Things I forgot about newborns

It's been a while since I've had a newborn and it's amazing how quickly you forget things. As I stare at my 2 1/2 year old and 5 1/2 year old every day, I realize what's going to happen (all too quickly) to my newborn...he'll grow up! I feel like I'm cherishing these "baby moments" a little more this time around.

Things I forgot about newborns:
New baby smell - I know every mom will know what this smell is, but I never really noticed it until now. When Salem was born, seasoned moms would hold him and say "Oh I love that new baby smell!" I now will probably start saying that when I hold a newborn.

Yellow baby poop - This could be part of the new baby smell, but I strangely like the smell of yellow baby poop. Breastfed baby poop has a distinct smell that is not smelly but almost sweet. This "mustard" is difficult to remove from stained clothing but thanks to my mom and Oxyclean, I've been able to manage the stains so far. :)

Number of outfits per day - This small baby may be tiny, but he contributes his fair share of the laundry. (I give kudos to those cloth diapering mama's out there, you are doing laundry all the time!) Newborns go through a couple outfits per day due to spitting up, or diapers leaking or overflowing.

Blankets & burp clothes - You can never have too many blankets and burp clothes. I have some in almost every room in the house now and always need one.

Quivering cry - Both Salem and Oaklen had a little quiver in their cry those first few weeks. I figured that all newborns do that (and I think most still do) but Ezril has never done the quiver. A few times his little chin has moved up and down like getting the chills (yet he wasn't cold) but he never made a noise with it.

Quiet cry - As a new mom with Salem I thought his little newborn cry was loud and would bother people if he happened to cry during church or at the grocery store. One lady came up to me at the grocery store and commented on the cute little newborn cry that Salem was doing. I though "huh?" Now I realize what she meant. The older the child gets, the louder the cry. There have been times where all three of my boys are crying and the oldest child is the loudest, followed by the 2nd oldest.

Nursing all the time - I nurse Ezril on demand, which means that I don't watch the clock. I just nurse him when he needs it. That means I could be nursing him for 20 minutes then doing that same thing 10 minutes later. (By the way, I prefer to always use the term "nurse" rather than "feed" or "eat" since babies don't nurse just to eat, they need that nurturing, suckling time too.)

Sleeping all the time - When he's not nursing, he's sleeping. Adjusting to 3 children has been challenging but I think it's easier at this stage since he sleeps anytime and anywhere, rather than later when he'll be awake more.

Diapers - They're so little! We go through more diapers with newborns than with toddlers. You also use a lot more wipes.

Curled up in a ball -Newborns still want to be tight and curled up. I think it's adorable when you pick them up out of a swing, car seat, or sling and they still have their legs tucked up underneath and they "stretch" with their little arms above their head and move their head from side to side.

Squeaks - Ezril makes all sorts of noises & cute squeaks. Both when he's awake and asleep.

Cross-eyed - It's cute when newborns try to focus in on something then go cross-eyed trying to do it. Those first few times when Ezril has focused in on me has melted my heart.

I'm racking my brain thinking of other things to write and I have probably forgotten things already! Ezril is starting to smile in his sleep and a few times I've caught some half smiles while he's awake. I can't wait for those genuine smiles coming soon!

Here is a picture of my "newborn" yet he doesn't look like a newborn anymore!

Friday Frugal Tip - Be frugal for rainy days

Be frugal for rainy days...is your umbrella ready? - This frugal tip is one that really hit home for me and my family this month. Two days after Ezril was born, Darrell received a phone call from his employer (since he was on vacation leave) telling him that he was laid off due to company downsizing. This put a damper on our "new baby" vacation as we began our job search and wondered what was in store for us.

I was very glad that we were already frugal people so that we didn't have to change any extravagant lifestyles to accommodate our diminishing pocket book. At this stressful "rainy" time, I felt somewhat at ease since we had "our umbrella" with savings and food storage. (I also didn't have to figure out how to use my food storage since I already use and rotate it often.)

Well, I'm happy to report that we were blessed with a new job exactly 3 weeks later! We are very grateful that it was a short time being unemployed. It was a wake-up call for us to be even more frugal with our spending and savvy with our saving.

March was an interesting month for us.

Adventures of the flying garbage can

I've mentioned before that Thursday is Oaklen's favorite day of the week because he gets to watch the garbage truck pick up the garbage cans.

Today I happened to grab the camera right when the garbage truck came. Oaklen and I were looking out the window as we witnessed the garbage truck accidentally pick up two garbage cans (the blue recycle and the green garbage) instead of one green can. The blue can (that had already been emptied previously) went flying over the truck and landed on the other side.

Oaklen immediately started crying. He was very concerned about the blue garbage can. After the garbage truck finished emptying our two green cans and went on it's way, I was able to see that the blue can was across the street, laying on it's side. Oaklen was still quite disturbed so I reassured him that the blue can was okay. I went outside and "rescued" the blue can. Now there is a dent at the top of the can, but other than that it looks okay. I'm surprised that the garbage man didn't stop to check anything. I'm glad that there wasn't a car parked across the street, there could have been damage done.

Now Oaklen likes to talk about the flying garbage can. Ask him about it sometime. :)

Here is a picture of the green and blue can just before they were picked up. (The image is bad since I was taking the picture with a window.)

