18w6d

So I borrowed this from another pregnant woman blog, but I like it so I might do this every couple of weeks or so.

How Far Along? 18 weeks 6 days
Labor Signs? Nothing
Sleep? I try, but I can not get comfortable and find myself sleeping on my stomach when I shouldn't be
Best moment this week? My sonogram today, got to see lots of arm and leg movements and opening and closing of the mouth, and no "private parts"
Food Cravings? Cereal, although that's starting to wane
What I miss? my regular jeans
What I am looking forward to? my regular jeans
Milestones? One more week and we are half way there!

Passive Aggressive Notes

Most people have probably seen the blog Passive Aggressive Notes, but I had to post my own note today, because some one keeps stealing my yoplait delights. I have no idea on the culprit, but I'm annoyed. The two times its happened have both been days when I brought my lunch to work but had to leave early for whatever reasons and didn't eat it. Most times our lunch is safe in the fridge overnight (except every other Monday when its cleaned out). Both times I've gone to get my yogurt out to eat the next morning and its gone! They didn't touch my carrots or left over mac n'cheese though. I'm pregnant, isn't there something wrong with stealing from a pregnant woman?

Back to School and other doings.

I'm really bad about posting. Its not that I don't have time, I guess just don't have a lot to say.
I'm 17 weeks into pregnancy numero dos now. We have a sonogram scheduled for next Friday, but by then I'll be 19 weeks. We aren't going to be finding out the gender this time around, but I'm still excited to see the little buggers face. I'm curious if he/she will be sucking their thumb. I don't remember noticing if Lily did it, but she sure is a big thumb sucker now. We haven't really begun doing a lot of planning for this one, there really isn't a lot to do. I know all about how to fill out my maternity leave paperwork (although we are losing some major benefits next year, not happy about that), my doctors nurse already pre-approved me for our hospital stay, and sometime in late January we'll go to the hospital for pre-registration. The only major thing we need to accomplish is switching bedrooms. Our house is a three bedroom, with 2 rooms on the main level and the 3rd upstairs. There is no bathroom upstairs so its not suitable for everyday living. Instead the kids are going to share a room. We've decided to swap rooms with Lily because her current room has "something" on every wall, either windows or doors, and her room has two exterior walls so its hard to regulate the temperature in there. However currently her room is painted extremely bright, blue, green,yellow and pink and I don't think James and I can live in that room. So we need to paint her room before we move into it. And our room has always needed to be repainted since we moved in, so maybe we'll finally get around to that.

In other news I was accepted into the Paralegal Studies Program at the local community college. I decided earlier this year that I needed a backup in case my current employment were to ever cease; I've survived 5 layoffs in 5 years, don't know if I can keep that streak up. Law has always interested me, so I did some research and looked into various programs. While law school really isn't in the cards for me now, it could be in the future and this seemed like a good stepping stone. I started over the summer, and took an online pre-req class, then this semester I'm taking two additional pre-req's and start the full program next Spring. I think I'm going to stick to taking 2 classes at a time. So far its worked out that I take one online class and one in person class. If I stick with that plan, I will complete the program in Dec 2011. Tomorrow I'm attending the Heartland Association of Legal Assistants annual fall conference, and one of the sessions is on how to find a job, how to get the job, how to keep the job, etc. I'm very interested in finding out what she has to say.

Rivals cooperate on touchdown for player with Down syndrome - Kansas City Star

Rivals cooperate on touchdown for player with Down syndrome - Kansas City Star

Shared via AddThis

It's been a while

It's been a while since I posted. But I have good reasons. First James started a new job in early July which has him working lots of hours and weekends. So even though I have a laptop I still don't like to fire it up when Lily is around. She wants to play with a push the buttons and occasionally sit on it. Then at the beginning of August I got a really bad stomach virus. It was awful. It started on Saturday night when Lily threw up at the local Dairy Queen. We haven't been back. I didn't have time to be mortified I was too concerned with her well being. But we still haven't gone back. Poor kid. Anyways that night I got sick. I figured I would throw up once like she did. But nope, I was sick for 24 straight hours, and then still not 100% for another 24 after that. My in-laws took Lily for the day on Sunday because James had to work. Thank goodness for them. And she had so much fun. Then Monday night James gets sick. Throws up once. Feels awful and looks like death but doesn't throw up anymore. So what gives? Why did I get sick for 2 straight days but neither of them did? Also turns out my brother in law got it too, but again was only sick once. About three days later I wake up in the wee hours of the morning and realized I was missing something. I thought it was because I had been sick. But I took the test anyways. Turns out I'm pregnant. I don't know why I was surprised. I think my Dr was more surprised than me, because of my past weight loss goals. But I'd told myself I wanted to lose at least 50lbs before the next baby, and while I didn't lose the full 50, I did lose somewhere between 40-50 (it depends on who you ask, WW has me at almost 50 lost, the Dr office closer to 40). Either way I'm a heck of a lot smaller now than I was when I was pregnant with Lily. Most of my maternity cloths are 2 sizes too big, but I'll make do. And I have a co-worker who is going to loan me some of her clothes since we are the same size now.

The Specifics:
Due Date April 10th (however sonogram measured me a week earlier than that, so somewhere between April 3rd and 10th). I'll be 11 weeks tomorrow.

Although I haven't gained weight my belly popped a bit already and some of my pants are uncomfortable now. I guess that happens with 2nd babies.

I have felt a few flutters of movement, since I know what I'm feeling for this time around. But not a whole lot.

We will not be finding out the sex of this baby. We did with Lily, but kept her name a secret from everyone.

The baby's name will most likely start with the Letter M (following our J,K,L scheme). Start submitting your suggestions now. For now, lets call him/her Baby Monkey.

Next time you see Lily ask her if she is a baby. She'll reply "no, I a big sister. I want a brother". Hope she's not disappointed.

In later posts I'll recount the tale of how we told my family.

Week 4 Whip It Up!

