Pregnancy update: 24 weeks

Pregnancy update

How far along: 24 weeks (6 months!)

If anyone who's been in our house and is confused as to where this shot was taken, it's a mirrored image from my computer webcam. For some reason it doesn't rotate on it's own, I have to select that option, and forgot... :)

Countdown: 16 weeks

Size of baby: (I'm putting into fact that he's measuring a week ahead) Eggplant (9.2in, 2lbs) Last week I was ahead of myself and had put eggplant down. So I went back and changed it. He was about the length of an ear of corn I guess.

Maternity clothes: I wore a dressy maternity blouse for church on Sunday, but did wear my regular dress pants! (wore them a little lower to get under the belly) :) Other than that, sweats and sweatshirt during the day! Today I had to put on some other jeans so my favorite pair could be washed. I had to do the hair tie around the button trick in order to wear them comfortably! :)

Movement: Probably the most I've felt so far. At one point in the day, I asked if he'd ever slept that day?!

What I miss: Sweet tea and soda. Confession: I've been drinking too much coffee. (hence all the activity)

Sleep: still waking up early in the morning and then falling back to sleep. REALLY tired this week, so falling to sleep hasn't been a problem.

Symptoms: TIRED and sore!!! Acne, forgetfulness, and sore breasts.

Cravings: Coffee. Confession: I went to Starbucks twice this past week.

Best moment this week: Finding out my insurance covered a bill specific bill unexpectedly! (PTL!) :) and Joe buying his own vehicle to get to and from work in CASH!!!!

What I'm looking forward to: Taking a ride in Joe's car. He just got home from registering it! :) Pictures soon to come!

Preschool with Lincoln - Creation Day 5

I started doing preschool with Lincoln sometime at the end of January, but it was very relaxed and we took our time for two weeks to go through a one week schedule. I was testing the waters, and we were also getting ready for a week vacation to Florida. Now that Florida is about 3 weeks ago and we are finally over with that nasty cold we got while in Florida, I'm ready to start preschool again and go at it more serious than previously!

Lincoln loves "school" and loves making things. We really like the free online curriculum that I found, (ABC Jesus Loves Me) along with other free online resources. (http://ministry-to-children.com/, http://www.first-

school.ws/INDEX.HTM, and even Youtube.com)

This week we started up where we left off, in the middle of the story of Creation. We reviewed the first 4 days by listening and watching some Youtube videos. After that we recited Gen. 1:1 a few times, sang it, and then sang 7 days. (a poem provided by the curriculum.)

We then sang the song for the week: This is the day

Our craft is a page that we will put into our Creation book. Day 5: God created the birds and sea creatures.

After our craft, we went to his bedroom to put up fish window clings on his bedroom windows and talked about the fish that God created.

While lunch was being made we watched the book of the week on Youtube: Mr. Brown Can Moo, Can You?

After lunch he played some education online games and that was about the extent of our 'school day'. Through out the day something will remind us of our lesson, or we will talk over what we learn, sing more songs, and there's always time to read our books of the week over again. Like this week we'll be reading My One Book, God Gave Us You, and our Beginner's Bible

Later on this week we'll go through the last two days of creation, learn about the color green and brown, and more on the number 1.

If anyone has any other resources or websites they'd like to share, please do! I'm always searching for more ideas!

His new craft/school board in his room that we got today! I love it! :)

I don't stress over on how much time we actually spend in 'school.' I don't really think of it as school yet but rather an outlet for both of us.

(silly shots after craft time) :)

Love my little man!

This post is linked up with:

These Five of Mine

Publix and CVS shopping

This week I was able to shop by myself and...it.was.wonderful!! I was able to stop at three stores and get our weekly's worth of groceries right on budget! That hasn't been done in a long time! I haven't been couponing for the past 6 months, so it's good to get back at it.

I'm not a crazy couponer. I don't have 50 coupons for one item. I usually get 2-3 extra inserts from friends, and along with my paper delivered, it's been good enough for our family! Our health and beauty stock pile survived the 6months of no couponing and it's still thriving!

Aldi's: Most of my grocery shopping was done here. $48.08

CVS: It's been FOREVER since I've gone to CVS. I've missed it and I'm glad I now have my ECB rolling again!

