Back in the saddle....

I've been going back and forth deciding if I really want to keep this blog going. I don't lead a very interesting life so I don't always never have any good "material" to write about. However, recently due to unforeseen circumstances we've taken a good hard look at our budget and where our money is going. This prompted me to take a look at DIY projects and things I could make myself instead of buying in the store. Examples? Laundry detergent, household cleaners, yogurt (Kenz eats a ton and it adds up quick!), christmas gifts, etc.

This blog had actually got me thinking about it before. Allison is extremely down to earth and her kids are adorable too!  It really helped me think of ways to get started and what I we could do. I love the idea of debt free living. Do I think it is realistic? Yes absolutely, however I also believe that you will "always" (like for 20-30 years) have a mortgage so that kind of negates the debt free living to me. Though we are lucky we have no credit card debt and the loans we do have are small. Neither of us has college loans or anything like that, yes losers that didn't go to college over here! We planned a lot when we decided to have a baby and had quite a bit of money set aside for an emergency fund and had both of our vehicles paid for. THEN the baby came along and we realized we needed a bigger car and.... etc, etc. We also sold our house bought a bigger (more expensive, but thank goodness for a good downpayment from our "emergency" fund, plus equity in our first home) house and the list goes on.

Moving on, I also looked meal planning(which we have successfully done before and I love it), couponing (which I don't have a good handle on yet), etc. Meal planning isn't easy for us, 99% of the time I don't start cooking until Eric has actually walked IN the door. It never seems to fail if I start cooking before he is home, he calls to say he is going to be late. Yes he works *that* kind of job. Its annoying but I've come to terms with it. So I would say at least 1-2 nights a week he is late so we keep frozen foods or boxed meals on hand for these nights, because they are quick and easy, and give us more time together as a family.  Anyway I love meal planning, I love knowing what we are cooking so we have everything on hand and not playing the game every day where we talk about what we are going to eat for an 1/2 hour before we decide and start cooking.

So what I would like to do with my blog is share these things with you, what we are doing to save money, the recipes for meals as well as cleaning supplies, my fails (because I will have many!) with trying all of these new things and how we get to where we want to be financially! Which is debt free! Isn't that what everyone wants?!

So to sum it up the things we are going to be doing and trying to do are:

• Meal planning
• Sticking to a (strict) budget
• Making our own cleaning supplies
• Making our own food we would normally buy (yogurt, possibly pasta, etc)
• Looking at where we shop - what we can buy with coupons vs whats on sale vs dollar store, etc
• Stopping the impulse buys. Me=GUILTY
• Looking at need vs want

Hope you will join us on our journey and any tips, thoughts, comments are much appreciated!!!!

My Daughter's Guardian Angel

Throughout my whole entire pregnancy, I was convinced I was having a boy. Absolutely sure of it, one of my best friends and I were both pregnant together, due within a month of each other. I was certain we were both having little boys, we were carrying the same, all belly for both of us. So when her baby boy was born May 31st, I was 100% certain I was also having a little boy.

My husband was sure baby was going to be born on July 2nd (my due date was July 9th). Me? I was positive it was going to be a July 4th baby, what better present every year? You get the day off, fireworks, parades, bbq's. It would be the best. So when I went into labor on July 3rd, I thought our baby is already teaching us to compromise.

15 hours of labor later, we had a happy healthy? No one told us, no one said one word regarding the gender of our baby (we had never been able to see on the ultrasound with any certainty. The baby was 60% boy the Dr told us). I didn't not think about this one little bit, I was just happy it was over. Until my husband asked wait, what is it? Then it dawned on me I had heard the nurse say, look at HER hair, and the Dr say SHE'S perfect. I realized then that it was a girl. I was completely shocked and VERY happy. I didn't care either way as long as our baby was healthy, and she was! Oh was she, 7 lbs 11oz of healthy. I was 108 lbs when I got pregnant if that tells you what I was feeling after almost 8 lbs of baby.

Anyway, moral to my story? My daughter was born July 3rd, 2011, 31 years to the DAY that my mother's twin sister drowned at 17 years old. I didn't know this until weeks after my daughter was born. My Dad told me that my Mom had said to him when I found out I was pregnant, she KNEW I was having a girl and she KNEW she was going to be born on July 3rd. Goosebumps anyone? I have no doubt in my mind that my Aunt Mary that I never got to meet is keeping a wonderful eye on my little sweetheart, just like she did me when I was growing up.

Thank you Aunt Mary for keeping us both safe and happy. I think of you often and wonder what might have been if I had 2 "Mommy's" growing up.

Trying to Conceive....again?

