Master Closet-Shoe Edition

I know I posted a couple years ago about getting the master closet in shape…but time passes, moves are made, maternity clothes are bought, used, and packed away…and the time comes once again for a major closet overhaul!! I spend a bit of time and effort on my closets, so this will be a multi-post dealio.

I don’t have any before pics to show you…but believe me…you would NOT want to see just how disorganized this self-proclaimed neat freak let her closet get!! Suffice to say, there were clothes jumbled together and piled on almost every surface (floor included, but no top shelves since I am somewhat height-challenged)!! It was pretty scary, I can assure you!!

First thing I tackled was the shoes…I might not have a lot, but I definitely needed to deal with them. I first replaced a few pairs that were in sad shape or no longer fit right. The casual shoes were Payless BOGO 1/2 off. Yeah, I get some of my shoes at Payless, but that way I can afford to replace them more often, and I usually get tired of some styles a lot sooner than others. The athletic shoes, on the other hand, were NOT cheap…but my dear husband wanted me to have good shoes for workouts and such. (New shoes on the left in pics, old ones they are replacing on the right).

I then packed away a few pairs I hardly ever wear, but still wanted to hang on to for certain occasions (like slouchy boots for renfaire, my old Docs for trips to the farm, a fave pair of flips I can’t part with yet, and a pair of heels that only go with one outfit). I then got rid of six pair of assorted footwear…

This left me with space to get all my current shoes organized onto just one shelving unit…YAY!! I moved the unit to a corner, cause I actually like to have some empty space in my closets…and there ya go!!

I moved DH’s shoe shelf into another little nook I freed up of excess stuff. I didn’t try to convince him to part with shoes (even though some I can’t even recall ever seeing him wear) since they all fit onto his shelves in any case…even a spot left open for his work boots!!

Next closet post will be on accessories…how in the WORLD did I manage to corral all the purses, belts, ties, and ballcaps?

Hurray for Cheap Diapers!!

So a couple weeks ago Target had a gift card deal going on where if you bought three packages of certain diapers at $8.99 a pack, you got a $5 Target gift card. You could use both manufacturers coupons and Target coupons to make the deal even sweeter. I had some of both, so I got three packs of diapers and my money out of pocket for all three was less than $13!! SWEET!!

Now I’ve got a super sweet deal for YOU!! Sign up for a new account at Diapers.com and fill your cart with at least $49 worth of stuff. Don’t think that just because you don’t use disposable diapers that you can’t benefit from this deal because they also have cloth diapers, clothes, toys, potty chairs, slings and baby carriers, you name it!! Even if you don’t have little ones of your own if you have any family or friends with babies you can benefit from this as well…think baby shower gifts!! Why $49 worth of stuff in your cart, you ask? Well, if your order is just over $49 you will receive free shipping!!

Next step is when you check out, make sure you put SIMPLICITY in the referral code box. That will take $10 off your order…if you have at least $49 worth of stuff in your cart.

THEN…print and complete this rebate form. If you want a free subscription to Parenting Early Years Magazine, that’s all you have to do…BUT if you want to have an even sweeter deal on what you bought, you can get $14.97 cash back. All you have to do is print out and fill out the form, then attach proof of payment from your order and send it in.

I ordered two packages of Huggies Overnites diapers, two Halo sleepsacks in a bigger size since Bug is growing so much, and a Baby Bjorn Little Potty. My original total was $49.91, the referral code I used brought it down to $39.91, and once I get my rebate I will have spent only $24.94 out of pocket for all of that!! YAY!!

Now, don't think after signing up and getting this sweet deal that the good deals are over. I was poking around on the site and discovered that they actually take manufacturers coupons!! Yep, you heard that right!! Send them your paper coupons in the mail and within a couple weeks you will see those savings available in your account, giving you savings off your next order...and EVERY time your order is over $49, you get free shipping!! Awesome, no?

Long Time, No Blog!!

So, it has been a VERY long time since my last entry!! Much has happened since then..the biggest thing of course being the birth of our son!! Believe it or not, he will be seven months old tomorrow!! He is a real joy to have, smiling and giggling a lot at our silliness, army crawling across the floor, fascinated with the cat, teething and trying out solids.

