Couponing

For a long time I have been playing with the idea of couponing. I have never never ever couponed. Here and there with one or two maybe. But never enough to be anything substantial. Nothing like those on the TLC show Extreme Couponing that's for sure.

But with these two little ones on the way I keep thinking more and more about trying to save money. Jake and I have talked about me going back to work after the twins are born. We have decided that with daycare it is going to be extremely hard for me to go back to a full time 9-5 job where I barley make over minimum wage. Daycare would take up almost all if not all of my paycheck. At that point, really what is the point of going back to work? Being away from the babies all day and not making any money for it. Just seems crazy to me.

Here is the thing though...Jake doesn't make enough for us to live on JUST his paycheck. Between the house, two cars, and our normal monthly bills there goes his check for the most part. And that is not even taking all the diapers we will need soon. We don't have a budget, and yes that is something we need to work on. But in order for me not to have to go back to work so soon after their births and only having to go back part time at most...we need to figure out how to get more for less.

So, I know there are a lot of you friends and family out there that coupon. I need help. I am counting on having 26 weeks to get this couponing figured out. Help. How? What? And so on and so on. I am so open for tips and ready for all the help I can get.

10 weeks already?

Maggie, one of my best friends, posted a blog a few days ago about daily Joyful Moments. Its all about finding something each day to be thankful for. Easier said then done for most of us. Rather then focusing on the negative things that happen in our life, focus on the good. Its isn't always an easy thing to do. We are surrounded by negative things all the time. Its all about how we look at the happenings in our lives. Rather then focusing on the driver that cut you off on your way home, its being grateful you are surrounded by friends and family when you get home.

I know that I sometimes focus on the negative. Take today for example: I woke up early because of Bella at 4:30am. Woke up again with an upset tummy about 5:30am. And after falling asleep didn't want to get up to get ready for work. When I finally did get up I was late with an extremely upset tummy. I spent the my work day, until 2pm when I went home, miserable. I can focus on that. The negative.

Or... I can focus on these two little amazing little babies that are growing in my belly. I know I have said this before but I am absolutely amazed at how cool this whole pregnancy is. My little belly is getting bigger by they day and I love watching it grow. I still have to get daily shots of progesterone but that will be ending in less then 2 weeks. Thank goodness! But each night Jake and I marvel at how much our babies are growing in my belly. See for yourself...

I know we are only at 10 weeks but I feel like my ever growing belling is, I don't know, amazing. It might not look much but I sure think it is. So today, like every day for the past 8 weeks or so, I am thankful for these little Strawberries of ours. Our little miracles.

Being hungry = boys?

I love reading the What to Expect book. It is very informative and when something happens its usually in the book saying it is "normal" and it helps make make this pregnant woman feel better.

This evening, as I wait for my dinner to cook with country music playing, I found a little excerpt that I thought was interesting. It starts out talking about how the closer to the 2nd trimester you get the hungrier you will be. Makes since, tummy felling better and all. But the next thing it says is "If you are bellying up to the refrigerator with the regularity of a teenage boy, you may be expecting one (or, at least) male fetus." Apparently there is research that shows that moms-to-be carrying a boy(s) eat more then carrying girls.

Is this true? Any of you out there that have had both boys and girls have an opinion about this? Is there any truth to this?

I feel I eat all the time. All the time. Even when my tummy is upset I am hungry. I am ok with one boy...but I really want at least one girl! It just seems weird that how hungry you are when you are pregnant can tell if there is a boy or girl inside. Weird.

9 weeks

We are now officially 9 weeks. Getting here has been an interesting experience to say the least. There were many many many times I never thought this would happen. Now that it has, it is the most amazing thing ever! The best part is I know it is only going to get better!!

This afternoon we had our 2nd ultra sound. And I have pictures...of course :O)

Above is baby 1

And baby 2

And both of our little Strawberries right next to each other.

Both of the babies look really good. Doc says their heartbeat looks great. And they are right where they should be as far as growth goes. At one point during the ultra sound baby 2 was moving all over the place! It was maybe the coolest thing I have ever seen! I know there will be other things I experience during this amazing journey, but this was pretty darn awesome!! It is amazing how a thing so little like a movement can make a person so happy.

I absolutely cant wait for our next appointment in a month to see how these little ones have grown. We now have an area on the fridge dedicated to just ultra sound pictures. Eventually they will go in a scrapbook, but in the mean time I like looking at them all the time.

One last picture...the first official belly picture taken in Forks, Wa on our trip to visit everything Twilight. This picture was taken at 8 weeks and 5 days. It is a little hard to tell...but there is definitely a belly starting there :O)

Its way toooooo hott!

In our office, we have a little bit of an issue with heat. The office is not ventilated correctly and one side of the branch has large vents while the other side has small vents. Unfortunately the side with the large vents is NOT the side I am on.

