved $50 on the convertible carseat we'd decided to get - we got trevor's during this sale last year and only saved $20, so i was really excited about this. i was gonna wait till they had their sale to order the seat, but was glad it happened to be the same week we got our return!

then i was on cottonbabies.com to order the diapers we wanted and happened to stumble across (well, i googled it, but still, i rarely find codes that work that way) a code that got me free insurance on the shipping! the code SAID it got $3 off the total order, but i got $5.20 off, which is how much the insurance cost. i was pretty happy. $5 may not be much, but every little bit helps, right? :)

for those who want to know, the code is DIAPERSWAPPERS; i got the info on it at retailmenot.com

we spent a good chunk of our return on these 2 orders, BUT it was less than i'd expected, so happy day! :) we've got good plans for the rest of our tax return too - paying off our credit card and the new computers we got in november. :) we'll still have a little left after that, so that's EVEN BETTER! :D

disney world, here we come!

2009-01-23T10:38:00.005-05:00

so my sister-in-law told me yesterday about a deal that disney world is doing for the military this year that i really want to take advantage of b/c i have a feeling something like this won't come along again for us. . .

through the end of the year, active duty military members can get a free 5-day park hopper pass w/ water park option. THEN they can get up to 5 more 5-day passes for family/friends for $99 each. these passes do NOT include the park hopper or water park options, but they can be added for another $25 each. kids under 3 don't need tickets to disney EVER, so for us to go for 5 days would cost between $99 and $149 (depending on whether we got the park hopper and water park options for me, which we probably would)! :)

then i was looking at where we'd stay if we do this, and i found that all the resorts, including the military one, were out of our price range. . . BUT i found a days inn nearby that has free breakfast and a free shuttle to and from the magic kingdom, as well as a pool. :) once we get to the magic kingdom, we can just take the monorail to the other parks, and that's free too! this particular days inn has rooms w/ 2 QUEEN beds instead of 2 doubles, so it's an even better deal - it's $40 per night! the resorts are all more than double that for the cheapest rooms, w/ the exception of the one where you camp out. . . and even that one's about $10 more per night! after that, we'd just need to worry about gas to get to florida and back and food.

in total we could likely do disney for about $400! how awesome is that?!?!?! but wait there's more. . .

i remembered i had info about free admission to sea world for military families, so i checked and it's still good! it's for up to 4 free passes for each military member, so if we stay for an extra night, we could do sea world too! i'm SO excited, i really hope i can convince jon that we can afford to do this b/c we'll REALLY never get a chance like this again (at these prices, at least)! SUPER happy evelyn! :D

info about these deals--
disney: click here
sea world: click here

stupid hospital!

2009-01-23T10:26:00.004-05:00

ok, so in my last post i wrote about how trevor has the mumps. well, it turns out he does NOT and the doc at the hospital is a retard. apparently there's a simple blood test he's required to do to "officially" diagnose the mumps and he didn't do it. THEN he didn't bother reporting it to whoever he's supposed to report it to and told me it's not contagious! what an idiot!

we went to see trevor's pediatrician as directed by the hospital and after hearing the whole story, he said my instinct had been right and it WAS an allergic reaction! he's running that blood test just to be safe (b/c he wants to be able to say he has proof when/if he starts getting calls about it), but that trevor doesn't have any of the classic symptoms of mumps other than swollen cheeks. the thing is that his lips started to swell before his cheeks did, which does NOT happen w/ the mumps. the pediatrician recommended that we take tevor to an allergist, then prescribed zyrtec to get the swelling to go down. he also told me that if trevor ever needs to go to the emergency room again, our insurance would cover taking him downtown to children's hospital's pediatric emergency room. i'd rather go a little farther and have to pay for parking to get the right diagnosis the first time b/c this isn't even the first time this particular hospital has given us the wrong diagnosis! (back in september they said he didn't have pneumonia, but he did) i'll also be filing a formal complaint b/c this is ridiculous. . . the doc didn't do all he should have AND gave us the wrong diagnosis and the wrong info about that diagnosis. how does a moron like that ever become a doctor? we won't be going back there for an emergency EVER again if i can help it!

wow! just. . . wow. . .

2009-01-18T19:44:00.003-05:00

there really is no other way to put it - this weekend was gonna be nice and relaxing w/ nothing going on. well, fate had other plans, it seems!

saturday morning i woke up feeling cold. . . UNDER my blanket. SO not normal for me, being both pregnant and in the south. i finally convinced myself to get out of bed to go look at the thermostat - it was 6 degrees cooler than we had it set for! i'd noticed that the air just kept blowing and never really stopped, so i checked to see if it was warm or cold. . . it was definitely cold. of course, it's the weekend, meaning that only emergency maintenance problems will be fixed. and OF COURSE it's a long weekend b/c of president's day. fortunately, luck was on my side and this was considered an emergency - it was only 28 degrees outside and there's no other way to heat these houses - no fireplaces or anything, of course (again, it's the south). anyways, about 2 hours after i put in the call, someone came around and fixed it and all was well again.

well, that only lasted a few hours. that evening, as i was getting trevor ready for bed, i noticed that him gums looked swollen. i went to pull his lip back to see when i realized it was actually his LIP! my first reaction was that he must be having some kind of allergic reaction. i couldn't figure out what he'd be reacting to though b/c we hadn't gone anywhere, done anything, or eaten anything new all day (or for a few days beforehand, for that matter). i called his doctor to see if giving him benedryl was enough or if they wanted me to do anything more. they said give the benedryl a try, but if it didn't get any better or it got worse, take him to the emergency room. an hour after giving him the benedryl, i went to see if things had improved and they hadn't. they'd gotten worse. of course, right? so off we went to the emergency room. . . the diagnosis the doc there gave was "viral parotitis". . . they gave me some instructions on things i could do to help trevor feel better till it went away, things to look out for, etc., then sent us home.

after trevor was in bed (at 11:15 pm, ugh!), i went looking around online for info on viral parotitis and found out that the ONLY cause for it is the mumps! THE MUMPS?!?!?!?! he'd gotten his mmr back in june, he shouldn't be able to get this! ugh! anyways, in looking up info about it, i found that the incubation period is 2-3 weeks, but that the person who has it is only contagious for up to week before they develop symptoms till the swelling disappears (usually about 10 days after it first appears, apparently). great. now i'm stuck in the house for then next week and a half. b/c of the incubation period, he HAD to have picked it up in maryland over christmas, and the most likely place there would have been the nursery in my mom's ward (she's in the nursery, so she passed along the message that other parents should watch out). . . the worst part though, is that this past week trevor had been around at least 30 babies who have NOT been immunized yet! i'm so nervous that they'll get this now too. . . i've done my best to let everyone we've been around in the last week know so that they can at least be on the lookout, but i feel so bad! i know there's nothing i could have done b/c i had no idea till last night, but still. . .

there is a bright side though. trevor seems to be acting like his normal, happy self. the only real symptoms he's showing are a near complete loss of appetite and swollen cheeks. hopefully this is as bad as it gets. . . we've got another 9 days to go before this will be gone, so i'm keeping my fingers crossed.

in happier news though, the other big event this weekend was trevor's move to his big boy bed! a neighbor came over this afternoon to help me move furniture around and get everything set up. . . trevor LOVES his new bed and is SO excited about it. i was happily surprised to find that at bedtime, he just laid down and went to sleep like he would have done in his crib! i NEVER expected that! i was thinking i'd have to keep going in and putting him back in bed till he finally gave up and fell asleep, but thankfully, i haven't had to! :) yay! anyways, here are pictures of him and his new bed--

now that he's settled in w/ the new bed, it's time to get cracking on nudger's room! :) i decided to do a kinda nature/animal theme in there, so i've been working on getting things for it. i've got a few posters w/ animals on them, but i need to get frames for them. . . then i also got a dish i'm gonna put some rocks and candles in (the candles are mostly for the look; they'll never actually get lit, most likely), plus wooden letters to spell out his name on the wall. i also managed to find an area rug that didn't cost too much and looks pretty nice. as luck would have it though, it's the EXACT same color as the carpet in the living room and trevor's bedroom. go figure! oh well, i'm just happy i found one that didn't cost an arm and a leg! :) anyways, now that trevor's down for the night, i'm gonna get to work on that! :)

catching up

2008-12-19T14:55:00.004-05:00

well, it's been a while since i've written about the general goings on around here. while i've got some free time (waiting for jon to get off work and get on the computer so we can talk to him), i figured i'd do just that! :)

trevor's started to really love building things w/ his blocks - in fact if he builds something he's really proud of, he yells "no!" if you talk about knocking it down! strange, since most kids his age find that part to be the most fun. . . santa had good timing when he was gathering presents this year, since trevor's getting a set of megablocks! anyways, here's one he did all by himself--

after i took the picture, he tried to add another block to the top and it fell over; pretty good though, considering his age. . . anyways, b/c of this, jon took to helping trevor build REALLY tall towers out of blocks the last couple weeks before he deployed. this is one they did together--

we opened a couple of our christmas presents early this year, since jon won't be here for the holidays and have been putting those things to good use. . . my dad got us a wii, and even trevor likes to play w/ it--

he likes to help daddy stear his car right off the course in mario kart! :) i got another baby carrier, a mei tai, as a gift from jon. i got to design it myself, which i was really excited about. here's me wearing trevor on my back w/ it--

it's reversible too (the other side is a large black and white floral print - not super girly though, which is good considering we'll have 2 boys soon!), so that makes it that much more fun! i haven't used it much b/c the day after i got it, my back started to hurt like crazy, so i've been using the stroller more or just having trevor walk. once the baby comes though, i intend to make VERY good use of my new mei tai! :) (and for anyone who's wondering, it's a babyhawk)

we took trevor to see santa at the squadron's children's christmas party and were surprised to find that trevor was the ONLY kid there under the age of 3 who didn't scream his head off when he went near santa! he was a little worried at first, but once he saw me w/ the camera, he flashed a huge grin, so i got a really cute picture--

he didn't have QUITE the same reaction to the santa at the mall, but then again, that one didn't have combat boots - maybe that made all the difference! :)

a few days after the visit w/ santa, we had family pictures taken and they turned out REALLY well! here's the one of trevor from last month, as well as the family picture--

we all needed haircuts, so that came next - trevor wasn't as brave as the last 2 times, but in his defense, he'd gotten his flu shot just 2 days beforehand, so i can't say i blame him for being a little fussy. i didn't think to take the camera for that, since it was his 3rd haircut, but i was able to (kinda) get a picture of MY haircut. . . the last one i got (in may), the girl totally butchered my hair, so i got a complete overhaul on the style. i dunno how well you can see that in this picture, but oh well--

the last pictures i have are from the day jon deployed. he cried before he left, which made me cry (of course) and confused trevor. here are the pictures from his departure (it was a commercial flight, so we couldn't wait w/ him like last time)--

the 2nd picture is really distorted b/c the guy we asked to take the picture apparently didn't bother to get us out of the sun enough before snapping a picture. . . i did what i could to fix it, but it'll never be a GOOD picture. oh well, it's better than nothing, and you can at least tell who it is, so it could be worse.

since jon's been gone i've immersed myself in various projects. i'm finishing up the christmas shopping and trying to organize my house (not really cleaning so much as decluttering). . . the other night i started working on the rag quilt i'm making for nudger, and after christmas, i'm gonna get started on his room. we decided not to paint, but i wanna get some posters on the walls and get everything set up while i still can. trevor will be getting his big boy bed as a christmas present, so i'm hoping the transition will go smoothly for us when we get back from visiting my mom for the holidays. once i'm sure he's doing well w/ that, i'll set up the crib in nudger's room and get to work! :)

in all, things are good here. we miss jon immensely, but are trying not to think about it too much b/c that just makes it harder. i try to keep myself busy and set goals to keep myself positive, and we talk to him on the internet via webcam as much as we can. the timing is hard b/c of his shift, but we're making it work the best we can. trevor has been amazing so far w/ his daddy gone. i expected a week or 2 of tantrums galore and he hasn't really had many issues. he fussed alot the first night, whining for his daddy and not wanting to come near me, but after that, he seemed to "get" it and calmed down alot. he cries in his sleep most nights, but he doesn't wake up, which i take to mean that he just misses his daddy. during the day he's a happy boy. he knows we talk to daddy on the computer, so whenever i'm on, he asks me "dada?" about every 2 minutes. it's cute, and he gets SO excited when i finally tell him yes, it's time to talk to daddy. he doesn't talk for very long, but he's all smiles, giggling and babbling away, and when he's done he tells daddy "bye bye" and waves, then gets down off my lap and does his own thing. :) he's adjusted much better and MUCH more quickly than i ever could have dreamed; when jon deployed in january, it took a week or 2 before the fussiness stopped, so i was expecting the same thing again this time. i was happily surprised and am DEFINITELY not complaining! :)

gender ultrasound - FINALLY!

