Cha-Cha-Ching $$$

With me staying home I have been trying to do as much saving of money as possible. I sign up for freebies, sweepstakes & do an insane amount of couponing. I also started doing all the ExtraBucks stuff from CVS. I have stocked up on dish soap, laundry soap, body wash & deodorants like crazy. Anything that we don't use will be donated to a local charity.

There are so many good blogs out there that show you how to save money while shopping. I thought I would show you what I got today at Wal-Mart. I truly loathe that store but when I'm on the hunt for FREE stuff I do go there. Most of the coupons I use I print right off the internet.

The break down consists of :

1-Bag Mama Lupe's tortilla chips $1.58 (they were marked $.98 but I missed it on the register)

2-CoffeeMate liquid creamers $3.00

1- Wholly Guacamole $4.28

5- Nescafe Regular coffee -7 packs $4.90

2- Nescafe Classico coffee - 8 packs $1.96

1- Reach floss $.97

2- Lip Smackers $2.94

2 STP gas treatments $3.54

Total Retail Value of $23.17

Coupon Value of $15.46

Grand total before tax $7.71

Total savings of 67%

I find so much fun in doing this & wish that a store around here would double coupons :)

Biggest Loser

Jake & I have been competing in a local Biggest Loser competition. We had 12 weeks, with weekly weigh-ins. It was just the motivation that I needed, I finished in 2nd place, having lost 17 pounds. What makes me feel even better is the fact that I am now at a healthy BMI! I am trying to continue on my weight loss journey & thought that if I did weekly weigh-ins on my blog that might be the accountability that I need.

Jake lost 14 pounds during our competition but had lost 10 pounds before we even started. I am so proud of him & hope now that football is over he can continue on his quest a little easier.

So for today's weight, unfortunately I'm up 2 pounds. I'll just blame it on the german chocolate cake the neighbor's brought over, the peanut butter cup pie Cordell shared with me & the insane amount of Halloween candy that has been tempting me this week. I also have been a little stressed with Jake being out of town for work & have not had the gumption to exercise. Here's hoping next week it better!

The Boys of Fall!

Cordell just ended his second season of football & once again truly loved it. He played defensive end, kick off return & really tore up the field. He had numerous fumble recoveries & quarterback sacks. We are so proud of him & the progress he has made as an athlete. They finished the season 8-0 & as the league Champions. They worked hard for it & have grown so much since last year.

He is also doing wonderfully in school with straight A's. It's a big deal around here since 3rd grade is the first time they actually grade their homework. His lowest grade happens to be in art, where they are just graded on their weekly participation. I have informed him that his socialization better be limited :)

Soccer Star

Carmen played soccer for the first time this fall. After warming up the first week she really enjoyed it & always looked forward to Saturday mornings. On the last practice her coaches decided to no show, thankfully a dad stepped up & led them through drills. So far she enjoys soccer & volleyball, up next will be t-ball this summer.

Summer Vaca

So having 7 kids at home over the summer we weren't able to take our trip to South Dakota like we had planned. Instead we met up with my cousin & all 10 of us went to Adventureland for the day. The big kids weren't impressed but those 12 & younger had a BLAST! Cordell had riding buddies for all of the roller coasters & Carmen was disappointed she measured 1/4" too short. We were able to spend some time at their newly opened water park & slides. A family our size could definitely spend two days there.

SLACKER!!

Ok seriously I forgot all about blogging. I can't believe this year has just flown by. As many of you know, I am now a stay at home mommy. I truly do love the job & all that comes with it! We are on our second set of foster kiddos & for the purpose of the blog will be referred to as J & L. J is a 4 year old girl (10 days separate her & Carmen) & L is a 6 year old boy. They keep me on my toes but really fit in well with our family. Hopefully these next few blogs will update you on all that has consumed our lives!

Update on our busy lives!

