Awesome Target score!

I went to Target today (which I rarely do b/c it's so far from the house) loaded with my coupons and lists. I did really well if I do say so myself! Here's my breakdown!

Pampers Diapers 8.99 - $2 Target coupon, $2 MFR
Huggies Diapers 8.99 - $1.50 Target coupon, $3 MFR
Luvs Diapers 6.99 - $1.50 Target Coupon, $2 MFR
Huggies Wipes 184 ct $5.99- $1.50 Target, $.75 MFR
Pampers Wipes 77 Ct $1.39 - $1 Target, $.50 MFR
Destin 2oz - 2.99 - $1 Target, $1 MFR
A&D 4oz $3.39 - $2.00 Target, $1.00 MFR
Johnson's Baby Shampoo 20oz $3.29 - $1 Target, $1 MFR
3 Lysol Cleaning items $2.29 each - 3, $1 MFR
2 Lysol Cleaning products $1.69 each - 2, $1 MFR
Cascade Actionpacs 20ct $3.79 - $1 MFR

I also had 1 $5/$25 in baby products coupon that I received in the mail along with all the target baby coupons. I had 23 coupons and 1 card. Everything I bought was either on sale and/or I had Target and MFR coupons!!

My total was $66.97. After my coupons and such I paid $23.07 (saved 43.90)!!! I thought I did pretty well and if you see all the stuff I got (I did take pictures) I was really impressed. I'm also going to Toys R Us Saturday night to get 3 packages of diapers for $1.50 each!!! I currently have 10 packages of size 2 diapers (we opened the first package last night) and 3 (the ones I bought today) of size 3. I'm hoping to get size 3 at Toys R Us.

What an awesome score and I'm VERY proud of myself! More good deals at CVS and Walmart tomorrow when I do the regular shopping.

~danielle~

My beautiful butterfly princess!

Here is my beautiful Butterfly Princess! I bought this custome in town from Beauty and the Book. These are handmade halloween costumes and just the cutest things! Julie was not fond of the "halo" on her head, but I thought it was really cute.

I took these pictures in my house. I made a little drapped area in the corner of my dinning room. She did really well all things considering and I think the pictures turned out pretty good! I just love the little tutu!

Lane is going to be a police officer for halloween and I'll get some pictures of him this weekend. He's pretty sick and not doing much but laying around. Poor guy!

~danielle~

My Opening Vantel Pearl Party!!

YOU'RE INVITED!!!

Hello Ladies,

You are invited to a Pearl Party! THIS IS ONE OF THE MOST EXCITING PARTIES YOU WILL EVER ATTEND!!

We "dive" for real oysters. You pick the one you want and it is opened right in front of your eyes. A lustrous white, cream, pink, gold, blue or even a rare black Pearl is waiting for you! MAYBE EVEN TWINS!

Invite all your gal-pals to join you -- your mom, your sister, your girlfriends and your daughters, your nieces and cousins! They'll thank you for the experience!

I will show you a wide selection of exquisite Pearl Jewelry settings. Each setting is uniquely designed to highlight your Pearl's natural beauty and luster. (Pearl oysters are only $8.95 when the pearl is set into jewelry. The value of the pearl may be as high as $114!)

Even if you can't attend, ask about placing a pre-party order. Welcome!

At Vantel Pearls, we import our own Pearl Oysters, which are grown exclusively for Pearls. They are from the South Pacific, an area renowned for the most valuable Pearls in the world. These are pearls of the absolute highest quality, yet we keep our prices for the pearls low because we are the largest importer of Pearl oysters in the U.S.

Our settings are Sterling Silver, 14 KT Gold & Vermeil (a sterling silver and 14kt gold combination.)

The Home Party catalog pictures are representations only. YOUR PEARL is what makes each piece unique!

If you'd like to check out our Online Boutique for some unique and trendy pieces, go to my website (below.) Boutique pieces do not require any additional pearls to be set into them.

www.vantelpearls.com/daniellewoods

If you can't attend, we can open an oyster for you at the party, or you can have a 6.5mm white pearl placed into any setting. Or you can simply choose an itemfrom the Boutique! PLEASE DO NOT PLACE YOUR ORDER ONLINE! Give your order to your hostess.

Payment accepted is:
Visa, MasterCard, Discover, American Express
Cash (of course) and checks made payable to Danielle Woods
Hope to see you there! 

Other services:

Do you have an unmounted pearl at home? We can set it into one of our jewelry settings at no additional cost beyond the setting price.

Do you know someone who is getting married? We have a wonderful Bridal program to help the bride have genuine pearls at a reasonable cost.

Are you looking for a unique fundraiser? We can help you there too!

Vantel Pearls is an established company that is growing!

We are hiring demonstrators everywhere! Who do you know? It could be worth $25 in free jewelry for you!


Join us for a “Halloween” VANTEL PEARLS PARTY!
Open an Oyster and treat yourself to a genuine Pearl!

Participate in our scavenger hunt to earn Party tickets for prizes.
RSVP to your Hostess
Arrive on time on your ‘broomstick’
Bring this invitation
Wear something orange or black
Bring a tiny pumpkin
Wear a witch’s hat
Bring an adult friend
Book your own Theme Party

Participation not required to attend. Unable to make it? We’ll miss you. Browse our website catalog and Boutique at www.vantelpearls.com and call our Hostess to place your order. Like FREE shopping? Book your own Party! Ask me about a Special just for Hostesses!

October 25th (Sunday) at 3:00pm at my house!

Lane's 5th Birthday smilebox!

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

Julie's smilebox!

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

Lane and TomiJo

Last Saturday night the phone rings and I answered it and this cute little voiced asked if she could speak to Lane. I of course said yes and passed the phone off to my son. He said hello and his face lit up when he realized it was TomiJo. She is a girl from his class that he came home from school talking all about. Except when he first came home he wasn't sure of her name. It was "Tom and Joe" and finally we found out it was TomiJo. She invited Lane to come watch her cheer at the bulldogs game today. He was very excited about her calling him and after they were done talking her mom asked to speak to me. She told me they were getting ready for bed and TomiJo mentioned she hadn't talked to Lane in a couple of days (she wasn't in school that Friday) and would really like to speak to him.

So today I took Lane and Julie to Elysian Fields to see TomiJo cheer. We also have some family that plays on the football team so it was nice to get out of the house. TomiJo was so excited to see Lane when we got there. She ran over to tell her mom that Lane had come to see her cheer. Prior to this game, I had never met her mom, only spoken to her on the phone. It was nice to put a face with a name! The two kids walked around together after the game was over. A friend took some pictures (my camera was in the car) and promised to send them to me on facebook. I did get this one of them with my cell phone.

Lane says he likes the ribbons in her hair. He tells me all the time how pretty she is and how he really really loves her. So, there it is, my son and his first crush (besides Jessica of course).

She is a beautiful little girl and I'm glad to see my son has such good taste. His father is quite proud too!

~danielle~

The sun is finally shinning!

I am so glad to see the sun today! It has been so nasty here for the last week! I was begining to feel nasty and almost depressed. The weather is cooler and I know the fall is coming. I dislike the cold weather but the cool weather is nice!

Today Julie and I did our grocery shopping. I was very happy because I went to Walgreens and bought two bags worth of stuff (two packages of diapers, 3 things if dental floss, 2 revelon pedi-eggs and 8 cans of soup) and it only cost me 1.35!! I used a bunch of Register Rewards and coupons. I was so proud of myself! I didn't do as well at walmart (still lots of coupons) but not that great a deal. Here's to being frugal!

I have also made the leap to become a Vantel Pearl Demonstrator. I'm very excited about this. We've been very blessed becaused I've been able to stay at home, but we could really use the extra income. Vantel Pearl will allow me to create my own schedule, be home with my kiddos and hopefully bring in some extra income. Work has been really slow because of all the rain here in North East Texas. We want to put away some more money for Christmas and we would also like to continue our debt snowball (Dave Ramsey). I just received his Financial Freedom program book and plan to read that as well.