2008-12-11T11:31:00.004-05:00

so i think it should be termed cruel and unusual punishment to make a pregnant woman wait this long (21 1/2 weeks) to have an ultrasound when she wants to know the baby's gender, but whatever. i guess i already knew military docs were sadists, right? so yeah, they made me wait till i was 21 1/2 weeks for this u/s even though their guidelines say they'll do it anytime between 18 and 22 weeks. nice of them, huh? oh well, what's done is done. . .

SO, we got to see our little one for quite a while, just relaxing in there - even had one foot propped on the opposite knee - just like trevor does all the time! must be comfortable in there! :) the baby is doing really well, everything looks great! however, this kid is BIG - measuring a week ahead of schedule, so either my due date is wrong (unlikely) or this one will be MASSIVE (likely, especially considering that trevor was 9 1/2 lbs.). . . also, i'm going back for another u/s in a month b/c my placenta is low, and they wanna make sure it moves up. they're confident that it will, as am i, but please keep us in your prayers for that anyways. if it doesn't move, i'll have to have a c-section, and i wanna avoid that if i can! like i said, they aren't worried, and neither am i, but let's all hope my placenta moves up a little higher to avoid that issue entirely. . .

and NOW the news you've been waiting for, the reason i'm sure you're reading this post: it's a. . .

BOY!

we were surprised, we (and everyone we've talked to) were sure it was a girl. but there was NO mistaking it on the u/s. the picture they printed of the boy parts wasn't the best view we got, but that's ok, you can still see it. . . we got 10 pictures total, so here they are, the "boy parts" one first. . .

my favorites are the ones where he's rubbing his eyes (#8 in the lineup) and where he's just relaxing w/ one foot propped on the other (#9). . . at one point he had his feet like that and his arms behind his head! they didn't get a picture of it, but it was so stinking cute!

we haven't come to an agreement on any names yet, but we're working on it. we've still got plenty of time, so i'm not too worried. it seems harder this time than it was w/ trevor, but i'm sure we'll have one chosen before he arrives. till then, we'll just keep referring to him as nudger. . . :)

don't know how i forgot to post this. . .

2008-12-02T12:08:00.003-05:00

. . . but jon's deploying again. we found out last week on tuesday that's he's leaving on 12/15 for 4 months. it's short, and the timing is pretty good, but he's sad he's gonna miss christmas, and we're both nervous that he won't be back in time for the baby to be born. . . i'm due 4/19 and that's about when they'll be sending him home (we hope). HOWEVER, it's better than the alternative, which was that he'd deploy on 4/26. . . yeah, i'll take this over that option ANY day of the week! :) he may miss the birth, but he won't miss the first 4 months of this baby's life. we both agree that we like this better. oh yeah, and i have friends here on base who are willing to help out if needed, including giving me a ride to the hospital when the time comes. :)

anyways, he'll be pretty safe where he's going, so i have every confidence that he'll make it home in 1 piece. he'll be doing his actual job this time instead of baby-sitting tcn's, so he's happy about that at least; tcn duty is super boring, from what i understand. so yeah, he's happy he'll be getting to do a job that he knows and enjoys, even if he has to be away from us for so long. we're also glad it's only 4 months, many of our friends and family have MUCH longer deployments b/c of having chosen to join the army or marines. even those in the navy are gone longer most the time.

this way too, there's almost no chance of him deploying again before his contract ends in a year. that means the largest space of time possible for him to look at his options for when that happens. it'll give him a chance to job hunt, apply to grad school, take the officer exam, and apply for ots. PLUS the extra money he'll be earning from being overseas can help fund any trips he has to make for job interviews, as well as hold us over financially if it takes a month or 2 before we find something that works for us. so, like i said, it'll suck to have him gone and possibly miss this baby's birth, but it really is the best timing we could have hoped for. :)

fighting the masses

2008-11-28T19:56:00.004-05:00

so i decided to brave the crowds and fight the black friday masses at walmart, aka friday morning smackdown. i hadn't been able to fall asleep the night before until about midnight, so i already knew i was gonna be tired. i set my alarm for 4:30 so that i could still get there before the sale started but still get the maximum amount of sleep possible. what i didn't foresee was one of my friends calling at 3:55 that morning to see if i was up for the sales yet. it woke me up enough that i had no hope of falling back to sleep for another half hour, so i dragged my pregnant self out of bed and got my butt to walmart by 4:10

i spent the next 40 minutes trying to find the kitchenaid stand mixers that were supposed to be on sale for $130, and found basically everything else but them. i finally tracked down a manager to ask where they were at. turns out i'd passed them several times b/c they were on the same palate w/ a bunch of microwaves and i'd only walked along the microwave side. so at 4:50 i FINALLY figured out where i needed to be to get my hands on one of these things. there were 4 other women there for the same mixer. there were 5 mixers. seems cut and dry to me, each of us should get 1, right? well. . . not so much. one of the women decided she deserved 2, and b/c of where she and the other 3 were standing and how she'd angled her cart, there was no way i could wedge myself in there (even if i had NOT been twice my normal size thanks to baby and company) to grab "her" 2nd mixer, and none of the others could get out. ugh. i tried anyways, but didn't get one. i decided that it wasn't worth starting a fight in walmart over, so instead of yelling about the injustice of my being tired and pregnant and her getting my my way, i trucked it across the store to grab one of the portable dvd players and cases they were selling. i thought for sure they'd be gone by the time i got there, but i was pleasantly surprised to find at least 15 of them still there! happy day! the only other thng i'd planned to brave the sales at walmart for was a set of mega block for trevor. of course, that was on the OTHER end of the store. i swear, they must do these things on purpose. the 3 things i wanted were almost as far apart from each other as they could be. the only way they could have made them FARTHER apart would have been to put one of them in the automotive department. anyways, i figured out really fast that since all the sale items were in the main aisles, it was MUCH faster to go as far as i could through smaller aisles. well, i got to the point where i HAD to go through the main thoroughfare and got stuck. of course, being slightly cotton-headed from the lack of sleep, i'm still pushing my cart around, even though i only have 2 small boxes in it. DUH! i finally decide to ditch my cart in an empty aisle and carry my purchases the rest of the way. smart move on my part. it took me less than 2 minutes to get to the blocks and find my way to the check-out line (oh, and there were plenty of blocks, just as i'd suspected; apparently they weren't THAT hot a seller). i left the store at 5:20 after having to wait for a manager to come void the sale before mine b/c some guy was trying to pay for a $900 tv w/ a CHECK. um, yeah, not so much buddy. they made him go to customer service instead of dealing w/ him there though. that was nice, it could have been a much longer process.

once i was in my car and on my way to target, i called my dad. he lives in utah, so it was only 3:30 in the morning there. i begged him to go to his walmart and try and get me a mixer and i would pay him back. he said ok, so i was happy once again. i made awesome time getting to target, somehow managing to catch EVERY SINGLE LIGHT green! :) very happy evelyn! the only times i stopped were at stop signs, it was wonderful. and b/c it was so early, there were no slow people on the roads. target didn't open their doors till 6, so i stood outside in line w/ a couple hundred other people, wishing desperately that i'd thought about this part - i was wearing a sweater, but i was still cold. it's been warm during the day down here, but i don't go out in the middle of the night much, so i hadn't really thought about it. i survived though. . .

when the doors opened at 6, there were a few people who tried to jump in at the very front, but only 1 actually managed to get through. we were all tired, cold, and cranky and no one was gonna let anyone butt in front of them, not even friends. everyone was told to go to the end of the line, and they grudgingly complied. once i was inside, i knew basically where the things i wanted were located, but i was glad to find that the atmosphere was downright RELAXING after the madhouse they disguised as a walmart. anyways, i found the doodle pro i wanted to get for trevor and madgab for jon and myself. . . the rest of the things on my list weren't on sale, but i figured i'd just get them now to get it over w/. i found the side rails for trevor's big boy bed, as well as a comforter and 3 sets of sheets. i also grabbed a set of towels for our 2nd bathroom b/c up until now, all we'd bothered to buy was the rug and a hand towel. i grabbed a few of the dvds they had on sale (i hadn't planned to get any of those, but they were REALLY cheap, so i figured what the heck; i ended up w/ 5), as well as some infant tylenol and motrin too. i paid and went home after that.

jon was awesome and let me sleep in that morning. i was exhausted, and ended up sleeping till 11:30, late for me these days (usually, even given the chance to sleep in, i'm up by 9 or 10). while i ate breakfast, i looked over my receipts from my early morning adventures only to find that target had charged me $22 for the doodle pro that was advertised for only $10. we needed to go pick up some things from circuit city anyways (already paid for online), so we agreed to go back to target to fix the issue too. well, it turns out that the model i got was NOT on sale, but it had been the only one in the entire area. i was not happy. of course, i didn't think of this possibility, so i hadn't brought it w/ me to return. i looked to see if they had any other models, but to no avail.

i went back to walmart to see if they had a better price b/c $22 really is too much for a toy that's sure to break when trevor decides to stand on it the day after he gets it. i found a much more age appropriate model there for $16, as well as a nearly identical set of sheets to one of the ones i'd gotten from target (target sold them to me for $15, walmart only charged $9). i bought those, along w/ an ornament for trevor for the year and a few other things we needed that were not christmas related. i then returned to target for the THIRD time that day to return the doodle pro and 1 set of sheets.

one of the additional things i'd gotten from walmart was a set of towels. i figured we already had the bath mat and hand towel from there, so it made more sense to get the remaining items from there as well. individually they cost less than at target, again for a practically identical item, and we had fewer things we'd need to buy. of course, i hadn't thought about this until i was already out, so i had to make yet ANOTHER stop at target on saturday to return the towels i'd gotten the day before. oh well. . . oh yeah, and on saturday too, i got the crayola ultimate art supplies kit from walmart. . . jon's got to do this under-priviledged youth mentoring thing and he was told to get a gift for a 3rd grade girl. we know nothing else about her, so it was hard coming up w/ something that would fit in the $10 maximum price limit they set and be universally appealing. in the end, i figured this was a safe bet b/c even if she doesn't like to draw or color, most kids need crayons/colored pencils/markers for school.

oh, i almost forgot too, the whole thing w/ my dad and the mixer. . . so my dad called me while i was at target the first time to tell me that there were like 9 or 10 mixers at his walmart w/ at least 15 people in line for them. this was at 4 am his time! i told him thanks for trying, but no big deal. well, once i was home and trying to fall back to sleep, he called again to tell me he'd found one for me! :) it turns out that sears had them on sale for $199, but you ALSO got a $50 mail-in rebate. that was only $20 more than i'd intended to spend, so i was ok w/ it, especially after my dad offered to pay the additional cost. so yeah, i was WAY happy about that, and i can't wait to get my mixer! i have a feeling i'm gonna be doing a LOT more baking in the weeks and months to come. . . :)

so yeah, the experience ended on a happy note, but i'm not sure if i'll ever brave walmart on black friday that early in the morning again. although, next year i won't be pregnant, so maybe it won't be as bad - i'll be smaller and less tired and irritable. . . and i'll already have my mixer, so i won't be tempted to give anyone a beat down over that either. . . :)

snapfish deal!

