Breastfeeding....

Ok, here's my soap box for the day...  Thanks Candice for getting me started and then thanks to Babycenters February 2011 group...

In regards to breastfeeding hurting for a few weeks in the beginning...

It will hurt for a couple weeks until your nipples become accustom to nursing but it shouldn't be the 'make you cry' type of pain. 
It isn't usually easy for most BF moms at first.  I think that it is something that needs to be practiced and after a few weeks it will get better. 

Think of it this way...  you are pregnant for 40 weeks, in the beginning most of us are puking our guts out for weeks, if not months.  Then the second tri hits and we level out and start to show and are all a glow, ok maybe your constipated or uncomfortable.  Then the third tri hits and we are nothing but complaining about sore backs, hoo ha's, feeling fat, bloated, hungry, crabby.  All in all most of us complain for the last 12 weeks like it's never going to end.

Then we go into labor and if we are lucky it only lasts a few hours, there's a very short amount of pushing and the baby is there without any tearing or major medical intervention. 

What about this entire process says that breastfeeding should all of a sudden be easy???  Nothing else has come easy so why should this?  I feel like every one should be trying their hardest to give their baby the breast milk that is superior to formula.  Do we realize that as little as 100 years ago if you didn't figure it out your baby died?  You had to find a wet nurse to feed your baby if you couldn't figure it out.  Formula is a fairly new thing and we should be trying our hardest to give our babies the very best!!!  Obviously you can tell I'm all for the boob but for real, give it your all!  You didn't give up on being pregnant when you could only eat saltines and ginger ale for 6 weeks.  Why should this be any different?

Just wrote a new post and deleted it.

Your not getting me to type it again...

Pregnancy hormones decree that you'll just have to live with the cliff notes:

*Wrapping presents on the floor means I will be stuck there until after Christmas or when this baby decides to be born.

*Snow Storm means some people still aren't plowed out (5 days later) and I'm sick of hearing them complain about it.  Go grab a shovel you lazy ass people.

*T-minus 66 days until due date.  Still no name.  This child will name herself in 3 years and it will be Princess Purple Pink.  maybe I should just name her that now...  nope. not going to do it!

*I hate all the girl names out there.  I only planned to have 2 girls and I used the 2 names that I liked so this one needs to be a boy.  I have tons of names that I like for a boy.  Sorry sweetheart, you are getting a boy name...

*I think I'm going to make a paper circle chain for the last 66 days... Abby will love to rip one off each day.  Maybe I should make Jason put a name on each of the paper rings for me to hate everyday...  now there's an idea. 

*I need to make Truffles and I don't want to...

*Good bye, hope you enjoyed the cliff notes...

Random Stuff...

Had a busy busy weekend that was really good.  Got to see my brother and spend tie with his son, Jordan.  Great times had by all. 

I think I'm going to try to finish Christmas Shopping this week.  Not sure if that will actually get done or not but that is my goal.  I also need to go grocery shopping and get working on making a few hats for Christmas presents.  I'm hoping that the hats wont take very long to crochet but I haven't had the energy to start working on them either. 

I'm loving the Christmas music and shows on right now.  I figure that Christmas is a short time of the year and as of the 26th then you don't have to deal with any of it any more.  Soak it up while you can!!!

Abby got her music program for church yesterday.  They are signing 4 different songs in church for the Christmas program in a couple of weeks and I get to teach her the songs.  Too bad I can't carry a tune in a bucket!!!  Oh, well.  Abby should have fun.  I guess that this is what being a parent is all about.  You get to teach them about everything that school tells you to teach them about. 

Anybody have any cures for pregnancy back pain?  I'm dying over here!  I have low back pain which is normal, but it shoots down my right leg into my thigh.  A whole boat load of fun there!  Then I've got a pain below my shoulder blade that makes sitting EXTREMELY painful!  I'm wondering if a heat pad will help that.  At least its warm in our freezing house!  Trying to save money on the heat bills means bundling up at home!

The girls and I are having a PJ day today and staying in our PJ's all day.  I figure they are warm and comfy and I don't feel like getting dressed today.  I've got running around to do tomorrow so everyone will have to go outside in the cold so we will bundle up for that!

