Happy Anniversary!

Eight years ago today, I walked down the aisle toward my amazing husband and began a journey that I couldn't have even imagined.



We were both young and had big dreams for our lives. To say that God has blessed us beyond our dreams seems too simple a statement to describe the last eight years! Each year has gotten better and better!



I am so blessed to have such an amazing husband who loves me more each day and takes care of me in such amazing ways! Thank you, David, for being the love of my life, for joining me on this amazing journey, for making me laugh, holding me when I cry and being my very best friend! I love you!

Update

Life has been a little crazy around here these days! Realistically, I don't know that we would know it any other way though...

Last week I finished a couple sewing projects (pictures to come).

Thursday night I was up the ENTIRE night with contractions. We started to think that this little guys was going to make his appearance much earlier than we had planned. Luckily, the contractions stopped and I took it easy all weekend. Yesterday, I went to the doctor and there hasn't been any progress in dilation...which I am very happy with! I am feeling much better the last couple days! Hopefully we can hold out just a little while longer!

Sunday night David noticed some water damage on our wood flooring in our kitchen. It was even worse when we woke up the next morning. Last night we were finally able to trace the leak to our air conditioning drain. Fortunately, we are still under our one year warranty and we have an amazing builder that should have it all fixed up in the next couple weeks!

So, we continue to plug along...one day at a time! We continue to try to accomplish what we can each day as we prepare for the little man to make his appearance. We now have bags packed and are ready to go when we need to! We promise to keep you posted!

Cub Scouts at the Fire Station

Last week David arranged for his den to take a trip to the fire station for a tour. Isabelle was invited to come along and she didn't miss out on the event! The firemen showed the kids a video about fire safety and showed them around the station. David was kind enough to take a camera along and snap a couple pictures for me.

Trip to the Park

Life has changed since we have moved here. We used to live on a busy street where the kids couldn't play in the front yard. No riding bikes or running around with the neighbor kids. Now, we live in a quiet area (quiet as far as traffic is concerned) FULL of kids. Rarely is there a time that the kids don't have someone to play with. When they get bored riding bikes, finding rocks, having light saber duels, playing Legos or K'nex in the front, our backyard is the next choice of places to play due to the trampoline and swing set.

So, it never really occurred to me that since we have moved here, we have not gone to a playground or park to play. That used to be a very common thing for us to do in Virginia. Isabelle was the first to remind me of this recently.

So, a few days ago, Isabelle and I were out and about and just happened to be near a really great park. I decided to take her there for a couple hours. She was ecstatic! She immediately ran to this giant slide built on the hill! She ran up those stairs several times and this smile never left her face!
She enjoyed some time on the swings,

scaled some rocks,

climbed some ladders,

and just had a great time in general!

Can you tell by this smile that she was having a good time?

I had to giggle every time she came down the slide and her hair was standing up like this!

It was a great time at the park! We will be going back very soon!

As we were walking back to the van, she looked up at me and said, "Thank you for bringing me to the park, Mommy! Next time we should bring Ian!"

I love that as much fun as she was having on her own, she would rather share it with her brother! So, next time we will bring Ian!

30 Day Notice!

Did you see the countdown on the side of the page? We are down to 30 days! It is really unbelievable! 30 days until my due date!

Back in August, when we found out we were pregnant, it seemed as though April was SO FAR AWAY! But we also knew it would go quickly...it always does. It seems as though it is all a blur. We made it through David's induction period, the Ian started school, the holidays came and went and now, here we are!

I am down to doing weekly appointments at this point. When I went in earlier this week, I found out that I am dilated to nearly 1cm. That is to be expected with the 3rd baby. It shouldn't be any indication of him making his appearance early.

As a matter of fact, I have been having some very serious talks with the little man about when he is allowed to make his appearance. As anxious as I am about seeing him, holding him and introducing him to his big brother and sister, I also have a plan! My mom (a.k.a. My Personal Labor and Delivery nurse!) will be flying into town on April 10th! He must wait until she can get here or else he is going to have some serious explaining to do! My other motivation for getting that far is that Ian's Spring Break is the week before my due date and I would really like to have that time with the kids to do a few fun things and just enjoy each other without the whole week being consumed by the activities of having a new baby. Don't get me wrong, the kids are both VERY excited about this new little guy, but they have also gotten a little clingy and needy lately. I am sure it has every bit to do with the baby situation, whether they know it or not.

So, if you think of it, please say a quick prayer for us. We are all facing a LOT of transition! We are doing our best to make it enjoyable for everyone involved! All in all, we know that this new little man is going to add a ton of joy to our lives and we can hardly wait!

Stocked up!

So, I know I haven't been on here much. I guess I have been a little too busy with organizing and taking care of things before this baby makes his grand appearance! I have several dresses in the works for Isabelle and I promise to post pictures when I have a couple more done!