Happy St. Patrick's Day 2009

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Greetings from the tooth fairy

The tooth fairy made a stop by our house last week. Salem had his first baby tooth come out! He put it under his pillow and in the morning he received a dollar and a nice note from the tooth fairy commending him for taking good care of his teeth.



Here's to many more years of tooth fairy visits in our family! :)

3-1-9... Introducing Ezril Windsor

It's a boy!
Ezril Windsor Hendriksen
3 hr labor
Born at the comforts of home on Sunday 3-1-9
6:12 AM
8 lbs 11 oz
20 inches long

It's been 5 days since the birth and I've finally finished this blog post. My nose is almost back to normal (no longer hugely swollen) and Ezril's cord fell off today so he officially has a belly button! For those who just need a quick reference, I've posted the stats above. Anyone interested in the long birth story, read on! (Note the picture slideshow at the end.)

Ezril's Birth Story
Saturday night Feb 28th I was irritable and anxious wondering when the baby would come. I felt like I was going to have a March baby (due date was March 6th) and March was soon approaching. We had dinner as a family (our classic garlic & oil pasta family staple) and after eating a little, I asked to be excused from the table since my back was hurting. I got on all fours and after 20 minutes felt better.

Since Oaklen's labor started while my friends Candace & Eli were here, I jokingly told Darrell that we should invite them over tonight. :) Well, the spirit must have prompted them because Candace called a little later and asked if she and Eli could stop by. I was more than willing to welcome them into our home. :)

We put the kids to bed and Candace & Eli arrived about 8:15 PM. We had a nice visit and had a few good laughs. They didn't stay too long and left our house before 10:00 PM. As they were leaving I jokingly said "We'll call you in a few hours when we have the baby!" (Little did we know what was going to happen.)

Darrell and I were asleep in bed by 10:45 PM, but just before we retired my back started hurting again. Throughout the next few hours my back seemed to still hurt no matter what I did. I didn't think it was labor since it was just a constant ache like I had been having with my hips for the past month. I got up to go to the bathroom at 3:11 AM and still was hurting. I finally started pacing my room and the walking seemed to help my back. I did this for about 5 minutes then laid back down in bed.

It was then that I felt the first real contractions. They were pretty low in the belly and I remember the contractions being a little higher in front with Oaklen's labor. I wasn't able to sleep; the contractions were coming pretty often so I rolled over to view the clock and started timing them. They were about 4-5 minutes apart. It was about 4:00 AM by then and I wondered what I should do first. Wake up Darrell? Call my midwife? Call my mom? I decided to wake up Darrell.

I gently nudged him and said "Darrell, I'm in labor." He calmly woke up and said "How do you know?" I told him that I was having regular contractions about 4-5 minutes apart. He then smiled and said that he remembered his dream! (He never remembers his dream so this was quite an occasion. He ended up not telling me his dream and later I asked him and he had already forgotten the dream.) Anyway...he got out of bed and turned off the alarm. I knew then that things were going to be happening since he wasn't planning on going to his Sunday morning meetings.

He asked me what I wanted him to do so I told him to start preparing the bed and to get the hose. (Hose? You're probably wondering...our midwife brought a blow-up birth pool/tub a few weeks prior for us to use if we wanted and so he needed to get the hose from our car trunk since I purchased a new hose.)

I started walking around and stopped when I had a contraction. I swayed back & forth and was dancing on my tip toes to help with the contractions. Darrell kept coming in and out of the room with more stuff and wanted to help me with the contractions but I just kept telling him to prepare everything. We got a plastic drop cloth and draped it over the bed and put another sheet on top. I helped with that between contractions and also managed to have Darrell snap a picture of me one last pregnant time.

Once the bed was ready I laid down and rested since I was getting tired. At 4:45 AM Darrell called Rebecca, our midwife. She woke up to answer the phone and asked if we wanted her to come now. I (always indecisive) wasn't sure so she talked to me on the phone to see if I could talk through a contraction. A minute later a contraction started and I wasn't able to talk since I needed to focus on breathing. That was all that she needed to know so I handed the phone back to Darrell and she said that she would be there soon, but wouldn't rush. If we felt like we needed her to rush then to call back and tell her.

We decided that getting out the tub/pool would take too long and might not be worth it. But just in case I felt like I really needed the water, I told Darrell to go rinse out the tub to ensure it was clean. After he washed the tub, he wanted to lay on the bed with me and hold my hand; for some reason I didn't want to move and wanted my hand where it had been for the past while. I'm sure he felt helpless but he was (and is always) a big help, and very calm.

By about 5:30 AM the contractions were quite strong and I had the urge to push. I was excited to get that urge since I knew "transition" was over and that it would somewhat be downhill from there. We called Rebecca to see where she was and she was 15 minutes away.

With each contraction I pushed slightly even though Darrell told me not to push since Rebecca wasn't here yet. I knew that it would take me a while and I felt relief pushing a little. I had Darrell get a warm wash cloth to put on me and he stroked my hair. He wanted to go downstairs to check to see if Rebecca was here but I told him that I needed him here with me instead. Rebecca rang the doorbell and we called her cell phone to tell her to come in and up the stairs. She brought in her gear (oxygen, necessary medical supplies, etc.) and scrubbed up.

We heard Oaklen awake. He must have awoken with the door bell although it wasn't uncommon for him to wake up at that hour on any other given night. Darrell went to greet him and instead of putting him back to bed, we let him play in his room quietly. Darrell called my mom to tell her that I was in labor and that we needed help with the kids.

