Monday, March 5, 2007
I'm so excited
| For the last couple of years I have been taking online surveys. For each survey that I complete I get points. The points add up and I can convert them to gifts. With one survey company I converted my points to an MP3 player. It is not the top of the market, but it suits my needs just fine and it was free! With the second company I converted my points to a $35 Target gift card that I have not recieved yet. With the third company my points were exchanged for a Lillian Vernon e-gift card. This has been my favorite so far. Lillian Vernon is having a HUGE clearance sale right now so I was able to get lots with my $30 worth of gift card. I got dd2 an aqua colored suit case, a small cd/dvd case to house dvds while on trips in the van, a cute pink butterfly toiletry case for the girls while traveling, and a sterling silver locket. The locket is my new most favorite piece of jewelry. I went and had it engraved today at a place in the mall. On the front of the locket my first initial, B. On the back of the locket are the names of my dds and their birthdates. When we got home from church I placed a picture of each dd inside. It is soooo cute! I love it! Time to take more surveys, I love getting things for free! |
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Saturday, March 3, 2007
I'm Back
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I didn't mean to be away so long. I have been making lots of pillowcase dresses to put in a local consignment sale. I made 6, these are three of them, and sold 4 (I was told I sold all 6). But anyway, I sold them for $20 each which is a nice profit. I feel like I contributed to the family budget. I have already spent my profits though, lol. I sold all three of these dresses, but will make another of the solid blue w/buttons and the toile for my daughters because they are 2 of my favorites. They each have a solid pink one with brown and pink ribbon as well. I just love the way these dresses look! I will try to be around more often. I do miss my homeschoolblogger friends though! I wish I could still post over there.
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Tuesday, February 20, 2007
Spring Cleaning
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We're having a "Spring Cleaning" subscription sale!
We're offering one-year subscriptions for only $19.95
AND giving away the 19 free homeschooling gifts!
A free Winter 2007 issue is also included in this special
sale.
We only have about 650 packages left from our
Winter Bouquet and need to sell this out before
March 15th! This is one of the lowest prices of the year! | |
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Tuesday, February 20, 2007
Update
| Friends mentioned previously welcomed their little girl into the world very early friday morning. The labor was quick and easy. Baby girl weighed 3 lbs 7 oz and was 17 in long. She had surgery to fix her intestinal problem sat morning and that went well. she is expected to stay in the nicu for another 6 - 8 weeks, and may have a few more surgeries. keep them in your prayers! |
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Thursday, February 15, 2007
Update
| Please continue to pray for the family i mentioned in the previous post. She is 31 weeks and her water broke today. She will be delivering the baby some time tonight. The drs say the baby is just over 3 lbs. |
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Thursday, February 8, 2007
Please Pray
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I have added in this post a letter from a guy in my church concerning his wife and baby. The names have been taken out for their privacy, but please remember to lift this family up in your prayers. I find it very difficult to be pregnant with all of the what-ifs and I cannot imagine what this family is going through.
I would like to ask all of you to pray for our daughter. My wife has been in the hospital pretty much every day this week. They were going to discharge her today, but they noticed some things during the ultrasound that have caused some concern. There are basically three issues that they are monitoring.
The first one is that our daughter has an obstruction in her lower intestine that is preventing her from fully processing the amniotic fluid that she ingests. She cannot expel it. This is causing the fluid to buildup inside of her. Our daughter's inability to process this fluid is also causing my wife to go into pre-term labor because the fluid continues to build up creating more pressure than she (or the baby) should be experiencing at this point in the pregnancy. Now, that the doctors are aware of the situation they are able to mitigate the fluid build-up (in my wife-- not the baby) by draining the fluid when necessary. Our daughter will need surgery as soon as she is born to remove the obstruction and repair any effected areas. After the surgery, she could be in ICU for around six weeks while she recovers.
The second issue is that normal umbilical cords have three veins. Our baby's umbilical cord has two. I'm sure that this could affect how much nutrition the baby receives, but there isn't much that they can do about that. The doctors did tell us that there is an increased chance of the baby being stillborn as a result of this abnormality.
The third issue is that our daughters long bones (her thigh bones and upper arms) are not as long as they should be for a 30 week old baby. They said that she looks like she's running a couple of weeks behind. This could be a side-effect of the missing vein in the umbilical cord or it could be that she's just short.
Now, any one of these single issues by themselves are certainly cause for concern, but the doctors seem to believe that they are able to manage each of these situations. The tough part comes when you have all of these issues together because each of them is also a marker for Down's Syndrome.
They are doing tests in hopes of obtaining a more definitive answer, but they have said that they will not know for certain until the baby is actually born. There are two tests that they will be doing. One is a screen type test that will give us an answer within 48 hours; the other test is more in-depth and we should have the results from that test within 10 days. The problem with both of these tests, as I understand it, is that it is possible to get false negatives or positives from both tests. That's why the doctor's can't say definitively whether or not she will have Down's Syndrome until she is actually right there in front of them.
