Blog Neglect

My friend Jen told me tonight that she is tired of seeing the same picture every time she visits my blog. I know! I've been neglecting my blog and I have no excuses. So, I will attempt to post more frequently.

Since nothing is coming to the forefront of my mind to post about, I will give you a quick baby update.

Little man Henry will be here in 3 to 4 weeks! We are all so excited to meet him. I'm pretty sure he's ready to enter the world because he likes to stretch out alot. He especially likes to stretch out on my bladder and my hips! I also think he might be my first baby with hair because of the massive amount of heartburn I'm experiencing. His ultrasound picture looks alot like his big brother and sister. I'm hoping that he might just look a little like his mama though, unlike his bro and sis! I guess it doesn't really matter because they're all so darn cute!

My parents are graciously watching the precious cherubs this week while Ted and I "get stuff done" around the house. We're calling this our little staycation. I think we really just needed rest though because not much has been done this week.

Promise I'll try really hard to keep you updated on Henry's upcoming arrival!

Our Baby

 

kids...

It's funny how kids can say the sweetest things that make you feel so good in one breath,(see post below) and then in the next, completely send you back down to reality.

Riding home the other day from school, we're talking about how firemen sometimes have to rescue cats from trees. When out of nowhere comes, "Mom, when you die we can get a cat." (I'm allergic to cats)

Thankfully, when I asked her what she would prefer to have, me or a cat, she chose me. :)

My Twin

I got my hair cut last week and my daughter loved it so much she decided to get the same hair cut. Now she tells everyone that we're twins. I can't tell you how happy that makes me.

There's no place like Walmart

I was able to get a pedicure while I waited on an oil change today! If I had thought about it, I would have brought my dog for a grooming, too. Now all they need is a kid's play area and a walk in medical clinic, which probably wont be to far away.

Surviving the Economic Crisis

Surprisingly, the current economic crisis has actually had a mostly positive effect on my family. I'd like to preface what I'm about to say with this: As a suburban middle class family, I can't even begin to pretend that we're struggling. We still have jobs and a sufficient income, which is more than lots of people can say right now. So, we're trying to watch our own spending so that we can help those in our own back yard who are not fairing as well. We're all in this together!

So, here are some things that we're doing to cut costs around here:

Consigning! My goal is to buy almost all of my kid's clothes on consignment this year. So far, I've had great success with the sales in our area. Others are doing the same and it's working out great for everyone! The deeper issue for me is not feeling like my kids have to keep up with the latest fashion trends. They are adorable non matter what adorns them!

Coupons, coupons, coupons! We started doing this a year ago and it has revolutionized how we do grocery shopping. I would estimate we saved a couple of thousand dollars last year on groceries. 2 great resources for me has been thegrocerygame.com and faithfulprovisions.com. We also use those clipper coupons for restaurants and we share food! Carrabbas is a great place to share a meal because they're so huge. Works for our budget and our waistline!

Less trips to Target! When I first became a SAHM, one of our regular outings was Target. I know... crazy! I was board, we needed to get out of the house and it was close. No longer! We go to Target only when we need something now. During the winter our outings now consist of the library, the mall playground, chick fil a, McDonalds and of course the YMCA.

Finally, for me it was all about a heart change. I'm slowly beginning to understand that relationships are where it's at, not how much stuff you buy or what your house looks like. There are always deeper issues that drive what we do and I'm finally working on those issues. Believe it or not, that has been the best thing for our family economic condition!

My new favorite coffee

LaMai Coffee. I had my first cup this morning. Wow! The aroma is amazing and the flavor does not disappoint. The story behind the coffee makes it much more valuable though.

The La Mai Coffee Story

La Mai is an organic, fairly traded coffee that is bringing hope to the people of northern Thailand. Farmers who once grew opium poppies and were central to the drug trade, now grow high quality coffee beans instead. International charity Bright Hope World pays above Fair Trade prices for these beans giving the farmers a living wage.

La Mai beans are then shipped directly to the US and roasted with care in small batches. This captures the unique regional flavors and produces a great tasting cup of coffee. La Mai Coffee is sold whole bean or freshly ground with wholesale profits going back to Thailand to fight child prostitution.

Order here.

Drink compassionately.

Thoughts on blogging

I've been feeling a little guilty about not blogging lately. I could come up with all kinds of excuses about why I've been a slacker lately. But, I decided instead to just lay down my expectations for this blog so that there will not be any confusion and we can all let each other off the hook.

Here's what you can expect: I will not be blogging every day. When I do create a new blog post, facebook or google reader will tell you. So, you don't need to come and check my blog every day to see if I posted something new.

Yes, this blog is still alive and active. I apologize to those of you who have been checking every once in a while only to find the same post over and over again. I know that must be frustrating.

Thanks for caring about what I have to say.

Looking back/ Looking forward

As I think back over 2008 I can't help but remember the good and the bad. Wisdom came more and more this year and I gained more healing and understanding than ever before. There were many successes, no doubt, and I acknowledge them and thank God for them.

But, there was the ugly as well. I continued to spend a lot of time under the dark clouds of fear and mistrust. Those are the ugly clouds that will probably haunt me for the rest of my life, but will hopefully continue to get smaller and smaller until one day, I will hardly know they're there.


So this year, all I can do is continue the journey toward true freedom, taking it one baby step at a time.


Happy new year!

Cruel and Unusual Punishment

Not sure what these poor animals did to deserve this kind of treatment. I was told that they'd been bad and were in jail. I'm going to try not to get on my daughter's bad side!

Who do you love??

(a couple of letters can make a big difference :)

Important day tomorrow

Tomorrow is a very special day, hopefully. Tomorrow, Abby will perform in her last pre-school Christmas show and Brennan will perform in his first. I am so excited about the only opportunity to see both of my kids in the same Christmas program. It will possibly be the only time that happens. They are both excited also and have been singing their songs for weeks now.

Here's the catch: Williamson County Schools must not close tomorrow! If schools close, then the performance is cancelled.

So I'm praying that the weather will not get too bad tonight so that tomorrow, the show will go on!

Amazing production!

For those of you who didn't watch this on Brody's site, here you go.



Incredible!

My least favorite birthday gift

I just had to show you the lovely birthday gift that my ever so thoughtful friends Jon and Jen gave me. They know me so well! (sarcasm)



I'm thinking Jon will really like the Hillary Clinton autobiography I get him for Christmas. Yes, I think that will be perfect!
:)