Our Perfect Blonde Angel.....

One week into being foster parents, things were a bit rocky.  Out sweet Little Lady was having a difficult time, she was teething, settling into an unfamiliar home, had a few restless nights, and her first foster care well baby appointment was upon us….and wouldn’t you know she needed a few shots.   She cried so hard that the entire office could hear her.  She had some strong vocal cords for such a Little Lady. 

She cried and would not stop no matter what I did to comfort her.  We got into my mommy van and as we pulled into our neighborhood she stopped crying and fell to sleep.  I drove right by our home and kept driving.  We had a few hours before we had to be home for a visit with our agency case worker so I decided to take a drive around our city.  We drove and drove….and I let her sleep, finally.

The time that we HAD to be home was getting close so we headed back.  By the time our case worker arrived Little Lady’s mood was better but still a bit fussy.  She rested in her swing as our case worker and I chatted and started on paper work.

As we sat in the den working I heard ducks. (Please see this post for info on back story)  I was a bit confused since that is the ring tone for our agency and a representative of our agency was in my home.  I do not know what made me answer the phone, I mean it was actually kind of rude since I had a guest, but I answered.  I was being called for a placement.  Let me back up to say that I had gotten a few more placement calls since Little Lady had been in our home…but none felt right or I did not call back in time to get the info.

The voice on the other end was the agency Program Manager (everyone there seems to take and make calls) she said she knew I was getting settled with Little Lady but wanted to tell me about another baby.  This baby was a little 8 month old girl who needed a place to stay.  I was told all family and other options had been exhausted.  Since we are a foster to adoption home, this sounded good.  I got a few more details, that I cannot share, and I said “bring her home”.

When I told our case worker what was going on she asked, “Are you sure?  Are you crazy?”  I had just told her about the rough time Little Lady and I were having.  Their ages were so close, a 5 month old and an 8 month old!?!?! I was sure.  Something just felt right in agreeing to care for her.  Our case worker agreed and said it sounded promising that this baby might stay forever.  Of course we never know that to be true, the goal is always reunification.

Fast forward to later that evening and a beautiful blond hair, blue eye angel came to my door.  We call her “Blondie”.

When I opened the door I felt immediate love.  The man on the porch held the most beauitiful fair skin, blonde hair baby with big blue eyes...like a sparkling saphire blue that you can get lost in. She was scared but not crying. All she had on was a thin onesie that had holes and smelled of smoke.  I wanted to get her inside and into something more comfortable.  The first thing I found was a clean, Texas A&M, thick soft onesie. So I put that on her and a nice warm pair of socks. 

Meanwhile, the CPS worker who brought her home was bringing in boxes and armfuls of belonging.  I still get very emotional when I think this was everything she owned….well except the “play pen” (as the CPS worker called it) that she slept in, it did not fit in his car.  When Little Lady came, she had a bag of clothes, like she was staying a few days.  Blondie had everything she “owned”, like she was not going back. 

We are her first Foster Care home but she had been in multiple homes over the last few months as her parents could not care for her.  Remember, she was only 8 months old at the time.  It is hard to tell the entire story when there are so many details we cannot share…. But just know that she was scared and tired.  But she was well fed as she was much bigger than I thought she would be.  Compared to Little Lady, just a few months younger, she was a big girl.  Not fat, just big.  I even asked if they were sure she was 8 months old. 

We started to get settled in, remember Little Lady (the 5 month old) was still with us, at this time.  We were thinking about what we needed for TWO babies and what we had.  Well, we only had one car seat, one stroller….so David, my hubbie, headed out to get another car seat (we actually had a car seat and stroller we were borrowing from my brother and SIL, but it was a single stroller).  When he came back, he not only had a new carrier and car seat but a double stroller….the exact one I wanted. 

I do not know if Blondie was just exhausted or used to being in so many homes, she did not put up a fuss.  She played with us, a little cautiously but not really guarded.  She ate well.  She loved watching Little Lady, and wanted to love on her….but she did not know her own strength so we could not let her play too much. It being so late in the evening, when she came, it wasn’t long before bedtime.  She and Little Lady were pretty good roomies.  They both slept well…esp Little Lady who I think was used to sharing a room with her brother and sister.

