My love for Publix

Well, it's been over two years since I have made a blog post, but I guess I will now start using this to post my couponing saving!!

So, this is the 1st week I have taken a picture of my trip.  I have been extreme couponing for about a year now, and I must say, I am addicted!!!!  After gong last week and getting $631 for $164 total, I was not supposed to go back the rest of this month.  I honestly was going only for the free Japanese noodles and to get milk and bread, and well.....it turned into something much bigger! I do the majority of my shopping at Publix and refuse to shop any where else.  I have 3 freezers (2 fridge/freezers and one 7 cubic foot deep freezer) that can not handle any more food.  I wanted to take advantage of the big chicken/ground beef sale with Zaycon Foods, but I have ZERO places to put it!  

Here is how I did this week at Publix.

28 packs of 4 rolls of toilet paper 6 boxes of frosted flakes
29 bottles of vitamins (money makers)
10 boxes of waffles
10 packs of Japanese noodles
3 gallons of milk
2 pints of 1/2 and 1/2
4 packs of diapers
10 lunchables
4 benadryl cream
2 boxes of icecream bars
10 boxes of tyson hot wings
4 smoothie shakes
2 packages of salad
2 loaves of wheat bread
14 bottles of resolve or sticks of resolve
3 boxes of trash bags

I will also include the jelly beans that I opened to keep the kids quite during our trip.  I actually had to buy them because I have to take my glucose test next week (We are expecting our 4th child in 12 weeks). 

 All of that, $505 worth of products, and I only spent $13!!!!!!!  I was able to use 15 of my $5/30 Winn Dixie Coupons.  The benefit to shopping the same Publix for a year and also taking all 3 children, they don't make you do separate transactions!  Well, if your Publix is nice, they won't.  Gotta love it

Being 7 months pregnant and taking all 3 children has gotten to be a chore.  I will have to try to do my trip when the kids are napping, because my husband broke his foot two weeks ago and had surgery last week. While the older two are old enough to help him and really take care of themselves for the most part, they are not quite old enough to take care of our 2 yr old, and surely can not get her in and out of her crib when she wakes up.  He can not walk for now 9 weeks more, and we are having our baby in 12 weeks.  Talk about timing!  Thankfully, I am a stay at home mom; otherwise, I don't know what I would do.

Alexis is 3 months old

Today, my little baby girl turns 3 months old.  She is getting so big, so fast.  I can not believe all the things she is doing, it's hard enough for me to remember what the other kids did at this age. 

This week, I had to go out of town, and I have the pleasure of being able to take Alexis and my mom with me.  They had a blast, and Lexi enjoyed her 1st "vacation."  She did so well, was very happy most of the time, rarely fussed, and even took her 1st trip to the pool.  It was a little cold for her in the water, but she hung out in her stroller with Memaw for a few hours before they decided it was getting too hot.

Here is what she is up to these days:

• Just moved into 3-6 month clothes (they are a little big on her, but 0-3 is too tight now)
• Wears size 2 diapers
• Is sleeping MUCH better at night, and even slept through the night for the 1st time while we were out of town.  She sleeps much better when she does not take a lot of naps during the day (more than 3-4)
• Smiles REALLY big for mommy and daddy (Kaitlyn and Tyler too). She does smile for others too, but they have to talk to her all sweet and cute to get a good one.
• Wakes up super happy - THANKFULLY
• Has started talking (baby talk), and now thinks that people on TV are talking to her - it's absolutely adorable.
• Just this week, she found her thumb.  She will suck on it if she does not have a passy, and has even put herself to sleep with it.  She has been sucking on her fist for the past few weeks when she gets hungry, but seems to like her thumb now more
• Sleeps on her belly when she is in her crib, but likes her "rock and play sleeper" that grandpa bought her.  She slept in that every night while we were out of town.  Makes easy for traveling and not have to bring a pack and play (for now anyway).
• Is very much so a rolly polley, but I do not know how much she weighs right now.  Last time she was weighed (last month), she weighed 13 lbs 6 oz.  I have a feeling she may be around 14+ lbs now.  Definitely eats well.
• Still nursing and doing absolutely wonderful with it!  3RD TIME'S THE CHARM!!!!
• SADDEST PART - Will start daycare on Monday :(.  Mommy is going to have a rough time with this and has a feeling she will be very tired until she gets her routine down.

Next month - towards the end of her 4 months, we will start baby food.  I have never made baby food, but I want to try it this time around.  I think it will help save $$ and will be better for her.  I have a few friends that are doing it or have done it, so I am going to talk to them and get all the details.

Alexis is 11 weeks old

It's been a while since I have blogged, because I am now back to work - and not that excited about it.  Things are going ok, and have actually been a lot less stressful since I got back, but I would rather be at home with my baby.

Brian is currently on "paternity" leave, until May 21st, so he is staying home with her.  This makes it a little easier for me, because I usually come home everyday at lunch time to feed her.  I am contemplating trying to do the same thing when she is in daycare, but we will see how that goes.

What is she up to these days??  Well, she is SUPER smiley ALL the time.  I love this, because all you have to really do is look at her and she gets a HUGE grin on her face.  It makes it VERY hard to put her down, or to force her to go to sleep when she does not want to.  It's very rare that we have to do that, but sometimes I do have to let her cry for 3-5 minutes before she will go to bed.  Most of the time, I can get her to go to sleep by cuddling up with her and giving her her passey, but sometimes she will fight it - especially when she is SUPER sleepy.