Kate has the strangest hair, we've yet to get it cut (2 1/2 yrs old now) and it is still only about 2-3 inches long every where except a strip around the middle of her head that has grown long.  I'm going to get it cut soon but there isn't enough to cut it into something very cute.  At least I can't picture it.  So I did a Bing search for pictures and nothing came up for little girls that don't have much hair.  There's all these pictures of little girls with tons of hair getting super cute hair cuts.  Well, Kate doesn't have much hair but I'm going to get it trimmed up so that it doesn't look like she can do a comb over anymore.  Yep a comb over, like old man comb over.  She has the hair to do that, not put into ponytails or pigtails but certainly a comb over can be accomplished.  Oh, well.  I'll post pictures once I get her hair cut so you can all see what we come up with!

I hope that everyone has a great Holiday Season and enjoys all the family time!

Oh and by the way there is 75 days until my baby's due date!!!  Yep, for some reason 75 days doesn't seem like very many.  To me it's 2.5 months away and with Christmas and turning 30 between now and then there isn't much time left!  Since this is also my last pregnancy I can't wait to get to the end but it's kind of bittersweet too. 

Oh, well.  Here's to a fast 75 days!!!

Book Club Tonight

So for the first time I joined a book club.  Candice invited me and while I know no one else besides her I am looking forward to going.  I plan to get a pumpkin spice latte, a snack and sit and chat with a few other women about the book, The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo.  Which if you haven't read it is actually a pretty good book.  It can be a bit slow to start but the author really lays the ground work for the characters so that you really feel like you know them by the time the good stuff starts happening.  You don't even hear about the girl with the dragon tattoo for awhile in the book so I was confused!  But really it's good.

I'm interested to see how tonight is going to go.  Are these women the note taking, super serious type or is this really just an excuse to get together sans children and men?  I'm hoping it's a mixture of both.  That we actually talk about the book and that we also just chat away.  I told Jason that I have no idea what time I will be home and he is good with that.  He realizes that I need to get away and not have my children talking and touching me for a couple of hours. 

Deer hunting opener is tomorrow.  For those of you that don't know my in-laws.  Jason has 2 sisters and a brother.  Sisters are married, Jackie to Lane the taxidermist.  JoAnn to Brent, a welder.  My Father-in-law is an avid hunter.  My mother in law used to back in the day.  Jackie and Lane have 2 kids, Tasha (14) and Travis (10), both of which hunt.  Cody and Riley are literally too young to hunt so they will join the group when they are older.  I am the ONLY person on that entire side of the family that doesn't enjoy killing things!  I don't have any desire to go clomping through the woods, rifle in hand, waiting to shoot and kill something.  I grew up in the big city of Taylors Falls and we saved animals that were injured or lost.  Never has an animal perished in my household.  We didn't have guns, or knives or anything deadly in my house growing up.  My grandpa hunted before I was born,  My uncles hunt but really there was very little killing in my family.  Switch scene to the Tempel's, they shoot almost everything there is a season for.  It's really a culture shock for me to listen to them be so excited for deer hunting.  It is unspoken that Jason will leave his family to go to Turtle Lake to hunt with them.  He will be back at some ungodly hour on Sunday after they have cut up whatever was shot over the weekend.  Because of the warm temps lately all the butchering needs to be done right away so he gets to do that too. 

This is the part that I don't understand, every year they are super excited to go hunting, then opening day comes and goes, the next day comes and goes and by the 3rd day they are all crabby.  They are tired from walking in the woods for hours on end, getting up early to get to the stand before sun up, and then cleaning and hauling a deer if they are lucky enough to get one opening weekend.  If by chance they are one of the unlucky ones then they simply are bitching for the rest of the season.  Thanksgiving is next week and dinner should be around 1:00-ish and everyone is out in the woods until the last minute trying to kill a deer.  Then they come in, eat, and rest for a little bit and then go back out in the afternoon before the sun sets.  It is a culture that I simply don't understand and so every year I tell Jason to have a good time, enjoy his weekend and when he gets home on Sunday to go to bed early so he's ready for work on Monday. 

I'm totally looking forward to Thanksgiving!  I get to be pregnant which pretty much gives me carte blanc to eat whatever is in site for the entire day.  We have Turtle Lake early and then Greene's later on.  I am planning to take full dose of my Raglan so that I can eat and not be super duper sick to my stomach all day.  I might be a bit sleepy with the turkey and drugs but my will to keep eating will keep me awake!  The last few years I've made a Luscious 4-Layer Pumpkin Cake that is to die for.  It's 4 layers of cake that are separated with this pumpkin whipped cream then topped with caramel and nuts.  It is sooooo good and different from pumpkin pie.  Here's the problem though.  It's amazing so I want to eat a piece, but I also want a piece of pumpkin pie, chocolate pie and whatever else is being served for dessert.  It's just not possible to eat that much and not explode.  So how do I get all my cravings without blowing up?  Not sure on that one yet.  I'm thinking doggy bags but that might seem a bit selfish.  I could feed one of each to my kids and then steal off of their plates???  Hmmmmm.........  not a bad idea!!!

