For those of you who use baby slings..which ones are your favorites? The place we're registering doesn't really carry them, so I'll probably be buying one or two on my own.
So, maya, moby, mei tai, hot slings, etc..which worked for you and which didn't?
Also, if you cloth diaper..where do you buy yours? I don't mind investing some money in them but want to get a good deal. So far I've only really looked at Green Mountain Diapers. I'm a bit clueless as to how much/what sizes to order. The baby will be in disposables some of the time, when he/she goes to grandparents or to my sil's a day or two a week while I work. But at home, we're going to try to stick with cd-ing.
Any input would be greatly appreciated!
Monday, May 11, 2009
Disconnected from civilization..
...or so it feels. My just-barely-a-year-old laptop decided to die, right after the warranty ran out. A good friend is being kind enough to build us a new computer, but in the meantime..ack! I did okay for the first week and a half but I'm going through major internet/blog withdrawl! I'm sure its probably a good thing, because I've read about 6 books, done research, and hit some killer garage sales for baby gear..but still!
So I've now got officially less than 3 months until baby is supposed to arrive. Part of me is really excited, the other part is scared to death. But in good news, we are selling our place that we live now! Woohoo! The paperwork has been finalized and as of June 1st we will no longer own the little ( 576 sq ft to be exact) beaten down, extremely vintage ( ie 1972) mobile home that we started out in. So, where are we going to move?
Well..that's a story in and of itself. We've been house hunting for a good 6 months now, and have a very nice down payment saved up. However, our credit scores are still recovering from less than prudent financial decisions of our younger days, so we decided to wait another year or so before buying to give our scores some time to go up.
So...we're moving....4 doors down. An older lady with Alzheimers passed away recently, and her daughter was looking to sell her mobile home. We happened to stop by when they had an estate sale, and got to talking with her. The home is a 1992, so compared to our 1972..it was downright luxurious. It has been maintained very well, is larger than where we've been, has two nice size bedrooms, a garden tub, lots of closet space, a huge kitchen, washer and dryer, a huge carport and nice shed with a workbench, electricity,etc. The best part? She asked more than we were willing to spend, but liked us enough to ask what we had..and accepted that! So not only will we get to stay close to hubby's work, my work, school ( for both of us)..but we'll pay absolutely nothing more a month than we do now. The little park we live in is in a great neighborhood, and is comprised of mostly elderly people. So as much as I wanted to be in our own house with our own garden right now..this will be much better in the end. We can save more, our credit scores can improve, and I can work less after the baby comes because our living expenses won't go up at all. When the perfect house comes along, we'll be able to say we want it- and be able to afford it.
I'm just so thankful that all 3 of us will have a nice, safe place that suits our needs, and allows us to be better prepared for the things we want down the road. So now its moving time, again- and I'll finally be able to open up and use our wedding gifts! We need to paint, but otherwise everything is move-in ready. The best part- I can finally start putting together a nursery :)
So I've now got officially less than 3 months until baby is supposed to arrive. Part of me is really excited, the other part is scared to death. But in good news, we are selling our place that we live now! Woohoo! The paperwork has been finalized and as of June 1st we will no longer own the little ( 576 sq ft to be exact) beaten down, extremely vintage ( ie 1972) mobile home that we started out in. So, where are we going to move?
Well..that's a story in and of itself. We've been house hunting for a good 6 months now, and have a very nice down payment saved up. However, our credit scores are still recovering from less than prudent financial decisions of our younger days, so we decided to wait another year or so before buying to give our scores some time to go up.
So...we're moving....4 doors down. An older lady with Alzheimers passed away recently, and her daughter was looking to sell her mobile home. We happened to stop by when they had an estate sale, and got to talking with her. The home is a 1992, so compared to our 1972..it was downright luxurious. It has been maintained very well, is larger than where we've been, has two nice size bedrooms, a garden tub, lots of closet space, a huge kitchen, washer and dryer, a huge carport and nice shed with a workbench, electricity,etc. The best part? She asked more than we were willing to spend, but liked us enough to ask what we had..and accepted that! So not only will we get to stay close to hubby's work, my work, school ( for both of us)..but we'll pay absolutely nothing more a month than we do now. The little park we live in is in a great neighborhood, and is comprised of mostly elderly people. So as much as I wanted to be in our own house with our own garden right now..this will be much better in the end. We can save more, our credit scores can improve, and I can work less after the baby comes because our living expenses won't go up at all. When the perfect house comes along, we'll be able to say we want it- and be able to afford it.
