Thursday, April 23, 2009

Unexpected Generosity!

Have you ever been the recipient of unexpected generosity? I have before but it seems especially blessed here recently. With the financial crunch that everyone is feeling things have become a little tight. So we've tightened our belts but some how we always make it. Well, not some how. We are blessed by our Heavenly Father through others.

Here's how I've seen it in my life recently.
  • Sweetie Heart was given free tuition for an Art Day that was held over the break. She was also given a half tuition scholarship for a week of Art Camp this summer.
  • I was offered some clothes from a neighbor for Sweet Girl, some summer stuff and some stuff for next year.
  • A couple of friends and coworkers up at the library spoils the kids with healthy snacks and chocolate when we go up to volunteer and check out book. They also bring special things for holidays and for no reason at all!
  • One of said coworkers bought me a night cotton summer gown and gave me money for my trip to Boston this weekend.
  • My friend's husband is paying for the suite that the 4 of us are staying in when we go to Boston.
  • Our insurance will cover the birth of our 3rd child. This is a first for us. We usually have to pay out of pocket to do a home birth. And if I was birthing with anyone else here in Little City we would as well. But our midwives our preferred providers for our insurance and the state insurance!
  • Webby has a job when others from his company , who have been there longer, have been laid off. His employers love him and he is willing to do and go where ever they send him. He also completed his first year electrical apprenticeship at the top of his class.
  • We are blessed to be having another child. My mom is coming for a week to help after the baby is born. My sister is also coming with her kids and additional baby stuff for myself and the baby.
This is just the tip of the iceberg. If I really started to make a list it would go on forever. I pray that I will be able to bless the lives of others the way that my life has been blessed.

Update on Baby

I had a request, from someone who will remain nameless (because they left an anonymous comment without signing their name!) that I do a little update on the baby. I am assuming it was a family member but I have no idea. So here it goes.

First off, I'm pregnant. Just in case you didn't know or couldn't figure that out. I am due September 11, 2009, but I'm hoping for the 9th. Because having a birthday that's 9.9.09 would be totally cool! So I've been focusing on that date and hoping for the best. Of course, by September I'll be ready to have the baby at any time. Sweetie Hearts teacher also has the same due date! How fun is that!

Everyone here at the house is really excited! The girls are looking forward to having a baby around...most of the time. Although Sweetie Heart has voiced that she hopes I don't have another one until she's moved out. But that was only said because she wasn't getting the attention she wanted. But it does go to show that she realizes that when the baby comes more of the attention will be on the baby than her. But mostly, they are really excited. I tell them about how big the baby is and we get out the ruler and look, compare it to things we have in the house (a jelly bean, a doll, a book etc.) Sweet Girl is excited to be a big sister, too! Sweetie Heart wants a boy because she already has a sister. Funny though they refer to the baby as a she all the time!

The pregnancy has gone pretty well. I was sick and very tired through the first trimester and at the beginning of the second. I was pretty much nauseous all the time but didn't throw up as much as I did with either of the girls, so that's a step in the right direction. Maybe by the time we're done having kids I won't feel sick at all! So no this is not our last, probably just the middle. But that's not all up to us, now is it!? But I'm feeling pretty well now. I'm about half way through, hard to believe but it's true!

We have found a couple of great midwives here in New England. They have an office in our Little City so I walk up to the office for my visits. One is a Naturopath, Acupuncturist, and Midwife. The other is a Licensed Midwife. They are great and compliment each other perfectly. It will be interesting to see how they work together during the birth. They are young, you know my age, and have kids, too. I like that I'll have an Acupuncturist in the house for the labor. She can use it for pain management and stuff during labor! I'm totally stoked about that! I am doing it at home again, in case you ever doubted and will be doing another water birth. The other really exciting thing about living here is that this birth will actually be covered by my insurance. Most home births are not, even here, but because she is a Naturopath and covered is a in network provider, it will cover the birth as well! So what would have been $3300 will be closer to $600! That will be a first for us!

Webby and I are really excited! We are so happy to be welcoming another or God's children into our home! We have learned so much in the past couple of years. I can see our family becoming closer to one another and we are changing so much for the better. Part of this is because of a parenting class I took this year called Parenting on Track but I think I'll do a series of posts on that at a future date. Needless to say it has changed so much for us!

I also realize that I am in for a rude awakening. Well, reawakening. This baby is going to need us to do everything for it! That means I'm going to have to get up at all hours to do that. I have been very spoiled this past year. The girls have started getting up in the morning and doing their own thing. If they are hungry, they go eat. Even Sweet Girl at 3 1/2 gets her own bowl of cereal! But mostly when I open their door in the morning they are laying in bed reading books!! Yes, reading books! Sweetie Heart has taken off in her reading this year and is going through 3-5 chapter books a week...in her free time! And Sweet Girl looks at books and has a pretty good memory for a story and loves to "read" books to herself. They are pretty independent which I have been encouraging more and more since the parenting class.

Even though it will be like starting over on some ways, I feel so much more prepared for this addition. I feel like I can do this. I feel excited to start a new adventure as a family of five. We are all very excited to see if it will be a brother or sister, whatever Heavenly Father gives us will be a welcome blessing in our lives.

No picture yet, but I'll try to get some when I'm looking pregnant. With it still being a bit chilly here in New England I'm still wearing sweaters so many people I see on a daily basis still don't know if I haven't told them. The surprises abound!

Saturday, April 18, 2009

Have You Seen It?



Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
Release Date: July 15th, 2009

Tuesday, April 7, 2009

Tip Tuesday

So here it is. Better late than never...right?!

Last week a touched a little on FlyLady. Now if you know anything about FlyLady you will know she is a bit intense. The whole "FLYing" thing can get a bit overwhelming. Trust me, I know. Now if you a bit on the organized side, you will probably easily slip into the FlyLady thing. Don't get me wrong, I love her! She teaches and encourages you to be better, to do better and to jump in where we are. One of my favorite quotes from her is, "You are not behind! I don't want you to try to catch up; I just want you to jump in where we are." She has great ideas to get yourself and your home in order. Really...go check her out!

If your like me, though, it can get to feel like too much. I get overwhelmed because I want to be able to do everything perfectly right now! Patience in not a virtue I have naturally. But I'm working on it.

Last year I was reading a blog and was given a 30 Day Challenge. It really scaled down what I felt I needed to do and gives me more of a feeling of control. Here is an example of one day in the life of The Challenge.

30 Day Challenge

Monday
personal challenge number: Choose how many things you want to pick up per room.
rooms completed: How many rooms do you have?
today's extra focus goal accomplished? Pick your "hot spot" (the bad clutter area)
focus area for tomorrow: Look around and make your pick.

I slide my paper into a plastic page protector so I can write on it with a dry erase marker.

My personal challenge number is 6. So I need to pick up 6 items per room per day. Yes, I am an over achiever!

For the rooms completed I put down a _ of 6 rooms (because I have 6 rooms in my house.) Then I write how many rooms I get done each day.

The extra focus goal accomplishment is a simple yes or no. I either do the whole project, if it's not too big (less than an hour) or set my goal number higher...like 20 items to pick up and put away. Did I mention the putting away part? Yes, you have to do that too.

At the end of the day I pick my focus area for the next day.

My 30 Day Challenge is for Monday through Friday only. I take the weekends off. I've worked hard all week picking up my 30 things. I'm exhausted! Actually, you'll be surprised at how much you can get done when the goal is just 6 things per room. It make a huge difference in your home. So give it a try.

Are you up for the challenge?