Well in case I don't post again before the holiday.  I hope that you all enjoy your Thanksgiving to the fullest (ha!) and remember what you are truly thankful for!!!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!

Push Present?

Yesterday I had my glucose test for this pregnancy and I PASSED!!!  For those of you that don't know around 26 weeks through your pregnancy you have to get tested for gestational diabetes.  You have to drink about 12 ounces of this super sugary drink.  My hospital has the orange flavor.  Basically it tastes like syrupy flat orange soda.  You have to drink it fast and then in 1 hour they take your blood to see how well you are processing the sugar.  The part that really sucks is that you have to be fasting in order to take the test.  Well, schedule it in the morning, wake up, skip breakfast, drink glucose drink, wait an hour, get poked by a needle, then go home and pray that you passed.  If you fail there is a 3 hour version of the test that basically is the same thing except you drink more while fasting and then they draw your blood every hour for 3 hours.  If you fail this one too then you have gestational diabetes and you need to follow a very specific diet.  It's dangerous for the baby and yourself.  So anyway I've never been diagnosed with GD but you always get to take the test and wait.  My nurse called me at 8:00am today to tell me that I passed and that I'm not anemic.  YAY!!  So now I can still eat the sugar and carbs that I crave so much with this pregnancy.

When I was in for my appointment yesterday she also changed my due date from 2/23 to 2/19.  4 days sooner!!!  Oh, yeah!  This is how my brain works... be prepared it's twisted... 

OK, 26 weeks of 40 done.
Abby and Kate were both born prior to their due date.  Abby 7 days and Kate 9 days
40 minus 26 equals 14 weeks left.
HOWEVER, since I don't make it to my due date my brain is telling me that I really only have 12-13 weeks left.
There is NO guarantee that this baby will come before her due date but if we follow my history then it will be here before 2/19.

My nurse was joking with me that we'll have a Valentine's Day baby.  I told her that would suck!!!  Even if she comes within a few days she will always be screwed by her Significant Other for Valentine's Day presents.  She will always get flowers, jewelry or candy.  It will always be wrapped in fake red velvet and be surrounded by cupids.  How sucky for her!  Jason thinks he will get out of giving me a present as we'll be either preparing or bring home the new baby.  I told him it was the opposite.  He has to get me a combination present:  Part of it is for Valentine's Day and the major part is for pushing out his baby. 

Speaking of which.  I think that men should buy their women Push Presents.  This is my theory, warning another look into my twisted brain...

*So man + woman have sex.
*Man deposits seed.
*Woman gets pregnant.
*Woman then carries baby for 40 weeks to full term.  (if you've been pregnant before then you understand how big of a deal this really is.  For most women it sucks at least a little bit.  Worth the price to bring the baby into the world but really why is it only the woman's responsibility?)
*Woman goes through pushing a baby out of her vagina.  Not a pleasant event.  Very painful trying to push a football size baby out of your vagina.  Imagine a Lime coming out of you penis and the only way it gets out is by pushing it with your own muscles.
*Woman now gets to learn how to breastfeed
*Woman now gets to recover from the birth of the precious bundle of joy
*Baby doesn't sleep through the night for at least 3 months and because Woman is breastfeeding, Man gets to sleep through the night while woman does not.

When you lay it out like this do you not agree that women should be getting a present for doing all this work?  Men say that the baby should be present enough.  Well, in theory it is but us women who have gone through it (even more than once) should get some sort of gift from the man that says "Honey, I really appreciate all the work that you did after I deposited my seed, so that we could have this amazing little person."  Here is a diamond necklace, or ruby ring, or trip to the spa.  You get the idea. 

