Happy Halloween

"CANDY!"
Getting ready to leave, because I have the flu I didn't go with them, but they had a blast and Matt said he did great! This is the first year he actually understood it all.

Superman (cousin Jackson) and Spiderman (Ethan)- I drew a spider on his forehead because we didn't have a mask, he held perfectly still while I did it. I was shocked!

Raise your hand if you like CANDY!!

FLU

Well I unofficially have the flu. I haven't been feeling well and yesterday I went to the urgent care because I just felt achy and exhausted. I have several flu symptoms and although my in-office flu test came back negative, they decided to go ahead and put me on Tamiflu because I am pregnant and in a huge "at risk" category. I started taking my pills yesterday and I do feel better as far as the flu goes, but the medicine has made me extremely dizzy. I basically have vertigo- where I can't walk without running into things and rolling over in bed makes me feel like i'm on a roller coaster. I am hoping these side affects go away soon because I already want to stop the med's and i'm only on day 2 of a 5 day cycle. I know people have it way worse and there are many people dying from this, so I am trying not to whine, but don't you know that being pregnant and your emotions amplify everything and I just can't wait to be over it all. There is a poor lady at my church who has had it real bad and it actually has turned into pneumonia. I just pray for her and her twin girls that they would get healthy and stay that way! She has already missed a week of work and her mom is flying in today to help this next week. The hardest part of my "experience" so far is that my medicine cost me $85! That is an average of $8.50 per pill. UGH, sometimes I just feel like we can't catch a break. We are extremely blessed and I need to remind myself of that and God's faithfulness when we tend to feel overwhelmed. The $85 is do-able but of course Matt went to leave to go somewhere a few hours ago and my Toyota won't start. So it's true when they say, "when it rains, it pours". Between being sick, dizzy, paying a lot for med's, and potential car problems.... I am done! Ha ha! Which is why I just grabbed my bible study book to spend some time in God's word. There is no better place to be when you are surrounded with life's problems!
p.s. HAPPY HALLOWEEN! I have to say that I am one of those people that is already ready for Thanksgiving and Christmas. I LOVE the months of November & December. So much going on with family and friends and a lot of reflection time as you think about the reason we celebrate both holidays. I decided to change up my blog background to reflect this season. Be safe tonight as you trick-or-treat! Pictures to come of my little goblin and his fun tonight...

Potty training success

Well Ethan is officially in big boy underwear all the time except for sleeping. We started this Monday and he hasn't had an accident yet. I realized that I had a harder time letting go and trusting in his ability and that is why I prolonged it by using pull-ups and diapers when we were out places. I finally just sucked it up, packed a few changes of clothes in his bag and now we are exclusively using big boy underwear. I noticed as soon as he went to "school" in the mornings in big boy underwear he never had an accident, whereas last week when I had him in a pull up he would occasionally wet it. I should have taken my cousin Erin's advice from the get go, "Forget the pull-ups and go straight to big underwear." But my fear of an accident overshadowed. It is hard to "let go" and realize that yes he will have an accident and it isn't the end of the world.

When it comes to poo poo on the potty he is the exact opposite of "most kids". He has been pooping on the potty for almost 2 months now, it is the pee pee that he had to master. All the times I complained about my poor boy being constipated actually worked in our advantage because we knew he had to go before he had to go if you know what i'm saying. He has a classic sign: grabbing his little tushie and walking on tippie toes. That is the, "mom, i've got to go now" sign!! So thankfully as he has potty trained his body has gotten on a little schedule and he is more regular now and that has helped tremendously with going on the potty. Anyhow, I think you know way more than you wanted to know about Ethan's potty habits now, but I am just so proud of him. I should know this by now that he is a quick learner and masters things sooner than I give him credit for. Now if we can just get him to drink out of a "big boy" cup instead of a sippy cup we will be golden. That is the 1 thing he hasn't mastered quickly but he honestly has no desire to learn, so I think that is the culprit. If he could care-less then why in the world try?!

You just don't know how happy I am that we will only have 1 in diapers come February instead of 2!!!

