Dean has arrived!

Wow, so my blog has been extremely neglected!  In the time since I've updated, I've had a baby boy!  Dean Carter Bowen arrived on May 3, 2012 at 5:50pm.  I wanted to document his birth story so I wouldn't forget it, so I figure here is a good place for it.  So below you will find a detailed description of his birthday.  Enjoy!

Dean’s birth story 5.3.2012

We decided to get induced.  It was scheduled for Thursday May 3^rd.  Just two days shy of my due date.  At my 39 week appointment on Tuesday May 1^st I was dilated to 1 cm and about 70% effaced, baby was at a -2.  We arrived at the hospital on Thursday at 7:00 am.  I got checked in and hooked up to the monitors.  My nurse’s name was Wendy.  Dr. Downey came by and chatted with us.  He gave us an idea of what to expect.  It took the nurses a while to get my IV in.  Two failed attempts, then on the third got it in.  On the first attempt the nurse tech blew my vein and I almost threw up/passed out.  It was not a pleasant experience.  Wendy finally got my IV in and we started Pitocin at about 9:00 am.  They checked my cervix, it was the same as Tuesday.  They slowly increased the Pitocin throughout the morning.  Contractions were tight and slightly crampy, but not too painful.  My Mom, Dad, and Shane were all there, as well as Trey of course.  It was nice to chat with them during the more relaxed part of labor.  Dr. Downey came back at about 2:00 pm and checked me.  I was at a “tight” 3 cm.  He decided to go ahead and break my water.  Mom, Dad, and Shane headed out to the waiting room for the rest of the labor.  Dr. Downey broke my water.  I immediately told the nurse to prep me for the epidural.  I remember how strong Pitocin contractions are after the water is broken.  She started me on the bag of fluid needed first and went to get the anesthesiologist.  I’m so glad I did that, because the very next contraction was hard and strong!  For about 30 minutes I had extremely hard and fast contractions.  I could not talk through them anymore and had to hold Trey’s hand and breathe through them.  At about 2:30 pm the anesthesiologist came in and gave me the epidural.  It immediately started to work and I had great pain relief.  I was still able to move my legs some, which was different than my previous epidural.  Eventually my left leg went totally numb, but I could still move my right leg some.  I could also feel slight pain in my lower right abdomen during contractions, but nothing too bad.  At about 4:00pm I felt some pressure so Wendy checked me.  I was completely dilated and baby was at a zero.  We did a practice push and baby was ready to go.  They called my doctor to get him there to start pushing.  They couldn’t reach him so they left a message at his office.  Over the next hour and half we waited and they kept calling Dr. Downey.  It turns out he was with a patient at his office who had very high blood pressure and was being sent over for a c-section.  He got to our room at about 5:35 pm.  We started pushing about 5:45 pm.  The first push revealed baby was “IOP” or face up.  Usually this means lots of pushing.  All of the doctors, nurses, and Trey were joking how I only had to push twice for Charlie and this time might be different.  The next push, baby turned sideways…that was fast.  Dr. Downey got really excited and told Trey “watch it will be face down next push!”  Sure enough, one last push and baby was face down, shoulders came out and out they pulled.  I said, “I guess I’m a professional pusher!”  Everyone laughed at that.  We did not know the gender, so this was time for the big reveal.  Dr. Downey put the baby on my stomach.  I couldn’t see what it was because the leg was covering.  Everyone was waiting for Trey to announce.  As soon as I saw it, Trey said “It’s a boy!”  Dean started crying and we all started cheering.  I said to Trey “I told you!”  Dean looked so much like Charlie did when he was born.  They clamped his cord and one of the nurses said “Look at that beautiful cord!”  I guess it was very full of blood.  Daddy cut the cord and they took Dean over to get checked out.  Dean’s head was a little lopsided and Trey said “Must have been all that time waiting in the birth canal” to which I said “Not pointing any fingers (while pointing at Dr. D)”.  That got a lot of laughs.  Dean scored a ten on the APGAR, right after Dr. D said, no baby ever gets a ten J.  Dean was 7 lbs 13 oz and 21 inches long.  Overall it was a really great birth experience and I wouldn’t really change anything about it. 