Most of the time she ends up sleeping with me, but I have started putting her to bed in her crib.  She will go down anywhere from 8-10pm, and has started getting up around 2:30 to eat.  Uusally we end up falling asleep together, so she will sleep with me until around 5-6am.  I have to get up at 6:30 to get ready for work, so only waking up 1 time in the night is not so bad.  Last week, I think she was going through a growth spurt, because both Wednesday and Thursday night she got up almost every hour - 2 hours.  She was very hungry!

I am not sure how much she weighs right now, but when she went for her 2 month check up, she was 13lbs 6oz and 22" long.  I would venture a guess to say that she is at least 14 lbs now.  She is very chunky, and I love it!

She is starting to do much better with daddy now that she has been home with him for 3 - going on 4 weeks.  She does not get as fussy with him, and is even in the bedroom watching TV with him while I type this blog. 

She just started in the last week sucking on her hands.  I thought at 1st is was because she was hungry, but she will do it even after she eats.  She might be discovering that she has a built in pacifier!!  It's too cute.

She LOVES to talk and coo at you.  She will do this for a good 10-20 minutes sometimes.  She definately loves all the attention, and will even let you know if she was not done talking to you.  It's too cute.

Well, I think that is about it right now.  She will be 3 months old on the 21st.  She's growing WAY too fast, but I love to see all the little stages.

Here are some pictures for your viewing pleasure...........

Alexis is 8 weeks and I am back to work

Today is not such a happy day for me.  I had to go back to work :(.  Alexis is 8 weeks and 1 day old now.  She is so active and alert all the time, I wish I could be home with her still.

Work has not been too bad, and I have done much better than I thought I would. It probably helps that she is home with daddy.  I will most likely boohoo when she has to go to daycare, but I am hoping I do not have to see that day.  We are trying to find a way for me to be able to be home.

So what is Alexis up to these days??

Well, she is sleeping about 6-7 hours at night.  As I type this, I probably just jinxed it :).  She goes to bed anywhere between 9-11pm and wakes up around 4 am.  After that, she usually wakes up again around 6:30.  Sometimes she goes back to sleep after that, and sometimes not.  She will eat, play for a little bit, then take a nap.  That is typically her cycle every time she wakes up - other than the night feedings.  Usually she will go right back to sleep after eating during the night. 

She is a BIG time smiler.  She loves to talk and coo at you. One of her favorite things that usually gets a pretty big smile and almost laugh out of her, is to tell her she is a "pretty girl."  She LOVES it, and I love it when she does it to me.  She is also doing really well with recognizing voices - my especially, and can follow objects.

Pray I make it through this week.....

Alexis is 1 month old

I can not believe my baby girl is 1 month old!  Heck, I can't believe my other baby girl is 4 and 1/2 years old and my baby boy is 2 1/2 years old.  Time sure does fly by fast.

Alexis and Kaitlyn had check ups at the doctor this week.  Kaitlyn is 37 lbs and 40 3/4" tall.  She is now in the 50% for both height and weight.  The last few check-ups, she had only been in the 10% for her weight, so I am pleased that she is now back up to 50%.

Alexis weighs 10 lbs 12 oz and is 21" long.  She is in the 90% for both!  All of my kids started out at "chunkers" but Kaitlyn thinned out a little.  Tyler is still a little "solid", but that's o.k., because he is a BOY, and boys are SOLID! :).

WHAT ARE THEY UP TO NOW???

Kaitlyn

• 
  
  is in preschool and learning to write her name. 
• 
  
  she loves to spell out any word she sees on her daddy's t-shirt
• 
  
  loves playing games on MeMaw's I-phone and can figure them all out pretty quickly
• 
  
  has started a little pouchy lip, pouty thing since the new baby has come home
• 
  
  is a picky eater, but is starting to try new foods when I cook dinner
• 
  
  is a very good big sister helper!
• 
  
  really enjoys "girl days" or outings with just her and me and Lexi

Tyler

• is in preschool learning letters and colors and shapes
• is very sensitive
• starting to talk a lot more
• has started to need a little more attention since new baby has come home
• loves spending time with daddy and throwing the football
• says he is going to play football when he gets bigger
• will eat anything you set in front of him
• is starting to potty train
• is very fascinated by his new little sister
• is starting to understand "boy vs. girl" and "sister vs. brother"

Alexis

• is starting to get on a 4 hour schedule for feeding and sleeping
• likes to stay awake for about 2 hours before morning and afternoon nap
• is starting to "coo"
• recognizes mommy's voice and looks for me when she hears me, if I'm not holding her
• gets a "knowing" look on her face when she sees me and sometimes will smile
• loves to be held and to sleep with mommy

It's interesting to see each kid at the stage they are in.  The other two, you can tell, need some attention, but we are trying to make sure we give them all equal attention.  They definately love helping mommy when it comes to the new baby....

Almost 1 month old

I can't believe it....my little girl is almost 1 month old, but she is still SO tiny, but yet growing so fast.  The last few days she has decided that nap time will not happen until after lunch time, which means that she wants to be held for the majority of the time until then.  Whenever she does act like she is falling asleep and I lay her down, she will wake up within minutes.  I have got to break her of that!

We are still getting up every 2-3 hours at night, but I am proud to say that I am still nursing.  Both my other two were on the bottle by now, but I am determined to keep going.  She is a great nurser, and although she has recently started to spit up, it's not anywhere NEAR as bad as Tyler was - which made me stop nursing him.