Today was just a beautiful day and I'm so glad to see the sun shine again. I've missed the sun so much!

~danielle~

Wonderful Surprise!

My husband came home bearing gifts when he came home from work on Friday!! I was so surprised!

He brought me a dozen roses, which were absoluately beautiful and smelled SO sweet! He also bought me a gift certificate to get a manicure and a pedicure! I was shocked! I have never had a manicure or a pedicure!!!

I was able to go on Saturday to get my very first pedicure and manicure! I went and picked out some pearly pink color (Sation nail polish, 54- pink pink). I painted a pretty flower on my big toe nails! It DID tickle my feet but I did the best I could not to kick the poor guy in the head. It was so wonderful. It was totally awesome to spend an hour being pampered!

I such a wonderful hubby! I couldn't of asked for a better present. It was really great to know I'm appreciated for all that I do. I *know* he/they apperciate me, but it is nice to be reminded :)

~danielle~

Host a Pearl Party!

I have decided to become a Vantel Pearl demonstrator! I am looking for 4 people that would be interested in hosting a party in the next 30 (ish) days!!

A Pearl Party is hosted at your house, takes about an hour and is loads of fun! Each person (that choses) can go Oyster Diving! We will open our oysters at the party! I will clean and appraise them for you and then you will be able to buy jewlery to put your very own pearl in!

These parties are so much fun! I can't wait to start my new business. I plan to host the first party in mid-october!

www.vantelpearls.com has the online catty's if you'd like to see our products and learn more about a pearl party!

Feel free to contact me if you're interested in hosting a party or coming to a party!

~danielle~

Learning to be frugal

My mom and I have been spending a lot of time reading websites and blogs on how to use coupons and save money. These days it doesn't seem you can save enough money and the cost of feeding a family of 3 (will be 4 in not too long) isn't getting any cheaper.

I'm still learning but last week I managed to get $20 in coupons and had a few price match sales. I felt pretty good about my savings. I even managed to get a few things for free (with coupons and/or price matching).

It's almost become a job for me to sit and go through the weekly ads from Walgreens, CVS, Brookshires and Krogers and then go through my coupons and and make my lists of what we need or what we can get for cheap/free (to stock up or donate). Some weeks are better than other weeks of course, always depending on what's on sale and what we need.

My hubby went shopping with me last week and I think he was surprised (pleasently) to see how much time/effort I put into trying to save money. I think he was also surprised to see what I was able to buy and what I managed to get for cheap or free!

I thought I'd share a few websites I visit regularly. You never know how much you can save/get with just a little time and a little effort!

http://www.frugalcouponliving.com/
http://www.budgetsavingmom.com/
http://www.bigtent.com/group/buzz (how to shop for free website..cost $1 to join..keeps out spammers).

~danielle~

Fun frames!

Last night, while trying to get a fussy baby to sleep I decided to play with my phone. I realized that my phone has some really cool "frames". Here are my test subjects and their pictures. I thought they were pretty funny.

This is how I picture Mikie if he were part of the disco era!

My beautiful baby getting some MUCH needed rest!

Lane and his funny face. He always sticks his tongue out!!

This is Lane if he were in an aquarium! This was his favorite picture!

So who knew my phone could be so much fun? I can't believe all the cool things I can do. See what happens when you're really tired and trying to stay awake? The joys of parenthood :)

~danielle~

Netflix vs. Blockbuster

I have been an avid user of Netflix for probably 2 or 3 years now. I love netflix since our local movie rental place (mom and pop kinda place) only has a few dvds and they rent them by the night. Most nights I have no idea what's going to happen and can never count on the fact if I rent a movie, I'll get to work it that same night. Our blockbuster is in marshall and I try to only go to marshall on Friday's (save on gas and such).

I noticed on frugalcouponliving.com that she found that blockbuster was offering a 6 week free trial of their service and thought I'd sign up. I wanted to see how they rated compared to the netflix and which would was the best rental for me.

Let's start with netflix.

If I mail a movie out on Monday, they usually received it Tuesday and ship out my next movie that same day and I usually have it Wednesday. That's pretty good. I rarely have any problems getting a movie late (maybe a handful of times in the entire time I've been a member). I've never had a movie lost in the mail and I've only received 1 movie damanged (which I did not have to pay for). I've lost one movie (I'm convinced I threw it away) and I paid the fee and was sent out another movie promptly. I pay 15.07 (with tax) a month for 2 movie rental (unlimited). I've watched several online through their streaming and mostly pretty good quality and I've had no problems with that. I give them an A+.

Blockbuster is next.

I was able to find the movies I was interested in, so the selection seems pretty good. I liked the idea that I could return them to the blockbuster store, but what I think they fail to mention is that you can only do it 5 times in a month. They may not be a problem for some people, but if you can get unlimited rentals, why not be able to return them unlimited as well. I received my first movie about 3 days after i signed up. I mailed both movies back on the same day (to the same place in two different envelopes) and one was received the next day and the other took 3 days to get there. It took them 1 day to mail me a new dvd for the first return and then it's taken 3 days for the 2nd return. They defintiely aren't nearly as fast (and maybe they aren't worried about that since they have the actual store to make money from as well). Price wise, they are more expensive, 16.99 (without tax) for unlimited rentals. I haven't found that you can watch any movies on their site yet either, but I believe you can download one to your box for a 24 hour viewing..

I know that Netflix dvds go to Coppell, Tx and blockbuster to Dallas, Tx (both are very close to either other).

My overall review is, I'll stick with Netflix after my six week trial is finished. Blockbuster is nice, but at this point in time (and in my opinion) doesn't compare with the service I receive from Netflix, nor the price.

~danielle~

Adjusting to a new life style!

There has been lots of changes the past two weeks. Julie, is of course on her own schedule, which makes things harder for me. I'm such a planned person it's hard for me to just "go with the flow", but I'm managing! She has become a sleep fighter. I was really hoping she wouldn't get that trait from me, like her brother did. Ahhh my mother is just jumping with joy for the fact I got another one "just like me". We are working with it and I'm finding a few tricks that seem to help!

Lane is enjoying school! He is up at 7am (usually without me waking him) and most days he gets up and gets dressed, brushes his hair and teeth and watches tv until it's time to go! He eats breakfast at school with his class and then we pack a lunch. He gets the best of both worlds! He has many friends, most of which he talks about, happen to be girls. Why am I not surprised? Today he told me they learned about ears. He is supposed to use his ears to listen! I said it was a wonderful thing that God gave him ears so he could listen. He surely thought so!

Mikie had to have a root canal yesterday. It took 4 hours to do it and it was long sitting with Julie waiting for him. He had to take a pain pill last night, but he's feeling better today. He goes back next month for a crown. The dentist is working with us and isn't going to charge us until they do the crown. It's going to be about 1600 and since we don't have insurance, we'll be paying for it all. Ahhh.. the joys. He has some more dental work that will need to be done, but will have to wait until we can pay this off first. Then I'll need to see the dentist.

This weekend is labor day weekend. We have nothing planned, but to spend time with the family! Rebecca, my best friend from Ohio will be here next Tuesday. Lane's birthday is next Friday and we'll have his party next Saturday at Pump It Up in Longview. He's really excited! I can't believe he'll be 5. Where does the time go!

I'm hoping to start scrapbooking again some during the day. I need to catch up on Lane's (of course) and start on Julie's. One day I'll be closer to having some complete albums!

~danielle~

Feeling the blues!

This week has been a worldwind of emotions! I had Julie on Friday, we were able to come home Sunday afternoon, Lane started school Monday morning and I went from having 2 kiddos back to 1 kiddo. I am happy to have the time to bond with Julie, but I feel like part of my job is missing. Everything seems to make me tear up!

I'm so happy when Lane comes home from school and then I'm sad when he goes to bed. I only get about 4 hours with him once he gets home from school before it's time to take his bath, get his medicine and go to bed! Ugh this is definitely harder than I thought it would be!

During the day I'm back to spending a lot of time by myself since Mikie is at work and Julie is doing a lot of sleeping. I know this wont last long, but just a lot of changes at once!

