The "DO IT ALL" Mom

Landon's Birth Story

2009-05-17T08:16:00.000-07:00

Tuesday May 23, 2006 I went in for my regular check up at the doctor’s office. I had mentioned to him that I thought I may be leaking amniotic fluid, so he took a test to determine if I was. He said if it was positive then I’d have to go to the hospital. To my disbelief, it was positive. I was 35 weeks - I hadn’t even had my baby shower! I was very scared and nervous; all of these thoughts of not being ready came flooding in. Paul’s mom, Connie, drove me to the hospital while I called him to tell him what was going on. When we arrived at the hospital (luckily we were already pre-registered) I was put in a room and later induced at 4:00pm.

Since I’ve decided to wait 3 years to write this, my memory may not serve me well. I’m going to go back to the following Sunday before my Tuesday appointment. Paul, I and some friends, decided to go swimming at Gator Joes. We stopped at a store where a lady had mentioned that it looked like I had dropped and should be having the baby any day now. Little did I know how right she was! Before going to my appointment on Tuesday, I had a meeting with a woman, Shawn, who works with Healthy Families. As she was leaving I jokingly told her that this baby might even come today if he wants! Boy was that the wrong thing to say.

I had made a conscious decision on going through the labor and delivery with no medication. No matter what the pain, I definitely did not want an epidural. Shortly after being induced the contractions started coming on. They were strong and painful but I managed to get through them to the best of my ability. Come 12:00am nothing was progressing, I had not dilated any farther then the 2 cm I was to begin with. I chose to break my decision and get a pain medication that went through my IV. It made me feel like I’d had about 5 glasses of wine! It’s a blurry memory of what all went on in between that time since I was woozy at that time. The main reasoning behind choosing the medication - I needed rest! You see, I’m a BIG worry wart, I have been my entire life. I don’t think I slept or even rested at all while in the hospital. I was too worried about my baby to sleep! Then, around 4:00am I had the dreadful epidural. I was being prepped for a cesarean. If I hadn’t had the epidural 2 hours before the surgery, the contractions would’ve prevented me from getting one, leading to me being put under anesthetics. I was NOT going to be asleep when my child was brought into the world! I don’t remember much of what happened between 4 & 6:00am.

I remember the nurses coming in in a hurry, saying something about the babies heart rate was dropping and that we needed to get into surgery. The OR was a scary place. Laying on my back not being able to move, starring at the ceiling and all of the lights. I had Paul by my side which was helpful, but I was still very scared. After Landon was brought into the world, the nurses quickly showed me that he was OK and rushed him to be put on oxygen. I didn’t even get to give him a kiss! :( His face was purple from pushing on my cervix. But, he was one beautiful baby! :)

After the surgery I was put in recovery, where again, I wasn’t able to rest because of the thought of my baby being OK. The nurses continually told me that if I didn’t get any rest I wouldn’t be able to see my baby for awhile. I tried to act like I was resting by closing my eyes! I was brought back to my room shortly after being in recovery. They brought Landon to me minutes after getting to the room. I couldn’t have asked for anything more, he was perfect. Absolutely perfect! I thank God for him every day and now with another baby on it’s way, I pray things go smoothly and we’re blessed with another perfect baby. :)

Landon's 3rd Birthday Plans

2009-05-16T18:19:00.000-07:00

Landon’s 3rd Birthday Party Plans
(Sunday, May 24th, 2009)

Place- Our house!
RSVP-352-000-0000
Time-12pm

FOODS:
Pizza: 4 should be enough - I hope!
Toppings: Cheese, Pepperoni, Ham, & Bacon? That sounds like a good choice to me. I’m thinking maybe 6 pizzas and just get 2 Cheese and 2 Pepperoni then Ham & Bacon. Or maybe just 2 cheese and 2 pepperoni, that sounds more appealing as I type.

Chips and homemade salsa (Still need to find a recipe. My friend Kate made some fantastic dip at her St. Patty’s party, I need to ask her about it!) I’ll also probably get some regular variety chips and dip. Not sure yet.

DRINKS:
Kool aid
Waters
Punch (Should try and get recipe from Memaw. She has the best punch at holidays!)
If the punch idea doesn’t play out, even if it does possibly, I’m thinking of getting some cola. Of course not just cola but stuff like Mt. Dew, Sprite, etc. I really need to remember ICE the day before!

I’ve thought about making some homemade chocolate chip cookies, but with the cake, I don’t know if I should.
Cake:
I’m still not sure if the idea that I have of a cake is going to be the one I choose. There’s a cake on the bake of the Betty Crocker Cake mix box. It has a round pan cake on the bottom, then has 4 or 5 cupcakes on top of that. Then 3, and then 1. You should get the drift!

I don’t exactly have a theme for the party either, which I’m thinking I’d like to rethink. It’s going to be outdoors. There will be a small pool for the young kids along with a small swing set. We have a sand pile and a octopus water toy. We have some horseshoes also. I’d like to have like a slip and slide for the bigger kids. We’ll have the food inside on the kitchen table and outside on the table under the canopy. We have a picnic table and umbrella by the sand pile also. I think we’ll have to set up the other green umbrella just for some extra shade.

UPDATE:

The Dollar General down the road from our house has quite a few birthday party favors. I skimmed through and grabbed a few things. Since I’m going to be just about 34 weeks come the 24th, I want to try and not over do myself for all of this. I wanted to do more, but the reality really is, I may not feel up to doing too much. My friend Kate, who is giving me a baby shower, had a family member involved in a horrible car accident. They are not sure if he is going to make it or not. We were planning on having it June 13th or 14th but with the current events, I’m not sure it will play out! It will be a busy next few weeks here in our household.

Back to the party update, I still don’t really have 1 clear theme, and I don’t think we actually HAVE a theme. It’s an outdoors party I suppose. We have a pool, swing set, & big sand pile. We’re wanting to get a Slip N Slide to allow the bigger kids to have some fun! I’m also thinking more of baking cupcakes and shaping them together? I just haven’t decided! I am steadily trying to keep myself from breaking down and buying one pre-made! STAY AWAY! Just STAY AWAY!

