Wordless Wednesday-5.28.08

He's too cool. And he knows it.

Birthday weekend

It was my birthday last Saturday. i turned 23. This was not a big deal, especially compared my news from Friday. However, it was a very nice weekend. My favorite thing about my birthday is that the lilacs are usually in full bloom that day. And you go outside and the sweet-smelling flowers seem to be saying "Happy birthday, jessica!"

Kris worked until about 7 PM on Saturday, so i went to my parent's house during the day and played Wii pool with my mom for about 3 hours. She and i are seriously addicted to that game. Kris got done with work and brought Chipotle to my parent's house for dinner (my fav preggo craving) and then we played more pool. Kris is much better at it than my mom, but he's played real pool before and knows all the right angles. My mom and i are working on it though.

On Sunday, i played at church, and we went back to my parent's house to eat lunch. Kris went to his parent's house all afternoon to help them get their house ready for my brother-in-law's wedding that will be there next Saturday. So my mom and i watched Juno (cute movie!) and *shocker* played some more pool.

At about 6 PM, i went to Kris' parent's house, where a lot of their family had come to eat a Famous Dave's feast and celebrate my birthday. It was fun! i got some candles, some money for garage saling, a Target gift card, and this super-cute bag that i love from my sister-in-law, who has practically the best taste of anyone i know.

And then i was given some stuff for Cadence! My SIL, who is the first person who gave us anything for David, too, gave me this adorable dress and pair of ballet slippers for Cadence. i thought i'd die with all the cuteness.

My MIL gave me this pink furry dress coat and hat, which are both lined with pink satin. Um, i LOVE them.

The hanger was almost just as cute as the coat and hat! i love the little pink flower:)

It was a very nice weekend. i found out i was having a girl!, got some CUTE baby stuff, birthday gifts, and got to play as much Wii pool as i wanted. :)

Happy Memorial Day, everyone! Please be safe. Also drive the speed limit. People are getting pulled over going 35 in a 30 this weekend. i don't want any of you to get speeding tickets!

It's a....

GIRL!!!!

Cadence Rae Gensmer should be here on or around October 12.

She is a stubborn girl, who had us prodding at her for 10 minutes or so until she'd finally show us her lady parts: now that i think about it, i'm glad for that!

i couldn't believe it when my ultrasound tech told us it was a girl. By the time i was in the ultrasound chair, it seemed like an inevitability that it was a boy. i had lost all hope of a girl, and was actually getting kind of grim. Seems silly now, but i just kept losing hope while Tanya (who it turns out isn't even due for 7 weeks yet, so she's definitely not on maternity leave) was measuring heart beats, head size, arm sizes, and other assorted sizes. And then we almost had to give up trying to find out what kind of baby it was because someone from urgent care needed an ultrasound, but then Cadence shifted ever so slightly, and we got our answer.

A girl. Happy sigh. She is healthy, measures out to about the right timing according to due date, and is very active already. And now i get to dress someone in pink!!!!

i will scan in her U/S pictures tomorrow. i just wanted to let you all know. Have a wonderful night! i know i will!

Big day tomorrow!!!!

Tomorrow is The Ultrasound. i'm crazy excited!

Because i'm a planner, and also very impatient, we will be finding out the sex of our child. And yes, i will be announcing it ASAP on here.

Hopefully my beautiful ultrasound technician, Tanya, will be back from maternity leave so she can do ours. We've loved her since David's first ultrasound, and she did the two i had back in February. She's very sweet and i love her.

No matter what gender child it is, i love him/her already. But i have hopes, like most mommas secretly do. Let's just really hope that it is not shy. At all.

i keep having nightmares that the baby is shy and doesn't flip over, and i a. either end up having a girl and have to buy all her clothes retail because i will have skipped garage saling or b. have a boy and have bought all girl stuff. i also have the dream where the U/S is wrong, and it ends up being a boy, after months of expecting a girl. This actually happens in real life. It will not happen to me. If i say it enough, maybe i'll believe it.

i do plan on asking for a late ultrasound, like 36 weeks, so they can see how big the baby is. David ended up being way bigger than even the Dr. expected and that was a very slow healing process. So if i get a later ultrasound, the gender will be even more unmistakable.