In fact, they were both so easy going that we took them out to the mall that weekend to test out the new double stroller.  They just chilled in their seats and enjoyed being out.  We saw the Easter Bunny and got their pic taken.  That was a big surprise as I had not thought about it being so close to Easter.

We had so many visitors in and out of the home, meeting the girls.  I am not sure, looking back, that it was a good thing or not.  Some experts say not to have a lot of visitors so the baby can bond with mommy and daddy…but everyone was so excited to meet them…and the babies seemed to enjoy it, too. 

Blondie had a yuckie rash and other skin problems when she arrived. I had talked to our Foster Care Clinic but they did not seem concerned and just said to go to the ER if it got bad.  We had an appt coming up for her first visit, so they just did not seem to think we needed to come in sooner.  I kept a close eye on it and used rash ointment, we used very strict cautions so there was no cross contamination.  By Sunday afternoon I just could not deal with not really knowing and we took a trip to the ER. Foster children have medical covered so might as well take advantage of it.  Also, David had been inventorying her belonging s and came across some cream in a bag….I am not going to disclose what it was but dealing with it in my past, while working in an Alzheimer’s community, I just wanted make sure we had this under control.

So we spent most of Sunday evening in the ER.  The nurses were so nice and the babies were pretty relaxed.  I think Little Lady just slept thru it.  Ok…so Blondie was relaxed until they started examining her.  She did not want me to put her down.  We were already getting pretty attached and she trusted me.  She had to lie down and be still, something to this day she still does not like.  I let her play with my necklace and that seemed to calm her down….give her something else to focus on.  We made a joke that something shiny from Tiffany and Co always makes a girl happy. The nurses doctored her up, we got a diagnosis of what the rash was (and it wasn’t the icky thing the cream was for, that had already cleared up), and a prescription.  We gladly said thank you and good bye.  We had our first ER visit and it wasn’t that big of a deal, it could have been worse.

The next week was exhausting but I felt so blessed.  There were some sleepless nights; I will not fib on that….but the babies were in a strange home, sleeping in a strange room….with another strange baby.  It was one of those feeling of exhaustion that you welcome it kind of things, if that makes sense.  Mommies understand what I mean. 

On Thursday, after 2 weeks of being her Foster Family, we had to say Good Bye and God Bless to our Little Lady.  She was a sweet heart but she was going to live with her Grandma, Grandpa, big brother and sister.  We were going to miss her but were very happy for her reunification. 

And now Blondie was an only child.  We decided to focus our energy and love on this little angel.  She seemed to need some attention and we had plenty to give.  We were called several times over the next few weeks about placements and always passed.  I finally asked that they just give us some time to spoil Blondie and enjoy her.  When we agreed to be licensed for two it was supposed to be if they were siblings, so it wasn’t really a big deal.  I love the idea of two but not right now.

Over the last few months we have kept pretty busy.  We have enjoyed lots of family events.  My sister, Krazy Krystal and BFF Cathy threw a fun “Welcome to Foster Parenthood Shower” for me and Blondie was the center of attention.  It was so cool that the baby was there at the shower.

 I also celebrated my very first Mother’s Day as a mommie.  Blondie and David made me breakfast (cinnamon rolls) and had a card from David AND one from Blondie waiting on me when I woke up.  I got presents, too…a charm from Tiffany’s of a little girl silhouette and a Louis Vuitton Neverfull MM in Azure (to be my summer mommie bag…which I LOVE!!!!).  We hosted a Mother’s Day lunch at our home and everyone came.  We had David’s Yummy, award winning, homemade jambalaya. I had been feeling so sad on the last few Mother’s Days that this was a big deal to me.  I was finally a mommie, too.