I didn't have the "blues" after Lane, but I certainly feel it this time! I hope it doesn't last long. I hate to cry and I know Mikie hates to see me cry. One step at a time. I'm glad it's almost the weekend and Mikie isn't working. Atleast I can spend it with all my family!

~danielle~

C-section

Here is a picture of Mikie all decked out in his "scrubs" before my c-section. Blue really is such a nice color on him!

We had to be at the hospital at 6am for my 7:30am c-section. I didn't sleep much the night before (surprise surprise). We arrived and I was put in an exam room to prep for surgery. They hooked up monitors to get her heartrate and to check all my vitals. I managed to get the nurse to do my cathater AFTER I was drugged up (score 1 for me). They did my IV in my left hand and it went surpisingly well. I managed to have a good bowel movement on my own before we left for surgery as well.

They took me into the surgical room and handed Mikie his scrubs to get dressed while they prepped me. I had a really good anesthesiologist who talked me through the entire spinal block procedure beforehand. It only hurt for about 20 seconds and then they laid me down and I started to get numb! I was then given the cathetor which I never felt and waited while they finished prepping and for Dr. Gaskin to come in. I had a small reaction to the meds, which made me chest feel very heavy. I was given some meds and it immediatly felt better.

Dr Gaskin came in and they brought Mikie in to sit next to me. They started to cut me open and I could tell something wasn't quite right. I could hear them talking of course and it turns out I had/have a lot of scar tissue, thick bands of it it seems. About half way through, I started to "feel" some pain and a lot of pressure. I was told it was them trying to get through all the scar tissue, 2 more minutes (or less) and the baby would be out. It wasn't uncontrollable pain, but uncomfortable that's for sure. It took 2 or 3 people to pop her out!

I heard her scream as they pulled her out and then it got quiet. They told Mikie he could peek over the drap to see her. The anesthesiologist said "well what is it". I said "well it better be a girl" and Dr. Gaskin goes "oh honey, it's a girl!" She was taken over to the baby area, which I could see and I saw some dark hair!!!!!

Mikie got up and walked over and they spent 5 minutes or so cleaning her up, taking her finger/feet prints. The whole time I could see some of what they were doing (more the flainging of arms and legs, but still). Finally they handed her to Mikie and he came and sat down next to me. This time (unlike with lane's c-section) my arms weren't strapped to the table so I could touch and kiss her.

He probably sat there with me and Julie for 5 minutes or so before they headed to the nursery and it was time to close me up. I decided against the sedation and just tried to relax while they closed me up. It took about 30 minutes. Then the shakes started of course. Which was explained to me that I really am cold, even though my skin is warm b/c of the IV they are pumping me with which is much cooler than my body.

Later Dr. Gaskin came in to talk to me. He explained to me the reason it took as long as it did was because of all the scar tissue. He told me I was a mess.. literally. He advised against having another baby b/c he felt it would be really difficult to get the baby out (even more so than it was this time). So in other words, no more babies. Mikie and I had already said we would be happy with 2, but it gives you a little different feeling when someone else makes the discussion for you.

He did tell me he'd be willing to do a full hysterectomy for me in a couple of years, regardless of my age b/c he now knows what my inside looks like. He also told me, it's no surprise that I experience as much pain as I do....

So.. in a nutshell, the c-section went well, but there definitely wont be anymore babies. We will have to work on find a way (savings, insurance, etc) to fund a hysterectomy in a few years (around 10k). One day at a time though. Our daughter is beautiful, happy and healthy. We have the perfect family..

~danielle~

Lane's First Day of School!

Lane started Pre-K yesterday!! He was very excited about it. I was a little sad as I felt like I had a lot of changes this weekend with the birth of Julie and now my son going off to school. Mikie took him to school since I was unable to drive. I got up and watched him get dressed and Mikie took some pictures for me. He was ready to go!

I found out that another friend of ours took some pictures of Lane outside the school and with her son. I can't wait to see how those turned out!

Yesterday I went with Mikie to pick up from school. His teacher did the most wonderful thing! She took a picture of Lane sitting at his desk and printed it out! She told Mikie to tell me, she wanted me to have a picture of him at school since I wasn't able to be there myself. I just wanted to cry!!!! It's the hormones, but it was the most perfect thing she could of done for me (us).

He told us about school yesterday. He had a good time. He told me he thought he would like go back! I was so happy to hear that. Sad, b/c he didn't "miss" me, but glad he enjoyed himself!

Here are a few pictures of him ready for his first day!


~danielle~

Julie Amber Woods has arrived!

Julie Amber Woods was born at 8:07am via c-section on Friday August 21st (Mikie's birthday). She weighed 7lbs 11.3oz. She was 19 inches long! Lane was only slighty bigger when he was born.

She has lots of dark hair, which is great for hairbows and headbands! I had enough indigestion, that it's no surprise she had hair!

She have chubby checks and everyone says she looks like Mike and Mikie!!

The c-section went ok for me. I have a lot of scar tissue, which caused the c-section to take a little longer.

We were able to come home today (Sunday). Julie and I are having some issues nursing, but we are trying to work through them. Hopefully as my milk comes in, she will latch better.

Lane loves his new baby sister. He even wanted to hold her after the 2nd day. He's going to be such a great big brother!

Mikie is the "dotting" father. He's so gentle and loving and looks really cute holding a little girl all dressed up in frills and bows!

Pictures to follow shortly! :)

~danielle, mikie, lane and julie~

Happy Birthday to my beautiful neice!

Alli, my neice, turns 6 years old today! I still remember when she was born! I can't believe how big the beautiful, blue eyed girl has gotten! She is having her party on Saturday and I wont be able to make it b/c I'll still be in the hospital!

We made her up a new no sew fleece blanket. It has dogs all over it! I hope she will like it. Then Karon can have her horse blanket back I made for her for christmas!!!!

Less than 24 hours to go! Need to do the grocery shopping and pay some bills today. My parents will be here this afternoon and my sister will be here late tonight!

We have to leave here at 5:30am in the morning! Here's for the last day of being pregnant and feeling the baby move inside of me! I wont miss the swollen ankles, the indigestion, the lack of sleep, sore joints/muscles, being physically ill, or the extra 45lbs I put on!

~danielle~

Friday is the day!

I went yesterday to see the doctor and my contractions just aren't close enough and I'm only dilated a tiny bit. So back home I went.

I did all my pre-op test stuff yesterday. They took lots of blood and urine samples. They gave me a list of things to do before surgery and things not to do before surgery and all the rules for the maternity ward.

My c-section is scheduled for 7:30am on August 21st in Marshall at the Good Shepard Hospital. I have to be at the hospital at 6am for prep work and to get me ready for surgery. I can't eat or drink after midnight on Thursday and I have to shower with some really great smelling "skin cleaner" so I'm good and germfree for surgery!

Hopefully, since my surgery is so early I can go home sometime on sunday! Mom and dad will be here tomorrow afternoon. My sister is coming sometime this weekend and I think my bro is stuck working, so! Less than 48 hours and life is about to change! Lane is excited though! :)

~danielle~

Still no baby!

Today I am 38w3d pregnant. I had Lane at 38w2d!!! I was hoping Julie would make her grand appearance early, but I'm starting to feel like I might be pregnant forever! I know that's silly since my c-section is scheduled for Friday, August 21st at 7:30am, but....Friday seems so far away! Sleeping has become very hard. I'm up every hour because I either have to pee or my joints/limbs hurt or go numb. It's a pretty bad feeling. I try to catch sleep whenver I can!

Mom and dad left for Cancun today! They have joked all along that she would make her appearance now that they have left the states! LOL. A friend of mine and Mikie's also has the same due date and she decided that 8-17-09 (monday) would be a good day to have the babies. 8 minus 17 equals 9. That makes it easy for us to remember! She's 6 hours ahead of me (in england) so it's time for her to get moving. I'll take my walk tonight and hope that all works out!

