Diabetic Cereal Anyone?

Okay, this coupon thing might be getting a little out of hand. I went to Walgreens tonight and ended up with 4 boxes of Diabetic cereal that I got for free (with 2 $10 coupons) and then an additional $7 register rewards. That's right, I got paid to take 4 boxes of diabetic cereal out of Walgreens tonight. I can also submit my receipts to Caregivers Marketplace and receive an additional $2.50. I think I'm going to donate the cereal to our local food bank or to a nursing home.

I also saved $65 in groceries tonight at Kroger's. They have a great buy 10 get $5 back deal going on right now.

Old Navy, Gap, and Banana Republic have a 30% off your total purcahse (you can use it multiple times) this weekend so go print it out.

Today was boot camp graduation. I made it through 4 weeks of brutally early workouts. I've gone through a lot the past 4 weeks...a baby that doesn't sleep, dealing with lack of sleep, sugar detox, nursing a baby, starting to wean, keeping up with E (that along is a job in itself). Well, all the hard work paid off! I won biggest loser at bootcamp!!! Hooray! I'm going to enjoy the week off and then it's right back at it on March 23rd. What a busy day!

I've Got a New Hobby....

As most of you know, I like being frugal. I'm not a big fan of paying full price, I love to find a good deal, and I love saving money. Well, I have now entered into the world of "couponing" and we have reached a whole new level of frugality. Couponing is so much fun! It's almost like a game. You hunt for the best price, gather coupons, find ways to combine them, look for rebates, and see if you can get cash back. There are even ways to MAKE money on purchases! I did that several times just this week!
So many of you know the smoking hot deal going on diapers at Walgreens. I'll give you the run down...
Huggies diapers are on sale for $10/pack
Huggies wipes (large packs) are on sale for $6
If you buy $25 dollars worth of diapers then you receive $10 back in register rewards. So if you buy 2 packs of diapers and a pack of wipes = $26, it's like you get it for $16. Well the deal gets even sweeter...there are $5 and $3 coupons for huggies that you can print. So if you use 3 $5 coupons you get all of it for $1!!!!! Now there are many ways you can jocky the coupons around and there have been limited quantities of certain things, but you just can't pass up the deal. PLUS....there is Caregiver's Marketplace that gives you $0.75 for each pack of diapers! So here's how it went...
-9 packs of diapers
-4 large packs of wipes
-Before coupons it would have cost me $114
-I spent $75 out of pocket
-I got $40 back in register rewards
-I will get $6.75 back from Caregiver's Marketplace
So all in all, it's like I got my $114 worth of diapers for $28.25!!!! WOW!!!

My Target/Walgreens run tonight

My total should have been $142.47. I spent $44.56 out of pocket on all of this, but I got $20 in register rewards and $3 back from Caregiver's Marketplace so basically $24.56 for all of this...
4 packs of Huggies
2 large packs of wipes
4 tubes of toothpaste
1 can of Enfamil (YES ENFAMIL!!!)
5 packs of Goldfish crackers
3 6 packs of Mott's applesauce
3 bottles of Garnier Shampoo
1 bottle of Soft Scrub
3 packs of Target brand STEAK
A savings of $117.91! Can't get any better than that! I'm really new at all this so I'm trying to get it all figured out, but it seems to be working pretty well so far. So if you hear of any good deals, pass them my way! This is how Max feels about my new hobby, he really loves a good deal too!

What a Cute Boy!

Maybe it's just because I'm his mother, but Max is the cutest baby I have ever seen! His little blue eyes and his sweet little dimples just make me melt. He had a lot of hair when he was born, but it all fell out last month. Now I'm beginning to see some fresh little sprouts of hair on his little head and his hair line is a little more pronounced. Max is 5 months now and growing like a weed. He's rolling a little bit, but he's mostly content to just to turn from side to side. He's also starting to sit, but still quite wobbly. He loves to watch Ethan be crazy and it just cracks him up. I just love it when he laughs! Seriously, what a cute boy!

A Little Help...

That's what I desperately needed yesterday. All the lack of sleep got the best of me yesterday and I was a wreck! It's amazing that even amidst my minor crisis, the spirit touches others to spring into action. I just want to thank my friends and family for coming to the rescue yesterday and today. I really really needed it! I have some of the greatest friends. Seriously, above and beyond! I especially have to thank my hubby for making my day and taking a huge burden off my plate. Thanks!

