Happy New Year

Lydia wanted to tell everyone to have a safe and Happy New Year. She will be kicking it with the family tonight at Uncle Joe's house. She said mommy will try to do better at taking more pictures of her and updating the blog next year.

Merry Christmas 2011

Merry Christmas to you!

This last year was by far the best year for our family. Our greatest event was the birth of our daughter, Lydia Kate on November 9th. She was highly anticipated by many and welcome with love by all. She has truly changed our lives and I couldn't image life without her. As for the rest of our year, not many exciting things happened. I graduated with my Masters in Education Reading Specialist degree, a goal that I hoped to accomplish before our first child. Matter of fact, I had my last class just days before I found out I was expecting our little miracle baby. Talk about impeccable timing!

We spent most of the year preparing for Lydia's arrival. We decided to skip a vacation this year and save up some cash. I was a nanny again this summer, this time for a family of three girls. We spent our days hanging poolside at the water park in town, a great place for a pregnant woman on those hot summer days we had.

Dennis was kept busy this past year running his business full time while working a full time job. He has gotten the Barbeque sauce into many more stores and restaurants and is working on a lot of other projects. One of which he completed just days before our little girl arrived. Talk about time crunch!

I continued with my daycare business this year so I could stay home with Lydia. I am so glad I made that decision because I don't think I could leave her every day to go to work. The kids have adjusted well to her, actually I think they sometimes forget she is here! I am thankful everyday that I get to have this opportunity to stay at home.

As I look back at this year, I count my blessing and am very grateful that we were blessed with such an adorable sweet spirit to be a part of our family. We enjoy watching Lydia grow each day and are looking forward to the many days of joy we have ahead with her.

We wish you a Merry Christmas & a fabulous & blessed New Year!

Love,

Dennis, Tara & Lydia Larson

One Month

Dear Lydia,

You are a month old today and have brought so much joy to our home. You are such a good baby, letting us sleep through the night more than your average newborn. Some of your favorite things are your swing, pooping on mommy when she changes your diaper, sitting facing out holding that strong head of yours up, sticking your tongue out, sucking on your thumb and all your little fingers, being rocked to sleep while mommy sings to you, you seem to favor "You are my Sunshine" and "I am a Child of God" a song mommy played over and over again for you when you were in her belly, you like laying on your changing table and staring at your ceiling fan, staring at mommy while smiling and letting out these cute little noises, cuddling with daddy at night and staring out the window talking while you rock in your swing. Daddy thinks you are talking with angels or Heavenly Father when you do that, it really is the cutest thing. You were sitting there the other day waving your arms back and forth and just going on and on. You really have brought Heaven down to our home, a true blessing.

In your first month of life you managed to have your good share of diaper blow outs. Last weekend we had to change you in the rug department at IKEA, don't worry we used your changing pad. Too bad we didn't buy that rug as a souvenir! You got mommy good the other day when she was changing your diaper. I went to wipe your bum and you just let it all rip, getting poop all over the place. You even pooped out the back of your diaper all over Uncle Jerry as Aunt Tonya was getting your bath ready.

You can already roll to your side. You even try to sit up when we put you in your swing. You love to stretch, be naked and love bath time. You aren't afraid of noise, you actually sleep through the 8 boys mommy watches screaming and playing around you. You must get that comatose sleep from your daddy.

You are a joy to have as a Daughter and one of the greatest blessings we have been given. We look forward to watching you grow even more.

Love,

Mommy

A Name & A Blessing

On Sunday November 27th 2011

I witnessed my husband give our daughter

a name & a blessing,

A moment I have waited a very long time for!