Lane has been very curious about how the baby is going to come out. We've told him some of it, like that they will give mommy medicine and mommy wont feel anything, but that when he comes to visit, there will be some tubes and such in mommy's arm and mommy might be really tired. We don't want him to be scared when he comes to the hospital. He understands that mommy will have to stay there for about 3 days. He asked if they were going to cut a "door" into my belly, which yes, in a sense they are. Then he wanted to know if there would be a door knob on there! LOL. No door knob. Kiddos are so funny!

I think that we are about as ready as we'll ever be for Julie to get here. Lane has everything he needs to start school (the first day is August 24th). His daddy is going to take him and he's going to get to meet his teacher on Thursday night! He's counting down the "night sleeps" until this happens!

Lane is also completely potty trained! We have found that if we get him up around 11pm-midnight, before we go to bed and let him pee, he can stay dry the rest of the night. He is very pleased with himself and I'm glad he's finally able to tell his "friends" that he's potty trained! He's such a big boy! We are so proud of him!

Nothing else really new here. I post a lot on Facebook. Just trying to pass the time until something worth while happens!

Off to start dinner. We are having steak, baked potatoes and corn on the cob! We'll see how much I can truly eat!

~danielle~

36w5d picture

I wasn't going to take another picture b/c I feel huge and I'm rather swollen (thank you texas heat). BUT I did anyway. I'm 36w5d in this picture. Lane is my photographer btw. He didn't do too bad. I didn't have any pictures of his fingers or of himself! LOL.

I had a checkup yesterday. Lots of contractions lately, but no progress. The doctor said it's safe to go into labor anytime now. 37 weeks (thursday) is considered full term! Hopefully it wont be too much longer. I have a hard time breathing b/c she's up in my ribs and the idea of food makes me sick.

Not too much longer though....

Julie's room picture!

Here are two pictures of Julie's room! It's almost done with it. I'll then try and take some final pictures! The pink in the curtains gives the room a soft pink hue. The color in the room is actually called "muslim wrap". We are hoping to get new carpet put in the bedroom before too long too, so please ignore the ugly grey floor!

Supporting the local economy!

We headed to target today to get a small list of things we still needed for Julie. We ended up getting a dresser, baby book, receiving blankets, bouncy chair, front carrier, rug, curtain rods, mini blinds, boppy pillow covers and some hairbows (I couldn't resist).

We came home and first put up the miniblinds and the curtain rods so that her window would match the rest of her room! Mikie also put up the hanging items around her crib. Then we decided to tackle the dresser. I wanted to get her clothes put away and put the rest of the items in her room until we were ready for them (things are piled up in the dinning room and office).

After about 2 hours of working on the dresser, we were just about finished when we realized that the directions were incorrect. What they had written as the back of the dresser was really the front of the dresser. We tired to pull out the metal runners and switch them, but they only fit one way. We thought about changing the front to the back, but then we'd have holes in the front of the dresser. GAR?! We were NOT happy! We called Target and they told us to bring it back exactly as it was and they would take it back and refund us the money. My hubby asked if he could have the display model since he felt he put his work into it already. He was told he'd has to speak to a manager! LOL.

So. After spending $150+ on a dresser, it's ashame to see that the directions were so backwards! What a waste!! I'm very disappointed! This was the first furniture we've bought from Target. I wish there was somewhere on their website to post feedback about the product (It's not listed on there online website, I checked), I'd love to save someone the headache!

Tomorrow we will head back to target to hopefully get another dresser, since I'd really like to get her room finished! I did take pictures of Lane and Mikie during the construction phase, I'll post some of those later. Lane found that the styrofoam packing makes really good "ramps and tracks". Boys are so creative!

~danielle~

It's just too hot to do much of anything!!

It's been so hot lately, I haven't been doing any knitting or crochetting. I just can't sit still or have any of the stuff on my lap/belly! Ugh. I did finish all 10 pairs of the beaded crochet shocks for Julie though. I have another small project I wanted to do for her, but I just can't do it right now. My fingers and my toes tingle and hurt from time to time. I know it's the swelling and I'm coming to the end of my pregnancy. It'll be nice when things start to go back to normal.

I have been doing quite a bit of reading. I thought I would update my list of books I'm working on.

I'm currently reading "The Face of Deception" by Iris Johansen. It's a new series that was recommended to me.

On my shelf to read, in no particular order is:
Chasing Charity - Marcia Gruver
Knit Two - Kate Jacobs
How to Knit a wild Bikini - Christie Ridgway
The Knitting Circle - Ann Hood
A Bride in the Bargain - DeeAnne Gist
Dark Lover - Brenda Joyce
Origin in Death - JD Robb (and to continue with this series)
Even Now - Karen Kingsbury
Mary - Janis Cooke Newman

There are of course a lot more on my shelf and new ones coming all the time from paperbackswap.com but I like to keep a list of the books I have and what's on my mind!

~danielle~

Not feeling great today or tonight. Think I'll go lay in bed and try to read. Julie seems to be up in my ribs!

Baby shower and other odds and ends!

I had my baby shower last Saturday! It was really nice! We received lots of really nice things. My mom, sister, karon and terri did a great job at the shower! I even had some unexpected guests show up! One of my best friends from childhood surpried me! It happened that she was meeting her ex-hubby to drop the boys off for their visit the same day and he lives in Katy, Tx (south of houston). So she made the extra 2 hour trip here to see me! I haven't seen Becky since our senior year in HS (and we didn't go to the same high school). I'll get some pictures put up soon!

Julie's room is painted and I got her crib and bedding put up today! The room color is "muslin wrap" and it's really pretty with the bedding. I need to get curtain rods and mini blinds this weekend so we can put the curtains up. We are going to Target this weekend to exchange a few items and buy a dresser and a few other odds and ends that I'd like to have.

Karon bought Mikie a camo diaper bag. It's so cute. It has a fawn on the front and it says "daddy's baby" on it. She also got him a camo onsie with booties and a hat. The onsie has ruffles on the booty and around the collar. It's really cute!

I am hoping to get the rest of the things done this weekend so that I'll be ready when Julie decides to make her grand appearance! I packed her diaper bag with a couple of newborn items/outfits and some 0-3 month stuff. I'll be in the hospital for 3 days or so, there will be lots of time for dress-up!

I need to work on my 2nd baby shower thank you cards. I finished my first baby shower thank you cards. I still have a few to give out though!

I'm 35weeks today! We're getting closer! She is spending a lot of time up in my ribs and in my lungs. It makes it really hard to breathe sometimes. Its amazing how much space she can take up! There isn't much room left in my belly! Indigestion is really bad too these days. Ugh. I've started having Braxton hicks. Just a few in the evenings it seems. I'm so glad I don't have to go through labor again!

Not too much longer..

~danielle~

The Texas heat!!!

I've always enjoyed living in Texas. I hate the snow and I hate the cold. So logically, Texas is the place to go. Although I'm rethinking this whole Texas heat thing during pregnancy. The heat makes me retain so much water! My feet and ankles are all becoming one unit. It's horrible!

I've been doing a lot of reading lately. I want to knit/crochet but I just can't. It's so hot! I have all these little projects I want to do for Julie, but right now it's not in the works! I did manage to get 9 pairs of beaded socks done. I need another package of beads to do the alst sock. I can't wait to see how she looks in them! These are 0-6 mos socks, so I'll have to start working on the 6-18 mos socks next. I'm going to use some pearl beads instead, so they'll be different!

My baby shower is Saturday. I'm really excited! Mikie is going to prime Julie's room and hopefully we can paint it this weekend! Then I can start putting things in there, instead of in my kitchen/computer room! I have some stuff in the storage building that need to be washed/cleaned. Hopefully I can work on that next week, then I can put things in her room.

So my belly is full of watermelon! I'm tired and I need to do some laundry and vaccum. I don't hold out much hope that it'll all get done, but we'll see!

~danielle~

My 2 food loves!

Oh how I love watermelon. I think I could eat watermelon all day long! I can't understand why it can't be a good meal everyday!! Mom and dad brought me one from SA. Ohh it's been soo good to me. I could almost hurt myself eating one.