So this weeks theme is Healthy Favorites. I was going to share a great sounding Weight Watcher's Recipe, but its been a crazy week and I never go around to making it. However, I did manage to make the Best.Chocolate.Chip.Cookies.Ever! Not kidding. How's that for not doing the assignment correctly? Tuesday was a cruddy day. It was 68 degrees and overcast, with the occasional drizzle. Not perfect July weather if you ask me. It was more like October. So to cheer everyone up, I made these homemade cookies from a recipe in my Amish Cookbook, Home Aromas with the Habegger's. This cookbook is wonderful! Even my husband says it makes for great reading.

Chocolate Chip Cookies

1 c. butter

1 c. brown sugar

1/2 c. white sugar

6 oz. Chocolate chips

2 eggs

2 tsp. vanilla

3 c. all purpose flour

1 tsp. soda

1/2 tsp. salt

Mix butter, sugar, eggs and vanilla until creamy. Add chips and dry ingredients; mix well. Bake at 350 degrees for 12-15 minutes.

These cookies were not only super easy to make, but they came out perfectly. I've always had issues with my cookie baking. I can never get my cookies to stay "fluffy" and soft. They usually sink and get crumbly. Not these. The cookies stayed soft for days! I made 30, and still had a good chunk of dough left over, so I wrapped it in plastic wrap and froze it, now I have some handy for the last minute parties at school. My husband used the last 4 cookies to make us some ice cream sandwich's and they were wonderful.







Enjoy!

Guilty Pleasures

Its week 2 of Whip It Up!

I had the opportunity to try out lots of new recipes this week on my in-laws because we went on our annual 4th of July family trip to Bennett Springs. I was instructed to bring a snack/side dish and dessert. I really wanted to try Peanut Buster Bars, but my MIL doesn't like the combo of peanuts and chocolate (I know! Who doesn't like peanut butter and chocolate?) so I opted to try Miss Daisy's Cherry Salad.



Ingredients:

1. 8 0z container of thawed Cool Whip ( I used light)
2. 1 can of cherry pie filling (I used the 19 oz can)
3. 1 can of pineapple chunks (next time I'm going to use crushed)
4. 3/4 of a can of Eagle Brand Sweetened Condensed Milk (I used the whole can, I didn't want to waste it)
5. 1/2 cup of Pecans or Walnuts ( I would suggest crushing the nuts, and I used 2 cups because we like our things nutty, like us)

Chill for at least 1 hour (I made mine the day before we left, and then we didn't even eat it for 2 more days)



Forgive me because I keep forgetting to take pictures of the finished product before its consumed.



But I will tell you that this was delicious! Its an odd color of pink, and the pineapple juice makes it smell funny, but once you get past that it is so scrumptious. I started out eating just a bowl full, but then my MIL brought out an angel food cake and we scooped it over that and it was soo yummy! And very light, not too rich.

Whip it Up 2009

I decided to participate in the Whip It Up Challenge, 2009. I don't even remember how I found out about it. Blog stalking I guess. I'm probably going to come to regret this. I don't cook that well, or often for that matter. And I am definitely not creative. But with James working late hours now, I'm not going to go out to eat with a 2 year old in tow, so I might as well cook. And as a personal challenge (because I really needed one!) I'm going to be looking for recipes that are Weight Watcher Friendly and LeftOver Friendly. Since James'll be eating everything 2 or more hours after I make it.

Week 1 Recipe:

From my Handy Dandy FREE Jiffy Cookbook

Mexican Corn Bake

• 1 pkg Jiffy Corn Muffin Mix
• 1/4 C. flour
• 1 egg
• 1/4 C. milk
• 2 tbsp Chili Powder (unless you are using something from Penzey's Spices, then only use half)
• 1 tsp. parsley flakes (didn't have any, oops!)
• 1 can, 15 oz, Chili (I used a 19oz can instead)
• 2 C. shredded cheddar cheese

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees, grease 13" x9" pan
2. Combine muffin mix, flour, egg, milk chili powder and parsley flakes, blending well. on floured surface, knead dough 10-15 times until dough becomes soft and easy to handle. Press dough into bottom of prepared pan. Spread chili over crust and sprinkle with cheddar cheese. Bake 15-20 minutes. Cut into squares. Let sit 10 minutes and serve.

Makes 9-12 Servings (I made mine into 12)

And in case you were keeping score, that doesn't seem very WW friendly does it? The total dish has 60 points, 5 points per serving. I ate two.

Today

It rained upside down. How is that possible you ask? I'm not really sure. All I know is my cube neighbor is upset that his shoes are soaked through and his socks are wet. I offered him my women's size 7 gym socks. I don't even think it would cover his toes.
I had a meeting in another building. I was smart enough to grab an umbrella before I left. It didn't help. Because it was raining upside down. Never mind the fact that I walking under an overhang, with an umbrella. I'm still wet. Wearing Capri's and a short sleeve sweater in June seems like a good idea. Unless it rains upside down and is 60 degrees and windy.

30 is the new 20 right?

Please say yes.

Things I accomplished before I was 30:

1. Graduated from College
2. Bought a house, well kind of. My husband owns it.
3. Got Married
4. Graduated with an MBA
5. Had a baby
6. Lost 40 lbs (that wasn't baby weight)

Things to accomplish before I turn 40:

1. Lose 40 more pounds
2. Have another baby
3. Go to nursing school
4. Sell my current house, buy a newer one with more bathrooms! And a garage. That I can park in.
5. Go on a cruise
6. Become debt free

Long story short...

May 19th 2009

James, Kristin and Lillian May 21st, 2008

Lillian Kimberly Wear was born at 7:14am on May 21st 2007. She weighed 6 lbs 4.5 oz and was 19 inches long.

She has been the happiest, joyful, exuberant, perfect child anyone could have asked for. Other than a trick elbow and the occasional trip to the ER for dehydration she hasn't given us any trouble. She was slow to learn to walk, 19 months old! But she can talk a blue streak, says perfect sentences, like "Go Away Mommy" and " No Clock Mommy" (that means no alarm, no wake up), is already sleeping in her big girl bed, and can drive. Her pink Barbie Jeep that is.

