Me - 25 Weeks

I know, I know, haven't shared in a while. How about I've been busy finishing up Blondie's schooling for the year, potty training a wild man, going on a cleaning rampage (darn hormones! LOL!), and well... life!

Here's me 25 weeks

And for a refresher, me at 16 weeks

And 15 weeks

And 13 weeks!

Funny Bear

Bear has been cracking me up lately. I love this 2 1/2 age. It's my favorite age.

Yesterday, Bear was sitting in my lap and i asked him "Where is Baby Abigail?". He pulls up my shirt and points to my belly. I asked him if he could see her. He puts his eye right near my belly button, peers in and says "Yep Mommy". I asked him if she was ready to come out. He peers again and goes "No Mommy. Her stuck!". I about died laughing!

Then today, we went to firehouse subs with my mom for dinner. On the way there Blondie asks him if he'd like a grilled cheese. Keep in mind she does have a slight southern accent. Bear turns to her, says "No Sissy! A BOY Cheese!". This mama almost ran off the road laughing at that one!

Getting Ready for Baby!

The past few weeks, I've been taking inventory of what we have and figuring out what we still need. The answer is... not much!

We need a crib mobile - preferably a hot pink/sage or something that will match Gracie's/Abigail's room decor.

We need socks! Yes, my little one will be completely barefoot if we don't get any!

I would *like* a bouncy seat, although it's not on my *NEED* list.

I keep going back and forth on if I *need* a double stroller. Bear is still young and gets tired at times.... sooo... I don't know. I do go a lot of places with the kids by myself, so one will be needed then. But there is also the possibility of Blondie being able to push Bear in an umbrella stroller. Would love to hear others thoughts - do I *need* a double stroller or should I make it work with what we have.

I have a decent amount of clothes now - been hitting some bargains and flea markets and such. Still have blankets and my mom is going to make me some flannel blankets. Have a boatload of diapers that I accumulated during sales. I've got crib sheets, burp clothes (although I still need to get her a personalized one - both my other 2 have personalized ones for keepsakes).

So, all in all I think we're pretty well set.

Having some CHEAP fun!

So we got broadband internet this week (WOO HOO!). Since then, I've been scouring blogs looking for deals. And I've found many! This week I got 6 packs of Huggies diapers for $20! I also got Motts Applesauce for 16 cents! You read that right!

Divorce

Before you panic, let me just clarify...

NOT US!

Sadly this week, we've learned of two couples that we are friends with going through this. One was just finalized and the other is just getting the process started.

This really makes my heart sad in ways I can't even describe. Both couples have small children and both husbands work in public services (i.e. fire dpt or police). The one couple we were good friends when we were newlyweds. They were really active in the church. Seemed like everything was going great. Both Hubby and I are completely shocked about it.

Now I know firsthand that being a wife to a deputy is hard work with the long 12 hour shifts and flipflopping from nights to days and days to nights. I know that being a wife to a firefighter is even harder with their 24 hour shifts, and especially the 48 hour shifts. The statistics are against all public workers with the extremely high rate of divorce. However, it CAN work and DOES work. It takes a lot of patience and effort on both parts.

Believe me that I have definately had days where I feel like throwing in the towel. You know those days. Nothing is going right, the kids are sick or misbehaving, hubby is pulling mandatory overtime, and you just reach a breaking point where you want to hang your hubby by his toes. The only thing that gets me through is my faith in God that he will pull me through. And He does. Everytime. Sometimes it's good to vent your frustrations too instead of keeping them bottled up. Email a friend, call your mom, anything other than let the pressure build.

Thanks for taking the time to read this. I really needed to voice my thoughts after hearing of these two couples this week. It totally breaks my heart. Please take a moment and pray for our public service workers AND their spouses. It's not an easy road and we all can use prayers. Give your 9-5 spouse a hug and be a little more understanding when he's 30 minutes late.


Hugs to all...