Baby shopping

2009-05-06T18:56:00.000-07:00

Today, my grandmother took me baby shopping! I love my grandma so much, she and my grandfather adopted me when I was little and raised me, they are my parents. As soon as I got home I knew I was going to need to make a space for all the baby supplies. I have a 3 drawer wheeled storage cart I got a while back but used for junk drawers, so I decided to make this like a dresser to store all of baby's clothing. Here's a picture of a shelving unit I decided to get when taxes came around:

BEFORE:

Nothing on these shelves is really organized. I have those clear containers on the bottom there that are labeled and pretty much organized. Nothing else had an exact place!
AFTER:

I'm so happy I got this shelving unit in order! It looks fantastic! Well, compared to what it was before! The bottom shelf did not need any changing (that filing container is filled with some medical items, medicine, etc. I really want to find another place to put it so no little hands can get to it). The shelf above that one has all of L's supplies. Diapers for naps, bed time, and pull ups for the road. There are also containers for his play dough and supplies, as well as arts and crafts. The next shelf is specifically for the baby! Baby diapers and supplies simply put. The top shelf has all the cleaning supplies needed for our bathroom and first aid supplies.

Aside from organizing I vacuumed out the jeep. It needs to be cleaned a little more, but is nicer then it was before!

Don't you love messy rooms?

2009-05-06T18:39:00.000-07:00

I love walking into a 3 year old's bedroom when it looks like this:

BEFORE

Problems in this picture: The train set in the bottom right hand corner had been torn apart, that needed to be fixed. Also note the 3 tier wheeled storage cart, that used to be in the bathroom but I decided to put it in L's room in hopes of teaching him how to put away toys in their correct spot. The top is off and toys are scattered across the room from every compartment. There were also clothes that needed to be put away.

Obvisously, you can see that the bed needed to be made. All the stuffed animals on the ground there needed to be put away.
AFTER

Ahhhh...what I sigh of relief. I can see so much floor now! The train set was put together, his bed made, toys in their correct spot. I put all of his clothes away and placed his reading books atop the storage container. He was thrilled to be able to play with his train set again!

Here, all the toys are put away, stuffed animals in place on the bed, the bed made, oh, and a happy boy!

Closet Clean-Up

2009-05-03T19:20:00.000-07:00

This month Laura, over at I'm an Organizing Junkie, is hosting a Monthly Organizing Round-Up. The main focus: Closets & Cupboards. I took it upon myself to join in on the fun and see what I could do with our master bedroom closet. So, here goes:

Before (DH's Side):

Before (My side)

After (DH's Side)
Notice I have all plastic style hangers. The top is still a little rough looking, but I DO know where everything is. I ended up throwing some Easter baskets up there and not putting them up. Really, I just need to find a place for all those pictures!

The blue bag has all of DH's boxing equipment. The storage container next to that holds all some of my sewing supplies.

(My side)
I had DH put up 2 hooks, one on my side and one on his. I have 1 hook left that I need to hang somewhere. I also went out and bought a couple more storage containers. You see my lovely wipe off calendar. Yes, we have that in OUR room not the kitchen!

I also bought a closet organizer so I could put some of my clothes in. It works out great! I love having all the same type of hangers and I LOVE my hooks!

There are still a few more things I'd like to do with the closet, but I'll wait for now. It's a major turn around for ME and I'm content for now. I'd like to move the dresser into our room and put another closet rack up, but we'll have to see when we have time to do it. It's OK for now!

31 Weeks

2009-05-02T20:48:00.001-07:00

30 weeks and 4 days pregnant. I can't believe how fast this pregnancy is going. As the due date nears, I'm getting more anxious, nervous, and excited. It's amazing how many different emotions a woman can feel at one time while being pregnant. Men surely will never understand! I feel as if I have a list a mile long of things to get done before Eliza is here. My list only seems to get longer and longer. I know deep down inside that I've actually accomplished a lot of what I started out with, but things seem to keep piling up in this little head of mine. My grandmother told me the other day, that I've always been a worry wart. The nurses at the hospital when we had L even called me a worry wart, mostly because that's ALL I did while I was there, worry. I hate worrying so much all the time, it takes time away from my family and enjoying things in life. I think most of my worrying comes from anxiety. I've had a full blown anxiety/panic attack before, and ever since then my worrying seems to be off the charts. I really think I've done fairly well this pregnancy and it may be because I have a young child at home keeping me busy. One thing I must say about being pregnant, I've never really had to complain much! I know a lot of women who, when pregnant, would complain about how much they wish their pregnancy would hurry up and get over with. They just could not stand being pregnant. I, on the other hand, haven't had any major complaining to do. I was blessed with a good and healthy pregnancy with L, with the expectation of going into preterm labor at 35 weeks, and so far with this pregnancy, things are going smoothly. I continue to pray for a healthy pregnancy and baby, as that's all I want for now. I have also been asking God for his guidance as a mother of soon to be 2 children. I'm not sure I understand fully, just how much our lives are going to change with 2 young children at home. Maybe, I do understand I'm just taking it better then I expected.

Today's Schedule

2009-04-30T09:36:00.000-07:00

So far today, I've gotten a few things checked off my list I've had for quite sometime.

I stopped by the W.I.C. office and even though they were closed, there were still people there who were able to give me the paperwork I needed to get myself and L signed up. I stopped receiving W.I.C. about 2 years ago because of the hassle. All the appointments and having to keep up with them was just getting to bothersome for me. I was also working, so that had an impact on my decision. Now that I'm staying at home, and that's one less income, I'm hoping to get back on track.

I also stopped by the Pregnancy Care Center to drop off some of L's old clothes, get some bible studies, and pick out some clothes and baby items needed for baby. I like the PCC because they are a big help in the community. I can take all of L's old clothes and give them to people who need them. While I'm there I can browse around and see what they have for the new baby! A great way to recycle and reuse, as well as save money!

I have decided to make Monday & Thursday's laundry days and it seems to help having set days for laundry. I still need to wash the 2 big comforters, but have to take them to the laundromat. This HAS to be done before baby is here.

We will be going to the grocery store shortly and our budget is $100. I hope to get enough to last us for at least 2 weeks. I will be glad once I can get W.I.C. again. It is truly a big help and we do use a lot of cheese and milk. L does not drink milk at all, he won't even eat cereal that's been put in milk, only dry cereal. He does however, eat food that contains milk, like cheese! So I know he gets his calcium.

