The Little Man

Can you believe he is almost one? Me either.... I might cry on his birthday... well not actually on his birthday because we will be at Magic Kingodm and I just can't cry when I am in my happy place. Now when we get home from our trip and I realize he is one, I may cry.


He is a very active little guy.... very active!

He is always on the move! Nearly all the pictures of him turn out blurry.

Oh, and he is going to be the next Iron Chef... just so you know.
'Cause this boy loves the kitchen!

Time

I love adore my son and love him with all of my heart. He is wonderful and I just can't imagine life without him. As much as I love him, I love his first nap too. When he takes his morning nap I get two precious hours to be with just Lula Mae. I feel guilty for looking forward to it so much sometimes.

Two hours to....
*Do school together
*Pray
*Read the Bible
*Build a strong relationship
*Cuddle
*Listen to her talk and sing
*Tickle and play
*Color
* Read books over and over
*Go over her Catechism questions
*Go over her Bible verses

They are the two fastest hours of my day. I love to just sit with her and study her little features that won't be little much longer. I love to hear her laugh and say silly things. I love to see the expressions on her face when she concentrates really hard. I love to soak up every ounce of her in those two hours. She is growing so fast and I don't want to miss anything.

There are days when I put her to bed and wonder if I spent enough time with her. I wonder if she feels loved. I wonder if she feels safe. I am no super woman, so I know there are days when I am busy and don't give her enough of myself. Parenting is a delicate balance. If I spend all my time with my kids we would live in filth and have nothing to eat but crackers and water. So part of loving my kids is doing my housework. It is hard for me, having OCD, to find this balance. I am trying harder these days. I don't want my kids to look back on their lives and not remember me being in them. I don't want them to just remember that I was always cleaning and was always too busy to play. I want them to remember me.

Money Making March

Money Making March
3M Challenge

Well March is creeping its way to a close. In a matter of days I will be able to crunch my numbers, look at the budget and see just how well March went. I am excited and nervous. So far, our miscellaneous spending is going incredibly well. That was the goal of this challenge so I am feeling good about that. Although, my necessities budget and my grocery budget have gone over, and I am just hoping I didn't move the spending problem to another category. I guess I will just have to be patient and see what the numbers say.

So what is coming in April? I want to do something big each month to help our budget. Now I will say I am keeping some of my 3M Challenge in place because they really helped, but I still want more!

April is going to be a month of sacrifice for our house. We are not going to turn on our air conditioner until May 1st. Which, now that I think about it means that we won't really turn it on until the 8th since we will be leaving for vacation on the 2nd. So that will be an extra week that the air won't be running. People all over the world (in much hotter climates) live just fine with no ac, we can last a mild month. I hope that it will help us to keep it set higher through the rest of the summer as well. I am excited about April and how it can save us money. Plus, it is good for the environment!

What can you give up in April to help your budget or the environment? What can you and your family sacrifice?

Here You Go... Even Though You Didn't Ask For It

So my doctors appointment went well. Luckily, there are no signs of disc problems or skeletal issues. All I have is a bit of a muscle tear. day by day I am feeling less pain. The limited mobility is the most irritating part right now. I want to be able to move like normal again.

The doctor ordered me to give my back good rest for about a week and gave me a list of stretches to do everyday. Oh darn.... a week of rest. Whatever shall I do? (enter sarcasm here)

It is easier said than done for a stay at home mom though. Some things are necessary and just can't be avoided. I am staying out of the yard. Have I mentioned I am not an outside person? Well I am not. But, I like to have a yard I can be proud of. When I hurt my back we were in the middle of tackling our horrendous yard. So even though I am not a huge fan of yard work, I desperately want to get out there and finish what we started. In time we will finish.

Something else came up while I was at the doctor. For a week or so I had this weird feeling, a feeling I only get while ovulating or if I am pregnant. Apparently I also have that same feeling when I have a kidney infection. So no, I'm not pregnant... I just have yet another kidney infection. I am a bit flustered by this. I have kept a bladder infection for nearly 2 years now. During Jayce's pregnancy I had chronic bladder infections. After having him, my bladder infections turned into kidney stones, which then turned into kidney infections.

So why is this not going away? What in the world is wrong with me? I am worried that by the time I hit 30 I will need a kidney transplant or something! Pregnancy can kind of "crimp" your tube, so to speak, which can cause you to not be able to empty your bladder completely. This leaves yucky urine in your tube that then gets infected. So how do I know if that is the problem? If that is the problem, how do we fix it?When I go back for my follow up visit in 3 weeks I will be ready to ask some hard questions. I want to know how to fix this, not just stop it for a month or so.

In the midst of this, Lula Mae ran a fever of 102 for about 24 hours. She was so pitiful looking. She was slurring her words and wasn't making any since. Her little body was so hot, but she was covered in chills. I was one worried Mommy. So we have been giving her Tylenol and watching her closely. The day that I had my appointment, she had one as well. The doctor said all looked fine. No ear infections, no stomach bug, lungs sounded fine. I am pretty certain that the crazy pollen count got to her. Her body is giving us some signs of allergies today, but the fever has been controlled. Or at least it was until after her nap, at what point it shot up to 103.5. Yeah, she looked scary. So I hope that she is feeling better tomorrow :-(

So folk, there you go. There is my TMI post, and it is just for you! Aren't you lucky?

Letters Of Intent

Dear Gas Prices,

Really... up and down... up and down.... up and down.... are you on a pogo stick? Just go down and STAY down. I don't want to spend half of my vacation budget on gas. By May you better be back to reasonable!

Sincerely,

Going Broker By The Fill Up

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Dear Weather,

You have been so wonderful. How can we ensure you stay this lovely for, oh lets just say.... always? Any possibility? How about half the year?

Thanks,

Enjoying Your Beauty

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Dear Lula Mae,

Salad? Did you really eat a salad for dinner? Not just a salad.... but okra too? Little missy you need to stop complaining and protesting your fruits and other bland veggies if you are going to eat things like salad and okra. How is corn so bad? You never cease to amaze me child. Thanks for eating better... lets keep this up, okay? I need you to grow before your 3 year check up so you don't have to have all kinds of crazy tests done like I did as a kid. Trust me, they are no fun. Please grow!

Love,

Scratching My Head

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Dear Disney World,

May is getting closer. Soon we will be together again. Are you as excited as I am? I just can't wait. Lula Mae talks about you every single day. Quick question... she is expecting Jesus to be there... can you make that happen? It would make her day! She assumes everything she loves with be at Disney World so Jesus is a must. Before you know it we will be on our way.... I JUST CAN'T WAIT!!!!

Love,

So Ready For Vacation!

Oh, Well That Explains It...

My back hurts...

Yes, that is a pile of limbs, bushes, dead plants, etc.... in our front yard (sorry neighbors!). Yep.... it is bigger than our car. (Did I mention that our yard needs lots of work? Oh just wait until you see the before and after pictures!) Yep, my back is KILLING me! It was actually feeling better about 2 days ago.... then Lula Mae had one of her "you can't control me because I may or may not be possessed at this moment in time" spells. While fighting to get her pull up on her for nap (which took roughly 20 minuets, by the way) I felt a horrible pull and snap. Shock waves shot down my legs and up my back. Since then, everything hurts... well except standing. Sitting is horrible, laying is pretty rough and even stepping with my right foot is painful. I made an appointment to see the doctor tomorrow. So fun! I am ready to not hurt anymore.