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| Homekeeping Heart |
| A personal blog/journal of a young Christian military wife and homeschooling mother of three small boys. Topics: Christian womanhood, homemaking, homeschooling, and lots of whatever. |
| Language: English |
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Statistics |
| Unique Visitors: 0 |
| Total Unique Visitors: 1875 |
| Visitors Out: 2710 |
| Total Visitors Out: 4227 |
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| New Furniture |
| 2008-07-18 08:42:06 |
We finally got all our new bedroom furniture here and I love it, but I didn't count on how BIG it would be! I didn't think I had a small bedroom until now. We can't figure out how to arrange it. Our bedroom is a rectangle with one long wall with a window and the other long wall with the door. One short wall is all closets and the other short wall is cut short by the bathroom door. If we put the bed under the window like I planned, you can't even close the door! If we put the bed on the bathroom wall like we had our other bed, the bedside table doesn't fit. I don't know if you can tall anything from these pictures because I couldn't get the whole room in one picture. Here is how we had it last night. Kinda defea...
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| My Birthday Gift |
| 2008-07-17 11:49:50 |
It was really hard to take this picture because of the mirror in the back, so you can't really see all the things well. Here is the bookcase/curio cabinet I got for my birthday. The two figurines I got are in it. The rest of my Willow Tree collection is on a different shelf in the living room.I love this so much. It just reflects who I am. The books are all my most favorite books. The top shelf of the bookcase is Mother and Stepping Heavenward. The second shelf down are all books about being a Christian wife. It still needs something else on it, but I'll fill that gap in later. Third shelf down are all Bibles, classic devotionals, and hymnals. Fourth down are books about "Divine Family Planning"...
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| Preparing the Bedroom |
| 2008-07-16 13:07:00 |
Kevin is picking up our new bedroom furniture today! So I had to clear out that room and declutter the closets. I thought it would be motivating to do one of my before and after posts. All of the furniture except the bed had already been moved for painting, but there was stuff all over the floor that had accumulated under the bed! This picture turned out really dark, but you can still see the mess.And after.... You can see what color the walls are here. I had to close the shade because the natural light was washing out the picture. Now the closets. You may remember that I just did these not too long ago. Can you believe that already look like this? How embarrassing! My closet floor was so piled ...
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| Grocery Questions |
| 2008-07-14 06:27:39 |
question: is the grocery bill for just dinners or for lunches and
breakfast as well? Do you serve something different every day for
lunch? My kids are stuck in the pb&j rut!Yes, breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks, everything.If we have leftovers, we eat those. If we don't, I always have the stuff for these lunches on hand:Sandwiches (pb&j, natural lunch meat, tuna, egg salad, cheese)SaladBaked PotatoesCheese quesadillasmacaroni and cheesepasta saladWait a second did you miss Saturday? Saturday is what we call "whatever day"--we eat leftovers, sandwiches, or whatever! For one thing, having a whatever day really saves money. Plus, Kevin is off on Saturdays and we usually are out during the day, so it's nice to not have to cook since I'm usually exhausted from going out. On Sundays, I TRY to cook ahead as much as possible, but every few weeks we go out. Do you find most of your recipes off of the website you mentioned in your post last week? How d...
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| My poor bedroom! |
| 2008-07-12 19:41:02 |
My birthday was wonderful, but I will tell about it later. I'm exhausted. For now, I just had to come here to cry. Kevin is painting the bedroom. I thought I had chosen the perfect pale green. It looked great on the little strip. Of course. Now that it's on the wall, it's turquoise. It's turquoise I tell you! I am very very disappointed and Kevin says no, we are not getting another color. Waaaaaaaahhhhhhh!...