So for those of you who don't know, we have officially finished our PRIDE classes. We haven't quite finished everything to get our foster care license yet, but hopefully we will have that soon. We have had a houseful since Feb 3rd though, when we had 4 kids move in with us. These are children whom we already know & love & has made the transition a little easier. Let me tell ya though I wasn't quite prepared to be raising teenagers yet :) We have been super busy with appointments & such but I think we are all adjusting. It has helped tremendously to have such an understanding husband & friends & family support!

Happy 4th Birthday, Carmen!!!

I can not believe my baby girl is 4 already. Just thought I'd take a moment & share her birth story on here.

On Wed. the 8th I had a doc appt. in the morning, I was 3cm dialated & 50% effaced. She stripped my membranes & told me that she might see me later that night, but if not we scheduled an induction for Sat. morning. I went to work after my appt., but was soo sore & had problems walking. I got home from work at 6pm, ate supper & we went into town to pick up some things. At about 7:15 I started having contractions that were bothersome, but weren't too bad. I started timing them & they were 4-6 mins apart and lasting 45sec to 1 min. We finished our errands, dropped Cordell off at Jake's sisters and headed to the hospital. We arrived at the hospital at 9:30pm and I was 6-7 cm & 100% effaced. At about 10:15 I asked for some pain meds., I didn't want an epidural but something in my iv would have been great. They called my doc and she said I couldn't have anything. I never imagined having an absolutely drug free delivery (i'm a baby when it comes to pain) My doctor came in at about 10:30 to break my water and told me she would be down the hall and would come back soon. I told her she didn't have time that I was ready to push. She didn't really believe me, but said she'd check me again, sure enough I was 10cm and more than ready. She wasn't ready yet so they wouldn't let me push, it seemed like forever for her to get ready but I'm sure it was like 3 or 4 mins. but that whole time I had to hold the urge to push. After 3 pushes Carmen was born at 10:45p.m. My first labor was 6hrs. 15mins. and my second was 3.5 hours. Carmen weighed 8lbs. 1oz. & was 20 1/4in long.

I remember being absolutely elated that our baby was indeed a girl! We didn't decide on her name for 24 hours, Cordell wanted to name her Elephant from the moment he learned I was pregnant. Three days before she was born we had Mariah Rose or Carmen Jade, Cordell really wanted Mariah, but Jake & I knew from the moment we laid eyes on her that she was a Carmen. Poor little Bubba was heartbroken :( I am so blessed to have the wonderful family that I do!

Too busy to blog :(

Febuary was one heck of a busy month for our family! We started Groundhog Day by making a trip to the doctor, Cordell had labored breathing. The doctor was concerned with his oxygen level & because he has never had problems with breathing. They gave him a breathing treatment & sent us to the hospital. He enjoyed laying in bed watching tv & playing video games all day. Every 4 hours they came to check him & give him breathing treatments. They released him from the hospital after 26 hours with a diagnosis of a virus or bronchitis. He was out of school for 4 days & was eager to get back.



I then had to get sick & had a cold for 2 weeks beore I finally drug mysel to the doctor with a diagnosis of bronchitis & a sinus infection. I got antibiotics & after a few days I was finally feeling better.

The Countdown has begun

I really dread this time of year, not only are the holidays over & all of the fun with family, but it's also cold, snowy & January. I started to cringe at 12:01am on Friday, January 1st. January brings a lot of sorrow into my life & I have been counting down the days to the anniversary of Carter's death. It started this past Tuesday when I realized there were 13 days left, then 12...11....10 is where I'm at today. I don't remember conciously doing that last year, but I think it's my way of preparing for it. Yes I am sad everyday of the year & I do somewhat dread his birthday & other holidays, but nothing is worse than remembering the day your baby died.

I miss him terribly & know that I will once again be reunited with my youngest son, when my time on Earth is done. Until then my mission is to advocate for babies, in hopes that any parent I meet will not have to endure the guilt, shame & grief that I have felt since his death.