Stress!

Stress is never a good thing when you're pregnant. Work isn't stressing me out, which is a first as the other jobs I've had would lead me to pull my hair out (figuratively speaking).

No, its just stressful to think of money. I have no control over it, well OK maybe limited to partial control. I don't want to claim control, because then I have to own up to the mistakes we've made with money.

But we're trying to be disciplined. Its hard! But we're going off of the Dave Ramsey cash only theory and it seems to be working out OK. Just when I get the discipline and strong desire to get us really straightened out....we have to start planning for baby furniture. When you get rid of a car payment, medical bills add up to the same amount not freeing up any extra money. Babies are expensive! I appreciate more and more what my parents did for me and how they did it while staying relatively debt free!

My biggest stresser is income. Come the end of September I will not have a pay check until I go back to work. I do NOT want to go back to work 2 weeks after giving birth to my first child. I WON'T go back to work that early. So I've been bugging Jose to get a job. Poor guy, never gets a break it seems. But we set a goal for what he needs to make this summer so that we can still stay afloat while I am off work on unpaid maternity leave. ( I will be paid, but really for a short amount of time, getting pregnant didn't fall as I had planned....typical). We had a good opportunity last summer to earn a decent amount of money and it looked promising for this summer to. Well that fell through. Good thing I had a few months heads up! I hadn't figured that into anything yet, so we are still where we were a week ago.

But last night.....I felt some relief. I have been automatically having money withdrawn and put into an savings account. One that we can't touch (it would take days to get money released from this account) I don't really check it that often, I figure the less money I know I have, the less I spend. I had nearly double what I thought we had!

God is so good. I had just spent the previous 2 hours pouting and stressing and getting really mad (at money). I literally was about in tears walking through the grocery store knowing we had little money, plus I was going to spend more money on an unexpected grocery shopping trip (it was only $3.00 but I was at the grocery only an hour earlier for other things). So to come home, and look up this savings account and find that I had more money saved up than I had originally thought!

Actually, we have saved up now what my goal was as a minimum for when the baby arrived! So that just means that we have 4 more months of very active savings to do! I upped the Anni and we're saving more for the next 4 months.

I don't know why I stress about my finances and what we have and don't have. God has ALWAYS been faithful to provide. ALWAYS! When I am faithful and do my part, He is always doing his part. He was when we were in Des Moines, He was this time, and He will be when our little one arrives in September!

Phew....I don't have to worry about it!

Yep, I'm Pregnant.

By now, just about everyone who reads this blog knows that I am pregnant.  My husband has been relentlessly bugging me about blogging about being pregnant.  Now that I am out of the nasty first trimester and I have energy again I can finally blog.  (My other excuse, I've been busy.  Plus I work all day on a computer and one of the last things I want to do at night is sit in front of a computer)

So..here it is.  I'm Pregnant! Yep! 

From the very beginning, here's how it happened. 

November 2008.  I finally had a Dr's appointment to figure out what as going on.  After two years of messed up menstral cycles (really the absence of one unless the Dr intervened) it was time to figure out what was really going on so that we could actually start a family of our own.  After blood work, an ultrasound, and a general look over, it turns out I have low estrogen.  Another blood test confirmed the low estrogen was the problem and to get pregnant that was an easy fix.  So we set the next Dr's appointment to talk about going on medicine such as Chlomed to help us along in the process.  You know OBGYN offices are always hard to get into, so I had to wait until Mid January until I could get in to see the Dr again. 

So Jan 15th rolls around and the big Dr's appointment has finally arrived.  I have to go through the history run down with the Dr. She checks me out again and explains to me the process.  We'll take a pregnancy test just to make sure and then we'll go through what goes on with the medicine.  No surprises here.  Every pregnancy test I have taken in the past 2.5 years (well really ANY pregnancy test that I have EVER taken) is negative.  NEGATIVE. So I just obliged the request to take pregnancy test awaiting the typical response. 

So the nurse is there take the test (what a job, handling a urine filled plastic cup) and we're waiting. She's making small talk and asks me what the Dr said. I was filling her in on how we were taking the test to make sure it was negative and then she would be back in to talk about the medicine.  The nurse then proceeds to tell me that we're not going to have to talk about the medicine.  "You're pregnant" 

WHAT?!?!?!  I  think my jaw dropped and I said "Are you serious? Are you sure?!?!?" She said "Yep! Two lines means you are pregnant."  The Dr came back in and shared with me that she had a feeling I was pregnant when she examined me. (sorry, that may be TMI) So off we went to get an Ultra sound to see how far along I was.  

4-5 weeks along I was.  Totally in shock. The Dr's office was almost as excited as I was.  One lady had the biggest grin and explained that they don't really get to share this moment with anyone, typically people know already when they come in.  I certainly had NO IDEA!!!!!!

So here we are.  Due Sept 18th. Currently, I am approximately 15-16 weeks along.  

To the New year

So it is a new year in general and it is a new year in my life.  Yep, the big 2-8.  