Spent: $7.48 Saved: $16.80 Got back $8.99 in ECB

Publix: Spent: $13.69 Saved: $29.55

The noodles and powdered ranch dressing weren't on sale, and didn't have a coupon either, but they were items we needed and weren't at Aldi. (I didn't have to buy the ranch dressing come to find out...) I was excited for the cereal being $0.96 after coupon! Velveeta boxes were $0.50 each, butter was $0.28, Chef Boyardee was free, salad as $1.00, and the rice packets were $0.66 each.

Total spent: $69.25 ($65.00 is our weekly goal, but I had about $4.25 of change in my purse.)

And that's my weekly shopping!

Linked up at:

Couponing & Cooking

SAVINGS IS FREE!!!

Pregnancy week 23

I never know what to tell people when they ask, "how far along are you?" My doctor would tell you I'm 23 weeks according to my LMP. But the lady who gives the ultrasound, (whatever they're called???) will say, "He's right on schedule, 24 weeks." (which really means he's measuring a week ahead of schedule lady!)

So what do I do? Is my due date June 19, or June 11? And with Lincoln, he came exactly a week early, so June, 12, or June 5? To imagine having him that soon is too scary to think about....! Recently I've been telling people what the doctor says, but being hopeful he'll make an appearance around the 11th. :)

last minute picture for this post. I really need Joe to take the pictures. (And maybe I should clean the mirror!)

How far along: 23 weeks, 1 day

Countdown: 16 weeks, 6 days

Size of baby: (according to 24 weeks...) Ear of corn (8.5in, 1.5 lbs)

Maternity clothes: I haven't been wearing too much of maternity clothes yet. I have only one pair of jeans that fit and I wear them all.the.time. Most of my days are spent in sweats/yoga pants and over-sized sweatshirts.

Movement: lots of movement this week with kicks and I think I felt some rolling over. This Baby seems to be positioned lower than I remember from last pregnancy. So kicks are a little uncomfortable at times. (I know he can't, but I feel as if he's gonna kick himself out!)

What I miss: Soda. I do give myself 1-2 smalls cups of coffee in the morning and that's my intake of caffeine for the day.

Sleep: So far so good. Actually, I've been falling asleep pretty quickly and sleeping really soundly! Joe says I've been talking in my sleep! I do wake up around 3am to roll over, look at the clock, and fall right back to sleep.

Symptoms: sore back and fatigued in the evenings.

Cravings: Sweets. I made a cream cheese braid for brunch last Saturday! Covered it with powdered sugar frosting!

Best moment this week: Lincoln feeling his brother's movement for the first time! And FINALLY getting over that dumb cold!

What I'm looking forward to: Nap time!

Painting with Lincoln! (and more!)

As Lincoln is growing right before our eyes, I can see him becoming a hands on, get in there and 'I'll do it(!)', kind of kid. He LOVES getting his hands in the mess and taking charge! But he also is sensitive, has a kind spirit, and a 'need to keep things clean' mentality. (doesn't like his hands TOO dirty for too long)

The other day as we were outside, he had to make sure the ants had breakfast for tomorrow. So we prepared a bucket of dirt, leaves, twigs, and other random things we found in the grass for the ants breakfast. The bugs aren't out yet, but he wants to make sure they're taken care of! I love that he asks to take walks and is always engaged in where we are with comments and questions.

I love his creativity and imagination. His most recent interest are volcanoes that erupt with "HOT LABA!!" It's funny that for a 3 year old he can say 'erupt' and 'abominable snowman', but doesn't pronounce "laVa!" It's too cute, I don't want to correct him because I know soon enough he'll catch on and then "Laba" will never be used again. (and when those days come, it makes me sad...my baby growing up...)

Naps are starting to fade as a thing of the past. (another sad thought) Some days are really great nap days, others, not so much! But at least he still takes the hr. of quiet time so that mommy can either take a little nap or get some things done. Yesterday we had a first of him locking

himself in his room during quiet time. He wasn't too concerned about it at the moment (it was the poopy in the diaper he was afraid I'd be upset about, hence the lack of concern for being in the room a little longer) as I was begging him through the door to flip the lock over on the door knob. Thankfully he was able to turn the lock back over. But now we have another 'no-no.'

