Why $17.50??

I’ve had a lot of people ask so I figured I would explain my reasoning behind the amount I chose for my giveaway.  It really is quite simple.  I couldn’t decide between $15 and $20, so I split the difference.  Also, this is the amount of money we (DH & I) are saving per day by being smoke free.  This is a special contest for me to host because I would not have been able to offer it had we still been smoking.  My prize for not smoking for a whole month is offering a contest to all of you to see how many comments I can get.   

It has been so much fun to see all the different people posting and I’m trying to keep up visiting as many fellow bloggers as I can.  The response has been phenomenal and I would like to thank each and every one of you for stopping by.  I hope you take a moment to look around a little bit.  Good Luck to Everyone!!

Just for fun! :)

      Even though I’m a little late on getting this going it still sounds like fun.  So here’s the deal: 

1. Post a comment to this post. 
2. On Feb. 3rd. at 10 p.m. CST I will randomly draw a winning number. 
3. Whoever “owns” that post wins a $17.50 gift certificate to your choice of the following:

• The Stork Wearhouse
• Target
• Amazon
• any other WAHM that you like to do buisiness with.

So…. comment away!!!!       

ETA:  If you want to know why the amount is $17.50, look around a little bit.  It’s not hard to find and the explanation is there. 

The baby is no longer a babe.

Wrinkles officially entered toddler-hood today.  One year ago today I was holding my happy, healthy newborn babe in my arms.  I can’t believe that he is one year old already.  Where has the time gone?  A lot of things have changed around here in that short year, a lot of progress has been made to get where we want to go with our future and our family. 

Wrinkles was a challenging babe for us at the beginning.  While he latched right on when DH brought him to me in the recovery room, feeding him hasn’t always been so easy.  Lactose sensitivity and GERD have proven to be challenges over the last year but we have overcome them together.  The lactose sensitivity has gotten less severe which allows me to eat more dairy now and the GERD is slowly resolving itself.  The first few months were definetly a challenge as we figured these things out and as we adjusted from a family of three to a family of four.  We were on the edge of drowning in our own tears when we found a pediatrician that saved our sanity.  After we figured out what was going on, we were able to focus more on integrating our newest family member into the family dynamics.  Now Moo Moo and Wrinkles are pretty much inseparable.  It has been everything I wanted and more for my family.  Wrinkles is a walking, talking, little man who is already his own independent person.

Today we had cake for desert after lunch so that DH could join in and see Wrinkles destroy his piece.  Moo Moo was very understanding of it being Wrinkles’ birthday and not his (a big accomplishment since a month ago, Daddy’s birthday).  Wrinkles wasn’t too sure about the cake at first but then he got into it and starting enjoying.  It was lots of fun.  We will celebrate his birthday in a couple of weeks with family and a few friends for his first birthday party.   

I was asked today if my baby years are over or if there are plans for more.  I don’t know this answer for sure as I am still waiting for an answer from God on this one.  When I was younger I always dreamed of having three children.  This is a difficult one for me because of our family situation and ages.  I almost feel like our family is complete right now.  I don’t know.  Time will tell.  God will lead us in the right direction on this if we trust in His ways. 

Out of the house

     This week I managed to drag myself and the boys out of the house.  Along with some friends we ventured to the Botanical Center.  It was a lovely site and warm on a very cold Iowa morning.  The boys had a ton of fun seeing, touching, and smelling all of the different plants that are all contained within the dome.  This is the one thing I love about the Botanical Center.  It is very hands on and we have never been told “not to touch” or “ssshhhhh”- very child friendly.  I do wish that the plants were labeled a little better so that I could explain more to Moo Moo but nonetheless it is a learning experience that he would otherwise not get to experience first hand.  Oh… and very cheap as far as things to do. 

Moo Moo and his friend C. had fun doing the scavenger hunt together.  Wrinkles was there with us too but he hung out in the Ergo on my back the whole time so we didn’t get any fun pictures of him even though he was having fun feeling the plants too.

                                                                 

What’s going on here…

Well it’s been a little while since I’ve posted anything and to be honest I’m still not really in the mood to post much but I thought I’d drop in for a quick minute.  I am feeling a bit off again.  I’ve decided to start my medication again and stay on it this time.  It’s not fair to my family for me to continue to battle this when I am not winning and they are paying the price.

We are trying to work out a new routine around here.  DH is working 11 hour nights again and no one has made the switch yet.  Everything has been thrown off by the change in his working hours this time: bedtime routines, meals, wake up times, everything.  While we don’t follow a strict routine by any means we generally fall into a routine naturally and it works, we haven’t found that yet.  A (unset) routine is critical for me during school time so that I can (somewhat) plan when I will study, work on assignments, etc. 

I have a few posts that I’ve been working on but none of them feel complete yet.  They aren’t great works but they are things that are near to my heart and I want them to be complete before I share.  I am continuing work on these as the inspiration flows and hopefully I will have some meaningful things to share soon. 

 I’ve been busy organizing, de-cluttering, and generally reducing.  Freecycle has been my friend the last week with lots of things finding new homes where I hope they will get used and be loved.   We are also going to have a garage sale this spring so I’ve been slowly working on some of the piles for that. 

The First Week

The first week of something new is always difficult.  I need to remember this.  All to often if the first week is not smooth sailing I want to quit and sometimes do.  Usually after the first week things get better though…. most likely even if I’ve already quit.?. 

This is apparent to me right now because it has been the first week of the new year, the first week of being smoke free, and the first week of the new semester. 