 We celebrated Father’s Day, too, which was a lot of fun.  Blondie and I took off shopping on the Saturday before to hunt for the perfect gifts (they had been planned for a while but I could not find the perfect frame). We gave David cards, made breakfast, and gave him cigars and a big photo collage frame with several photos we took of Blondie in the Bluebonnets (for him to hang in his new office).  We took Daddy out for dinner at his favorite place, Bone Daddy’s House of Smoke.  David has a daughter, Victoria, who is in her 20s, but we do not see her often.  I always make a big deal about Father’s Day for him with a card, gift, and dinner out…but this was so fun having a baby to celebrate with us.

We went on quite a few outings.  David and I always take a trip to the BLuebonnet Trails in April, we really enjoyed taking BLondie and getting some great pictures. We got Family Memberships to the Dallas Zoo and went several times before it got too hot.  Blondie loved riding in her stroller and seeing the animals.  She especially enjoyed when Jordan (17 year old niece) and Ayden (4 year old cousin) went with us. When Krazy Aunt Krystal was on vacation we went to the Dallas Aquarium and saw the sharks and flamingos.  We also went shopping and out to lunch a few times while Krystal was off of work.  We went swimming at Mimi’s house a few times and Blondie enjoyed it so much we decided to have her Birthday Party as a Pool Party / Luau. 

At the first of July we welcomed Baby Lucca, my nephew, into the world.  Now Blondie has a cousin just a year younger.  I hope they get to grow up together, picking on each other and playing, becoming  best friends. 

We have celebrated many firsts with our sweet little Blondie.  We were told, when she arrived, that she did not crawl.  We witnessed the “first” time she crawled.  We cheered her on to her first steps.  We celebrated her first Birthday…..OH and did we CELEBRATE!!!!

To be continued….

XO

Tiffany

Fostering "Little Lady"

Ok...so bare with me as I ramble thru this.  I posted back on March 30, 2013 that we were considering the Foster to Adopt program to grow our family.  We took a leap and started classes (Pride) in May of 2013 which started the process.  Over the next 10 months, yes it took that long, we got our license.  (If you are interested in each step of the process, please look into your states Foster Adoption program.  Every state might be different and I do not want to lead you the wrong way.)

I want to tell you about our first foster daughter, Little Lady....

On a Friday afternoon in mid March, I got our first call for a placement.  It was for 2 baby girls, I was told they were 5 months and a year, if I am remembering correctly.  I do remember the ages had to be an estimate because it did not "add up" to possible.  Anyway, those were the ages I was told.  I remember when I got the call I kept hearing ducks.  I had set my ring tone to ducks for the agency and it did not register in my brain that was who was calling.  As soon as I realised, I ran to the bathroom (I was at work and we were not supposed to have phones on us) and answered.  I got all the info, said yes, and started trying to get in touch with my husband.  Well in the meantime, the girls went to stay with someone in their own county.  I was very sad for the loss of two babies I never had. 

I was also pretty pissed that I might have lost this placement because I was too preoccupied at work to listen for my phone to ring.  The next day I gave my two week notice.

Turns out I did not work the entire two weeks.  Everyone who mattered understood that I might be quitting at a moments notice....from the day I agreed to come in to talk to the Executive Director (who was a long time friend, ex boss of mine)....but I still wanted to give the courtesy of notice. 

Anyway....as I sat playing BINGO on a chilly Wednesday afternoon, I heard ducks again.  I answered the phone RIGHT THERE at the BINGO table. Since I was playing BINGO with a group of Alzheimer's residents I knew they might get agitated if I continued to chat on the phone.  A hospice nurse came over and continued the game for me.  She knew what was going on.  The agency was calling to ask if I could care for a little 5 month old baby girl and a 3 year old little girl sibling group.  They had a brother, too, but he was to go elsewhere since I was not opened to older children.  This really made me sad but I decided right off to stick to the decision my husband and I made when we started this journey.  I agreed to care for the girls and they were to arrive later that evening.