I'm just so thankful that all 3 of us will have a nice, safe place that suits our needs, and allows us to be better prepared for the things we want down the road. So now its moving time, again- and I'll finally be able to open up and use our wedding gifts! We need to paint, but otherwise everything is move-in ready. The best part- I can finally start putting together a nursery :)
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
Been 'blah' about blogging
I'm not really sure what has taken over me, but for the last few months I just haven't had the desire to blog. I love reading them, but have felt at a loss of what to write about.
A little update on the happenings around my house- we are actually looking for a house. Its been quite the emotional rollercoaster, but I know we will find one that is perfect for us in the end. My husband is looking into getting back into school full-time, which would be wonderful. It is just a matter of finding the right program and the right hours to fit around his work schedule.
On the baby front, things are going quite well, I will be 24 weeks on Friday. For the past 2-ish weeks I've finally felt some movement, which is weird. I won't lie, it feels like I've got an alien inside of me. But...a cute little alien :-) I'm still trying to watch what I eat, because of worries about gestational diabetes. In a few weeks I'll do the glucose screening, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed.
We are getting closer and closer to being debt free!! Its taken a few months of living on a shoestring budget, but I can't believe how much debt we've been able to pay down in such a short amount of time. Now it will be a matter of keeping the wise spending going, as well as using the money we're not spending on paying off debt- to save.
With the baby coming in early August, financial planning has been a big issue for us. I will be taking the full 12 weeks off of work, and will have enough PTO saved up to pay for about 1- 1 1/2 months of it, which is great. But the rest of the time we will be hurting, so we're putting away money in savings to cover things like health insurance, gas, food, etc. I will unfortunately need to go back to work a few days a week in order to pay for our insurance, and to supplement our income. Once Adam finishes his degree, I won't need to do this but in the meantime it is our reality.( so YAY for him going back to school!)
Now I'm starting to make lists of what baby items I want to register for, and what items I think I can find at garage sales this summer. Also I'm signing up for a local breastfeeding class, so hopefully that will be informative. Any of you natural birth advocates have resources ( books etc) you recommend for coping methods? Lamaze, bradley method, etc. Also..what worked for you? August seems to be coming sooner and sooner, and despite my desire to go drug-free, I know that I'll be nervous and need to plan ahead. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!!
I think I've rambled enough...until next time!
A little update on the happenings around my house- we are actually looking for a house. Its been quite the emotional rollercoaster, but I know we will find one that is perfect for us in the end. My husband is looking into getting back into school full-time, which would be wonderful. It is just a matter of finding the right program and the right hours to fit around his work schedule.
On the baby front, things are going quite well, I will be 24 weeks on Friday. For the past 2-ish weeks I've finally felt some movement, which is weird. I won't lie, it feels like I've got an alien inside of me. But...a cute little alien :-) I'm still trying to watch what I eat, because of worries about gestational diabetes. In a few weeks I'll do the glucose screening, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed.
We are getting closer and closer to being debt free!! Its taken a few months of living on a shoestring budget, but I can't believe how much debt we've been able to pay down in such a short amount of time. Now it will be a matter of keeping the wise spending going, as well as using the money we're not spending on paying off debt- to save.
With the baby coming in early August, financial planning has been a big issue for us. I will be taking the full 12 weeks off of work, and will have enough PTO saved up to pay for about 1- 1 1/2 months of it, which is great. But the rest of the time we will be hurting, so we're putting away money in savings to cover things like health insurance, gas, food, etc. I will unfortunately need to go back to work a few days a week in order to pay for our insurance, and to supplement our income. Once Adam finishes his degree, I won't need to do this but in the meantime it is our reality.( so YAY for him going back to school!)