The new year didn’t start exactly as I had planned.  We have been faced with many things already this year that I just don’t want to have to deal with.  Financial, family, friendships, housing, organization, the list goes on… and on but I know in due time everything will work out and life will continue. 

Today is Day 8 of being smoke-free.  This, for sure, is something that I have thought about giving up within the first week but I know that I don’t want to do that.  It has been a struggle but everyday I get stronger and my body is healing, repairing the damage done.  Savings to date: approx. $120 between the two of us.  AWESOME!!  This is motivation enough to continue on despite the cravings.

I am really feeling like I want to run and hide from my classes this semester.  I thought last semester would be the hard one, going back, but it wasn’t too bad.  I survived and faired well all considered.  I am taking more classes this semester to get my GPA up.  Book issues in all of my classes is the first thing that is making me want to run… if I can’t even find the books I need how am I going to do the work.  However I know that soon I will have all the books I need (hopefully with only one more trip to the bookstore) and my courses will be just fine with a little work of course.

As I look back on other events, the first week is the hardest.  The first week being drug free was torture. I didn’t think I would survive my first week of motherhood.   I wanted to quit breastfeeding before the fist week was over.  The first week of grief after my miscarriage, I just wanted to die.  The first week of starting an exercise program was hard.  I thought I had made a terrible mistake during my first week of mothering 2 children.   But I survived all these things and persevered coming out stronger, smarter, and increasingly more ready for the next challenge that life throws my way. 

 Here’s to surviving the first week of your next challenge.

Ramblings…

Today is Day 3 of being smoke free.  I am especially proud of this accomplishment for a couple different reasons.  First the last time I went three days without smoking was a year ago and that wasn’t really a choice, I was in the hospital.  Secondly I had more dental work done today (one of my biggest stressors) and didn’t smoke.  YEAH FOR ME! 

 Classes start on Monday.  Today I went and bought my textbooks which must have gold hidden inside because two of them cost me over $300.  Craziness I tell you. 

I don’t even know if the classes I am taking are the right choices for me this semester but good luck getting in touch with an academic counselor right now.  I left a message yesterday and today but here I am still waiting for a return call.  I have to get my GPA raised or I will lose my financial aid.  I think this stinks because there are special circumstances…. such as mine.  When I plummeted my GPA years ago I was not receiving financial aid.  It was all coming straight out of my parent’s pockets.  Now, since I’ve burnt that bridge, I am receiving financial aid.  My GPA since getting on aid is a 3.64 (or something real close to that I can’t remember exactly and am too lazy to go look right now).  However my cumulative is much, MUCH lower and if I don’t get it brought up this semester I will no longer be eligible for my financial aid.  Anyway… both classes that I am signed up for this semester are re-takes for me so my GPA should come up considerably.  However sometime since I left college and now… they have changed their numbering system for some of the classes and I am not sure if my re-take will be considered a re-take with the new numbers.  I hope so or at least that someone would call me back to fill me in on this issue so that I can get this problem solved.

Did I mention I went to the dentist today?  It was horrible.  Okay maybe not horrible but it was not something I would mark down as fun.  I survived and my mouth is sore but I know it is worth it.  I had the same thing done today that I had done the end of last year to help with gum issues and I can see a lot of improvement where it had already been done.  So…. I lived through that.

 The kids and I ventured out tonight to the Iowa Caucuses. I love the political process- thanks in no small part to my high school government teacher who encouraged us to get involved by offering extra credit for attending this type of thing.  So I was a bit unsure about taking the boys with me but since I didn’t have a babysitter and DH is working his crazy hours I decided to try it.  What’s the worse that could happen?  I could get there and they could’ve turned me away… but they didn’t and I got to participate.  It was a learning adventure for Moo Moo although I’m sure most (probably all) will soon be forgotten but hey… I guess it got us out of the house.  Wrinkles thought it was funny to see all the people who showed up and was totally into all the commotion going on around us.  I am glad that I went.  I do think that Iowa is in danger of losing our “first in the nation” status so I may have just done something that will never be done here again. 

 Enough rambling for one night.  I must go to bed.

Day 2

Today is day 2 of our New Year’s Resolution: to quit smoking.  This is something we have wanted/needed to do for a long time but it seemed our time-tables were never in sync.  Despite many attempts we remained smokers.  Today I can honestly tell you that I have not “cheated” at all.  I have not had a cigarette in over 36 hourse.  It hasn’t been the easiest feat in the world and the journey is no where close to being over.  However, it has gone better than expected.  The cravings have been pretty low key for me.  I do have cravings… sometimes multiple ones within a very short time frame but I try to ignore, occupy myself with something else, or just talk myself through it.  I was REALLY ready to quit and didn’t really enjoy it anymore so this, I think, has been a huge factor in my success thus far.  I have had a couple of headaches but nothing that some Tylenol hasn’t taken care of.  (Despite my wanting to go in a more natural direction this year, this just is not the time for that. I must deal with quitting smoking first.)  Yesterday I was extremely emotional… constantly crying, yelling at DH, not very patient with the kids, etc. but today has been a lot better. No tears, no screaming, more patient, much more myself.  I have opted to try to kick this habit without needing to use any aid.  Mostly due to the fact that we are still breastfeeding.  I know… I’ve smoked while breastfeeding but I didn’t smoke around the kids, close to feedings, or anything like that.  The aids: patches, pills, lozenges, have not been studied for use during breastfeeding so therefore they really just aren’t even an option.  Something I’ve done in the past is the use of my anti-depressants when I am going to try to quit smoking.  This hasn’t worked previously so I figured I’d give it a shot without and so far so good. 

So here’s to another day of being smoke-free and many more to come.