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| Win an Awesome Babywearing Stash |
| 2008-07-11 12:23:49 |
Win the
Essential Babywearing Stash from Along for the Ride (one Beco
Butterfly, one Hotsling baby pouch, one BabyHawk Mei Tai, one Zolowear
Ring Sling, and one Gypsy Mama Wrap)For posting this, I get an extra entry in the contest. You should enter too! Meanwhile, want to know what I ALREADY have in my stash so far for Baby Girl? A Beco Butterfly2 Peanut Shell pouches1 MamaBaby ring sling1 Hug-a-Bub stretchy wrapI still need at least 2 mei tais. But who knows what else will come up on the FSOT boards at the Baby Wearer! Wearing my babies is one of the things I look forward to the most. ...
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| It's All Over |
| 2008-07-11 11:41:23 |
Today marks two weeks since Justin's surgery which means the recovery period is over! He can now eat whatever he wants, has no pain, and is no longer at risk for bleeding. Yay! Not looking happy about what's ahead.He doesn't look so sad here--he's drugged up! Dad and a couple guys hanging out in the room. This is when he was all done and ready to go home! I get as many popsicles as I want! Too bad I don't want any.......
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| Busy Day |
| 2008-07-10 06:06:10 |
We have a million places to go today. Ok, maybe closer to 4 or 5, but it will feel like a million.~Midwife's office.~Library.~post-office.~mid-week store run since somehow we ran out of the three gallons of milk I bought.~Christian book store so I can spend the $10 coupon they sent me for my birthday.~probably get something to eat. I am not one of those super organized moms who packs a frugal and healthy lunch for her brood on outing days. It will probably be Wendy's drive-thru. I'm thinking a Frosty will be included in that.That's a lot, so I better start getting myself and four little boys ready. ...
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| Menu Plan Monday and More |
| 2008-07-06 20:26:01 |
~ I haven't posted my menu plans in forever! Here is this week. All of these recipes are from Hillbilly Housewife.Monday--Chili with homemade breadTuesday--Chicken Cacciatore on noodles, broccoli, and applesauce.Wednesday--Dirty Rice, fruit saladThursday--Steak and Potato Skillet, watermelonFriday--Pizza Pasta Casserole, Big saladMy grocery bill this week was $68.08.~ I chose the first quilt, the soft pastel one. I can't wait to see what it looks and feels like in person. The JCPenney Outlet has such pretty stuff for really cheap. We ordered some lamps from there too, for our living room. One of ours recently got knocked off and broken. ~ The other day I casually thought that I'd like to have something to rock the baby in. We have a rec...
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| Help me again! |
| 2008-07-05 10:57:32 |
Ok, I know there are more important things to blog about than decorating your house, but you all were so helpful to me about the bed, I need your help again. I need to order the bedding so that we can pick a paint color and paint before the furniture arrives. Now that you know what the bed looks like (see a few posts down if you don't), which bedding do you like?This one is my favorite. I love the soft pretty colors and all the pillows have ribbons on them. It's beautiful. I'd be getting the quilt, bedskirt, shams, and the three accent pillows. If I got it, I'd probably go with the soft peach or green for the walls. I like this one a lot, but the thing that keeps me going back to it is that it is half the price of the first one. It comes with a co...
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| My Thoughts on the Duggar Video |
| 2008-07-04 19:33:38 |
I really don't think the intention of that video was to demonstrate the Duggars' style of discipline. I think the people at Discovery Health just titled it that for whatever reason without the Duggars' knowledge. I really think the video was just a fun little collection of bloopers that happened during an entire interview. I highly doubt Michelle's actions were the extent of the discipline she practices. Those were her youngest children, still in the process of being trained, and I don't think anyone would argue that all of the Duggar children are exceptionally well behaved and respectful and that it is very apparent that whatever parenting they practice works. My point was that while Michelle was in the public eye during her i...
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| Happy Fourth! And Michelle Duggar |
| 2008-07-04 07:45:26 |
What are you doing today? We are cooking out this afternoon and then going to watch fireworks. We're having grilled hamburgers, the Layered Summer Salad from Food & Family magazine, the Slow Cooker Baked Beans from F&F and the Strawberry Fields Cheesecake from F&F. Do you get Food & Family? It's free as far as I know since I have never paid for it! It comes in my mail every month and I love trying new recipes from it.I just watched this clip of Michelle Duggar. I just love the way she deals with her small children. She is so gentle and patient and loving. I probably would have excused myself and been a bit less than sweet once the cameras were off! She is such an inspiration to me. It is also encouraging to see tha...