Update on yesterday: David is fine. He's just cranky. Maybe he's in a growth spurt, even though he hasn't been very hungry. Apparently in the warmer weather, appetite drops off some. i'm glad he doesn't have an ear infection, but it was frustrating going to the Dr. and hearing "Not sure why he's changed so much-let us know if he has any other symptoms." Whatev.

Also, thank you all SO much for being so encouraging in my depressing post yesterday! It was really great hearing from all of you. It gave me some wonderful ideas, one of which i've already instated: i bought a dry-erase calendar, and Kris wrote down as much schedule as he's got available. i've already consulted the calendar 4 times since yesterday, so it's definitely very useful. Anyway, it's great knowing all of you and knowing you all care enough to help me out. It means a LOT to me.

It's crazy to think i'm halfway through this pregnancy. It seemed really slow until about 7 weeks, and then WHOA it got faster and faster. i think i'm not quite as focused on the pregnancy this time around and have a lot more going on, so it's going faster. We'll see how i feel in 16 weeks, though, right?

Have a happy night!

Family struggles

So i'm taking David in to the doctor today. Ever since he had his shots last Tuesday, he's just been...different. He had a fever, which was to be expected. It went away. However, since then, he hasn't been very interested in food, a definite change for him. He's also started taking really long naps, and being pretty cranky between naps. For example, he woke up this morning at 7:30, like normal. He then was ready for a nap by 9:30 (which seems early to me and has only been like that this week) and slept until 1:30 PM: a 4-hour nap after being awake only 2 hours. He's not been as cheerful as normal, and has been very clingy and wants me to hold him, but once i hold him, he squirms and tries to get away. This has been going on for a week and i miss my little manster! So i called the nurse line, and i'm taking him in in 2 hours to check if he's got an ear infection. i just don't think he does. Anyway, i hope the doctor figures it out, so i can get my happy-go-lucky boy back!

Kris has been working 75 hours/week: about 40 hours more than he was a month ago. So, understandably he's been stressed out. But he's been so snappy with me, and i wish it would stop. He needs a lot of patience with me lately, which is partly due to my flaws, but also he just seems to think i shouldn't need to ask him questions, that i should just automatically know what his work schedule is for the week or what car we should take or when i can use our account for grocery shopping. We keep arguing over stupid stuff, and he's stressed and can't deal with it, and i'm WAY emotional lately and can't deal with it either. i just wish i could do everything right so he'd be happy again, but i know it's not all me. i know his work schedule just sucks for him right now, and it will take his a lot of adjustment to get used to the new lifestyle.

And i've been crying all the time. i can now brush my teeth without gagging, but it has been replaced with crying every time i watch tv, and i just can't seem to do anything i should do. i'm barely holding it together lately. Have any of you guys ever gone through family situations like this? i have wonderfully supportive people around me who bring me tons of encouragement, but when it comes to Kris' and my relationship, i think it's between us and God.


Is there anything you think i could do to alleviate some of the tension around here? That doesn't cost money? i'd love to send Kris to Valleyfair or Gameworks with a friend, but i'm selfish, because the only day off he has is Sunday, and i want to spend the time with him. Plus those places cost money. No matter how much i say i appreciate him, it doesn't matter, because he's not a verbal guy, so slipping the "i love you, thanks for all you do for us" card into his lunch doesn't do much.

i really love him. And he super loves me. How can two people who feel that strongly about each other have such distance between them? Is this a part of being married that i didn't know about?

Wordless Wednesday-5.21.08

"Look at my nose! It's wicked awesome!"

(ran out of batteries for my camera this week: recycled this old picture from March 2007.)

Monday's chore list

Many people write up a menu for the whole week on Monday. i have a hard time doing menus, because i never exactly know when Kris will be home or if he'll want what it is i'm making.

However, i have a lot of random cleaning to do, especially this week, as last week i was very sleepy and a little busy, so i didn't do much around the house. i seem to be more energetic this week, well of the two hours i've been up so far, so i'm listing a chore list so i'm accountable to you all to actually follow through with it. So here it is:

Monday-
Go through all coupons: find coupons for things to pack in Kris' lunches, throw all tempting coupons for things i wouldn't normally buy.
Wash and put away all dishes. Search David's room and van for rogue sippy cups to be washed.
Wash and put away all laundry.
Reorganize kitchen and living room to pre-Mother's day party state.