He's been very affectionate lately with kisses and hugs and telling me a lot that he loves me. I enjoy the attention, but most of the time it's for attention when he knows mommy can't hold him at the moment. I'm interested to see how he'll do with a new baby in mommy's arms. He likes to rub my belly and say hi to baby at times. But recently I've noticed myself saying "mommy can't because of the baby in her belly." And I don't want to blame the baby or have Lincoln have resentment towards his little brother.

I love that he likes to help out around the house. He's very good at giving out words of praise and telling me that I'm doing a good job! :) I'm trying to get him to do other things that he can do by himself so that *hopefully* by the time baby's here, I can trust him to do those things on his own. (ha, I'm probably getting way ahead of myself here!)

Lincoln still has his infatuation with Iron Man, but now Power Rangers are in the group of toys he "needs" as well. Thanks to Netflix, the show I've forever hated is my son's favorite.

Preschool has been on hold, but hopefully by next week I'll have everything prepared to start up again. I can't believe how much prep work preschool takes!

Today for you Lincoln, I pray for your spirit of contentment. I pray that the Lord will teach you the secret to contentment in every situation, good or bad, through Him who gives strength. (Phil. 4:12-13) (www.inspiredtoaction.com prayer calendar for mothers.)

Linked up with:

The MOB Society

Homeschool Creations

Update on life

*ok so I had this post looking good, how I wanted it...now I can't get the alignment right. This is one of the many reasons why I don't blog often...*

It's been a long time again since I've blogged....I've been lazy about it, discouraged about it, and ignoring it over the summer...fall...ok, and winter months. Motherhood had gotten the best of me and life just did not seem interesting enough to talk or tell or type about. You know how it is... Everyday consists of the same old thing. Poop on the floor, pee on the couch, food in their hair, play dough on the bottom of your socks, spilled milk, grilled cheese, mac 'n' cheese, string cheese, and on occasion, for variety, maybe a peanut butter and jelly.

How.cool.is.that?.....

And get ready for it to start all over again the next day..............

You're probably going to tell me that I'm lazy, (I agree) or that I don't get out much. But on the contrary, I feel that I get out...maybe not A LOT, but I feel it's enough for us.

- During the spring and summer months we were traveling almost every weekend out of state with Joe and the quartet.

- Lincoln and I were outside in the sprinkler when it wasn't TOO hot. (Lincoln doesn't like the

sun or heat. *sigh*)

- I even took him to the crazy EXPENSIVE local water park once. And on occasion we went to a pool.

- We took three big trips last summer. Colorado, Wisconsin, and Michigan for two weddings and a funeral.

- We go to the library, park, and take walks around our neighborhood.

- We hang out with the quartet quite a bit where he plays with older kids.

- He enjoys church, and just recently I started swapping hours with a friend where we will watch each other's kids for 6hrs. once a week so that we can have some time to get things done. This

has helped with dr. appointments, errands, or catching lunch with Joe. It also gives Lincoln a

friend to play with twice a week! :)

There's other things in there as well like the shopping, running errands, and going out with daddy in the evenings. I'm not complaining that my life is boring. Just kinda...

stuck in a rut feeling...

So by the end of the summer I decided I was ready. I thought maybe a baby is something that would help me out of this rut. I know it's a big decision, I know what all entails with a newborn, I know the sacrifices our family will have to make...But Lincoln's getting older, he'll need a sibling,

and I had a slight case of....

The Baby Fever

By September I had a pregnancy test come out positive! By six weeks, I was buying a swing, looking for stuff on craigslist, registering my name for free baby stuff, and even house shopping! The excitement at the beginning was kinda fun! But the sickness was worse this time around. I was exhausted all the time during the first trimester. There were days when Lincoln would tell me, "mom, it's time to get out of bed, NOW!"

During those first few months of pregnancy, I started thinking of the new life that we were

bringing into the world. Was I truly ready ready to bring in a new life? Spiritually was I ready?

How could I bring in a new being when I was failing as a mother to the first child God gave me? God was challenging and convicting me in subtle ways on being and setting an example to my

children; on the ministry that God has placed right here for me. I also know that God was asking me to set some time aside for Him. In the mundane things and same old same old, I have been missing out on the blessings, the lessons, even my alone time with Him was lacking. God started pricking at my heart on getting back into getting to know Him again. How can I set an example when I'm not even in tune with God everyday?