Boston Market

Boston Market is currently running a few deals on their website. Please check it out. I got a 3 piece chicken meal with mashed potatoes and gravy and a corn muffin for $1.09 total!!! Matt, Ethan, and I all went there for lunch. So we spent a total of $3.27 on our lunch today for all of us! Of course it didn't come without hassle. It's a shame that places run deals or coupons then give you grief when you try to use them. First of all Matt printed out a coupon for each of us. Nowhere on the coupon does it say limit 1 per order. But we were prepared to pay separately to prevent any issues. When we arrived I took Ethan into the bathroom so Matt went to place our order. He told the lady that his wife and son were in the restroom. Of course with attitude she says, "I need to physically see them!". So he waited until we got out so she could see us. (Strike 1) Then when she saw that Ethan was a toddler she hesitated and made it seem like we were trying to rip them off by ordering a meal for him. She went to talk to her supervisor and said to us, "Um, he's a kid". Why yes he is. She basically made it sound like she didn't want to give him the order because he wasn't a "person". I can't remember exactly what she said, but we told her, "yes he is a person, this is his meal and he will eat it". So definitely with attitude they fulfilled our order and let us buy the meal. (Strike 2) Then comes the fun part... I get to the counter to pay and we decided to use cash. Matt was standing next to me and trying to keep Ethan waiting in line patiently, so I deemed myself the one that would hand the employee our money for each meal. Well not only did we ring everything up individually which was fine... but when I went to hand the man checking us out the money for Matt's meal, he looked at me and said, "He physically has to pay." ARE YOU KIDDING ME??? (Strike 3, 4 and 5!) They were making me pass the money to my husband who then in turn will hold out his hand and pass the money back to the cashier. Matt had to do it himself. It's not that paying separately was good enough, but they literally wanted us to pay separately. I almost sarcastically asked if they needed my 2.5 year old to PHYSICALLY HAND THEM THE MONEY. I mean is Boston Market not prepared to have people utilize their coupons?! And if they have restrictions they need to publicise them. I mean to debate not giving us a meal for my son because they weren't sure if he qualified as a "person"?! You have got to be kidding me. And all this added in the fact that they definitely treated us like we were horrible people and with attitude. In no way, shape, or form were we trying to do something that cheated them. We were using the coupon like it said and in the fashion that it said. It was quite ridiculous. But all in all, we got our meals which were a GREAT deal. The normal meals we got were $6.29 each, and instead we got to pay a $1.00! We tried to maintain dignity and a positive attitude to stay above reproach. So anyhow.
Check out their website, go and get your meals, but be prepared for confrontation. You just never know. Let me know how it goes if you end up going, I would love to hear!

NC State Fair fun

If there is a tractor around, Ethan is on it!

Riding a kiddie ride at the fair.

MONSTER TRUCK! Ethan's latest obsession!

Ethan & Daddy petting a mule

Our little family of 3.5 had a great time at the fair today. If you brought in 4 canned foods then you got in "free" instead of the $7.00 a person entrance price. I had just reorganized our kitchen pantry (nesting much??) and knew we had an abundance of canned foods that we could donate. So we decided to venture out to the fair because combine that and we know a great close place to park, we knew we couldn't do any better! We also brought $20.00 and agreed that that was our budget for the day. Ethan was able to ride 1 ride and we bought some snack foods and still made it out under budget! The weather was absolutely gorgeous... a high of 79, sunny and breezy! We had a blast! Walking around, people watching, looking at all the animals, getting freebies and just being together. We went during Ethan's nap time which was a gamble, but he was GREAT! I am so glad that we ended up going this year and that we did it as budget friendly as possible!

Craigslist sale!

Well we have sold our first item online. I had a great china cabinet that I put up for sale because it has been sitting in my parent's garage for the past 2 years. I had several e-mails about it when I first listed it on Craiglist a few weeks ago, but none that really showed further interest. Well a sweet lady e-mailed me about the cabinet and we were supposed to meet Friday night so she could look at it. I drove to my parent's house to meet her and 15 minutes after she was supposed to be there she called me and said she wasn't going to make it. I was a bit frustrated but she still seemed so interested. Well long story short, she ended up going by my parent's house and bought it for the price we asked today! So there goes more money into our emergency fund that we are trying to build. We have learned a ton in our Financial Peace University course by Dave Ramsey. The first step to financial freedom is to build $1,000 emergency fund because a lot of debt and what instantly hurts families are the unexpected emergencies that come up... your car gets a flat and you have to buy a tire, unexpected medical issues, etc. Thankfully we had our first half of the fund within the first week of starting the class, but we haven't added anything to it. Now we are about to add the $150 I got for the china cabinet. Hopefully we can sell some more unwanted/unused items to help finish our emergency fund then we can start tackling debt. I never thought I would enjoy this class like I have... after all who enjoys budgeting and talking about money?! But we have learned a ton, have become better stewards of what we have, and are trying to manage our finances in the best way possible. So yay to great resources like Craiglist that enable you to sell items for the price you want in your location! You should check outline and see if you have a Craiglist near you. www.craigslist.com

Raise your hand if you're sleepy....

