One Mom and A Long Laundry List

It has been a long week of trying to get caught up from all the time missed here at work. Well, I have noticed that many moms seem to have their blogs dedicated to their weight loss and got me to thinking, I didn't put much thought into getting my pre-mommy body back. Now I do occasionally give a gander into the mirror and have that sneaking thought of, "Wow, where did I go?" but it has not been a top priority on my already long list of things to do. Now weight loss goals seem to be most people's new year's resolution but I don't keep my resolutions and do terrible with setting timed goals for myself, face it I don't have the time for that stuff! I do however want to make an effort to get back in shape, not just for my own self esteem but because you constantly hear about obese children and how lazy the new generations are. I think that by setting a better goal of fitness and healthy eating/living, Christian stands a better chance of being a lean, mean, outgoing monkey! Now, I don't mean that I am going to turn this blog into my own personal weight watchers, I do hope to occasionally update everyone on my progress but that is what it will be, progress, not "here is what I ate this week, here is what I did this week, this is what I lost this week." I intend to change my eating habits, gradually, so I stick to it and start to be more outgoing and do more activities outdoors. Then, I will try to incorporate some exercise into my already jam-packed schedule, as time permits. Right now,  I am at a starting weight of 186 *gasp, a female who told the truth about her weight* and hope to get down to my pre-baby weight of 154, eventually. Another self-esteem boost I hope to work on is the stretch marks. Now before people start coming after me with torches and pitchforks, I know they are my badge of mommyhood but who really made it fashionable to have the train tracks of hell running on you?! Badge or no badge, they need to go, Christian is my badge of mommyhood and the only thing I need to remind me that I am a mommy! While we are on a gradual goal list (laundry list if we may), I want to add saving to that list. I use to be wonderful at saving but now not so much. Shopping is much more tempting now, especially for a baby! I need to work on a nestegg or just emergency fund or anytime fund to use. I hope to work on this by using my couponing skills more efficiently, putting a little away every check, and maybe not buying too much un-needed things (not that I recently bought all that much - no money no fun!) So, though I expect this all to come in time, I hope to see some progress by the middle of this year and will occasionally keep you all informed, as I don't want this to be a constant weight loss journal - who needs that!

Down and Out Another Day

I haven't written many blogs the last couple of days as this week has been hectic trying to get back to work after little one's bout of sickness. All that has halted as of yesterday, I'm out of work again but due to my own bout of sickness, a kidney infection. I woke up yesterday to get ready for work but was in a great deal of pain. I continued to get ready anyways though after having a kidney infection twice before, I knew what this was. I struggled through and got myself ready and little one packed up for the sitters. In my mind, one of two things would happen, either I would work my nine hours then go to the emergency room afterwards or I would show up dying and be sent to the emergency room; either way I was making an appearance at work. The drive to the sitters wasn't pleasant but I pulled through and got little one out and into her house. I told her chances were I would be back to pick him up in a few minutes but she agreed to watch him as I went to pledge my dying self. Once I arrived at work, I went straight to my boss, Dr. Lynn, and begged for him to check me out. He but barely tapped on my side and I was ready to tear up. He said it had to be a kidney infection and then we debated where I should go. I currently have no health insurance as I can't afford to buy it myself and the State of Arizona believes I earn too much money to supply me some, so options are limited. He told me to call another doctor in the office, Dr. Walker and see if he knew anywhere or anyone I could see. He said he had a doctor but not sure because of my insurance and financial situation but told me to do a urinalsys and he would call me back. So off I went to test myself which just confirmed our beliefs and then waited for my call, all the time still working though not on the clock. He called me back and stated he found out how to treat it, Cipro antibiotics, and to wait an hour and he would bring me a bottle as he had them. I will not divulge how he had them though, sorry! An hour turned into two when he finally arrived with the meds and some Vicodin for my pain, my hero! I left to go pick up Christian from the sitters as my pain just grew immensely and made our rough trip home, me moaning the whole way. John came over to watch Christian so I could take the meds and relax knowing little one is being taken care of. Today I feel about the same which is actually good as it usually gets worse but I am home another day, relaying my tale to you. Well I'm off to take some meds now and get some rest and will be back to the grind tomorrow for sure.