Labor & Delivery

Tuesday November 8th, I went out the dinner with some family to Sweet Tomatoes, one of my favorite places to go. I had been up since 4am that morning not able to sleep so I just got up and got ready for the day so I was ready to go home and crash after dinner. When I left home, I was having contractions but they were sporadic and not very consistent. During dinner, my back started hurting and I was noticing they were about 30 minutes apart. So I sat through my dinner while my sister rubbed my lower back for me.... we got home from dinner around 9ish and I changed into my pajamas and planned to just take it easy on the couch and watch the news before bed. As I sat down on the couch I had a contraction and as soon as I laid my head down I was out only to be woken up 15 minutes later by a killer contraction that sent me leaping off the couch and feeling like I was about to pee my pants. So I headed to the bathroom and noticed some bleeding that caused some concern. So I called my doctor and told her about this and that my contractions were about 15 minutes apart. She advised me to come in and told me that she was going to keep me since I was overdue 5 days already and was set to be induced just days later.....

Fast Forward to about 10:15pm, we arrived at Copley through the ER and enjoyed a fast paced wheel chair ride to labor & delivery thanks to the nurse who was walking rather quickly, Dennis and my sister had a hard time keeping up. I got registered, put in a room and was ready to go.

I was already dilated to a 3 and was pretty well effaced with contractions about 3 minutes apart at this point. At 11pm the Dr was called and I was told that if I had not made any progress by 4am they would start me on pitocin. The Dr came in to break my water when I was dilated to a 4, I think somewhere around 2am or so..... 4am came and went and we didn't need the pitocin at this point as my body was doing what it was supposed to do. Guess I will throw in here that it took 3 nurses and the anesthesiologist to get my IV going as I had my veins blown 5 times before the called in the professional who had to put the IV in, in the middle of my arm.

5:30 am....pain from the contractions was starting to get unmanageable so I asked for an epidural. As soon as that was in we turned off the lights for a nap...well everyone else napped but me. I was relaxed but unable to sleep, who would at this point with all the excitement. I was super comfy and warm though!

The rest of the labor and delivery is kind of a blur from here....I remember the Dr coming in around 7am before her shift was over to check me and I was an 8 at this point....I remember sort of dozing off and walking up to feeling the baby move down lower than she had been. I didn't feel pressure like everyone says you will I just remember it feeling weird. So they called the Dr in to check and I was already at a 10. So my nurse did some practice pushes with me and 30 minutes later at 11:03am on November 9th Lydia Kate was born weighing 8lbs 7oz, a complete shock that I had just given birth to such a big baby! I didn't get to hold her right away because the cord was around her neck and I needed to get stitched up which then led to about an hour of shaking from me so profusely that my sister said my lips turned blue and I had 5 heated blankets on me and 3 people rubbing my legs and my grandmother draped over me trying to get me warm and to get the shaking to stop. Turns out I had a fever and my white blood cell count was high, later to find out I had corioamnititis, an infection in my placenta which was caused from labor.

As a result of this, I was put on antibiotics and kept for three days. Lydia was monitored and was found to be ok, just jaundiced.

That's my labor and delivery story and I would totally do it all over again! Even though I was up for 36 hours straight and don't really remember the few visitors we had the evening being there, I spent most of that night holding Lydia and just staring at her like I was dreaming.

Lydia Kate Larson

She's here and I am IN LOVE! I am loving everything about my precious baby girl. Here is a picture for now until I get a little more time to sit down and tell her birth story (which I can't really complain about!). For now I am busy staring into those gorgeous light eyes which I think will be blue. Who do you think she looks like?

Stats:

12 hours of labor, 30 min pushing and our princess of 8 pounds 7 oz. 21 in. long was born at 11:03am on Wednesday November 9th, 2011.

40 weeks and 1 day

Well, made it to my due date and then some.....my last appointment was on my actual due date. Only dilated to a 2, Dr wanted to strip my membranes and I said no thanks! So she did an ultra sound to check the fluid and hooked me up to the monitor for a half hour to listen to the baby's heart beat to make sure everything was good, and of course everything was great! She won't let me go more than a week overdue so our little girl is set to be evicted next Friday, 11/11/11 if she doesn't decide to appear before then. I am hoping she doesn't because that would be one sweet birthday!