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| Which Bed? |
| 2008-07-03 05:11:24 |
I had 3 votes poster and 17 votes for sleigh! Which one did we choose? The sleigh bed! Mostly because we decided we just liked how it looked the best, but some people also brought up some great points about it. You all were really helpful--thanks!The sad part--it will take 2-4 weeks to get here....
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| Which bed? Which bed? |
| 2008-07-02 09:07:48 |
I am so excited! We are going to buy our new bedroom set (we held out for the Fourth of July sale). But I'm having such a hard time picking which bed I want. Which do you like better? The sleigh bed?Or the four poster? They're both prettier than anything I've ever dreamed of having! Which one would you pick and why?...
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| The More I Seek You |
| 2008-07-01 16:49:21 |
Why have I never heard this song?? I fell in love with it when I heard it a couple days ago and it has been playing on my computer, in my kitchen, in my van, in the bathroom ever since. Her "Revelation Song" is my second favorite. "The More I Seek You" is one of the most beautiful love songs to the Lord I have ever heard. When I sing it to Him, I just feel like I am sitting in His lap with His arms wrapped around me, enveloped in love and peace.The more I seek YouThe more I find YouThe more I find YouThe more I love YouI want to sit at Your feetDrink from the cup in Your handLay back against You and breatheFeel Your heart beatThis love is so deepIt's more than I can standI melt in Your peaceIt's overwhelming...
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| Try Motivated Moms for Half Price! |
| 2008-07-01 12:17:10 |
If you've been wanting to try the Motivated Moms planner you always hear me talking about, now is the time! You can now get the 2008 planner for only $4. This is an instant download, so you can start enjoying it today! Here is how I use it:I buy the half size planner so that I can print off 2 weeks at a time. Then I hang the current 2 weeks on the fridge like this: For more info, samples, or to order, click HERE.
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| Called to Queenhood |
| 2008-06-30 06:55:04 |
I just read this article from a 2004 Above Rubies last night and it was so inspiring. I am motivated today to be a queen in my home.Called to Queenhood by Nancy Campbell...
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| Tonsil-Free |
| 2008-06-28 15:21:18 |
We are home and everything went great. I can't believe how much time and thought I have wasted worrying about this! The surgery was so simple, Justin did great, and he's managing his pain so much more bravely than I had expected. We had an enjoyable stay and our hotel even had a waterpark in it. Justin wasn't supposed to be going there. HA! Don't tell him he just had surgery and the anesthesia takes 24 hours to wear off and he has to rest for two weeks. He spent two hours in the afternoon and three hours last night shooting down giant water slides. Scared me to death but Daddy said let him do it and he had a ball. He got so upset at me that I said no, he absolutely may not have chicken nuggets. This has been so much easier than I ...
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| No Coughing! |
| 2008-06-26 13:19:43 |
Whew! Praise the Lord, Justin has not coughed at all since this morning when he first got up! I am so relieved we will not have to postpone this and we can just get it over with! The surgery center called today and eased many of my fears of what Justin will have to go through emotionally. It sure is different from when I had surgery as a little girl! First he'll get a sedative which will make him relaxed and silly and will make it easier when they take him away from us. (But where's MY sedative??? ) Then they'll use gas to put him to sleep. He won't get an IV till he's already under, so I'm glad he doesn't have to go through that. At least the whole pre-op part will be easier than I expected. Keep the prayers coming ...
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| Prayer Requests |
| 2008-06-26 06:40:15 |
Justin's surgery is tomorrow morning. He's had just a touch of a cold the past few days and just this morning has started to cough a little. If he is coughing, they will not do surgery. This has been so much work with getting it set up and all the insurance stuff straightened out and all his special food has been bought. Now that it's here, it would be such a letdown to have to postpone it. PLEASE pray that this cough would go away today. I have faith that it can because yesterday morning David was coughing, but seems to be fine now. So please keep us in your prayers!More prayer requests for tomorrow:We will be leaving at 3am tomorrow morning. I know it sounds silly, but the road to the city we are driving to...