2008-11-27T21:11:00.004-05:00

ok, so i was looking for some discounts for things i needed to get online when i came across this deal from snapfish: if you use the code DAILYDEALSNOV, it'll give you $10 off $25. the code is good till 12/5/08, according to what i read. i haven't tested it out yet, so i don't know how reliable it is, but i wanted to let you all know about it either way. if you try it, let me know if it works!

taking advantage. . .

2008-11-27T20:49:00.003-05:00

so, i was excited to find out that cvs was actually open on thanksgiving day. i took full advantage as soon as my turkey was in the oven! here's what i got--

1) clairol hydrience haircolor (on sale for $8.49; earns 5 ecb's), 2 aussie conditioners (on sale $2.99 each; earns 2.99 ecb's; used $1 off any aussie hair care product coupons for each as well), johnson & johnson soft lotion (on sale $5.69; earns 5.69 ecb's), 2 l'oreal color juice sheer lipgloss (on sale $6.99; earns 6.99 ecb's; used $1 off any l'oreal product coupons for each as well), oster 10-cup rice cooker (on sale $19.99; earns 10 ecb's) maybelline mineral powder liquid foundation (on sale $8.99). paid $63.54, got 40.56 ecb's.
2) sonicare essence 5300 toothbrush (on sale for $49.99). used ecb's from previous purchase, paid $9.99.

so, i paid $73.53 and saved $89.95. that means i saved 55.02% on $163.48 worth of stuff. wahoo! i would've saved more, but for some reason, even though the maybelline foundation tag said limit 2 ecb deals, the register only gave me 1 deal (that was on monday; the ad says limit 1 too, which is why i didn't make a fuss when i realized it didn't give me any ecb's for it today). oh well. so i was out an extra $8.99. . . if i'd gotten that, i'd have only paid like, $1 or so for the sonicare. . . but still, $10 is a great deal on that, considering the original price was $82.99. happy evelyn and happier evelyn's dentist! :)

cvs again! :)

2008-11-24T16:21:00.003-05:00

ok, so i'm back at it, full strength now. i went to cvs again today and will be going back this weekend for the AWESOME deals they're gonna have for black friday. :) here's what i got today--

1) 9 monster energy drinks (should have been 10, but i missed 1 in my cart, oops!; they're on sale 2/$3), 12 oz. complete multipurpose solution (on sale $8.99; used $2 off coupon), maybelline mineral powder liquid foundation (on sale $8.99). paid $30.87, got 21.98 ecb's.
2) my missing monster energy drink, 2 scotch magic tape 3-packs (on sale 2/$5), 2 boxes of candy canes (on sale for 88 cents each), 8 herbal essences anti-dandruff shampoos (clearenced at $3.69 each; used 4 coupons for $3.00 off any 2 herbal essences products), tic-tacs. used ecb's from previous purchase, paid $4.25. got 1 ecb.

here's the obligatory picture--

so, in total, i spent $35.12 and saved $61.74. so i saved 63.7% on $96.86 worth of stuff. happy day! :) i haven't reached my limit on a couple of things, so i'll likely get more when i go back this weekend. :)

excited about this

2008-11-21T15:14:00.003-05:00

so we decided to make it a family tradition to have the missionaries over for dinner on christmas eve. i decided that this year, in addition to dinner/dessert, i wanted to put together a missionary-friendly care package for them, especially since i've gotten such great deals on things and we have more than we'll use in the next few years. so yeah, here's what they're getting: toothbrush and toothpaste, shampoo, body wash, chapstick, gum, hand sanitizer, a couple candy bars, a tube of orange rolls, a couple candy canes, and some cookies. i still have to get the orange rolls and candy canes and make the cookies, but other than that, we've got everything. the only things i paid for out of pocket were the chapstick, sanitizer, and candy bars! i know it's not alot, but from what i've heard about cash flow (or lack thereof) on the mission, anything useful is appreciated by these guys. :) so yeah, i'm hoping they'll enjoy it. i'm thinking about getting them each a stocking to put all this stuff in, but i dunno; if not, i'll just put it in a gift bag or something like that. . . any opinions? any suggestions for what kind of cookies to make for them? anything else that's small and affordable that i could include?

it's been a while. . .

2008-11-21T14:45:00.005-05:00

well, it's been a while since i posted anything, even longer since i've posted about any deals i've gotten. . . i figured it was time i finally got back to cvs, so after TWO MONTHS of not going or even bothering to check their ads, i got up off my lazy pregnant butt and found some pretty great deals. so here i go. . .

1) 3 packs of 4 AA duracell batteries, 1 pack of AAA duracell batteries ($5 off duracell cvs coupon). saved $5, paid $17.29; got 15 ecb's.
2) 2 crest 4.2 oz. prohealth whitening toothpaste ($1 off coupon for each tube); 1 right guard deodorant (75 cent off coupon), 3 soft & dri deodorants (had 55 cent peelies on each one, yay!). used ecb's from previous purchase. saved $25.14; paid $0.14; got 14.98 ecb's.
3)10 candy bars (on sale 2/$1), 6 suave body wash (on sale 3/$5), 3 suave deodorants (on sale 3/$5), 2 cover girl mascaras, 2 cover girl eyeshadows (4 coupons, each for $1 off any cover girl product; deal on these was buy cg mascara, get eyeshadow or eyeliner free), 2 chapsticks, 2 pen-size hand sanitizing spray, 3 orbitz gum 14-ct. packs (coupon printed from previous transaction for buy 2, get 1 free orbitz). used ecb's from previous purchase. saved $43.96, paid $30.18.

here's a picture of today's spoils:

so, in total, i saved $73.10 and spent $47.61. that means i saved just over 60% on $120.71 worth of stuff. happy day! :)

dang it though - i just was looking at my receipt and it seems for my 2nd transaction, i ended up LOSING money! grr! i had $18.94 worth of stuff, but $19.95 worth of coupons, if you include ecb's. ugh! i lost a dollar that i could have used to buy something else. . . poop on them for not telling me and double poop on me for not noticing! :*(

ultrasound!!!!! :D

2008-09-22T16:09:00.003-04:00

ok, so i went for my first ultrasound today and it was AWESOME! :) we got to see the baby moving all over the place, as well as hear the heartbeat (171)! i'm measuring right on schedule, so that's good to know, and there is DEFINITELY only 1 baby in there. i had to put that in print for all the nay-sayers out there. :P anyways, everything looks good and the baby is doing well. here are the pictures they gave me b/c i know everyone is dying to see! :)

next ultrasound will be in december sometime - hopefully the liitle one will cooperate and let us see if it's a boy or girl! we're hoping girl, but would love another boy too - send all your pink dust our way!

cvs again!

2008-09-22T16:00:00.003-04:00

ok, so dh decided to help cash in on the savings, so we got him a card too. . . i wasn't sure if it'd work, but it did, so happy day! so, between the 2 of us, here's what we got--

dh: 1 trip to the register - 5 bottles propel (1 liter), 2 crest pro-health rinse (250 mL), 1 adidas men's deodorant. used 75 cent off coupons for the mouthwash and $1 off for the deodorant. paid $14.29 and saved $8.45. got back 11 ecb's. (saving them for another trip to the store)

me: 2 trips to the register--

1) same as dh's trip, only i also used a $2 off $10 cvs coupon (they were suspicious about it and weren't sure if it was legit, so dh didn't wanna push it by trying to use one too). i paid $12.15 and saved $10.45. got back 11 ecb's.

2) 1 bottle selsun blue, 2 vaseline intensive care body lotions, 3 reese's fast break bars. used $1.25 off coupons for lotions, plus another $2 off $10 cvs coupon. also used all my ecb's from the previous order paid 8 cents, saved $18.17. got 1 ecb to use next time. :)

here's my stuff--

we did pretty well, imho. we have $12 between the 2 of us that we can use next time, and we got stuff that we'll definietly use in the future. :)

triple coupons = happy evelyn!

2008-09-19T11:56:00.003-04:00

ok, so this weekend harris teeter is tripling coupons worth up to 99 cents! i've spent the past week getting organized for this and it's paid off! i still have to go back for a few more things, but i did very well today. i thought their policy was that you could only use 20 coupons at a time, but you could go through the line as many times as you like; however, it turns out that you're limited to 20 coupons per household per day at each particular store. . . i found this out on my 5th trip through the checkout. oh well. anyways here's what i got and how much it cost--

1) 4 mrs. dash marinades, 10 canisters oatmeal (18 oz.), 8 lipton/knorr sides, 10 oz. bottle french's worchstershire sauce, 1 box pillsbury brownie mix. used these coupons, all of which were trippled: 75 cents off mrs. dash marinades (4), 50 cents off quaker oatmeal 18 oz. or larger (10), 60 cents off 2 knorr sides (4), 35 cents off french's worchestershire sauce, 40 cents off pillsbury brownie mix. oatmeal was on sale 2 for $3. i paid $7.99 and saved $51.25.

2) 4 betty crocker cookie mixes, 2 pillsbury reduced sugar cake mixes, 2 pillsbury reduced sugar frostings, 10 packs always pantiliners (20 ct.). coupons: 40 cents off betty crocker cookie mix (4), 40 cents off pillsbury reduced sugar cake mix OR frosting (4), 50 cents off any always pantiliner (10). i paid $6.84 and saved $21.50.

3) 1 smart balance cooking spray, 2 hungry jack pancake mix (32 oz.), 17 g.u.m. toothbrushes. coupons: 50 cents off any smart balance product (1), 55 cents off any hungry jack pancake mix or syrup (2), 75 cents off any g.u.m. toothbrush. i spent $3.92 and saved $43.05

4) 8 boxes quaker chewy granola bars, 2 boxes nature valley granola bars, 10 bottles dawn direct foam, 8 cans ortega diced green chilies (4 oz.). coupons: 75 cents off any 2 boxes quaker chewy granola bars (4), 50 cents off any nature valley granola bars (2), 50 cents off any dawn direct foam or dawn simple pleasures (10), 75 cents off any 2 ortega products (4). the quaker granola bars were on sale for 2/$4. i paid $25.45 and saved $70.19.