Marshmallow Cream

Doesn't that sound like a lovely title? No, I wasn't cooking something today...something else happened. Well, tonight was a normal Wednesday night. Ry was gone to Young Men's, I was bathing Max in the baby tub in the kitchen, and E was up to no good. Now let me rewind a week or two ago and relate some of E's antics as of late. Well, right now he's really into getting things with out asking...i.e. food, candy, luggage keys, or anything interesting to him.

One morning at 6:00am, I came out to the kitchen to find E enjoying an entire 4 pack of chocolate pudding. He stood up on my mixer and grabbed it and a spoon and had at it. Luckily I got to him before he could open and eat the 4th one. What a way to start your day? A sugar buzzed 3 year old!

Another morning, I came out and found him surrounded by many Christmas colored Hershey kiss foils all over the floor and the Hershey kisses were hidden under his pillow. When he saw me come out, he jumped onto his pillow and told me, "there's nothing to see here." Needless to say, I am not one of those lucky moms that can just teach their child to turn on the TV and get some breakfast while they go back to bed.

A couple days ago he found a pair of luggage keys in a basket somewhere and proceeded to stick one of the luggage keys in the electrical socket. Yes, he got shocked. Yes, I had to pull the key out with a pot holder so I wouldn't get shocked.

Now fast forward to tonight. I'm bathing Max so I guess E thinks it's a great time to get something without asking since I'm "occupied" at the moment. Well, out of the pantry I hear a thud and a crunch. The jar of marshmallow cream got knocked off the shelf onto the tile floor while E was trying to sneak the bag of mini marshmallows. I immediately sent E to his room. Obviously I couldn't clean up the mess right away since I had Max in the tub and while I was finishing up with Max, I was just picturing the goo oozing slowly out of the jar and all over my floor. Well, I got Max all done and dressed and stuck him in his seat and I went to attack the mess on my floor. How in the heck do you clean up a broken jar of marshmallow cream? A broom would be unusable after that, my mop is used on wood floors so any glass in there would scratch my floor, and rags can't be rinsed in the sink or else glass would get in the disposal. Luckily my parents got me one of those cool squigy/broom things that you can use on wet or dry surfaces. I first tried to get the major chunk into the trash, but the glass sharded goo sliced my finger. Bad idea. I just had to squigy it all into my dust pan and then plop it in the trash. I probably used a whole roll of paper towels after that too. Now my special broom and dust pan are soaking in a bucket to get all the goo off and then I have to strain all the water and put the rest of the glass shards in the trash. A typical night, right?

New Week

It's been a week and a half since I last blogged. Where have I been? Who knows. Staying busy of course. Max is doing much better and hasn't really had too much of a cough since things cleared up. I'm counting my blessings. He's also been waking up only 2-3 times a night which is a HUGE improvement. He's only done done it 3 nights so I'm not getting my hopes up too much, but we have to count every victory that we can.

E started basketball class last Saturday and he's been really enjoying that. I have pictures that I need to upload of him and my dad getting ready to go. My dad took him to his very first class since Ry was gone to a meeting that morning. E's learning how to dribble, pass, and shoot which is quite a job for a little 3 year old, but he loves it.

As for me, even though I'm not sleeping I've decided to haul myself back to boot camp. I'm up at 4:45 anyway so I might as well be working out, right? We'll see if this is such a good idea in 4 weeks. I start tomorrow so wish me luck. I hope when we have our "arms days" that I be able to hold Max. There were days when I did boot camp before that it hurt just to shampoo my hair...what have I gotten myself into?

1 Hour

That is the amount of sleep I got last night. I haven't slept well in months. I am up constantly with the baby. I decided to calculate the amount of sleep that I have gotten since Max was born and how much sleep I should have gotten. Basically up to today, if I got the recommended 8 hours of sleep a day I should have slept 1088 hours. On average I get about 2-4 hours of interrupted sleep a night so when you calculate it all out I've only had 408 hours of sleep since he was born (a little over 4 months). That means I have missed out on 680 hours of sleep. If I wanted to catch up it would take me 28 days of consecutive sleep to even come close! I am seriously a babbling, forgetful zombie around here. How are moms suppose to function like this? Really, I want to know.