It has really always been an issue for me, but now that I am pregnant the heat really bothers me. And when I say heat...I mean it has gotten up to 78 degrees in our office! I cant deal with that type of heat while I am working. Just yesterday I had to walk away from my station for almost 30 min because I was to hot and couldn't do anything but try not to lose my lunch all over my desk.

Now several weeks ago I sent our HR department an email asking about dress code and if there were any exceptions for being pregnant. I told her the reason I was asking was because it is always hot in our office and it is making me physically sick. I wanted to be able to do something about it without making the other people in our office cold. I also wanted to be pro-active about it considering I will be 20 something weeks at the start of August while feeling and looking like I am almost 30 weeks. A before sending the HR department the original email, I was also told that I can't have a fan at my station.

Today, the HR lady sent me an email to check up on me. See how I was doing and if the temperature issue ever got solved. My response was something about it being at 75 currently but I was just getting back from lunch so it didn't bother me yet. And I also told her that yesterday it was 77 and I had to walk away from my station and go to the break room to try to cool off. She must have sent some email to my boss about it because he stormed out of his office, told me never to go to HR about the heat, and turned the AC on.

Then this evening after we closed...he yelled at me again for it. I told him 75 was WAY TO HOT and it was making me sick. But that I didn't go to HR about the heat, that she contacted me. He also told me it was because of the sun...I called his BS and told him it doesn't matter. No matter what it is doing outside it should never be that hot in a work environment.

OOOOOOOH he makes me mad! Seriously? Why would someone think it was ok to keep the temp up so high that it makes an employee sick? How does one even justify that?

Oh well, tomorrow I have a doctors appointment and I will be getting a note that says the temp can't be above, oh I don't know 72. The temperature will have to be kept lower. At first I didn't want to make the other people in the office cold, hence the reason I asked about dress code, but now I don't care. They can put on a sweater. I can't take clothes off. I do like Lauren's idea from facebook...threaten to work in a swimsuit and bring in a kiddie pool. What else is a girl to do???

First Mommy-to-be Mothers Day

My mom is absolutely amazing!

This afternoon I had a package in the mail from my mom. It was a quilt she had made maybe 20 years ago. The fabric was my Grandmothers and my mom put it together as an example for one of her quilting classes while she was teaching in the 90's.


I absolutely love this quilt and I can't wait to use it. It is almost a perfect match for the wall color. And will good with either the pink/cream/brown or blue/cream/brown colors I want for the nursery to go with the Christopher Robin green we painted the walls when we moved it.

I love love love my mommy!!

7 weeks and 3 days

Today we are 7 weeks and 3 days! So lets see, where do I start? How about with what I have learned...

1.) I am always hungry. All day every day. I wake up in the middle of the night starving. I wake up first thing in the morning starving. Ten minuets after getting to work I am starving.

2.) Finding something to eat is not always easy. I feel like I am having a hard time finding food that is both filling and healthy at the same time. I have never been one to be a healthy eater but now I feel I need to. With twins, I need to be eating about 300 to 400 extra calories per day. That means almost 3000 calories a day. One could go to Jack n' Box and have and ultimate cheese burger and cover half of those needed daily calories but that is sooo not good for a person.

3.) My belly is going to be bigger then a single pregnancy. Well duh, right? But no, really. Now, being 7 weeks I look like I am 14 weeks. When I will be 14 weeks, I will actually look look like I am 21 weeks. And so on and so on. I have decided I need to invest in new clothes sooner then I was planning. I am already using a belly band. At first I thought I was crazy, but I guess I am not.

4.) Morning sickness, if that's what you want to call it, happens when I am hungry but don't eat. Saturday was the first day I really felt crappy. Bella woke me up early with the sun being out in full force and all. It was about 7 am when I got out of bed, moved to the couch and watched a movie. By the time 9 o'clock rolled around I was starting to get hungry but my tummy was so upset that absolutely nothing sounded good. Toast was about the only thing I could eat Saturday. Also, when we are busy at work like we have been this week, and I don't get to take my lunch or break on time...it starts. I have read a lot about how it has to do with blood sugar being low. And as far as I can tell it sounds about right. Good thing to find out now. It might help me avoid serious problems in the near future :O)

5.) My skin is taking a beating. I seriously feel like I am in JR High again. I am breaking out all over my face, chest and back. This is absolutely horrible. And if you ask me, so far the worst symptom of pregnancy.

6.) Because of the faster belly growth, I wont be able to work as long as I originally thought. Twins are considered full term at 35 weeks, right? So even if I make it that far, I will look like a woman who is only caring one baby at 42 weeks. In other words...miserable.

I know there are hundreds of other things I have learned over the past 3 weeks but this is all my head will allow me to think about right now. Over the next 7 months or so I will keep adding to the list of things I learn. Time for a snack and a quick nap before Jake gets back from the gym.