I was still lying on my left side on our bed and Darrell and Rebecca had to lift me to make sure that I had the disposable bed pads underneath me. I didn't want to move, I made them move me.

I grunted with each contraction and Rebecca encouraged my low-pitched noises. Darrell continued to hold the warm wash cloth and stroke my hair. Slowly they could see something start to come out. Later I learned that it was part of the bag of water still in tact that first came out. His head came next and after his head was completely out, Rebecca unpeeled the sac off his face and Ezril took his first breath of air. Next came the shoulders and I had to move my leg up to help that part come out. I didn't want to move so Darrell and Rebecca basically did it for me and held up my leg. It was quite the burning sensation but I was told if it burnt too badly then to hold off a little on the pushing. I did a few mini-rocking pushes and finally Ezril was fully born a 6:12 AM. It was such a relieved feeling when I could feel his body slide out.

He was immediately place on my bare chest, skin to skin, and then Rebecca put a warm towel on the both of us. Darrell quickly left to get Oaklen and wake up Salem to meet their new brother. They came in and climbed up on the bed. The cord had finished pulsating and was ready to be cut. Prior to labor, I had thought about cutting the cord myself since Darrell got to do it last time but since the boys were with us, we gave Salem the opportunity to cut the cord. That was a pretty neat experience for him.

Ezril was very vocal and kept whimpering. We tried to nurse and he seemed not quite ready yet. His head and face looked perfect since he was cushioned being born in his sac. His coloring was a wonderful pink at the 5 minute mark. I delivered my placenta and all was well.

My mom came not too long after Ezril was born and the boys were quite excited to tell Grandma that they had a new brother. It was like Christmas for them since they woke up to a fun surprise.

Ezril laid on my chest for the next hour and we learned that he pooped on me twice! It’s not surprising since I pooped three times after birth before they weighed me and Darrell gave his Dad a nice squirt. :)

Darrell finally got to hold him, then he and Rebecca weighed and measured him: 8 lbs, 11 oz. (after pooping) and 20 inches long.

I got up to take a shower and felt great. Afterward, the family and I watched Rebecca do her exam on Ezril and he was a happy healthy boy. After a round of pictures and hugs, she packed up her things and left the house by about 9:00 AM.

The boys and Darrell sang Happy Birthday to Ezril; Oaklen looked at my belly at first to sing to it but then remembered that he was in Daddy’s arms now. :)

Darrell, the boys, and my mom went downstairs so Ezril and I could rest. We had many visitors later that afternoon and evening and throughout the next few days. Thank you to everyone for your visits, meals, gifts, friendship, and support!

Ezril remains to be happy, healthy, and nursing well! We love you Ezril, Happy Birthday!

Frugal Friday Tip - Pregnancy stuff

Today I'll feature my Friday Frugal Tip with pregnancy stuff. I'm sorry for this boring subject for most of you, especially men, but hey it's my blog and I can do what I want. :) You can't tell what's on my mind huh? (I hope this is my last Friday being pregnant this time around, we'll see.)

Belly Band - There are many companies coming out with "belly bands" or "belly socks." They were called "unit belts" in the 80's. :) I re-invented them by just taking an old shirt (tight baby-tee) and cutting the top off with pinking shears. The bottom is still good to be seen and there is no reason that I have to hem the top since it's always covered with another shirt. I've been able to extend the use of my normal jeans & pants by unzipping and just covering up with the belly band. It's also a good trick for those shirts that are too short. I use it later for nursing to cover up my after-pregnancy blubber while my shirt is raised to breastfeed.

Rubber-band trick - Before you start using even the belly band, the rubber band trick is good for those first few times you start realizing that you middle is expanding. Simply tie/loop a rubber band onto the top button hole of your jeans and then fasten onto the button. It gives you that extra inch that you need. I googled a picture here.

Midwife - I chose to use a midwife for these last two pregnancies. Our insurance covers her just the same as an OB/GYN. She could techinically cost the same as just the doctor's bill, but often times she asks me before she performs any tests. If something is not necessary for me, then we don't do the test, and it ends up not costing me. A doctor would probably just do the routine tests anyway. Because I'm not planning on using medical interventions, using a midwife should be cheaper. We won't have to pay an anethesiologist fee, or even a facility fee for this planned home birth. I also feel that in this case, cheaper is better. A midwife gives you quality time for non-complicated births.

Cravings - I am fortunate to not have crazy pregnancy cravings. There have been a few times that I've wanted something that could classify as a pregnancy craving though. Instead of quickly jetting to the store or restaurant, I try to make something else at home that's hopefully cheaper and healthier. I wanted a Wendy's Frostie and instead I got a frozen banana and blended it with homemade yogurt. It was tasty and satisfying! Also, drink water! If you have a craving, drink a tall glass of water first and then see if you're still hungry. (P.S. - For those pregnant ladies who crave dirt, eat a potato!)

Clothes - I've gotten most of my maternity clothes for free or very cheap.

• I'm grateful that my mom purchased some of them and my sister and I have shared the clothes between our 5 pregnancies. Some are getting quite worn out though.
• I've gotten a couple bags of maternity clothes from freecycle. Many people give away their old maternity clothes, and if you can find the right size for you, it's a great deal to get the whole bag of free clothes.
• Kid-to-Kid has a section for maternity clothes. I've gotten a few clothes there. I actually ended up taking some of the free clothes I got from freecycle that I couldn't wear (like the short shorts and tank tops) and trading them for maternity clothes more modest. They paid me for the clothes I donated and gave me a little extra if I used it as in-store credit.
• I've gotten a few maternity clothes at thrift stores, particularly Thrift Town. They do 50% off for certain colored tags each day and there are often $3 off $10 coupons out there from ValPak. I got some cute maternity jeans and a basic white shirt for $3!
  