I continue to have sporadic contractions that don't last long and haven't amounted to anything yet. We went out to dinner for my birthday last night and I was having a few but they were more like quick sharp pains, nothing I was able to count. I am getting lots of back and hip pains now which leads to a nice warm bath at the end of the day to help me relax.

So for now we are just waiting for her to arrive....hard to believe she will be sitting in my arms for sure this time next week!

The Larsons......60 years from now

Here is our Halloween costume this year. We decided to go as an old couple. I managed to hide the bump with a black sweater and Dens grandmas blazer and hunched over a cane (not a good idea when 9 months pregnant, I felt it the next day). I did such a great job no one knew it was us. This masks are awesome! The mouth moves and everything, making it freakishly real.

39 Weeks

As I write this post, I am 39 weeks and 4 days and currently still pregnant. 2 friends due after me have already had their babies, one is currently in labor as we speak and I am glad its not me! I really didn't want her birthday to be on Halloween.

I am starting to get more uncomfortable and have been having a lot of contractions while walking. Grocery shopping is now impossible by myself and housework is obsolete. She is getting lower and lower and I am reminded of that when I stand up. At my last appointment on Thursday I was still at a 1 and was told they would most likely see me at my next appt, my due date. I am being patient though, knowing she will come when she is ready but its kinda crazy wondering when she will finally come, my birthday is Friday and 11-11-11 would also be a cool day to be born. I often wonder if I will need to be induced because my body won't go into labor on its own and she will just be too late. Its crazy to think if she is 2 weeks late, she will be born the week before Thanksgiving!

It's hard to imagine that I could be holding a newborn in my arms any day now!

Sneak Peak @ nursery

Here is a quick peak at Lydias room. There are still a few minor things that need to be done like

install her ceiling fan, make her bookshelves, put the giant box of diapers away, get the picture frames that will be hanging in the tree and hang some other shelving but its to the point where it is ready for her is she decides to come early.

I CAN'T WAIT!!!!!

Final Stretch- Week 35

I am almost 2 weeks behind on posting this as Thursday marks week 37. I had a Dr appointment last Monday, was told I was dilated to 1 and my Dr. sent me for an ultrasound because I was measuring small.....saw little Lydia on Wednesday and she weighed in around 6lbs and looked great! She was moving all over the place and had her little hands by her chin the whole time.

Had Braxton Hicks contractions last night, not painful, just a rock hard tummy. Oh and little Lydia entertained my friends this weekend at my Scentsy party and again at our fondue night with her kicking moves. She was making my tummy move side to side like giant waves. My sister thinks she will make one heck of a soccer player with the way she has been kicking me lately. Her new thing is to stretch her butt out on my right side and then her feet on the left, quiet painful if you ask mommy but I think its cute.

We are nearing the end here, she really could come at any time. Her room just has a few minor things to finish and I need to finish getting my hospital bag together. I am getting anxious about labor and delivery. Not knowing what to expect, I just want to get it done and over with and get her settled in at home. I really am going to miss being pregnant and I hope that I get the opportunity to be again someday, it really has been a great experience and I can't complain, I am just now starting to actually feel pregnant. No swollen body parts, can still tie my shoes, have been wearing some non maternity tops and I am still sleeping through the night with 1 bathroom break about halfway through. Don't know if she is just being nice and letting me enjoy the sleep now because she is planning on being up for most of the night or if she is going to be a stellar sleeper like her daddy and I are.

** 6 ** Years

On Saturday, we celebrated our 6th wedding anniversary by going to Kuipers Apple Orchard for apple cider doughnuts and honey crisp apples. The funny thing is that we originally intended to spend the gorgeous day picking apples there but when we got out of the car and saw the gigantic line of people waiting to go out, we both agreed that it wouldn't be the end of the world if we didn't pick apples. So we wondered through the shop, munched on some doughnuts, sampled some apples and made a purchase of 2 dozen apple cider doughnuts and a 1/2 peck of my fav apples and headed off to Menards to get some things we needed to finish the baby's room.