Tuesday-
Put away David's outgrown clothes and toys into bins and into downstairs closet
Clean my side of bedroom
Dust David's room
Put all David's baby keepsakes (hospital id, newborn diaper, baptism candle etc.) into special container


Wednesday-
Clean our dresser
Put away my winter clothes, outgrown summer clothes, and bring out the maternity. *sigh

Thursday-
Clean Kris' side of bedroom
Wash bathroom floor, toilet
Organize bathroom drawers

Friday-
list cds for sale on Amazon
Continue doing laundry
Drink 32 oz. water between 12:30-1:30 PM for The Ultrasound!

This is a lot of stuff to do. It shouldn't be that hard, but most of it consists of finding a home for homeless stuff that is taking up property in our bedroom. Finding a place for stuff is really hard for me. But i Will Do It.

A picturesque post

This is going to be very random. Here goes.

Kris says i am going to be HUGE this pregnancy. And i sort of have to agree with him.


Me at 38 weeks last pregnancy.


Me at 18 weeks this pregnancy. (Forgive how awful i look: it was taken at 11:30 Pm after the Twins game.)
Isn't that insane?
i'm gigantic compared to last time already. i understand that's the way it goes with second pregnancies, but holy crap man.

Yesterday was a weird day. It was awful, and then awesome, and my head is still spinning from it. But here's a picture of our new little maid.

i had swept, and left out the broom, and David didn't think i had done a good enough job:) If he keeps doing that, will we have to start giving him allowance already?

David also had a fever kind of from his shots, and didn't nap well yesterday, and woke up at 10 PM, freaking out. So we got him and gave him a bottle, and here he is, all cute and sad.


Then today he and i went to Walmart, and we were given a sample of this ice cream that is supposed to be like dippin' dots. i gave the ice cream to him, and man, he loved it!

He doesn't like to waste a bit, even the paper!

At least it matches his shirt?

Mommy never gives me sugar!


Some guy gave me a really weird look for taking pictures of my kid in Walmart, but that guy should have just thought 'mommy blogger'. Because then it makes sense.

Wordless Wednesday-5.14.08

So yesterday David was getting tired about an hour before his Dr.'s appointment. Because he usually naps for about 2 hours, i opted to let him play in his room until his appointment instead of nap. Likes look my plan failed.
Something cute to point out: he had pulled that blanket out from between the slats in his crib, so he had purposefully decided to zonk out on the floor with something comfortable. i just think that's adorable. Wow, this is more like a wordy Wednesday.

Total mom day

So today, David had his 15-month checkup. He's good. 50% weight, 75% height. All sorts of normal for us. Everything seems fine, and the Dr. helped clear up my slight autism concern. David was so great at stacking blocks and everything, but wasn't talking yet, and i was worried he had autism. However, the Dr. assured me that because he is very social, and does jabber a lot as if he's talking, it's nothing to worry about, and he's just having a slightly longer time understanding that words go with objects or people. So that's good. Poor buddy, though. He was exhausted at his appointment (no more 10 AM appointments for him!) and so it made the shots even more traumatizing for him. Luckily, his next appt. will be the last with shots until kindergarten. He took lots of naps today and was cranky, but doesn't seem to be feverish or anything.

So i have been planning a meal schedule for this week, trying to plan them so i don't have to go grocery shopping. i noticed i've got a lot of bread, now. i've got a half loaf of regular bread, and a bunch of frozen French and Italian bread. So what did i do tonight? Baked bread.

i made this recipe, which i found on this website, which is a great website for as many meals and bread maker recipes as you could hope for. It was driving me crazy smelling it tonight! i LOVE the smell of bread baking, and it gets really aromatic oh, about 1.5 hours before it's done. So you sit there and suffer, and then finally you get this!

Yum!

i like my homemade bread with margarine and honey. (Flowers were added for bloggy beauty. i do not dress up my food like this in real life.)


This was my first time baking bread in a while. It was very good. It was a bit more dense than i normally like, but i think my bread maker is a bit smaller than most which could explain it. i would definitely try this as rolls next time.