I hate this topic, I hate that its not easy for us, I hate that I have to write about it on my blog because I have no one in my "real" life I can talk to about it (besides my husband that is). Its embarrassing, its depressing and it makes me sad. Here's our story:

We got married in June 2008, decided that we wanted to start trying to have a baby "soon". In January 2009, or possibly earlier,( I don't remember, I didn't keep track, thought it was going to be easy, right?!). Anyway, I threw away my birth control pills. Never thought, man this might be hard for us. My period was NEVER regular when I went off my birth control, maybe it wasn't before I went on birth control?. I was one of the lucky ones that never started menstruating until I was 15. 

I wasn't on birth control, my periods weren't regular but still I didn't worry. Then I went to the OB/GYN for my yearly in July or August and told him some of what was going on. At this point I had done dozens of pregnancy test, cause every month I didn't menstruate I thought this must be it. So I got disappointed every time, I didn't tell my husband I was testing, I was embarrassed. The Dr decided to test me for this and that and everything else. He decided to test my husband, the verdict? Nothing wrong with either of you.

He decided he wanted me to try to provera and clomid. This was now October, we had been TTC for almost a year. Two of my really good friends were pregnant, one due in December and one in May. My best friend just found out she was pregnant (due in May also) and I told her how happy I was for her when she called and hung up the phone and cried for hours. I was heartbroken, it was "easy" for them. Even though it wasn't really easy for them, they were the ones that WERE pregnant. One of them the baby was an unplanned, but much loved and wanted. The other mom conceived with Polycystic ovary syndrome, she was told it would be nearly impossible for her to get pregnant and was pregnant a month later. How fair was it that I had nothing wrong and she did and she still got pregnant first? My best friend? Just decided to start trying and a month later bam.... she was pregnant. I resented them all, I never told them, but I did.

So lets talk about family, friends, strangers and THE question, "When are you going to have a baby? You're married what are you waiting for?". See I never thought much of these questions until we couldn't get pregnant and they continued to ask these questions ALL the time. It hurts, these questions, the lies we told people because one person in the whole entire world knew we were trying to get pregnant (besides us obviously). So hiding the Dr's appointments and hiding the hurt and the heartache was not easy.

I started the provera, Dr told me that I should start my period on Saturday, Monday at the latest, then a few days later (or however long) start taking the clomid. Well I never got my period, so I thought Tuesday when I got up that since I was going to call the Dr that day, I might as well take a pregnancy test because I knew that was going to be one of the first questions they asked. Guess what? It was positive, I was so EXCITED and so happy! My husband and I work together so I got ready as fast as I could (he was already at work) so I could get there early before everyone else and I pulled him aside and told him what I had found out. His response? I don't believe it, must be something the drugs are doing to your body. For those of you that are saying wow what an ass, don't, he wasn't wrong. This wasn't anything I hadn't already told myself while I was getting ready and driving to work. I just wanted it so bad I was going to ignore all the what-ifs, he wasn't.

I called and made an appointment, made up a lie why I needed to leave work, husband snuck out of work and met me at the Dr's. They did another pregnancy test and confirmed that we were in fact pregnant. We found out on my Mother's birthday that we were going to be having a baby. They gave us a due date of 6/22/10.

It was the best day of our lives, but even then it was taken away from us some because it was a long hard road getting there and even the joy of having a positive pregnancy test was taken away.

So you ask, why am I talking about this now? When I have a beautiful healthy 16 month old (TODAY!) baby girl? We want another beautiful, happy, healthy baby. We are in the same boat we were two years ago. Never a regular period, I've had 2 since I had Mackenzie and have stopped breastfeeding(in July). One "natural", one because the Dr wanted to try provera again to see if it would "kick start" my cycle back into drive. That gave me one period, if I was going to have a normal 28 day cycle I should have had another one about 3 weeks ago. I haven't been on birth control since February. The Dr wants to try clomid, my husband says no. If we can't do it naturally we can't do it at all. I'm confused, I want another baby, but maybe its not meant to be?



Here's is my TMI, diarrhea of the mouth post, but how many of you out there have felt this way? Or are you one of the ones it was easy for?

Christmas Crafty

So I've been looking for something fun and exciting to blog about, and none of these things are happening in my life. Unless you would like to talk about the fact that all of our big bills have come at once (I'm looking at you, taxes, insurnace, home repair, car repair, etc). That is a totally different subject though. Well... not really. Because we have so much money going out and the same amount of money coming in as always(and you know, we bought a house this summer) and Christmas is coming, I've decided to try and get crafty with my gifts this year. Why you ask?