(Her 1st B-day May 21st, 2008, picture courtesy of Peters Photography)

Happy 2nd Birthday Lily Belle! Mommy and Daddy love you to pieces! Here is to many more years of kisses and hugs and you crawling in our bed at 3am to sleep.

Lily and her birthday Rose Bush- planted May 12th, 2007

On Tuesday we had Lily's 2nd b-day pictures taken by Rebecca Peters of Peters Photograhy. The top picture is a sneak peak!

Tomorrow is my 30th Birthday. I am mourning the loss of my 20's as we speak. Thank goodness for good work friends who come bearing Connie's Cookies!

2 years ago today

My water broke. I honestly thought I peed my pants. I was an uncomfortable 9 months and 3 weeks pregnant and my due date was in 4 days. When we left to go to the hospital I figured they'd send us right back home. We stopped at Panera on the way for a little breakfast. It was a lazy Sunday morning. I think our only plans had been to go to church that day. Not spend all day in the hospital in labor.
But when we got there the litmus paper turned pink and they said "yep, water broke, lets get you all hooked up". And there we were. May 20th. I thought that's fun, her birthday will be 2 days before mine instead of 2 days after. What I didn't know was that it was going to be 22 more hours before she was born.
I hadn't really had any contractions at this point. Maybe one or two that weren't uncomfortable and for the most part I didn't notice. We called my aunt that lives here in KC, then my parents and sister so they could start their 4 hour drive in from St. Louis, and my in-laws who are also here in KC. By 1pm I still wasn't having contractions and they ordered pitocin. Side note to all who are pregnant with their first child- run for the hills when they mention pitocin. Awful stuff. And I know I am not the only one that feels that way.
By 3pm I had watched how to lose a guy in 10 days, was part way through a baseball game and my contractions were so bad and one on top of the other with no breaks that I was begging, begging for anything. They gave me stadol and the nurse decreased the level of pitocin so I was a bit relieved, even though I could now see two of everything. By the time my parents arrived I was coming down off my high and getting ready to get the blessed epidural. Did you know those things have a self medicating button? I had everyone counting down the minutes until my next dose.
But at midnight the clocked rolled over to the 21st and no baby. I had now been in labor for 15 hours in a hospital bed the whole time. And I could still feel every bit of those contractions. At one point James says to me "you're doing great honey, you hang in there" and through gritted teeth I replied "where else am I going to go?"
to be continued...

The Newlywed No-More Game

The Couples Quiz. Mawwiage...Stoolen from another blogger, who stole it from Dooce.

What are your middle names?
Mine is Bailey, my mother’s Maiden Name. James’ is Myrl, his father’s name. Almost everyone in our two families has a “family” middle name. Our daughter’s is Kimberly, after my sister Kimberly and so on and so on…I’m hard pressed to come up with anyone in our families who’s middle name wasn’t someone else’s name first.

How long have you been together?
First Date was March 26th 2004, we were married 1 year and 1 week later on April 2nd, 2005.

How long did you know each other before you started dating?
Almost two years I think; we worked together.

Who asked whom out?
Technically he called me to ask me out to dinner and a movie, but he was talked into it by our good friend Zach over the phone, while I was standing right next to him (Zach). So I knew it was coming.

How old are each of you?
He is 32 and I will be 30 next month.

Whose siblings do you see the most?
Both his brothers live with in a 30 mile radius of our home. My sister is a 5 hour drive away *sniff*

Which situation is hardest on you as a couple?
Hmmm, probably finances and career decisions. I still don’t know what I want to be when I grow up, he does but it’s hard to get your own photography business off the ground.

Did you go to the same school?
Nope, not even close. But I fully support the Jayhawks.

Are you from the same home towns?
Nope, he moved to Kansas from Ohio when he was 15, I moved to Missouri from Virginia when I was 15.

Who is smarter?
He is for sure. He still knows 10th grade trigonometry. But I have the longer attention span.

Who is the most sensitive?
Definitely me. I’m a cry baby.

Where do you eat out most as a couple?
Mexican, anywhere chips and salsa is served. Chick Fil-A is a close second.

Where is the furthest the two of you have traveled as a couple?
Cozumel Mexico

Who has the craziest exes?
Who has the only exes...

Who has the worst temper?
Again me, see above for most sensitive. It makes for an interesting combination. He is one kool kat.

Who does the cooking?
We share that duty. He’s the better cook, but I’m the picky eater.

Who is the neat freak?
Mostly me, I like the house to always be picked up. But my definition of picked up and his are vastly different. I just think it needs to look neat on the surface. Closets and under the bed are optional. When he does finally decide he can’t live with crap everywhere he goes OCD on me. Everything has its place. One in one out. Nothing must be out of place. Notice no mention of actually "cleaning". We pay someone to do that crap.

Who is more stubborn?
Again, me. I’m always right and don’t tell me otherwise.

Who hogs the bed?
He does. Unless Lily is in bed with us, in which case, she is all arms and legs. It’s normal for one of us to get whacked in the face with a stray foot.

Who wakes up earlier?
James, when it’s photography season at Lifetouch. Otherwise, Lily likes to wake us up. Who needs an alarm when you have a 2 year old?

Where was your first date?
Dinner at Macaroni Grill and a movie, Anchorman!

Who is more jealous?
I don’t think either of us is. But I am the nosy one.

How long did it take to get serious?
We were engaged after 4 months.

Who eats more?He does.
He just ate a piece of cake and is now in the kitchen getting ice cream.

Who does the laundry?
We both do. I fell down the basement stairs last winter. He does most of the switching and hauling up and down the stairs, I put things away.

Who's better with the computer?
He is. But I rule the cell phones!

Who drives when you are together?
Me, because I complain too much about his driving. I just don’t understand how someone who drives like a grandpa the majority of the time, still has more speeding tickets than me?

Never Judge a Book

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9lp0IWv8QZY

By its cover.
So there.