Anyway, that was my very domestic day.

Monday good things

So i've been sitting here and being a bit negative today. (Read: tired from huge Mother's day party yesterday, no money, broken car, the list goes on.) i've got all this stuff on my mind, and you know what? i'm going to be one of those Pollyanna types today and list the things i am grateful for.

• A very successful Mother's Day party yesterday. People loved the food, there were little to no awkward moments between people, and the weather was gorgeous, contrary to the dire weather predictions.
• CSA is starting this week! i will have tons of vegetables and fruits and stuff to feed my family.
• i won a contest! My friend Daphne had this contest giving away a $5 Taco Bell gift card, and i won! This is very nice, since after paying bills today, i realized i have about $11 to last me till the end of the month. i was even thinking "Oh man, what will i do when i need a chili cheese burrito?" And then i won the contest. Thanks for fueling my "Grade D" addiction Daphne!
• i got a bloggy award from Daphne, too! i will nominate others later. It is my first blog award, and i'm very happy about it.
• 
• Kris got me this beautiful plant for Mother's Day. It's nice to have something green and alive (for now) in my house. i hope it lasts!
• 
• i'm like a toddler, but i'm excited for my birthday in a couple weeks. i've always been excited about my birthday. i will get taken out for two meals and will get to spend time with my fav family members!
• Kris and i are going to the Twins game on Wednesday. i'm excited. My mom got us great seats for very cheap. Plus, Wednesday nights are $1 dog nights.
  
• My mom bought a Wii. i'm addicted to Wii golf now, and my sore arms are a small price to pay for hours of enjoyment that doesn't include a. sitting and b. getting fatter. i LOVE the Wii. i knew i wanted one, but had no idea they were that cool. But you know what this means? My mom is now cooler than i am.
  
• My house is clean-ish.
  

So yay! i've got tons of good stuff going on right now. Are you having a bad day? Writing one of these blog posts helps. Who knew?

Baby things to buy second hand

So, my beautiful friend Kacie is preggo with #1. i'm freaking out with excitement for her! This just adds to my ever-growing list of ever-growing pals:)

In her honour, i've decided to write a post about baby stuff. There are millions of lists of what to buy and what to skip of baby stuff, and they all contradict each other, because some babies couldn't live without their swing and others hated it, right? It all depends on the child, i think. David hated his Jonny jump-up, but i'm keeping it, because maybe Baby Turnip will love it.

Anyway, we don't need more posts about what babies need or don't need, but i'm going to make a list of stuff you can buy second hand or what is good to maybe buy new. i wish i had had a similar list when i was pregnant with David. It would have saved me a lot of money!

i'll start with what you should buy new:

• A car seat. You don't want to get a car seat from a garage sale simply because you don't know if it's been in an accident. Most likely, it might be a bit older, too, and unless you can read PDF on your cell phone and look at this extensive car seat recall list, it's not worth buying and getting home and finding out it's been recalled. *Spare tip: buy the stroller that goes with the infant carrier. Usually if you buy the set, it's cheaper than buying them individually, and being able to plop the infant carrier right into the stroller without disturbing baby is very handy and a sanity-saver on horrible days.
  
• Crib mattress. The springs may be worn on a used one, and not as good for your baby's growing back. Or it may be old and not flame-retardant.
  
• Nipples for bottles. The rubber in them breaks down kind of quickly, i guess. i actually threw out David's bottle nipples and will replace them for new baby.
  
• Breast pump. Even for those very frugal ladies that say "all parts of breast pumps are sterilizable and new ones are really expensive", just buy a new one. Find the one you like the best, and make the investment. You need one you'll be really comfortable with (i.e. the one you pick out after reading thousands of reviews) and the warranty on those puppies aren't good for the second owner.
  

Stuff to buy used or borrow:

• Clothes. Trust me, the baby needs a LOT of clothes over its first year. Within the first year, they change sizes 4 times! The clothes are still practically brand new by the time they're outgrown, and very expensive to buy new.
  