So recapping where I was a year ago...we don' t have the time.  I can say that it is a 180 turn and it is only by the hand of God that I am where I am now. 

I love history, but I find myself in a stalemate if I keep looking backwards at what I could've should've done.  So here is to looking forward.

Goals for this new year of life...

Be on time, be early.

Read.

Exercise.

Write and call more.

Cook more.

Be intentional.

Follow through.

Love my husband.

The list could be and probably should be longer.  It is made of the same things I typically say I am going to work on (although this is the first time I think I've put "Be on time, be early" on the list.)  So again it is just turning over an old leaf.  I'll probably be turning it over for years, but I'm ok with that.  

I'm a work in progress.

AHHHHH!!!

Ever have one of those days where relief comes from screaming at the top of your lungs!

Today is one of those days.

So feel free to scream with me if you please.

I'm counting down to a break. Right now, the first week of January looks like the next one. Phew....just one day at a time.

Long time

Well, its been a while since I've blogged. Not that I have forgotten, but I've just held off.

There's plenty on my mind, but I've found myself preoccupied with other things.
So be looking maybe later this week. There should be time in my week to lay down some thoughts that I'm wrestling with.

Hope Thanksgiving went well! Ours was great. I love family and friends. It is always hard to leave and jump back into the swing of normal everyday life. I love where I'm at, but definitely miss people.

I was Tagged!

I was tagged by a friend Shane in something called Meme.  

The meme rules are go to the book closest to you that has at least 123 pages.  Go to the fifth sentence and post three sentences.  

So here it goes.   I was in bed and the top book of the two next to me was...(drum roll please) Green Chic, Saving the Earth in Style.

Pg 123, first three sentences after the fifth is...

"Just because a cotton item is natural color doesn't mean it's organic. I know you already figured that out, but I just read an article about "green" fashion in a certain high-end lifestyle magazine , and the page was filled with clothes in shades of cream, tan, taupe ---but not even half of them were organic.  Read the label. "

I have this rule where (well it is more Jose's rule for me than my own, I just adopted it to make him happy) I can't start a new book until I finish the last one I was reading.  I really enjoy this book, I haven't finished it yet.  Posting this brought that to my attention! Just TWO chapters left....TWO!  Man I can slack sometimes. 

But so far, this book has been sticking with me.  I enjoy it when I read books and I implement things afterwards.  This is one of them.  

Some green things I've implemented so far.

• Taking my own bags shopping. I've only taken three plastic/paper bag home from the store in the past 4-5 weeks.  This includes my trip to the mall, grocery, Target, etc.  I was pretty upset with myself when I had to take the bags home with me.  Oh well, I guess now they will come in handy with Smalls in the house. 
• Shorter showers and less time drying my hair. (although there are mornings where a long hot shower were really needed)
• Cloth napkins.  They're white and they clean up nicely!
• Organic foods as much as possible.  
• Recycling! Recycling! Recycling! We are just starting a recycling program here at AU and I'm on the committee.  This definitely helps me dive in deep.  Jose and I could go probably two weeks with out changing our trash if it didn't smell so bad (cooking with garlic tastes great, is good for you, but it can reek havoc on your trash-bin).
• I'm watching the fabrics that I'm buying. 
• I'm watching the cleaning products that I buy.

I'm sure there is more, but the with a smashing headache I had today there isn't much I can dig for up there. 

I would encourage everyone to take some steps to becoming "greener".  Not because its the in thing, but because I do believe it is part of our responsibility to do so.   I'm going to be digging out a book on environmentalism and being a Christian.  I'm sure there will be a post to follow up with that. 

The New Little Man In My Life

So...he gave in and we have a new boy in the house.  

His name is Buddy Smalls, or just Smalls for short. Yes, like " You're killing me Smalls!"(from the Sandlot).  Only a few times have I really wanted to say that, but its just funny enough that you can't help but laugh afterwards!

His story? He's ten months old and came from a litter of 6 brothers and sisters.  Tragically his mom was hit by a car when he was young so his first family held on to him a little longer than normal.  He came to us with the name Rancher, but it just didn't fit him (or us for that matter).

A few of his favorite things?  Well he's a pretty good sock thief.  As soon as I pull the drawer open, he is in for the grab and off with the sock.  He could sit all day and let you rub his back, belly, ears, really anything. He just loves a good back rub. 

A few things I love?! He will fall asleep in your hands.  Several times I've started to pet his sweet face and he just falls asleep with his head in my hands.  He's a lover boy.  Loves to be near me, and when invited loves to be all up snuggling in my neck. He gets really excited to see me when I return home from work. 

A few things we're working on.  Well all of the basics. Sit. Come. His name. How to be friendly and not afraid of everyone we live with. How to eat a meal in one sitting rather than snacking all day long. And not having to show the world that I'm a little man 

(aka marking his territory at my mom's house). 

Although Jose may tell you differently, I think he's sold already.