5) 4 hunt's snack packs (4-packs), 10 wishbone italian salad dressings (8 oz.), 8 pillsbury crescent rolls (4 oz. packages). coupons: 30 cents off any 2 snack pack products, 60 cents off wishbone salad dressing (thee were specific dressings, i just got the cheapest one allowed by the coupon), 35 cents off any pillsbury crescent roll. snack packs were on sale 5 for $5. i paid $ 5.86 and saved $31.32.

in all, i spent $51.06 and saved $217.31. i got $268.37 worth of stuff, meaning i saved 81%!!!!! VERY happy evelyn! here's a picture--

the best part is that now we have a really good supply of non-perishable foods in case we ever need to live off what we've got in the house. i'd been feeling the need to have food storage for the last few months and was worried we wouldn't be able to fit it into our budget, but we have! we have enough stuff in there that i feel ok about not buying stuff for it every paycheck now. i'd like to get some more protein items in there, maybe a few more fruits and veggies, but it's sufficient for survival and that's what's important.

when i'd finished putting things away today and was looking at it, i got all teary-eyed! it surprised me. . . it feels good though, to have done something so simple to be prepared and to know that we've followed the prophet's counsel. and since i won't be buying as much stuff for our food storage now, our grocery bills should decrease dramatically - and that'll help IMMENSELY. we want to start paying on my student loans before they begin to collect interest, and this is gonna be a huge help it getting us there. i know it won't get paid off before i start earning interest, but every little bit will help.

the kmart here is also running a special till next weekend - they're doubling coupons worth up to $2! i went the other day and was pretty happy w/ my "purchases". . . i put it in quotes b/c i didn't pay anything. . . i got 4 bottles of dove conditioner and 1 bottle of sunsilk gel, but w/ the coupons i had, i ended up owing nothing. it was pretty sweet. i'm planning to go back again, maybe this afternoon. . . i'm hoping they've restocked their pert plus b/c those will be free as well. . . and they have cascadian farms frozen veggies for $2.23, but w/ my coupons for $1, when they double, i'll only pay 23 cents per bag! happy day! anyways, i'm pretty excited about all the deals that i've gotten this week. . . i probably won't post about the rest of the stuff i get, but you get the idea. when i go back to harris teeter tomorrow, i'm planning to get 3 boxes of smucker's uncrustables, 2 packages of dannon activia yogurt, and 2 tubs of land o lakes margarine. . . at kmart, i'll get whatever i can for less than $10 total. . . it'll probably be mostly toiletries and frozen veggies, but that's ok. . . anyways, my hands are starting to hurt and i should get some lunch into myself and trevor. . .

hit cvs - it's been a while. . .

2008-09-12T16:35:00.006-04:00

ok, so it's been a while since i've seen any deals on anything we needed and had coupons for AND had the money for me to get extra stuff, but i finally got back to cvs. i did really well this time! here's what i got--

1) 5 right guard xtreme, 6 progresso soups. 5 coupons for $1 off right guard, plus 3 peelies for 55 cents each; 3 coupons for 50 cents off 2 cans progresso soup. (right guard got $2 ecb each; soups were b1g1) paid $16.83, saved $29.56. got $10 ecb.
2) 10 tubes colgate toothpaste (various types, i just got what they still had on the shelf), 10 lady speed sticks (also various kinds, again, i got what was available). 10 coupons for 75 cents off colgate; 10 coupons for $1 off lady speed stick. (colgate toothpastes and mennen deodorants on sale b1g1). used $10 ecb from previous purchase. paid $6.51, saved $54.80.

it totaled $23.34 out of pocket w/ a savings of $84.36! so i got $107.70 worth of stuff! :D and we'll SO never have to buy toothpaste again! (b/c in addition to what i bought today, we already had like 15 or 20 tubes at home. . . ) anyways, here's my haul--

also, i was kicking myself afterwards b/c i had $4 off $20 coupon for cvs at home, plus the $2 off $10 you can print off. . . poo. . .

new house

2008-09-10T10:21:00.003-04:00

ok, so i finally got around to taking pictures of our new house to post. . . here you go!

front yard--

living room--

dining room--

kitchen (still messy b/c i don't have enough cabinet space to put everything)--

trevor's room--
(from doorway)

(from corner w/ chair)

trevor's bathroom (love, love, love the shower curtain!)--

master bedroom/bathroom (sorry about the mess, i took these in the midst of my hurricane packing panic)--

there's also the 3rd bedroom, but it's still a mess w/ boxes that have yet to be unpacked. it'll be the new baby's room when spring comes, so once it's done, i'll post pictures of it too. . . but that probably won't be till after new year's. . .

not as great savings, but savings nonetheless

2008-08-22T19:47:00.004-04:00

ok, so the things i got at cvs today weren't THAT great of deals, but it was mostly stuff we needed. jon hurt his back during pt today, so he wanted stuff to help it feel better. . . so anyways, i only made 1 trip to the register today b/c nothing i bought got ecb's, but whatever. . . here's what i got--

2 60-ct. boxes puffs plus tissues (on sale for 88 cents each, plus i had 25 cent off coupons)
2 20-ct. packages of cascade 2-in-1 action packs (on sale for $3.49 each, which is $3 off the regular price; i was disappointed here b/c i HAD coupons for these, but they expired a month ago. . . sad day)
cvs brand heat wrap 2-pack for backs (on sale for $3.99)
cvs brand 30-ct. nasal strips (like breathe right)
0.63 oz. tub tiger balm

i also had a coupon for $4 off a purchase of $20 or more, so i used that too. i spent $27.54, but saved $14.54, so not terrible, but definitely not my best either. oh well. . . they haven't had many good things on sale the last 2 weeks, so unfortunately, i haven't had much cvs-inspired fun. . . hopefully the week after next will be better. i'm actually kinda hoping next week's sales suck b/c i won't have time to get there most likely (b/c we're moving), but we'll see. if they have good deals, i'll find a way to get there anyways. :)

ok, so as always, here's a picture of my loot--

baby #2 on the way!

2008-08-09T14:13:00.005-04:00

so we found out yesterday that i'm pregnant again! yay! i'm really happy that the timing on this worked out so well. we were hoping that i'd be able to get pregnant soon so that i wouldn't have to miss my brother's wedding at the end of may b/c i was too pregnant to fly. it'll work out well b/c i'm due april 19, so i'll have a baby somewhere between 4 and 6 weeks old by the time we need to get out there. also, if we end up being able to afford to go to hawaii for new year's as planned, i'll be done w/ my 1st trimester and the morning sickness i'll inevitably get. anyways, i'm really excited, as is jon, even though he's annoyed w/ the fact that we have to move. . . 2 bedrooms is fine, i just don't think any of us would get any sleep if we had to share a room w/ a newborn, you know? so yeah, besides that minor annoyance, we're both really happy and excited about this. we're hoping for a girl this time around, but i guess we'll have to wait and see.

anyways, for those of you who want to see, here's my pregnancy test; the 2nd line is faint, but it's definitely there--

holy coupons, batman!

2008-08-04T20:04:00.002-04:00

ok, so i'm a little obsessed. er. . . ALOT obsessed. . . it's like a disease, really. i jumped in the recycling dumpster again this morning and TOTALLY hit the jackpot! my entire backseat was full of newspapers w/ coupon sections hidden w/in their folds, so i enlisted the help of some friends who are just as ill as i am to help me sort through the mess and we ended up w/ some AWESOME deals! b/c of this, i went to cvs tonight and saved SO much money! :) i only made 2 trips to the register this time. . .

1) 2 colgate toothpastes (on sale for $2.99 each) and 5 crest toothpastes (on sale for $2.49 each). i had a coupon for $1.50 off colgate, plus another for $1 off. for the crest i had 75 cent off coupons for each one. i paid $13.47 and saved $10.75. i got 11.5 ecb's (4 for the colgate, 1.5 each for the crest)
2) 18 dawn dish soaps (11 oz. bottle were on sale for 88 cents each), 9 pert plus (would have gotten more, but that's all they had; were on sale b1g1), 2 orajel training toothpaste (also b1g1). i had 50 cent off coupons for every bottle of dawn, $2 for each pert plus. those, in conjunction w/ my ecb's got me down to a grand total of $1.10. but here's the kicker: i have a mail-in rebate for $1.50 for the orajel, so it's like they PAID ME 40 cents to take all that away from the store!

here's my haul--

so, today i spent $14.57 (minus the $1.50 'll get back from the rebate), and i saved $90.68! i SO TOTALLY ROCK! i was so excited as we were walking out of the store, i couldn't stop smiling and giggling!jon totally thinks i'm crazy, but he's happy w/ today's little shopping trip anyways. happy day! :)

rite aid, walgreens, and cvs oh my!

2008-08-01T11:10:00.005-04:00

ok, so i went deal hunting again this week and got better deals at some store than others. i still have a couple more places to hit. . .

ok, so first off, i'd never neeb to rite aid and i had an old circular (like a month old b/c i wasn't paying attention), sad day. i still got some stuff, but i ended up paying more for it than expected, as well as getting different things than i'd intended. i ended up getting 3 cans of pringles and 3 lady speed stick deodorants. . . i had coupons for them all, so like i said, i still got good deals, they just weren't as good as i'd expected. the coupon i THOUGHT i could stack was actually expired. sad day. . . anyways, i shredded the receipt before i had a chance to get on here and brag about the deals i got, so all i remember is w/ the pringles, i got 30 cents off 3 cans total (so it was like buying them at 89 cents each; the coupon that had expired was to buy them for 89 cents each, THEN i was gonna use this one to get them for 79 cents each. of well), and the deodorants were on sale for 99 cents each, but i had coupons for like, 50 or 75 cents off, i don't remember. whatever it was, i paid less than $5 total. . .

ok, so walgreens was a new experience for me as well. i did a little better there than at rite aid though. i got 2 boxes of fruity pebbles (they were b1g1, plus i had a coupon for $1 off when you buy 2), 5 boxes of kraft mac & cheese (stacked the walgreen's 69 cent a box coupon w/ a $1 off when you buy 5 coupon so it came out to 49 cents a box), 2 adidas body washes (on sale b1g1, plus i had a coupon for $1 off 1), and 3 oil of olay body wahses (on sale 3/$10, plus i had $2 off coupons for each one, so i got 3/$4 yay!). my total ended up coming out to $14.82, but i got $41.71 worth of stuff; that means i saved $26.89! yay! oh, and i have $3 in register rewards i can spend next time around!

cvs, of course, wasawesome as well, although i have to admit walgreens was the best deal this week. i made 8 trips to the register in 2 days. . .

7.31.08--
1) bandaid brand bandages 40 ct. i paid a whopping total of $3.20 and got 2 ecb.
2) clairol hydrience hair dye. on sale for $4.99, plus $1 off coupon and 2 ecb from previous purchase gave me an out of pocket total of $1.20.

8.1.08--
1) 4 3-packs of ivory bar soap. i paid $5.95 and got 2 ecb.
2) 2 40-ct. packs fo o.b. tampons. used 2 coupons, each for $1.50 off, plus 2 ecb from previous purchase. paid $10.46 and got 5 ecb.
3) 3 balmex (4 oz. size). used 2 coupons each for 75 censt off, and a 3rd coupon for $1 off, plus 5 ecb from previous pruchase. i paid $12.98 and got 6 ecb.
4) 1 e.p.t. 1-ct. pregnancy test. used $3 off coupon and 6 ecb from previous purchase. paid $5.23 and got 4 ecb. (only way to beat that price is to get the $ store ones. i was pretty proud of this purchase b/c it was like getting it for $1.23 after you factor in the ecb!)
5) 2 palmolive dish soap (b1g1), 2 flintstones vitamins (b1g1 50% off). used 2 coupons each for $1 off flintstones vitamins and 4 ecb from previous purchase. paid $7.22.
6) 24 ct. cvs brand ibupofen. at some point in all my transactions today, they printed me out a coupon for a free cvs ibuprofen up to $3.49, so this cost me absolutely nothing, not even coupons or ecb! :) i saved $3.39 here.

so, over the past 2 days at cvs, i spent $46.24 on $91.67 worth of stuff. i saved $45.43.

to date i've spent $96.00 on $220.82 for a total savings of $124.82!

jon thnks i'm crazy, but whatever, if i can get good deals this way. i'll do it! i'm still trying to get my hands on a few things from cvs, but i'll get there. later today i'm gonna stop at k-mart and target to take advantage of some deals they've got going too! :)

save a ton at cvs!