Dean’s full name is Dean Carter Bowen.  Dean is a name both Trey and I love; it goes well with Charlie’s name.  We later discovered it means “from the valley”.  This has significant meaning to us as Dean is the baby we conceived after we lost a baby to a miscarriage earlier last year.  He is our sunshine from the shadows and he is our blessing after coming “from the valley”, the lowest point in our lives.  At the time we picked that name we never knew the valley ahead, we never expected where life would take us, but now we see God’s smile in the meaning of the name.  He knew all along what was ahead and that Dean was waiting for us.  Carter we decided on in honor of my Pawpaw Buster Carter.  He is my dad’s stepdad whom raised my dad from the time he was 4 years old.  My PawPaw had one daughter of his own, whom unfortunately passed away when she was a little over a year old.  He had no other children so his last name “Carter” would end with him.  We wanted to honor him by passing on that name.  We also later found out that Dean is a big family name in his family as well!

That’s the story of Dean’s beginning in life.  We waited a long time for him and had no idea who he was, but we are so thankful to God for the blessing of his life and health.  And we cannot wait to see how our boys grow as brothers!

Halloween 2011

Yesterday was technically Charlie's 3rd Halloween, but his 1st one trick or treating. His 1st he was only 3 weeks old so obviously he couldn't do much. Last year he was a year old and wasn't walking yet so we didn't do it either, just dressed him as a monkey and handed out candy. So we were super excited this year to get to take him on his 1st trick or treating.

The Lovelace's came over. Aaron unfortunately had a class so Melissa brought Drew & Leah over so we could all go out together. Melissa had Drew's costume picked out a while ago, he was going to be Buzz Lightyear. I knew as soon as she said that, I had to dress Charlie as Woody. I had a heck of a time finding a costume small enough for him. So in the end I got some Woody pajamas and my mother-in-law made a small bandanna to put around his neck. Couldn't find a hat small enough (which he probably wouldn't wear anyways) so we cut the hat.

The boys had a great time. Charlie got the hang of it real quick. He would walk right up to the doors and knock and say Hello! (he does this anytime he knocks on any door :) then when the people come out occasionally he would say something like tee! which I assume is suppose to be trick or treat. He would say thank you and bye see ya! It was so cute. I was a little worried he might be shy and not want to go up to doors, but no way, seems like his Daddy's personality came out in him. It was so fun to see him having so much fun.

Here are a few pics of the night. Drew was a little sleepy b/c he didn't get a good nap so we couldn't coax a smile out of him. Charlie was all over the place...do you have any idea how hard it is to get two, two year olds to look at the camera and stand still???

13 weeks & 2 years!

So here is a fun little comparison...As you can see I am much bigger this go around. I was really terrible about taking pictures so this is one of maybe 3 belly pics I have from Charlie, but it's exactly 13 weeks...which is also what I am today so I took a pic to compare. I had a little bit of a belly I never lost from Charlie so I knew I was going to show sooner. It will be fun to compare the 38 week pic I took the day I went in to have Charlie...

So as I said, I'm 13 weeks today with Baby B (my nickname for baby since we aren't going to find out the gender until birth day) It's been a bit of a rough pregnancy so far, but I'm FINALLY starting to feel better. It's been about the same sickness wise as I was with Charlie. Started at 6 weeks exactly, peaked at about 8-12 weeks. I'm on medication to keep from puking everyday(which I still end up doing some days) and I've been able to wean myself almost completely off of it. I've had 2 doctor appts so far...one at 6 weeks were we did an u/s and saw the tiny little heartbeat and one at 10 weeks were I heard the strong baby heartbeat :) 179 bmp, which is pretty fast and according to the old wives tale means it's a girl (though I googled it and there are way more sites saying it ISN'T true, but just throwing it out there).