Once Bitten

So I said I wasn't going to do it. I told myself I was too old. I'm almost 30 for crying out loud. Then the frenzy started picking up. The Today Show started covering it, doing special interviews and pieces. I couldn't pick up a People Magazine with out seeing something about it. Then the other Mommies started talking about it. "Are we too old?" they would say. But dangit, even after a year of telling myself I wasn't going to cave, and even enduring the movie release and all that frenzy, I did it. That's right folks, I bought a $4.44 copy of Twilight at Sams Club the other day. Actually it was like a month ago. And then I stashed it under my night stand until I was done with the book I was currently reading. Which I took my sweet time reading. I don't think I was totally convinced I was going to read it yet. Then I did. And Oh.My.God. Now I get it. Now I know what all the fuss is about. Now I know why my friend at work was somewhat chagrined when he called his wife one day last week at home and asked her what she had done that day and she defensively said "well I at least got off the couch and brushed my teeth!" (she was in the middle of the 3rd book). I don't really know how long it took me to read that first book. I know I started it sometime last week and finished it by Sunday night. I know that Sunday afternoon, in anticipation of finishing the 1st book I purchased the 2nd. So I finished it Sunday night, watched the movie Monday night, and finished the 2nd book yesterday. Tuesday. 580 pages, read in 2 nights. And now? I'm plotting my trip home to include a stop at Sam's to pick up book number 3. Probably I should just pick up book 4 while I am at it. And this is after telling myself that I would at least wait until Friday to buy it. I can certainly go 2 whole nights with out my Edward fix can't I? (For anyone that has read it, that's why I read New Moon so fast, I needed to find Edward. For the rest of you, I don't want to spoil it, so that's all I am going to say). Seriously. What.Is.Wrong.With.Me? Am I going to have a gaping hole when I finish the 4th book? What will I do to bide my time until New Moon comes out? And I refuse to go to the theater with all the teenagers to see it. I'll just get it on Blu Ray a couple of months later. That I can hold out for.

CVS and Walgreens Deals 03/29

**This is what my kitchen table looks like when I am plotting**

So the hubs and I had a discussion about budgeting and finances (We are big fans of Dave Ramsey and are small group facilitators for our 3rd session of FPU) and I proposed that I get $20 and only $20 a week for my drug store addiction. That way he can't accuse me of spending too much and I can't spend too much. See its a win-win.

We stopped by CVS on our way to FPU last night and I had James go in with me. I was going to attempt my first multiple transactions-transaction and I wanted his help. Here is what I got:

• Softsoap Ensembles, 1 kit $7.99 and 1 refill $3.99, used $2/1 and $1/1 coupons; paid with ECB's and OOP $0.75, earned $4.00 ECB's
• Paas Easter Egg dye kits(2), $1.99 ea.; earned $1.99 ECB's and
• Glade Sense and Spray $5.99, used $4/1 and earned $1 ECB
• Used $4 ECB from first transaction, paid $2.42 OOP

Ponds Towelettes $3.99, used $1/1

Ponds Cream $6.99, used $1.25/1

Used $1 and $3.98 ECB's from above, paid $3.70 OOP earned $5 ECB's from $10 worth of Ponds

So total OOP I spent was $6.87 and I have $5 ECB's left over

James seemed please with our transactions! For anyone that plays poker he likened it to raking in the pot after putting the bad beat on someone. You feel like you got away with something, but at the same time you can't help but smile.

Next we went to Walgreens after FPU. They are having a sale on printer cartridge refills, $7.50 and then there is a rebate for $7.50 in this months Easy Saver. We dropped those off and will get them later today.

Edge Shave Gel (hiding behind the Skintimate) on clearance for $2.39, paid $2.57 OOP, earned $3 RR

Quaker Granola Bars 2/$5 used 75 cent coupon and the $3 RR from above, paid $1.63 OOP and earned a $2 RR

Chapstick Naturals $1.99

Dawn $0.99 each

Skintimate Shave Gel $2.99

used $2 RR from above, paid $5.48 OOP earned $2 and $3 RR

Total Paid OOP $9.68 and I have $5 in RR

This transaction didn't go exactly as I had originally planned. I didn't know about the Edge being eligible for the RR, so we threw that in at the last minute. Then I forgot about doing the Skintimate separately and thought I had messed up and spent more money, but when I went home and did the math I actually did spend eighteen cents more, but I ended up with $3 more RR than I would have otherwise. So it all worked out. And I may have created a monster. I think James plans on going back and looking for more "free" shave gel!

My limited cooking skills

So for a week we've had crazy weather. Sunday it was 75 degrees, Monday we had tornado warnings and thunderstorms, yesterday it was cold and rainy and today its snowing. A lot. I had gone to bed thinking we'd wake up and it would be a blizzard and instead after the *sniff* upsetting KU loss, I woke up and was elated to see it was only raining. So I went to WW as normal, then came home and we all snuggled down on the couch to watch Fantasia 2000, then met up with some friends at Imo's for lunch and it was while we were at Imo's that the rain/slush mix turned to full on snow. By the time we made it home (after a pit stop at the grocery store) it was full on blowing snow. That pretty much sealed the deal that we wouldn't be going anywhere for the rest of the day. I decided to make a Easy-Cheesy Hamburger Quiche that my MIL gave me the recipe for (that's why the pit stop at the store, I needed more cheese...see Steph? You can never have too much cheese!).

It turned out fabulous and delicious and was perfect for this "snowy spring" day. Enjoy!

Easy-Cheesy Hamburger Quiche:

1 lb ground beef

1/2 C. mayonnaise

1/2 C. Milk (optional, but I used it)

3 eggs

1/2 t. salt

dash of pepper

2 1/2 to 3 C. grated, sharp cheddar cheese

1/2 C. chopped onion (eww gross this did NOT go in)

10" pie shell

Brown meat and drain. Blend mayonnaise, milk, eggs and seasonings. Add meat, cheese and (yick) onions. Pour into pie shell. Bake at 350 degrees for 35 to 40 minutes or until knife inserted comes out clean. Let stand 15 minutes before serving.

Easy on the Budget~

**I would have a taken a picture of the final/cooked product except that my foil stuck to my crust like it always does and parts of it fell apart. And if I don't use the foil I burn the crust instead. So it was not picture worthy. I think I am going to start making home-made pie crust instead of using store bought, maybe that will help?