Update - Q&A style

Here are some recent questions or comments that I've had in the last 24 hours.

Person: "Are you still here?"
Me: "Yep, I'm still here."

Person: "Wow, look at you! The baby has dropped."
Me: "Yeah, he's low and I'm ready."

Person: "When are you due?"
Me: "In about a week and half, so anytime is good with me!"

Person: "No offense, but you can't get any bigger!"
Me: "Yeah, I'm pretty big, it's quite a shelf."

Person: "Now when exactly are you due?"
Person: "In about 2 weeks, March 6th, 3-6-9."

Person: "Wow, you're here and all in one piece!"
Me: "Yes I'm here and wish I was in two pieces."

Person: "How do you feel?"
Me: "Tired."

Person: "What are you doing still here?"
Me: "Well, we went for a walk to try to jump start things but so far nothing."

After our walk yesterday I was not feeling well. I don't think I'll "try" to help things along since it wore me out. If I would have started labor I would have been too tired to endure much of anything. Darrell asked:
Darrell: "What are you ailments?"
Me: "I'm emotional and it hurts all right here." (Pointing to my waist, back & lower abdomen.)

Okay, there you go, that's my update. Any other questions or comments? Bring it on.

Our backyard feathered residents

We have more than one family living at our address. A lovely family of quail lives in our backyard!

We've had them for the past few years. They started out as 2 quail, then they had 9 babies! Last year all 11 of them were walking around and we were able to watch them grow into adults. Now there are 15 quail so a few have been "married" into the family. I wonder what will happen this spring and summer.

They live under our bridal wreath shrub and come out to eat the raisins on the ground from our plethora of grape vines. It's fun to see their foot tracks in the snow.

Our neighbor happened to come to our backyard last month and was so excited to find the quail. He has always wanted to have quail but hasn't ever had any because they're too expensive to buy. (He has chickens in his backyard, and loves raising birds.) Later he told Darrell that he "secretly covets" our backyard. We wondered what he meant and then he told us the reason is because we have that family of quail. What makes our yard so cool that a family of quail resides there? (Maybe it's the raisins or the little alcove that was created from the woodchips under the bridal wreath shrub, who knows.) I now appreciate this little family more now and I hope they stick around to bring joy to our lives.

Here they are on our garage roof as babies in August 2007.

This was taken last week, I zoomed up with my camera so I wouldn't scare them.

Happy Valentine's Day!

I had some fun with photoshop...
Have a Happy Valentine's Day! :)



We are having a primary activity today and will be going Valentine caroling, singing the following songs. You should sing these to someone you love today...they may be cheesy but I bet they'd still bring a smile to his/her face!

1. If you love me and you know it
Sung to: "If you’re happy and you know it"
If you love me and you know it, Clap your hands.
If you love me and you know it, Clap your hands.
If you love me and you know it,
Then your face will surely show it.
If you love me and you know it, Clap your hands.
_____________________________________

2. Love your Friends
Sung to: "Row, Row, Row, your boat"
Love, Love, Love your Friends,
Love them all year long.
Especially on Valentine's Day,
As we sing this song!
_________________________________

3. The Primary Brings a Valentine
Sung to: "Mulberry Bush or Pop Goes the Weasel"
The primary brings a Valentine,
a Valentine, a Valentine.
The primary brings a Valentine,
It says we love you!
_____________________________________

4. You are my Valentine
Sung to: "You are my Sunshine"
You are my Valentine, My special Valentine,
And I do love you, oh yes I do.
You are my Valentine, My Special Valentine,
And please say you love me, too!
_____________________________________

5. Do you know my Valentine?
Sung to: "The Muffin Man"
Do you know my Valentine,
My valentine, my valentine?
Do you know my Valentine?
His/her name is _____________.
_____________________________________

6. Be my Valentine
Sung to: "London Bridges"
Will you be my Valentine, Valentine, Valentine?
Will you be my Valentine, Be a friend of mine.
_________________________________

7. Valentine for you
Sung to: "Farmer in the dell"
A valentine for you
A valentine for you.
A valentine, a valentine
A valentine for you.
__________________________________

8. 10 Little Hearts
Sung to: "One little, two little, three little Indians"
One little, two little, three little hearts,
Four little, five little, six little hearts,
Seven little, eight little, nine little hearts,
Bring love on Valentine's Day.
_____________________________________

9. We Wish You a Happy Valentines
Sung to: "We Wish You a Merry Christmas"
We wish you a Happy Valentines
We wish you a Happy Valentines
We wish you a Happy Valentines
and a smile your way!
_____________________________________

10. Hello, Hello
Sung to: "Hello, Hello" (Primary Song)
Hello, Hello! Hello Hello!
Have a Happy Valentine’s Day!
Hello, Hello! Hello Hello!
We’re glad to smile your way!
_____________________________________

Happiness is...Volume 2 Part 1

I haven't done a happiness post in a while. That must mean I'm miserable! :) Although these pregnancy hormones make me happy, sad, or miserable within seconds I still have things to be happy about.