For those that don't know my due date is 5/5/2012. Yep, Cinco de Mayo! I would LOVE for that to be the actual birthday b/c I am a numbers girl and I love a double number. Charlie's bday is 10/10/2009 so it would be so cool for baby B's to be 5/5. But, it could go either way. Trey's bday is 4/29 and Amy/Shane's is 5/12 so either way would be cool. We will just have to wait and see.

So, like I said, we are doing the gender surprise bit. We are super excited about it (though some of our friends aren't so excited ;). We have a few personal reasons for wanting a surprise, but also we just honestly don't have a preference either way so it makes it easy to wait. If it's a boy: I will be so happy, Charlie get's a brother, Trey and I get another little boy, we have ALL boy stuff, etc. If it's a girl: It will probably be a shock, but SO exciting. I of course would LOVE to have a daughter and Trey & Charlie would love it too, they just don't know it yet :) Not that Trey doesn't want a girl, he def does...he just doesn't know what to expect so he's a little hesitant...

So that's the update on the pregnancy and Baby B. I go back to the doctor Nov. 8th for my 14 week appt.

On to Charlie man...so he's 2 now!! It's crazy I have a 2 year old!! He is really becoming more and more verbal and fun. He also has def started showing his stubborn side...oh man terrible 2's! He is 25 lbs and about 34 inches. He's only gained 2 lbs since his 18 month appt, but he's grown 3 or 4 inches. He's def a skinny boy and he's about average height. He has a pretty short torso so he can actually still wear some 18 month sized clothes.

He loves, I repeat LOVES to play outside. Poor kid got deprived during our extremely hot summer. We go outside in the back yard or on a wagon ride everyday. He loves to slide and just run around in the grass and throw a ball around.

He started going to Mother's Day Out at our church once a week from 9:30-2:30. At first he wasn't so sure about it, but now he loves it. He doesn't cry at all anymore when I leave him. Last week he did poke his lip out a little, but I just said bye and he said "see ya!" :) So cute. The teachers tell me he has a lot of fun and is one of their best nappers.

Speaking of napping he's in a weird sleep pattern lately...actually it's not really a pattern. He forever has been sleeping from 7:30pm-7ish am and then napping from 12:30-2:30 or 3. Well then he started sleeping more...sleeping till 8 or 8:30 in the mornings and napping until 3:30 or later. Then out of no where one day he will just refuse a nap all together. He did that 3 times this week! But the other days he would take a 3 hour nap!! It's been crazy, but oh well.

He's my little buddy for sure. He is doing and saying all sorts of fun things. He can count to 3...well sort of...he says 1, 2, 1 or sometimes he says 2,2,2!! Guess he likes 2. He loves Goofy (whom he affectionately calls Goo Goo) he has started saying "Oh Gawrsh!" just like Goofy. He loves to play with his swords and his bbq pit Nonnie & Pops got him for his bday.

Here are a few recent pics...

Heading out for his 1st day of "school" (mother's day out)

Drinking some water to stay hydrated hahaha.
Playing in the blankets...
This week we went to a pumpkin patch one day. He had a ton of fun...

Apparently he was saying Oh Dear! here...not sure why...



Whoops....Oh Dear!!

Charlie update!

Sorry, it's been way too long since I updated on Charlie. I don't know what it is about blogging, but I either forget or don't feel like sitting down and writing out everything. I've also really gotten into couponing so that takes up a lot of my non-Charlie time. But, tonight I have some time to myself with Trey busy Magic-ing and I'm caught up on most of my coupon stuff so I thought I would sit down and update.