And finally a picture of what the little munchkin was doing while I was cooking:

CVS Savings Trip 2

This time I remembered to take a picture. James wanted to go to CVS to look at Vitamin C (which was BOGO) and I had some ECB's about to expire so it worked out well. I decided to go for the buy $20 of L'Oreal products get $5 ECB's and I happened to have a several L'Oreal coupons and they were having great sales on their products this week too. So here is the run down:

• L'Oreal Preference on sale for $6.99, used $2.00 off
• L'Oreal Ever Pure Hair Product $8.99, used $2.00 off
• L'Oreal Regenerist Skin (wipes?), $8.99, used $1 off, Earned my $5 ECB's here
• Crest Pro Health on sale $3.49, used $.50 off, earned $3.49 in ECB's
• Used $9 ECB's

OOP= $12.96

Total Saved= Saved $17.60

Earned= $8.49 in ECB's

So really I'm only paying $4.47 for all of that!

For an 85% savings!

Walgreens Run(s) 03/10

My new obsession continues. By now everyone with a kid in diapers knows about the Walgreen's diaper deal this week. In fact so many people know that I had to go to THREE Walgreen's to find diapers that would fit Lily. Don't worry they were all within a 3 mile radius of our house so I wasn't wasting gas to get there. Store #1 only had size 5/6 and store #2 was totally out. Store#3 had sizes 3/4 so I grabbed one of each. The only other requirement we had was the $15 rebate on Energizer rechargeable batteries.
At the second store I decided to go ahead and buy some of items on my list in case I got to the third store and they didn't have everything either. I took one picture of all the items together though:















So here is the break down
Store #2:

• 2 Glade Lasting Scent Fans $7.99 ea.; used 1 BOGO and 1 easy saver.
• 6 Garnier Fructuis products; on sale for $2.99 with $2.00 easy saver.
• 2 Coffeemate Creamers; on sale for $2.50 BOGO, used 2 $1.50 coupons from Sunday's ads; made $0.50 off that deal
• 1 Curling Iron cover; on clearance for $0.50

Total OOP: $12.74

Total Savings: $39.47

• 3 packs of 4 AA engergizer rechargable batteries (purchased by jameswearphotography.com)

Total OOP: $25

Rebate: $15 (plus 10% for getting a gift card)

Store #3:

• 2 packs of Huggies Natural Fit Diapers; $10 ea, used 2 $3.00 mfg's
• 1 184 count pack of Huggies Wipes; $6 ea, used $5.00 on any Huggies product mfg

Total OOP: $16.99

Total Savings: $15.97

Register Rewards Earned: $10 (from the Kimberly-Clark buy $25 get $10 RR deal)

Then on my way home from Jazzercise later that night I remember I had 2 $1.0o off for Garnier Fructuis products, so I went back to Walgreen's #1 and got 2 more products free and a curling iron for $5 (its not the best, but it was 7.99 with $2 off the easy saver and I need a cheap curling iron for when the Chi just won't cut it).

So there you have it. I put a few hours worth of research into the Walgreen's run (ok really it was like maybe an hour) but I feel pretty good about our purchases. I didn't buy anything we didn't need or won't use ever and between the CVS and Walgreen's run I have $18 to work with next week to get that "snowball" of savings rolling.

My New Obsession

The background:
I love stuff. Always have. And I love shopping; doesn't matter what kind. Sometime in college my grandmother started a new tradition. Instead of giving us just money or whatever new trendy (but totally worthless) item we had on our Christmas lists, she would give us a laundry basket or Rubbermaid tote filled to the brim with the essentials. Sometimes you got 6 tubes of toothpaste and 12 toothbrushes, 3 deodorants, toilet paper, paper towels, Glade plug ins, air fresheners,foil, coffee, sandwich bags etc. Just imagine; the best part about the baskets was going through them. Sometimes we traded items with one another, sometimes we "stole" items when the other wasn't looking. It got to the point where we expected these baskets, and if we happened to run out of toothpaste in early December we just started using the samples from the dentist;there was no point in buying a full tube, we knew we'd be getting some. Christmas 2008 was the first Christmas in years that she didn't do the baskets. It had become too much work, cutting the coupons, getting the best deals, driving from store to store, not to mention the fact she had a walk in closet that was just storage for everything she collected over the year. I really missed my basket.

Current State:
I have a new obsession; CVS/Walgreens/Target couponing (is it any wonder?). I discovered some other blogs about how much money you can save when you pay attention to the ads, the easy saver books, using your Extra Care Card, Register Rewards, Manufacturer's coupons and store coupons. I've never had the patience for all of that before. But in this weakening economy I'm starting to think it would be well worth the effort for a few hours/week of research. So I started this week. I've always had the Extra Care Card and I remember getting the coupons but I don't think I ever used one (gasp, I know its a sin to let one go to waste, its pure $$$).

On Sunday I grabbed a paper from the grocery store when I did the banana run. Then I sat down went through all the store ads and coupons (plus I had coupons I had printed online earlier in the week) and I matched up all the best sales with the best coupons. When I was done I had three adds, with items circled in black sharpie and the corresponding coupons clipped to them.

Sunday afternoon I dropped off a new prescription and transferred an old one from WAG (Wal-Greens). CVS gave me a $25 gift card for the prescriptions. Then I used my coupons and the CVS ads to buy the great sale items that also gave me the CVS Extra Care $$. Here is what I got:

• 4 12 packs of Coke Products $13; earned $3 ECB's
• 1 box Cheerios, 2 boxes of Nature Valley granola bars $10; earned $5 ECB's
• 1 Gallon 2% milk (just because we were out)

I spent the $25 gift card, used 2 $.60 off Nature Valley MFG's, $1.00 Cheerios's MFG. My total OOP expense was $1 (tax) and I earned $8 in ECB's!

Sounds like a winner to me. I wasn't quick enough to get a picture before the granola bars and half the Cheerios's had been consumed. We like our cereal and granola in the Wear house.