RSV Update

This weekend was full of breathing treatments, suctioning, and being up in the night but we made with through without having to go to the hospital. Max had a follow up visit with the pedi yesterday and things are alright, so far. His breathing is in the 70s which isn't good but his O2 sats are fine and he doesn't seem like his breathing isn't too labored. She told me to just continue to do what I'm doing and that we're probably in the thick of it right now through Friday. I think things will start settling down by Monday (I hope). He's contagious for 7-10 days and we're on Day 6 right now so a little bit longer. She told me he'll have a congested cough for about a month just because it will take awhile to get it all out. She also said it is very important that once he is well that he DOES NOT get the flu. I guess the flu is going around like crazy and if ends up with the flu after RSV, it's not good at all. It's important to keep him in until flu season is over. I just about lost it at that point. I feel like I've been cooped up forever and it feels like it will never end. It's so hard for E to be cooped up too and that just leads to never ending battles. Thankfully my mother-in-law took E for me all day yesterday to get him out and about. He had so much fun and he really really needed that. So overall, things are good for now. No hospital at the moment, just keep on doing what I'm doing.

RSV

Max has RSV. It has been a whirlwind of a day (and night) and it's only 3 in the afternoon. Geez! Max started sounding congested yesterday afternoon so I was just keeping an eye on him to see if things started getting worse. Last night he was up every hour and with this congested cough and wheezes so I spent the night rocking him. I waited for the moment the pedi opened so I could take him in since something just didn't seem right. Well, the nurse took a listen to him and checked his O2 sats. He sounded pretty congested and his sats were only in the 94%. She said she was going to swab him for RSV just in case and since it took 15 minutes to get the results she did that and then we waited for our Dr. to see him. By the time the doctor got in, the results were in...he has RSV. I was totally shocked and a little bit worried that he'd have to be hospitalized. Well, she took a listen and said that he did sound pretty coarse, but not too terrible. The thing with RSV is that it gets worse before it gets better. She said usually on Day 7 or Day 8 is when it is at its worst so I need to be prepared since we're only on Day 2. Luckily we came in when we did so we can track it and start breathing treatments on him. He had his first one in the office and he sounded pretty good afterwards so we're just going to do breathing treatments through the weekend with suctioning and then see the Dr. again to reevaluate on Tuesday. If things get bad then he'll have to be hospitalized so they can do deeper suctioning and oxygenate him. It's just wait and see at this point. Right now I'm so glad that I'm a nurse. I'm pretty worried about him right now, but I can't imagine what I'd be like if I didn't know what to look for or what to do. Updates to come.

Funny Eism

Have you ever seen that infomercial for Iron Gym? It's this pull up bar that attatches to your door frame and you can do all sorts of pull ups on it. Well, E saw the infomercial the other day and noticed the guy doing the pull ups had his shirt off and you could see his muscles. Well, now E walks around the house all day without his shirt on and tells me he can't put his shirt on because he's working on his muscles. I often find him trying to do his own form of "pull up" and he tells me that he's busy doing his exercises. I seriously have to bite my cheek so I don't bust out laughing!

A Cold and Blustery Day

It's hard to believe that just last Thursday it was 82 degrees out and we were having a wonderful outing to the zoo! It was a gorgous day and I even got a little sun. E totally loved the zoo and he's constantly telling me that he wants to go back. Max on the other hand didn't have too much fun, the sun really bothered him and he hated wearing a hat. Not a good combo. Look how long E's hair is in this picture! Don't worry, I took him the very next day to get him sheared down. I swear there was enough hair on the floor to make a wig after the lady was all done. He even sat really still and didn't cry, huge breakthrough!

Well, today is FREEZING out! We're supposed to be getting 1/4-1/2 inch of ice today and in Texas that means that all the schools are closed and people don't know how to drive in these conditions so you better stay home. We needed something to change up the day so I decided to break out the exersaucer for Max. It was his first time in it and he loved it. He can't stand in it yet so he just sits there, but he really enjoyed looking at all the interesting little toys.
These boys are so cute! I can't believe I'm so lucky!

