Simplifying and Saving

As our income is about to decrease to one (just Josh's) I realize there are things I need to do/change in order to help us simplify and save. Just because I am not contributing financially does not mean I can't do things to stretch our income.

We have never been really great with our money (spending what we wanted, when we wanted), but we are working on changing that! We want to make sure that we can pay off debt, save money, and still provide for our needs (key word: needs).



I have been inspired by friends who do a lot of home cooking (making baby food, cooking a month a head and freezing, and cooking from scratch). I have also been inspired by some great blogs. Blogs of those who are in the same place we are...trying to get out of debt and blogs of those who have been here and are now debt free!

With the help of these friends and blogs I plan to help our family get out of debt, save money, and live life a little more green. By green I mean doing things like making gifts, reusing things, making homemade things, and recycling.

I plan on blogging about our struggles, savings, and the journey of it all.

In case you are interested here are a few of the blogs that I have come to love:

Carrie's Pocket Your Dollars
Angela's Grocery Shrink
Chelsea's The Old Simple Life

Let me know your thoughts, comments, or if you have a blog that you love!

Laughs

Kids say the darndest things...
Here are a few comments I have gotten from the children at the center where I work.

This one was said once I started showing. I had been in the classroom for over an hour and we were eating snack, when I stood up the child said...
"Wow you are really full!"

"I thought you had the baby already." (while looking at my large belly)

"Can you feel the baby kick?"

"Will you name him after me?"

"Maybe he doesn't want to come out because he likes being in your warm belly."

"I thought he was coming out yesterday?"



Well it's not just kids saying the darndest things...here are some comments from the brave adults who dare to go there.

A mom: "Wow you are pregnant, when are you due"
Me: "tomorrow"
mom: "and you are still working??"

Gas Station guy: "Have you been to the doctor lately...because I think you are pregnant." (that was today)

Customer at Babies R Us: "When are you due?"
Me: "Wednesday" (this was on Monday)
I love seeing people's reactions when I say I am due this week...so much fun!

Cashier at Target: "When are you due?"
Me: "Sept. 1st" (this was the 25th)
Then I told her we were going to the State Fair the next day (26th) and she asked if I was taking a wheelchair!


Most comments don't bug me, and most are quite entertaining, especially those from the children at the center. However, the ones that do drive me crazy...

"You must be so uncomfortable." (this said to me while it's 95+ degrees outside and I am in NO air conditioning). Well duh!

Countdown...

Well the count down is on...5 days until my due date! Now I know that most first time pregnancies go late (according to my Doctor) so I am not expecting to go early and I am actually feeling very well right now, except for the annoying cold I have, so at this point I am okay with it.

I had my 39 week appointment today and where is what we found out:

1. I am 1 cm dialted.
2. I am 90 effaced.
3. The baby's head is very, very low (which is great)!
4. I didn't gain too much weight at the State Fair! ha ha!
5. If I haven't gone into labor before the 3rd (my due date is the 1st) they will most likely start the induction process at my next appointment, which is the 3rd.

Here are some other updates on our life:

1. I worked a few days this last week (covering lunch breaks) and have one more day on the schedule for next Tuesday.

2. Josh performed another wedding this past weekend at the Carlson Parkway Towers for Elise Austad and Rocky Rigney and it was a beautiful outdoor wedding! The dog was the ring bearer...so cute!

3. Our amazing friends, Jon and Emily Lemmon, who now live in San Diego, CA were here this week and we enjoyed spending so much time with them!! Jon stayed with us a few days until Emily got here and the guys golfed the days away! Emily and I got amazing Deluxe Pedicures at Nails Touch in Brooklyn Park! I highly recommended this place to everyone!



4. We enjoyed a day at the State Fair yesterday. We went with Kelsey and Mark. We lasted four hours! I ate the following: Grilled Chicken Casear Wrap (something healthy), Hawaiian Shaved Ice (my favorite), Deep Fried Snickers Bar (tradition), Cheese Curds, Cotton Candy on a stick, and a Diet Coke! And yes I did pretty much eat that all by myself in those four hours! I did also try Kelsey and Mark's Garlic Fries, Josh's lemonade and Kelsey's Root beer.

I will try and update a little more over the next few days and things change!

36 Weeks

Wow where has the last 36 weeks of our lives gone?? I can not believe that I have my 36 week appointment tomorrow! I will actually be 36 weeks and 2 days at the appointment. My appointments are also now every Friday in August and into the first week of September unless this baby decides to come before that!

I am so excited to meet our little boy, to see what he looks like, to hold him in my arms, and to finally say his name out loud! :) Yes we do have his name, we actually have had it for a LONG time, but are keeping it a secret!

Here are a few updates since I blogged last...7 weeks ago!