Last week I spent a bit of time stocking up on diapers! I meant to post this last week so that you could go out and take advantage of the deal if it was a good one for you, but I just didn't get to it in time. So, now I post this as a lesson...to NEVER, EVER, EVER pay full price for diapers!

Guess how much I paid for all of these diapers: Did you guess?

Well, first you should know that there are 12 Jumbo packs of diapers in the picture. In total, there are nearly 600 diapers!

Huggies Jumbo Packs were on sale at Walgreens for $10. (Normal retail ranges from $12-$16)
Get 3 Jumbo Packs of Huggies
Use 3 $5 Huggies coupons (you can print 2 per computer)
Pay $15 and get $10 back in Register Rewards
Final Cost: $15 for 3 Jumbo Packs of Huggies!!!

What I did was use my Register Reward coupon on the next batch of 3 packages and only ended up paying $5 for the second batch.

I repeated this process at another store (because the first one was completely sold out)! I was frustrated because the coupons were for the Gentle Care diapers, but the sweet lady at Walgreens told me that the coupons should still work on ANY Huggies! So, I bought up as many as I could with my coupons!

When all was said and done, I spent $40(before tax) on all of these diapers!

When I came home, I found a place online called Caregivers Marketplace. They give rebates for all sorts of items that many caregivers may use. The Huggies Snug and Dry and Gentle Care diapers (except for the Newborn size) qualified for a $.75 rebate per package. So, I will be receiving a check back for $6.75!

Now, that is a deal! Granted, I don't know how often there will be deals like this out there, but it just goes to show that you have to keep your eyes open for them! I don't really like doing a lot of the deals that include rebates and such, but when something like this presents itself, you've gotta jump on it. And regardless of the sales going on, don't miss out on your $5 off coupons!!! I even got a few neighbors to print some out for me so that I could maximize this deal!

Now the baby's closet is stocked with diapers from Newborn to size 3. I imagine these will last us for quite a while since we are going to also venture into the world of cloth diapers! So these diapers will only be used as backups or for when Daddy is in charge. (He isn't too keen on the cloth diapering idea, but I am working on him! I think he is going to be surprised at how easy it really is) But that is a whole other post for another day!

Well, that is enough from me! Back to sewing world I go so that I can post some more pictures soon!

Crazy Quotes from Isabelle

"Mommy! Did you know that your tongue is COVERED in taste bugs?"

I see the light!

Just a quick update to say that Ian is back to school today! Hooray!

After a long weekend with David sick, he is back to work also! He isn't 100%, but good enough to tough it out! He slept about 85% of the weekend away...but it just might have worked!

So, now it is back to normal! I cleared out Isabelle's closet yesterday to prepare for spring. (It is supposed to be 82 degrees today!) She has requested some new dresses, so I am going to go take a look at all of my fabric and see what I can come up with!

Hopefully we will have some pictures to share very soon!
Have a great Monday!

So over it!

No, I am not talking about pregnancy. I am one of those weirdos that actually enjoys pregnancy. Even though I am more aware each day of my due date approaching quicker than seems possible, I am also okay enjoying these last weeks. Even though I believe I have a foot stuck in the right side of my rib cage, I still love the feeling of the little man doing what feels like acrobatics within my belly and I still laugh when he gets the hiccups!

So, that brings me to the whole purpose of this post...I have been sequestered in my own home since Sunday night due to the flu!!! Ian started with a headache on Sunday afternoon and ended up with a fever through the night. He stayed home Monday with no real symptoms. That is, until the evening. Then his throat swelled and his fever SPIKED! He was miserable. I thought for sure he had strep, but we were informed on Tuesday that he had the FLU! Ugh... Luckily, the Dr. gave us all flu medication to take to help prevent any of the rest of us from getting it. She also wrote a note to Ian's school to excuse him for the rest of the week. I laughed at that. The whole week??? But here we are on Friday and we just can't seem to shake this stuff! His throat isn't as bad and his fever isn't as high, but I am still uncomfortable taking him around other people. I would hate to infect anyone else with this stuff!

So, the weather is beautiful today and I have allowed him to play in the backyard with Isabelle, but he can see and hear his friends playing just over the fence. He is desperate to be out there with them. He literally broke down in tears when I told him he couldn't go out front to play. He hasn't seen any of them in nearly a week. He has to be getting bored! I know I am!

On the bright side of things, my house is very clean. It has been disinfected to no end. The baby's closet has been organized and reorganized. I am working on getting some meals prepped for the freezer to have on hand for when the baby arrives. I have a few craft projects I am ready to start and laundry is all caught up! That never happens!

As nice as it has been to have some extra down time with my kiddos this week, I am also really ready to get back to normal...

Hold on...David is calling...

to inform me that he feels terrible and he is coming home to go to bed. He hasn't been able to eat anything all day and his body is aching...so much for that medicine!

Here is hoping for a better week next week!