To-Do List

2009-04-27T21:51:00.000-07:00

I have a pretty busy week ahead of me. At least it seems that way. I’ve been wanting to make up a weekly schedule. Since Eliza will be here soon, I would like to be in some sort of routine to help make my life easier with 2 young children at home. I have been trying the menu planning out, and it does seem to be helping with my organizing, as well as making sure my family is eating healthy. I want to make Monday’s a “catch-up” day from the weekend since my weekend’s are going to be mostly Family Day’s. I think I should have Monday and Thursday’s as laundry days. I could have 1 day assigned to each room, like master bedroom-Tuesday and L’s room-Wednesday. Everyday I will be washing dishes, sweeping, making beds, daily chores. I should have 1 day where I bake things in the morning for snacks, dinner, and breakfast. This will last us for a week I would hope. See, it seems as if I have a pretty good idea as to what I’d like to do, but it’s putting it all down on a schedule that seems to be the problem! I don’t know why, it just is. A big defeat for us is going to be getting L to sleep in his room by himself and at a certain time. This has been rough on DH and I. We keep talking about it, but blowing it off. I have quite a few things on my To-Do List to get done before Eliza’s arrival. I feel it’s a lot, but it will be quite easy as long as I motivate myself to do it all.

-I’d like to put a couple of shelves on the wall above Eliza’s dresser in our room. This will allow me to put baskets of baby items and keep them up and out of the way.
-We need to move everything out of storage and into the shed out back. This will help knock off $50 each month!
-Hang up some sort of curtain for the closet. When we put our new carpet in a couple years ago, the closet door was too large for opening and closing. We just took the door off and now I think a curtain of some sort would like fine! I have a good idea of what it would look like, let’s just hope it ends up looking like it!
-Cloth diapering, cloth diapering, cloth diapering!!!! I am really wanting to do this with Eliza. I didn’t really know much about this when I had Landon, but now that I’ve opened my horizons up, I’d really like to give it a try. I’m really willing to do anything I can just to save some extra money. I will also be looking into making our own baby food when the time comes.
-Keep a clean dresser and computer desk. Now, this to you may seem weird, but I have a thing about keeping a dresser a mess. The inside of the drawers are neat and orderly, but I can’t seem to keep the top clean. I always end up throwing knick-knacks all over them. The computer desk is something I’m really wanting to go! I want a corner desk that will still allow me to have an “office wall”. I think the corner desk will also give us more room in the here!
-Finish the bathroom! We have been remodeling our bathroom for nearly 2 years and are still not 100% complete. I have a 3 hook wall mount that needs to be hung up and I’d also like to get a matching shower curtain for my hand towels and hooks! I would like to put a couple of shelves in there like DH and I had discussed, but am uncertain what he has planned. I will also have him hang a long mirror! We have a wall cabinet above the toilet but I don’t want it there and neither does DH.
-Rearrange L’s bedroom. I think we’ve decided to help with the reduction of BIG stuff in storage, we would take out L’s twin bed and put the full sized bed in his room. Right now we have his bed up against the bathroom door so he can’t get in there, but since we’ve been potty training we feel it best he have access to it! I feel safer knowing I have everything put away he can’t get into. If only he’d stay out of the sink! I have to CLEAR off his dresser completely!
-Plant a vegetable/herb garden!

I hope this list will help me kick myself in the butt and get motivated. I feel God helping me to do just that and it’s a good feeling! I love accepting Him into my life again and how I enjoy His grace and guidance. A lot of this organizing I’m wanting to do is, I’m sure, associated with nesting while pregnant! But, I’m sure it’s also me wanting to make it easier on myself and my soon to be family of 4.

Menu Plan Monday

2009-04-27T20:50:00.000-07:00

Last week I did fairly well on keeping up with the menu plan. I did make the Alfredo on Monday, but Tuesday I had not realized Paul thawed some pork chops out so I had to make those. With pork chops I made homemade biscuits and we had green beans and homemade mashed potatoes. We ate leftovers Wednesday and I believe we had Tater topped casserole on Thursday. Friday Paul decided to order pizza since we haven't ate out in a while. Hopefully, this week's menu will go smoothly also. I have to make a pretty big grocery trip but am sure we'll get it done!

This will be my 2nd week posting with I'm an Organizing Junkie's Menu Plan Monday! I'm happy to be getting a head start on getting organized. I even just finished printing and laminating a blank monthly calendar to put on our fridge! Something I've been wanting/needing for some time.

Monday- Leftover ribs from lunch (My MIL and FIL make the BEST "fall off the bone, melt in your mouth" ribs.)
Tuesday- Grilled Cheese sandwiches
Wednesday- Stovetop Easy Chicken Bake
Thursday- Spaghetti and garlic bread (Make enough for leftover's)
Friday- Leftovers

Update on Potty Training!

2009-04-19T21:24:00.000-07:00

I am pleased to announce that we are officially potty trained! You heard right, POTTY TRAINED! Of course, we've not started on potty training at night, I don't want to frighten little L! I'm so happy for him, he's becoming such a young man as DH likes to call him. I must also say that I'm proud of us, as parents, with this success! We managed to get L off the binkie a few months ago and now our dedication with potty training has paid off. He's going to be a great big brother and I can't help but to think, he's realized he's going to have someone to help look after and is ready for that new position as Big Brother. It's time he wash his hands clean of the "baby" stuff as he will be 3 next month!

Menu Plan Monday

2009-04-19T21:06:00.000-07:00

This is my first time with I'm an Organizing Junkie's Menu Plan Monday. It's also my first time trying to STICK with a menu plan! I think I've accumulated enough recipes and have had enough cooking experience over the past few weeks to start incorporating menu planning into our household. DH enjoys cooking himself, so things may not stick accordingly, something I've noticed isn't new! I will have to learn how to link the meals in our menu to the pictures and recipes I have posted here on the blog. I'm still learning the loose ends of this blogging scene. I'll also try and learn how to put the labels on the side bar to make it easier on everyone!

Monday- Fettuccine Alfredo
Tuesday- Tater topped casserole
Wednesday- Easy Layered Taco Bake
Thursday- Leftovers
Friday- Chicken wings and potato wedges

I made homemade chocolate chip cookies this weekend, but it wasn't enough to last the week. I think I'm going to try and make some Peanut Butter Energy Bars. I will have to post the recipe when I make them!

To make things easy for me, I had to make a list of all the meals with enjoy eating for dinner. I made sure to include recipes that sounded appealing to me. This list makes it easy for when I want to pull it out and make our menu.