2008-07-28T08:18:00.002-04:00

ok, so i have FABULOUS news: i've saved SO MUCH MONEY in the past week! wahoo!!!!! first of all, click here for a free sample of ob tampons, and click here for a $1.50 off coupon as well. ok, so that aside, now let me let of my adventures at cvs. . .

my friends have been telling me that i should really get into couponing and cvs's ecb deals, but i wasn't sure and neither was jon. well, i decided to give it a try and here's what i ended up getting and how much i paid for it all:

7.24.08 i made 3 trips to the register--
1) 5 glade scented oil candle refills, 2 coupons for said candles ($2 off 2 and $3 off 3), and 2 boxes of 135-count kotex pantiliners. i paid $20.09 and got $7 in ecb's
2) 2 cvs brand 375-count cotton swabs, 2 cvs brand baby lotion, 2 cvs brand baby oil, and 2 cvs brand baby shampoo. used $7 ecb's from previous purchase. paid $7.49 and got $5 ecb.
3) 3 bottles clean & clear morning burst facial cleanser. used $5 ebs from previous purchase. paid $13.88 and got $5 ecb's

7.25.08 i made 4 trips to the register--
1) 3 l'oreal vive pro hydra gloss shampoo, 3 l'oreal vive pro hyrda gloss conditioner, 3 buy 1, get 1 free coupons for shampoo and conditioners (plus they were one sale for b1g1, so they were all free), 2-pack crest w/ scope toothpaste. i paid $6.92 and got $2 ecb's
2) 2 cvs 22-count pantiliners. used $2 ecb's, paid nothing, got $2 ecb's
3) 2 blade 12 oz. body wash. used $2 ecb's from previous purchase, plus $5 ecb's from yesterday's last purchase. paid $1.07 and got $2 ecb's
4) 2 crayola 24-count crayons (on sale as b1g1). used $2 ecb's from previous purchase. paid $0.31

i added it all up and here's what i came up w/: i spent a total of $49.76 on $129.15 worth of stuff. that means i saved $79.39 or 61.47%! it's like christmas only better b/c it doesn't cost as much! :)

here's my haul--

i'm way excited too b/c later today i'm gonna go dumster diving at the recycling center w/ some friends to get massive stacks of coupons for when i go grocery shopping on thursday. happy evelyn! :)

bumGenius

2008-07-26T16:26:00.003-04:00

ok, so we decided to make the switch to cloth diapers to help save money and so far, i LOVE it! they're so cute w/ the colors, he almost doesn't even need to wear pants! :) here's the 411--

we ordered 3 dozen bumGenius 3.0 all-in-one one-size diapers from palmetto diaper works on 6.17.08. we waited and waited forever it seemed and they FINALLY came in on 7.22.08. almost 6 weeks! when i got home from picking them up, i realized we'd only gotten 22 of the 36 we ordered, so i called to let her know. she got back to me TWO DAYS later to tell me she'd have them in 5-10 business days. um, 2 more weeks? i don't think so. i asked for a refund, but so far i haven't seen it. that same day (7.24.08), we ordered the remaining 14 diapers from cotton babies and paid the same prices we'd have paid from the first place, but they'll be here on tuesday. so what i don't get is why it's gonna take 2 weeks to get them from the first place, but less than 1 week from the second? anyways, i called the first place to ask where my refund is, but i got her voicemail and i haven't heard back from her yet. we're getting really mad about the whole thing. really, how hard is it to give someone what they paid for? and honestly, i picked it up from her, so she didn't even have to pay shipping! i swear, some people are so irresponsible. . .

ok, so that's the end of my vent, on to the good parts of cloth diapering. first of all, it'll save money in the long run. it cost a little over $600 for 3 dozen diapers, which is more than we probably need, but at least we won't run out. they're every bit as easy as disposables, you just add the step of washing them. yeah, you have to get the poo off and into the toilet but TECHNICALLY you're supposed to do that w/ 'sposies too. . . the only nice thing about the diapers taking so long to get to us is that she gave us one of those diaper sprayers that hooks up to the toilet for free. they normally retail for $40 or so. . . so that makes the poo spraying alot easier and less messy and time-consuming.

we've also switched to cloth wipes, which is infinitely easier than i'd expected. we had a bunch of baby washcloths that were given to us, but i hadn't used since trevor was about a month old, so we use those. them you just make the soap solution which is super easy. the cool thing about this is that you can make your own disposable wipes this way too. just get a roll of viva paper towels and cut it in half w/ an electric knife. pour the solution over it while it's still warm (not boiling though) and pull out the cardboard roll. then you just pull them up from the middle! pretty smart, huh? well, i don't remember where i heard that tip, but i didn't come up w/ it on my own. . . it was the same place i got the "recipe" for the soap solution.

anyways, here are a couple of pictures of trevor looking stinkin' cute in his new COLORFUL diapers--

puppy!

2008-06-19T15:26:00.003-04:00

so, we got a dog, happy day! we named him toby, and he's adorable! he's a 4 month old black and white cockapoo. he loves to run around and play, and will even play fetch. . . well, sort of. he'll run and get whatever you throw, but he doesn't bring it back. . . we're working on house breaking him, which is frustrating, but i think it's going well. he's crate trained, so he stays in there at night and when we're not around. if he goes on the floor, he goes in as well. today was the longest he'd ever been out, but he peed AND pooped on the floor, so in he went again! poor dog, but he's gotta learn somehow. up till his accident though, he'd been out of the crate for about 2 hours. he was a happy puppy, that's for sure. i just need to figure out his signal for needing to go out (if there even IS one yet), i think that'll help alot. till then, we'll just keep doing what we're doing. . .

i'm a little nervous about letting him run around the house mostly b/c he had fleas when we first got him home and i haven't had a chance to check and see if the treatment we put on him worked. i don't want him getting fleas in our carpets or furniture, so until i know that it's working, he'll be staying away from the softer surfaces. . .

anyways, here's some pictures of him; the first one is when he was getting a bath to help kill the fleas--

just resting--

no more pictures! silly puppy--

he's totally cute and really fun, and i'm sure that once he's housebroken and all the fleas are gone, we'll get to enjoy him even more! :)

trevor's birthday

2008-06-19T15:04:00.003-04:00

ok, so it's been a while since i wrote, but things have been a little crazy. jon's been studying so he can test for staff, so he's been using the computer alot for that, as well as reviewing stuff for work since he had a 4 month break from his actual job. . .

trevor's first birthday was 2 weeks ago! he got a pool from us, which he got to play in while jon was at work that day--

we celebrated in the evening by inviting another family over for dinner and cake. we had chicken tacos, then opened presents (the one in the picture is from his grandma r.)--

after that, we had funfetti cake. trevor had a good time w/ it - fortunately, i made him a cupcake w/out icing so it would be a little less mess to clean up!

all done and ready for a bath!

so after everyone left, trevor needed a bath. well, he decided to give me a present as well - he pooped in the tub! ugh! jon laughed about it, but whatever. i guess that was trevor's way of telling me i need to clean the bathroom more often! :P

the fiascos and awesomeness of having jon home again!

2008-05-22T23:09:00.006-04:00

so trevor and i went to the airport to meet jon. i put this sign on trevor's stroller--

and this one on the house (and yeah, i painted them both, go me!)--

oh, and i decided to save the dress for a date, so instead i wore the other outfit i posted a week ago (the one that had the white shirt w/ black circles all over it)

i still think i looked FIERCE (to quote stacy and clinton), if i do say so myself! jon was appreciative. . .

so when we got home, we unloaded trevor and jon's suitcases and came in the house.

ok, sidenote for a sec: i cleaned the WHOLE HOUSE yesterday. this is extremely rare, my actually getting off my lazy butt to clean. i don't remember the last time i cleaned, but i know jon helped. . . and he was gone a little over 4 months. ew, gross, i know. ok, i DID mop the floor about a month ago. . . but that's it. so yeah, i was pretty proud of having cleaned everything up and making the house look all pretty and shiny like a mr. clean commercial. the REASON i never clean is only partly b/c i'm lazy (i am, i admit it). . . the bigger reason is that EVERY SINGLE TIME i clean, jon tracks in all kinds of dirt and goo and messes it up. like, it'll rain and he'll have mud on his boots, but refuses to take them off. . . it NEVER happens if it's been a while since i cleaned, just the days that i actually try.

so i figured it's supposed to be nice weather, jon won't be wearing his boots, i'm safe. so what's the FIRST thing that happens when jon walks in the house? the wheel on one of his suitcases BREAKS and he leaves a HUGE BLACK STREAK going down the length of the hallway (gotta love military housing's lovely industrial tile floors). . . i saw it and i was like "you did NOT just do that!" then i made him clean it. . . it took like, 2 seconds w/ a magic eraser, but still. . . of course, now i have this really bright white streak in the midst of slightly-less-white tiles in my hallway, so it seems i didn't do as good a job w/ the cleaning as i'd thought. . .

ok, so i put trevor down for a nap, jon and i *ahem* reacquaint ourselves a bit, and after lunch, we decide to all 3 go on a walk. we leave the house only to find that we left the trunk and 1 of the car doors open. . . good job guys, way to be on the ball. . . yeah, apparently we were a little TOO distracted by each other b/c it's been over an hour since we got home. . . thank goodness for living on base and for almost everyone being at work. . . that and the only thing in the car worth stealing is trevor's carseat. . .

anyways, yeah, the rest of the day was pretty routine, just jon unpacking, nothing too exciting. we went to olive garden for dinner (jon wanted to go to this indian place, but i had curry for the last couple nights, so i asked if we could go some other time b/c i wanted something different). . . well, between jet lag, a supposed stomach virus that's wreacked havoc on dh's digestive system for the last week (that's a WHOLE separate post though), and the food he ordered, he ended up feeling really sick and went to bed at 8:30. . . poor jon. . . here's hoping he feels better soon so i can catch up on the bd'ing (even if i CAN'T get pregnant yet. . . boo. . . )

oh, and really quick before i go, here's jon and trevor at dinner tonight--

a few thoughts from john glenn

2008-05-18T20:20:00.004-04:00

For those of us who have spent time in the military, believe in our military, and support the men and women of our military, read on.

John Glenn (DEMOCRAT) said this - it should make you think a little:

There were 39 combat related killings in Iraq in January 07. In the fair city of Detroit there were 35 murders in the month of January. That's just one American city, about as deadly as the entire war-torn country of Iraq. When some claim that President Bush shouldn't have started this war, state the following:

FDR (DEMOCRAT) led us into World War II. Germany never attacked us, Japan did. From 1941-1945, 450,000 lives were lost. . . an average of 112,500 per year.

Truman (DEMOCRAT) finished that war and started one in Korea. North Korea never attacked us. From 1950-1953, 55,000 lives were lost - an average of 18,334 per year.

John F. Kennedy (DEMOCRAT) started the Vietnam conflict in 1962. Vietnam never attacked us.

Johnson (DEMOCRAT) turned Vietnam into a quagmire. From 1965-1975, 58,000 lives were lost. . . an average of 5,800 per year.

Clinton (DEMOCRAT) went to war in Bosnia without UN or French consent. Bosnia never attacked us. He was offered Osama bin Laden's head on a platter three times by Sudan and did nothing. Osama has attacked us on multiple occasions.

In the years since terrorists attacked us, President Bush has liberated two countries, crushed the Taliban, crippled al-Qaida, put nuclear inspectors in Libya , Iran, and North Korea without firing a shot, and captured a terrorist who slaughtered 300,000 of his own people. And the Democrats are complaining about how long the war is taking.

But Wait, there's more.

It took less time to take Iraq than it took Janet Reno (DEMOCRAT) to take the Branch Davidian compound. That was a 51-day operation.

We've been looking for evidence for chemical weapons in Iraq for less time than it took Hillary Clinton (DEMOCRAT) to find the Rose Law Firm billing records.

It took less time for the 3rd Infantry Division and the Marines to destroy the Medina Republican Guard than it took Ted Kennedy to call the police after his Oldsmobile sank at Chappaquiddick.

It took less time to take Iraq than it took to count the votes in Florida!!!

Our Commander-In-Chief is doing a GREAT JOB! The Military morale is high! The biased media hopes we are too ignorant to realize the facts.