My days are pretty much spent holding/playing with her, sometimes napping with her, entertaining the occassional visitor(s), running a load of laundry (or 2), putting away laundry, doing dishes, and trying to clean up at least a little bit and organize something.  Today, Salvation Army is coming to get a whole bunch of stuff out of my garage, too bad it's not stuff in my house that will make it look like I did something today.

Tomorrow, I am going to tour another daycare.  I don't even want to think about having to put her in daycare, but I have to find a place.  She won't actually start until May 24th, but I need to find one that I like and start the process before then.  I go back to work 4 weeks from Monday, and my husband will be home with her for 4 weeks.  I then have to go out of town for work, but I am taking her and my mom with me, so she will be just over 3 months when she starts daycare.  Too bad I can't find a friend close by that wants to keep her.

Well, that's it for now.  Sorry if my posts are boring, I don't do much these days - but thankfully Angela came to visit today - with sweet baby Dallas too.  It was a nice visit, and we will have to do it a few more times before I have to go back to work.

Long Posts

I just looked back at my last two posts and realized how long they were.  I don't know how I even found the time to type such long posts with a 2-week old.  Well, I do know how - I wrote them while she was napping, when I should have been napping too. 

I have been bad about not sleeping when she sleeps, then wonder why around 4-5:00pm I can't keep my eyes open.  Alexis is a good baby, but contrary to popular belief that newborns sleep all the time - this is not true of my daughter.  This morning, she got up at 7:30, and was awake until 12:30 pm.  She slept until 3pm, but then was up again until 5pm.  Just about the time that I think I am ready to go to bed (around 10pm), she wakes up and decides she is not going to go back to sleep until midnight.....

Today I decided to stay home since I have been going non-stop since Monday.  Although, I did not take a nap with her, we still snuggled in bed and relaxed for a while.  I did try to get a few things done when she took her nap(s), and was able to get a little bit done.  Too bad my house does not look like I have accomplished anything - still working on projects. BUT, I did make dinner!!! :)

Tomorrow, we are going to lunch with MeMe and Tiffany, but we will try to get a nap in for mommy at sometime............

2 weeks old....

Today, Alexis is 2 weeks old, and she is already growing SO much.  I just love spending my days with her.  So far, they have consisted of the following:

• Awake around 7-7:30 to eat (that's after waking up several times through the night - but this is when we actually get up). 
• Play for a little bit, then take a nap - sometimes I join her, sometimes I don't. We are also usually watching "Saved by the Bell" and "Fresh Prince" at this time.
• Mommy eat Breakfast - sometime around 9am
• Do some laundry/dishes/or work on a project
• Alexis wakes up and eats and plays some more
• Eat lunch around noon
• Alexis takes another nap - sometimes mommy too :)
• Wake up for a bit - kids come home from school and get baths before getting to play with Alexis
• Dinner with the family - Alexis is usually sleeping again
• Wake up and play until around 10-11pm
• Sleep - she wakes up around 12:30-1ish, depending on when she went to sleep, again at 3ish, and again around 5:30ish.  It all depends on what time we actually go to bed and how well she sleeps that night

I am stilly trying to figure out a night time routine that will 1. help her to sleep longer, and 2. keep her from sleeping with me.  Granted, she is only 2 weeks old, I don't want to start a habit of her sleeping with me (although it's so much more fun!).  We have some good nights and some bad night.  And shen I say "bad" it's not really bad, she just wakes up more often.  I don't really let her cry (at night), so when she starts to make noise and get a little fussy, I go a head and get her up to feed.  My husband is working, and the only way I can keep him from sleeping on the couch is to keep her as quite as possible.  So far, so good.

Saturday I had her take her naps in our room where it was nice and quite.  I need to let her get used to sleeping when there's not a lot of noise, because at night, it's very quite.  The 1st few nights home, my husband did sleep on the couch, so I slept with the TV on, and it's usually on all day long.  The only problem is, I like to keep her close to me while she is sleeping during the day, so that means she is usually in whatever room I am working on, and the TV is on.  This week we are going to continue the naps in our room, but also try to get her to actually sleep in the bassinet.  She has been sleeping in the car seat, so I am going to try to get her to sleep in her bed.  Soon, I will let her sleep on her stomach (please don't gasp, my other 2 were tummy babies, and if you ask your mom - SO WERE YOU).  I don't know that I agree with the whole "on the back reduces the risk of SIDS."  In fact, if you research it, many will tell you that they don't know that it actually does reduce the risk.  My son spit up so much all the time that there was NO WAY I was going to let him sleep on his back and have him choke.  Luckily, she does not spit up much, but as long as she can move her head - which she already can, then I am fine with it.  They actually sleep much better that way too!

Alexis is so alert all the time now, which surprises me that she is only 2 weeks old.  She likes to look around at things (as long as you are holding her).  She is even drawn to the light from the TV and will stare at it. 

She's getting so big already too.  Her cheeks are so fat already.  Did I mention that I LOVE staying home with her????  I still have 6 weeks left to go, and I am soaking up every minute of it.  I do not want to go back to work - it's not even funny.  I get very sad when I think about it, so I try not to.  I wish I could find a work from home job - one that does not require me to sell anything, or go to school for......there has to be something out there!

Here are some pictures of her from this week.....

We have a baby!

O.k. this blog is a little past due, but I am sure my "readers" (which I am pretty sure are only two people), completely understand.

