You may remember me helpingMelissa celebrate her birthday a while back. Now its time to help Marsha celebrate her birthday with a Bloggy Bash. It will be next week, April 21-25, with prizes every day. Stop by and tell Marsha "HAPPY BIRTHDAY!"

Copyright 2008, Do Not Use Without Permission

I am trying to clean out my cabinets & freezer. I am also trying very hard to not eat out any until we head off for vacation a couple of weeks. And, at the top of the trying list is saving money. We are on a very tight budget this week. The first of the month always drains us, and this month was no exception. So, I am going to only use what we have around here this week and try to limit my trips to the grocery store.

Monday:

Breakfast Stromboli - egg/cheese/turkey sausage

Grits

Tuesday:

I will be going to play softball so DH will have frozen egg rolls & rice, the girls will have frozen mac & cheese

Wednesday:

Appetizer Night - boneless wings, chicken fries & cheese sticks

Thursday:

Beef & Bean Enchiladas

The menu ends there. That clears out alot from the freezer/cabinets and we will have company this weekend due to DD's ballet recital.  This week seems to be relatively calm. No plans for today other than a trip to the credit union, and no plans for Friday. Tuesday DD has PT & we will go to the library story time after that. Wednesday DD has ST and we have church/cubbies as well. Thursday I have a doctor's appointment & DD has ballet. I will drop the girls off with DH on Thursday. That way he can take DD1 to ballet and watch the little one & I can make it to an appointment all alone! Woo-hoo!

I am working out scenerios for CVS shopping this week. Check out Centsible Sawyer for links to more scenerios.

Last night I saw a post on here from someone linking to Centsible Sawyer, I meandered on over and what I found was amazing! I stayed up until 4 AM reading about all the steals people found and trying to figure out just how the Extra Care Bucks worked. I made my first trip to CVS just after midnight where I earned my first ECB. Here is the breakdown.

Transaction 1

2 packs of Huggies Diapers

1 pack of Huggies Pull Ups

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$4 in manu coupons

$4 on $20 purchase found here

Total out of pocket $20.79

Earned $10 ECB

Transaction 2

5 Bottles of Exedrine

3 Bottles CVS Rapid Release Gel Tabs

1 Bottle of Sunsilk Shampoo

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$2 off Excedrine (times 5) found here

$1.50 off Sunsilk found here

$4 off $20 purchase

$10 ECB from previous purchase

Total out of pocket $0.97

Earned $16.97 in ECB

Transaction 3

1 pack of Huggies

1 pack of Huggies Supreme

1 pack of Good Nights

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$5 in manu coupons

$4 off $20 purchase

$16.97 in ECB from previous purchase

Total out of pocket $1.56

My grand total for all 3 transactions was $23.12 for $110.65 in products.

Total savings was $87.53 or just over 80%!!!!

I mentioned a while ago that I was going to have an Usborne Book Party. It turned out to be a great party and I got tons of free and very reduced price books.  In fact I was able to get over $200 in books for only $40! My girls love every single thing we got and I am in love with the new books as well.

One of the books we got is The Complete Book of First Experiences. What a great book! It has going to the doctor, the hospital, the dentist, the new baby, etc (9 different titles in one). I was so glad to have it before we made our trip to Vanderbilt. It really helped DD1 to understand some of what would happen when she went to the hospital. Even though she has been to the doctor a bazillion times she really enjoyed reading about other kids going to the doctor, too. I am very impressed with this book and totally recommend it to anyone looking to add to their library.

As a free gift for hosting a show, my hostess told me I could pick any kit up to $75. I picked the Learning Palette Set 1 which included the following sets: Counting , Rhyming Words, Alphabet , Beginning Consonants , Beginning Vocabulary  and Vowels. If you have never heard of these learning palettes you should most certainly check them out. It is such a neat idea and so easy for kids to use. My 4 yo loves it already. We are just now working through the Alphabet pack. Right now we are still working on recognizing letters. She recognizes all capital letters but still gets some of the lower cased letters confused.

You would think I sell the books (and I used too!) the way I am so in love with them, but really are great treasures! One day, time permitting of course, I would not mind getting back into the business, but for now I'll just continue to host great parties!

You know, just last night dh and I were talking about how DD2 would for sure be our first trip to the ER for a broken arm. She is such a little dare devil, always leaping without looking. DH actually calls her a cat because she always lands on her feet and she has this very annoying habit of trying to squeeze through your legs if you are standing somewhere.