Now I'm starting to make lists of what baby items I want to register for, and what items I think I can find at garage sales this summer. Also I'm signing up for a local breastfeeding class, so hopefully that will be informative. Any of you natural birth advocates have resources ( books etc) you recommend for coping methods? Lamaze, bradley method, etc. Also..what worked for you? August seems to be coming sooner and sooner, and despite my desire to go drug-free, I know that I'll be nervous and need to plan ahead. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!!
I think I've rambled enough...until next time!
Sunday, January 25, 2009
A Little Bit of Summer on a Wintry Day
As I've stated previously, this winter has been particularly freezing (!) and dark and depressing for me. Spring and Summer cannot come soon enough, and I've ordered multiple seed catalogs in the mail so I can sit and drool over all of the lovely things I'll be growing when it warms up. But in the meantime, while it's still in single digits ( on a good day) and dark by 4:30 pm every day, I needed some kind of pick me up. So, with our dinner the other night, I made this recipe that is always refreshing on a hot afternoon. Sure, its not as good as veggies straight from the garden, especially those wonderful late July/ August tomatoes..but it'll do in a pinch.
Simple Italian Tomato-Cucumber Salad
5 Roma Tomatoes
2 Cucumbers
2 Sprigs Fresh Basil
5 Tablespoons olive oil
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
1 clove garlic
Sea Salt and Pepper, to taste
Cut tomatoes into wedges. Cut Cucumbers into 1/2 inch pieces ( or smaller if you like). Tear small pieces of fresh basil, and mince garlic clove. Add rest of ingredients, mix well. I think chilling for a few hours results in the best flavor, but can be served immediately as well.
At times I've experimented with what I've had on hand- anything from Italian dressing, to Balsamic vinigarette- but the original recipe so far has tasted the best.
Friday, January 16, 2009
Surprise!
Well, this came a bit sooner than expected (!) but yes, we are expecting. Hopefully we will have a sweet little boy or girl in early August. As of right now my husband and I are both committed to not finding out if we need to buy pink or blue, but I'm sure the temptation will be tough to resist as time goes on. The last month or so I've been pretty ill, with all day sickness and then a bug we both came down with, on top of that. As I'm nearing the close of the first trimester, I'm starting to feel more human again and have a little more energy. So here goes a wild ride, I'm sure..I'm quit excited, and thankful..and nervous!
Despite being a bit shocked with the news at first...we are both very grateful, because it has come to light that getting pregnant could have been very difficult. During a routine ultrasound last week, it was discovered that both of my ovaries are covered in cysts, and that I have Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome, or PCOS. For a lot of women who have this, ovulation happens rarely and conception is difficult. ( Think Jon & Kate Plus 8- Kate has this disease and that's why they went to fertility treatment) I'm a bit apprehensive to see what this will bring in the future, because PCOS raises one's risk of diabetes, heart disease and other ailments..and also increases chances of gestational diabetes. So, right now I'm trying to eat as heathily as I can, and stay very active. So despite maybe feeling a little unprepared as we've only been married 4 months..I know we're very blessed.
Despite being a bit shocked with the news at first...we are both very grateful, because it has come to light that getting pregnant could have been very difficult. During a routine ultrasound last week, it was discovered that both of my ovaries are covered in cysts, and that I have Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome, or PCOS. For a lot of women who have this, ovulation happens rarely and conception is difficult. ( Think Jon & Kate Plus 8- Kate has this disease and that's why they went to fertility treatment) I'm a bit apprehensive to see what this will bring in the future, because PCOS raises one's risk of diabetes, heart disease and other ailments..and also increases chances of gestational diabetes. So, right now I'm trying to eat as heathily as I can, and stay very active. So despite maybe feeling a little unprepared as we've only been married 4 months..I know we're very blessed.
It's Been A While
Hello, everyone ! I think I've finally decided to re-enter the world of blogging after a much needed hiatus. The Christmas season came and went in a flurry, and now we're locked into the dead of winter. This morning when I woke up, it was -17 degrees. Normally I really like winter, but this year- I'm over it. Spring can't come soon enough.
Both of us have come down with various bugs and I think we're finally on the other side of it. I can't wait to jump back into reading the many lovely blogs out there and hopefully putting some good thoughts down.
Both of us have come down with various bugs and I think we're finally on the other side of it. I can't wait to jump back into reading the many lovely blogs out there and hopefully putting some good thoughts down.
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
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