I left my job right then and there.  I went to Walmart to get things for the 3 year old since we were not really set up for a 3 year old.  As I pulled into the parking lot, I got a call from our agency letting me know the 5 month old, who we started referring to as "Little Lady" would be coming but her sister was going to the same home as her brother.  I was a little sad but I understood that she was older and would most likely need her brother at that time.

"Little Lady" arrived later that night.  She was bundled up in a Hello Kitty blanket and did not seem to know anything was happening.  Her brother and sister came in as the CPS worker dropped her off.  Their CASA was with them.  I did not expect to meet them.  They were so well behaved and I did not expect that, either.  Not even crying.  I am sure the older kids were scared.  The big brother was 7, so old enough to know what was going on but young enough to be scared.  He was so brave.

Even though I was going to be caring for Little Lady, I asked if I could hold her.  Now, looking back, how odd was that?  She was the sweetest chubby cheeked little baby.  Dark hair, dark eyes, perfection.

The CPS worker filled me in on the case, which I can not go into here.  Of course she said the goal was reunification, it is always the goal. She did say that grandparents wanted her to live with them but they failed the home study....but there was a court date in the next week and the judge could grant them placement of the children.

I expected a long process but the CPS worker was in and out in under half an hour.  I am sure it was shorter than that but I know it was not longer.  I just had to sign a few papers and I was left with a beautiful baby girl.

When everything quietened down I changed her into some comfy clothes and fed her.  I was amazed how she slept thru the night. I also think that might have been the only night she slept thru.  She must have been exhausted.

Over the next few days everyone came to visit and meet our Little Lady.  She was so precious.

Also, over the next few days, we learned more about  her case, mostly from CASA.  CASA can be a wealth of info, GET ON THEIR GOOD SIDE!!!!  They are volunteers and are advocates for the children. We learned that, yes, the grandparents failed their home study but only because of something minor that happened like 30 years ago.  They were good people.  Grandpa took the little boy fishing, Grandma cooked with the little girl....they were their family.  In my heart I knew we were not Little Lady's family.

I loved her and cared for her with all of my heart.  I grew attached to her.  She had her moments, like any 5 month old, but over all she was a very easy and happy baby.  What a welcome into being Foster Parents.  We took her everywhere with us...even to see the Easter Bunny.  She went on date night with us....and to Krazy Krystal's house.  I loved holding her and feeding her every night, even waking up with her to eat and to watch the lullaby video on Youtube. (if you have babies, you MUST watch this....helps them sleep!!!!)

She stayed with us for 2 weeks.  When she left I was very sad....but only for me....well for my entire family as we all loved her....I was happy for her.  She was going to live with her family.  Not only her grandparents but her big brother and sister, too.  I still have very sad moments when I think of her. I cry often when I think about her. She is about 9 months old now.  I know she must be crawling and eating some yummy baby food....has a few teeth.  I also know she is happy when she is around her big brother and sister as she always lit up when they would visit with their CASA worker.  She will always be our first foster daughter and I pray and wish for her a happy life. 

XO

Tiffany

Update on Life...TTC, Adoption, and just being the Girlie Girl Housewife

 

Happy St. Patrick's Day everyone!!!!  It has been a very long time since I have posted.  I think I saw my last post was in Novemeber but several of the last ones were just give a way shares and photos.  Alot has been going on so I will try to give a very quick update.

 

First, and I really should have documented this a little better....but David and I were TTCing (trying to conceive).  We have been TTCing since we were married (ok...even before but we KNEW we were getting married and I wasn't getting any younger...LOL).  In August of last year we actually got medical help.  I was diagnosed with PCOS, something I knew I had from symptoms but the doctor actually confirmed this.  Now at first I thought, "now only if I had been diagnosed sooner"...but really?  She did nothing for this.  Just advised me on how losing weight would help, something we all know, right?  Anyway...I did like that this was confirmed and that I was not crazy or just self diagnosing.  I also got the "official" infertility diagnosis.  A couple is considered infertil if they have been TTCing for over a year or if over 35 (ME!!!!) for 6 months.  Well, we have been TTCing for about 4 years so....