(Some of these I wrote a while ago, so they may be Christmas related.)

Happiness is...
* Oaklen closing the door for me to use the bathroom and saying "You need your priva-seat?" (privacy.
* Coming up with silly names for the baby with my boys.
* Watching Frosty the Snowman with the fam for the first time.
* Oaklen yelling "Happy-yeah!" when we tell him something exciting.
* Teaching Salem what a commercial is (at 5 yrs old!)
* Getting Christmas cards from good friends.
* Knowing that I am a child of God.
* Feeling the Christmas spirit, all year long.
* Listening to Oaklen roll-play and pretend with his little people and toys.
* Watching our quail family in our backyard.
* Oaklen telling Darrell that he belongs at the man-village. (From the Jungle Book)
* The boys having fun with moonsand.
* Oaklen recounting or "reading" the book A Fish Out of Water.
* Picking Salem up from school every day and asking me "Do you have a surprise for me?"
* Oaklen then telling Salem "I don't have a surprise for you, Salem."
* Watching the garbage trucks with Oaklen on Thursday mornings.
* Oaklen realizing the difference between feel-good food and junk food.
* Salem making good choices with his eating.
* Salem making his own breakfast. He prepares ane egg from start to finish, and even puts his dish away.
* Oaklen looking at my hangnails and saying "I'm sorry!"
* Brother hugs and baby brother hugs.
* Giving 20 kisses to each boy before bed then singing the goodnight song.
* My boys giving me comfort when I start to cry. They come to hug me and give me a tissue.
* Oaklen wearing his pajamas and looking like Uncle Fester.
* Naked bums...then me saying "who has a naked bum?"
* Oaklen saying "Jesus Christ has wounds?" loud and clear during the sacrament ordinance at church. Then later saying "Is it time to go?"
* Salem finding joy in such simple things and projects for "mom & me" time.
* Staying up later and talking with Darrell.
* Salem wanting to reserve the same books at the library instead of spending money and buying the books from the school book order.
* Oaklen coming in my room early in the morning and saying "Mom, can I snuggle with you?"
* Having an eternal family.

Friday Frugal Tip - Saving at Costco

You may be wondering if I have a membership to Costco or the like. For a few years I enjoyed a Costco membership as a yearly Christmas gift from my step-father. I didn't pay for it and was grateful for the generous gift. I had never gone before and was impressed with the quality of products. Later our Christmas gift idea changed so I had to decide if I wanted to pay for a membership or not. At that time, there were only two or three of us in our family so I felt that paying for a membership was not as cost effective for me. Plus I was ramping up on coupon shopping and wanted to see where that would take me.

After my membership ended, we learned that you can still shop at Costco without being a member. How? Costco cash cards! I used to pay my mom to buy a cash card for me and then I would be able to shop there for the few things that I felt that the price and quality could only be attained at Costco. Using the cash card kept me on a budget since I only had a set amount of money on the card, I had to think of everything I was buying and how much it would add up to at the register. (Later I learned that you can use your debit card if your purchase goes over the cash card amount. I knew that you could probably do that for members but I didn't know you could do that for non-members.)

This cash card system worked for me for about 2 years. The only downfall with this system is that you can't use the many Costco services like the tire center, photo center, or shopping online. (Although you could still use the pharmacy since legally you don't have to be a member to use the pharmacy.)

Now that my family has almost 5 members, I have now decided to bite the bullet and buy a membership. I was able to get a "discount" membership through my step-father's business so it's not as expensive as it could have been. Since I'm attached to the business membership, he renews each year at his own will.

If I had gotten a membership on my own I have an idea on how to extend the membership one more month (someone please tell me if this works). Memberships renew the moment you pay for the next year. So if you're membership renews in January and you pay for another year on January 1st, then anyone that did not renew with you on January 1st is kicked off the membership. (I learned that the hard way when my step-father renewed and I thought I had until the end of the month to use my membership. After a few phone calls and finagling, I was able to stay on the membership for my last shopping trip that was at the end of the month.) Okay so here's my idea: Buy the initial membership in January (or whatever month) then go shopping on the last day of the month so you're stocked up for a while. The next time you need to go to Costco, renew your membership at that time. Now your membership expires in February (or whatever month you end up going back in.) I'm not sure if this idea works but it's worth a try. You might have to get a new membership number since you let your membership lapse, or Costco might just retroactively renew your membership from the renewal month. Someone try it and let me know! UPDATE: From the comment that Emily gave, looks like my idea to extend your membership a month or more won't work. Darn!

One more idea...
Costco stores only let you use your debit card or Amex. I seriously considered going to Sam's Club instead since they let you use a Discover card. I always use Discover card to build up the cashback bonus award and track my spending. What was I going to do? Well...Costco.com lets you use a Discover card. :) Now I use my membership to buy Costco cash cards online (with free shipping) using my Discover. I build up my cash back bonus award and still get to shop at Costco. Also, since I use the cash card, I still have the budget mentality that I only have a certain amount on the cash card. It works for me and it can work for you. How many times have you been able to get out of Costco under $100? Try the cash card system and you'll see.

P.S. - An obvious way to save money while shopping at Costco is to shop during their food sampling hours. Fill yourself up with appetizers so you won't eat so much at home!

02/02/09...Are we already starting the 7-year itch?