My 2nd craving is for hotdogs. Not just any hotdogs. I want the Ball Park Franks with the cheese inside. I don't like mustard or ketchup. Just a nice bun with a nice, warm, cheesy hotdog. mmmm.

So that was my lunch today. 2 hotdogs and a nice, big, juicy piece of watermelon.

~danielle~

My poor Max...

You know they say when it rains it pours..... I noticed that Max (the cat) has had really bad breath, which isn't normal for a cat. I also noticed he hasn't been eating very much so I knew he needed to see the vet. I took him in today to have him looked at and the vet noticed "sores" on the inside of his mouth. She couldn't get a really good look though b/c it's not easy to get a cat to open it's mouth! She told me she would need to do a mild sedation so she could see what was going on and to make sure there wasn't anything else still in the top of his mouth.

She called me about 30 minutes later to let me know it was not any bite or infection per say, he has Feline FIV. When he was there in March, he tested negative for this. Feline FIV is like Aids in humans. It's not contagious to humans, but the only way he got it would of been from a bite with another male, FIV positive cat. Since he wasn't positive when he was tested in March, it's probable that he go it from a cat around here. *sigh*. My guess would be the cats that just roam across the street b/c the neighbors allow them to breed and then just throw them outside.

Max had a temp of 104, he's lost 2.3 lbs and he was very dehydrated. They pumped him full of fluids, antibiotics and steriods. I also had them clip his nails while he was sedated (makes life a bit easier). She gave him a shot of long lasting antibiotics b/c there would be no way I would get anything into his mouth. The sores on the inside of his mouth are actually his lymphnodes. They are swollen and infected. It's very painful :(

She said some cats with FIV rarely have problems and live a full, long life. Some get flair ups from time to time and others just can't fight it off. We have to do our best to keep Max in the house since he can now infect other male cats. *sighs*. I bought him some can cat food hoping he might be able to eat something softer.

When I got him home, I let him out of the carrier in the bedroom, hoping it would provide him with some privacy and some time to get himself together. I didn't know how he would do since he had been mildly sedatated. He immediatly followed me out and laid on me. He was my shadow, literally! I was really surprised b/c I had taken him to have all those horrible things done to him. But I guess when you don't feel good, you'll take all the lovings you can get.

After a while, I put some of the can cat food into his bowl and brought it over to him. He literally attacked the bowl! I ended up moving him to his normal food area and allowing him to have his fill. He managed to lick most of the gravy and juices out of it. I don't think he ate a lot though. I mixed some more water into the gravy, hoping that it would help. It's a start though. I plan to get him some more can food and feed him some for the next couple of days until he can manage to eat the dry food again.

So 167 later, a FIV positive test, Max is home. If he isn't able to overcome this, I've decided I wont get another cat. I can't subject another cat to the issues that seem to happen around here. Even though I adopted a cat, took him to the vets to be checked out, get all his shots and make sure he's fixed, we still have to pay the high price. It just irks me. I also hate knowing that I have a cat that can potentially infect other male cats.

Ahh when it rains it pours. My poor Maximus Aurelius!

~danielle~

Not been feeling good.

I'm 32w4d today. I had my checkup. Everything looks good...except I don't feel good. I've gained 6 lbs in 2 weeks. I seem to be swelling a lot. I feel achey and rundown. Almost like I have the flu..except without the fever. The doctor said to just take it easy and call if I start running a fever.

Lane went and spent last week with his moomaw and poopaw. He enjoyed himself! They spoiled him rotten and he managed to do something everyday of the week. He was NOT bored! I missed him while he was gone. The AC went out during that time. We are getting a new unit installed on Tuesday. The AC guy rigged the unit up so it would work until then. I'll be so happy to have a cooler house. We are getting a bigger unit.

4th of July was nice. Mom, dad and travis were here. It was nice to have the family (except caiti) here. We had a cookout at Mike and Karons. Dad painted Lane's new room, so we are that much closer to getting him into it. The new office is coming along nicely. I'll be happy when it's all done. We are looking to get new windows put in this fall. Mom helped me get my lasagna garden going. I wont be able to plant anything until this fall or next spring, but it's a work in progress. I was glad to have the help.

The weather is cooler today. I hope to catch a nap at resttime. Not much else going on around here. Just relaxing. 6 and half weeks until the c-section. I'm ready!

~danielle~

Updated pics!

Here are some updated pictures of me! I'm 30weeks3days. Lane was my photographer! He didn't do too bad. Although I was laughing at him in the first picture. He goes "You have to say CHEESE mommy." What a goof ball. I have my checkup tomorrow. They are ever two weeks now, until 36weeks and then they go to ever week! I'm feeling ok. Lots of swelling the last week or so but it's been in the 90's. We have been blessed with wonderful neighbors that allow us to come over and swim whenever we'd like. We've been trying to do it in the evenings to help with the swelling and the restless leg I've been experiencing. It seems to help some!

Today is Father's day! Happy Father's day to all the dad's out there! Mikie is working today (lots of work these days, thank God!). We are having a Father's Day dinner tonight, Steak, texas toast, potatoes, corn on the cob and chocolate chip cookies for Dessert!

We are off to church! Just wanted to post some new pictures as baby julie continues to grow and cause me pain!

~danielle~

Things still needed for Julie

Here is an updated list of the things I still need/could use for Julie! Some of these things are bigger than others (price wise).

1. High Chair
2. Infant Car seat
3. Dresser (we may get Lane a bigger one and give his to Julie).
4. Bouncy Chair
5. Front carrier/sling
6. Baby book
7. Memory box
8. Hooded towels
9. Play mat
10. Fall winter clothes in sizes 3-6 and 6-9 months. We are pretty good for newborn-3 months summer clothes.
11. Bath stuff (shampoo, lotion, body wash, etc).

I have everything for the bedroom (9 piece crib set, lamp, mobile, wall hangings, diaper stacker), thanks to my step mother in law! I have a crib, swing, pack n play, exersaucer, bath tub, jenny jump up, diaper bag, stroller and a bassinet.

I have updated our gift registries at walmart.com and target.com. Hopefully that will help for my next baby shower!

~danielle~

Church baby shower!

The UMW and the Prayer Shawl Ministries group threw me a baby shower today! There was so much pink! It was awesome! The cake was so cute! The frosting was hot pink! There was probably 10-15 of us there! It was so great! Emma Rose also made her grand entrance, which was adorable! I hated that I couldn't hold her b/c I've got a cold and I didn't want to share it with her!

I received lots of clothes, a diaper bag, stroller, diapers, wipes, bottles, towels, wash clothes, towels, toys, just to name a few :-P Julie's closet is almost full of stuff for the first year!

I hope to post some pictures once I get them from Paula! I had such a great time and need to start working on my thank you notes. I've updated my baby registry as well! I'll make a post of the things I still need as well!

~danielle~

Kiddos can be so funny sometimes!

There, of course, has been a lot of talk about where babies come from in the house. Considering my present state, it's not a surprise. Lane likes to feel my belly and he always asks if Julie is jumping or kicking. I try to explain to him that there really isn't room for the baby to jump, but I don't think he can understand. He then asks about the kind of toys Julie has to play with. I just tell him she has her hands and feet to play with. There really isn't any room in my belly for toys!

The other day in the car I said something about him being little once. He was a baby and I showed him some pictures from his scrapbook. I told him that he was in my belly once, just like Julie. He looked at me and said "no way." Well of course you were in my belly siilly, how else do you think you got here, I replied? He goes well, you and daddy made me and put me in the oven. I cooked in there for a while and then you took me out!

Well yes, that's definitely true, but it's not the "oven" he has pictured in his mind. Ahh kiddos can be so funny at times. The logic of my 4 year old!

~danielle~

Making julie some things!

The excitment over having a girl is almost overwhelming! There are all these fun things I can make for a girl that I couldn't do for Lane!! I started crochet beads on the cuff of socks for her this week. I have 10 pairs (size 0-6 months) to do. So far I have 4 pairs completed (red, green, blue and pink). I plan to do 6 more! The smaller crochet hook hurts my hands after a while so I can only do a pair at a time.