 

Since we had this diagnosis, my doctor could actually start with the fertility meds.  Like everyone else, I started with Clomid.  She also prescribed Provera.  I will not go into the TMI of what these do, you can google it for LOTS of info.

 

 

 

To make a long story short, we did 3 rounds of Clomid between August 2012 and Febuary 2013.  I never ovulated, all I got was a big ole cyst that we are still treating.  Surgery was sugested, more on this later, but we opted for the "wait and see" approach.  I actually developed cysts in the other rounds, as well, but they were small and went away, in a few weeks, on their own.  Most women, from what I have researched, get these cysts at some point in their child baring years...but you never know about them because they go away.  The type of cyst I developed is called a "functional cyct".  The last round of Clomid, I developed one that grew very large.  I can not recall right off how big it was at my last sonogram.

 

I am going to back up a bit.  My last round of Clomid was a 150mg round.  I just KNEW this round was working.  I used OPKs (ovulation predictor kits) to test for ovulation (I never ovulated in the last year or more on my own or with the clomid rounds).  Everything pointed to ovulation (I can not recall the exact dates, but I think it was January 23/24), the OPK had a positive, my BBTs were SPOT ON, and the sono I had early in the week showed signs that it was to happen in the next few days (sono was on Monday...all signs pointed to ovulation on Wed/Thurs).  I had all the symptoms...we did all the "baby dancing" at the right times.  We did everything RIGHT.  And the next few weeks I thought "this is it"!!!!!  As the weeks went on I even had symptoms. At the time of what might have been implantation, I had spotting (which is a sign of the embryo implanting). I started taking HPTs (home preg tests) at the appopriate time and all were negative, but some do not see a positive until the period is missed.  The day came and went for TOM to show and nothing happened.  I called to get an appointment with my ob/gyn, as instructed, and was getting very excited.  Well come to find out I did not ovulate, the cyst was just growing.  What mind games our bodies can play.  All of these symptoms can happen when I cyst is getting larger, too.  This was very heartbreaking.  Not only was I NOT pregnant but I was looking at a surgery to remove the cyst and possibly my ovary.  I wanted a second opinion.

 

At this point, we decided to move on to a Reproductive Endocrynologist at a local fertility clinic.  REs are supposed to be better equipped at treating these cysts and since we would be having to move on to "the big dogs" for our next phase of the ferility treatments, we decided to seek an RE.  We chose Frisco Fertility Center and Dr. Havemann.  She looked absolutely amazing in her bio.  When I met her, my thoughts were confirmed.  She was very easy to talk to and gave me great hope.  She talked in "everyday" language that someone, without a medical degree, could understand.  She wrote everything down on paper and made a very understandable game plan.  She told me their thought, in regards to my cyst, was to "wait and see" if it can go down on it's own.  Not to jump to surgery.  She perscribed a month of birthcontrol.  Now this seems a bit counter productive when you are TTCing but with an ovarian cyst, this is actually a popular treatment.  This gives your body a rest and time for the cyst to go down on it's own.  Since I did 3 rounds of Clomid, she said we would also move on from that and explained all of the other options.  This was absolutly fine with me, I did not want to chance another cyst....but she explained that while Clomid can cause a cyst, it is not the only med that does.

 

 

 

Meanwhile, I had lots of bloodwork done, which again confirmed PCOS and David had a semen analysis.  I faxed his results to the Frisco Fertility Center and I waited about week or so to get a call back.  When I called in, the nurse could not find my file!!!  This is when this AMAZING doctor started going down hill.  Dr. Haveman finally called me back, herself...which was awesome considering most doctors leave this up to the nurse.  She explained that she had my file, that is why the nurse could not fins it.  She gave me my bloodtest results and asked for me to call her to discuss giveing me a prescripotion for my insulin resisitance (PCOS side effect) and to discuss the options in regard to the SA (semen analysis).  She was starting to redeem herself.