But Wait. There's more!

Some people still don't understand why military personnel do what they do for a living. This exchange between Senators John Glenn and Senator Howard Metzenbaum is worth reading. Not only is it a pretty impressive impromptu speech, but it's also a good example of one man's explanation of why men and women in the armed services do what they do for a living. This is a typical, though sad, example of what some who have never served think of the military.

JOHN GLENN (on the Senate floor - January 26, 2004)

Senator Metzenbaum (speaking to Senator Glenn): 'How can you run for Senate when you've never held a real job?'

Senator Glenn (D-Ohio): 'I served 23 years in the United States Marine Corps. I served through two wars. I flew 149 missions. My plane was hit by anti-aircraft fire on 12 different occasions. I was in the space program. It wasn't my checkbook, Howard; it was my life on the line. It was not a nine-to-five job, where I took time off to take the daily cash receipts to the bank. I ask you to go with me. . . as I went the other day. . . to a veteran's hospital and look those men. . . with their mangled bodies, in the eye, and tell THEM they didn't hold a job! You go with me to the Space Program at NASA and go, as I have gone, to the widows and orphans of Ed White, Gus Grissom and Roger Chaffee. . . and you look those kids in the eye and tell them that their DAD'S didn't hold a job. You go with me on Memorial Day and you stand in Arlington National Cemetery, where I have more friends buried than I'd like to remember, and you watch those waving flags. You stand there, and you think about this nation, and you have the gall to tell ME that those people didn't have a job?'

What about Metzenbaum? For those who don't remember, during W.W.II, Howard Metzenbaum was an attorney representing the Communist Party in the USA. . . now he's a Senator!

If you can read this, thank a teacher. If you are reading it in English thank a Veteran.

have a happy period - WTF, are you SERIOUS?!?!?!?!?

2008-05-18T11:33:00.000-04:00

This is an actual letter from an Austin woman sent to American company Proctor and Gamble regarding their feminine products. She really gets rolling after the first paragraph. It’s PC Magazine’s 2007 editors’ choice for best webmail-award-winning letter.

Dear Mr. Thatcher,

I have been a loyal user of your ’Always’ maxi pads for over 20 years and I appreciate many of their features. Why, without the LeakGuard Core or Dri-Weave absorbency, I’d probably never go horseback riding or salsa dancing, and I’d certainly steer clear of running up and down the beach in tight, white shorts. But my favorite feature has to be your revolutionary Flexi-Wings. Kudos on being the only company smart enough to realize how crucial it is that maxi pads be aerodynamic. I can’t tell you how safe and secure I feel each month knowing there’s a little F-16 in my pants.

Have you ever had a menstrual period, Mr. Thatcher? Ever suffered from ’the curse’? I’m guessing you haven’t. Well, my time of the month is starting right now. As I type, I can already feel hormonal forces violently surging through my body. Just a few minutes from now, my body will adjust and I’ll be transformed into what my husband likes to call ’an inbred hillbilly with knife skills.’ Isn’t the human body amazing?

As Brand Manager in the Feminine-Hygiene Division, you’ve no doubt seen quite a bit of research on what exactly happens during your customers monthly visits from ’Aunt Flo’. Therefore, you must know about the bloating, puffiness, and cramping we endure, and about our intense mood swings, crying jags, and out-of-control behavior. You surely realize it’s a tough time for most women. In fact, only last week, my friend Jennifer fought the violent urge to shove her boyfriend’s testicles into a George Foreman Grill just because he told her he thought Grey’s Anatomy was written by drunken chimps. Crazy!

The point is, sir, you of all people must realize that America is just crawling with homicidal maniacs in Capri pants.... Which brings me to the reason for my letter. Last month, while in the throes of cramping so painful I wanted to reach inside my body and yank out my uterus, I opened an Always maxi-pad, and there, printed on the adhesive backing, were these words: ’Have a Happy Period.’

Are you f***ing kidding me? What I mean is, does any part of your tiny middle-manager brain really think happiness - actual smiling, laughing happiness - is possible during a menstrual period? Did anything mentioned above sound the least bit pleasurable? Well, did it, James? FYI, unless you’re some kind of sick S&M freak girl, there will never be anything ’happy’ about a day in which you have to jack yourself up on Motrin and Kahlua and lock yourself in your house just so you don’t march down to the local Walgreen’s armed with a hunting rifle and a sketchy plan to end your life in a blaze of glory.

For the love of God, pull your head out, man! If you just have to slap a moronic message on a maxi pad, wouldn’t it make more sense to say something that’s actually pertinent, like ’Put down the Hammer’ or ’Vehicular Manslaughter is Wrong’, or are you just picking on us?

Sir, please inform your Accounting Department that, effective immediately, there will be an $8 drop in monthly profits, for I have chosen to take my maxi-pad business elsewhere. And though I will certainly miss your Flex-Wings, I will not for one minute miss your brand of condescending bull shit. And that’s a promise I will keep. Always.

Best,

Wendi Aarons

Austin

twilight movie countdown

2008-05-18T11:20:00.000-04:00

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life comes in 3's

2008-05-18T11:02:00.003-04:00

How to play this game. Post these rules on your blog; List 3 joys, 3 fears, 3 goals, 3 current obsessions/collections, 3 random surprising facts about yourself.

3 joys:

1. JON'S COMING HOME!!!!!!!!!
2. getting to spend time w/ trevor every day
3. we got a new table that i get to refinish! :)

3 fears:

1. rabies
2. throwing up
3. not being a good mom

3 goals:

1. save up enough money to go to hawaii for new years
2. go back to school for a masters in athletic training
3. get to the temple regularly

3 current obsessions/collections:

1. twilight series
2. the twilight movie coming out this december
3. ballet, of course

3 random facts:

1. i can dislocate my thumbs, hips, and shoulders
2. i recently discovered how much fun beading can be - and it doesn't have to look like when you're 5 and make macaroni necklaces
3. my left foot is 1/2 inch longer than my right. . . makes buying shoes interesting. . .

trailer for twilight!!!!!

2008-05-14T16:02:00.004-04:00

this was SO awesome, i just had to post it.! i saw it a week or so ago, but i just remembered to post it here today, check it out below. pretty freakin' awesome, huh? i SO can't wait, i'm getting more and more excited for this movie every day! yay!

my make-over

2008-05-13T22:45:00.004-04:00

ok, so i was DESPERATELY in need of new clothes, especially when i ripped a hole in the butt of my 1 pair of capris. . . i talked w/ jon and we agreed that i could take some money out of our hawaii fund to get new clothes. happy day! i decided to get a haircut too, so it's like a whole new me! sort of a miniature version of what not to wear b/c the stuff i ended up getting was WAY better than the things i had before. that and i plan to go through and get rid of everything that doesn't really work. . . so yeah, i'm excited and decided to share some pictures. . . first, the hair--

so, so cute! i LOVE it! ok, so then here's what i ended up wearing today--

so yeah, i'm totally excited for jon to come home next week! i finally found the PERFECT dress to totally knock his socks off! best part is, i got it at walmart, of all places, can you believe it? i mean, i love that store, but i never expected to find such an awesome dress there! anyways, check it out--

oh yeah, and i actually made the jewelry to go w/ it too--

pretty sweet, huh? :D so yeah, i'm WAY excited about my new clothes! i know it'll blow jon away too, so it's just that much more anxious-making. . .

ok, i'm a dork, but i just have to comment on the term "anxious-making". . . so last time i wrote about all those books, right? well, in the uglies series, some of the people, pretties, would speak in what they called "pretty talk". . . they would say things like "happy-making" or "nervous-making". . . funny thing is though, just now when i was writing, i honestly couldn't think of a better way to put it. . . weird, huh? i think it's interesting how expressions, even when they're new or unfamiliar, will incorporate themselves into our language like that. . .

ok, so yeah, random tangent over. i just wanted to write this really quick b/c i realized i hadn't written yet this week the way i'd intended. that's all i have time for right now though, so i'm done till next time! :)

books and breast feeding

2008-05-05T10:31:00.004-04:00

so i forgot to write last week, oops! oh well, i'm here now! :) anyways, i got some good news yesterday - jon's coming home in 2 weeks! yay!!!!! :D we weren't sure when he'd get here b/c he was supposed to have to do training w/ the new people coming to replace them and then it would depend on how they shipped them home, but it turns out they're only doing like, 1 day of training! wahoo! so he'll be home only 1 or 2 days later than they originally told us, hooray! i'm so excited to have him back! i wasn't letting myself get excited about him coming home in case it took a few weeks (or months) and he ended up being later than expected, but now that he's told me an actual date, i can't help but get excited! :)

in other news, i'm still reading up a storm and discovering some AWESOME books along the way - here's a short list of the ones i loved and highly recommend:

* the midnighters series by scott westerfeld (the secret hour, touching darkness, and blue noon)
* the uglies series by scott westerfeld (uglies, pretties, specials, and extras)
* peeps by scott westerfeld
* the last days by scott westerfeld (seeing a trend? well, it ends here, that's all i've read by him)
* the twilight series by stephenie meyer (twilight, new moon, and eclipse)
* the bar code tattoo by suzanne weyn
* the last days of kypton by kevin j. anderson

they were all really good, and for very different reasons. the funny thing about the ones by scott westerfeld is that usually when i read a series, i end up not liking anything else written by that author, but he's broken that trend for me. i read the uglies series first, and when i ended up loving it, someone told me to read the midnighters. then i saw peeps and the last days (which are kind of a series in themselves), and i loved them; i'm going to pick up another book by him from the library today, so i'll see how that one goes. . . i just read the bar code tattoo last night and was skeptical about it, at best. from the description on the back, it seemed like just another run of the mill utopia-gone-wrong kind of story, but i was pleasantly surprised. the krypton one is the story of krypton's destruction, the whole reason we have superman, so that was really interesting. even better, i finished it on thursday night and then, when i went to watch smallville, clark actually went to krypton while it was being destroyed, so that was pretty cool!

last, but certainly not least, anyone who's read the twilight series knows there's nothing i can say to do these books justice. they are by far the best books i've ever read! they're so different from anything else i've ever read, which makes them so much more intriguing. i'm so excited for the 4th book to come out this summer, i've already pre-ordered it (breaking dawn). . . i'm ALSO excited about the twilight movie (check out these links for info: imdb, stephenie meyer's website, twilight movie site) coming out in december!!!!! my friends and i have already decided we're going to see it as soon as we can once it's in theaters. we'll get our husbands to watch all the kids and have a blast, i can't wait! :D

ok, so enough about my obsession w/ twilight. . .

so i haven't really been doing much besides reading CONSTANTLY, but i have managed one thing - i'm done pumping! happy day! i haven't pumped since 4/30 and i'm so relieved! i was scared it would hurt to stop completely, but i think i did a good job of weaning slowly b/c i haven't been in pain at all! so yeah, i'm glad to be done, to not have that always hanging over my head. it was worth it to make it this far though; trevor hasn't had formula since he was a month old, and even that was b/c of doctor's orders. i have enough stockpiled in the freezer to make it to his 1st birthday, so i'm happy to have made it. it was rough, and i definitely wouldn't have made it w/out jon's help, especially in the beginning. i don't ever wanna do it again though. . . i will if i have to, of course, but i'd prefer to only pump b/c i CHOOSE to, not b/c i don't have any other options. and anyone who asks me my opinion on the subject will get the same answer - nursing would have been SO much easier, and if i could have made it work, i would have. i only chose to pump b/c it was really important to me that trevor get breastmilk for as much of the first year as possible, and he absolutely 100% refused to nurse, even w/ help from lactation consultants. in the end, it was pump exclusively or give him formula. obviously, i chose to pump. anyways, yeah, it's a huge weight off my shoulders to be done w/ it - YAY!!!!! :D

home again!