This morning I hear DD1 listening to T.J Bearytales and I wondered to myself exactly how she got him down from the top of her closet.

Exhibit A

Maybe she will be the first with the broken arm. How did she not take a tumble? Do you see how she has the two chairs stacked and used her rocking chair to scale Mt. Rushtothehospital??

There is a very fine line between trusting God and tempting God and I am not sure where the blur ends from one side to another. I feel like I trapped in this line and if I move one way I am blessed and if I move the other, well, not so blessed.

Our pastor preached a while ago about tempting God and it has made such an impression on me and yet leaves me second guessing everything I do. Our pastor has had diabetes for a very long time. He made the example of saying yes, he could and does trust God for his healing, but he is not going to tempt God by saying "Alright God, heal me. I'm not going to take any of the medicines you have provided me with but I have faith that you are going to heal me." I totally see the line there. He could very well not give himself an insulin shot every day with complete faith that he would be healed, but more than likely he would not be here. God has provided us with wonderful medical technology. God expects us to do our part in protecting His temple.

Here is my predicament ... I have two very lovely children. I had a third precious daughter that went to be with her Creator 19 weeks into my pregnancy. I had the same problem in all three pregnancies, failure to dilate. Not just getting stuck at 2 or 5 and never progressing any further. When I say I had failure to dilate I mean there was no dilation at all! Not at 41 weeks, not at 38 weeks and not even after 4 days on induction meds at 19 weeks. I must always have a c-section. I am very thankful to God that someone  many, many years ago learned out to cut babies from the womb that they might live. If it were not for that person, and God's never-ending grace,  I would not have any children.
So here I am walking this very blurred, fine line between temptation and trust. Part of me says that I have two beautiful children, two more than a lot of people are blessed with, and for that I should be entirely thankful (and I am) and be done; nurture the two I have in my presence in the admonition of the Lord and be the best mother I can be by God's grace. The other part of me says that I have the ability to make and carry babies (there was no reason found at all for me losing Joslyn) and that for that very reason alone I should keep adding to my quiver. Its just such a struggle in my mind and it is totally wearing me down. I have wanted children as long as I can remember ever thinking of having kids and I think I was like 2 days old when the thought first occurred to me. I am at a point now where I am "allowed" to start trying for another baby. The thought scares me to death. There are many complications that can arise from having a c-section. Would I be tempting God to try again, or would I be trusting Him to protect me and my family?
Such a grey line. A fuzzy line of black and white bleeding together and muddling my mind.

feel like you can't even breath you are so tired? Its a good thing breathing is involuntary! I just cannot summon enough energy for anything lately. I thought for sure the sunshine and warm weather would awaken my spirits but so far no such luck! I need a good challenge to get me going. You would think I could motivate myself. I need pressure. I preform well under pressure. Call me and tell me you are coming tomorrow for a lunch day and I'll stay up til 4 AM cleaning .. happily. Tell me you'll be here in 2 weeks and I'll sit for 1 week and 6 days before I get started. I think I wrote a paper in college on procrastination. My English professor enjoyed it. I'll have to dig it up and possibly spark some sort of something way down deep that will get me moving again. Maybe I should find a never-ending supply of magic energy pills :)

Or maybe ... I'll go to bed.

Night Night!

 Our trip to Nashville went very well! DD1 did great at her MRI and got good reports from the neurologist and geneticist. The geneticist orderd a full chromosonal study and also a metabolic study. We should get the metabolic test back this week and it will take a month or so to get the other results back.

 While we were there we made the most of our trip. We ate at the Rainforest Cafe & the Cheesecake Factory (thanks to a gift card from so great friends at church!) and we also made a trip to the zoo. We have a membership to our local zoo and with that membership we are able to get into several zoos across the county for free. The Nashville Zoo is one of those and we were majorly impressed! My youngest loved the elephants! I was going to buy her the stuffed elephant that she hugged and kiSssed and cuddled all through the gift shop but as we stood in line she chunked it and exclaimed "All done!" Alrighty then, saved me $8!

 OK, so that super long paragraph I had going just vanished. I'm going to bed now.

No, not goats, children. Adam, and I met while we were in college. We got married 2 1/2 years after we met. We knew that we wanted children, but we never realized what an incredible blessing we would receive.