Obviously, every baby is special to every parent, and in the scheme of things my wife and I are no different from anyone else. However, in our minds, we like to think that our baby is a little different because she wasn't supposed to be possible.
My wife and I have been trying to have a child for over three years. My wife has some conditions that have made it very difficult for her to have a child. We were (and still are) so surprised when God answered our prayer and brought DD into our lives. Like every parent, we have hopes, dreams, and ambitions for that little unborn child. I pray that the doctor's initial fears are wrong. I pray that test results (we do not currently know what those results will indicate) won't matter. I pray that God will give us a healthy, normal little girl. I ask that you would join me in that prayer.
We will continue to love DD even if she does have Down's syndrome. I'm not sure how that will change those dreams, but I am sure that if God does bring that into our lives that He will also bring new dreams for us to share with her.
We are shocked, saddened, and afraid, but we are also certain that God, who gave us this little girl, knows best. It sounds so trite and cliched, until you actually find yourself in a position to type those words. A time when you have to evaluate whether you really mean them or not. We do. We don't want to hurt or to endure some of the possibilities now before us, but ultimately those things are issues that God has to worry about-- not us.
All that being said, please join us in trying to persuade God to come around to our point of view. Boy, that's a contradiction to my previous paragraph, isn't it?
Perhaps one of the most heartbreaking things about the entire episode is the fact that the doctor's have put DW on bed rest. This is very traumatic for me because it means that I will have to refill my own drinks, cook things, and just do all the the little things that she normally does for me. The horror! And , I realize that you might be tempted to organize volunteers to bring meals to our home and stuff like that, but you should know that I'm an even pickier eater than  . I laugh at and his liberal attitude of eating whatever is set before him! |
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Tuesday, February 6, 2007
Just the encouragement I Needed
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Hmmm, yep, you read those scales right. This morning I was getting ready in the bathroom and DD1 hopped up on the scales. "How much I weigh?" I replied, "30 lbs." She says, "Your turn." I step up on the scales and she shouts "Two thousan sis pounds!! YEA!!!" Needless to say, I was at aerobics tonight, lol! |
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Monday, February 5, 2007
I hate this part of the day
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Ugh, I really hate this time of the afternoon. I am both girls in bed but neither are sleeping. It take about 15 minutes for DD2 (6 mo) to wind down and finally go to sleep, the only nap of the day she fights. It takes DD1 (3 yo) about an hour sometimes to finally give in, if she ever does. I just gave her sudafed so it should kick in soon, but I don't want her to be mid-nap when I wake her for ballet.
Last night we went to a Superbowl party that the young couples class had at church. I made cookies'n cream brownies and sugar cookies. Here is a pic of the sugar cookies that I made.
They were a big hit at the party. If I would have had time I would have done more extensive work on the helmets.
I need to get back to work. Whenever I get one of those crazy forwards that says to make a wish, I always wish that my house would clean itself .... no luck yet  |
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Sunday, February 4, 2007
This week's menu
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Sunday -- Sandwiches/Super Bowl Party
Monday -- Roast Chicken/Stuffing/Rolls
Tuesday -- Cereal/FFY (fix for yourself)
Wednesday -- Parmesean Pasta
Thursday -- Fish/Chips
Friday -- Pizza
Saturday -- Valentine's Banquet (catered by Bonefish Grill -- YUM!) |
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Saturday, February 3, 2007
The Old Schoolhouse Store
Friday, February 2, 2007
TAG
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A- Available/Single? NOPE
B - Best Friend? Lisa and Brandy
C- Cake or Pie? Depends, I think pie though
D - Drink Of Choice? Dr.Pepper
E - Essential Item You Use Everyday? DIAPERS
F - Favorite Color? blue
G - Gummy Bears Or Worms? Gummy bears
H – Homeschooled how long? BFIAR, just a few months with dd1
I – Indulgence? starbucks
J - January Or February? January
K - Kids & Their Names? 2 DDs
L - Life Is Incomplete Without? My DH and DD
M - Marriage Date? married almost 5 years
N- Number Of Siblings? 2
O - Oranges Or Apples? oranges
P - Phobias/Fears? Spiders!
Q - Favorite Quote? hope life is soon ducky cause right now its sucky
R - Reason to Smile? my girls
S - Season? spring
T - Tag Four People? Anyone that would like to do this
U - Unknown Facts About Me? not telling, thats why its unknown :)
V - Vegetable you don’t like? broccoli, one of many
W - Worst Habit? tearing my nails
X - X-rays You’ve Had? knee, teeth, ultrasounds
Y - Your Favorite Food? chicken fettuchini alfredo
Z- Zodiac Sign? scorpio |
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Friday, February 2, 2007
We had snow!
Wednesday, January 31, 2007
Good Morning!