We enjoyed spending the day together

and finished it off

with a 3 hour long dinner

@

The Melting Pot.

We left with our bellies full from our last course,

Chocolate fondue with a swirl of peanut butter and probably way to many strawberries & bananas.

And then went home

to enjoy

our food coma!

I am blessed to have spent the last 6 years with such an amazing person

and I look forward

to an eternity more

of

anniversaries!

* The only picture of the day, taken with my crappy phones camera. Our waitress was sweet enough to make us a cute plate of chocolate drizzled strawberries and wrote Happy 6th Anniversary on it.

33 Weeks!!

I just had to post a comparison here to show how much I've grown. The picture on the left is at about 8 weeks and the picture on the right is 33 weeks! I was getting ready for church yesterday and Dennis happened to be standing next to me and made the comment..."WOW, your belly sticks out far!" Yea dude, where have you been?

But

as Lydia continues to grow, I continue to love being pregnant! I am really going to miss it but I hope I will get to experience it again! It has been such an awesome experience and I have cherished every little kick and movement, even if it is at 3am!

Her room is coming along....still not ready to post any pictures, although I should post one of the giant pile of stuff in her room waiting to find a home! I am hoping we make major progress with it this week!

Baby Shower

I had my friends and family baby shower on September 11th hosted by my good friend Nicole with the help of her mom. It was nice to have so many people come to support us and show their love. I am astounded by the amount of clothes and diapers our little one already has! We played games, ate, chatted and spent way too long opening gifts! I did manage to sprain my tow pretty bad on a chair and spent the whole next week limping around as it was swollen and bruised but it seems to be on the mend now. Unfortunately, I didn't take many pictures but here is what I managed to get.

*The cupcakes were AMAZING! They were made with cream cheese frosting with chunks of real strawberries in them! I may have had more than one....or two...

30 weeks....

Still no real complaints. No swelling on this body or water retention just a little back pain here and there. Just getting real excited to meet our little girl!

Her room is slowly coming along.....my first shower is next week so hubby and I are hoping to get a good start on her room this weekend since we are actually home and not busy! The tree got painted on today so we will tackle the last of the painting and shelving and I need to figure out closet organization. I might post a picture of how her room is coming along after we have made a dent!

Crunchy and Chocolatey

@ 29 weeks pregnant, I can't get enough of these delicious crunchy chocolatey pebbles! I had 3 bowls yesterday and the box I bought 2 days ago, is about gone!

27 weeks

Wow look at that belly! Here I am at almost 28 weeks. It is starting to get harder to walk, sit up for long periods of time and Lydia doesn't like it when I sleep on my right side. Last night, I got jolted out of bed at 2am from a series of strong kicks from our little girl. I even think I may have had my first experience with Braxton Hicks contractions last night.

Cravings include: peanut butter and fluff sandwiches, pizza ( could eat it for every meal every day), broccoli and cheese and I can't seem to get enough Multigrain Cheerios. I eat at least 2 bowls a day, one which is a pre-bedtime snack now that I am constantly hungry and I seem to get very hungry right before bed.

The bathroom has become the most frequented place for me, there isn't a place we go to that I don't "check out" the bathroom, it gets annoying sometimes! The recliner is my bed friend and I can't seem to make it through the day without some sort of power nap as my tiredness has come back.

Lydias room has been painted but isn't close to be finished yet. I have a friend making her bedding for me which I picked out the fabric for last weekend and I am very excited to see what it is going to look like! We have gotten a car seat, pack n play and jogging stroller for her so far. Both of my showers are next month and I am very excited to start to get things into place for her arrival. I am starting to get a bit nervous about delivery but we have 13 more weeks for that still.