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| Tuesday, June 24, 2008 |
| 2008-06-23 20:27:42 |
I haven't been in the mood to blog. We've been so busy. We finished painting the living room. I like it. Maybe I'll post pics. I go all day. I fall into bed at the end of the day. Friday is Justin's surgery. Please be praying for him--and me! I'm scared about surgery and I dread the recovery period--up to two weeks. He doesn't handle pain well. I've been feeling out of sorts. The children are misbehaving and the house is a wreck. Laundry is backed up and the floor hasn't been mopped in over a week. I need something, but can't put my finger on what it is...Yeah, after typing that, I think I know what it is, too. Maybe after a few days I'll be back to myself. Until then, please be praying for Justin thi...
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| My Baby is One! |
| 2008-06-19 18:06:38 |
Can you believe it? It has already been one year since our little Zachary was born! He is the joy of my life and the song in my heart. I can't imagine my life without my Zackie. It is always sad when my babies turn one, but at the same time, there is nothing yummier than a one-year-old! If I had to pick a favorite age, it would have to be one. We had our little party for him tonight. Our "parties" are very simple, with just us and some food. When the kids are older we usually go out and do something fun like bowling or mini golf, but I think Zachary was delighted with what we had for him. Here's our "party". Pizza, chips, coke, cake, and ice cream. I forgot to buy wrapping paper, so I had to use brown paper bags, decorated b...
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| Mothering with Your Heart |
| 2008-06-18 11:00:42 |
For the past few days, I've been on one of my big Above Rubies kicks. I have Serene and Pearl playing in my house all day and I devour old issues every free moment I have. (By the way, if you don't get this magazine then you need to subscribe right now! And if you don't have the CD's I mentioned, you will never regret buying them.) Right now I'm on issue no. 59 from October 2003 and what soul food it has been. Last night as I was reading just a few more pages before I went to sleep, I read this quote from Nancy Campbell:This is the fun thing about motherhood. You don't have to mother the same way as everyone else. God has made you unique...Don't try and emulate someone else. Be who God created you to be.You will enjoy motherhood when you rela...
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| Name Question |
| 2008-06-17 09:32:37 |
Wow. Thank you so much. Everyone's opinions really helped me. I automatically see those names with a "K" sound, but I see I'm in the minority. I never even would have thought about a "CH" sound. as most did! I guess changing the spellings doesn't mean we'd have to change the meanings.By the way, in the Greek dictionary, they are pronounced "KAR-uh" and "KAR-ees".I need some input. How would you pronounce these names?CharaCharisDecide your answers before you read on.Our top name for the baby right now is Cara. Justin would have been Charis had he been a girl and it has been on our list ever since. Chara and Charis are both Greek words in the Bible.Chara--cheerfulness, i.e. calm, delight, gladness, (be exceedingly) joy (ful, ous)Charis--graciou...
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| Rest of Vacation Pictures |
| 2008-06-16 16:37:15 |
Riding paddle boats. David caught his first fish. I love this picture. Zachary has a rib in each hand. He loved sucking those bones clean. David riding go-carts. My boys sitting on a "duck" at Wisconsin Dells. Justin lost his first tooth! We were at Culver's (which I had been wanting to eat at because Beverly used to rave about their burgers, but wouldn't you know it, I was too sick to eat that day!). He was eating frozen custard and said, "What is this in my ice cream?" and it was his tooth! Isn't he cute? This is us at the Creation Museum. I don't know why we all have such weird looks on our faces. This is my favorite scene at the museum. Adam working the garden with two sons while pregnant Eve looks on. I'm really glad we got to go there-...