 

So I called her back.  This was Tuesday, March 4th.  I called back each day and left messages.  Today is March 17th and I have yet to hear back from her.  The excuse I get when I call in, is that she is opening up a new clinic and is busy with that.  Ok, that is fine....but WHY WAS SHE ACCEPTING NEW PATIENTS WHEN SHE DID NOT HAVE TIME FOR US?????  She seems to be a good doctor when she has time.  Why ask me to call her back if she doesn't have time?  Can't she tell the receptionist to refer me to another doctor?????  When you are TTCing, timing is important.  Now, I know I am on birthcontrol right now, so at this time, timing is not that urgent...but will I get a call back when I need it when it IS URGENT????  We will be paying LOTS of money into this clinic when (IF!!!!) we move forward with them...and I expect LOTS of attention for me money.  I finally asked the receptionist if she was just too busy for new patients?  I explained that I felt very comfortable with Dr Havemann when I met her and liked this clinic....but to PLEASE let me know if I need to move on to another clinic who HAS TIME for me.  At this time I can STRONGLY NOT recommend this clinic or Dr Haveman.  She was so nice and patient but if she can not call me back...screw it, there are many MANY other fertility clinics in the DFW area that just might have time for me...Ok...enough on that....we are moving forward....

 

Ok so back to the SA....I am not going to give TMI out of my hubbies privacy but with the results and my severe problems with TTCing...we have decided to go in another direction.  If you have stayed with me this far, I think THIS is the most important part of my update. 

 

 We have decided to ADOPT!!!!!

 

 

I am so excited about this decision.  I have felt in my heart that God has wanted me to adopt all along.  I was a nanny for a family, back in college, that had adopted 2 children internationally.  I would never claim that this was my favorite family, the mom was self involved and the dad was a big dork who tried to make me feel so beneath him in intelligence.  The house was disgusting. The children were cool, for the most part...each had thier own issues but you can not hold these things against a child.  Anyway, I just got a strong need to pursue this when the time was right for me....and this feeling just never left me thru the next 19 years (give or take).  David and I had discussed adoption but he wanted to try to have one on our own, first.  It would be great if that happened but I just do not think it will.  Our last option with all of our issues would be IVF with ICSI....this is very invasive and does not have a very high chance of even working.  I do not think I can take more emotional roller coasters.  I know adoption has many emotional roller coasters but I have such a strong beleif that God wants us to do this...I have faith he will see me thru this journey. 

 

We just came to this descision early last week so we have no idea which direction we will go.  I am researching every option from domestic infant thru an agency, lawyer mediated, adoption from CPS, foster to adopt, etc.  It is all very overwhelming. 

 

It is also very expensive.  David's company has a great adoption benifit we are looking into, it is not much but every little bit helps.  There is a federal tax credit that will help, after the adoption is final (so we will need to cash upfront).  There are grants (lots of competition for these so we can not count on this) and loans (which would be partially paid back with the tax credit).  And the biggest help will be....are you ready for this???? 

 

 

 

The Girlie Girl Housewife has found a JOB!!!!  I have not started, yet, but I was hired to be a preschool teacher.  It is only part time but this will help so much.  The weirdest thing, well not really weird if you beleive in God's plan and have faith that he will see you thru all things, is that I do not remember applying for this job.  When Ms. Nicold (the director) called me, it was like out fo the blue.  I went online and searched for the listing and came up empty handed.  There was nothing showing in any of my "job search" accounts that I applied for this job or that there was alisting for this job.  It is like it was just sent to me.  We will sock every paycheck away into our adoption fund and we should be able to start the process in a little over a year, we hope.  That seems so far away.  We have lots to keep us busy, in the meantime.  We need to spruce up this house so it will pass a home study.  We have a place to repair in the ceiling of what will become the baby's room and we need to get a lock on my craft room door.  These are the BIG things, our home is clean and in pretty good shape (cosmetically there aree things I would like to change but this is not important).  We also need to continue getting in better shape so we can apply as a healthy couple...even if we are a bit older.  We will also be doing lots of fundraising.