Blown away by blessings

I just finished doing a personal bible study and I am thankful for the place my heart is in right now. I am just so thankful. The study I am doing is on the life of David in the bible. It has made me realize a ton of stuff, but one of which is God's blessings. As I sit here and think about all of our blessings I am just blown away. And so many times I forget to say thank you. Thank you to God, and thank you to the people He has used to bless us! For example: the laptop I am typing on was given to us by a family at church. The laptop Matt uses was bought new by a family at church when they found out his new one died on us. The armoire tv cabinet I have always wanted was one day on sale at Walmart for cheap because it was a floor model that they did away with. Our old tv stand had sharp pointed edges and glass and I was so worried when we had Ethan that he would poke his eye out. Now everything is hidden away in this beautiful armoire. We are currently buying a car from a family at church who just bought a new car themselves and wanted to bless us by giving it to us for dirt cheap, I am talking pennies! The car is going to be such a huge blessing in so many ways. Not only have Matt and I been sharing a car for the past year or so, but this new car has everything i've always wanted: electric windows/doors, tinted windows for my kiddos, and a huge trunk for space. These are just a few material possessions that God has blessed us with that I hope I never take for granted.
There was a time not too long ago where I had become ungrateful. My heart had hardened and I got in a "woe is me" stage, looking at what everyone else seemed to have and comparing myself. I wanted a house. I wanted a mini-van, I wanted more money, I wanted this and that. I began to whine and complain in my heart and really became envious. But then one day, thankfully, God hit my spiritual head with a two by four. He knocked some real sense into me and I am SO glad he did. While it would be nice to be in a house, have a new car, etc... I realized that if we did indeed have these things, I wouldn't be able to stay home with my son. I would have to work full time and he would be in daycare. We wouldn't have the flexible schedules and lifestyles. We wouldn't have been able to survive with just 1 car for so long. There were SOOOO many blessings that I was missing out on and taking for granted all because I got in a greedy stage. I am just filled with joy now. I truly am happy and grateful for what we have. I am so sorry and never ever want to be in the place that I was. I wouldn't trade what we are doing, working for an awesome church, with great people, getting to stay at home with my son, living the way we are now just to have more square footage and a new mini van. No way. I can't believe I ever thought those things would make me happy. You see the advantage of not "having a lot" is really a blessing. (Although we truly have a lot compared to most of the world) Because we don't "have a lot" we don't have a huge house payment and no car payments. GOD has provided for our needs and way much more. We have shelter, food, clothing, and material possessions. We have family nearby and friends who loves us and care for us. I am so thankful that God has used people, some that I never would have expected, to bless us. Because of their generosity, love, and giving nature WE are being blessed. My biggest prayer now is that we can turn around and bless others when given the opportunity. That we point others to God and give HIM the credit He deserves. My challenge to you is to look around and see what and who you have in your life and be thankful/grateful. I pray that my heart will always be in this state and never again go back to where it was.

G.D. update (Gestational Diabetes)

Well I have great news. This past week when I monitored my sugar my numbers were great. So I e-mailed my dietitian and she said that I can start checking my sugar just 2 times a day instead of 4! I am thankful that it isn't getting high for now. She did say when you enter your 3rd trimester than you can see a boost in numbers. But for now I am very grateful. I have been watching what i've been eating and trying to make good decisions. I mainly changed my breakfast that I was eating. I eat breakfast every single morning and I would say 99.9% of the time it is cereal... Trix, Cheerios, Frosted Shredded Wheat, and whatever else. I have started eating cheese toast on wheat bread and a very small amount of orange juice OR cottage cheese with some fruit. So I have a bit more fiber and less sugar. I am actually eating more frequently than I was. I have added an afternoon snack and a snack before bed (sometimes). These all of course were recommended by my doctor.
I have also been proud of my weight gain so far, although before both of my pregnancies I had pretty much gotten my heaviest. (Didn't do myself justice there.) So far this pregnancy I have only gained 11 pounds total. With Ethan I was bigger by now. I gained 38 pounds total with him. So unless I gain 27 in the last half of this pregnancy, then I should not get as big. But we'll see. Since G.D. causes larger babies I am not putting any weight on my weight. (hardy har har) Ethan was a 9.5 pounder and a little over a week early, I am anxious to see what this little boy will be and when he'll be born!