4 Months!

Max just had his 4 month appointment on Friday so the stats are in...He was only 14 pounds which is only the 25% but his height and head were 50%. I asked my pedi what she thought about Max's sleep habits (or lack there of) and she just thinks that he needs to start some rice cereal and put on a little more weight and maybe he'll start sleeping better. I hope I haven't been starving my child. He always seems content after he eats and doesn't seem to get too agitated right before his feedings. Maybe he's just a skinnier kid. Who knows. At this age E was a pound heavier and 1/2 inch shorter so he was a lot chubbier than Max. SO this is what he's been doing this month:
-has rolled a few times, but doesn't do it consistently.
-He does great with tummy time
-still on Prevacid for his reflux
-loves to play with his play mat
-grabs at toys and my hair (ouch)
-he wakes up at least 4 times a night
-smiles and talks a lot
-he absolutely loves to watch E and interact with him(although E doesn't really pay much attention to Max, he's in his own world)
-loves his swing
-not a big fan of the car or his car seat
-will not take a binky (I've tried everything)
-started rice cereal on Friday night

This is Max after his first feeding of rice cereal. His poor little face. He totally scratched the heck out of himself on Thursday. His first experience with rice cereal was funny. He didn't really know what in the world was going on. He just kept making these faces and gagging. We didn't really get too much in since I didn't want him to get upset so we stopped once he started to protest. Every feeding since then has gotten better and the gagging has subsided, but he still doesn't eat very much of it. I don't think he really likes it. My pedi just wants him on rice cereal for 2 weeks, then oatmeal for 2 weeks, and then barley cereal for 2 weeks. No veggies or fruits until he's 6 months. Our old pedi was a little different. We'd start with cereals, but once we knew things were good we could try 1 new veggie or fruit each week so E was doing sweet potatoes, bananas, and all sorts of things by the time he was 5 months. So this is a little different experience, but we'll do it.

Despite the lack of sleep, I do like this age of a baby since he's at that stage where I can lay him down somewhere and he doesn't really go anywhere yet. Things start getting hard when they start rolling, crawling, and cruising to places that they shouldn't. I can tell that Max is a little more laid back than E was at this age. E was constantly trying to get somewhere and get into something. He would roll all over the place to get places and then he started army crawling at 5 months and that's when the fun began. Max isn't too interested in rolling anywhere or getting somewhere so I'm counting my blessings right now.

A Message to All Blogging Elmers

I can't get onto any of you that are private and I want to check out how you guys are doing so add me whenever you get a chance.
Thanks!

Personal History: Perrysburg, Ohio Part I

After only 18 months in Newark it was time to embark on our adventures in Perrysburg, Ohio. My dad continued to work for Owens Corning and started his job up at headquarters in Toledo. We settled in a wonderful suburb, Perrysburg. We ended up living there for 4 years and then coming back when I was a freshman in high school and that is where I stayed until I left for BYU. Even though I moved so much as a kid, I always call Perrysburg home. So this is our second house (The Good Luck John picture was from the previous owner I'm guessing). Where do I begin with our time in Perrysburg? It's so hard to pick a place to start since this is where all my memories really start. At this point in my life, I was only 3 and an only child so I spent a lot of time playing with my mom or by myself. I loved, loved, loved playing baby dolls. I especially loved my cabbage patch dolls. This first picture is one my mom snagged of me "reading" in the backyard. I had a picnic basket on the back of my big wheel that I would fill up with books and a snack and then spend time out back.
Right now I'm looking at that couch that I was sitting on. We had that living room set for a long time and they were the most comfortable things ever!
I also loved to use my doctor kit to help my dolls or my parents. I guess it was just the beginning of my dreams to become a nurse. My mom still has that table and E plays with it and the colored chairs all the time. Talk about flashback!
Here is my flashy, red trike. Loved that thing! I'm wearing my galoshes while my dad washed our van. Yes, my dad drove a banana yellow van. My friends used to think that my dad looked like the "man with a yellow hat" from the books, Curious George but we called him the "man with a yellow van" instead. It kind of reminds me of the opening credits to "Who's the Boss?" when Tony Danza is driving his van. I'm publishing this picture for the simple documentation of the Cabbage Patch Kid kitchen. It's funny how I can remember playing with it, but seeing the picture just brings back all the details. I can also see my Fisher Price Little People house that E loves to play with at my parent's house. One of our Christmas traditions that we had was putting a towel down for Santa by the fireplace so he could wipe his feet. I was always amazed.
And how could my life in Perrysburg be complete without snow?! I always had snow growing up. My dad used to give me shovel rides throughout the yard since we didn't have any hills to sled on. The first time in Perrysburg marked the beginning of my school years and also my moment of big sisterhood. So hopefully I can find some good pictures for my next installment.