Some things that made me want to give menu planning a try:
Menu planning can be a good way to staying organized, especially at dinner. It will give me a base for my grocery shopping, making it a simple trip to the grocery store every time. By this I mean, if I have my menu in front of me, I'll know what to get at the grocery store and hopefully not have to run back during the week. I will be able to manage a healthier eating habit for my family. I will also be able to save money on not buying things that I don't need.

I hope to master this menu planning by the time Eliza is here; I'm wanting to make life more simple at home with 2 kids around. I really need to learn how to make more food at one time and freeze the rest. I want to have some easy to cook meals for after Eliza is born, not only because I will be home from having a c-section and barely moving, but because I want to make it easy on DH for when he cooks. He already says that he'll take over cooking though, he doesn't seem to like the idea of preparing ahead and freezing.

Baking and Cooking Day!

2009-04-11T19:44:00.000-07:00

The past 2 weeks DH, L and I have been going to our local church, The Father's House. I feel as if in the past 2 weeks, God has come back into my life. I can feel myself on a path of being saved again. It's a wonderful feeling. I've opened my heart and arms to Him again and it feels great. In an effort to spend less and live more frugal, I've been having more home cooked meals. Since I eat a lot of sweets, I've found that baking cookies from scratch is the way to go. It may take more work, but I'm up for it. Aside from home cooking, I've also felt a stronger bond between L and myself. L, might I add, has been doing excellent with potty training this past week. We haven't had to put diapers on him except for at night. I'm excited to start getting cloth diapers for baby Eliza!

Homemade Chocolate Cookies!
(Recipe on the back of the Hershey's Chocolate Chip bag)

Hard at work!

Fettuccine Alfredo (L loved this! It will be in our menu plan for sure!)

Cooking fettuccine and chicken for the Alfredo.

Ingredients needed for Alfredo

1/2 lb fettuccine, uncooked
1 lb. boneless skinless chicken breasts cut into strips
1 1/4 cups fat-free reduced-sodium chicken broth
4 tsp. flour
4 oz. (1/2 of 8 oz. pkg) cream cheese
3 tbsp. Parmesan cheese
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp pepper

Cook pasta as directed on package.

Meanwhile heat large nonstick skillet sprayed with cooking spray on medium-high heat. Add chicken; cook 5 to 7 min. or until chicken is cooked through, stirring occasionally. Remove from skillet. Mix broth and flour in same skillet. Stir in cream cheese, 2 tbsp. Parmesan cheese, garlic powder and pepper; cook 2 min., stirring constantly until mixture boils and thickens. Stir in chicken.

Drain pasta; place in large bowl. Pour chicken mixture over pasta; toss to coat. Sprinkle with remaining 1 tbsp. Parmesan cheese.

2 Great and Easy Recipes!

2009-04-02T10:33:00.000-07:00

I've decided to try and start menu planning. I enjoy reading other blogs about moms who give their hand at planning meals for a week, even month, at a time. It seems to make their lives organized, helps them to live frugally, and even makes grocery shopping easier. So, last night and Tuesday night, I decided to try 2 new recipes. One was a main dish, the other was just a dessert.

Peanut Butter Cookies

1 c peanut butter
1 c sugar
1 egg

Heat oven to 375 degrees
Mix all 3 ingredients together until blended.
Roll into balls ( I used 2 spoons to roll them, it was simple) place onto baking sheet.
Using a fork, mash criss-crosses in the middle of the cookies.
Bake for 10-12 minutes
**We put chocolate chips in 2 cookies, and they turned out wonderful! My next batch may include all chocolate chips!

Easy Layered Taco Bake

This recipe came from the Kraft Food & Family magazine. I LOVE this magazine, it has very simple recipes to choose from, and they show the ingredients you will need as well.

1 package mac and cheese
1 pound ground beef
1 package taco seasoning
1 c salsa

Heat oven to 400 degrees.
Make mac and cheese dinner as directed on box and cook meat with taco seasoning.
Layer seasoned meat, dinner and salsa in 8 inch square dish.
Bake 20 minutes.

Just a few PICTURES!

2009-03-28T06:47:00.000-07:00

The first few pictures are from our trip to Billie Swamp Safari down in the everglades.

Paul's dad, Paul (Big Paul), Landon, and Smokey. This was right after the reenactment.

Family picture

Bobby and the gators before they ended up fighting!

Landon joy riding around the safari!

Landon and his girlfriend Lexi!

My favorite picture of the boys!

Mommy and Landon. He's looking at me as if to say, "Mom, what ARE you doing?!"

A mountain goat

Some wild hogs.

Our Chiki Hut! We stayed in here for 3 days! It was neat!

Paul and Landon having fun with the new pool and water toys

Our play/entertaining area

Paul and Landon with Landon's cool new power boat!

Landon and Dad having fun outside in the "fort"!

Redoing our filing system

2009-03-28T06:28:00.000-07:00

With much ado, I figured it was time to go through my filing drawer. Something HAD to be done! I've taken a few pictures of my during process and still have much more work to do.

DURING
(and this is just the Jeep folder!)

SEMI DURING/AFTER

This last picture is just my basic get together for the filing system. I don't know what I was using before, I was just throwing in paperwork and not looking at organizing it! With another baby on the way, I knew I had to make my life more practical. I've decided to use manila folders to help sub categorize my main categories. This has made organizing a breeze for me.

I had to go through my 3 drawer cart I was using as a throw all, and clean it out to put baby clothes in. I've had a mess going around in this room it's unbelievable! We were given 2 13 gallon trash bags full of baby girl clothes/toys that I've had to find the space for. That was my answer! I wish I would've taken before and after pictures, that would've been a sight for sore eyes. Going through that cart gave me a ton more paperwork to file which stinks, but it's good to get it all off my chest.

I still have so much more organizing before Eliza arrives, and I'm getting anxious about it all. I feel there's a void in my life that won't allow me to just feel, "free". I want everything to have it's place, and I don't want little nic-nacs hanging all over the place. We are limited to space and money, so I'm having to use what I've already got. Which, actually hasn't been too horrible. It's just, everything is done in our master bedroom. The computer desk is in here, which is bulky, but keeps everything put away. When we have friends over, thankfully we've finished the deck, they normally come into our room to do what not, use the bathroom, watch TV, etc. Paul's grandma, Monie, stays in the living room. She's 85 years old so we don't want people coming back and forth through the living room making it loud for her. My ultimate dream would be figuring out how to stay sane through all my organizing. I feel accomplished with what little I've done over the past few months, and I have Eliza to thank for that. She just keeps on a kicking me forward! HA!