I'm sure I will get nothing.  I got flowers with the first and nothing with the second.  I would like something but I'm not going to hold my breath. It makes the contractions more painful.  LOL

NICU Babies

Everyone knows that I'm pregnant with #3 and everyone knows that I have difficult pregnancies.  I suffer from hyperemesis which means that I have extreme morning sickness from about week 4 to delivery.  I don't gain weight, I don't enjoy eating.  I'm sick to my stomach everyday and every time I eat.  It usually gets a little more manageable around week 20 and currently it's getting worse again.  I also suffer from Tachycardia which means that for no reason my heart will start to beat so fast that it doesn't have time to refill with blood so it keeps pumping but without any blood.  I have to take medication to keep it from doing this so that I can function throughout the day.  I also suffer from horrendous back pain and a this time around my pelvis is separating.  Both of which are very painful and because I'm pregnant there is nothing that I can do about it except to just deal with it.  It will go away when the baby is born, just like everything else. 

However, with all that I have to put up with to give birth to a beautiful, healthy baby at full term there are parents out there that are dealing with babies that are born at 24 weeks, 26 weeks and on.  These babies have maybe a 50% chance of survival and will be in the hospital for months before they will be able to go home with their parents.  These little babies, usually born at less than 2 lbs are rays of sunshine for these moms and dads that are literally thankful for every minute that they get with their babies, knowing that it may be their last.  I can sit at my laptop complaining of my sore back or lack of weight gain, knowing that with my 2 daughters they were born full term and perfectly healthy.  Neither of them even have an allergy to speak of. 

I sit and think about all the things that new moms complain about, changing diapers, midnight feedings, the fact that their baby will cry if they put them down.  These moms are the luckiest moms in the world.  Mom's of preemies don't get to hold their babies for weeks after they are born, they don't get to gripe about sore nipples from breast feeding, they don't get to gripe about the cost of diapers or formula.  These parents literally spend $100,000's of thousands of dollars to just give their babies a chance to survive. 

It makes our petty concerns seems trite and of little consequence when you stop to think how lucky you are that the worst that your baby will have to go through is the stomach flu or a bad cold.  Take a moment to stop and thank the Lord that all of your challenges in life are simple and easy to go through when compared to the life of a preemie. 

It is hard to stop and think about how lucky we are when you want your back to stop hurting or your baby to stop crying but please take a moment to say a prayer for the blessings in your life and that the hardships in other peoples (even complete strangers) God will help them through to the other side.  God gives some people the hardest things to get through and so you should he thankful that what petty things you have to deal with, and really everything is pretty petty when you consider the life of your child.

Stop and thank the Lord for the blessings in your life.  I know I am.

I got nothing...

I'm bored today.  I don't want to craft anything, I don't want to cook anything. Everyone is sleeping for nap time and I'm bored.  I don't feel good enough to clean.  I don't have the energy to do anything but I feel like complaining.  Ever have a day like this?

I guess I should get up and try to figure out something for dinner.  I want pork chops, mashed potatoes, green beans and pie for dessert.  I'll probably end up with hamburgers, fries and maybe an apple.  I need to go grocery shopping but pay day isn't until Thursday so I get to raid the freezer until then. 

Is anyone else close enough with their mom that they talk to her every day and you find that you are making the same thing for dinner or hungry for the same things?  This happens with my mom all the time.  I talk to her everyday and we always talk about what we are making for dinner.  Tonight she's having beef stew.  Doesn't that sound amazing?!?!?! 

I have to start working on my grocery shopping list so that I'm prepared for Thursday!  I have no food in the house so it's going to be a big shopping trip.  I am craving homemade comfort foods right now so I really want to eat big meals.  I guess I should search the Internet for comfort food dinners.  I'm thinking pork chops, meatloaf, beef stew, all with lots of mashed potatoes!  With gravy!  and Peas and green beans and oh, doesn't chili sound good?  Hey, if you haven't been pregnant then you can't possibly understand what I'm talking about with the food cravings.  They will consume you! 

Well, baby is kicking a full bladder so I better go empty it before baby decides to stretch and empty it on their terms!

Christmas Shopping and Baby Names

Hopefully you aren't on my Christmas list because I'm talking about what everyone is getting for Christmas!  Here's your advance notice to quit reading.  Just kidding.  But really, what do you get for your nephews that costs less than $25 that they will actually enjoy?  I would think that most toys are probably going to be fine but what do you pick out?  Remote control cars are too expensive.  Movies are boring.  Clothes....   so not exciting.  I thought about a nerf dart gun but then they will just get in trouble when they shoot each other.  Marshmallow shooter?  These sound like fun presents but I don't want to have to yell at them when there are marshmallows all over the house.  Video games are too expensive and gift cards for video games are boring.  I'm sure they are fun once they get the game they want but really, how boring to open a little plastic card on Christmas morning.  So starts the holiday thinking game.  I have less than 2 months to figure out what to buy these crazy, wild boys.  Crunch time!