Finger prick

So I think I mentioned before that I definitely have gestational diabetes. I met with a specialist this past Monday to discuss the diabetes, diet, and learn how to use my new meter. I have to check my blood sugar 4 times a day. That is loads of fun. So far my numbers have been pretty good, so diet control seems to be working for now. I learned that gestational diabetes is all caused by hormones. There are placental hormones that block the insulin or "eat it" so that it's not used properly. Therefore my sugar isn't getting broken down sufficiently. This explains why as soon as I delivered Ethan my sugar went back to normal. Because you deliver your placenta as well and it's not there to block the insulin. Usually in your 3rd trimester you get another boost of hormones so if I have to take medication it probably won't be until then. Hopefully I will e-mail my dr. my numbers tomorrow and I can back off of checking it so much. I flinch every time I hear the needle click and go into my finger. I know it's coming and yet it still catches me off guard. Even though it isn't too painful and isn't long lasting, it definitely hurts and is annoying to have to do. But oh well, I will do what I can for the best of my babies health as well as mine! Speaking of which I just looked at the time and realized I have to go check it now. Ugh. Here's hoping for another good number!

Barbies

Matt and I have learned a ton at this financial course we are taking through our church. It is awesome. Financial Peace University by Dave Ramsey. What does this have to do with Barbies, you ask?! Well when I was a little girl I collected special edition holiday barbies every year for Christmas. I would receive them as gifts and mom used to tell me, "You can look at it, but DO NOT OPEN THE BOX!" Can you imagine? A young girl getting a Barbie for Christmas and not allowed to open it?! Well while I didn't understand it when I was younger, I do now and I THANK YOU MOM! I am now trying to sell my collection. Some are worth several hundred dollars. They are in mint condition. I have done some research online and am beginning to start the process of selling them. Because I am no longer adding to the collection and they are sitting up in boxes in my parents' house I feel perfectly content selling them. The fact is, it is smarter for us to sell them and use that money for our financial purposes such as saving for our family and getting out of debt, than let them sit in a closet. So if you know anyone that is wanting to purchase collector barbies, then PLEASE let me know. Otherwise I will start getting them on E-bay and other places. I inventoried the ones I have and took pictures of them to prepare for selling. I actually look forward to seeing how they sell and for how much. We are definitely looking to make money off them, so you won't see them on Craigslist for $5.00 or anything. We are also selling a dining set and a china cabinet if you are interested. Those are posted on Craigslist. We aren't selling off our entire life or anything, just certain objects that we can live without that would enable us to live smartly and pay off school loans and save money. To us, having financial peace means more to us that "stuff". God has blessed us so much, but in turn we need to be good stewards of all we have.
With that being said, anyone want to buy a husband?? ;) Just kidding, sorry, he's priceless!!!

Teachable moment

This afternoon as my husband was leaving for work, Ethan and I were sitting on the front steps watching him leave. Ethan looked down to the ground below us and saw a piece of trash. He said, "mommy, what's that?" I said it was trash and he said, "I want to go get it" in which I proceeded to tell him no he wasn't going to go get it, that it was yucky. Then Ethan looked up at me and said, "I want to go get the trash and put it in the trash can". Here I was too worried that my toddler was going to touch a yucky piece of trash, and yet my 2.5 year old wanted to pick up litter and put it in it's rightful place. So I said, of course you can get it and he went down and picked it up and came inside and threw it away. I was so proud of him and glad I stopped to allow him to have this teachable moment with ME! (For those of you who care, he did go wash his hands right after he threw it away!) I hope our family always makes efforts to BECOME LAST. Check out my husbands blog to learn all about what this means for us.
www.becominglast.wordpress.com