So my little boy is 22 months old...in less than 2 months he will be 2!! That is unbelievable. When you get in the routine of the day to day and the "working towards the next phase" with a baby you really loose track of time. Like you are always thinking, I need to teach him to crawl, stand, walk, talk, etc. and you loose current moment. I sat back and watched him play today and it made me tear up a little...he really is a little boy, there is no evidence that I have a baby left, well except for the diapers maybe...he is a walking, talking, opinionated, do it myself little boy. Of course I am happy that he is growing and learning, but I'm also really taken aback by how fast it really does go...I know everyone says that to you, but it IS really true.

So let me update you on what the little man is up to lately. He is learning new words, phrases, etc. everyday. He is still pretty small, but i can tell he has grown lately. I'm not sure of his stats, we don't go back to the doc until 2 years. He's pretty much doing a lot of things on his own, eating, playing, etc. He still loves Mickey Mouse Club House, along with a few other Disney Junior shows. He LOVES, LOVES (cannot stress this enough) my iPad. It's ridiculous, he can unlock, scroll over the "his" page and pic which app he wants. He knows to turn the screen to orient it the right way. He has tons of games and books on it and he literally would sit there all day with it if I let him.

He's still sleeping in his crib, but I'm not really in a rush to change that. He has a toddler bed ready for him in his other bedroom, but he hasn't figured out how to climb out yet so I don't see a need in changing that just quite yet. He's pretty good at eating with a fork, but we are still working on that whole spoon thing. He always turns it upside down after he scoops and everything falls out. He's still a pretty picky eater. He eats the same few things everyday. I keep thinking he is bored of it and I'll try something new, but he refuses and asks for "beans" or "toast" instead. Here's a list of what he likes: any veggies, edamame, peanut butter toast, banana, grapes, pineapple, pears, chicken nuggets, french fries, yogurt, applesauce, cheese, sometimes pizza, and ice cream :)...seriously that is all he will eat (he doesn't get ice cream everyday...just when Daddy shares some with him). He loves juice and milk and water. Esp. juice...he asks for it all day...sometimes I trick him and put a splash of juice in with a cup of water (I know I'm mean right?) so he doesn't drink so much juice...but I also get the kind that is only 40% juice and 60% water so it's not so sugary.

We've attempted to start potty training. He's not really a fan. I'll ask him if he needs to go potty...his answer...No!...everytime I ask. When I do take him in there, the whole time he's sitting there he says Allllllll done! We're working on it :)

We are going with my parents to Disney World in early Oct. to celebrate his 2nd and my Mom's 50th birthday (his is the 10th hers is the 15th) so we are really looking forward to that.

On Sept. 6th he starts mother's day out at our church. He is going to go every Tuesday from 9:00-2:30. I have some mixed feelings about this. I know overall it will be very good for him (and ME!) to have a day apart. I know he will learn new things and interact with different kids so I'm super excited about that. But, part of me is really nervous. He's never really been away from me much. Our parents have watched him for an afternoon or evening here are there, but every time I leave him in the church nursery on Sundays or at community group for a hour a week he cries...the whole time...I know it's a phase and it's something we have to work through, but I hate to see him so upset and I know it is hard for whoever is watching him. We go to "meet the teacher" on next Thursday so we will see how it goes. Just say a little prayer for the both of us :)

There is tons of other stuff he is doing now...I could write all night. Instead I will finish up with a few recent pictures of this little guy. We love him so much and he is such joy to us every day.

I know he is going to hate me for this someday...sorry buddy... :)

Him saying "Alllll done!"
Eating a typical lunch

Trying to eat yogurt with a spoon...see what I mean about turning it upside down?
Kisses for Mommy.
Sorry this one is a little blurry, but I had to post it, he wanted to wear his hat and ride his dragon...hilarious...
He'll find his hat and walk around trying to put it on saying "it's a hat, it's a hat"

Daddy sharing ice cream...he sits next to him and says "Bite? Bite?" over and over and over...
My boys eatin ice cream and watching tv :)

Couponing!!