For Abby and Kate, who knows.  The only thing that I have for sure is an art box (filled with markers, stickers, projects) for Abby.  And for Kate a baby highchair.  That's it.  Pretty lean Christmas when you look at what will be under the tree this year!  We have baby strollers that get played with every single day so I can't buy those.  I'm thinking about more baby doll gear...  hmmm..... maybe a whole nursery set?  Any ideas floating out there are appreciated!!!

Last topic for the day.  Naming this unborn little girl.  For those that don't know this baby will be a little girl, supposedly there's labia on the ultrasound instead of a penis...  Currently almost 25 of my 40 weeks are done and we have no idea of a name for this little girl.  With Abby we had names picked out almost 3 months in advance.  With Kate she was born on a Sunday morning and the previous Wednesday we had picked out names.  I keep thinking that this precious little girl is going to be born and will live her life as Baby Tempel until I can get my head on straight and come up with a name.  I say 'me' because all my wonderful husband does is veto names that I spout out to him.  He doesn't come up with any suggestions, just puts down what I come up with.  Granted I'm too liberal with my name suggestions most of the time but I try to get a rise out of him just to see if he's paying attention.  I would like everyone to offer up names that they think go well with middle name Marie and last name Tempel...  don't be offended if I don't name my baby what you suggest as the chances of me liking the name are pretty slim but it might be the inspiration that I need to come up with the perfect name!

SO IN OTHER WORDS START COMMENTING WITH NAME SUGGESTIONS!!!

Crafting and Babies

I have a problem.  I start projects then have a hard time finishing them.  I started a quilt, got all the squares sewn together and so now all I have left to do is the batting and the border and backing.  Do you think I can get the energy to go finish it?  I also have a blanket that I'm making for a friends new baby.  I've crocheted it and it's almost done.  I have a few blocks left to crochet and then piece the last few blocks together but I don't want to work on it.  I wonder why?  It seems like this is a problem that I should be able to find a cure for.  I try to tell myself that I can't start a new project until the current one is finished but then I never seem to listen to myself and next thing I know I've got two projects started and neither of them are finished. 

Jason says that this is my MO and that I have all sorts of projects started and as soon as I get the slightest bit bored with them I stop working on them and move on to something else.  You would think that after it took me 7 years to finish school and I never stopped working towards that goal that I would be able to finish a simple craft project, but nope.  Seems to be beyond my personal skill set.  I will finish these projects as they are gifts and so they need to be finished but it will be grudgingly finished without all the gumption from the beginning of the project.

In other news my girls are actually behaving themselves today.  I haven't had to yell at them recently for anything to major. Just had to tell Abby to stop bugging her sister once.  That's is so far and it's almost nap time!

Lastly can you believe that it's November?  It seems like it should still be summer but now Thanksgiving is just around the corner (literally it's only 3 weeks from tomorrow)  When I told people that our due date for this baby was Feb 21st, 2011 some of them were like, "You are so lucky!  You have the whole holiday season to help those last few months go by fast!"  Well I'm currently 24 weeks 2 days preggos and I realize that I have only 16 weeks left, and then I realize that I haven't made it to a due date yet so in all reality I hopefully only have 14-15 weeks left.  That is great news!!!  That is 3 1/2 months left.  And in 3 weeks (which will get me into the third trimester) is Thanksgiving, then 4 more weeks is Christmas, then a week later is New Years Eve, then 3 weeks after that is my 30th birthday, then I'm only 3 weeks out from my due date.  So within a few weeks of each other there is something going on to break up this long stretch of feeling fat and uncomfortable. 

Oh, lets talk about the season of babies for my group of friends: 

Melissa  due in November but already had her baby boy.
Heather  due middle of December (girl)
Katie  due end of December (girl)
Angel  due January (girl)
Sara  due January (???)
Myself due February  (girl)
Katie P. due March  (???)

We are going to have babies coming out our our 'ears' for months.  Heather and Angel are my step mom's kids and so there are going to be 3 newborn grand babies within 3 months!  My Dad is one lucky guy!

I guess we all got what we wanted for Christmas this year!  Here's hoping everyone has healthy, happy, sleepy little babies!  And that their deliveries are uncomplicated and only minimally painful!