His birth was not without challenges. A planned homebirth, we ended up transporting to the hospital because of high blood pressure…but the birth itself went great and our little Bug is perfect in every way. Three days after we got home from the hospital I ended up back in the hospital from an eclamptic seizure. With all of that I ended up being unable to nurse him, so I’ve been pumping and bottlefeeding him ever since.

Needless to say, with all of that…I was doing good for a while just keeping the house neat, clothes and dishes washed, and Bug cared for. I didn’t tackle any big organizing projects (just little bits of things here and there), didn’t do much in the way of decorating either, and only rarely got out and snagged good deals on groceries and such.

But now I’m back!! I might not be a prolific poster since I now have a little munchkin to keep out of mischief…but I look forward to getting back in the groove of showing off all my little projects and shopping steals!! All while typing one-handed!! :-P Oh yeah, and check out the new way to post comments...cool, no?

Snow and our Munchkin!!

So I sort of made a resolution to blog more this year, but somehow still haven’t up to this point!! I do post occasionally about different milestones of Edmund’s on his Facebook page or on mine and I have been pretty good about keeping plenty of recent pictures posted on Facebook. But not everyone is on Facebook and blog posts just seem a little bit more personal in that I’m not limited to just a few sentences…so here I am, trying to get back into blogging once more!!

Edmund will be seven months old on Sunday. Crazy how time flies by and babies grow so quickly!! He is now trying to crawl (he’s got the army crawl down pretty well) and is teething (though no sign of any teeth yet)!! He is such a good, sweet baby and we love him to bits!!

We just had a record snowfall for the Metroplex. I think as of last night they were saying it was 11.2 inches of snow…and it was still snowing at that point!! I was just saying the other day that I prefer snow in the winter to just cold grey yuck, so I love the snow….but then again, I’m not out driving in it!!

I thought I’d just post a few pictures of how pretty the neighborhood looks with all the snow and then give ya’ll a peek at what Edmund and Ami thought of all the snow!! :-)

Our house with lots of snow (and this is after things started getting mushy and melty already)!!

Our neighbors houses…

The view from our backyard across the pond…

Ami is not too sure about the snowman staring into our house…she figures she needs to stand guard in case it tries anything!!

Edmund loved his little snowbaby…he wanted to help me build it!!

Snowballs are pretty cool too!!

Picture Post

Not a lot to say...but just had to share the cuteness!!

Mommy's little Yoda!!

This should probably actually be called "Papa's little Yoda" since Brack is the big Star Wars fan...but when I saw this marked down in the store, I really couldn't resist!! Besides, since it's a 2T...it'll last him for quite a while as a fun costume. If he's anything like his mama or any of the kiddoes belonging to friends from Sunday School...this is only the beginning of an array of fun costumes!!

Complications & Recovery (Edmund's Story--Part Two)

We were only home from the hospital three days, my mom had just headed home the evening before, and Brack had just headed back to work that morning when things changed for the worse.

Susanna was staying with us just from Sunday evening to Monday evening before flying out to work in English summer camps in Taiwan for several weeks, so she was helping me out a little that Monday (July 20th) as I adjusted to life back home. My legs had gotten rather severely swollen right around the time of our discharge from the hospital, but the doctor assured me that it was probably just residual fluid retention from the IV's...so nothing big to worry about. I spent the whole weekend once we got home with my feet propped up as they were rather painful. It was also rather disappointing to stand on the bathroom scales and not see a change in my weight from before the birth because of that swelling. On top of that I had developed some sort of pregnancy-related rash a couple weeks prior to Edmund's arrival and it was actually worse after the delivery...so I still felt pretty miserable, besides the normal lack of sleep issue!!