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Wow! It is not even 8:30 yet and so far I have done a load of dishes, folded a load of clothes, moved one from washer to drier and added another to the washer! I have showered and made homemade cinnamon rolls for my dh to take to work, he leaves at 6:30. I have decluttered the master bathroom sink (a project in waiting for months!) and have cleaned the potty. i am amazed at myself. I need to get in there and finish the bathroom and get dressed and ready for the day. I saved 2 cinnamon rolls for dd and i, they are in the oven now. After that I will finish what I started. I have a friend from church coming over today. Her DH has been deployed to Iraq for the second or third time now and she is home alone with her 3 DC. I will pick her up this afternoon, we will take the kids to play, have dinner here and then go to church. I am excited about it! well, more to do. DD has speech at 10:30 so we need to get ready. have a great day!
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Monday, January 29, 2007
This week's menu
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This is just half the week because I am unsure of our plans for the weekend. If we are to go out of town then Thursday's meal will be one thing, if not it will be another
Here is how it stands as of now:
Monday: Philly Cheesesteaks
Tuesday: Cereal/Make your own
Wednesday: Chicken Fet. Alfredo/Garlic Bread/Salad/Banana Pudding
I will update later this week! |
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Saturday, January 27, 2007
Pillowcase Dress
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Tonight I attempted to make a pillowcase dress for DD1. I love these dresses and have heard just how incredibly easy they are to make. I don't know if I would say it was incredibly easy or not. I had a really hard time with the armhole binding. I guess it is not bad for my first time! Practice makes perfect. Maybe another weekend I will tackle pantaloons to go with. It is really cute material, will be great to wear for any patriot event. It is navy blue with red and white sailboats.
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Friday, January 26, 2007
welcome
Friday, January 26, 2007
one word - YUM!!
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So I had envisioned making the chicken stromboli and just kinda making it up as I went along. When I was grocery shopping I ran across some Tuscan shredded cheese. I forget who makes it but they have a whole line with these spice packets that you mix into the cheese. The tuscan cheese was your regular italian, asiago, mozzerella, parmesean, etc and then the spice packet contained crushed roast red peppers, garlic, basil, etc. So I mixed half the packet in with the cheese. Then I rolled out my bread dough, sprinkled garlic powder on it, put a layer of the cheese down, next were cut up pieces of grilled chicken tenders (frozen tenders grilled on forman), then feta, then more of the shredded seasoned cheese. The I rolled it all up, slathered some EVOO on top, sprinkled more of the seasoning on top and baked it at 375 for about 20 - 30 minutes. It was the *BEST* stomboli I have ever had, DH said the same. I would so pay money for it in a restaurant. Well, I would except I don't have to because I can just make it at home!
My next word of the day is YUCK! The laundry is still not finished! I did 7 loads yesterday and just did another one. I have 2 more to do. What is so discouraging is I had finished all the clothes yesterday with just towels and sheets left to wash. The load I did this morning were clothes that had accumulated just since last night.
Oh well, so is life with a 3 yo and a 6 month old!
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Thursday, January 25, 2007
Update on the week
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We haven't so much stuck to the menu this week  We did lasagna Monday night, then had cereal Tuesday night and we ate out last night. Tonight I am going to make the chicken stromboli and we will finish the week out with the planned menu. I decided to start with FlyLady again this week, this is my millionth attempt! It was going well and then we got busy, as usual. We half way did our before bedtime routine Tuesday and not at all last night. I can tell a big difference, which in a way is a bit of encouragement. I can see that it was working so we need to keep it up. Today I have done 3, or maybe 4, loads of laundry and have at least 4 more to do. I hate laundry! It piles up so quickly. I am debating about trying something new ... maybe each person has a day when their laundry gets done. Maybe next week 
Yesterday, DD1 had a swallow study. She failed it  I guess its not that big of a deal, I didn't really expect her to pass it. We have to thicken all of her liquids now. She doesn't mind, I don't think she even notices. I guess I am just a little sad because something should have been done 3 years ago. Just when I start getting over all the anger and unanswered questions, something else comes up. Oh well, this too shall pass.
On a happier note, DD1 started ballet on Monday. She really liked it! She signs up for soccer on Saturday. I am excited about all her new activites. I complain about how busy we are, but really, I thrive on it. I don't know what to do with myself when I have nothing to do.
DD2 is growing up so fast. I can't believe that next week she will be 6 months old! Seems like I was just pregnant!
Tuesday night I played volleyball at our church. That was fun. I have lots of bruises and I am sore, reminding me that I am old, lol. Tonight I will go to aerobics and then stay to watch DH's basketball game. Its always something! |
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Tuesday, January 23, 2007
Apron Contest
Sunday, January 21, 2007
This week's menu
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Sunday -- Pot Roast with carrots and potatoes, biscuits, german chocolate cake
Monday -- (company's comin!) Lasagna, garlic bread, salad, banana pudding
Tuesday -- Tuna tetrazzini
Wednesday -- Chicken Stromboli
Thursday -- Philly Cheesesteak
Friday -- Breakfast! Pancakes
Saturday -- Build your own burritos, queso and chips |
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