 

 

 

To help raise money we are doing a few things...  besides me working as a preschool teacher during the week, I am searching for a weekend job.  I could kick myself for not following thru with a recent postion that I was asked to interview for.  It was as a weekend activity assistant for an assisted living community.  I needed something more in the week at that time but now I need weekends, too.  I did not want something that would take me away from home when David is here...weekends are our time together.  Well, this is only temporary so I can handle being away a few hours on the weekends.  We can handle this for the next two years if it means bringing Baby Powell home sooner.

 

Also, we will be having a garage sale.  I have sold most of my "good" things on eBay already but I have a few things packed away in the garage that will bring a dollar or two...and evey dollar helps.  We will finance this adoption dollar by dollar.  I will also be on the lookout for more Ebay things, as I have time. 

 

I am selling a few handmade  and vintage things on a facebook page "Girlie Girl's Notion Shop" (go to the PHOTOS section to see all the goodies...I am working on this so right now each photo album does not  have a name...I can not figure out how to fix it :(  I will also be reopening my Etsy shop, soon....but everything will also be on the facebook page to save on fees...remember every dollar counts and those fees add up.  I will post more about the actual adoption process in their own posts, and more about how we will be fundraising, too...these are too importatnt to just be burried in this long post.

 

On with the rest of the updates....

 

I stopped HCG back in August when we started with the feritility tratments....but I am thinking on starting another round after Passover / Easter.  I tried the Feritility Diet and all those carbs helped me to gain about 10 pounds.  So onto another Low Carb plan.  I do very well on these but then occasions happen and I give in to temptation...the holidays....got back on Jan 2nd and lost the 10 I gained....Valentines Day....Purim....Weekends....I loose diring the week just to gain fast on the weekends or special occasions...so I am holding steady but not going down.  I think this is why I need a round of HCG.  I have to stick to it for a minimum of 21 days, including weekends, to see the benifit.  It has enough strict guidlines that I should be able to loose a few.  Who knows, I always thing the next best thing will work better.  Since we are not on any meds for ferility I think this would be the best time to give it another go.....

 

Couponing has been at a standstill.  I did not need anything!!!!  Our pantry was full of things I was not supposed to be eating and I had no more room for new products.  Now our toilet paper and paper towel towers are getting low so I need to stock up on those.  Other things that are getting low are things we do not really need.  I will be trying to get a stock of baby things together in the near future, but I do not want to get too much of things we might not need for the age we might be bringing home or something the baby just might not like.  It is very hard to get back into couponing once you let it slide for awhile.  I was really rocking it last Spring and Summer...I even took daily CVS trips while we were at the beach for vacation last summer.

 

Household news is about the same.  The daily life of a housewife does not change much.  I still had my most favorite (insert sarcastic look) laundry days, I sitll had housework and homie hobbies...  My sewing machine is old and wonky so I did not do much sewing.  I did, however, get back into scrapbooking on steroids.  I shopped WAY too much for this hobby, as well.  This is being put to a STOP (again every dollar counts).  I have a few gift cards left from Christmas that can be used but I want to buy supplies that I can use to "make and sell" things.  I have so much in my craft room that I could craft for years and not make a dent. 

 

Speaking of memory keeping...I started Project Life this year.  I will do a seperate blog about that but I just have to say that I LOVE LOVE LOVE this.  I keep up with the memory keeping and still have time for other paper craft projects like cards and gifts.  I love sending cards to Tennesee to my cousins Brady and Brenden.  Brady is three and he even sent me a Valentine's card that he helped make.  Brenden is a little younger so he probably doesn't "get" it...but I can not leave him out.

 

I am so excited about my new job.  I have been wanting to try my hand at being a preschool teacher for so long.  I start training tomorrow....I will try to be better at updating and letting y'all know all about it.  I need to wrap this up as it is a very long post...but bare with me as I promote my fundraising efforts on my blog in the upcoming months.  I need to get the word out and promote my shops as much as possible. 

 

 

 

Thanks for reading my vevry long post...

 

XO

Tiff