I wish I had 8,000 dollars

Sigh. I am TRYING to be content. I really am. During our last trip down to Pine Mountain, hubby and I discussed how much cheaper it would be to camp and such if we had a trailer instead of having to rent cabins. Then we wouldn't have to worry about finding a "pet friendly" cabin either. Just for kicks, we went to craigslist and looked for RVs. There is this one that keeps being relisted as they haven't sold it yet. Best time for consumers to buy but worst time for sellers.

Anyways, this one camper keeps calling my name. Click Here to see it!

Just one of those times where I wish I had the extra money to go ahead and get it NOW. We're NOT taking out a loan so for now I get to sit and hope maybe it will be there if we get enough money saved up. I grew up camping every single weekend with my family and I wish we could do the same for our kids, too. And heck... I miss it tremendously.

Blizzard of '09!

Okay, okay. It wasn't exactly a blizzard. But it might as well be compared to the amount of "snow" we are used to!

Putting it mildly, the past 48 hours have been... rather interesting.

We heard the rumors that we *might* get snow on this past Sunday. Like usual, I blew it off and just said "I'll believe it when I see it". Sunday we went to church and it was pouring rain. We got home, got the kids settled for some quiet time and look out the window. It's SNOWING! Not little flakes, but huge monster flakes! Bigger than I've ever seen fall. Of course hubby and I chuckle and think that it's never going to stick as we had several days of warm weather.

Right before our eyes, the snow starts piling up. Inch by Inch coming and no signs of stopping. We take the kids out for a walk in the snow. They are both in awe watching the funny white stuff in the sky. I notice our neighbors powerlines starting to sag and make the comment that I hope our power stays on.

We get back from our walk and I get the teapot ready to make some hot cocoa. As soon as the hot water is ready... WHAM! Power goes out. It's 3:30 pm on Sunday. Hubby makes preparations to build a fire, which was a miracle to do in itself with the soaking wet firewood. But he managed to get one going. I close all the interior doors and make camp in the living room. Kids of course think this is a blast. Hubby and I think otherwise. I had planned on making chili for dinner and since we didn't have many other options, we went ahead and made it.

We were able to keep a fire going most of the night between the two of us. At one point we both fell asleep and awoke to the freezing cold and a few embers left in the fire. Hubby came to the rescue once again and got a nice fire going.

Once the night passed, we got up and surveyed the damage. Several trees down in our woods and a huge limb dangled from the tree above the Durango - we'll probably have to get it cut down. Our house is fine and our cars are fine. Our road was another story. Believe it or not, this next picture is a picture of our little dirt road. We were totally 100% snowed in/trapped.

Between Hubby and the neightbor and the neighbor's brother and friends, we got the road cleared. It took some time and a lot of manpower but we were FREE. Hubby had to go to work and the kids needed some warm food in their bellies, so we braved it, packed everything and the dogs up, and headed to Athens. We found a nice hot meal and tried to find a hotel or somewhere so Hubby could shower. No such luck so off to Gwinnett we went. Hubby dropped us off at my moms house so we would have a warm place to lay our heads, showered, and headed back up to go to work. My hubby is definately my hero!

This morning we got up and my mom drove us home. Still no power. Finally at around 12:30, the heat kicked on! YES!!! WE HAVE POWER!!! It's so nice to be warm and cozy again! We still have a lot of snow on the ground, but it's slowly melting (and turning to ice at night!). We are safe and sound and TIRED but not too bad off. We still have friends without power so our thoughts are with them. The stations are reporting that my county got 7 inches of snow within about 6-7 hours.

Hope you all are warm and cozy.

A Quote to Ponder...

"You cannot legislate the poor into freedom by legislating the wealthy out of freedom. What one person receives without working for, another person must work for without receiving. The government cannot give to anybody anything that the government does not first take from somebody else. When half of the people get the idea that they do not have to work because the other half is going to take care of them, and when the other half gets the idea that it does no good to work because somebody else is going to get what they work for, that my dear friend, is about the end of any nation. You cannot multiply wealth by dividing it."~~~~ Dr. Adrian Rogers, 1931