Just a warning...this is going to be a long post!! Ok, so as some of you know I am a coupon-er. I've always couponed some. I get the Sunday paper and would casually cut any coupons that I know I would use the products. But, like I'm sure most of you think, it's usually not a good deal. It's still cheaper to buy generic even if you use a coupon for the name brand. This is true if you casually coupon. I now have become what some would call an extreme couponer. I hate that the stupid TLC show has turned that term into a negative thing. Everyone (including me a little) thinks those people are crazy hoarders who buy excessive amounts of things they can't possibly ever use. I'm sure some of them are like that...but others of us do the same thing, but in moderation. I also think that they do things on the show that isn't technically "coupon legal" just to make it look better for the show. But, I digress...

After watching a couple episodes of that show, I said to Trey, I feel like I'm missing something. So I got online and googled extreme couponing...oh my word...this has become a HUGE deal now. There are thousands of websites showing you deals, where you can print/buy coupons, it is crazy. I stumbled across The Krazy Coupon Ladies website (www.thekrazycouponlady.com). The website is run by two women...one of which was on the show Extreme Couponing. It was like I had been enlightened! That website makes it so easy. They do all the searching for you. Match the weekly deals at each store with all manufacture/store coupons available and tell you what to get when. They have a huge online coupon database sorted alphabetically so you can print any coupons for items you need/want/see a good deal for. I was immediately hooked. Their basic principles are this: buy items only when on sale and you have coupons to match with. Most of the big stores (Target, Walgreens, CVS) will let you use 1 manuf coupon and 1 store coupon per item. They also run periodic deals where you buy a certain item and get a gift card/store credit to use on your next purchase. When the stars align you get a sale, gift card deal, manuf coupon, store coupon all available for a product and you end up getting it free, almost free, or PAID to buy the items. It can get pretty complicated, and it is pretty time consuming, but for me it has become a hobby. An outlet for something to do while I'm staying home with Charlie (and any future children) so it is actually really fun for me. It is so exhilarating walking out of the stores with great deals! I could go on and on, on how the process works, but if you have any specific questions, just let me know. I've gone "all in" as they say and I now get 5 Sunday newspapers delivered to my house, I have a giant 3 ring binder of sorted coupons, and I am constantly on the iPad looking for deals/match ups. I do this because (a) I have the time and energy (b) I am wanting to stock up on household/toiletry items that I know we will use. But, you can always do it on a smaller scale.

Ok, so now the fun part. I want to brag a little about the deals I got this week. Part of the fun is telling anyone who will listen all the awesome deals I got! I'll try and explain the deals and what I used to get them. Just FYI, most of the deals expire today and you have to have newspapers from the last month or some for some of them. Also, if you are thinking about getting started...tomorrows paper won't have coupons b/c it's a holiday weekend, so don't waste your money on a paper. As far as where I got all these coupons...most of the MQ I got from the paper, but some I got online through various websites (coupons.com, redplum.com, smartsource.com) and some I got on Facebook for "liking" the manufacture company. The CVS or Walgreen SQ come in the weekly ads they print you can find them in the store or in the Sunday paper. The Target SQ I get on Target.com.

Here is my legend for the explanations. RR(register rewards, store credit for next purchase) MQ (manuf coupon) SQ(store coupon) EB(extra bucks, store credit for next purchase) GC(gift card)

Walgreen

Initially I was really reluctant to do the Walgreen/CVS deals. They are more "hardcore" couponing than the other stores. A lot of time you have to do multiple transactions and they give you "register rewards" (RR) on some items that you have to use on a separate purchase. It's definitely the more complicated of the couponing stores...but boy is it worth it. I also don't like that, since they are SUCH good deals, the stores are almost always out of stock. I have 3 Walgreens and 3 CVSs pretty close to my house, so I've learned I just have to shop around and wait for restocks. They will give rain checks...but that is just one more thing to keep up with so we will see how it goes. I got lucky and went back yesterday and they were stocked up on most of the items I wanted. Here is the break down...