Halloween

I'm sure that there are 100 million posts out there about Halloween and how cute everyones kids were.  I'll just say that my kids are cute all the time, not just on Halloween, LOL.  Abby was a princess fairy and Kate was a lady bug.  Both were adorable but nothing crazy unique with their costumes.  We trick or treated for a while and then I had to come home as my belly hurt so bad I literally couldn't stand up straight.  Jason and Abby did one more street then came home.  It was fun and I''m sure that next year will be even better.

What really annoyed me is that there are so many people (parents really) who don't understand the rules of trick or treating.  #1 rule, if there aren't any lights on the porch lit up then that home isn't giving out candy.  So this means that even though someone is watching TV in their lazy boy if the porch light is out then they don't have any candy to hand out.  Move on to the next house please. 

#2 rule:  Kids, don't stick your hands in the candy bowl unless the homeowner tells you that you can pick out what you would like. 

#3 rule: if the homeowner tells you that you can pick out what you like then you can only take a max of 2 pieces of candy, not a handful.

and lastly #4 rule:  SAY THANK YOU AT EVERY HOUSE!!!  These homeowners have gone out and spent their hard earned money so that you can come up, knock on their door, say "Trick or Treat" and get candy for FREE!  The least you can do is have good manners and say thank you. 

These are the four main rules for trick or treating.  This is something that people do to be nice to your kids.  Take the time to at least not bother those that choose not to participate and say thank you to those that do. 

One last thing for the parents, don't take your kids out trick or treating when you are drunk.  It is inappropriate and you stink when we walk by you.  Everyone knows you are drunk, wait until the kids get to bed, then get your drink on.

That's enough on that subject.  Thank goodness this is my last pregnancy.  I'm very opinionated with this one.  I can't seem to get off my 'soap box' as it were.  Stupid people drive me crazy and my poor husband has to listen to me rant and rave about each and every one of the topics that set me off.  Just in the last week I know that I have gone off about breast feeding, elective c-sections, Halloween, getting your kids immunized and a few others that I can't even remember.  I wont go into my opinions about these topics.  At least not in this posting!

I think I'll leave you with these thoughts.  What are your opinions that set you off?  Do you think that too many mom's give up to early on breast feeding?  Do you think mom's should be able to schedule the birthday of their baby just to get out of going through labor?  Did you get all the recommended immunizations for your kids?  I don't pretend to be an expert but I have my opinions just like you do!

Quilting...

So I LOVE Ebay!!!  It is the best website for finding cheap things!  I found a package of pre-cut 5" quilting fabric squares from Moda called Freebird.  They are a mildly retro print that has tons of colors and is basically gender neutral leaning towards girl because of some of the butterflies on a few of the squares.  I got 126 of these squares for $19.99 plus $3.99 shipping.  It took only 3 days to get them and that is pretty impressive!

So I got them and couldn't hold back, I had to start sewing them together.  I have very little sewing prowess and figured that I would just try to square them up and sew them together.  So I sat down and with the help of Abby we sewed them together.  I got half of this done and am going to JoAnn Fabrics tomorrow morning to try to find some backing material and batting.  I'm so excited to get this done!  But it's going to be a big let down once it is done as it will be over.  I will be super proud to have constructed this from my own two hands for my new little one but once it's done I wont have anything to work on.  It's like sex, you get excited to do it, get into the action and feelings and then you blow your wad and it's all over and all you have left is the clean up.  Satisfying but over too quickly!

 sorry fuzzy again...

So, I feel like I should limit myself and only work a little bit on it every day to make it last but I can't.  I'm like a 10 year old boy and that I should only eat 2 pcs of Halloween Candy every day to make it last but no, instead I gorge myself on it and feel sick all day just cause I ate it all in one day!

So I've been working on this blog for about a week now and I've realized that I must be a bit ADD because every day it's something different.  I have written about mud trucks, crocheting, quilting, grocery shopping, budgets, and family life.  I keep thinking that I should focus on one subject and keep each post about that topic but my life isn't focused on one topic.  I'm a mother of 2.53 girls, married to a great, however occasionally stubborn man, I like to create things in my free time and I can't keep my mind focused on just crocheting or just quilting or scrapbooking.  I think that I will continue to write about whatever is going on in my life at that moment and I hope that you all are enjoying my rambling and that you can at least find something that speaks to some aspect of your life.

Until the next crazy topic comes up...