1.  Because of the things mentioned up there (^)about money.

2. I feel like gifts that have time into them instead of money are more meaningful.

3. I am a part time SAHM and while last year was crazy (with a 5 month old) around the holidays things have settled down this year and I feel that I should take advantage of the extra(ha!) time I have.

4. I want to be able to do crafty things with Kenz when she gets a little bit older so she can give handmade gifts to her grandparents and friends and will want to do this, and maybe you know be crafty.

All of that being said, I am not crafty AT ALL. Any of you that know me, are reading this and laughing your butts off at me. Its ok, laugh, Eric did when I told him. Then told me he was proud of me for stepping out of the box and trying something new (and you know not making him go shopping).

Anyway, moving on, what I have decided to try is buying this, and you know obviously some yarn to try to make hats for the kiddos and possibly scarves for my friends. My problem is, I don't knit, never have even tried. Plus I am a left handed and I have heard its hard for left handed people to knit. We will see what happens though UPS should be delivering it this afternoon, I've asked hubby to pick up some yarn at the store so I can try it tonight and see what happens. Wish me luck! If you have any tips PLEASE help me. I'm scared really excited to try this.

I've also decided to try to make these kits and these jar kits. My friends are probably going to kill me for the playdough kits but I think the kids will really enjoy them. The food recipe jar I think is a neat idea and the recipe looks super easy (and doesn't require to many ingredients on my end).

My other idea(hey I've been busy on the internet, don't judge) is filling a jar with buttons or beads, only sorting these by color first and then layering them as a decoration for the home? As I am sitting here thinking of this, I can also do this with M&M's and do the same thing only have it be edible....mmmmmhhhhhmmmm. Me thinks this is a good idea. Only I will eat all the M&M's before they get in the jar, will have to hide them from the hubby.

So what are you doing for Christmas? Do you have any tips for me? Or other ideas I can try? Help me out!

I Love Fall in VT

I so love fall in VT, the cooler temperatures, the frosty mornings (ok not so much those), the views I saw this morning on the way to drop Kenz off at her Grammy's were amazing. There was steam coming off the rivers, the sun was making the trees GLOW, it was beautiful. I didn't have time to get all the pictures I wanted because (story of my life) I was late for work. My goal for the weekend is to get up early at least one day and take pictures of the beautiful fall foliage.

Sleep habits and OB/GYN overshare

Can anyone, please PLEASE explain to me, why, when I put Kenz down for bed at 9pm she is up at 6, BUT if she goes to bed at 7:30 or 8 she doesn't get up until 7:30 or 8? Isn't this the opposite of what should be happening? I'm so CONFUSED! We are struggling with afternoon naps running to late and not sure how to fix that, I really need her to have an afternoon nap for my sanity but we may have to get rid of them soon. :(

Asked my MIL to come over this am for 6 so I could go to work early (co-worker on vacation) and wouldn't have to wake Kenz up at 5 am and she was up at 6:15 anyway.... pointless! ::grrrr::  Oh and did I mention she was up at 3:44? Crying for like 2 seconds but was standing up and she has yet to figure out how to lay herself back down?

Rant over, kthanksbye!

Oh WAIT!

On a side note I had my yearly "exam" today and as I was in my closet getting dressed, in my "nice" clothes, because I always feel like I have to dress up for these appointments I wondered to myself, why? The Dr. never even sees me with my clothes on, so I could wear pajama's and he would never know. ::sigh:: Then he tells me that I am under weight and need to gain 5 or 10 lbs and have lunch at McDonald's (TMI alert), McD's makes me lose more weight, not gain weight, if you know what I'm saying?
Here's the munchkin, blowing her nose:

She makes up for all the bad stuff w/ her cuteness!

Parenting Don't

Baby standing on the table is definitely a don't, but its cute.

Yard Sale Finds!!

Yard Sales are my new hobby. I am in search of good deals on baby clothes, toys and even clothes for me! I know some people have phobeas of second hand things but me? No! Why would you? You can save so much money by going to yard sales. Today alone I probably saved us well over $100 on baby clothes.

Here is what I got:

2 pairs of shoes
9 outfits (1 piece and 2 piece)
5 shirts
2 pairs of pants
4 skirts
2 dresses

So in the store:

2 pairs of shoes = $20
9 Outfits = $45 EASY (thats at $5 a piece)
5 shirts = $25
2 pairs of pants= $10
4 skirts= $25
2 dresses= $20

So thats (hang on I have to add it :-D).... $145. If you buy it all on sale. I spent, wait for it, wait for it, $15. HOW RIDICULOUS! Its all just like brand new, probably worn a handful of times. So yeah I love my yard sales!

I also picked up a few 3 shirts and 3 sweaters for myself for $2.50 more!

SCORE!

What's your favorite new hobby?

Early Talker?