Pure Silk shaving cream 2 @ $1.99 each - $3.98

RR back 2 @ $1.50 each

Net price $0.98 for both

Nexcare band aids 3 @ $3.49 each - $10.47

Peelie sticker on each box for mail in rebate up to $3.99 - sent off for $10.47 rebate

Net price FREE for all three

Scunci hair bands 4 @ $2.00 each - $8.00

RR back 4 @ $2.00 each

Net price FREE for all four

Complete Contact Solution 5 @ $7.99 each - $39.95

5 MQ $1.00 off each

5 RR $8.00 off each

Net price -$5.05 for all five. This is my favorite, I got paid to buy it!! This is where it paid off to have 5 papers! :)

Listerine Zero 1 liter 1 @ $6.49

1 MQ $1.00 off

1 SQ $3.00 off

Net price $2.49 (this is my "worst" deal but Trey loves that stuff so I had to get it)

Gilette Fusion Proglide Power Razor 1 @ $9.89

1 MQ $4.00 off

1 RR $5.00 off

Net price $0.89!

Total original price $78.78

minus coupons $13.00

Net out of pocket $65.78

RR to use on future deals $56.00

Rebate to be rec'd $10.47

Net price for all $-0.69!!!

So yes, I had to pay some money out of pocket, and I have to wait for the rebate, but in the end I will use the RR for future deals like these and it will all net out to this price. I actually broke some of these up into different stores/transactions and mixed and matched the RR so my actual out of pocket was lower than the $65.78, but you get the idea.

CVS

This store is the same idea as Walgreens. Same process with the store credit back, but they call theirs EB instead of RR. Also, this picture doesn't include everything I got b/c some of it is in Trey's car and some of it I have rain checks for, just FYI. Oh and the EB rewards are limit 1 per CVS card. The reason I got 2 is b/c Trey and I both have a CVS card.

Suave body wash $2.00 each & deodorant $1.00 each(some not pictured)

The deal was spend $10 on Suave get $3 EB

8 body wash & 4 deodorant - $20.00

4 MQ B1G1 free body wash - this actually rang up giving me $3.00 credit (max on coupon) per body wash so that was a pleasant surprise - minus $12.00

4 MQ $0.50 off deodorant - minus $2.00

EB - $3.00 for each transaction - total $6.00

Net price FREE for all 12 items!!!

This is where it pays off to have 5 papers or I wouldn't have the 4 MQ each to do this much.

Purex detergent - $1.98

1 MQ $1.00 off

Net price $0.98

2 packs Trident Vitality Gum - $0.99 each(not pictured)

2 EB $0.99 each

Net price FREE for both!

So my faith has been restored in Walgreens/CVS. A couple things to note. They both have a rule where you cannot use more coupons in a transaction than items purchase...regardless of price of item or coupon...so if you are using 2 coupons on 1 item you have to purchase a "filler" item...I usually try to find an item I get free or cheap with register rewards b/c they don't require an additional coupon. Also, you cannot use the RR or EB from one purchase to purchase the EXACT same deal as you received it for, but you can switch off transactions to roll them.

Total original price $23.96

minus coupons $15.00

Net out of pocket $8.96

RR to use on future deals $7.98

Net price for all $0.98!!!

Walmart

Walmart is a little different. They don't have store coupons or any RR/EB/gift card deals. But, they do have pretty much the lowest prices, and they will price match any exact item from a weekly add. Here are the few items I got this week...

Wilkinson 4 pack disposable razors $0.97

1 MQ $1.00 off

Net price -$0.03!!

Tylenol Precise heat pads $5.97

1 MQ $5.00 off

Net price $0.97!

Finesse Conditioner $2.87

1 MQ $0.55 off

1 M Rebate included in paper $2.87 off

Net price -$0.55!

Ivory soap 4 pack $0.97

1 MQ $1.00

Net price -0.03!!

Total original price $10.78

minus coupons $7.55

Net out of pocket $3.23

Rebate to receive later $2.87

Net price for all $0.36!!