As far as the job front goes, we have decided that it would be best for me to stay home and do the daycare thing again. I have 2 three year olds signed up and am waiting to hear from a family with another 3 yr old and a 10 month old and then we will be complete. For now I am trying to enjoy my last 2 weeks of "summer break" soaking up the rays and relaxing before the hussle and bussle of early mornings and preschool routines start up on the 15th.

23 weeks......

....AND feeling GREAT!!!!

Sisters

After 13 years of not seeing my two younger sisters, Angel and Brianna, I finally got to see them! And of course, all 5 of my sisters are taller than their older sister! Man I am short! (I am standing in a step here).

20 weeks!

Can't believe we are half way there! Our last ultrasound confirmed we are indeed having a girl and I even got Daddy to agree on a name with me! Lydia Kate Larson is winning over our hearts! She is a constant mover and I feel her kicking all the time. I love it! Although, see doesn't like to cooperate very much, my 18 week appointment she wouldn't sit still for the dopplar to pick up her heartbeat so I got to have an ultrasound. I think she just knew mommy wanted to see her. Then at my 20 week appointment, the tech busted out the 3d so we could see her face and she wouldn't move her hands out from in front of her face (last picture)! The whole time they were doing the anatomy survey she kept moving around a lot too. She is very active just like her momma.

This pregnancy has gotten more real for me now that I can feel her kicking. I no longer feel like I am dreaming I am pregnant and I am getting so excited to meet her. All in all, I am feeling pretty great, no complaints here, I actually love being pregnant!

18 Weeks

I feel like this pregnancy is going by fast yet it feels like its dragging on but I am sitting here stunned that I have entered my 19th week already! I have a new love for maternity pants, no zipper makes for easier trips the 900 times I visit the restroom a day. I feel like I am always going to the bathroom......or eating! No major cravings right now just wanting to eat the same kinds of food for now which include golden delicious apples, grape tomatoes with dip, anything peanut butter, grilled cheese sandwiches on oat bread and I have been on a major popcicle kick lately.

So far I have gained 8 pounds, my waist has gone from a 32" to 37"....I am all baby, having actually lost from other areas of my body but there are no complaints here! I feel like she has taken the fat from those parts, leaving muscle to shine through or at least thats what it seems like to me! Is it weird to say I feel "toner" since becoming pregnant?

My 18 week checkup is on Monday and then the following Monday we have our gender determination ultrasound with my ob office, we will see if the place we did our early ultrasound was right and if little girl is still a little girl!

And in the name department, I think we may have settled on a name but I am not going to mention it just yet, maybe that will be the element of surprise for everyone if we wait until she is born!

It's a girl

The first picture is the tell tale pic. The tech said its a girl but daddy thinks that its really a boy, we just didn't get a good view.....so the next ultrasound is in 4 weeks @ my ob office so we will see if its still a girl or if our little boy was hiding the goods on us.

I've Mastered the Art of Going to School

On Saturday, I graduated with my Master of Arts in Education from Olivet Nazarene University. Seems being a teacher gives you a life long adventure of going to school......I have a few things in mind for my next adventure. I want to take my last 3 classes to get middle school endorsed in science and social studies and I think I will get my ELL certificate. I have to defer those student loans some how! lol

Revamped Dresser

14 Weeks

So here we our, the 2nd trimester and I must say I like it alot better than the first. My morning sickness is gone and I am able to eat food again and be in a vertical position. However, I have just gotten over my second cold during this pregnancy, my friend referred to it as placenta nose! This time it was yucky, three boxes of kleenex in 3 days, OUCH! I am glad that its almost gone and I am on the mend now.

As far as baby goes, I didn't post about our 13 week visit. We saw Baby and we even got a simultaneous hand and foot wave from the little one, he or she was very active. It was really cool as this was the first ultrasound where you could tell it was a baby and not just a blob. We find out in 2 weeks if we will be picking blue or pink! So excited to find out!