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| A Pleasant Life |
| 2008-06-16 14:45:37 |
Then Pa looked at Ma and said, "Nobody'd starve to death when you were around, Caroline.""Well, no," Ma said. "No, Charles, not if you were there to provide for us."Pa was pleased. It was all so pleasant, the doors and windows wide open to the summer evening, the dishes making cheerful sounds together as Ma washed them and Mary and Laura wiped, and Pa putting away the fiddle and smiling and whistling softly to himself.from Little House in the Big Woods by Laura Ingalls Wilder.I want to be like Ma....
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| Vacation Picture Post |
| 2008-06-15 20:40:22 |
Warning--MANY pictures ahead!Isaiah and Zachary playing with bubbles at "Pops" house. David and Pops--my dad--playing together. My dad and stepmom had unfortunately already heard the news of my pregnancy, but we still got to surprise them with the news of it being a girl. They were really glad for that. For once, we never heard any unkind words from any of our family about the new baby. I think #5 has been the magic number where everyone has seemed to accept that this is just how we are. The only thing we did hear was from a couple people talking about my "health" and my "body" etc. but other than that, we got no bad comments. I'm in perfect health and my body is doing what it was made for--thanks for asking &nb...
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| Home Sweet Home |
| 2008-06-13 06:09:24 |
Yes, I am home. We got home Wednesday afternoon and was shocked to find snow on the ground and still no leaves on my trees! Quite a change from the almost 100 degree humid days and lush greenery we had just come from. But I'm glad to be home anyway. I have so much to tell and show many pictures to show that I don't know where to start. We had a great trip. We had a few mishaps along the way, but I guess that's to be expected. We enjoyed our vacation, visiting family we haven't seen in so long, eating food from restaurants I have craved for years (I gained 10 pound! would've been more if I hadn't gotten food poisoning on our second day on the road!). We had a really good time, but I must say after staying with grandparent after grandpare...
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| Goodbye! |
| 2008-05-13 19:10:44 |
Everything is packed and in the van, ready to take off around 4am tomorrow morning. I don't plan on doing much, if any, blogging while I'm gone. So keep us in your prayers for a safe and uneventful trip, free from sickness and injury!On our way, we'll be driving for a total of 37 hours. On the way back, 39. That is a long time for four little boys and a pregnant mommy to be cooped up. But we are prepared with plenty of food and drinks and entertainment. To keep myself busy I'm bringing my Bible, To Train Up a Child (I figured this was a good time to reread that one), my new Old Schoolhouse magazine, the Baby Name Wizard with a notebook to start figuring out what to name this little girl! Also, my mp3 player loaded with Above Rubies and Vision Forum...
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| If We Let the Boys Name Her |
| 2008-05-12 19:06:41 |
"So, what should we name our baby girl?"Justin: "Rose"Isaiah: "Baby"Zachary: "Mmm-Ba!"David: "Zacko"LOL Leave it to David to keep you laughing the rest of the day!...
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| Boy or Girl??? |
| 2008-05-12 05:56:11 |
We're on our way to the ultrasound! And David has a surefire way to tell if it's a boy or a girl. "Girls have eyelashes. Boys don't."We can't go wrong with that method!Do you think he's been watching too many cartoons?...
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| Coming Up |
| 2008-05-09 05:27:15 |
Today--Get ready for trip since we don't have to go anywhere today. Wash and pack clothes, get out boys' summer clothes, gather travel activites, give boys' haircut, make hotel reservations, find restaurants, etc. Tomorrow--Justin is running in a little race here on base. He's excited . Get oil changed in van. Shop for travel food and other needed things. Hair appointment for me. Sunday--Church. Wash more clothesMonday--Ultrasound! One last stop by Wal-Mart. Return library books. WIC. Tuesday--Last day to get ready for trip. Finish up everything I started today. Wednesday--Leave dark and early and drive to Fargo, ND.Thursday--Drive to Eau Claire, WI. Friday--Drive to Milwaukee, WI. Saturday--Dri...