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The Day I Became Mommy

I wanted to back track in this blog and tell the story of my beautiful boy's birthday. When I first found out I was pregnant, John and I were pretty set on a waterbirth. I began researching centers or hospitals but none offered waterbirth so we made the decision to have our baby at home in the hot tub we had then. Now it was time to find a midwife. We had interviewed 3 and decided on our favorite, Mary Langolis. She was the closest to our home and the one I felt most comfortable with. Fast forward through morning sickness, appointments, and a hospital stay to the Monday before my baby was born. I saw the midwife who examed me and though I was late she said I was progressing great and to continue my regular activities but to also get some rest. Now forward to Friday July 30th. The morning started with John and I going to court over a traffic ticket. Afterwards, we ran around paying fines and stopped at Walmart. While walking in Walmart I mentioned to John that I was getting some pains but it could be from humger so we went for breakfast then to get our car out of impound. I went home and took a nap and then we were off to the Toyota dealership in search of a new family car. We test drove a car and then spent the next few hours haggling until I told John I was tired and hungry. We went home and grabbed Carl's Jr for dinner (I know terribly unhealthy) and I decided to go to bed and it was about 11pm. John said he was going to drain the hot tub so the water wouldn't get stale, thinking there was no way the baby was coming tonight. John crawled into bed about 1am having somewhat finished emptying the tub. I tossed and turned most of the night feeling as though my dinner wasn't settling with me. I awoke about 2am just feeling sick to my stomach. I paced around from the bathroom to bed for about 30 minutes then woke up John to say something didn't feel ok. He was still half asleep until he heard me say *gory detail* I'm bleeding. He was up instantly phoning Mary. I talked to her in the calmest voice I could muster and said I couldnt tell if I was having contractions, seeing as I have never had them before. She asked if I wanted her to come and I said no, I would call her when it got closer. I believe as soon as I got off the phone, all hell broke loose and I was in pain! I asked John to help me to the shower (a dual head!) and I sat down on a folding chair with both heads blasting water on me as I screamed and moaned. John ran feverishly trying desperately to fill the tub he just drained. I guess because of my moaning and inability to communicate, John couldn't seem to time my contractions. He called Mary once again to which she said she was already on her way. When Mary arrived she looked at me and asked if the baby was coming which I just screamed as a reply and she began barking orders to John. Much of what happened between Mary and John was a blur as I focused on my task at hand. Mary brought a birthing stool in to replace the chair I was on and then things moved fast. Five minutes in, my water broke and John was in the shower behind me pushing on my back and three minutes later the baby was out and in my arms. John cried and Mary asked what the baby was as we left the sex a suprise until the birth. I opened the towel to reveal our baby boy, Christian. The next step was moving me from the shower to the bed then cutting cords and exams for him and me amidst family calling to find out what happened. When all was said and done I was in labor for about 1-2 1/2 hours for my first born. I loved having my baby at home in privacy and it will forever be my first choice for future children. Mary now owns a birth center, Blossom Birth Center which you can visit the website. Hope this tale warmed your hearts, now I'm gonna go play with my baby boy! Also, the appointment I had the Monday before he was born (which he was born Saturday morning at 5:42am), the midwife later told us I was dilated 4 cms! Christian Michael born July 31, 2010 @ 5:42am 7lbs, 6ozs, 21in.