What were you doing 7 years ago today? If you knew me and Darrell at that time I hope you were attending our wedding festivities! It was (of course) a great day. People tell me that it was such a cold day but I don't even remember the coldness, my heart was warm and my head was in the clouds.

Happy Anniversary Darrell! I love you more than words can say.

7 1/2 years ago I made a website for the wedding. The website has long since been removed but I still have some of the content. Here is a clip of what I wrote:

Our Story

Heather's Version
I met him when I was in High School. He's two years older than me in school. I was a junior and he had already graduated. We had a mutual friend named Christian. Christian kept telling me about this "rad guitar player" named Darrell. So I had heard a lot about him. We finally met on February 22, 1997 at a small party that my friend Marie was having. Christian brought him along, he introduced him to all of my friends. We said "so this is the Darrell we've heard so much about!" Later we were all thinking "Christian didn't tell us he was cute!"

We got to be good friends. We would hang out all the time. We never dated or did anything of that sort since he was preparing for a mission, and I was having fun in High School. He left for his mission to Catania Italy on November 5, 1997. I went to go see him off at the MTC, and that was the first time he hugged me.

The next two years I wrote to him, the first year every once in a while, then for the second year, about every week. I wasn't "the girl he left behind" but if he had one, then I would be it. I still stayed in contact with his family, I'd hang out with some of his siblings, and friends.

He served his two years came home on November 18, 1999. I saw him the day after he came home, and the minute he saw me he ran up and hugged me. I only stayed at his house for 1/2 an hour, since I already had plans for the evening. The next day was the U of U vs. BYU football game. I went down to Provo with the Crimson Line, to watch, and perform at the game. The game was so awesome, that I lost my voice. I was cheering so loud for the U of U, and WE WON!!! The whole bus ride home, my friends were asking me how it went with my "missionary." I talked my voice to death, and the next day I had no voice. The next day happened to be Sunday, his Homecoming. I just smiled most of the day, since I couldn't talk. Everyone was at his house to welcome him home, but he told me later, the only person he wanted to be with was me.

Four days from he being home, the day after his Homecoming, he told me he loved me. I didn't know what to say, I guess I was scared. I was so confused about him and everything else. I had never told any boy that I loved him, so I wasn't going say that phrase lightly. He wanted to date right away, but I told him that he was still "weird" from being on his mission, so after he got settled into his own life, we could talk about ours.

We stayed friends for November and December. I was confused, and he thought I had rejected him. Finally on January 5, 2000, I invited him to go to lunch with me. We went to my house afterwards and had our "DTR" (Define the Relationship.) I was ready to date him now, to pursue a relationship. Our courtship was bliss. My mom told us that we should write a book about "How to Be Romantic." Darrell and I were always giving each other little notes and compliments.

On July 24, 2000, we had our first big talk about marriage. We both knew we wanted to marry each other, but just didn't know when. On October 17, 2000, we decided on February 2, 2002. We prayed about it, and knew it was the right date.

He gave me the ring and proposed officially on December 2, 2000, to find out how he proposed, go to The proposal [Pasted below]. We were engaged for 14 months. Everyone thought we were crazy for waiting so long, but we knew we could do it! Before we were engaged everyone kept asking us when we were going to get married, so instead of dating for two years, and making everyone wonder, we dated for a while, and were engaged for over a year so we could tell people our date!

Darrell is such a wonderful man. He is the most spiritual and romantic person I know. I'm so in love!

The proposal

It was Saturday December 2, 2000. Darrell and Heather had just gotten home to Heather's house from a Grizzlies game. Heather went downstairs to change the laundry while Darrell was still upstairs. She came up into the living room wrapped in a table cloth that she had just taken out of the dryer since she was cold.

Darrell had piece of paper in his hand. He wanted Heather to sit with him on the couch so he could read her a poem. Heather not thinking anything was going on since Darrell always does cute stuff like that.

Darrell told Heather to put her hand on his heart. She did so and it was pounding like crazy. He read Heather the wonderful poem and then got down on the floor and reached under the couch and pulled out a box. Darrell knelt down and opened up the box, inside was the ring and he said "Heather will you marry me?" Heather of course said "YES!"

Happy Birthday Mom!

Today is my mom's birthday. She is the greatest! I don't where I'd be without her. She's been my best friend for so many years, I cherish her friendship and love.

Here is a creative way to tell you about her:
E is for Everyone's friend - She is blessed with so many friends from all walks of life. Wherever she goes, she touches the lives of many and stays in contact with the friends too.
M is for Motherly - Obviously she is motherly to me since she's my mother but she is always taking care and fussing over others. She has to make sure everyone has everything they need.
M is Multi talented - If you start talking to her, you'll be amazed at all that she has done in her life. River rafting, syncronized swimming, baton twirling, and she can ever still touch her toes! :)
A is for Affectionate - She and I are snuggle buddies. Even in while I was attending college I would still go into her room in the mornings and snuggle with her before waking up fully. She has always told me that she loves me multiple times a day and I didn't realize that some families don't always do that. I am fortunate to have her love.
R is for Realist - My mom will tell you like it is. She is not "in the clouds" when it comes to ideas and she is good at telling you advice that is good real advice. She taught me to "own my own mind."
E is for Entertainer - She is always the life of the party and makes sure everyone is having a good time. She is a great hostess and can make a conversation with anyone.
E is for Empowered - She is quite a powerful woman. I'm amazed at everything she's knows and everything that she can do. She has always just picked herself up by her boot straps and kept on trekin'. She's been through a lot in her life and she never gives up.