Change

I had a fun time looking at old pictures this morning and you can't help but do a little reflecting about the past, present, and the future. This picture was taken 8 years ago during my freshman year at BYU. I look back at that girl and what she was like and I see how different I am now. It's kind of funny because I've become exactly who I wanted to be. You know back in those days how you set goals and dream about the woman that you want to become and what you want for yourself. I've become the nurse, the wife, the mother, the homeowner, and now a Texan. Well, I have arrived, but I can't help but be a little sad when I see that old me and realize that she's gone. Maybe I'm just sad about getting older and realizing that I'm not as young as I used to be. It's kind of hard to put into words exactly what I'm feeling since it's such a mix of things. I'm so happy with the person I am now and so proud of what I've become, but I can't help but miss a little bit of what how things used to be. Maybe I'll have to resurrect of little bit of that old me...anyone know where you can snowboard in Texas?

Personal History: Newark, Ohio

Okay, we left off during the Purdue years...my dad graduated from Purdue and got a job with Owens Corning Fiberglass (and he ends up working there over 20 years). They moved us to Newark, Ohio which is a suburb right outside of Columbus. This was our first home and this is where my earliest memories begin. I remember the kitchen and the spiral staircase to the basement in that house.
This was right in front of our house. The tree had such beautiful blossoms in the Spring!

I also remember our awesome neighbors and my baby-sitter, Courtney. "Mama Jo" and "Papa Jo" lived right next door and they were always so nice to me. They are the couple on the left and the couple on the right are my Grandma and Grandpa Terry. Our other neighbors, Ann and Ed were also great neighbors. Their daughter was my baby-sitter and her grandfather lived with them and I called him "Pipe"...I'm guessing because he smoked a pipe. He had a refrigerator in his room and whenever I would come visit he would snag a piece of chocolate from his mini fridge. I thought that was so cool.
I had my second birthday in Newark and this is when I got my shiny red tricycle. I loved that thing! My mom told me that I used to ride around and around in the basement of that house all the time.

Halloween that year was really scary for me. I hated the trick or treaters and was totally freaked out.
This is the time when I started wanting to do everything my mom did. I loved the cook with her and help with the dishes. I even remember just loving to splash in the warm, soapy water.

My poor hair just got longer and curlier each year. Just watch as the hairstyle go. In this picture, I'm sporting the "just got out of bed on Christmas day" look.
By the next Halloween, I was a little more eager to celebrate so this was my first year I wanted to go trick-or-treating. Well, my dad got an offer to go up to headquarters in Toledo, Ohio so we packed up the moving van and headed up north and found a home in Perrysburg, Ohio. Until next time...

A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood!

I love Texas! It was 78 degrees today in the middle of January! It was like this occasionally in California, but I'm just so happy that we still live in a place that is warm off and on so the winter doesn't seem so long. I put Max down for a nap and then E and I hung out in the backyard. He golfed for awhile, but he mostly enjoyed picking the weeds out of my box garden (I soooo slacked on that thing towards the end of my pregnancy and haven't had the chance to do anything with it). It was so cute when he came up to me with my first flower/weed that he picked for me. I remember all those times that I used to pick dandelions for my mom and she'd put them in a cup on the windowsill. I guess those days are here for me! I love it!

Chloe's Visit

My sister-in-law, Amy, came down from Utah for a visit and brought baby Chloe with her. They stopped by one morning to come play and have a photoshoot. Can you tell which baby is older? Don't let her size fool you...Chloe is 6 months and is FULL of personality! These two are going to have fun at family reunion with the rest of the new baby crew.

Brothers

I tried to get a picture of both of them in the same outfit, in the same place, in the same position, and same expression. I got 2 out of 4, I did my best. I just wanted to get a side by side comparison of them at the same age. E is obviously the first picture and Max is the second. These two have totally different personalities and it will be very interesting to see how they will continue to be different or be more alike. They do look like brothers, but not totally alike. E was so chubby! Wow! I do have to say that they are both so stinkin' cute! They must get it from their dad!

Just for Laughs

Back in the day, we I went to BYU, I used to go to the Divine Comedy shows all the time. For those of you who are unfamiliar with Divine Comedy, they are a comedy group that do SNL type skits but most of the stuff is related to BYU or Mormon culture. So my Aunt Nancy and my cousin Jessica referred me to Youtube to check out some of their new stuff. Here are two funny music videos they made up. We all need a little pick me up today, right? Other funny ones...Oregon Trail, Laurel gets asked to a dance, LDS singles