Grocery Shopping on a Budget

OK, so today I'm in Walmart grocery shopping.  Which in case you haven't heard the process of which makes me sick to the point where if I don't get out of there within a reasonable amount of time I actually will get sick.  So I decide that since I'm trying to do this on a budget and I don't want to go over my budget I scoured the sale ads for the other local competitors and decided to compare walmarts prices.  So I have my handy notebook, highlighter, pen and calculator and am diligently walking down every aisle writing down all the items on my list and comparing Walmart's normal price with the sale prices from Dick's and Marketplace.  Well big surprise but every time I compared Walmart won, or at the very least was only $.01 or $.02 higher than the sale price.

Needless to say I got my shopping done and bought everything except some instant coffee and apple cider from Walmart.  I went to Dicks to get apple cider (126 oz for $1.88, is pretty hard to beat!) and found some decaf instant french vanilla coffee that walmart didn't have.  I HATE Walmart but in the interest of staying within my budget I had to shop there.  I also got cat food, diapers, shampoo and a coat for Abby while there.  Dick's and Marketplace can't compare when you do that kind of shopping. 

On another note when I do have to shop with my kids there is NO WAY I'm going to go to 10 different stores to get my eggs here, milk here, bread there.  Do you know how big of a pain in the butt it is to have to buckle and unbuckle the car seats at every stop?  If you don't have kids, don't scoff at me.  I'm not lazy, it's just a battle that if I can avoid then I'm going to avoid it at all costs.  My kids aren't old enough to buckle themselves in so I'm going to limit that wrestling match to the least amount of cases.

Well, the groceries are put away, I want to eat the entire package of lemon sandwich cookies that I bought before my family gets home so that I don't have to share but I will control the urge and only eat half of the package...  OK maybe 3/4. 

Directions, optional?

So I've decided that since I can't ever find what I want for what I want to pay for it I'm going to just start making things.  I need a new diaper bag for when this baby comes since the one we are using is WAY to small.  So I found a pattern of a bag that I liked and some material that I liked.  So today I sewed it together...  Well it's a about the same size as the one we are already using...



Well the picture is a little fuzzy but you can get the idea.  So I'm going to alter the pattern to make it the right size and with the right pockets and such. 

Directions for me are something that I always have a problem with.  I never seem to follow them in the right order or think that I understand them without actually reading all of them.  So I always seem to have to make a sample project then I can figure it out and make the one I really want to make.  Since this one is too small for what I want I'm going to have to completely rip apart the pattern to make it the right size and will fit my purpose!  I also want to add a flap to the top instead of a zipper so I guess I might actually have to make another sample. 

Etsy.com is a market place that people create 'stores' that they sell their handmade items.  I'm going crazy making things around here and have thought about setting up a store.  It seems pretty straight forward.  They charge $.20 for each 4 month listing and then 3.5% of the purchase price when you sell something.  Whoever thought about creating websites for people to sell things is insane.  They have got to be uber rich by now, I guess it is a million dollar idea that someone (who isn't me) thought of!  Where is my million dollar idea?  I want an idea that costs nothing for start up but makes me millions of dollars.  I'm not afraid of working for my money or anything I just want to find something that will MAKE me money!  Is that too much to ask? 

It sucks when you realize that you have X amount of money to go grocery shopping and trying to make sure that you can get all of your groceries and stay in your budget.  I only go to the store every other week, used to be once a month but I don't have that energy anymore!  So that helps to keep the costs down, I'm going to clip coupons and buy things that are on sale too.  I found that things like that will help to reduce your monthly grocery bill a ton if you do it right!  I might have to stop at 3 different stores but doing so will save me $20-$30 per month.  That's $20-$30 worth of craft supplies that I can buy! 

Speaking of craft supplies.  I don't know if I've ever told you but I LOVE ebay.com.  I found a lot of 126 5" squares of high quality quilting fabric for $20 today.  It should be the perfect amount to make a blanket for the new baby.  I'm super excited to get started on it and I'm hoping it comes in the mail quickly!  I've told myself that I can't start that blanket until I finish the one that I'm crocheting for Jeremy and Melissa's little Jacob.  I'm hoping we can go see him soon to give him his blanket and hat. 

Here's my theory on crafts.  As long as I make something that is useful (that we actually need) or that I can give as a gift then it's not a waste of money.  It accomplishes 2 things, creates something that doesn't go to waste and keeps my mind busy so that I don't go crazy.  What else could I ask for?  However I have my 2 nephews for Christmas and they aren't going to appreciate the crocheted hat and mittens that I'm thinking about making them...  oh well. Beggars can't be choosers!