Alexis Grace was born on Feb 21st @ 6:38pm. This is an extra special day, because she now also shares the same birthday as her daddy. Although he was not too thrilled with the idea at 1st, I think he has come to terms with it. It's not like you really get a birthday anymore, once you reach a certain age - and he is WELL past that age :).

The last month of pregnancy was a little rough. I was very uncomfortable, and was having contractions off and on. We actually went to the hospital twice thinking we were in labor, only to find that I was just having contractions but not any more progressed than I had been. This was very frustrating to me, because I had a previous C-section, and we wanted to try for a "regular" delivery this time. The only way to actually do that would be if I was in "progressive" labor on my own. There was nothing they could do to help put me in labor, because it could cause serious problems.

Each week I went back to the doctor, and there was no change, not to mention the pain of her having to check, because Alexis' head was in the way, and my cervix was "post terior." Not a good combination.

Sunday, Feb 21st, I started having contractions, in fact, I had some during the night that were strong enough to wake me up. For those of you that don't know me very well, I could sleep through just about anything, so the fact that they were waking me up meant they were stronger than normal.

Around 12:00, they were about 3-4 minutes apart. We watched them for the next couple of hours, and my husband even attempted to take a nap. The pain was harder than labor pain was with my daughter, but we also didn't want to go to the hospital and be sent home again. We had a C-section scheduled for 2 days later, if we did not have her already. About an hour later, they started getting closer. There was a constant "pressure", but strong pains around 2-3 minutes apart. I decided to call my doctor.

My doctor was not on call that day, but the girls in the office had told me to leave her a message and she would call me back. The message sounded something like this...."I have been having contractions for the past few hours 3-4 min apart, and now they are more 2-3 min apart. I don't really know what to do, I don't want to go to the hospital and be sent home. Can you please call me back?" (with tears in my voice too). Thirty minutes later, no call - so I called the doctor on call.

The answering service answered the phone, and I started to tell her about my contractions; she proceeded to put me on hold. I was SO UPSET. I just really felt like no one cared at that point. Not to mention that my husband had called his mom around 12ish to see if she wanted to come spend the day with us and have dinner for his birthday, and be there just in case we needed to go to the hospital. By this point, it was around 3pm and she was still not there.

The doctor on call called me back and talked to me a bit about what was going on. He also informed me that he does not usually do VBAC deliveries, or even offer them to his patients because of the risks. I told him that at this point I didn't care how we had to get her out, I was just in a lot of pain and was ready to get her out. He told me to go a head and go to the hospital.

3:30 rolls around and Brian's mom is just down the street. We went a head and got in the car and were ready to back out of the driveway as soon as she pulled in. At this point, I was beyond frustrated. We get to the hospital - I sign in. The girl at the front desk asked if I had been there before because I knew what to do....UHHHH Just a few times!

They sent me to triage and the nurse came in to start doing her thing. She hooked me up to the monitors and started monitoring contractions. After a few minutes she came back in and started updating my chart...asking me all kinds of questions that they never asked me the other two times I had been there. She made me VERY happy when she said she was "banking on me staying." Whatever she told the doctor, it worked. He said we could go a head and plan to have the c-section in an hour - should have been around 5:30 pm......

One little problem..... I was sick earlier that week and we were not sure if it was the flu or what. I still had 2 days of the medicine she gave me, so he wanted to do a "quick" swine flu test. SERIOUSLY.....I was FINE. I was really only down for one day, no way I had the swine flu. This quick test took 30 minutes.

6:15 pm, we were ready to go. I was in the O.R., had my spinal block and was ready to begin. At this point I was VERY nervous. I don't know why, I was just anxious to hear my little baby cry. Not that I like it when babies cry, but if you have had a child, you understand that that is the most blessed noise you can hear when they 1st come out. I could feel all the tugging and pulling and then they asked my husband if he wanted to see - they had her head out. He looked over the curtain, but I still could not hear any cried. I asked the anesthesiologist if she was going to cry, and he informed me that they were sucking all the stuff out so she could. Few seconds later - there it was. One more big push on their end and they pulled her out - 6:38 pm

They took her over to get her cleaned up, cut her cord, get her stats and footprints while they finished up with me. That time seemed to take FOREVER, I just wanted to see her. They finally brought her over to me, and she was absolutely beautiful. I was so glad she was FINALLY here!!!!

Here are some pictures of my beautiful baby girl........

We came home from the hospital on Wednesday, and I have been enjoying spending time with her ever since.  My recoupe time has been MUCH better than my 1st C-section.  I have not really been in nearly as much pain as I was with Tyler.  This is our 2nd week of Maternity leave (I am taking 8 weeks), and we are just enjoying our time together while slowing doing little projects around the house.  I love being a mommy!

From Bored to Busy

Well, I went through about 2 weeks at work where I was BORED TO DEATH!!!!  Nothing to really do, outside of the daily activites that needed to be done - that did not take very long to do.  Come 11-11:30, I was finished with my work, and really didn't have much to do the rest of the day.  Most of my days were spent searching for things on Etsy, and buying a lot of the things I found......Which, I have had to STOP since JAN 1!  Things have started to pick up speed since mid-last week, and I really have not had time for much of anything, other than to do these reports and things for work.

We are doing REALLY well on our "new budget."  I check our credit card statment for mid month, and we are have spent less than 1/2 of what we normally do by mid month.  I tell you what, those lunches out, and drive thru dinners really do add up!