This is my oldest daughter. Her name is Kennedy Harper. She is 4 years old, and growing much too quickly. She is very kind & tenderhearted. She loves to play outside and has a wild imagination. She loves pirates as much as she loves princesses. She wants to be a mommy when she grows up. She loves babies and is a big help with her baby sister.

She came into this world with a bit of trouble. I was 41 weeks when my induction was scheduled. I ended up having a c-section as her heart rate was dropping drastically and I had made no progress. When she was born her cord was wrapped around her neck. She was doing some things that concerned the doctors (they thought possible seizures) and was transferred to another hospital. All tests were normal and after another short trip to the hospital for a fever we were on the road to what we thought was normalacy. However, some of you who remember me from before may remember this, she was diagnosed at 2 1/2 with ataxic cerebral palsy. She has been in therapy since that time and improving by leaps and bounds. Just since Christmas she has had some regression. She has an MRI and several doctors' appointments on Friday, remember to pray for her if you can.

At any rate, she has such a huge heart! She loves learning about God and loves God with all her heart. She is so funny. Several of her friends have had baby brothers born recently. She wants a baby brother. Yesterday she says, "Mom, you have another baby growing in your tummy and it is a boy."

"I don't think I do. But you just pray about that OK."

"Alright." She drops to her knees ... "Dear God, I want a baby brother. Amen."

"OK, Mom, God said yes!!"

LOL

This is my second daughter. Her name is Aubrey Raigan. She will be 20 months old tomorrow. She is a handful! I never knew how much trouble a 19 month old could get into! She is very spirited. She has a great sense of humor! I pray every day that God will give me wisdom in raising this little girl because her outgoing personality gets her into trouble and I pray that God will help me to direct her energy in the right way.

She is very chatty and loves to dance. Her birth was very easy and without complications. I had a scheduled c-section at 38 weeks (Ultrasound showed her cord around her neck though it was not). It was very calm and everything went according to plan. Its so much fun to watch her learn new things and she loves her big sister! She loves animals and babies. I see her being a wonderful mommy someday!

Our family does not stop here. I was pregnant with our third child due to be born the middle of January. It was the easiest pregnancy I had had by far. I felt great and I didn't even have real morning sickness. The day after Labor Day last year was the appointment to find out what we were having. Adam and the girls were there to see the ultrasound. As the tech started the ultrasound,something I had done a million times before, I knew something was very wrong. She asked if I had been sick or if there had been any problems and I said "No. The baby is dead isn't it?" She started crying and said she could not find the heartbeat.

Absolutely  the saddest days of my life.

I went and talked to my midwife and she sent me home until we knew exactly what to do. The reason for my previous c-sections was failure to dilate and they were not sure if I would ever go into labor on my own. The doctor who did my 2nd daughter's csection called to tell me he wanted me to come into the hospital then. After four days on induction meds I had my 3rd csection, my third baby. They were unable to tell the gender at the time but a few days later we found out that we had had our third daughter, Joslyn Grace. We buried her on September 12. This day was sad, but we also knew that this precious, perfect little baby with 10 toes & 10 fingers, 2 tiny ears and a tiny little nose was with the One who had given her her first breath of life. We knew that she would never know anything but peace and joy and that one day we will meet her when we meet Jesus. It is still something that I struggle with almost daily, but it is great to know that God is good, and He is right. He has showed us His grace and mercy in ways we never knew possible. He has blessed us with three gorgeous daughters and for that I am extremely thankful!

I absolutely love to cook! I don't so much care for the clean-up (that's why my most wonderful husband does it for me!), and I sometimes don't really enjoy the process, but the final product is very often worth every drop of blood, sweat & tears!

Tonight after church our Sunday School class is having a fellowship dinner in honor of a guy in our class who has just returned home from Iraq. This was his 3rd and hopefully his last tour. His wife and I went to college together and 2 of their 3 children are my childrens' ages. The meal theme is Italian. I signed up to bring stromboli! I love stromboli!! I will be making 3; one will be cheese, one beef & one pepperoni. I was also asked to make a cake for the occasion. I have been making cakes for about 5 years now. I love making people happy and sometimes the money is quite nice, but making the cake is pretty much torture! I'm amazed that I am still in this business. Actually baking the cake and making the icing is fun. Seeing the end result is fabulous (once it is delivered all in one piece). I am sure I make it much harder on myself because I am such a perfectionist when it comes to the way the cake looks. I must give my customers something they will be insanely proud of, something that I myself would pay for. And so I stress and usually I throw a few fits, sometimes there is crying involved and then I am finished. (You thought the blood, sweat & tears was just figurative didn't ya??)