I love you mom, Happy Birthday!

Top 10 reasons we love our midwife

Top 10 reasons we love our midwife:
10. It's a family affair - the whole family enjoys the 1 hour visit.
9. We spend quality time with her, not a 10-minute quickie.
8. She does everything (blood pressure, sampling, etc.)
7. Darrell gets to play around on the weight scale.
6. She has fun toys & books for the kids.
5. She is very informative and you never feel silly asking her any question.
4. Her birthing suite has a cozy atmosphere.
3. She gets to know me and the family, I'm not just a name in her file cabinet.
2. I can email her and she'll respond back.
1. We learn that there is no heart in your bum... (see video below)

The shelf

You know you're a big pregnant woman when random strangers start commenting on your belly. "Whoa that baby is low!"

I have quite the shelf now-a-days. Today in Primary I helped the chorister hold some laminated paper-sized posters and I didn't even need to use my hands, I just put them on my shelf. The kids and adults had a good laugh. :)

This is me on Dec 21 (29 weeks) compared to today at 34 weeks. I'm quite pointy and large.

What happened to the simple baby carriage?

First comes love, then comes marriage
Then comes a baby in a baby...carriage?

What ever happened to the simple baby carriage? Here is how my poem goes:

First comes love, then comes marriage
Then comes a baby in a baby...
crib, bassinet, pack 'n play, cradle swing, travel swing, infant carrier, mega saucer, jogging stroller, travel system, umbrella stroller, mei tai, moby wrap, ring sling, front carrier, back carrier, activity gym, johnny jump-up, bouncy chair, etc, etc, etc!

Today we got the crib out of the basement and set it up in the baby's room. I am now starting to remember how much STUFF a baby "requires" now-a-days. Every room will be crowded with some sort of extra baby accessory. I'm grateful that we have so much STUFF, since we have been given most of it, but I'm also getting a little nervous and claustrophobic! :)

The count down is on and I'm getting cold feet. At least they're not swollen...

Fiesta Chicken with Rice and Beans

Yesterday I discovered that your crock pot only works if you turn it on! I put the following recipe in the crockpot at 12:00 noon and then at 4:00 checked on it and realized that the crockpot was turn on "high" but not plugged in! I ended up switching to a casserole dish with foil and baking for 1 hr at 350 degrees, the took the foil off for another 10-15 minutes.

This food was pretty good, I'll make it again. I served this with tortillas and cheese, and the next day had it with nachos.

I found this recipe in the Albertson's ad last week. It came from allrecipes.com.

Fiesta Chicken with Rice and Beans

Submitted By: Albertsons
Prep Time: 10 Minutes
Cook Time: 4 Hours

Ready In: 4 Hours 10 Minutes
Servings: 6
"Juicy chicken with a Mexican flair. . .all served with rice and beans."

Ingredients:
1 can (15 ounce) Tomato sauce
2 (14.5 ounce) cans Petite Diced Tomatoes
1 can Mild Green Chilies, undrained (I diced them)
1 cup uncooked long-grain white rice (I used brown rice, of course.)
1 (14 ounce) can chicken broth
1 (15 ounce) can pinto beans, undrained (I cooked some dry pinto beans earlier in the morning then used 2 cups of cooked pinto beans.)
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken thighs or breasts (I chopped the chicken to bite sized pieces)
1 (1 ounce) package chicken taco seasoning mix (I used 1/4 cup of taco seasoning)

Directions:
1. Combine tomatoes, rice, broth, beans, chicken, and seasoning mix in CROCK-POT slow cooker.
2. Cook on LOW setting for 8 hours or on HIGH for 4 hours. Stir before serving.

ALT: Or put in casserole dish and top with foil and bake at 350 degrees for 1 hr, remove the foil then bake for 10-15 minutes.

I'm flying with flylady

For over 4 months, I have been following a cleaning routine in my house and it's actually working!

Some of you already know about this feat that I've taken on and I promised that I'd blog about it. I figured it would be a good thing to blog about (finally) in January since everyone is setting goals and this could help many people with their goals.

If you haven't heard of flylady, then you're in for a treat. Flylady is a woman named Marla Cilley who came up with a great way to keep CHAOS out of your life. (Can't Have Anyone Over Syndrome.) Not only is it a cleaning routine but it's a different way of thinking and looking at yourself and your household.

I heard of flylady a few years back and apparently was not ready for it. I thought she was too pushy since I didn't understand everything. All I knew was that she had a flylady yahoo group. I subscribed to get daily emails reminding me to clean certain things but I felt like that was too much pestering so I just unsubscribed and forgot about it.

Last summer I was talking with my friend Jodie and she asked me if I had heard of flylady or read flylady's book called Sink Reflections. I didn't know that she had a book! Jodie gave me her testimonial of flylady's book so it gave me enough courage to try flylady again. I checked it out from the library in July and couldn't get past chapter 1 since I felt the pestering again. Finally I picked up the book again towards the end of August and finished reading it within a week.

When summer was over and Salem started Kindergarten, I figured that then would be a good time to start a new routine. As many people say, 27 days makes a habit so I challenged myself to keep the house clean for 27 days in a row. I didn't even tell anyone what I was doing, not even Darrell. (Although I'm sure he noticed the difference.) I successfully kept my habit and have been keeping it ever since.