Mr. Mom

James current role is Mr. Mom. Because I am sick. With the stomach flu. There is nothing I hate more than puking. Lucky me, I only got morning sickness when I forgot to eat before bed. Two times that I can think of, one was in Las Vegas. We were watching the filming of the final table of the Bellagio Poker Classic, for the World Poker Tour so we had skipped dinner. By the time we ate it was 10pm and I was starving. The next morning I puked in the restroom of the Orleans Hotel. I'm sure every woman in that bathroom thought I was just hungover, and not 5 months pregnant. The other time was just a few weeks later, over Christmas break, I just felt icky and must have forgotten to eat because I found myself again head hanging over the toilet. Then a month after that I ate some cereal I thought might have tasted funny, and turns out the milk was bad. Three hours later when I was still puking and now thinking I was having contractions, we made a trip to the ER and they sent us straight up to the Maternity Floor. Where I proceeded to puke on the nurse that just 4 months later would help deliver Lily. Destiny was a great nurse! She taught me all about the self medicating epidural button.

Anyways, I hate puking. I'd rather do a lot of other things than puke. But ever since I had a baby, I get a tummy bug at least 2x a year. Must be daycare. My first day back at work after Maternity leave, I ended up leaving at lunch because I got sick. Turns out it wasn't jitters from leaving my baby at daycare. So I missed my first two days back at work. And of course Lily's had 3 bouts with the tummy bug. Her last one was last Friday. I thought she drank bad milk. As quick as the puking had come on, it ended. She started at 11pm and was sound asleep and no more puking by 1am. And she was all better the next day.

So when I went to bed Wednesday night I could tell something was wrong. My stomach hurt, like it hurts the day before a big test or interview. I didn't sleep a wink. Tossing and turning all night. James had to leave for work by 6am, because he was heading out towards Topeka. So I had to suck it up, get Lil up and ready for school and drive her there. I made it there and back. Then the sickness came on. I spent all day yesterday in bed, either reading, sleeping or surfing the web. James got Lily from school, picked up my requested chicken noodle soup and roll from Panera (which is still in the fridge because I started getting sick again). Then he fed Lily dinner, got her in her PJ's, helped her write her school Valentine's for today's party, got Lily in bed and asleep with no fussies, took a shower, then went to the store to pick up the frosted sugar cookies I was supposed to make from scratch, but purposely signed up for in case I couldn't because I know the store has great ones!

And they left the house this morning at 630 so he could get her to school by the time they opened at 7am so he could still get to work only a few minutes late. And he did all this while battling either a cold, allergies or a sinus infection. And not once did I hear a complaint out of him. He even said he'd be home early today and would take care of cleaning the kitchen and I shouldn't worry about it.

I love Mr. Mom!

Office Candy Stash

I think I just had one of those sugar rush-crash and burn-type of things. I started off the day fairly well. Had half a bagel with peanut butter for breakfast. My mid-morning snack was a WW twinkie worth just 1 point. And lunch was home-made chicken enchilada soup, with a few lime tortilla chips for the crunch factor. Then, I ate a cupcake. Two in fact. And I'm not going to lie they were gooood. I don't know if they were 10 points good, but none the less. Now I'm feeling tired, I have no energy. I.Want.More. I want another cupcake, some chocolate milk and M&M's.

And I have none. So I'm being a good girl, going back to my original plan for the day and eating my apple and mini bag of popcorn. But that's because I'm out of M&M's.

For the last 4 years I've had a co-worker who keeps her largest file drawer full to the brim of candy. Turns out she wasn't the one putting the candy there. It was another co-worker that left the company. So no more candy drawer.

And months ago someone at work gave me a 5lb! bag of red and green Peanut M&M's. I locked them in my desk. And they stayed there forgotten about for the most part, until someone had a bad day, then I got out the keys, we all stood around and ate a handful and locked them right back up. We've had this bag since Dec. It's fed more than 12 people in that time span. Then last week I got a wild hair and turned the M&M duties over to someone else. Because I have to start taking my keys home with me now. Because there are un scrupulous characters that like to steal products in development from my floor. But that someone else didn't follow the rules and left the bag out in the open on his desk. And then my co-worker M ate the rest of the bag yesterday. A 1/4 of a 5lb bag of M&M's. Gone. Bye-bye. She's the kind of girl you love to hate. She eats a lot. Bad food too. Deep fried Mexican food. Ice cream every day. Whole (gasp) milk in her latte. And she tips the scales at a big bad 115lbs.

Life's not fair. I've got to Jazzercise my tush off tonight. No low impact for me. Its high impact all the way.

Sometimes I'm just not a nice person, and sometimes I just want to pick a fight.

When I started this blog the point was that I get annoyed easily and needed an outlet other than my husband, to vent at. But it morphed into just an occasional diary I suppose. Until today. Now I'm gonna let loose and get it all out.

I did something bad today, it was not nice. It started about 6 months ago when a co-workers kid was selling magazines to go to camp or something. I paid $40 for a three year subscription to Parents Magazine. I kept the receipt in my purse all this time. Last month the first issue showed up. Only it wasn't Parents, then sent me Parent and Child, a magazine Scholastic gives my kids daycare for free. That is not what I wanted. And they spelled my name Karistan. Like the rug people. Oh yeah and Weard.... is that even a real name?

Anyway, I kind of forgot about it until today when magazine number 2 showed up. I told myself this time I'm getting that receipt out. I called the number at the bottom.

The girl answers the phone "Data Processing how may I help you"....data processing?? Okay. I told her my problem. She looks it up, we talk about the gross misspelling of my names, she corrects and verifies address. Then tells me Parents magazine went out of business....um hello?? No they didn't. But I let it slide. I politely explain that Parent and Child Magazine is not comparable to what I paid for. She said to get a refund I would need to fax in my receipt. Okay so normally this wouldn't be a problem for me. Except I'm at home, no fax machine there and really I don't think its appropriate to be using company resources to fax personal items, when we have to lay off 8,000 people in the next month.