• Crib. People only use cribs for a short time, and then they become this huge piece of furniture taking up space and not helping anyone. If you find a crib second hand, make sure there aren't any missing or broken hardware or slats. The slats should be no more than 2 3/8" apart (about the width of a soda can). Corner posts should not be higher than 1/16". There should be no design cutouts in the headboard or footboard. (i found the previous information from here.) Make sure the mechanism that moves the side up and down works easily, and you're golden. Cribs are crazy expensive new, and you may be able to find one that is just what you want for 1/10 the price of new from someone extremely glad to get it off their hands. If you don't like the color, you can also paint it. But i also know that at almost all of the garage sales with kids stuff, there is almost always a crib, so there are lots of options out there for frugal mamas.
• Toys. There are too many toys out there in the universe. Trust me, most of them reside in my son's room. Please don't buy them new. Take them off some harried mommy's hands, clean them well, and let your kid have them. Honestly, more than half the toys David got he had absolutely NO interest in whatsoever. The thing is, when it was the teething ring i got for .10, it hurt me much less to see it ignored than the Baby Einstein rattle i bought new for $9. And those giant toys for babies they lie under and kick with their feet? You can find hundreds of them at Once Upon a Child, all on clearance, some with tags still on them. Same goes for exersaucers, Johnny jump ups, bumbo chairs, and other assorted large baby fun stations. For swings, i'd recommend buying them at a garage sale, since Once upon a Child tends to charge quite a bit more for those than would a regular yard sale.
  
• Changing tables. These are not necessary pieces of furniture. i'm putting this out there, because some moms never use them at all. i borrowed mine from my SIL, and happen to use it all the time, and am glad not to have to bend over onto my bed or on the floor to change my wriggling monkey man. Anyway, if you want a changing table, please consider borrowing from a momma between diapered children or buying used. Once again, it is a piece of furniture you will use for about 2 years of each child's life. It is not a permanent fixture in your house (though it will seem like one to those tired of changing diapers)!
• High chair or feeding station. No matter what you use, whether it be a high chair or a chair booster seat, they are made of plastic and easy to clean for your baby's use. Figure out what sort of system would work the best for your family, go to the store and look at them new, and go to a garage sale and find the exact same thing for 1/3 the price. Really. People were really nice to me and went in on this really expensive high chair for David. And i love it and use it all the time. But i've seen it at like 8 garage sales for $20 since then, and i realize those that gave it to me paid $80 for it, and i feel a little sorry, because the extra $60 is 3 months of diapers, roughly. (When you become a mom, you start thinking of money in terms of how many diapers it buys. Just letting you know.)
• Diaper genie or diaper pail. i've not seen many of these used, but they are cheap when they are. You can find the liners at every store, and as long as the pail is in tact, a little disinfectant, and voila! You're golden. *Spare tip: For those that have hard times figuring out their diaper pail system, i'd recommend letting hubs figure it out. The end of pregnancy or the beginning of motherhood are not a good time to read a bunch of directions on something that seems complicated at first. Let hubs figure it out: he'll feel like he helped, and it'll save you the hassle and tears that can come with reading the weird directions. He'll teach you how to use it, (which is incredibly simple when you're taught) and you'll kiss him and say "Thank you honey!" And it will be a good situation.
• Crib sheets and blankets. Make sure there are no stains, wash them up, and you'll be glad you did. Also, buy quite a few crib sheets. Trust me.
  
• Maternity clothes are also a nice thing to borrow if you can. It sucks to buy a whole wardrobe for about 5 months of your life, so if you've got a previously preggo friend, i'm sure she'd be glad to get that box out of her closet for a while, until/if she needs them again. Plus, used maternity clothes at stores are ugly. Don't ask me why. But most friends have similar tastes in clothes, or similar enough to merit borrowing. Buy yourself a few things you like, but mostly, save your money. You'll need it later, i promise.
  

The great thing about buying baby stuff used is that if there is something you MUST have for baby that is really expensive, you've saved from other places, so it's not so bad to pay a bit more for something special, like this or this or this that i'd have loved for David:) Or this if new baby is a girl.

There are probably things that worked for me that wouldn't for you guys. i'm not saying this is an extensive list, or would work for everyone, but it's what my personal experience has taught me. i also know i am much less squicked out about used stuff than a lot of people, so if the idea of getting a used whatever freaks you out, don't do it. But i hope some of this helps you out a bit.