2008-04-19T15:09:00.003-04:00

we're home! yay! actually, we got home tuesday evening, but i haven't had much chance to get on till today. i was able to check my email once and them my monitor died. i just got a new one today. it cost more than i would have liked, but it's WAY nice, so i'll live! :) hahaha! anyways, so we're settled back in and doing well. we're LOVING the warmer weather down here! it's nice after being in much cooler weather for the last month.

so, last night trevor started clapping and it was the CUTEST thing! i need to get a video of him clapping to put on here, i'll try to do that soon. . . he's all over the place, starting to pull up on stuff (although he'll only stand on his knees, not sure why), and i think he's in ANOTHER growth spurt! that kid never stops, i swear! :)

my show went well, and i had a TON of fun! i miss it already and wish i could have kept it up. everyone in the company up there was asking me to stay for the summer show in august, but i told them most likely i won't be there for it. i did promise to come up for any shows that happen whenever jon is deployed though, since it'll be less of an issue during those times. anyways, a friend of mine should be sending me a video of the show, so i'm excited about that. all my friends here wanted to see me dance, so i promised i'd get a dvd for them.

other than that, things are pretty boring around here. i joined the library here (took me almost 2 years living here to get there, but i did!) and got some books and a dvd of the breakfast club. i've never seen it before, so i figured it was worth it (especially since it's free, right?). . . i saw 16 candles for the first time yesterday, so i guess i'm on a molly ringwald kick for now. :) anyways, when i was watching it, i figured out where my psycho college roommie, malorie, got some of her ideas from. . . she's was ALWAYS saying that she didn't want people to know that she ate. i had never heard anyone say that before (i'd heard people say they didn't want a guy to know HOW MUCH they ate, but never that they didn't want him to know they ate at ALL), but anyways, molly ringwald says it in there! i had to pick my jaw up off the floor. i mean, i know malorie loved the 80's but COME ON, using a random line from a movie as your life motto? that's a little sad. . .

anyways, i told jon we need to get a dog. trevor loves them and we've been wanting one for awhile and i think we could actually afford one now. . . i'm gonna have to call the vet here on base on monday and find out what the initial cost is to get a puppy fixed and get all its shots and stuff. . . and yeah, i know we could go to the humane society and get a dog there, but jon has a point when he says that he wants to get a puppy so that we know the history and stuff. that way too, we can train the dog and not have to worry about say, whether its house-trained or not (b/c obviously, it won't be, but the dog will be young enough that we can fix that). . . anyways, we've gotta figure out what breed to get b/c i'd LOVE something that doesn't shed a ton but is a little bigger. we don't want a dog that we'll end up tripping over, you know? and jon refuses to get a poodle, so it'll have to be something else. i'm not sure what else there is, so i'll have to do some looking. my mom suggested a poodle mix, which is a pretty good idea. she said we should get a labradoodle. . . i said a schnoodle. . . we'll see. . .

trip to utah

2008-04-09T11:54:00.003-04:00

ok, so i got back from my trip to utah last night. trevor and i had a good time out west, but i'm glad to be done w/ flying for the time being! he did really well on the plane, but it's still stressful w/ having to hold him the entire time when all he wants to do is get on the floor and crawl around and get into things. thankfully, he slept on the plane both ways, which was a nice surprise.

we spent the first few days down in provo. we visited byu and some friends in the area. i got my hair highlighted, so i'm blonde again, happy day! i got to eat at a few of the restaurants i'd been missing - brick oven and stan's especially. i was sad to find out stan's was sold about a year ago, but at least the food is still the same, so it wasn't a disappointment. we stayed w/ one of jon's old roommates and his wife while we were there. jon's funny, he likes to brag that he hooked them up. he basically just went up to each of them and asked if there was anyone in the complex they liked, then told them they should go out. . . they ended up getting married almost exactly 1 year after us. it was like, a week before our anniversary. funny part is they started dating before we did. . . oh well, we're crazy though, most people don't decide to get married when they've only known each other for 2 weeks. . .

anyways, trevor and i drove up to ogden on friday afternoon and spent the rest of our time up there. we stayed w/ jon's best friend, kyle, and his wife maggie. saturday was my birthday. i went over to my cousin's house between conference sessions and went out to lunch w/ my brother. he didn't have any money, so i ended up having to pay, but whatever. he'd never had cold stone, so we went there after we ate. sunday i had tickets to conference, so i went w/ kyle and maggie. after the session was over, we went down to south jordan to visit kyle's family. they've kinda adopted jon, he even calls them mom and dad! :) yeah, so they enjoyed playing w/ trevor, and i had fun seeing them all again. kyle's brother, devon (devin?) is 16 now. apparently he's quite the ladies' man! i can see why though, and when i told jon, his response was that he wasn't surprised. anyways, devon was playing the sims 2 and had built the houses for the characters in the twilight series. i was surprised to find out he'd read those books, but he liked them alot. i just didn't think they were really a GUY thing, you know? oh well, whatever works, right? so after that, kyle, maggie, and i went to my dad's for dinner. he made poffertjes (i have NO idea if i spelled that right, it's dutch) for my birthday. they're basically these tiny little pancakes that are only about 1 1/2 inches across, but they're SO good. you eat them w/ butter and powered sugar instead of regular syrup. then on monday i went to breakfast w/ my dad at village inn (it wasn't as wonderful as i remembered, so now i'm ok w/ the fact that they don't have them in south carolina) and spent a couple hours at his place. i had dinner at olive garden w/ kami, an old roommate of mine, and watched movies w/ kyle and maggie. on sunday night we watched the seeker, which was REALLY good. i wouldn't have chosen it, but i ended up really liking it. then on monday night, maggie and i watched sydney white while kyle was at work. tuesday i packed up all our stuff and we flew back to maryland.

so here i am, w/ 1 week left of my vacation. i have rehearsal tonight, as well as thursday and friday nights, then my show is on saturday and sunday. monday night we're all going out to dinner to celebrate my and my mom's birthdays. tuesday i'll be driving home w/ trevor. i'm gonna have to spend some time today remembering my dances for this show. i realized last night that i hadn't thought about it at all while i was in utah, and i'm having trouble remembering all of them. oops. . . i'm also planning to go to the library. i have a bunch of books to return, and i'd like to get some new ones. when i get home, i'm gonna have to join the library there. i can't believe i haven't done it yet! i guess i just kept forgetting. oh well. anyways, i should go get trevor some lunch and get the both of us dressed for the day. i'll write more later, probably once i get home again.

on vacation

2008-03-29T21:48:00.003-04:00

ok, so i'm at my mom's, SUPPOSEDLY on vacation, but it's turning into more of the same, plus having to baby-sit my younger siblings. my sister's 11, and my brother's 13, so they can pretty well keep themselves out of trouble, right? well, not so much. my sister seems to think it's cute or funny or something to act all helpless and obnoxious, so that's what she does. then my brother is all KINDS of moody all the time and refuses to do his school work. he claims it's b/c he doesn't like school, but he KNOWS that this is just gonna land him in summer school - WHAT GIVES?!?!?!?! i SO don't get it. i've asked him to explain it to me, but he can't. oh well. anyways, so my mom's enjoying the visit, she gets to play w/ trevor and she's spending her 2nd night at the firehouse since i've been here. i know she misses getting to do that, it's her only real outlet. . . but she can't very well leave the 2 kids home alone over-night, you know? i remember her trying to do that when i was abut 16 or so and i FREAKED OUT at about 10 or 11 that night. i called my grandma and asked her to come spend the night w/ us. . . i was totally capable of doing it myself, but i never had before, so i thought about it too much. oh well.

so it's been nice to not have to cook and clean for the most part, and i'm enjoying that. i help out here and there, but only b/c i feel like it, not b/c i have to, you know? well, that and taking care of trevor. he and i have been sick alot since we've been here, hence why it's taken me 2 weeks to write. we got here the evening of 3/14 (2 fridays ago). . . well, the next night, i hired a baby-sitter for trevor and went out w/ my mom. we ended up having to come home early b/c i wasn't feeling well. i ended up puking my guts out all weekend. sad day! anyways, i was mostly better after a day or 2, but trevor had these nasty, blow-out diapers for about a week. i was doing his laundry every other day b/c he went through so many clothes! funny thing is though, he'd poop and get it all the way up to his armpits (no, i'm not kidding, i SO wish i was!), and he didn't care. but 2 drops of pee that stayed in the diaper? MUST be changed IMMEDIATELY!!!!! that was interesting. so then, after he went back to normal for a day or 2, he and i both got this nasty cold that i'm not sure isn't the flu. we're both hacking up a lung, running fevers, congested, sneezing, and i dunno about him, but i just generally feel rotten - totally wiped out, headache, my sinuses hurt, my throat hurts, and i haven't been sleeping well even though i can barely keep my eyes open. oh yeah, and he was wheezing tonight, poor kid. i'm glad i thought to bring his nebulizer w/ me, or we'd have been headed to the er. . . he hasn't been eating solids at ALL, and while i've been feeling ok in that regard, my appetite is DEFINATELY not what it normally is. . . i'm starting to feel a little better, which is good, since we're flying to utah on tuesday, but i know i'm not completely out of the woods yet. i just hope that we're both ok for the flight, i hate flying when i'm sick, it makes everything feel a thousand time worse!

other than that, things are going well. i've been able to see a bunch of my friends, and go to alot of the restaurants i miss. everyone's been going gaga over trevor and his crazy hair, and i'm dancing again! yay! rehearsals aren't quite as brutal as i'd imagined they'd be, but i'm still sore. it feels good to get back into it, even if it's only for this short while. i'm excited for the show coming up in a couple weeks, i just hope i can remember my dances!

since my mom doesn't have cable, i've rediscovered books since i've been here. i blew through twilight, new moon, and eclipse in the first 4 days (and it only took that long b/c i couldn't find a copy of eclipse for a day and a half), and now i've moved on to others. i've read 4 or 5 more, i've lost count, as well as realized i've already read a few that i thought i hadn't (and while they were good, they weren't worth rereading), and i've got a few more to work on. i'll have to hit the library again soon though, i'm running low! i'm reading about a book a day, sometimes more, depending on how long it is. i'm super antsy about the 4th book from the twlight series coming out in august. . . i've already pre-ordered my copy so that i can read it as soon as possible. i'm way excited about it, i can't wait! oh, and the MOVIE, wow, i just can't even TELL you how excited i am for THAT! anyways, yeah, that's mostly what i've been up to, since my brother and sister monopolize the computer all day (they're on spring break till monday), and there's basically no tv here. . .

anyways, that's about it. . . i'm headed to utah for a week on tuesday, then i'll be back here for a week. i was lucky enough to get a bunch of conference tickets, so i'm WAY excited about that, as well as getting to see friends and family in utah. then when i get back to maryland, it's stage rehearsals and the show, then out to dinner w/ the fam to celebrate my birthday and my mom's birthday, then it's back to south carolina. i'm having a good time visiting people and all, but i miss the warm weather, my nice, big bed, and my dvr. . . it'll be good to get home, although i'm REALLY not looking forward to the drive. . . ugh. . . i'm hoping it'll be a shorter drive home than it was to get up here (10 hours to get here, as opposed to 7-8 hours when it's just me). . . either way, i'll get there eventually, right? anyways, i need to go get some sleep, and i PROBABLY won't get the chance to post again while i'm away (but i'll try!), so yeah, check back in a couple weeks! :)

fighting sleep, among other things

2008-03-11T14:49:00.005-04:00

ok, so trevor's decided to start this fighting sleep thing. . . last night it took him nearly 2 hours to finally calm down and sleep. there was no REASON for it, other than the fact that he COULD. he refused to take an afternoon nap yesterday and is in the process of throwing a tantrum in his crib right now as well. ugh! he's so tired and you can tell, but he REFUSES to sleep! i have no idea what's going on w/ him, he's healthy, he's fed, he has a clean diaper. he's been loved on and played w/, there's nothing OBVIOUS that's wrong w/ him. every attempt i make at calming him down only gets him more convinced to continue the scream-fest, so here i am, forced to listen to him scream while praying the whole time that he'll eventually stop and fall asleep. . . and hopefully that'll happen before it's time to get up. . .