Oh, a few more pictures of our deck!
DURING

AFTER (With some cleaning up to do!)

Hello Again!

2009-02-12T08:39:00.001-08:00

I realize it's been almost a full month since I last updated the page. No wonder I don't have any followers! Things around here have been quite hectic. I'm 19 weeks pregnant now and am running around like the Energizer bunny. Sleeping is not on my agenda lately. I feel wide awake at midnight, and it annoys me! I feel as if I have so much left to get done before the baby arrives, and that won't be for another 5 months! I guess my need of wanting to get things done now, comes from Landon being born a month early. We had absolutely NOTHING when he was born. We only had a car seat and bassinet. I'm not going down that road again...Oh no! Hopefully, if baby corporates, we will know the sex March 4. A part of me still wants it to be a surprise, but I suppose it would be nice to have certain colors picked out. The worse thing about being pregnant, and being miles and miles away from my family and friends, is how much my emotions poor out. I have my grandmother and my dad here in Florida, and don't get me wrong, I do have some friends here; but it's not the same when you have friends who have known you since high school. They know the "real" you. I have a feeling my nesting stage is going to take me on a whirlwind.

OK, OK, so I have to tell you all, one thing I HAVE been trying to do lately, is brush up on my frugal living skills. I don't think we've ate out or had fast food for 2 weeks! That's a miracle for this family. I finally cleaned out the pantry:

BEFORE (You may need to turn away for this one!)

AFTER

As you can see from the before picture, we had way to many plastic containers! I may need to remind you all, we live with Paul's grandmother, Monie. She's 85 years old and feels the need to keep EVERYTHING! And I do mean EVERYTHING! I will have to take pictures of her cookbooks she insists on keeping. It can get quite annoying, but I've come to adjust. Mostly, because I love her and what she's done for me. Anyways, I decided to put like items with like items. All the BBQ sauce is together, olive oil, pancake syrup, even the items needed to make spaghetti are together. I also decided to make a place for all canned lunch items. You know, those "quick fixes" that come ever so handy. This has helped so much! Now before going to the grocery store, I can look in the pantry and know what I already have and what I need to get. I will be making one big trip to the grocery store before the baby is born. This time around, I'm going to try and premake some food items and freeze them.

I hope I can keep up with the blog since I have more time on my hands, for now anyways. I have plenty of pictures of some yummy food I've prepared. I'll be sure to share with you all!

Cleaning, cleaning, CLEANING!

2009-01-14T09:03:00.000-08:00

While cleaning, do you ever find yourself thinking you're just in over your head? Well, I do! Now, I must say that I do feel good about a couple of things. I cleaned our hall,

Mind you all, we don't live in a "new" house. This house is probably 60 years old. Paul's grandparents bought the land we're on and built this house. We've made a lot of adjustments to the house and continue to do so. We put new carpet throughout, we've remodeled our bathroom, COMPLETELY, and we've even added a back door to our room. Some other main projects are:

1) Deck

2) New floor throughout kitchen, front porch, and dining area.

Back to my progress these past 3 days! Including the hallway, I also organized our bathroom caddy:
BEFORE

AFTER

As you can see from the BEFORE picture, I didn't have any means of organization. You didn't even know where to look for anything. Now, I have baskets separating medicine, nail care, first aid, etc. We still have no medicine cabinet, meaning, we don't even have a mirror in our bathroom! So we've had to put the medicine somewhere. I have a green cover, that matches our paint, I've thrown over it to hide from Landon. We also have a pedastol sink, therefore, NO CABINET SPACE! We're on a tight budget so I'm having to use what organizational tools I have.

For today, I just have a lot of cleaning and straightening up to do. I will post some before and after pictures when I actually have an after picture! Most of this mess has come from moving back home after moving out on your own. You seem to accumulate A LOT of stuff!

I'm Back!

2009-01-10T18:38:00.001-08:00

Hello everyone! I know it's been a complete month since I've last updated the blog. I became a slacker over the holidays. (I think the pregnancy has something to do with that!) But, I feel like I'm back in gear and ready to get moving again. A quick update on the pregnancy: everything is going smoothly. My "all day" sickness has finally subsided and the fatigue has vanished. We're due July 7th, so I'll be 15 weeks Wednesday, I believe.

So, I thought I'd start the new year with a new blog on my path to becoming better organized. Here's what my plan for Sunday is:

1) Go to storage - try and get all valuables. Get L shaped shelving unit. I'm using this shelf:

in our kitchen. Remember, we moved back into Paul's grandmother, Monie's, house back in October. She's got a lot of unused kitchen utensils in the dining area so I'm going to figure out a better way of storing it all. Hopefully, it will serve as a food storage area. *This may be on my list*

2) Vaccum out Jeep - Landon and I washed it today, I was proud!

3) Clean dresser area in Landon's room- I've let a few boxes of junk accumulate around his dresser. I didn't have a desire to use this dresser before, but I could really use the space .

4) Get storage baskets - I'd like to check out Dollar General, Big Lots, and WalMart for these. I got some at Dollar General before and could use quite a few more.

I will try and take some BEFORE and AFTER photos of all my upcoming projects.

2008-11-25T13:26:00.000-08:00

Lately, I've had a lot on my mind. Maybe, it's the fact that I'm pregnant again! Yes, we're 2 months pregnant! We've been trying for a few months, but didn't expect it to happen as fast as it did after we moved! Being pregnant sure does bring a lot of extra stress. I've been extremely tired and am awaiting the 2nd trimester to start! I didn't start working until Landon was 6 months old so that's another added stress! We've been getting a lot of work done to the house and my only hope is that everything is pretty much done by the time the baby is here. We are about 90% done with the bathroom (waiting for a vanity and cabient, new doors and trim). We also just finished adding in a backdoor to our bedroom. Paul and a friend of his are currently placing a new tiolet in Monie's bathroom. Some other things I'd like to add to our list:

1) Blinds in our room
2) Closet redo
3) Deck outside our door. Paul also wants to do this so hopefully it will happen fast!

I wish my list was only this small! I'm worried what our finanical situtation will look like 7 months from now! We've hardly done any saving and are in dire need of a new vehicle. I also need a new phone! I've had about enough of mine! I had wanted all of our Christmas shopping to be done by Black Friday, but it's not! I'm close but there's always hope for next year.