Side notes:

Christmas came around and it was time for the great announcement/surprising the grandparents. We had a wonderful time in Indiana at my sisters with my family over Christmas weekend and loved telling them the great news!

Joe's parents even came down for a few days during their short break!

I hate how we live so far away from everyone. It makes me sad every time we have to say goodbye not knowing exactly when we'll see each other again. I've never had to deal with that feeling until we moved down here to Greenville.

And back:

So life went back to it's regular same old. God started pricking my heart even more about my attitude on motherhood and the ministry he has set before me in this house. Mostly I wanted to start living more like a God centered mom, teaching my son to love God.

I was on a mission. Lincoln is at the age where he needs to be engaging his mind more. He loves to learn new things and then teach them back to others. I was thinking back on the few days that I worked at a day care and remembering how I really enjoyed the 2 & 3 year olds. I needed to find something like a daycare program/curriculum that was organized out for me to start with

Lincoln. Through my research I found a great (free) Christian curriculum that teaches all the preschool stuff kids love and need to learn with the Bible as the core teaching.(www.abcjesuslovesme.com) I don't have a teacher mindset, or creativity, so this site and many others (Pinterest) have helped me along the way.

I don't know if it was the beginning of the nesting stages or what, but I got things all organized and ready for preschool to start! I was excited to get things started!

Lincoln loves doing the crafts and reading books with mommy. We haven't gotten as far as I'd like, I've been pretty relaxed about it, but in the next few weeks, we'll get a schedule down and start back up again. We just got back from a week of vacationing/quartet trip in Florida.

I feel encouraged as I feel as if I'm getting another fresh start with my walk with the Lord. I've found some awesome resources, books, and blogs. The Lord has put the desire in me again to read and I can't seem to get enough. I'm so thankful for my husband buying me my very own laptop as an early Valentine's present. I've only had it a week but all ready I have tons of resources that I know will come in handy for devotions/Bible reading. I love the access it gives me to go anywhere, type in a thought, read a book or passage and also send it to my phone for even more access!

I praise God for second chances, and more chances after that. We fall, fail, and forget, but God doesn't! He lifts us up, satisfies, and never forgets us! I know I'm not a perfect mom, nor will I ever be, but I hope you can see that I've just let myself go and revealed my heart out to the blog world and social media. I'm not out to show how "perfect" my "fake little family" is! I'm real and am learning as God guides me each step of the way and felt like sharing.

God has showed - is showing - me that things of this world, even people, won't ever fully satisfy

me. A baby. my son. my husband. a new house. stuff for baby...

Through all that, I've been enjoying this book that I just found on LivingDevotionally.com that's called 'Savoring Living Water, how to have an effective quiet time.' by Katie Orr and Lara Williams. Through reading the book, these verse came to my attention over the weekend:

O God, you are my God;

earnestly I seek you;

my soul thirsts for you;

my flesh faints for you,

as in a dry and weary land where there is no water.

Ps. 63:1

For he satisfies the longing soul,

and the hungry soul he fills with good things.

Ps. 107:9

Jesus said to them, "I am the bread of life,

whoever comes to me shall not hunger,

and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.

John 6:35

That's just how I feel. I'm thirsty and the Lord is satisfying!

I hope to give this blog a(nother) face lift as life changes, so do blogs. I've kinda backed off of the couponing since the pregnancy as it just completely wears me out. I've slowly gotten back to it

over the past couple weeks as the energy comes back. Recently it just hasn't been that high of a

priority, but I'd like to get back to it more regularly. Our pantry suffered some, but it's nice that our beauty/bath care items still looks fully stocked after 5+months of no regular couponing! :)

So that's the update. I hope I don't sound like I'm just wasting away in my misery. Which I'm not...I'm really a laid back, quiet kind of person and I usually don't have much to say. Motherhood has it's moments and please understand where I'm coming from. I love my son(s)

(oh yeah, it's a boy!),

husband, and I love being a wife and mom.

date night w/hubby at a hockey game. Don't ask about his facial expression. I don't know why he is the way he is... :)

There are more good times than bad in our house and we do eat other things besides cheese! :)