Everything is going very smoothly. I am now completely in maternity pants and have gotten comments on the bump. As the weather is trying to get warmer I am struggling to find clothes I can wear and feel comfortable in.

We have gotten the crib set up and Dennis has stained the the dresser he had when he was a kid. I need to post pictures of it, it turned out very nicely. Now we are just waiting to find out the sex so we can start our registry and start buying baby some stuff. I am so excited and so thankful towards my Heavenly Father for allowing me the opportunity to be a mom and take care of a sweet little spirit!

12.5 Weeks

Here's the bump I am sporting these days. I officially can't wear my regular jeans anymore, although maternity pants are a little big in the butt and thigh area, good I guess considering the only thing growing on me is my tummy. My morning sickness is gone but I still have the occasional nauseous moment every now and then. I have started to get an appetite back but still prefer to stick with carbs. Baby really isn't a fan of fruits and veggies but I have been trying to get some in when I can. I actually got to enjoy Easter dinner last night, I was stuffed!

We have our 13 week checkup today and I am hoping we get to see Baby L. Only 4 more weeks until we find out the sex. Dennis thinks we are having a boy but I think its a girl so it will be interesting to see who is right. He is usually pretty good at guessing.

For now, I am just getting through the last 4 weeks of watching the kids at home and then in June I start to nanny for a family with 3 girls. I am excited because I will get to be out of the house, go fun places and enjoy the water park again this summer! Lucky me!

I am still up in arms as to what I want to do next year as watching the kids at home is taking a toll on me and the house but maybe I just need a break! I have been applying for teaching jobs but part of me wants to stay home with Baby. I have put it in the Lords hands now so we will see what the end of the summer will bring.

Week 8 vs Week 11

7.5 Weeks

It's amazing how much a baby grows in a week! I now have full blown morning sickness complete with throwing up, oh joy! I spent the entire day in bed yesterday and couldn't manage to keep anything down. I was given a script for Zofran at my doctors appointment this morning. I have also scheduled my first appointment with my ob for next week. I can't believe I am already into my 8th week already. Here is to hoping this whole morning sickness thing can subside and I can start to function like a normal person again!

6.5 weeks

My baby is the size of a blueberry, having grown 10,000 times bigger than it was at conception! AMAZING! The other amazing thing is that we saw and heard the heartbeat yesterday at our appointment. The heartbeat is already at 120, which we were told was pretty strong for 6.5 weeks, which puts this momma at ease. I am so excited every Monday because I get to see our baby!

Morning sickness has set in this past week. Although I was dealing with nausea @ night which was easy to just go to bed to feel better, I have started to not feel so hot in the morning! So I have saltines and preggie pops on hand (which the preggie pops helped the other night thank goodness!) I have tried to stop drinking anything past a certain time which has helped because I haven't gotten up to go to the bathroom the last few nights.

All in all, I am doing pretty well.

Love at First Sight!

See my little bean sprout on the left!

Somebody Pinch Me!

It's been 6 days since we found out we are expecting a little one and I still feel like I am living in a dream! I still can't believe after 5 years of trying, I am pregnant! Maybe it will be more real to me when I go in for my first ultrasound on Monday. I am in my fifth week and I am feeling good so far. The nausea really hasn't been present this week like last week, I have just been very very tired! The only restriction the doctor has me on is that I can't lift over 10 pounds which has been hard with the kids I watch but my sister has been very helpful with picking up the kids for me.

So excited to see my little peanut on Monday!

I'm Lucky #3

Some may say this is a little early to announce, however there are not that many people who keep up with my blog and I am too excited to keep it in and I know some of you are waiting to hear so.......here is my announcement, I am indeed pregnant!

Coincidence?

Totally Random but.....

So yesterday I found out that two friends are expecting their second child are due a day apart from each other....all while I am enduring my 2 week wait! aaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhh. Well, I find out in groups of three so here is to hoping I am lucky #3!