I also bought this really cute cowgirl vest and booty set that I'm working on. It's the faux suede yarn and it's really neat. This will be my first attempt at doing a crochet project besides my prayer shawls. I hope it turns out ok! I figure if I can't figure it out, I'll take it to Nana and she'll crochet it up for me! :)

I had my 28week checkup today. My belly is measuring good, I only gained 1.5lbs from last visit (25lbs total now). My glucose test was good and my blood pressure was very good! Julie's heartbeat was 154 bps. I start going every two weeks now! So far so good!

~danielle~

Glucose test and a sick kiddo!

I went in for my glucose this morning. It took everything I had not to get sick. The stuff is so horrible. I managed to keep the glucose (cola flavored) down for the hour and then they took some of my blood! I find out my results on Monday when I go for my checkup (7 months). I believe I start bi-weekly vists now. The c-section is scheduled for 11 weeks from today!! The church is throwing me a babyshower on June 14th and my mom, sister, stepmother in law and sister in law are throwing the family/friends one July 18th. I'm excited!

Lane has got his nasty cough again. This is the first time in over a year though. He started a dry cough on Monday and by wednesday it was getting worse. We started neb treatments on Wednesday night and his musinex. I decided since I was in Marshall today and that it was a Friday, I would take him in and make sure his lungs sounded clear. Everything checked out and his lungs sounded good. We just have to keep up with the nebs and the musinex. He doesn't have an infection. So we'll just keep up the good work!

Other than that, not too much going on. I'm tired a lot. Julie moves all the time. I don't think she sleeps! I'm so excited for a girl! All the neat things we can buy and do for a little girl! I've been looking at hair bows! I also remembered I have my daybed that one day she will be able to sleep in!

I'm going to take a much needed nap!

~danielle~

Thanking our blessings!

The last two months, things have been hit and miss with work. Today is June 1st and we've been hoping and praying that things would start to look up. We've been taping out resources trying to make all the ends meet and still maintain all the things we want and like.

Mikie started a job today that's for a 6,000 sq foot house. That's not small, nor is it huge, BUT it means there's atleast 3 days worth of work for them (not in a row). Today they are going to form it up and form up a small addition on another job. He's got a driveway to form up and pour tomorrow and hopefully Wednesday the plumbers will be out of one of the jobs they started today and they can continue on one of those.

I also got a call about the 2 computers we had listed on craigslist (we currently have 3 desktops and 1 laptop). Someone is coming to buy both of them tomorrow! That will help!! Mikie wants a laptop to replace his desktop and the extra money will help to pay a few more bills (my car needs an inspection, oil change and registration).

So! I am hoping that means that things are going to start to look up! We need things to start to work out! LOL!

One breath at a time, one step at a time and one day at a time! That's all anyone can do and it doesn't do much good to continue to worry about things I have no control over! So, today I would like to say Thank you God my hubby has work and it looks like we've sold two computers! Just a monitor left to sell!

~danielle~

Julie's bedset!

I found the bedset that I abosoluately love! I first found it on Ebay and then emailed the company and found out it was a new item and wouldn't avaiable for 60-90 days. I showed it to my step mother in law b/c I knew she had been looking at bedding as well.

She calls me today and tells me to check my email! To my surprise, she has pre-ordered the bedset and the rest of the room. I think she got everything short of having them come put it all in the room and paint the walls! Julie is going to be sleeping/living in style! What a lucky girl she is!

Here is a link to the bedset. It's beautiful and I can't wait to get it. It supposed to ship at the end of June! That will give us time to pick out the perfect color of paint to do her walls as well!

http://www.beyond-bedding.com/western-cowgirl-horse-pink-brown-girl-baby-crib-bedding-set.html

~danielle~

Dinner at the Magic Time Machine!

We all went to eat at the Magic Time Machine on Sunday for Mom's birthday. It's defintiely an experience. If you're ever in Dallas or San Antonio, you definitely need to make a trip there. The food isn't anything to write home about but the experience is amazing. Harry Potter was our waiter.

Lane got a "magic potion" to drink and first wouldn't even try the drink. It bubbled and fizzed and later he thought it was really cool. A balloon lady came back and did balloon animals for us. Lane wanted a sword, Caiti got a ladybug bracelet and mom got a teddy bear. Lane has been running around with his sword all week!

Since it was mom's birthday, she received a special "hat". It's made out of aluminium foil. It's supposed to be a hershey kiss. She really enjoyed it I think. They even made her a special dessert and they sang to her!

For dinner, we all had the "Roman orgy". Definitely an experience. They bring out plates and plates of food. Chicken, ribs, brisket, corn, potatoes, carrots and lots of fruits. I couldn't believe all the food they brought out. We had to take a lot of it home too!

I do believe, everyone had a great time. I hope that we get to go back sometime as they try to keep current with their characters! It'll be neat to see who/what else is new!

~danielle~

Got my eyes tested!

It has been about 2 years since I've had my eyes tested. My contacts were all gone and I don't remember the last time I had new glasses. Lane and I made the trip to Waskom to Lester Eye associates because they took medicaid. What I failed to find out was exactly what medicaid would pay for.

They don't take appointments so I packed a small bag of toys/busy items and a drink to keep Lane busy. I wanted to be sure he wasn't running around crazy if we had to wait or while I did my eye tests. We arrived around 11 and were very happy to find out we were the only ones there!

I found out that medicaid only pays for an eye glass appointment and eye glasses. BAH!!! So I had to fork out 119 for 6 months of contacts and a contact appointment. I did my glacoma test (my grandfather has it) and my pressures came back great. They took me back and let me pick out a simple pair of glasses.

I did my eye tests and found that my eyes are only slightly worse. Instead of being -.75, they are both -1 now. Not too bad I guess. I was able to get a pair of contacts which are good for a month or so. My other contacts and glassses should be in the end of next week.

I just hate to spend money we really don't have. But I have to be able to see and the more I think about it 119 for an exam, glasses and 6-12 months worth of contacts really isn't bad. The doctor also told me that when my contacts ran out, if I didn't feel my vision had changed, I could just order more contacts, they aren't really picky about that.

So I guess all in all, I came out ahead, this just wasn't the week to spend that kind of money. We had hoped to go to San Antonio this weekend, but if Mikie has the work, we can't turn it down. I'm not sure what we'll do. Money is so tight, I hate to spend any. We may just have to stay home!

All we can do is what we can do!

~danielle~

A jenny jump up!!

Today I was lounging around when the postal lady beeped her horn. That's her way of telling me to come out so that she doesn't have to get out of the car to put my package under the carport. Luckily, she was early or I might of been napping! I refuse to go out when I'm napping. It's my time! Anyway!

To my surprise, I had a package from Target! I opened it up with excitement because I had no idea what was in the package! It was a Jenny Jump Up!!!! I had a Johnny Jump up for Lane and had given it to my ex-sister in law for my nephew, but it was never returned to me. It came from a good friend of ours, Tylar Rose! She is the first to send us a gift (besides my mother and step mother in law) and she used my gift registry!

I can't wait for Julie to be big enough to use it! It's just too cute! What a great and beautiful day! We are truly blessed!

~danielle~

Laptop!

A friend let us borrow a laptop so that I can be more comfortable when we play warhammer or when I want to play on the net! We managed to get a wireless router and now I can sit or lay just about anywhere! It's really really REALLY nice!

Who would of guessed a laptop would be this great. I'm sitting here on the couch, with my feet up, I might add watching desperate housewives. I don't know if it can get much better than this! I wish I would of looked into having a laptop a bit more before we bought my desktop! It definitely might of made life easier!

There isn't much this laptop can't do. It even has an HD graphic card. Warhammer looks amazing. If I had money, I'd start my eq2 account up to see how it played on here. It even has a 17 inch screen. It's huge! We watched a back episode of Legand of the Seeker on it. It's nice.

~danielle~

Julie Amber...

I think we have agreed on a name! Julie Amber or "hamburger" as Lane thought he said! It was really cute and hopefully that nickname wont stick. Mom says that even though it's funny, it is about right since she weighs around 1lb4ozs (according to her measurements). Kids are so funny!