I'm going to try a few "green" ideas this time around with the baby. I want to make my own baby wipes and try and use cloth diapers. I have a feeling I will still use disposable diapers while out and about, but it will still be a money saver since I won't be using them all the time! I would like to try and start our own family traditions next year and I'll have to see where it will take us. I say this because this will be the first year in my entire 22 years of existence where I've never had a Thanksgiving. No turkey, no stuffing, sweet potatoes, no nothing! Next year this won't be. Nobody is having Thanksgiving here in FL and since we can't be in SC we won't be having one.

I've actually been "cooking"!

2008-11-15T20:36:00.000-08:00

Yes, I've found some pretty good recipes that I've tried out over the past few weeks. OK, so it's only 2, but I think I'm getting better in the kitchen! They were very easy so that helped a lot. I don't like long complicated recipes, that's what turns me off of the kitchen. Anyways, I got this first course from the Kraft Food and Family Fall 2008 magazine.

Mini Meatloaves!

I don't have the recipe typed on the computer so I'll have to try and add it tomorrow! It was VERY simple though! I made it about a week or 2 ago.

I made this tonight:

Puppy Chow

I have to say that I got this recipe from someone's blog but I cannot remember as to who! I'm very sorry, but I thank them for posting it, THIS ROCKS!

Puppy Chow aka Puggy Chow
Makes many servings

9 cups Chex cereal (any variety)
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/4 cup butter or margarine
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1. Into large bowl, measure cereal; set aside.
2. In 1-quart microwavable bowl, stir together chocolate chips, peanut butter and butter. Microwave uncovered on High 1 minute; stir. Microwave about 30 seconds longer or until mixture can be stirred smooth. Stir in vanilla. Pour mixture over cereal, stirring until evenly coated. Pour into 2-gallon resealable food-storage plastic bag.
3. Add powdered sugar. Seal bag; shake until well coated. Spread on waxed paper to cool. Store in airtight container in refrigerator.
Stove-Top Directions: Into large bowl, measure cereal; set aside. In 1-quart saucepan, heat chocolate chips, peanut butter and butter over low heat, stirring frequently, until melted. Remove from heat; stir in vanilla. Pour mixture over cereal, stirring until evenly coated. Pour into 2-gallon resealable food-storage plastic bag. Add powdered sugar. Seal bag; shake until well coated. Spread on waxed paper to cool. Store in airtight container in refrigerator. Recipe from the Chex website.

Halloween 2008 pictures

2008-11-04T07:52:00.000-08:00

Just thought I'd share a couple of Halloween pictures from Friday night! We just went to our churches Trunk of Treats! We did this last year and I find it to be the safest way to trick or treat!

Just a thought

2008-11-01T15:03:00.001-07:00

I thought I'd be getting internet this Monday but it is next Monday that I'll be getting it! That stinks!! But, I thought it'd be nice of me to go ahead and post something new. This is 1 of my frugal tips I use in our kitchen.

I bought this jug of Vanilla yogurt at Save A Lot and just spooned it into these little Gladware containers. Since I work 6-8 hour shifts here and there I like to take my lunch; of course, it isn't just for work lunches but for at home lunches as well! It's cheaper to use these small containers instead of the prepackaged yogurt. The containers come 6 in a pack or 8? I'm not at home or else I would run and check! You can even add freshly chopped fruit if you don't like plain 'ol vanilla! Hope this works for some of you out there!

A QUICK update

2008-10-20T08:46:00.000-07:00

So, as you could tell by the lack of posts, things have been pretty busy around this household. I thought a quick update was due. We moved back into grandma's house (Monie as we call her). We believe she's having early signs of Alzheimer's. She's 84 so we know it's a big possibility. We're all praying that if she does have it we are able to catch it early enough to where we can treat it. I think moving back was a good thing for all of us all the way around.

I'm using the MIL's computer and it's slower than molasses. Therefore, I've not posted any pictures. I want to post all my freebies I've recieved! I'm still waiting on some more but with no internet it's hard to check all the new available one's!

We have a few plans that we have set aside like putting in a door in our bedroom and building a porch later on. We also need to finish our "frog" bathroom. I'm very anxious on finishing the bathroom, I know I couldn't live without that room!

As for our little family, we're all doing great. Work is keeping both Paul and myself busy and Landon is learning a handful of new things each day. I've got tons of pictures to post but it will have to wait a little longer!

Sorry for my ABSENCE!

2008-10-10T09:54:00.000-07:00

No I haven't forgotten about my blog! I've been extremely busy, moving out of our house and back in with Paul's grandma. I don't have the internet at the house currently so I'm using my MIL's computer which is S L O W! It stinks! Hopefully I'll be able to post pictures and post my FREEBIES I've recieved soon, in the comfort of my own home!

Walmart Trip

2008-09-11T19:43:00.000-07:00

Landon and I went to WalMart tonight and I thought I'd share with you what we got.

Transaction:
Cottonelle $3.54
Pull Ups $10.24
Purina Dog Food $4.68
Children's Cough $2.50 (CLEARANCE!)
Deodorant $.94
3, 4 PK AXE Bullets $3.00/each (CLEARANCE!)
Biore eye gel $8.94
2 Spiking Gels $.30/each (CLEARANCE!)
3 Bodywashes $.30 (CLEARANCE!)

TOTAL (plus tax) $41.56

Coupons used:
$4.00 off Purina dog/cat food
$.50 off Cottonelle
$2.00 off Pull Ups

NEW TOTAL $37.56

I bought the AXE bullets, bodywash, and hair gel for Christmas gifts. I can open the AXE body spray's and give them to 12 different men in my family! I also bought the children's cough medicine on clearance. Figured I'd get some before the cold season starts picking up, which it seems to have done already. I wish I would've had a coupon for the deodorant, it seems I've seen a few coupons for Suave deodorant, but it was a last minute item! Anyways, I'm sure I could've done better, but I'm new with this deal seeking!

Chore Chart

2008-09-09T14:07:00.000-07:00

During nap time, I made a chore chart for Landon. I made his chart based on his age and knowledge. I made sure to include the things that I know he can do. The chores are simple everyday things, like brushing teeth and cleaning room. I forgot to take a picture of the chart with the stickers we will be using, but they were a pack of stickers I bought at Target awhile back in the $1 section. The stickers are actually what made that light bulb above my head go off. Every time he does something on his chart I'll let him place a sticker on the corresponding day and chore. I have not yet figured out what our "rewards" will be, but I do have many thoughts.