I am so excited about this week.  Tomorrow, my sister-in-law is throwing me a baby shower.  I can't wait! We also have Monday off, so the work week will be short.  I have a dr. appt at my Primary Care - which I may end up canceling.  The only reason I was going to go is because we switched to an HMO insurance so we would not have an OUTRAGEOUS bill from the hospital when we have Alexis.  Now, just a small deductible payment, and we will be set.  BUT, now that we are on an HMO, I have to have referrals for EVERYTHING!  I was going to the chiropractor for massage every now and then, but now I have to have a referral for that.  The only way the dr. will give me one, is to come see her - since I have not been there in over a year.  Debating on whether or not it's worth the $25 co-pay to go.  Under the new insurance, I can no longer get my massage for $13.41, I have to pay $35, but that is still not bad for 1 hour.  I only have 5 weeks left, maybe I can stick it out.

Anyway, Thursday, I have lunch plans with Angela, and I'm definately looking forward to that.  I have been staying at the office EVERYDAY since we started our new plan of saving money.  Once or twice I may wonder out for about 15-20 min, just to get away, but I have pretty much been taking 10 min to eat my lunch in the break room, then going back to my desk.  Thursday will be a nice change.

Next saturday, my sister is throwing me another shower.  This one is supposed to be fairly big - about 25-35 people will be at my house.  Hope I have enough room!! :)  I'm so excited.  Never thought I would get a baby shower for my 3rd child, let alone 2!  I truly am blessed with some great family and friends.

An Inspiration........

Well, our family New Year's Resolution was to spend less money.  We have made this a "monthly" goal, but have not quite succeeded YET.  We really talked about it over Christmas, since we will be having our 3rd child soon.  Something that is sort of a MUST, and not optional anymore.....

So, with that, I decided that I will no longer BUY my lunch, unless I have some cash, or if I sold some Pampered Chef...as long as it does not go on any credit card, or out of our checking account.....

With that goal in mind, I cooked dinner Monday night, with some left over, so I could bring it to work (Monday I ordered Chinese for lunch, but had cash), and did the same everynight thereafter, so I could bring my lunch.  My 4 yr old tried to ask if we could have Taco Bell Tuesday night, but I resisted the urge, and she was fine with me making her "Taco Bell Fav." at home :).....

My biggest problem is that I run out of ideas of things to make.....so I started searching the Food Network website for meal ideas.  They actually have some "30 min" ideas, and crock pot ideas.  Those tweaked my interest 1st, because my 2nd biggest problem is that I am PREGNANT! :)  Which, makes me tired.  Not to mention, I have 2 other children and work full time. Excuses, I know....My home ec teacher in highschool would be VERY disappointed.

After searching the website and printing some recipes that would be easy and could cook most of the day with minimal effort, I set out on a plan....  My plan was to PLAN meals for the next few weeks, then go grocery shopping this weekend......  I incorporated a few of the new recipes into some of our old traditional favorites, and went to the grocery store.  I had a "mental" budget of what I wanted to spend, and made sure to not get too many things outside of that... (a bad habit I often have).  I did get some breakfast things for the kids, a few easy snacks and easy quick meals for them, for when my husband has to watch them (like Thursday night when I go get my hair done!) 

The other key is to take a pen and piece of paper with you and put little hash marks for every $ spend, making the 5th mark across so that you can keep them grouped in 5's. Anything over $.50 will count as a $1.  It will all even out in the end.  If you stick to that, then you will know before you start putting things in the basket that you REALLY don't need, and can stick much better to budget.  Also, buying store brand for things that don't really matter.

After posting on Facebook that I planned the meals, went to the grocery store, was within $.08 of my "mental" budget - and was able to get a new crock pot as well - since I broke our....LITERALLY, like dropped it and it shattered into pieces.....others started commenting on my facebook.  My sister (1/2 sister from Dad's side), who is ALWAYS a great cook - even had her own catering company, emailed me to find out what I was making, how I did my shopping, and asked for pointers.  I was THRILLED!  She is the one that ALWAYS has the "good stuff" - even food sometimes I don't know what it is.  My other sister also sent me a message this morning that I "inspired" her to cook more at home too.  The "inspirations" are such an encouragement, because I am one to get tired easily.  Knowing that someone else has decided to try the same thing really keeps my spirits going......Hopefully it will last....

My newest obsession - which I have haulted since after Christmas (trying to save $$) is ETSY.  You probably know what it is and have probably see all the cute stuff they have on there.  Let me tell you...I have bought hairbows, and dresses, and all kinds of stuff on there.  Some of the last bit of stuff is coming in now - since they didn't have enough time to make during the holidays.  One of the girls here at work can sew, and she also told me that showing her some of the stuff I have bought has "inspired" her to maybe start making things again and selling them on Etsy.  I wish I was that talented, and for now, I think Alexis and Kaitlyn have PLENTY of stuff from there.  I even got some stuff for my sister and another friend.  It's just SO cute, I can't help myself!

Here is a dress that I bought for Alexis that came in today......Isn't it ADORABLE???  It's MUCH tinier than the one shown below, but SO cute! I have to stop looking at stuff online so I don't buy it.........

Well, to anyone that reads my blog, I hope you have a great day, and let me know if I even "inspire" you.  It really does boost my spirits and help me to stay on track.....

Annoying people make me mad.......