Last night I was doing something and didn't hear Lane and he scared me! I turned around and said wow, Lane you scared the bajeebeeze outta me! He laughed and thought I was funny. Tonight, I went by his room and he goes "mom you scared the "jeanies" outta me!" Ahhhh kiddos are so funny!

My step mother-in-law and my mom are already out shopping for Julie! She's going to have a new outfit for everyday for the first year or so! Karon (my step MIL) bought Julie her first pair of cowgirl boots. They are hot pink john deeres. They are just TOO cute! My mom has been buying diapers (gotten some awesome deals lately) and some other outfits. They are just over the moon!

I've gotten my registry set up at Walmart.com and Target.com. I found a bedset I really like, but it's not currently in stock. I emailed the company to see if they will be getting anymore in. If not, I'll print out the picture and use it for inspiration. Mikie's nana said she'd sew a set together (I have a pattern from my nephew's bedset) if I was able to get the materials I want.

I hit 25 weeks yesterday. My back hurts all the time! I've been told to stay off my feet. That's so much easier said then done!

Off to take my bath and curl up with a movie or a book!

~danielle~

Sonogram pictures!

The first one is a picture of her laying on her side. You can see her eyes, nose and mouth. The "dot" above her head is his arm/hand. The 2nd one is the proof she's a girl. It's looking at her from underneathe! There she is!

~danielle~

We are now registered at Walmart.com and Target.com. You can search us using our names!

Baby Items I have vs What I need

What I have:
Cribs
Swings
Bassinet
Porta crib
Bath tub
Exersaucer
Bobby Pillow


What I need:
Breast Pump
Dresser
Car Seat (infant)
Diaper Bag


I am currently working on Baby Regestries for Walmart and Target.

~danielle~

IT'S A GIRL!!

The verdict is in. The baby is a..... GIRL.... C-section is scheduld for August 21st. She currently weighs 1lb4ozs!!!!

I'll post sonogram pictures later!

My bro will be here soon!

My brother is finally going to make his move from Virginia to Texas! We've been waiting for this for a long time, but the time was just never right! He will be leaving Friday, with his friend Jared and two dogs for the drive. They will leave after my bro finishes court on Friday. It'll take about 22 hours, give or take! He's hoping to be here Saturday around 2 or so!

I think it will be good for him to finally be down here with family. It will be an adjustment though, him moving back in with mom and dad. It will only be a temporary thing until after he's able to secure a job and find a place to live. It will also ensure that his dogs are taken care of if he's away at an acedemy. He's hoping to become a Texas State Trooper!

Lane is very excited to see his uncle Travis! He's been asking how many night sleeps it will be. That's how Lane figures time, the amount of nights he has to sleep in order for something to happen. Pretty good for a 4 year old!

Travis and Jared will stay until Tuesday morning. Then they will make the 7 hour drive to mom and dad's. It works out well b/c I have my sonogram on Monday. Travis has offered to watch Lane and cook dinner that night. What more can ya ask for?! LOL.

So today, I start doing the cleaning. I'm planning to steam clean the living room carpet and get the living room dusted and cleaned up. Since I'm limited as to what I'm allowed to do, that's about all I'll probably get done.

Tomorrow I will be enrolling Lane in school for the fall. He'll be in the pre-k class. He's very excited to go! We've been working his hooked on phonics, so hopefully he'll have a headstart when it's time to go. I also have to do some grocery shopping and my hope is to get the bathrooms cleaned.

Saturday my plan is to mow the grass before they arrive and straighten up. We'll see how things go though. I can't do too much. He may just have to deal with it :)

It's Thursday and Mikie is working today!! Thank you God!!! Hopefully the weather will shape up and these "jobs" that have been in the works will start to pop up! We really need the money to pay those bills!

Off to steam clean the living room carpet!!

~danielle~

Work, or the lack there of!

Work has been scarce the last few weeks for my hubby. He didn't work a single day last week for his dad. He did, however work one day for another guy. But one day, doesn't pay the bills. Between the weather and the economy, they are starting to feel the pinch. I hate that they have spent so much time building the business back up after Mikie's mom left and now things are so scarce, they may not be able to recover.

I know stress is a bad thing for me and the baby, but it's hard when the week draws to an end and you have to find some way to pay what bills you can afford to pay. We just have to pray that something will shake loose! Mikie and his dad are out looking today. They have business cards now, so hopefully they will be able to hand a few out. At this point, it doesn't matter how big or how small, they need something to do!

I know they have a few things in the works, but nothing that is ready to start in the next couple of days and at this point in time, that's what they need!

So one day at a time and here's to praying that this week will turn out to be a better week than last week!

~danielle~

Oh the aches and pains!

I feel like such a big baby these days! My back and belly always hurt! It doesn't matter if I spend the day laying around or if I'm up and moving! It's amazing how a 1lb baby (23 weeks tomorrow) can cause so many aches and pains!

The little skittle kicks and moves all day long. I feel like maybe it's taken up acrobatics in my stomach! Mikie sits with me and we just watch my belly. It looks like jelly! It's just amazing to me! Last night he laid his arm across my belly when we were cuddling and the baby just kicked and kicked. The skittle must not of liked the pressure Mikie was putting on my belly or the skittle isn't interested in sharing it's mommy!

Ahh I've taken my warm bath and now it's time to lay on the heating pad. Hopefully the Mylanta will have kicked in and I don't feel like the fire breathing dragon when I lay down!

I guess I'm just not one of those women that just feel splended with they are pregnant. Can I be done, yet?

~danielle~

1 year ago today.

Just taking a moment to reflect on the fact we lost baby number 2, one year ago today. Tomorrow's a new day!

~danielle~

5 and a half months!

Today I'm 22 weeks or 5 and a half months. I'm definitely feeling pregnant! Some of the aches and pains have started to go away (praise God for that!). The heartburn has started, which is always a lovely feeling! The baby kicks all the time and Mikie is amused to sit and watch my belly move. Lane has felt the baby move once and he wanted to know if the baby was jumping up and down! He was even concerned enough to ask me if it hurt!

The weather has surely gotten warm here. It was near 90. I finally had to turn the AC on. It was 82 in the house. I just can't handle that. I try, very hard to not turn on the air/heat if we don't really need it. Between Lane and the dogs running in and out of the house, it easier just to leave things open. But when you start to sweat, just sitting on the couch, it's time to turn it on :)

My bro will be here in a little over 2 weeks. We're excited to see him. It'll be nice having him closer and being able to see him more. He will also be here to see the new baby arrive in August, which I think he'll enjoy. He really enjoy's Lane! I just hope that moving back in with Mom and Dad for a bit while he gets himself on his feet wont be too hard of an adjustment. Caiti is so used to being an only child.

I am finally getting my groove with the "couponing" that everyone is doing. I found a GREAT website that really helps out and I'm always finding good deals and freebies. I found out that Saturday at Toys R Us they are having a big Thomas the Train event for the kiddos. There will be story time, activies, coloring stuff and giveaways. We plan to take Lane and maybe Alli and Aj to go see Thomas. I need to go to Longview anyway, so this just gives us more of a reason. I think Lane will really enjoy it! But I've been cutting/clipping coupons and searching for the best deals. I'm still not as good as the coupon mom or frugal coupon living is BUT, I'm getting there :)

Today is a beautiful day. Hopefully we can get the wheels off the tractor and we can get the yard mowed. I figure we'll be bailing hay before it's all over! I hate feeling as though I can't help out around here! So much to do and Mikie has been working long days. Not a lot of energy to do the things around the house that I simply can't do! Maybe we could clone him? Nah one hubby is enough :)

~danielle~

So very happy!

Lane has been potty trained during the day for months now, but the night has been harder. He goes to bed at 8:30 and sleeps until 8 or so. He always seems to sleep so hard! He never manages to wake up to use the bathroom. We haven't pushed the issue, he's only 4 and his ped. said it's not a big concern yet.