H&R Block: how i loathe thee

So remember that time we did our taxes and we didn't get a ton back and H&R took most of it?

They're still screwing us over.

According to Kris' and my last two digits of SS, we should have been stimulated economically before May 9. For those keeping track, that was yesterday.

So yesterday afternoon, i was online trying to find out why we hadn't gotten the money yet. We elected to receive our tax refund through direct deposit, and we didn't take out a refund anticipation loan, so our money should have come by yesterday.

We needed it weeks ago. There are lots of reasons we needed it, but not having been able to answer our phone for the last month has a lot to do with it. We are not irresponsible people, necessarily, but for the long time that Kris only had one job, we just needed more money for living than what he was bringing in. He got a second job, but it's still going to be a while before we get caught up. Hundreds of dollars would have helped our situation.

i was on the IRS website, and VERY FAR underneath where it talks about problems with your refund i read something interesting:

Q. I chose direct deposit for my 2007 tax refund but also requested my electronic filing and/or tax preparation fees be deducted from my refund. Does that affect my stimulus payment?

A. If you requested that your electronic filing or tax preparation fee be deducted from the amount of your refund, you have entered into a financial agreement with the tax preparation provider or e-file software company for a refund anticipated check (RAC). Both Refund Anticipation Checks (RACs) and Refund Anticipation Loans (RALs) are bank products. The money that is deposited into your bank account comes from the financial institution associated with your electronic filing software provider or tax preparation provider, not directly from the IRS. Taxpayers who use RALs, RACs or enter into similar loans or financial agreements with their tax professional or tax software companies will not receive their economic stimulus payments by direct deposit. Instead they will get a paper check that will be issued according to the schedule that has been published for paper check distribution.

Awesome. So when will we get our paper check? On or before June 13th. Did i mention we could use the money now? And that we were kind of counting on it?

Pray for me, my family, and our poor credit scores. After tomorrow's Mother's day party, i think we will be on a spending fast like my friend Sarah. If we look at not spending as a game, it will seem...more like denial kinda fun, right?

Mother's Day party

On Sunday, we're having Kris' whole family over for Mother's Day. We will be also be celebrating 3 other May birthdays, (mine being one of them.)

People are bringing things, which is nice. All i have to make is

Pulled turkey bbq for sandwiches

Chicken salad for lettuce wraps or sandwiches.

Cannoli

The turkey was on sale at Cub this week. i'll be cooking it on Saturday, pulling it and adding bbq sauce and stuff on Sunday.

Chicken salad is super easy. It's basically canned chicken (like tuna) from Sam's club, lite Miracle Whip, and a delicious suprise: dried cranberries. It's delicious on croissants, which are CHEAP at Sam's club.

Cannoli is a bit scary for me. i've never had it, but i saw Emeril make it and it looks really good. i bought cannoli shells, and will be using this recipe. My only problem is that for the life of me, i can't find unsalted pistachios. Or pistachios of any kind. Is there some sort of pistachio recall a la two year's ago spinach scare? i've been to 3 grocery stores and can't find pistachios. i might sub for another nut, but pistachios are such a specific taste, you know? Anyway, besides the pistachio problem, since i bought premade cannoli shells this should actually be quite easy to make. i'll let you know how it goes. By the way, if you're planning on making cannoli, budget quite a bit. i let the fam know i was making it, and then went to the store to buy the stuff. Whew. Just the 18 cannoli shells i bought were $12. (i'd have made them, but you need a special tool for it.) Then the ricotta and mascarpone cheeses added more...not a good dessert for a budget.

Other people are bringing deviled eggs, blue cheese chopped salad, yummy potato stuff, cheeses, and birthday cake. It should be a nice party.

i'm tossing around the idea of making my own rolls for the party, since i already have flour and the other goods and a bread maker. We'll see how everything is going on Saturday when i'd make them:)

On the topic of cooking, i made this recipe for croque madames i saw on Rachael Ray for lunch today. Oh man. It is good. Yum. If you're craving grilled cheese and ham with eggs and white sauce, this is the recipe for you. i will be making this a LOT in the future.

Last weekend's garage sale finds

Oh. My. Goodness. Last weekend was INCREDIBLE for garage saling. It was a masterpiece. It was a great work. The Lord saw it, and it was good.