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| "More than 3 out of 4 American mothers opt to breastfeed" |
| 2008-05-06 20:12:43 |
Sounds like a good article on Yahoo news, doesn't it? Unbiased, if not supportive of breastfeeding. But some guy who for some reason is totally against breastfeeding and isn't afraid to sound like he thinks breastfeeding mothers are stupid wrote it. I cannot even believe this article was on Yahoo's front page. Read it here....
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| Grocery Poll Results |
| 2008-05-06 11:38:20 |
For the commenters of this blog, here are the results of the poll.Average weekly grocery bill: $122Average family size: 6This makes me feel a lot better! For my family of six I spend anywhere from $60-$100 per week depending on what I'm buying or stocking up on that week, but it is usually somewhere in the $80's. It is going up little by little due to rising food costs, our growing family, and growing appetites in our family!Thank to everyone who participated! ...
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| How it All Began |
| 2008-05-05 16:43:36 |
I was 18 years old, going to college and working full time at Long John Silver's in Big Stone Gap, VA. He was 20 and working selling Kirby vacuum cleaners. One day he was working in Big Stone Gap (an hour away from where he lived) and stopped for lunch at the Long John Silver's drive-thru. I saw him at the window from across the room and there was an instant reaction in my mind..."I'm going to marry him." We exchanged glances, or maybe long stares, before he got his food and drove away. I couldn't get him off my mind after that. About an hour later, guess who comes walking through the door. My heart was racing--I just knew he was going to talk to me. But, no. He asked my co-worker for directions to Wal-Mart, cast a quick glance in...
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| Sunday night summary |
| 2008-05-04 20:19:40 |
~~We got a surgery scheduled for Justin--June 27. I feel so much better with that written on the calendar. But it's still far enough away to hope for those tonsils to go down on their own before then!~~My little Zachary has been sick for the past two days--vomiting, diarrhea, high fever. What's kinda scary is that no one else has shown even the smallest sign of catching it. But he seems to be on the mend which is comforting. Now that he's starting to feel better, he is very whiny and spoiled-acting. Does everyone else's kids do that after they get better from being sick too? All mine have. It's the worst part of any sickness.~~Someone told my dad and step-mom what was supposed to be our big secret--about #5 being on the way. I am so dis...
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| Poll--Weekly Grocery Bill |
| 2008-05-02 09:32:43 |
How much do you spend on groceries per week?How many people are in your family?With the rising cost of food, I'm trying to keep my grocery bill expectations realistic. I am interested in knowing how much other people spend each week on food. Please leave a comment with your answers!...
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| Need Help quick! |
| 2008-05-01 13:55:35 |
Help! I need some kind of bread to go with our soup! Tonight is store night and we're out of everything. No time to make real bread. No milk for cornbread. No shortening for biscuits (I can't bring myself to buy it anymore!). Any ideas???...
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| I Need a Break |
| 2008-05-01 11:59:58 |
Yesterday: Drove three hours to Missoula and back. Took Justin to the ENT there and felt like we didn't accomplish much. Since we are leaving for a month in two weeks and since he does not currently appear to have strep, it was decided to watch him and decide something when we got back. They briefly asked about sleep apnea and I answered "maybe a little" because I hadn't really noticed much besides loud snoring. I had never really thought to check and usually when he's asleep, I'm asleep.So last night I lay down with him while he slept and couldn't believe it. There were some periods where he would stop breathing for 10-15 seconds, then snort loudly only to take one more breath and do it again. I was scared to death to go to sleep for fear he...
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| Today's happenings |
| 2008-04-29 11:52:36 |
Today I had to go sit through 45 minutes worth of lecturing on common sense information just so I can get a referral to my midwife. There should be a law somewhere that says once women have had a certain number of pregnancies (ONE maybe?) she should no longer have to listen to this stuff. Here is everything I was educated on today:The classes I need to attend--OB class, new parent class, early pregnancy class, carseat safety class, labor basics, childbirth preparation, infant care and breastfeeding class, sibling class, fatherhood class, and dad's class. Can you even imagine how silly it would be for me to go to any of these? I mean, I'm not trying to sound like I already know everything, but come on--most of that stuff is like going to kindergarten!Nausea--pr...
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