Well I think that is enough for the day.  I've touched on enough subjects for the day...

So I survived the Mud Party

I was wondering how the afternoon was going to go and it was interesting.  For those of you who have never been to a mud party before here is what happens:  guys bring trucks, guys drive trucks through the mud, everyone stands around and drinks and watches the guys drive the trucks through the mud.  This is on a repeat loop until someone breaks down or gets stuck in the mud, then everyone stands around and watches a few of the guys work on getting them out of the mud so that the others can go back to driving through the mud.  While at times it can be comical watching the guys drive in circles through the mud.  When you are sober and not allowed to ride in said trucks it can be rather boring.  So I stayed inside and let the girls play with Riley's toys and stay warm.  Did I mention that it was in the 40's and raining most of the day.  Not a great day to play outside when you want to stay warm. 

  Here is a picture of the beast.  So lovingly named Calico at the moment...

Ok, so enough complaining about the mud party.  Needless to say I wont be attending all of the future installments...

Otherwise we got up this morning took Abby to Sunday School and then went to the Farm to carve pumpkins.  It was fun.  Abby had to tell us what kind of faces to carve on the pumpkins but we wouldn't carve them until she modeled what a happy face looked like.  It was pretty funny to watch her do sad and surprised. 



I think that they are the cutest kids in the world and once we have this third girl the world is going to end because of the trifecta of cuteness that you will be unable to resist.  They will be loved the world over!!!

Ok, so proud parent I am but still they are pretty cute!

Alright so enough ramblings for the day, we are too tired after the weekends activities to make dinner so we are arguing about who is going to call in the pizza order... typical evening, arguing over the most trivial of things.  Needless to say it will be me calling in the order as soon as this is done...

Suppose I should 'feed' my family...

Mud Party???

Ok, So I'm getting my children ready to head to Uncle Squirts house for his birthday party.  He is having a mud party.  Meaning that we are going to watch a bunch of semi drunk guys driving their beat up trucks into a big puddle.  Is this the adult version of puddle jumping that we loved so much as a child?  I guess I will find out.  I don't understand this mudding thing.  Every time they go they break their truck and this is considered fun?  I'd rather put on my rain boots (I would get to buy some, cheaper than truck parts though) and rain coat and go actually jump in the puddles.  I don't understand the macho need to see who can drive their truck the furthest through the the biggest mud puddle.  I guess I will have my eyes opened up to the wonder that is mudding... 

wish me luck...

First Post... hope you enjoy...

Ok, so here's my attempt at blogging.  Here's my story:  Married since 2005 to Jason.  Girls: Abigail (Abby) 4 years old, Kaitlyn (Kate) 2 years old.  Both a joy to have but can be trying at times as you will see.  I'm pregnant with Baby Girl #3 which is due February 21, 2010.  So with this pregnancy, like my other two I suffer from Hyperemesis, which is a nasty version of morning sickness in the extreme.  Don't say you understand if you just had morning sickness because it's nothing like morning sickness.  It's unrelenting and nasty.  Anyway off that soapbox for the day... LOL. 

So I'm home on disability from work and have a ton of free time.  I spend my days sitting at home doing a whole lot of nothing.  I've started crocheting things.  It keeps my hands busy and lets me create things so I don't go crazy.  I've so far made 2.5 blankets (working on the third one for a friends new baby right now) 4 hats and am thinking that I'm going to have to start on a new project soon.  I'm into making things for the tiny humans as they are just so cute.  I'm thinking also that if I have enough free time to make a ton of things I will have to look into creating an etsy.com store account to sell some of these things on.  Hmmm.... do I have that much free time on my hands?  I do have 2 tiny humans at home to keep from hurting each other...  So if you'd like anything made for a tiny human let me know! 

I've also started going to a book club that is once a month.  I figure that I deserve one night a month to go out with other women, some of which have children and some without, to enjoy the evening without my children or hubby.  I think that every woman deserves an evening to be surrounded by other women...  why we would want that I'm not always sure but I need to have an adult discussion without men in the room sometimes!

So I don't know how often I will actually blog about life but it might be a good way to get rid of some of the steam that life creates.  So hopefully you will enjoy listening to me ramble about why life can cause you such joy and why life can cause you such grief, all in the same day!

Let the estrogen free!