So that Monday I pretty much hibernated in the bed and kept Edmund within arm's reach. I had my laptop handy too and was able to finally post a picture of Edmund to Facebook and just check up on what had been going on during my week offline. However, in the early afternoon I started really feeling bad and messaged Brack that it seemed like I had the worst migraine of my life...even to the point of seeing the aura that many associate with migraines, but that I had never had before. Brack came home early from work, which was a good thing!! I do remember trying unsuccessfully at one point to read the clock across the room and being unable to make it out but truthfully what happened next I just have to go off of what others said, because I have absolutely no recollection of what occurred from about 4pm that Monday till around 4:30am Tuesday morning!!

Brack ended up calling an ambulance and I ended up being transported to the hospital with an eclamptic seizure. My blood pressure was 220+/130+!! I evidently was one of those few that have an eclamptic seizure AFTER delivery. Needless to say, I was kept in the hospital several days till they were sure that my blood pressure had regulated and was on its way down!!

So where was Edmund during all this? Well, Brack and I have some awesome friends who were a great help to us when all this happened. Leah is a NICU nurse, and she came right over and picked up Edmund and took care of him till the next day. Her husband Todd drove Brack to the hospital as he was in no shape emotionally at that point to drive. My parents came rushing back to the metroplex and my mom once again stayed at the hospital with us and helped me out with Edmund once we got him back from Leah that Tuesday afternoon.

I was finally released that Thursday evening and we finally got to be home!! My mom stayed till the next Monday and my MIL came and stayed for a week after that, so I had some help around for a while till I was back on my feet. Our Sunday School class was a real blessing during that time as well...bringing us meals every other day for almost two weeks!! It still took a bit to start feeling better and back to normal, as not only did I have to get my blood pressure under control, but just as I was getting over the rash from before, I developed hives from an allergic reaction to my blood pressure meds!! It never rains, but it pours!! However, it did improve and I am fully recouperated now. Well, except for being sleep-deprived...but that is par for the course for all new parents!!

The month of August we pretty much kept close to home, only venturing out a few times to doctors appointments with a few random exceptions, but I am now finally to a point where I can do more than just maintain the house and care for Edmund and am actually able to work on getting various small projects done. The month of September is shaping up to be a little busier, but not tiringly so...as we work on getting Edmund on a schedule and I start attending Mom2Mom and a Bible study two mornings a week at church and possibly get involved in a playgroup or two for Edmund...but we shall see how it all works out.

Next up will be a few picture posts with various adorable pictures from the past couple months...and if I am successful...maybe even a video post or two!! After that, I hope to blog more regularly!!

I'm A Mommy!! (Edmund's Story--Part One)

Since we are rapidly coming up on Edmund's TWO month birthday, I figured it was high time to catch my internet friends and family who are NOT on Facebook or Crossings up on the birth and what's been going on since!! I will probably need to break it up into several posts though...starting with the actual birth story.

In the wee hours of the morning on July 13th...my water broke!! After a quick checkup by my midwife I went back to bed for a bit, then got up for the day and straightened up the house. I laid back down in the afternoon for a while, my mom arrived, we ate Sonic cheeseburgers and visited...all the while I was having sporadic contractions. My midwife came and did another checkup that evening...and recommended some Benadryl and sleep, as I wasn't progressing much.

I took the Benadryl and lay down..and within the hour things started picking up!! By 10:30pm I was having regular contractions just a few minutes apart...so we called my midwife back. The midwives arrived, and so the night began!! It all runs together for me...but it was a LONG night. Come morning, my midwife expressed her concern that my blood pressure was too elevated for where I was at as far as dilation...and she recommended that I be transported to a hospital.

We got to the hospital and I got settled in a room. I was still having regular contractions just 2-3 minutes apart...but not progressing much at all. They finally gave me an epidural just after noon so that I at least could get some rest. I did get some rest that afternoon, but still hadn't progressed that last centimeter needed and by 5:30pm the doctor brought up the possibility of a C-section if I hadn't progressed further by 9pm.

When the doctor came back to check me just before 9pm I had finally progressed to 10 centimeters and got the go ahead to start pushing...hallelujah!! I started pushing just after 9pm and almost two hours later...at 10:58pm...Edmund made his appearance!! He was 8lbs. 7oz...and 21 inches long...and cute, of course!! Brack even cut the cord...even though all along he'd said he wouldn't!! He was so sweet and encouraging to me through all this, even though I know he was tired and freaked out by the whole thing (the birthing process itself, plus the complications).