So I ask her if they are going to refund me the cost of the fax at Kinko's. No she says, mail it then. Well are you gonna pay for my stamp. Huh, she says, what's the problem? Its not that hard. Okay now she's ticked me off. I was going to let it go, I was going to just fax the receipt from work like a good little girl, and work 15 minutes of unpaid overtime to cover it ;)

But now I'm arguing on principal. The receipt says to call this number if I'm not satisfied. Well I'm not satisfied, what are you going to do to fix it? She says well if you don't like it you can call the publisher. Fine, give me that number.

"Hello, hot singles are waiting for you" Damn her. She gave me a porn line to call.

I called back and home girl answers again. This time she knows its me and says immediately I don't know what your problem is? Just fax the receipt so we can prove you didn't get what you ordered.

Uhuh, I want to talk to your supervisor. I am the supervisor. Okay girlie, now you've done it. I used to work in a call center, I know the people who answer the phones ARE NOT THE SUPERVISORS. And besides that, just because your a super doesn't mean you don't have a boss. Go ahead now tell me you own this "data processing center".

My boss doesn't come in a lot. Her name is Kimberly. Uh huh. Maybe try back on Friday. Oh what? She doesn't have voicemail or email? I'm not giving you those numbers. Please...I'm not dumb.

Oh, here she is she just walked in. Yeah right, whatever. Like I said, I've done this before. Hand the phone over to your cube mate. Maybe she's more pleasant.

New lady gets on the phone. Sounds about 30 years older and much more pleasant. However she immediately starts asking me why it matters, if they got the correct address?? Huh, what? I'm not complaining about the my address.

Oh my bad, wrong person. Well I've never had anyone refuse to fax their receipt before. She chuckles. Why don't you just donate the magazine if you get two copies? Because I paid for it. My hard earned $40, which at the moment takes me two hours to earn, but by March it may take me 4. The economy sucks, companies are laying off people in the thousands, or haven't you heard. Just give me my money back. Oh yeah, and check your list of publisher's numbers. They're porn sites.

Oh we don't give out numbers, who gave you a number? Mumbles to previous girl ...what number did you give her? You're not supposed to give out numbers.

Well what magazines do you like? I'll give you two subscriptions to whatever magazines you chose.

What? That's an option? Why didn't home girl just say that? Would have saved me a headache and guilty conscience.

So I picked Weight Watchers and Women's Day. Oh yeah, shes not cancelling the Parent and Child, she thinks I would feel good about donating it to a woman's shelter.

When I actually start receiving the magazines, I might call and apologize for calling home girl a PITA. Or maybe I said the process was a PITA. I don't really remember now. Its all so fuzzy.

I was in the mood for a fight apparently. How stupid was that? I really need to learn to pick my battles better. This wasn't worth it.

So homegirl in Escondido California, working your $10/hour data entry job: I'm sorry. You don't get paid enough to put up with people like me.

A quickie...post that is

Just a quick one because I need to get my tush home. Work has been so busy that I can't keep up. Thus the lack of updating. Because by the time I get home, eat dinner, bathe the little one, go to Jazzercise, I'm too tired to do anything but read a book. And I'm currently hooked on the Matchmaker books (ask me if you want to know about them).

I am thisclose to hitting my 10% WW goal. Only 3 lbs away. Actually by my home scale, I'm there, but the WW scale always says something different come Saturday morning. We'll see. I've done Jazzercise 9 of the last 11 days. Maybe I'm building muscle?

Rethinking my career

Edited 01/28
Oops. So this was a weird premonition. Layoffs were announced this week. 8,000 employees by March. 36o from my measly department of 1,000. Good chance I'm gonna be on unemployment soon. Good chance I won't be either. So what's the point? The point is that no one knows anything. We've got to work for the next 4 weeks not knowing if we have a job and should be searching the classifieds. This sucks!


So back to work today, yay! No, not really. This sucks. I'm bored. I've got stuff to do, but I don't want to do it. Normally I want to get back to work. I want new stuff to do. That's the problem. I don't have anything NEW to do. Everything is old, and tedious. And boring. Did I mention boring?

On to better things. One of the highlights of my week right now, is going to my Weight Watcher's Meetings. We've moved to a new store front that's all shiny and new. And I love shiny and new. And of course last week there were a ton (no pun intended) of new people, with their New Year's resolutions in their hands. Lose weight, must lose weight. I predict about 75% of the new people will fall off the wagon around Valentine's Day. We'll see.

I've lost 18.6 lbs so far! That's almost an entire toddler. A really small toddler, but MY toddler only weighs 21lbs, so I've almost lost a Lily. Wow! When I hit the 23lb mark then I have to set my WW lifetime goal. It'll be somewhere between 139 and 105 lbs. I don't think I'm going to spilt the difference and being realistic, I'll probably go with 135. We'll see. I also don't expect to hit that 23lbs by next week. That's asking a lot. Maybe in 2 weeks. Wish me luck.

I hate this part

Well its Sunday, the last day of a 2 week vacation. I have to go back to work tomorrow. I don't know how I feel about that. Truthfully, we ran out of stuff to do at home on Tuesday. We're kind of bored. And when we are bored, we shop. Not good for the wallet. But it's also going to be boring at work. This is the time of year where we aren't too busy; things don't pick up until the Spring. So where would I rather be bored? At home in my sweats, hair unkempt, glasses on playing some Wii or PS3? Or at work in uncomfortable heals? However, I only have to work 2 full weeks and then its MLK day and we are off work again. I love that, we are back at work for 2 weeks and then we get a three day weekend. We don't get presidents day off, we don't get Columbus Day or Veterans Day either. I think they picked MLK day because the powers that be knew we'd need another vacation after being back at work just 10 days. And you know what? They'd be right! I'm also taking this Wednesday off, but that's because I have to go to the dentist and the dr. I might try to squeeze an eye Dr visit in too. Make a day of it.

The problem with the last day of vacation is that you either try to cram so much stuff in that you make yourself crazy, or you don't do anything at all so then you feel lazy. I'm going to go for a combination of both. I'll do laundry, haul the Christmas decor to the basement, maybe work out, but for me that's really doing a whole lot of nothing. If I don't have to get in the car and go somewhere, then it's a lazy day.