So anyhoo -- here is the cake I made for tonight's shin-dig!

My handwriting is not normally so terrible. I don't know if it was sheer exhaustion or low sugar, but I nearly passed out as I was making the "my" in Jeremy. Also, the bow ... it was my first attempt at making a fonant bow. It turned out OK ... next time I'll know to do things a bit differently.

Hope you all had a most wonderful Easter weekend! We had a fabulous time and my girls loved every second of it! Last week I read Runaway Bunny to K every day. We half way rowed it, well, maybe only like 1/4! We did go on a hunt looking for crocuses but to no avail. She colored a picture from the book and we went to the zoo to see their "resident easter bunnies" but there were no bunnies when we got to the zoo.

Hopefully this did not happen ...

I had a million other ideas brewing in my mind, but never quite got there. Maybe we will try again this week.

In other news, Martha Stewart is amazing. I love all her neat-o ideas and when I saw this one I just knew I had to make it happen for DH's Easter basket. Here is what came of my first attempt at making my own marshmallow treats ....

We had a fantastic Easter Sunday. We woke up really early and went to the sunrise service at our church. What a wonderful way to celebrate the resurrection of our Lord. Afterwards we had breakfast in the gym (eating up on the hill is one of K's most favorite things) and then we went to our regular morning service. After church we at the most decadent lunch at la McDonald's, visited a friend and her new baby boy at the hospital and then went home to delve into Easter baskets and have another egg hunt. We finished the night with communion,  a wonderful Easter concert performed by our choir, and then a great sermon by our pastor.

Oh, and lest I forget why I titled this entry as such .... it was a beautiful sunny & 75 day on Saturday. Here is what we woke up to this morning .....

SNOW!

What a grand contest! I've been wondering when Jen was going to host another contest. My first contest I ever entered on her blog was for a hugemongus K'Nex set. I spent my entire day at the computer trying to be the last poster and then I had to take DD to the doctor. I lost. She's making it easier these days ... just read below and enter your chance to win this RANDOM drawing for a fabulous prize.  I want the French set when my name is drawn!!

Rosetta Stone has been the #1 foreign language curriculum among homeschoolers for a while -- next week they are unleashing a brand new curriculum, and you can WIN the *all new* Rosetta Stone Homeschool Version 3… FOR FREE! 

This is a $219 program (and believe me it's worth every penny!) and the winner gets to pick from any of these 14 languages: Spanish (Spain or Latin America), English (American or British), Arabic, Chinese, Japanese, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Irish, Hebrew, or Russian.

This will also include a headset with microphone, and students will participate in lifelike conversations and actually produce language to advance through the program.  Rosetta Stone still incorporates listening, reading and writing as well, in addition to speaking.  Many homeschoolers requested grammar and vocabulary exercises, and with Rosetta Stone Homeschool Version 3, they're included!  For parents, the new Parent Administrative Tools are integrated into the program and allow parents to easily enroll students in any of 12 predetermined lesson plans, monitor student progress, and view and print reports. 

To win this most excellent program -- in the language of your choice -- copy these (blue) paragraphs and post it in (or as) your next blog post -- then to enter the contest, go to the original contest page HERE: http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/JenIG/501132/  and leave a comment with the link showing where you blogged about it.  And please make sure the link works to get back to the original contest page when you post it.  And good luck!  The winner will be picked randomly on March 26, and will be notified thru the link they left to their blog pg.   And if you have more than one blog, you can post them and enter those separately for more chances to win.   Yay for free stuff!

My address indicates that Here I am, though I appear to mostly make it here only on Wednesdays. I have all these great blogging thoughts but they tend to roll through my mind at inopportune times such as the middle of the night or in the middle of a visit to the doctor's office or grocery store. By the time I get to the computer those thoughts have slipped my mind and I can come up with nothing as witty and clever as I had during those times when blogging was not an option.

So now I here i am blogging random nothingness. Hopefully I will be back to blogging interesting things that people enjoy reading soon. Until then I will enjoy browsing other blogs and .... hereikindaam.