After things settled down and I got into a room and we'd gotten a few hours of rest we found out that since it had been so long between my water breaking and Edmund's birth that his white blood cell count was elevated and the pediatrician wanted him to go on 48 hours of antibiotics there in the hospital. So we decided to stay till the course of antibiotics was done and mother and baby could leave the hospital together!! That Friday (July 17th) in the afternoon we finally got to go home. My mom stayed with us through all of this, staying up at night with us so that we could have the baby in the room except when he was getting his treatments. She stayed with us and helped me out till that Sunday night and then she headed home. My sister Susanna came in to replace mom for a day before heading off to teach in English camps in Taiwan...and then I was gonna be on my own with the little guy after that...since Brack was back at work!!

But things came up to change all that. I'll explain in my next post...

Busy Days...and Not-So-Busy Days...

After my sister's wedding this past weekend I've been alternating between being uber-busy and uber-lazy!!

Monday morning I was up early and fixed breakfast for my sis Melody, my SIL Dayana, and my little nephew Luke. We then spent a little while getting bags together, loading the car, getting to the airport, and trying to find parking!! Dayana and Luke are going to be staying with Melody, her husband Michael, and their kiddoes until my brother John gets back from deployment. We are hoping that Melody won't be getting deployed at all...but especially before John gets back. At least Dayana will be with her brother and Luke will have his double-cousins to play with when they are missing John.

Tuesday I was really busy. I cleaned the house and then I went to the rec center and walked a mile and a half on the treadmill and swam for close to an hour. I went home after that to shower and get ready. I then had a midwife appointment, a chiro appointment, met with Brack for errands and dinner, and then we went back to the birthing center for our second childbirthing class. Whew!!

After the busy weekend and two days of going I didn't feel like doing ANYTHING!! So Wednesday and Thursday I pretty much just did general straightening around the house and lazed around otherwise...getting some extra sleep and watching stuff on Netflix.

Today I still feel a bit zonked, but am trying to be a little more industrious. I did get some meal planning and grocery lists done up yesterday and Brack and I went to the store last night. So today I have some roasts cooking in the crockpot for future meals. I have a few things planned to mix up and/or cook today...and we will see just how far I can get before I get wiped out!!

Here's what I hope to make today: Mexican Meat Mix (to freeze), Pinto Bean Mix (for tonight's menu and to freeze), Brownie Mix (for future desserts), Snack Cake Mix (for future desserts)...all from the Make a Mix cookbook. Also, I want to make some granola, full meal muffins, and baked oatmeal...for eating in the next few days and weeks. Tonight's menu will be South of the Border Vegetarian Bake and Pluckit for dessert...both recipes made from mixes in the Make a Mix cookbook. Hopefully they turn out yummy!! Edit as of 7pm...as you can see, I didn't get it all done (the strikeouts are what DID get done), but I'm pretty satisfied with what I did get done...and I'm pretty tired out, so hopefully I'll sleep well tonight!!

Anyway, so that's my plan for today. Tomorrow the only thing I'm planning for is my baby shower brunch in the morning...and Brack is gonna grill for dinner tomorrow night, so I won't have to mess with too much cooking. Sunday is gonna be a total rest day after we get home from church...and I'm gonna enjoy that before the week starts in (especially since I'm gonna try to start walking every day to be in shape for labor when Edmund decides to come)!!

Beka's Wedding

My youngest sister Rebekah got married last Sunday. It's hard for me to think of her as a married woman, since many of my most vivid memories of her are when she was a little tomboy whose antics earned her the nickname of "Monkey"!! I can remember like it was yesterday when she was 4 or 5 and she scared the living daylights out of my mom by climbing up the rope swing in our backyard to the branch that was even with our second floor windows and hanging off the branch!! Then when she was a little older, maybe around eight or so, she would literally climb the walls in the narrow hallway outside the bedrooms and scare people by peeking in the windows that were above the doors!!