Why would someone stop by my cubicle at work and ask me why I picked out the curtain I did?? (I have a curtain hanging so I can shut it when I'm really busy, so people won't bother me - it's actually a shower curtain, but still). Then, after I state that I picked it out because I liked it (why else would I have picked it??), they respond "really?" Some people just need to be slapped!!!!!!! This is the same person that I wish my curtain would automatically shut when they come by.......YES, THAT ANNOYING!!!

It's also VERY annoying that the people here CAN NOT COUNT!!!!...... SERIOUSLY....You know how many hours each week you are allowed to work, but it never fails that they still go over..... Always someone. What worse, is not only did they go over their "allowed" hours, but they went WAY OVER in OVERTIME!!!!!!!! Almost 10 hours....ARE YOU KIDDING ME??? Is it really that difficult?? Being the Operations Manager, it is my job to check up on them, but when they pick up some last minute hours, and are asked "how are your hours?" I can only be responsible for so much.....and yet, in the end, I will be the one that gets in trouble for it.....How does that work??? Guess I have to get my calculator out EVERYDAY and add......uggggg.....

Sorry, don't mean to complain so much - actually, yes I do! :)

On a brighter note, this morning, another one of my employees sent my Co-worker (their boss), and email saying how wonderful I am. The funny part is, I have never physically met this employee; she was working here before I started, and only works weekends (while I am off). We exchange emails often and correspond that way......

My co-worker proceeded to forward it to her boss and mine, who sent it all the way up to Regional Management, who sent me back a nice sweet email...(can I get some $$ with that??? :) )

I am looking forward to my dr. appt today. It's at the specialist, and I get to see my little girl! :) Can't wait for her to get here....6 1/2 weeks left. I want to see how big she is now, and see if they can give me a "guesstamate" on how big they think she will be. I am counting down until maternity leave!!!!!! :)

Dr's Appointment(s)

It's getting sooo close!! We have started every 2 week appointments, as of this week. I can not tell you how excited I am. It makes the day go by faster, because I schedule them around lunch time, so when I come back, I don't have much time left in the day.



Today was just normal, nothing out of the ordinary. I actually saw the nurse, because my Doctor is on Vacation. My visit was over in about 45 min......That's a RECORD! We actually have to go to the specialists next week - and I get so see sweet baby Lexi (Alexis), because they will do a very detailed ultrasound. LOVE THOSE VISITS!



This week has been SO slow at work. SO, since my sister works with me (and she is pregnant too), we have been planning our baby showers. YES, I am having one for my 3rd child. My sister is SO GREAT. My sister-in-law is also doing one too. This is my husband's bioligical sister (if you do not know the story, you can read here http://momsenseandmore.blogspot.com/2009/01/so-busy-and-never-enough-time-to-post.html . So, I actually get TWO! The one MY sister is doing is mostly people from work and old friends, and we have 80 people to invite! We will see how many actually come, but I couldn't NOT invite someone from work.

I am doing one for my sister, and another friend is doing another one for her too, and her friends in Pensacola are going to do one for her there too. Her husband's family lives there too, so hopefully they will be able to come. She deserves it! :)

Well, that's it for now.... Maybe something interesting will happen tomorrow I can post about, bc this is BORING! :)

SO BORED...............

Well, for some reason, this week is SO SLOW at work. Normally I have so much to do I just want to cry, but that is not the case today (or yesterday). I should not be complaining should I?? Probably not, but then it means I am BORED....

Today I had an appointment, so I did not have to be in until 10, but that means I have to work until 6:30...BOOO.... I may leave at 6, since I did not go anywhere for lunch.

Good news, I am going to see my friend Angela tonight for an Arbonne Party. Should be loads of fun....Oh and Dallas (her baby) will be there too... We might all fight over who gets to play with her. Maybe if I get there early I can call dibbs!! :)

Tomorrow I go see my OB... We will see what she says, if anything, about how things are going. I don't think she will check anything, unless I tell her I am still having contractions, but who knows. I have to go back to the specialist next week for another Eco-Cardiogram. Nothing to worry about. I just get some extra tests because my 1/2 sister had some complications with her 1st. Nothing I will complain about, because I get to see the baby and get more pictures!! :) I seriously can not wait for her to get here........Then we start every other week visits, which means I will have 1 every week for the next 3 weeks (1 this, 1 next(specialist), 1 regular the next week). It's getting CLOSE!!!!! I can't wait.

I keep saying I'm looking forward to my 6 weeks off from work. Who am I kidding, I will be BEGGING for all my friends to come see. The older two will be in school, so that will be nice to just have some me and Alexis time, but after a few days, I am sure I will be STIRR CRAZY! :) We shall see though. If all goes well and we have normal delivery, recoupe time should not be too bad. All depends on how bad the tubes tying thing goes.... (not overly thrilled about that, but I am sure I will be ok :) ).

O.k. if the rest of the week goes like the last two days, I might blog again....Or maybe for my 1 reader's sake, I won't blog again..... :)

Enjoy your day!!!

BAD BLOGGER

O.k. I just realized that it has been since October since I have posted! WOW am I lazy.....or am I just busy?? I like the 2nd one better.

Well, since Vacation, I have been looking forward to my NEXT Vacation....partly because I will have another baby then! :) I can't wait. 7 weeks, 5 days in counting. That is, if she will cooperate and come on time. I don't see any reason she won't, but we will wait and see.

I have a dr. appt. this week, and one at the Specialist next week, then I think I go back the next week to my dr. again (will start 2 week appointments this week). It's getting SO MUCH closer!!!!!!!!