Quaker Kids Doing Good

2008-09-04T19:41:00.001-07:00

This is my first time doing anything like this, so here goes! While going through some coupons I came across this:

http://www.quakersnackbars.com/bday.aspx

You need to have 4 UPC codes from 4 boxes of Quaker Chewy Granola Bars or Bites. The kit includes:

A How to Guide
"Kids Doing Good!" Tshirt for bday boy/girl
10 "Kids Doing Good!" wristbands, temporary tattoos and activity booklets
10 Achievement Certificates

This offer is over 7/31/09.

Why I enjoy blogging

2008-09-04T09:24:00.001-07:00

So far my journey with blogging has been great. I've really started to enjoy it. A weird thing is, I think it's actually helping me to be better organized! There are some wonderful and helpful blogs/moms/ladies out there, and I'm glad I joined the whole blogging scene. Something I really enjoy seeing are some of the before and after pictures of a once messy place! It's helped me to get motivated and stop being such a procrastinator about my own messiness! I don't think it's really messiness, but organization. I didn't know how to go about being organized, but after reading some of the blogs that are out there, I think I've started getting the gist of it. Here is a before and after set of my computer desk:
BEFORE

AFTER

The drawers now have labels on them: Bills, Office Supplies, and Nic-Nacs. I also have the 2 notebooks there on the desk; 1 for daily lists (shopping lists, important dates, etc.) and the other for Finances. I also have to point out (you can't see much of it) my dry erase calendar! I love that thing! It has a bulletin board and NOTES section, very helpful!

Now here's just a before picture of our linen/bathroom closet. I know, there quite disturbing! I'm ashamed!

And another of my scrapbooking shelf. I'm not sure what to do with the rest of the shelves!

I just couldn't resist putting this picture of Landon up! He just has that look of "Hey! Look at meee!"

The linen closet is almost ready and I haven't even touched the scrapbooking shelves. I ended up having to work Tuesday 4:00pm-11:30pm, then come back in Wednesday 7:00am-2:30pm. Needless to say, I've been POOPED! But I love it thus far. Some of me finds it strange to be trying to clean up and get organized when we will be moving by the end of this month. We've decided to go back to Paul's grandmothers (Monie) house to help her out with the house and save for buying a house. I'm not sure how I really feel about it yet. I'm excited to save money, but not excited about not having the same privacy. I know God has a plan, he always does, and actually, Monie is the one who opened my eyes and see God.

Florida Floods

2008-09-01T12:35:00.000-07:00

Today we decided to take a drive down to Sanford and check out the flood. It's been a couple weeks since Hurricane Faye has been here and the water is still up on the roads. Some roads were closed, so we had to park and walk around. It smelt bad because of the sewage that was swirling around. There was all kinds of marine life dead in the road. Sorry for having so many!

I miss you

2008-08-30T21:10:00.000-07:00

September 18th is approaching fast. It will mark the 1 year anniversary since my pop pop left us. It's been more difficult now then it was when he left. My grandparents raised me therefore he was more like my dad. I will probably blog more about him when the time is right.

Pop-pop and Grandmom

Pop-pop as I remember him most.

Always holding the little ones

My Aunt Pam who passed away December 2007, 3 months after Pop left.

Another as I remember him most

My favorite person and myself

Child Locators

2008-08-27T22:01:00.000-07:00

I know I know, I just posted a blog, but I had to do a separate blog for this! I watched the new Duracell commerical where the lady and her son are at the park and he runs off. She starts to panic but pulls out some type of device allowing her to "track" her son down. So, being the noisy person I am I had to do some research in order to find out what that was she was using!

The Brickhouse Locator! This device is probably one of the best things ever invented for any parent! For a price of $189.95 it can be yours! That's one heck of a price considering our children are PRICELESS! Therefore, I am purchasing this product and will let everyone know much I love/hate it! So far I'm in love. They also have a cute little bear locator for $39.95, haven't read much about it but should!

http://www.brickhouse-childsafety.com/

2008-08-27T19:25:00.000-07:00

I was just reminiscing on the past 2 years and how fast they've gone by. All that rambling that my parents use to go on and on about is becoming a reality. Kids really DO grow up, and FAST! This was my little man at 7 months

And this is him now:

This makes me sad! =( He's growing so fast, too fast at that.

The Learning Channel (TLC)

2008-08-26T19:26:00.000-07:00

TLC is one of my favorite channels on TV. When you're flipping through the guide and something just catches your eye, like, "Half Man, Half Tree" you know you're going to want to flip to it and see what the hell it's all about! Well, today, and actually a time before this, I watched the show, "Wild Child/Feral Children" it was fantastic. It's saddening to see how people could do this to each other, let alone their own children. But, it is also a great way to get people to realize that there ARE incidents all over the world just like these. It's amazing, absolutely amazing. It's stories like these that make you realize how insensitive people can really be. How horrible the human race can actually be.

I can't embed the link I wanted to, but here is a link from YouTube about a girl named Genie. She was completely isolated as a child and finally found at age 13. Her mother kept her in a secluded room with no human interaction. You'll see how see walks, which is an affect from being strapped to a potty chair or locked in her crib for 13 years. Unbelievable.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ICUZN462qMw

Another link is one of Oxana Malaya. A girl who was raised by dogs after her mother kicked her out because she wasn't a boy. She lived with the families dogs. Therefore, acts out EXACTLY like a dog. It gives me chills everytime I see this video. It's quite intriguing to see how a human can learn that from a dog, but a dog cannot learn human like insticts.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qyqbnDjId7g

I have also been quite drawn to the violence and outrage in countries like Sudan and Darfur. I'm VERY interested in learning more about these crisis' and how I may be able to help. I would like to, in the future and if possible, travel to a country that is in need of help and make a change in someones life.
This next video is a documentary on the children in Sudan. These guys did a terrific job on it and I give them many kudos.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qds5MQCqWnk

I hope that people reading this blog will get a better understanding on life itself, how there ARE in fact people out there who have it 100 times worse then they.

Staying organized is a problem for me!