Okay, now you want to know the details right? I really suggest that you read the book since flylady says it so much better than I do, but here are some things that I picked up:

* Go Shine Your Sink - The name of the book "Sink Reflections" talks about going to shine your sink. I like that she doesn't just say "go do the dishes." She thinks of the positive end result of cleaning your kitchen and dishes. You get a nice shiny sink and you are supposed to keep the sink shiny. (I first was frustrated with this one since I have an old yellow sink that doesn't get very shiny, but over time I've learned to be happy with my sink and happy with myself.) Also, every room needs it's own "shiny sink," a focal point to keep clean like your dining room table, or the top of your dresser.

* Flying - She got her name "flylady" because she likes fly fishing. That was her nickname before she started doing cleaning routines and now it has just stuck with her. Later she and others came up with an acronym. FLY = Finally Loving Yourself. With this program you'll be FLYing and feel great about yourself and your house. I've (thankfully) had good self esteem over the years but I must say that I do feel better about myself when my house is clean and I am "put together." She emphasizes with her routines that we need to take care of ourselves, not just our household and family. The morning routines and bedtime routines include things other than just cleaning. She wants you to get up and get dressed with laced-up shoes, and make sure your hair & make-up are done before doing anything else. You can't make your house feel good if you don't feel good about yourself. (I thought that some of that was a little silly but I notice that when I'm dressed and ready to go for the day I more able and willing to do things and have more energy.)

* Don't be a martyr - This philosophy I have to repeat many times. She talks about forgetting about all the "crap" that you are doing for everyone in the house, and the complaint that "you are the only one" doing the chores, blah blah blah. Stop whining, and quit being a martyr. Just do your chores happily and when you get going on your routines, your family will soon follow suit. This may mean that you'll have to do more than the rest of the family for a while but I've realized that it's so much easier to do this than wait around for something to get done so you can do the next task. This has eliminated bottlenecks.

* Laundry...see it through - Don't even start a load of laundry if you can't finish it that day by putting it away in the drawers. I have kept up on my laundry and it's been great; the only downfall is that Oaklen wants to wear his orange sweatshirt every day since it's always clean! :)

* Weekly home blessing - Each Monday I do a "Weekly Home Blessing." This is just an hour of my time and I am able to dust, vacuum, sweep & mop the entire house. I feel so good after it's done. I don't worry so much about the floors the rest of the week since I know that they get cleaned at least once a week.

* Housework done incorrectly still blesses my family - Flylady teaches you to stop being a perfectionist. Here are three examples: 1. Since I know that I clean the floors every week, I can allow my children to help with the cleaning on other days. I ask Salem to sweep the floor and Oaklen to help with the dustpan. They are still learning and don't really do a fantastic job yet but it's okay because it at least got the floor a little cleaner than it was. 2. When I do my vacuuming, I don't move a ton of furniture around like a perfectionist would. If there is a toy in the way, then I just push it aside with my vacuum. I leave the deep cleaning to when I do the zone cleaning. 3. I never made my bed before doing the flylady program (yes Mom...shocker, I know.) because I guess I was being too much of a perfectionist. It bothered me that it wasn't going to look great so I just didn't bother with it. Now I make my bed every morning and some times the bed looks great, other times the blankets could use a little more straightening but that's okay, at least it got made.

* Zones - I mentioned zone cleaning. Each week she has a different zone to clean. Week 1 is a certain section of the house, week 2 is a different section. This allows you to do your "spring cleaning" all year long, but in manageable baby steps.

* Set the timer - If you think that you don't have time to clean, then set the timer for 10 minutes and see how much you can get done. It's amazing how much you can do when you dedicate your time to it and not get side-tracked.

* Babysteps - It didn't take your house a day to get cluttered so it's not going to take a day to get it clean. Doing baby steps by cleaning & tackling a little bit at a time will help free yourself of the clutter.

* Fling boogie - Along with the baby steps, and setting the timer, she talks about doing "fling boogies." Get a garbage sack and go through a drawer, closet or whatever and get rid of 27 things. Set the timer while you do this and don't look back. You'll accumulate 27 things to get rid of in no time.

* Does it make you happy? Does it bless your life? - When it comes time to getting rid of things, ask yourself "Does it make me happy? Does it bless my life or family?" If the answer is yes, then you may keep it. If it's "no" then fling it. I've struggled with what to do with Salem's artwork and school papers. One of her suggestions is that if you have 20 of the same type of thing, it won't be as valuable in years to come. If you only save a few precious papers then they will be treasured a lot more.

Last but not least...I'm not perfect - I've been nervous to blog about this subject because I'm announcing to the world that my house is "clean." I don't want any of you to come to my house with a white glove and get nit-picky about my so-called clean house. I'm only human and I try my best. I have made amazing progress and feel good about what I am doing. My challenge will be when the new baby comes. I wonder how this will effect my routines, but I promise I will keep trying and flying!

If you made it through this blog post, then good job! I wish you all the best of luck in your flying!

A mother of boys

I was just looking at a catalog and saw this quote:

"Mothers of little boys work from son up to son down."

I have heard this saying before but now I really understand. I'm tired...this 3rd trimester of my pregnancy is starting to slow me down. It's hard for me to have this nesting instinct and want to get so much done yet the simplest things make me so tired! 8 1/2 more weeks...will I last? I have to...mom's don't get a day off.