I will upload some recent photos.... I had maternity pictures done recently, and this was one of my favorite that she took, so she sent me a copy to have for myself......It was one of the better ones that you could actually tell that I was pregnant...

We also had 4-d pictures done a few weeks ago. These REALLY made me want to bring Alexis home NOW!!!

Isn't she beautiful??

For Christmas, I got a new crib/changing table and the bedding for her bed. Right now, it is all in our room. We are working on getting the office cleaned out and moving Tyler into Kaitlyn's room so Alexis can have her own room. She may end up in our room for a while......

The Crib and bedding....

The changing table

We had a really good Christmas, the kids were spoiled with everthing they got. We should almost not buy them any presents with how many they get from everyone else.....:) They are enjoying playing with their toys and their week off from school. Everything should be back to "normal" for the time being after the 1st.

Can I get another vacation??

Last week we went to Pigeon Forge, Tn for 5 days! It was a long drive, but the kids did great, falling asleep at separate times, but enjoying watching DVD's the whole way there and back. They only got a little antzy towards the end of the 8.5 hour drives :).

We didn't get in until 7pm on Wednesday, so we just got to the cabin (mom, steph, and matt were already there), set the kids up where they would be sleeping and relaxed a little bit. Our room had a jetted tub in the room - separate from the bathroom with a normal shower/tub combo.

Thursday, we spent the day shopping at the outlet, and lunch there as well. I could not believe how sore I was when we were done. It did not seem like that long out, but I guess pushing two kids in the double stroller all day, and all the walking we did, my calves were so sore.

The next day we went to DollyWood, as if my legs didn't hurt already. We took the kids to ride some of the rides there size, Kaitlyn rode her 1st "roller-coaster." I was able to ride the elephant ride with her so daddy could ride with Tyler. We decided to go watch the 50's-60's show, and poor Kaitlyn was asking the whole time to go back and ride more. If I had to do it over again, I would have skipped the show and taken her to ride more. Show was ok, but I could have done without seeing it. Would have rather let her have all the fun she could in 1 day. We ate at "Aunt Grannie's Kitchen" in the park after the show. Good home-cooked southern food on buffet....mmmmmm. At the end of our meal, it started raining. Poor Kaitlyn started crying, I almost started crying, because I was sad that she wouldn't get to ride more. We decided to stick it out and wait for it to stop. It let up enough to take them to the carousel and ride. We walked back through the other rides and found a "car" ride that they could "drive" on a track that would not let them off track. We both road passenger, each with one kid. I wanted to let them ride so much more, but we were so tired by then.

Saturday was Kaitlyn's 4th birthday. Mom and I went out to get her present and cake and lunch, and traffic was RIDICULOUS!!! It took 30 minutes just to get 3-4 lights down the street, and the lights are very close together. Pigeon Forge must be a tourist place, because it was INSANE!

We finally made it back to the cabin (4 hours later), and open presents, had cake and dinner, and just did nothing the rest of the day. We left on Sunday and drove home. It was nice to be back at home in our own bed, and the kids in their own rooms. Tyler was in the pack and play in our room the whole time.......

Now, back to work. This week has been busy busy, but went by so fast. I have so much to do everyday, and never seem to have enough time to do it. This week was a little different, but good....my boss was here for training, so we were able to spend some time together. We laughed a lot (mostly @ me), so that keep things less stressful.

OH so glad tomorrow is friday!

Vacation....here we come!!!

WOW! Last week was CRAZY!!!!! The director of our center put in her resignation, and on Tuesday they went a head and let her go. We have a manager (our center is "three-tiered" - Director- resigned, Manager - new, and Operations - ME!!). Anyway, as I was saying, we have a manager, but she has only been on the job for 1 month, so she doesn't really know much yet. Nothing against her, she's just new and still learning.

SO, It's just me and her! Luckily, I have been there a year, so I know what's going on and how things go, but we have been changing a lot of things recently too.....eeekkk!!!! Needless to say, last week was very hectic and stressful. I was really looking forward to the weekend of NO WORK......Do you think that happened???? NOPE! Yesterday they did a Nation-wide ALL CALL for people to come into work and help out. Both the manager and I were calling and scheduling people all day long. Thankfully that can be done remotely, and I didn't have to go into the office.

This next week I only have to work 2 days before we leave for vacation. I am sure the manager would love it if I decided to stay, but we have already made the reservations and everything, so no backing out! I can't wait though!! There is no internet access at the cabin we will be staying at, so even if I wanted to work while on vacation, I CAN'T!!! Yippie. Good news though, my boss will be available to help her, as well as her people too.

SO, Vacation, here we come. Hopefully it will be somewhat relaxing. The kids are coming with us, this will be our 1st "family" vacation. My sister and her husband, and my mom will be coming as well.....what fun right?!?!?!? :)

We will be going to Pigeon Forge, Tennessee and will have a cabin up in the mountains for all of us to stay. We get there on Wednesday and will probably just relax from the 8-9 hour drive. Thursday we are planning on going shopping - as much as the two pregnant women and the kids can handle. Friday, we are headed to DollyWood. My sister and I just realized that we will not be able to ride any of our favorite rides - no pregnant women allowed! We will probably spend a good portion of the day there, eat at "Aunt Grannie's Kitchen", and get some "Dolly Dresses." Saturday, the plan is to veg and watch football. The boys will love that. We may venture out and do something, we at least have to get a cake for Kaitlyn's Birthday. Hard to believe she will be 4!!!!! Sunday, we are headed back home! I really wish it could be longer, but I need to save as much time as I can for when the new little one comes.