2008-08-24T20:48:00.000-07:00

Yes, that's right. It's practically IMPOSSIBLE for me to stay organized to a degree where I'm satisfied. I see so many moms out there with 2, 3, maybe even 4 or 5 kids and they make it look so easy! The past 2 months I've been pulling my hair because we've been strapped with money. I've not even paid this month's rent! Luckily, my landlord has been taking it easy, I've never been late a payment so that helps. I won't even start work at KOHLS until a couple weeks. I'll find out more Tuesday at orientation.

I have so much going through my mind all day and it's hard to not get a headache from thinking too much. I want to have so much but forget that it won't just take over night, I have to work for it. I feel the only way I can stay organized is to figure out what I want. I recently downloaded mommybar and it seems to be helping. I've also found numerous websites/blogs from other moms with very helpful tips, advice, recipes, etc.

After Tuesday's orientation at work is over, I'll have more of a foundation for what I am able to do to move forward with my life. I plan on staying at KOHLS for awhile, so hopefully everyone will be nice! I hate switching jobs, so I'm sure I'll do my best with staying. I don't know what my rate of pay will be, but hopefully with 2 years prior work experience it will be decent.

I'm having a hard time deciding whether I want to break my lease here or not. If my landlord can agree to lowering my rent from $725 to $650 that would make my decision of staying easier. I just know I won't be able to afford $725 every month right now. I'm still so young and I want to focus on saving money for my family's future. I will cut anything out that I don't need right now to do so. All of this is with the realization that the entire world is hurting economically, so it's not just me going through a rough time.

I am very excited to start work again though. I love the thought of a steady income! It's great! Not having a car payment every month is another great thing. Really helps save money! Anyways, I'm not believing it's already 12:07AM and I'm still awake, so I'm off to bed!

I am now employed!

2008-08-21T05:35:00.000-07:00

Yes, that's right! I'm finally employed! KOHL's has built 2 new stores in my county, and I got a position at the one closer to us. I can't wait to start. Everyone seemed so nice and I like the fact that it's a BRAND NEW store! I may not be able to go back to school this semester, which if not, I'm not going to worry about it. I can reapply for the Spring term and that will give me time to get some work in. I go next Tuesday for orientation. Bad news is, I don't know how much the pay is! And they don't open the doors until October! ALDI's has called back for a 2nd interview. It's this Sunday and I think I'm going to go just in case. I will be sure to let everyone know what happens!

Animal Planet came!

2008-08-17T20:37:00.000-07:00

A family friend of Paul's came up this past Tuesday from down south (about 4 hours away), James Billie. He owned Billie Swamp Safari a few years back when he was chief of the indian reservation. He was the man who started all the casino's. He use to be Paul's dad's boss and they wrestled alligator's together. Well, they have a video tape of a time when James Billie's got his finger bit off by an alligator! I've seen it once before on one of those Most Extreme Videos or something. Anyways....Animal Planet came out to do an interview on them!! SOO Paul's dad is going to be on TV! Now, the whole point of this was:::

Paul got his Chiki Hut building business underway. James Billie is the one helping him out. I've heard all this talk about this guy James Billie and I finally met him! He was the man paying Paul $18-$20/hr when he was like 15-16 years old running equipment! Now, mind you, this was all when Paul lived down south with his dad at the safari. This guy was chief for 20 years and each year made $1,000,000! Do you realize how much that is! I even heard him say, from his own mouth, his chiki hut business just made him over $600,000 last year! And he is coming up this week to help Paul get everything underway. Paul and I have sat down and talked about it and we realize that all this arguing we do is because we're broke. We use to have money and didn't have to worry about bills being late. With the economy being like it is employment is becoming so hard, and Paul did go out for a while trying to find a job, but every where that deals with people driving heavy equipment are the one's who are laying off 100's of their employees! And personally, I love to work. It gets me out of the house and God knows I can't stand being locked in the house! I am just going to continue to pray to God that everything goes on the right track. I pray that my landlord works with us on rent, I pray that we will get all our bills paid, I pray that my little family will stay safe through all of this.

This past weekend

2008-08-17T08:30:00.000-07:00

Friday I had an interview with ALDI'S. It's a grocery store kind of like Save A Lot, my old job. I hope it went OK. I do know one thing though, I was wearing a dress and facing the man and noticed him looking at my legs. I immediately remember how hairy my legs were! OOO was it embrassing!

We also went to The Father's House to the Phat & Heavy Rock Show. It was Paul, Landon, Myself, and we also brought Paul's neice and nephew, Bobby and Tori. We left early to go eat at Ramshackles.

Saturday, Landon and I went to Tristen's birthday party. Kate really did a great job! She always throws the best parties! We were there for about 3 1/2 hours.

Paul's friend John, his girlfriend, and their son are here for a little while. Hopefully it will turn out good. I think it will help us out with bills. I've never had roommates before so I just hope I won't be too picky. They are all real nice so that's a plus. I'm not sure what we're doing today, it's only 11:30 AM. I know I have to go grocery shopping though, and boy I hate doing that!

Introduction

2008-08-13T12:17:00.000-07:00

Hello to all! I am quite new to this whole "blogging" scene, so you will have to bare with me at first. I've noticed a few people who do this and I think it's great! It's an excellent way to let family and friends know how you and your family are doing.

My name is Tiffany and I was born September 6, 1986. I have 1 son, Virgil Landon, who was born May 24, 2006. He's what I live for every day and he makes my life complete.

We have 1 dog, Rufus, he's a rat terrier. We had 2 cats, Phylis (laying down) and Murphy (sitting up), but Phylis recently ran away. We miss her a lot and Murhpy is lonely. Rufus likes to play with Murphy though so it's not so bad for her.

My place of work closed down the 1st of July this year so I have been out of a job for a little over 1 month. It's been hectic and something I didn't expect, but we've dealt with it the best we know how. Luckily my landlord has been very leant with me. The worse part about all of this is that I must have put in over 10 applications all over. Finally, I heard back from 2 places, Aldi's and Kohl's. I am now stuck between which one to go with. They are both being built, finishing up really, so it will be another month before they open. I like that though. I've decided to go back to school AGAIN this month. I will be going for business management. The reasoning for this is because I just opened my own ice cream catering business! Yes, that's right, I'm the proud new owner of Lickity Split Ice Cream Catering! I'm very excited! I am still in the beginning stages however. I have yet to get any customers, but I'm willing and able to wait patiently. I will post a blog on that!