Enjoy the last day of vacation, where ever you are! And join me in celebrating "coming of age day" in Japan on Jan 12th. I think we should get a day off for that.

2008 A Year in Review

Aww who am I kidding, there is no way I'll remember all of 2008. I have a kid now, somehow that also equals forgetting anything and everything that happened more than 24 hours ago, but I'll try because everyone else did (and I'm stealing my recapping skills from Stephanie):

January: Baby gets sick on NYE, with cold. DR says she's fine. Two weeks later we take her to Children's Mercy so she can have her lungs sucked out. 5 weeks later we finally get some sleep, and she's all better.

February: Baby gets first bout of stomach flu. Baby dislocates elbow at daycare only no one notices except BIL who asks if she's left handed because she is only using her right. Dad notices next day she won't suck her right thumb per the norm. Back to Children's Mercy. Discussions with DR and Social Worker. Dr can't fix, wraps her up and sends her home. Next day we start the new daycare search, we will not take her back to the old one. On call Dr at our Dr office practiced in Africa without modern medicine, he fixes elbow in a jiffy. Baby back to normal. Start new daycare. Family comes to visit. My beloved kitties Zeke and Zoey go home to live with my parents. Lily freaked Zeke out. He suffered from stress induced urinary problems.

March: Dressed baby up in Bunny suit and she hated it. Lily starts crab crawling. $600 water bill shows up. Waterline burst in neighbors yard. Find out neighbors are 90 year old cousins. Costs $5,000 to fix water line. Sell Durango to recoup water pipe costs. Buy a $1600 beater for James to drive.

April: celebrated our 3rd wedding anniversary with dinner at Pierpont's, see the Body's Revealed Exhibit, hotel room at Harrah's and poker playing.

May: Lily turns 1 on May 21st, I turned 29 on May 22nd. Threw a "Tinkerbelle" party on memorial day weekend.

June: Little sister gets engaged on her 22nd birthday :) wedding planning begins. Lily stands alone at toy for the first time. James' Aunt Barbara passes away from Leukemia. I get promotion and raise. We get stranded in OK after the funeral thanks to the car. Spend extra time with Great Grandma Wear. Eventually make it home.

July: Vacation to Grammy and Papa Dude's in St Louis for a week. Go to STL Zoo. Spend holiday weekend in Bennett Springs. James quits job and becomes stay at home dad. Trying to finish the house so we can list it. Lily takes her first swimming lesson and becomes teachers pet. Lily starts pulling up on stuff, finally. I start driving the beater.

August: Lily starts staying at home with Dad. We get a pool pass so they can go to the pool a lot. Family reunion at Lake Wappapello. Aunt Nai spends lots of time walking Lily up and down the hallway for practice. I win the Washer Toss tournament with cousin Billy. We are not rednecks. Hang plaque on the wall. I stop driving the beater.

September: James gets job with Lifetouch National Studios as school photographer. I start driving the beater again. I stop one week later. We buy a mini van. James starts small business as photographer. Put house on the market. Go to the KC Zoo. Grammy visits, buys Lily some Stride Rite shoes. Lily starts walking the next day.

October: Take house off the market. Decided its a pain, we won't get what we want thanks to the housing crisis, and we really love our cute bungalow. Lily has two Halloween costumes, a lady bug and a pink three eyed monster. Go to Boo at the Zoo. Go to a Bariatric Surgery seminar. Learn I'm not fat enough for lapband or gastric bypass. Make Dr appointment to discuss weight.

November: Start Weightwatchers and Phentermine on November 1st with all the other guilty Halloween eaters. Lose 15 pounds by the end of the month. Go to STL for Thanksgiving. Go wedding dress shopping with sister and mom. Sister makes lots of cookies. Blackfriday shopping trip from Hell. James' work goes on hiatus until mid January. Lily starts staying at home again. James' has lots of business coming in.

December: Bad luck on vacation in Branson. Rent smaller car than we drove down in. Take Lily to Silver Dollar City. Freeze butts off. Host work holiday party at my house. STRESS EATING takes over, don't lose any weight. Decorate house. Buy all new lights AGAIN for outside. Buy our first real Christmas tree. Vacuum up needles. Go shopping every single weekend. Wrap gifts. Vacuum up needles. Make cookies. Get the Flu. Make more cookies. Vacuum up needles. Have the in laws over for pre- Christmas Eve Church gathering. Vacuum up needles. Go to children's Candle light Christmas Eve service. Eat dinner at PF Changs, per tradition. Vacuum up needles. Have Christmas dinner at the in-law's. Open gifts. Trip over all the new toys. Vacuum up needles. Replace big screen TV bulb that burned out three years to the day after we bought it. Pick up parents from train station. Big Midwest storm, 80 MPH winds uproot neighbors tree. No power for 36 hours. Dad buys new gas log for our fireplace. The flu knocks me down. Power comes back on. We watch Tinkerbelle the movie. Go to Fritz's and see the trains at Union Station. Wave bye bye to Grammy and Papa Dude. Sleep in. Go shopping. Buy nothing. Do nothing on NYE except recover from flu and watch episodes of the Office.

Whew there it all is. 2009 is going to be a big year for my family. My baby sister is getting married in October. Planning had been somewhat on hold until she passed her Series 7 exam for stock trading. The location has been reserved, the reception hotel has been reserved, the dress has been bought, photographer reserved. But lots more planning to come. We need bridesmaid dresses and a flower girl dress. And I have weight to lose. I'm also hosting her bridal shower in August. On a personal note, I'm going to take the Kansas Certified Nurse's Assistant Course in March. You have to be a CNA before you can be accepted into a nursing school in KS. I have a degree in Biology and an MBA, but I need a "fall back" option in case I do get laid off. Nursing school will be that fall back (nothing like going back to school for an Associates degree after you have a masters, I'm expecting lots of funny looks) plus its something I've always wanted to do and regret not doing.

Happy 2009~