Target

Now Target is my favorite store in general...long before I was couponing. I prefer it immensely over Walmart for grocery shopping/household shopping. I do most of my couponing here except for the outstanding deals at the other stores. They run regularly what are called "gift card promotions" where if you buy a specified item/items/amount you get back a $5 GC so it's just store credit back. They have a LOT of SQ on their website that you can pair with MQs and GC deals to get really great deals.

KC Masterpiece BBQ sauce $1.67

MQ for $1.00 off

Net price $0.67

French's spicy brown mustard $1.19

MQ for $0.50 off

Net price $0.69

Kraft dressing 2 @ $3.38 for both

1MQ for $1.00 off 2

2SQ for $0.55 off 1

Net price $1.28 for both or $0.64 each

2 boxes Playtex tampons $6.89 each - $13.78

When you buy 2 get $5.00 GC

1 MQ for $3.00 when you buy 2

Net price $5.78 for both or $2.89 a box (that's about half the price of generic!)

Up & Up (Target store brand) pantyliner $0.89 each - $3.56

4 SQ for $0.75 off each

Net price $0.56 for all 4 or $0.14 each

2 Suave lotion $2.69 each - $5.38

1 MQ for B1G1 free - deducted $3.00 (max coupon allowed)

1 SQ for $0.75 off 1

Net price $1.63 for both or $0.82 per bottle!

Sure deodorant $1.50

MQ for $1.00 off

Net price $0.50

Aquafresh training toothpaste (for the Charlie boy of course) $2.89

MQ for $1.00 off

SQ for $0.75 off

Net price $1.14

2 boxes of Loreal hair dye $8.99 & $7.94 - $16.93

1 MQ for $5.00 when you buy 2

2 SQ for $3.00 each

Net price $5.93 for both or $2.97 each! I dye my hair a lot b/c of the grays so I was excited!

1 Olay lotion $5.06, 1 Olay soap $0.97, 1 Secret product $0.97 - $7.00

1 MQ for $4.00 off when you buy an Olay lotion, Olay soap, AND Secret product. This coupon did not say excludes trial sizes, so I got the cheapest Secret & Olay soap from the travel section.

Net price $3.00 for all three items!

Total original price $57.28

minus coupons $31.10

Net out of pocket $26.18

Minus $5.00 GC to use later

Net price for all $21.18!

So that's it...for this week. It was pretty time consuming and I'm still getting the hang of it all. I am by no means a professional at this. I'm pretty excited, I mean how often does a hobby SAVE you money, right??

Oh and one more tip, anytime you can, get the SMALLEST sized product the coupon allows...this always gives you a better deal per oz/item, etc. when using coupons...trust me I've done the math!! Oh and even if you get items free you have to pay sales tax on the pre-coupon total. When I'm doing all these calculations above, they don't count sales tax b/c I didn't want to take the time to figure that out :)

Hope everyone enjoys my little hoard...I mean stockpiles of items...something tells me I'm just getting started!

Charlie update!

Oh my poor neglected blog...

I could give you a huge list of excuses (some of which are very merited) as to why I haven't blogged about Charlie since his 15 month birthday...but I'll spare you. I am forcing myself to sit down and do this now before something else comes up and I have another excuse. I was planning on doing quite a few blogs catching up on pictures and trips and such, but I went through all the pictures and wrote down a list of all I wanted to post and well...it is extremely daunting. Instead, I am going to upload all pictures to Facebook since it's uploader is much more user friendly. On blogger I can only do 3-5 pictures at a time and well I have about 100...so you do the math. I don't have the time, will, or patiences to do that tonight. I will get the pictures up on Facebook and I will do a quick 18...err almost 20 month Charlie update. But, the wet your appetite here is one of my favorite recent Charlie pics...