So everyone tells me Kenz is an early talker. She will be 14 months old on the 3rd of September. Here are a list of words (or phrases) she says(in no particular order):

• Doggy
• Kittie
• Mommy
• Daddy
• Papa
• Mamie(aka Grammy)
• Horse
• Abby(we decided this is what she named Grammy's bunny)
• Horse
• Cookie
• Boo
• Boom
• Duck
• Good Doggy
• Bad Doggy
• Good Mommy
• Good Daddy
• Arm
• Butt (don't ask)
• Bath
• Bubba
• Bella(which sounds an awful lot like Bubba but is slightly different)
• Un-uh (Is this really a word? She means no, and shakes her head emphatically when she says it!)
• Yuck
• Eli (her "boyfriend", she says his name and points at his picture! ADORABLE!)
• Hi
• Bye
• Bird
• Ride it(in reference to the four wheeler)
• Hot (and then blows on her food)
• Moo
• Bah (not sure if these are words, but she makes these noises when she sees the animals)
• Balloon
• Eye
• Nose
• What is it
• Tickle, tickle

She does a few signs more, milk, and all done. She blows kisses, waves hi and bye. All the "normal" things. She follow simple directions, give me a kiss/hug, throws things in the trash, brings the remote, opens/closes the door, etc.

So this what www.babycenter.com has to say about 14 month old language:

At 14 months, your toddler understands many more words than she can say. Her spoken vocabulary likely consists of about three to five words, typically "Mama," "Dada," and one other simple word such as "ball" or "dog," but she learns the meanings of new words every day. As she starts to add words to her vocabulary, you'll notice that she looks for opportunities to practice them. Once she can say "dog," for instance, she'll look for dogs everywhere — in books, outside, on videos — just so she can point and say the word over and over again.

So I guess maybe she really is an early talker? Not surprising with the, um, "genes" she gets from my side of the family!

What do you guys think? Am I in for it?

Race & Hurricane Irene

Hubby is racing his ATV tomorrow a few hours from home. Fun to watch, even if he is in and out of the woods and weaving in and out of trees, much less stressful on me than when he was racing MotoX. Also its such a relaxed, family friendly atmosphere. Definitely something I am looking forward to. Especially since 2 of our best friends are going with us. It also helps that he kicks butt! What?Its true and I'm just sayin' and not only cause I'm his wife, cause he's good!

Everyone is freaking out about Hurricane Irene, in my weird and sick twisted way I'm kind of excited, not for damage or for anyone to get hurt or anything like that. I love watching storms, they are so powerful and something that I personally have no control over.  I love having the excuse to cuddle my family up inside, and just spend time together. Even if having no power sucks. We do have a generator but as long as we have food, I'm happy!

Also, check out my little munchkin cuteness:

This was like a month ago, but how friggin adorable is she?

Randomness... 1st post in a long while.

Ignore the random order in which I write all of these things, writing as it comes to me!

Where do I start?

My baby is almost 14 months old. She is such an easy baby and has been from day 1. We are so lucky.

So much has happened, yet nothing has really changed.

My father has prostate cancer, been thru radiation and is doing amazing.

My grandfather has cancer, been thru chemo and is not doing so great, more treatments to come.

We bought a new home, we bought a new car, we love our baby, we try to make time for ourselves.

We try to spend as much time with our friends and family as we can, which isn't easy.

I work part-time, which was a huge step for me after being a SAHM for 10 months. I wish I hadn't and yet I am glad I did. It is good for Kenz to spend time on the farm, with her grammy and her uncle. It is also good for me to have adult time. Work is actually a break for me.

Eric is... Eric, my rock, works, races his ATV (and he's good, and I'm not just saying that cause I'm his wife). He loves and hates his job all in the same day.

Every day we are finding what works for us as a family but as long as we are together we are happy. Thats sounds so corny and not me, but its true. Our favorite time is time together. It doesn't happen often enough with everything going on in our lives.

Our favorite things this summer were hiking, enjoying the beautiful weather and NOT having to move! Oh wait... we had to move, it really wasn't that bad but interfered with a lot of plans and led to general disorganization.

Oh, me, you ask? I'm just me, I love being a Mom, worry everytime if I am doing some eternal damage to my daughter but she is a funny, opinionated, smart little girl. I wish there were more hours in the day to see and do everything I want to do. I wish summer was longer so we could do everything on our summer bucket list. That being said we did a lot more this summer than we did last summer ( can we say,labor & delivery,  newborn, breastfeeding every 2 hours on the dot, and lack of sleep?!).

That is all for now, my brain hurts. Going to nap while the baby naps (oh you think thats only for Mom's with newborns? HA!).