so i know i have it easy, that he's relatively low-maintenance as far as babies go, but still. i like my happy-go-lucky baby; i haven't no idea what happens that turns him into this cranky, fussy mess that he sometimes turns into. he's like baby jeckel and mr. hyde, i swear!

however, on a positive note, trevor's decided it's time to start feeding himself. i sat him down for lunch and proceeded to feed him some applesauce, a current favorite. . . he ate about 2 bites before he started fussing and reaching for the spoon. then he got upset b/c i wouldn't let him have it, so i figured i'd give him some puffs to munch on in between bites of applesauce. . . well, he COMPLETELY lost interest in the applesauce, so his lunch consisted solely of blueberry puffs. . . oh well. . . check him out--

he did very well, in my opinion. he dropped a few on the floor and in his seat, but not many, compared to how many he actually got in his mouth! plus, being the resourceful mommy that i am, i fished them out and put them back on his tray. . . :P oh well, i figure i just cleaned the floor a couple days ago, and the only thing that's been in the high chair is trevor, so it wouldn't hurt him. :)

so i think trevor's FINALLY settling down to sleep! yay! the part you wouldn't know is that i stopped typing this for about 20 minutes to give him a bottle, teething drops, and tylenol and let him chew on my finger (ouch) in hopes that it would help. he still cried for about 10 minutes when i put him down, but he's been quiet for a few minutes now, yay!

AUGH! some idiot just raced up the street on a VERY loud motorcycle. i SWEAR, if they woke him up. . . ugh! *pause* ok, nothing yet, so i think it's safe to assume he didn't notice. . . good. i was about to go kick some shins. . .

so back to the feeding himself thing, i'm excited; i'm hoping this is the beginning of trevor being able to handle foods that aren't completely liquified. so far the only other thing he can handle is the gerber puffs. i gave him a couple bits of cheese at lunch and he seemed to do alright w/ those. and the other day i gave him tiny pieces of avocado. he did really well! i'm just wondering what else he'll be able to handle vs. what he'll end up gagging on, you know?

i got pictures the other day when trevor figured out his sippy cup! yay! here's a picture of that--

that was on friday. . . then on sunday, we were at church and he saw another little boy leave his sippy cup on the floor, so he made a beeline for it. i grabbed it right before he did. . . that would be all we need, for trevor to slobber all over someone else's cup and spread his germs. he's been sick so much lately, i just don't wanna risk giving any of that to other kids. . . anyways, he was all upset and started to cry b/c i wouldn't let him have the cup. poor kid. whatever, though, he was fine. i distracted him w/ a toy and he was happy again. . .

so yeah, i just wanted to brag on trevor a little, but now that he's asleep, i'm gonna get some other things done. . . i'll write more another day!

tagged!

2008-03-10T16:35:00.003-04:00

10 years ago I was..........

about to turn 13. . . i was in 7th grade and was anxious for my first kiss. i was so head over heels boy crazy, i honestly don't know how i did ANYTHING else! i was a total boy band groupie and would have DIED to see n*sync in concert. . .

5 Thing on my to-do list today

1. close a bank account that is no longer needed (check!)
2. refill prescriptions (check!)
3. shower (check!)
4. run some errands (some are done, others aren't)
5. go to olive garden for dinner (will get checked off at 630! yay!)

Things I would do if I were suddenly a Billionaire

pay off my student loans, buy brand new cars, as well as a lifetime supply of gas, put away money for college for trevor and any future kids, build our dream home, pay off my mom's mortgage and offer to put her through college, put jon and myself through grad school, invest everything else in a roth ira.

3 of my bad habits

1. procrastinating - i'm doing it right now! :)
2. playing on the computer instead of playing w/ my son. . . i know, bad mommy. . . :(
3. picking the skin off my lips. . . it's a nervous habit though,i don't even realize i'm doing it till they start to hurt or bleed. . .

Jobs I've had...

retail - repeat performance and party land
byu event staff
teaching assistant for family finance
waitress
nanny
mom

5 Thing people don't know about me...

1. i can dislocate my thumbs, shoulders, and hips. . . i don't do it anymore, but i CAN. . .
2. i like my cinnamon raisin bagels w/ cream cheese and turkey lunchmeat, yum!
3. i used to have a goal to become professional make-up artist. . . my mom convinced me i'd need chemistry to get there, so i took it in high school and i decided to study that instead!
4. my absolute FAVORITE rides at amusement parks are the swings that go in a circle and the white water rafting type ones.
5. i'm pro-life AND pro-choice at the same time. . . pro-life in my personal life, but pro-choice politically. . . who am i to tell other women they shouldn't be allowed to make that decision?

i'm tagging brooke (http://www.brooksfamilysc.blogspot.com/), shelley (http://chrisandhisthreegirls.blogspot.com/), and rebecca (http://coolclaw.blogspot.com/)

If you have been tagged, it is because I find you interesting, not because I want to annoy you. If you choose not to do it I won't be upset at all.

i had a dream. . .

2008-03-09T09:23:00.000-04:00

no really, i just woke up! i was having this dream that really made an impression on me. . . it's something i'd actually been thinking about for a while now, but the dream really made it hit home for me. the concept is really quite simple, but i'll tell what i remember of the whole dream before actually making my point. . . have fun wading through the randomness of my dream, but first a little background--

so there was this guy i dated in college, named dan (here we are at a dance when we first started dating back in october 2003)--

it was kinda serious for a while, but he left to go on his mission and i got married while he was out. he's since gotten married as well. i've wanted to stay friends, but for whatever reason, he's been really weird about it. it makes me sad b/c he really was an awesome guy. i dunno if it's a decision he and his wife made together or one that he made on his own, but either way, he's basically chosen to completely cut me out of his life. at one point he told me that whenever i made the trip to utah, they'd like to get to together w/ me; i wrote him an email saying i was coming in april, and it's been a few weeks. i haven't heard anything from him yet. i assume that means they're no longer interested, which is fine, their decision, you know? anyways, the 2 of them are the other people in my dream. . .

so i was talking to dan about being a mom and bragging on trevor and how great he is. i talked about my decision to ep and the unexpected blessings that have come from that choice. . . we talked about school and just regular stuff you talk about w/ someone you're catching up w/, you know? we were at his house (which, by the way, i've never been to or seen, so it was just some fabrication of my subconscious), and he walked into another room that i could only guess was some kind of office or study - big desk, lots of books, and a big, cushy recliner. he sat on the desk while i stood leaning against the doorway, talking. i started talking about the way i'd pictured my life as a kid and the things i saw myself doing, how i hadn't expected many of the things that have happened, but i wouldn't change it for the world. then i started talking about the biggest point i wanted to make to him, something i wanted him and his wife to talk about and really understand for when they have kids. i said something to the effect of, "i really think that one of the biggest challenges women face in this life is staying home w/ their kids. don't get me wrong, i LOVE that i'm able to be at home w/ trevor, but there are days where i wish i worked outside the home. everyone has challenges that are meant to make them stronger, better people; i truly believe that for women, one of the biggest, most trying challenges is wanting the validation of working outside the home while still understanding the importance of being home w/ the kids. i feel so torn between the 2, and i feel guilty for it. when jon and i made the decision to have a baby, i could think of nothing that would bring me more joy than being able to watch my child grow every day. i thought, who would want to work when they could stay home and watch this amazing process? but the rose-colored glasses come off at some point, and i've found myself looking around, feeling like this is NOT the higher purpose i imagined."

the dream ended there b/c i woke up, but i have all these huge feelings i can't seem to figure out. it is SO important to me that i stay home w/ my kids, and i love that i'm able to, but at the same time, i often feel like i could do so much more. . . that conflicts w/ the belief i have that this is the MOST important thing i can do for the world - raise honest, respectful, confident, happy, productive children who want to be good people and serve their designed function in society. still though, it's hard at times, so i guess i'm posting this for all the other moms out there who feel the way i do. . .

i know that eventually i'll fulfill my goals and dream, but it's so hard to wait. it's difficult to watch jon reaching for his goals and achieving them and i have to sit back and watch. i feel like i have to put my dreams on hold for my kids, but at the same time, having kids and being a stay at home mom IS one of my dreams. . . so you can see where my dilemma lies. . . it's like i'm having to trade one dream for another while jon gets to have all of his at once. i know he doesn't take it for granted, which i appreciate so much, but it's still so hard for me. . . i just wish that i could do both - be a sahm AND go back to school, work, etc. . .

intro - welcome to my life!

2008-03-07T15:38:00.000-05:00

well, i've been thinking i should jump on the blogging bandwangon for a while now, but i could never seem to find the time. i finally made myself just do it - i'm really excited! so i figured that since this is the first time i'm writing anything, i'd just give anyone reading a general overview of my life. i'll get into actual goings-on next time. i'm gonna try to write here at least once a week, possibly more. but i'm gonna make once a week the minimum. so here we go!

we're a military family and so far, it's been great! granted, jon doesn't get all the respect he'd like, since he's enlisted, but that should change at some point in the not-so-distant future. we're hoping he can become an officer soon, which will afford him alot more opportunity to make the impact he wants in the world. right now he's deployed, so it's just me and trevor, getting through it together! this is our family, right before jon left--

trevor is my whole world! i couldn't be a prouder mama - he's growing so fast, i'm trying so hard just to enjoy each stage as it comes! he's 9 months today and so stinkin' cute! check him out--

see? jon and i do good work, huh? :) that's his brand new carseat too, which i'm immensely proud of. we got it on sale, and it's AWESOME! it'll last him for a while, we're hoping, b/c it goes to 65 pounds - yay! it's a britax boulevard, the cadillac of carseats. . . trevor doesn't like that he has to be buckled in and out of it everytime we go somewhere, he's used to the infant seat that i can just throw in the huge travel system stroller, but he'll get over it soon, i'm sure. . . and it's more that he doesn't like being buckled in. . . he sure doesn't mind getting out!

it hasn't quite been 2 years since we moved here, but there are certain things i took for granted before - like getting to dance. i occasionally still get the chance, but it's usually when i go over to the base gym and dance in between the people working out w/ their personal trainers. it's better than nothing, but i really miss taking classes and being pushed to improve by someone other than myself. pretty soon though, i'll get the opportunity again, for however short a time - i'm heading up to maryland to take part in my old company's production of coppelia in april! yay!

another thing i miss desperately is sleeping in. that's more b/c jon is gone and trevor likes to wake up MUCH earlier than i do. . . but still, i miss it. that and sleeping the whole night. it's only PARTLY trevor's fault too. he sleeps through the night, for the most part, but since he never learned how to nurse, i've been pumping to give him breastmilk. formula just costs to dang much, and breastmilk is better for him and me anyways! and while i've been super blessed w/ a larger supply than i need, it's also become a burden. i haven't slept the whole night through since trevor was born b/c i have to get up to pump at 3 am every single night. i'm looking forward to the day i'll finally be done - it's coming up soon though, happy day! i'm storing everything i get, stockpiling it in my friend's deep freezer, so that i can stop pumping early, but still give trevor breastmilk until his birthday. i am SO excited about it - no one could know how happy i am about this unless they've exclusively pumped for this long as well. . . it really is a huge relief! so here's to counting down the days i have left! ;)

anyways, i can't think of anything else to write for the time being, so i think i'll end here. hopefully i'll think of more interesting things to say next time around and you all will keep on reading!