Just an update, I went in for blood work this morning and my numbers are looking good. Estrogen is about 1860 and progesterone was like 360 or something like that. The Dr. doesn't want me to do anymore HCG injections which is good because my hormones are doing their thing. I totally had this whole waiting thing under control and out of my head...until I got a call with my results and was told my Beta (pg test) would be Thursday....I thought I had until next Tuesday...so now of course I am thinking about it...I thought my girls weekend would be a good distraction to get me through the last few days but I guess I will have to occupy my mind some other way for 3 days. I am so not looking forward to the long wait on Thursday afternoon, last time it felt like an eternity!

I have been unusually tired the last few days, had a dizzy spell on Saturday, go from full to hungry in no time at all- I actually finished ALL of my dinner when we went out the other night which is totally unheard of! I even wanted Tacos & had them for breakfast this morning. But I am trying to not read into it all and get too excited, don't want to get my hopes up again.

So here is to lots of praying over the next 72 hours!

Blizzaster 2011

February brought us a whopping 20 inches of snow, the third worst blizzard in recorded history. I was left with 2 extra days in the house and I took full advantage of the extra time, I began a

project and tried to be productive but we all know how that goes.

Just a few side notes about the blizzaster 2011.

1. We had a piece of siding torn off of our house

2. I swear our patio door almost busted from how strong the wind was, it was flexing bad

3. I decided to venture out 3 hours before the projected start time, who knew that the weather men would be right and the storm even hit a few hours early, leaving me to drive home in a bit of it, FUN!

4. There were a ton of cars left stranded on LakeShore drive due to a bus that jackknifed. I would not have wanted to be one of the people stuck out there, scary! I heard a story of a husband who drove as far as he could to get to his wife on LSD, walked on foot when he couldn't get any farther and looked in every car window until he found his wife who was stranded because she was out of gas!

5. Our HOA shovelers informed us the next morning that we had a pile of snow on our front porch that reached well over the top of the door, taking him over an hour just to shovel it out!

6. An ambulance got stuck in the snow drift in our neighborhood, 2 plows almost got stuck trying to get them out

7. Closed area schools for 2 days, I can't remember the last time we had 2 snow days in a row!

Happy Valentines Day!

Wednesday Words of Wisdom

"People are often unreasonable and self-centered. Forgive them anyway. If you are kind, people may accuse you of ulterior motives. Be kind anyway. If you are honest, people may cheat you. Be honest anyway. If you find happiness, people may be jealous. Be happy anyway. The good you do today may be forgotten tomorrow. Do good anyway. Give the world the best you have and it may never be enough. Give your best anyway. For you see, in the end, it is between you and God. It was never between you and them anyway."

D Day

Friday is the day! I am so excited but trying not to let myself get to excited and I am grateful for the strength the Lord has given me.

Round Two

I didn't blog about my first round of I.V.F and I wish I would have so I could look back on it. So now that I am starting round two, I wanted to document my thoughts. I am three days in on my shots and set for retrieval on Valentines Day. I am excited to try again but am a little nervous about being let down. Last round after learning we miscarried, it was very emotionally straining on me and I am a little nervous about going through it all again. I am trying to remain positive that this will be our lucky month and we will get our little bundle of joy!

$ome dolla$ $aved

Jewel has been having these deals lately where an item is $1.75 when you purchase 4. I have done 3 trips so far with coupons for the cereal. This weekend, I got 4 coupons for 2/$2 skippy, making it $1 a jar....not bad for food storage stock up considering a jar is normally around $3. So grand total spent this trip was $20.....total saved was $29...can you believe these 16 items would have cost me $50! I just love saving more than I spent!

Winter Blues

Today I have a very strong desire to put my house on the market and move somewhere warm! This cold weather gets to me every year and it seems to get worse each time. I think its time for a change!

Happy Tuesday!