 

But now she is married at the young age of eighteen and a half...just out of high school. Her husband Ryan is 22 and is even taller than Brack, though just as thin as Brack was before marriage filled him out a wee bit!! She made a beautiful bride (looked just like Mom did when she was a young bride).

My brother Steve came to the wedding with his wife Syrena and their new little guy Caedryn (what a cutie)!! My sis Melody was able to fly down for the wedding, and my SIL Dayana and her little guy Luke were there as well. Unfortunately the military had to be ornery as usual, so my brother John was unable to come. Seems like the military make it their job to always keep at least one sibling out of the mix whenever there is a family function!! But all in all, it was a nice weekend and a beautiful wedding.

I will come back to edit this with a few more pictures once I can snag some pics that have me and Brack, my mom and dad, Steve and Syrena, and Andrew in them...somehow I didn't get many pics!!

Summertime...

It's been a while...much has happened lately. Guess I just skipped right over May with the blogging!! Here's a few highlights to catch people up!!

I started having midwife appointments every two weeks from the beginning of May and now I've started chiro appointments as well. I also got a combo pool/rec center pass for our town and have started walking and will start swimming once the pool opens next week to try to keep in decent shape for the birth and after.

We ended up skipping church on Mother's Day because Brack started having some bad asthma attacks (which had not been happening here in the metroplex before) so he went to an allergist a few days ago and we are hoping the meds they gave him will help clear things up.

My friend Jess Martin has started her photography business and took some preggie pics for me about mid-May. I think they turned out rather well and I've actually grabbed one for my pic here on this blog. Check out her blog here and see some more of her work!!

I am no longer nannying. I finished up with the kids the week they got out from school and will not be nannying them again till at least January. I will miss them a lot, as they are such sweeties, but we will definately keep in touch.

My birthday was very good. I had a midwife appointment that morning so I got to hear Edmund's little heartbeat again. That night Brack took me to Fry's and got me a little digital camera so that I'll be able to catch cute pics and vids of Edmund...even when we are out and not hauling our big camera around. He then took me to eat at a Peruvian restaurant that we hadn't been to before. It was so yummy and they had the BEST chicha morada I've ever tasted!!

Last Saturday we ended up being double-booked!! Our neighborhood had its very first block party and I got to re-meet a few of our neighbors that I met way back last fall...as well as meet some new ones. We were only able to stay at the block party for about an hour and a half though, as we had to scram for a birthday party...getting there just in time to see the candles get blown out on the cake!! Todd and Leah's little girl Maggie had a blowout party for her second birthday and it was a lot of fun. She is such a little doll!!

My sis Melody flew in the other day and I got to hang out with her for a little over a day before my dad picked her up to take to East Texas. I hadn't seen her since Christmas '07, so it was good to spend a little one-on-one time with her before the big family hoopla of this weekend. I was just sad she couldn't bring her kiddoes (Josiah and Lydia) with her.

Oh yeah...this weekend is my baby sister Beka's wedding. A bunch of my relatives will be there and Steve and Syrena will be there with my new baby nephew Caedryn who I can't wait to meet!! I can't believe my baby sis is getting married, but I'm happy she's found the guy she wants to spend the rest of her life with.

Edmund's room is only partially ready to go. We still need to get a dresser to be set furniture-wise and I still need to do a little sewing to get curtains and a crib skirt done. The decorative stuff for the walls is mostly ready to go, though...it's just a matter of getting it ON the walls.

We just started childbirthing classes on Tuesday...once a week now for three more weeks. The reality of just how close we are to seeing little Edmund and the reality of childbirth are both staring me in the face now. I am still determined to have a natural childbirth at home, but having a child is uncharted territory for me and I'm a wee bit freaked!!

I guess that's all I can think of right now off the top of my head, so there ya go!! I guess I'm all caught up now. I just need to be a bit more consistent with the blogging. I am sure that once Edmund arrives though I will probably be clogging up this blog with all kinds of posts...even if they are simply picture posts of my cute kid!!