Oh, so much has changed since my last update. For one thing...he's walking...make that running now!! We were a little worried he might never do it, but promptly on his 17 month birthday he decided he would. At his 18 month check up he was 23 lbs 5 oz and 31 inches. He is in about the 10-25% for both. The kid just won't put on any weight! Might be the fact that all he eats are fruits and vegetables and is running around non-stop all day. He is just a little guy height and weight wise.

Like I said he is walking and running and climbing and anything else he can do! He is becoming a lot more verbal as well. I'm teaching him to use his words instead of grunting, pointing, raising his hand (his own made up sign language for yes or I want that), etc. He has recently learned to say "more" and "please". He can say a lot of other words too...the ones I can think of off the top of my head are, dog, Bella, Pongo, Mama, Dada, Pops, Nonnie, Minnie, duck, thank you, did you see??, ball, Yay!, Where does it go?, block, set go!, and teeth. I know there are more, but that's all I can think of right now. He's also learned to kiss and hug. He will pat on the back when someone hugs him. He is SO good at puzzles...like it's almost a little scary. We got him a new puzzle and I showed him 1 time how to do it and then he did it all by himself...even rotated and fliped pieces to put them in the right spot.

He is on a pretty great sleep schedule now. He gets up anywhere from 7-8 then takes a nap from 12:30-3ish, then goes to bed between 7:30-8. We have a great sleep time routine so he just lays right down and goes to sleep, no crying or fighting it at all.

He is still a pretty picky eater, but he is branching out some. He will eat chicken sometimes, but that is really the only meat he will eat. He does eat some of the toddler Gerber meals which have little pieces of ground beef in them and he doesn't seem to mind those, but if I give him plain ground beef...no way! He loves pizza, any and all vegetables, any and all fruit, cheese, salad(yeah weird healthy kid I know), and of course any sweets(except cake). He loves ice cream and chocolate.

He has been pretty healthy for the most part except this last week. He caught a virus which ended up being diagnosed as Hand, Foot, and Mouth (weird name, but it's b/c that's where the rash shows up). Here's the story: So we got home from Georgetown two Sunday's ago. He was totally fine until mid-morning Monday he started running a fever. It got pretty high at some points...anywhere from 101-103. We were pretty nervous so I called the dr. and they said just to keep doing tylenol/motrin and come in if it doesn't go down. Well Tuesday morning he woke up fever free, but I did notice a small rash on his left cheek. I called the dr. again and again they said, just watch him, but come in if he gets a fever again or acts "sick" or the rash gets worse. Well he was acting totally fine all day. That was also the day I watched Drew Lovelace (Charlie's friend, son of our best friends Aaron & Melissa)...more on that later. So Wednesday he woke up and the rash had spread...A LOT. It was all over his butt, legs, feet, hands arms, face, and ears. I went ahead and took him in to the dr. He hadn't been running anymore fever and had been acting totally normal...he just looked TERRIBLE. Initially, they couldn't diagnose it b/c the rash pattern did not fit any one particular thing. They tested for chicken pox and herpes, but both were negative. They sent me home saying it was some virus and it will just take time to clear up. Well, in the meantime...Drew started running a fever of 103 and woke up the next day with no other than a rash! His was much milder than Charlie's and Melissa's dr. diagnosed it right away as Hand, Foot, and Mouth. That was one of the options my dr. mentioned, but Charlie's was just way more severe a rash than usually happens with that. So in the end, it seems that was what it was. He still has some rash patches all over, but they are lightening up everyday. Crazy.

So that's the facts. I can't believe he will be 20 months old next month...something about it being 20 instead of a teen number makes him feel so big! He does new things everyday and I'm continually shocked by how much he understands and learns so quickly. When I was looking through pictures for this update I could not believe how young he looks just 3 months ago! He has changed so much. It really makes me miss having a little baby! He is such a sweet heart. There is nothing better in this world than hearing him yell "Mama!!" and give me a kiss and pat on the back. He is more precious than gold and I am unbelievably grateful to be his mother and get to spend every day with my sweet boy.

PS- Head over to Facebook later to check for new pictures!!