Well last night, at 4 am I heard him come out of his room. He stood in the hallway and called my name. I of course asked what was wrong, he said he needed to go potty! I said well go man! I got out of bed and he went potty! He then climbed back up into his bed, I covered him up and back to sleep he went!

When he got dressed this morning, he was dry! Maybe this means he's starting to "listen" to his body even when he's sleeping! I'm so excited. He usually wears a pullup to bed, but it would be great to be out of all those before the new baby comes!

We tried putting him in underwear a few months back, but we spent a week or two with nightly wettings, sometimes two times a night. It was obvious he just wasn't ready!

Here's to drier nights, we hope!

~danielle~

Doctor's appointment went well!

I had my 5 month checkup today! All my test results from the ER came back Negative, which is what we already knew. So I had a shot, for nothing. Figures. The doctor even questions if I really had high white blood cells or they were just telling me something to discharge me. At any rate, the doctor wasn't concerned.

He did tell me that I needed to take it easy. I don't feel like I really do all that much these days, but if the pain did persist, I would have to go to bedrest. I'll do my best to sit around and be a couch potatoe. It's hard with a 4 year old though. He can be demanding at times (like any other child). I'll just have to take it one day at a time and pray for the best.

We heard the heartbeat (mikie went with me since it was too wet to work). The baby immediately turned so that he had to try to find the heartbeat again. It was 153 beats per minute which is good.

My next appointment is May 11th. We'll do a sonogram to find out what color the skittle is. We're both excited. I can't wait to start shopping and planning my baby registry. I don't need many big things as I have a crib, swing, bath tub and porta crib. What I will mostly need is a dresser and a cart seat and then lots of other little stuff. If it's a boy, I have two rubber maid containers FULL of stuff.

All in all a good day :)

~danielle~

Happy Easter!

Lane seems to be enjoying his rainy easter! The Easter Bunny brought him an "easter wheel barrow" filled with candy and bubble stuff. He's quite pleased about it all. We haven't gotten to hunt easter eggs yet b/c the silly easter bunny hid them outside and it's been pouring rain this morning! By the looks of it, the dogs helped themselves to some of the eggs as well! He hunted Easter Eggs yesterday at church, so it's not a total loss!

I go see the doctor tomorrow for my 5 month checkup (I'm 20w3d today). When I spoke to him Friday, he was still concerned about the pain I was experiencing. He did NOT receive my results from my cultures when I went to the ER. Tomorrow before my appointment I'm going down to see if I can get those results before I see him. Then we can discuess what is or is not happening. He mentioned possible bedrest.

Keep us in your prayers as this pregnancy continues to be difficult! I hope everyone has a Happy Easter and to remember the reason we are truly celebrating! Jesus Lives!!

~danielle~

Some charity work pictures.

Here are 6 oddball baby blankets that we have completed. The first one is Strawberry Sundae, Southwest, Smurf, Ocean Waves, Candy Corn and last is Tyler's Blanket. The first 5 will be going to Project Linus. The last blanket was donated to a young man that one of knitters knows, Tyler. He was happy to pose for a picture with his new blanket. He is doing well, but has a long recovery ahead of him.

~danielle~

I'm beginning to wonder about our local hopsital...

Yesterday I was having some lower pelvic pain. I thought maybe I had a bladder infection. It's hard to tell if I'm going more frequently since I drink more water than a camel!!! I called Mikie and had him meet me up at the Emergency room, I left Lane with his mamaw and papaw!

I was taken right in and since I wasn't 20 weeks yet, I wasn't allowed to just be taken to the OB floor (why the heck not?). So I was put into a room, which was very hot! The doctor came in to see me and asked me a bunch of questions. I explained to him it wasn't cramping just an ache/pain in my lower belly.

Mikie came in not long after that and the doctor returned. He did a quick ultrasound, found the baby with a heartbeat and moving. He wasn't good enough to tell the sex of the baby though. He did a pelvic exam and took some cultures and checked my cervix. They didn't have my "stickers" for my cultures so they just left them. Finally after an hour, a nurse comes in with my stickers and takes my cultures. By now it's after 6pm (I got there at 4:15pm). So we wait, in a hot room. Finally at 7:30 they come in to tell me I have a bacterial infection. He looks me in the eyes and says we think you have a STD. I'm like uhhh wth? Don't you have to be DOING that to get one of those? He said well yes, but we wont know for sure so we're going to give you a shot of antibiotics b/c your white blood cells are high down there. You can call us in Tuesday to find out the results for sure.

So I'm left boggled. We haven't done much of anything since the bleeding for my cervix. I'm too concerned to do much of anything and being so tired all the time, it doesn't occur to me.

Yeah. So. The last time I went to the ER I was told I lost a baby. The next day I go and find out, no in fact, the bleeding wasn't even coming from my uterus. It was my from my cervix. I'm not sure they know their head from a hole in the ground.

Monday I plan to call my doctor and tell him what's going on. He can pull my ER charts and look it over himself. If I'm still hurting, I'm going to ask him to check things out. *Boggle* Sometimes I just don't know!!!

~danielle~

The effects of Benadryl!

I don't usually take Benadryl b/c of the weird side effects it has on me. But being pregnant, I don't have a lot of options and during allergy season, I have to take what I can get! So I've been taking my Zyrtec at night and usually in the mornings I wake up and I'm sneezy, runny nose, itchy/watery eyes and I just can't stand that. So I eat breakfast and then take a benadryl.

Well today I got those weird side effects. I was almost dazed and confused! It's such a horrible feeling. Mikie worked today (praise the lord!) so I had to suck it up until rest time. By 2, I could barely keep my eyes open! Lane went into his room for rest time and I went and laid on the bed. The next thing I know the phone is ringing and it's 4!!! Poor Lane. I didn't mean for him to spend 2 full hours in there. He played, read his new library books and didn't make a big mess. What a good boy!

So yeah, benadryl is a blessing and a curse! I see the allergy doctor tomorrow and hope that maybe there is something else I can do as well. I can't keep taking the benadryl when Mikie's not home b/c I don't always have the luxury of laying down for a good nap. I need to be alert and aware with a 4 year old running around. Ugh.. Allergies!

~danielle~

Progress on the knitting front!

I spent quite a while taking inventory of what I had in UFO's as far as my knitting was concerned. I wanted to see what I could get accomplished and put together and then take note of what still needed to be done so I could work to finish those as well.

Today I managed to finish knitting my section on an oddball baby blanket. I have 2 that will go in the mail Friday!! I weaved in ends on 3 other blankets, took pictures and boxed up 5 blankets that I will take to Longview to donate to Project Linus. I boxed up the two pet snuggles and the parrot sweater which will be headed to Best Friends in Utah!

I managed to get Lane's last clog almost done. I just need to knit a second sole and then knit them together and seam it up! Then I will be able to felt Mikie and Lane's clogs!

The other UFO's I currently have are : Pinwheel sweater needs it's sleeves, Overlapping leaves socks need to be finished up, although, the more I look at the one I've started, I'm concerned it wont be large enough, it may be frogged; Mix and Mingle Afghan I bought from knitpicks over a year ago.

I have a couple of small projects I'd like to work on. I have a pair of clogs I'd like to knit for myself. I want to start another prayer shawl (knit this time). So! That in a nutshell is what I need to do. I want to try and get more of these finished up b/c I hope to know the sex of the bay in another couple of weeks and want to knit some things.

~danielle~

Sonogram and side shot!

Here is a picture of the sonogram they did at 12w4d. The baby is laying on its side. The head is to the right and the legs are crossed towards the left. Here is also a side shot of me at 12 weeks. I was still able to fit into my regular jeans. That has LONG since gone. I am always wearing a top that I knitted. Ahhhh. One day :)

New Vinyl flooring

Here are a few pictures of the new vinyl floor. It's much lighter than what used to be down. This was before all the furniture was put back. Lane was even helping to clean it! Hopefully he'll always want to help his mommy :) We are so happy to have this new floor down. Even Sampson is happy b/c he can walk on it without slipping and sliding all over the place. He's such a big baby!