IT'S A GIRL!!!

Things have been quiet in the Baird house (health-wise) for the last two weeks! Thankfully, it looks like we are all well for the time being. Hopefully it will stay that way.

Last week we found out that we are definately having a girl. I was so excited. Now, if we can just get her here :) It seems like it is going to take forever..... We have also picked a name - Alexis Grace.

This week should hopefully be a little quite. Nothing major planned, and nothing really exciting going on at work. Let's just hope we make it through the week with no phone calls for sick kids.

One week from Wed, we will be going out of town - to the Mountains. I get to buy some "Dolly" dresses for the new baby, and for Kaitlyn too. I can't wait!! :) This will be our 1st family vacation. The kids will be joining us, along with my sister, brother-in-law, and mom. We have not been on a family vacation EVER. Kaitlyn is very excited, because we will be in the mountains for her birthday. Little does she know that means she won't have a birthday party, but we will do something there with just us to celebrate. Nice to be off the hook for birthday party this year :)

Does it ever end????

Oh the joys of parenthood, attempting to hold down a full-time job, and being a mother :). Last week I only made it to work 1 1/2 days out of 4 (Monday was a holiday). Tyler was still sick - not with "hand, foot, mouth" because he didn't ACTUALLY have that, but Monday night started diarrea. I was hoping that Tuesday morning he would be fine, so we sent him to school (don't most parents send their kids to school knowing good and well they might be a little under the weather but hope they don't get a call from school, or is that just me?? - please don't judge me :) ) I received 2 phone calls before 12 on Tuesday that he had 3 wet diarrea diapers. Good times. So, I picked him up and took the rest of the day off. My plan was just to work an extra hour Wed-Friday to make up for it, so I went to work on Wednesday. I pulled a 10.5 hour day - was plum exhausted, only to come home to an even more sick little boy. The diarrea had not gotten better, he was not eating very well, drinking some what o.k., but started to get a bad cough and congestion. Thursday I took the day off and had to take him to the dr. What does the dr. do?!?!? Tell me it's a virus, give me cough meds (with steriods) for the cough, alergy meds for the congestion, diaper cream for the major diaper rash, and send me on my merry little way. I thought after 3 days of diarrea, they start on anti-biotics. He said it was a virus, but I thought they give anti-biotics regardless after 3 days.....I sware, I could be a pediatrician.

We survived the weekend and even though he's not back 100%, he's almost there.....

Now, here's the fun part. My husband gets a phone call around 5:15 that Kaitlyn has a 101.6 fever!!! What does that mean??? We have to keep her out of school at least through tomorrow and hope the fever breaks by then and she is o.k. Even worse, she has a very nasty cough. Since she is going to be out tomorrow, I am going to call in the morning to see if I can get her into the dr. and go a head and start meds for whatever the heck she might have as quickly as possible. What has me even more worried is a few people that work with me (not at my center, but within my company in other states/cities) have the Swine Flu - one girl that used to work for my husband as well. They said it either started as bronchitis, or it turned into brochitis. Her cough has me worried she might end up with swine flu...... Paranoid....

Well, let's just hope I don't get sick. It' can't be good (if she has the swine flu) to pass that on to a pregnant person....... I maybe thinking into this too much.... I will stop stressing....

Home again.....

Well, I thought with the long weekend that it would help kick any illness that Tyler may or may not have so that we could return back to school/work. We were fine all weekend long, spent Sunday at the pool and just had a great weekend.... Well, until yesterday. Tyler did not really want to take a nap yesterday...kept waking up and whining every 45 minutes. He started to get a little bit of a fever yesterday and we saw that he is cutting teeth. FUN TIMES!!!! Not long before bed he had a "blow out" so I knew he was not feeling well. This morning he woke up with a loose diaper, but it was not the "blow out" from the night before. He was a little cranky this morning, but I gave him some motrin and sent him to school. I guess I was hoping we could drug him up enough that he would be o.k.

I receved 2 phone calls from the school before noon. They decided to watch his diapers after he had 2 "blow outs" because they knew he was teething. She told me 1 more and he would have to go home. Not even a hour later they called me back......UGGG....

These are the times that you really feel like a "mom." Taking care of sick kids, and trying to figure out how to help them feel better. Do you medicate, do you not. What kind of medicine do you give them? Do you let them have milk or juice? Maybe Sprite?? But is the soda bad for a 2 year old?? Don't we drink Sprite when we have an upset stomach??? I know my son tends to have loose diapers when he drinks juice, regardless of whether he is sick or not. Milk is not supposed to be good on an upset stomach.

I never call out sick, especially for my kids. I have been blessed that they do not get sick that often, or if they do, it's on the weekends. It really stinks that I had to take all day Friday off, we had the long weekend, and now I have to take 1/2 day off today. I feel bad, but what can I do? These are my kids, and if I have to take time off because they are sick, then that is what I have to do.

My last job, if they were sick, I just went across the street to pick them up, and brought them back to work with me. Unfortunately, I can not do that at this job. Luckily, I get paid time off. The only bad thing is, I am trying to save every ounce of it up so that I can stay home as long as I can when I have the new baby. Guess we will cross that hurdle when it comes.

So, hopefully Tyler will be much better tomorrow, and he can go back to school after lunch. My husband is supposed to stay home tomorrow with him, but we will see if that really happens. Let's just hope we get past this hurdle and will be nice and well from here on out!!!