*Nursery is coming along...crib is getting put together tomorrow night!
*2 loads of baby clothes are washed...several more loads of laundry to go!
*Birth Classes are underway...only one left. I have really enjoyed our classes! I went to the first one without Josh (who was in the wilderness with about 20 10th graders)but he has been able to go to the other one and will be attending the last one as well.
*I only have a few weeks of work left! I am technically done August 20th, but will probably work a few days the next week, depending on how I am feeling.
*I am registered for MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers) for the fall! Crazy to think I will now be at that next stage of life.

We did have one little scare about 2 weeks back. I was working and we had bike day, so we had all the children in the center outside riding bikes. Myself and another teacher were standing on one sideline watching some of the children ride their bikes when a schoolager (who wasn't paying attention) ran into me with his handlebars...hitting me right in the side of my baby bump. It was definitely startling and did hurt. My director suggested I call my doctor and see what they said. I called the nurse and she wanted me to come in right away to get looked at. Work was super supportive and let me leave right away. When I got to my appointment they hooked me up to a Fetal Monitor and an Ultrasound Monitor since I was starting to have some Braxton Hick contractions. Everything was okay...our little one started moving and the contractions were nothing to be concerned about! Thank you to those of you who said a prayer for us as we went in.

I will try and blog a little more over the next 4 weeks as they will surely bring us new emotions and trials!

29 Weeks

Here is a sneak preview of two of the pictures our friend Rachel Saarela took of us last night in our pregnancy photo shoot!







Today I am 29 weeks along! The doctors said this baby could come between 37-41 weeks. So I could have 8-12 weeks left! The baby is the size of a Butternut Squash, weighing roughly 2.5 pounds and just over 15 inches long! Not much else to update on the baby side.

I do however have some prayer requests!

1. Pray for Josh as he heads to Guatemala City, Guatemala on Saturday with 6 other leaders and 20 students for just over a week.
2. Pray that baby and I will be okay while he is gone!
3. Pray for our car situations...one car broken down (estimate $1900 to fix) and the other car, mini van, has over 220,000 miles and no air conditioning! Which makes me one hot and sweaty pregnant lady!
4. Pray for my energy level to stay up while I am back to working full-time...especially when I am in the toddler room!

Thank you for keeping us in your prayers!!

The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly

Today is my last day at 27 weeks and of being in my Second Trimester! Everyone says raising children goes fast...but boy has this pregnancy gone by fast!

I thought I would share some of my good, bad, and uglies during pregnancy as I have had them thus far!

The Good:
*The pregnancy test saying positive after many, many negatives!!
*Losing 7 pounds during weeks 8-11 thanks to my craving of fruit and veggies
*Finding out it was a boy...and picking our son's name!!
*Hearing the heart beat for the first time
*Josh feeling his son kick for the first time
*Feeling the daily movement of my son
*Buying some new clothes
*Getting lots of compliments
*Everyone being so helpful


The Bad:
*Lack of Sleep: hard to always get comfy and up 2-3 times for the bathroom
*Feeling annoyed for NO reason at random times
*Braxton Hicks: They didn't hurt, but made my back ache...causing discomfort
*Having to get use to people touching my belly...being that I was overweight before getting pregnant it's a self conscious thing! (I am past feeling self conscious now)


The Ugly
*Throwing up...but only about five times...so still can't really complain
*Smells making me feel nauseous
*Being overly emotional/irrational one time and Josh calling me "an overly emotional pregnant woman." (I still think I had a good reason, but whatever)

I have very much enjoyed being pregnant thus far! I am sure the Third Trimester will bring new challenges especially during the hot summer months, but I am ready to embrace them as they come.

Where did the time go??

Today is already June 1st, 2010! Where has the time gone?? I was always told that once I got older time would go by faster, and they were right!

Tomorrow I will be 27 weeks...only 13 weeks until my due date! What a scary and exciting thought! It sends some panic waves through me to realize that I have much to do on my "before baby comes" to do list, but more panic to realize that this baby will no longer be inside me, but in this crazy, unpredictable world waiting for me to take care of him!!

I have been in child care my entire life in some way, shape and form...from babysitting to nannying to working in an Early Childhood Center, so you would think that I would be the most prepared person for raising a child...but with those children I do what their parents tell me to do and send them home at the end of the day...my little guy will be here for the next 18 years of his life! We will just truck on through the process with God by our side directing our steps as parents!

On a different note...here are just some random update in our lives:

1. My sister, Kelsey Rose, graduated from Northwestern College with a degree in Early Childhood Education.
2. My baby brother, Leighton Alex, graduated from Staples Motley High School.
3. Josh's sister, Amalia Elisabeth, graduates this Friday from high school.
4. We continue to make small changes and updates to our house...a never ending process.
5. I will start back up full-time at the Early Childhood Center (Bright Horizons) this summer...well with hopes of only working 4 days a week.
6. Josh will be taking a group to Guatemala City, Guatemala for 10 days in June!
7. Josh has been feeling our little guy kick more and more!
8. We do have a name picked out and YES we are keeping it a secret! :)