First of all. i found unexpected garage saling opportunities. David and i were making a simple trip to the grocery store, and we saw a sign. There is a huge neighborhood next to the store called Southbridge. The sign said "Southbridge Annual Garage Sale this weekend". It was a beautiful sign. Its yellow cardboard gleamed golden in the sun. i had about $30 cash in my pocket, so David and i went after grocery shopping. There were about 5 houses per block that were having garage sales, and many of the sales were multi-family, so i was very nice that we didn't have to get in and out of the van very much.

i found: a dressy winter jacket for David! A very cute gray Gap toggle jacket, and is very soft and kind of like wool. i wasn't 100% sure it was warm enough for going outside in the winter, but it was definitely warm enough for getting in and out of the car for church on Sunday mornings. $2

i found: a couch, chair and ottoman for David, complete with animal print, so he has his own little places to sit. The chair and ottoman are at my parent's house, but here is the couch. The whole set went for $5.

i found: a toy vacuum. David is terrified when i vacuum. i start vacuuming, and his little body starts to tremble. Then he screams. Like terror screaming. Even when i hold him while vacuuming, he screams. When i chase him around with the vacuum, he giggles. Go figure. Anyway, he saw this vacuum at a sale and he started pushing it around right away, and wouldn't let go of it even after i paid and was carrying him to the van. This toy makes noise, so i'm hoping his having his own will alleviate his fear of the real thing. It was $2.

i found: a large cooler. It is big, like the size a 4-person family would need for an all-day car trip. i'm excited about it, because i keep it in the van, and if i buy cold stuff and need to stop somewhere else, i'm not in as big a hurry to get home. $2.

That was the Southbridge sale finds on Friday. And there was evening, and there was morning, when i went to the Jefferson High School annual garage sale. It's a high school in Bloomington, the rival of my high school, Kennedy. Once a year, i forgo my bitterness and partake of the beauty, the joy of the JHS Band Boosters Garage Sale. People from all over Bloomington donate their stuff to the school, and the school sells it and the proceeds go to the band booster club. It's an awesome idea. The whole school is full of used stuff, and it's very cheap and very wonderful. The sale started at 9, and my dad and i got there at 8:45 and were about 50th in line. Everyone from Bloomington comes out for it.

One of my biggest needs this GS season was a couch. Our couch was a "chair and a half" which basically means the size of a love seat, but much deeper, and only one cushion, and low in the back. It was also very cushy, which made it impossible to get out of. It only held two people, was too short for napping, and took up too much space in the living room. Luckily, i found a couch! It is very ugly. Its structure is made of wood, it is purply magenta, and has random stains on it. And it works very well for us. It's very long, great for napping, seating three people, and doesn't come out into the room as much. Plus, it was so cheap that we'll leave it here when we move someday. i hope to recover it, but have you seen how much couch covers cost? They are expensive. So for now, i have a magenta couch to clash nicely with our bright orange recliner (a garage sale find 7 years ago) and it is wonderful. $20.

i found a ball and glove cake pan, for an eventual baseball birthday cake. $ .50

i found a beautiful ceramic thanksgiving serving dish. A great find, because i host Thanksgiving for my side of the family every year, and have very few fancy serving dishes, much less seasonal ones. $2.

i found a snow cone maker. i've wanted one forever, and i found one for $2. Hopefully it works. i'll be trying it out on Mother's day.

Then, after the Jefferson sale, my dad and i went straight to another garage sale across the street. It was a brilliant idea: to have the sale the same day and time across the street from the sale the whole city attends.

Anyway, i found a pop up toy for David that he hasn't stopped playing with. So far, he can only pop up Minnie Mouse, but every time she pops up, he giggles his guttural baby giggle. It's very cute, and he loves it! $2.

i found a Tommy Hilfiger winter jacket for him. This was definitely warm enough for playing outside this winter, and is super cute. It might be the most designer thing he owns. $4.

Then, lastly, i found a pink dress. And i had to get it. If this baby ends up being a girl, she will be able to wear it next spring and be adorable. P.S. May 23 is my ultrasound date, and be sure i'll be posting the gender soon afterwards! It was $1. Isn't it so cute?