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Extreme Couponing...Sort Of

Sorry to post so late but yesterday was a long day. I caught this show a few days ago on TLC about extreme couponers. These are people who plan way ahead for grocery shopping and go crazy with coupons saving hundreds to thousands of dollars and have stockpiles of food and more. I began to turn the idea around in my head of extreme couponing and set off on the web to research this grocery game. I began by signing up with coupon blogs/sites for ideas and the 101 on couponing. My favorite site is frugalcouponliving.com. Then after a little schooling, I hunted down coupons from manufacturers on sites like coupons.com. I also signed up with companies like Kellogs, Betty Crocker, and Seventh Generation for special member coupons. These worked out great and I was excited by my first hunt, I felt as if I could get the hang of this. My last step was to load eCoupons from two sites to my shopping card. I had just picked up a new card, as my old one had the barcode pretty much smudged off, and it was at home. Once home, I used my phone to try to register my card on the Fry's website but no success, my first dsappointment. I decided that we could forego those on this trip and began to get organized. My earlier research told me that organization is the make or break of this game. I started with writing my shopping list, then clipped my printed coupons and matched those up to my list. Finally, I went through the circulars and clipped competitor coupons and checked out my store's sale. I set a small goal of $20 savings and off John, Christian, and I went. Once we arrived I pulled out my list and my phone's calculator and we met our first aisle, produce, and the disasters began. John and I don't shop together as I am a slow shopper and I believe it drives him nuts, so it started off with me chasing after him and Christian who had the cart. Then I learned that the calculator on my touch phone is super sensitive so I kept having to re-add my prices 6 times until finally we just opened up one at the store (sorry Frys). After that I still had issues with calculators and rushing and would say our trip totalled 2 pushing 3 hours. I missed a lot of things on my list and knew before we hit the register that I exceeded my preset budget, we began emptying out the cart. I was getting out my clipped coupons and shopping card watching in horror as the items were scanned and tallied. I handed over my coupons and the heard the clerk say that they don't take competitor coupons anymore and tried to avoid showing my crushed panic face as I took them back. After all was scanned and bagged, I still exceeded my budget but for savings, I met and surpassed my $20 goal! I saved a total of $64.99 - $10 in coupons and $54.99 in shopping card savings. After this trip we went home and ate as we were all cranky and hungry. I feel this trip helped me better understand how to organize and what coupons to take. I am excited for my next grocery trip.

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I Would Gladly Do it Tomorrow

I came home today tired after a 9 hour shift ready to relax but as I walked inside and set down my keys and purse and just a slight look to the right changed my plans. My kitchen was a disaster and as I assessed the damage I realized that the whole house could use a picking up. Now I grew up with a very clean mother who would clean everyday and she made it seem so effortless though now I think she probably didn't like it very much cleaning up after 4 kids. My stepmom is also quite cleanly and I still remember her spending most days cleaning something. As for myself, I was and still sort of am an organized maniac. I believe everything has a place and I get very ocd when it is not there but when I was in my teens I only really had my room to manage, now I have 4! So after my assessment I decided to greet and play with Christian instead. When he went down to sleep I returned to stare at the dishes once more, but then quickly went off to my room to read Parents magazine. I returned once more after 30 minutes and stared with 2 things in mind, 1. If I stare long enough my fairy godmother would grant me my wish and all would be done or 2. I would plead with my taskmaster side to put it off one more day. That conversation would go something like, Me: Oh please let me do it tomorrow. I worked so hard today and would gladly do it tomorrow. Taskmaster: Ok but it has to be done tomorrow to which I then ask for a raise in allowance and car privileges. Taskmaster then replies quickly, "Well if you did more chores around the house." How did I see that coming?! Well to wrap this up I did my chores and little one woke up to which he decided to play for the next 2 hours as I felt tired but accomplished for lack of a better term. Now I am going to enjoy my reward ice cream, good nite everyone!

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A Week of Tears and Sickness

Well most people would start their blog on a happy note, mine is on a sick note. My baby boy Christian is sick for the first time. I take him to a sitter while I work and one of the children had RSV. The sitter told me as soon as she found out and off to the peds we went. He was subjected to a swab up his nostrils but with negative results. Two days later my baby can't sleep and his tempature is rising. We go back to the doctors where we wait behind sick glass for 45 minutes to be told he has it, no test results included. We are told to take him home and keep suctioning him and dose him every few hours with Tylenol. The first night was rough with a huge exclamation! We call the dr in the morning but can't get past the front desk person to a health care professional which makes my mind up that it's time for a new doctor. Things begin to look up in the next few days until one night, Christian's temp reaches 101.9 which is enough for daddy and me and we are off to the children's hospital (this is around 8pm). We seem to get in a room pretty quick but then comes the wait. Christian falls asleep just as the doctor walks in. She says she wants to have him suctioned and to do a blood and urine test and he also appears sluggish so they'll do an iv, hello he just woke up! Well I leave the room for the suctioning as I began to ball at them burrito-wrapping him up. I never cried so hard as I did when I heard my baby screaming in agony! I ran in as the nurse left to console my baby but to my horror he had red spots all over his face. The nurse said he cried so hard he burst blood vessels in his face. The night went on longer as they do the iv and catheter for the urine sample. I believe I cried as much as he did that night. The final answer (at 2:30am) he has bronchialitis and to continue what we have been doing. We were all spent that night and slept hard. Little one is still sick but no fever now. He still moans which breaks daddy and my heart but I think the worst is over. The scariest time of daddy's and my life but just one of many to come I'm sure.

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