So that was my incredible garage sale weekend. Aren't you jealous?

i have a question for you guys. i like it when people buy used gifts for David, because he doesn't know the difference. It saves money and is one less thing that needs to get made in a factory. Generally, for those friends that don't mind getting used stuff, i'm able to get a ton more gifts for them. Do you guys feel that way? Or does the idea of having your kid wear a pair of jeans from a garage sale squick you out because they are used? Would you feel weird if someone bought your kid something used?

Announcement

It's official: i can confirm tiny, fluttery, yet constant kicks going on. Thank you, Jesus.

Try them out Thursday! 5.1.08

i actually heard about this blog from my bloggy pal The Bayou Belles and their Beau, and i subscribed, and it is incredible.

For those of you raised in the church, this blog, Stuff Christians Like, is hilarious, poignant, and thought-provoking. Have you ever read Stuff White People Like? SCL is similar, but it pertains to Christians. Basically, this guy Jon writes little blurbs about Christian cliches and for those raised in the church, they are about the funniest things ever. Every time i read one, i feel like he knows me! With my upbringing, it is refreshing to have some of the things i've had problems with get talked about in a humorous way.

There are SO many excellent posts, but i'll give you some of my top favorites.

Leaving room for the Holy Spirit when you dance

The "Pray if you feel led" Prayer

Boycotting Stuff

The mandatory youth minister goattee

Using "Let me pray about it" as a synonym for "no"

All of these are wonderful. Some are serious ones that make you re-think the way you do things, and other ones are just plain silly. Either way, if you are a Christian, or know Christians, or enjoy Christian wit, this is a killer blog to read. Seriously, you must subscribe to it. Really.

Try them out today!

Wordless Wednesday-More motor skills than mommy!

(i promise he stacked those himself. And i was really impressed!)

Your face will thank you

Need makeup? Will you need makeup in the next year?

E.L.F. makeup, (short for eyes, lips and face) is having a closeout sale. i had never heard of the brand, but it used to be sold at Nordstrom i guess and was pretty spendy. Well, now they're selling all of their makeup for $1. Yes. Foundation, $1. Eye shadow combo packs, $1. Fancy makeup brushes, $1. You have to check it out. They're being closed out into another brand or something, so everything with the name e.l.f. on it is going for $1. Seriously. This is an awesome deal.

Also, if you spend over $15, you get $7.50 off with the coupon code CAROLINA. Standard shipping is $6.95. So basically, you can get 15 pieces of designer makeup for around $14.

My sister in law sent me this tip. She and i do dangerous things like find really good deals online and email them to each other. But this one was so good i had to let you all know about it. i've been needing makeup for a long time, but wasn't even willing to pay the $4 for Covergirl foundation. i'm glad i waited!

So go and buy some, before it's too late. It's such a good deal, you have my permission to spend money. Aren't you glad?



Oh, the Revolution Money Exchange thing got extended to May 15. So if you haven't signed up for it, go get $25 for free and help me get an extra $10, ok? i signed up for it and got the $25 within 5 minutes. It really does work and there doesn't seem to be any tricks about it. Click below!

Try them out Thursday! 4.24.08

The person you should try out today is my friend Kristine from Mommy, Daddy and The Sweet Pea. She is wonderful and has a charmingly honest personal blog.

She and i used to work together a long time ago. A wave of pregnancy went through the store we were working at, and she got pregnant, and like 5 months later, right as i was about to leave the store, i got pregnant too. (i think there were 7 females in the store? And 4 were pregnant at the same time.) i didn't know her very well then, but because of blogging, i now know her way better than i did when i'd see her every day. Funny how that works:)

Anyway, she's married and has the cutest daughter, Graycen, and is expecting again in about 8 weeks, a little boy they'll name Parker. She is one of my favorite mommy bloggers. Because her daughter is a bit older than my son, i get to learn from her experiences right before we go through them. It's tremendously helpful. :)

Here are some of her important posts:

Graycen's birth day (her daughter's birth story)

Graycen's Words

Twenty-five for 25

And here is my favorite post of hers, one that she should really make her "About Me" page because it's delightful:

The ABC's of Me!


So really, any mommies out there, go make friends with her. She's a very wonderful lady and is an excellent blogger.

Go Try her Out!