nausea, nausea go away

Well, we are all moved in to our new place in Norwood. It was an adjustment for me, getting used to living in the heart of the city life but I am warming up to the idea. Everything has a place in our new apartment and the second bedroom is extremely bare, I cannot wait to fill it with baby things! Josh has been an amazing help thus far. Although he doesn't understand every emotion and physical discomfort that I have he is doing his best to realize that I can be angry at anything, I can cry for any reason, I feel tired... a lot and I want to eat and not eat at the same time.

Work has been going well for the both of us. I just finished up the school year on Friday and am now teaching at the school for our summer program. It is less structured which is just what I need. Josh is finishing out his last couple months at his current job and is extremely excited to get back into school this fall.

Other news, we are selling my Scion TC which I adore. We were blessed to be able to get Josh's grandad's car over Memorial Day weekend. This allows us to each have a car without a car payment. Sally will be missed dearly, it is not very practical to keep her with our lifestyle changes. I am just so happy that we are able to have the opportunity to sell it. Something else we will be getting rid of, Petee. Petee is going to be put up for adoption. He was doing great with great training and we were having no problems. Then one day out of the blue he began going to the bathroom in his crate. This has become a daily occurance, he goes out everyday, the same number of times at the same time everyday, whether it is a weekday or the weekend. When we are home he never has accidents and always waits to go outside. We are unable to give him the attention he is desiring. I cannot see myself coming home 8 months pregnant or even after having the baby and having to clean out a dog crate and bathe a dog before I can put my attention on anything else. Petee also has some violence in his past which make me very worried for when the baby is home, when he/she begins to crawl and so on. I am not willing to take any risks with my child. Petee is a great dog and now needs to be a great dog for someone else.

Baby News
We had our last Dr. appointment on May 31. It went really well, we still do not have an exact due date so our guesstimate is still January 1, 2012. My blood pressure was a little down from last time which is good.
Pregnancy Symptoms: Nausea constantly, extreme sensitivity to smells, frequent trips to the bathroom (my bladder is full all the time), fatigue and moody
Weight gain: None -5 from previous visit. The Dr. said this is completely normal in the first trimester. However, my pants are extremely uncomfortable from where my little baby bump is growing.
Food Cravings:  None- Josh claims I crave anything with strawberries but I'm not convinced.
Food Aversions: Too many to count

10 weeks

moving... and a baby update

    To help out with our frugal lifestyle, Josh and I decided about 2 months ago, that it would be beneficial for us to move closer to Xavier University and sell one of our cars. Brilliant, right? Well, we had a couple conditions: 2 bedrooms, reasonable price and reasonable distance for Josh to get to school. Everything else we wanted would be a bonus but we could get by without.
    We began searching- apartment search engines and craigslist... for that perfect place. We also went to a couple places around the area just to get a feel for what was out there in our price range. Let's just say we made it to one place and I was to terrified to go to any others. That was until Josh discovered an apartment in a contractors office building 2 blocks from campus. We set up a day and time to meet with one of the contractors. I have to say I didn't fall in love immediately because I really like our current apartment. I am one of those people that needs to simmer on things, replay them over and over in my head and see all the various ways it could and could not work. Josh, of course, was ready to get it. With the price and the ammenties that were included there was really nothing that I could say bad about it. 2 bedroom apartment, extremely spacious master bedroom, ceiling fans and overhead lighting in every room, 1 bathroom, full kitchen including dishwasher (a must for Josh :)) The closets are rather small but something we can handle.
    After securing a new place to live, we started to de-clutter our current place. What are we not going to need? What do we no longer have space for? Is it really necessary to keep this? Room to room, we have taken a large donation to Goodwill. I'm sure that we will have at least one more. Craigslist has been great to us. Somethings we had to get rid of due to the impracticality of it in our new place. Such as our dining room table- it was a large 4 seat table, that I loved, but we simply won't have the space. Our desk was too small for a graduate student to study at, all of the 2nd bedroom furniture we have will not be needed because it will be replaced by a crib. We received interest in all of our items and all of them that we have posted will be gone by Friday.
    Moving is an exciting thing and I can't wait to start our life as a little family in a new place.

Baby Updates:
I had my first appointment on Monday to make sure all was well and to see if a due date could be pinned down. I was guessing that I was 5 weeks on Sunday putting my due date on January 1,2012. The doctor is currently saying that I am somewhere in between 6-7 weeks putting my due date on December 25, 2011 or December 18,2011. So, needless to say I am a little more confused than I was before I got there. Everything is developing just fine and he suggested that we get an ultrasound to give us a better prediction of a due date. But we may hold out on that for awhile. Our next appointment is May 31.

I haven't had any form of sickness yet which is an amazing blessing and I hope it stays away. The only changes I have noticed are my "girls", sports bras are currently a best friend :)

A crazy food issue has been dessert. If you know me really well, you will know that I HAVE to have dessert after dinner. No matter what. Not lately I could care less about sweets and if I have any.
Latest craving: baby carrots with ranch

Latest aversion: bananas 

Josh has been extremely helpful. He is always making sure I have plenty of snacks in my lunch box for work, so that I never feel hungry. He encourages naps! He encourages me to take a walk with him every evening to ensure I get some exercise into my day. He is absolutely amazing :)  

two pink lines

Josh and I have been anxiously awaiting the day to find out that we are pregnant. It has been a 14 month long journey and well worth the wait, although I did not see it as so at the time. Josh and I were doing everything we thought necessary to have a baby. We cut back/ cut out on drinking, I slowed down my intake of caffeine, I charted everything on the calendar and numerous other things in hope of creating a baby. But there was one thing that we had not changed, our relationship with God. We began going back to church at the middle of March, I had posted about our experience. We loved it, the second time we went I was distraught over yet another month of not being pregnant. I couldn't focus on anything, but the one thing I did hear from the pastor was,"God wants Jesus to have brothers and sisters...." I couldn't tell you anything else that was said. I sat there and cried my eyes out. After the service we met with one of the church's prayer partners, we explained to him how it has been a struggle for us to have a baby and that we have realized WE have done all we can and now it was time to turn it all over to God. We prayed, for God to have his way with giving us a baby on HIS time an not ours. On Easter Sunday, we were blessed with the news that we are having a baby!

should i really sign up?

Yes. There are memberships on some sites that are worth the time and emails to sign up for. This week I used some coupons for free items that I had received from some of these so called sites.

Kraft First Taste: http://www.kraftfirsttaste.com/ 
A month or two ago, I received a coupon for a container of free Philadelphia Cooking Cream. This time a free box of the new JELLO Temptations. I would check this account once a week. Sometimes you won't always get the free item but rather a coupon for it. They currently have a coupon for free Kraft shredded cheese with a touch of philly, I only got $1 off. Worth it!!

Vocalpoint: https://www.vocalpoint.com/registration/screener.aspx
Vocalpoint sends out emails with a lot of really good ideas in them and also gives you an update as to what samples to can ask for. I received my first coupon from Vocalpoint a week ago it was for a free pint of Breve coffee creamer.

Right@Home: http://www.rightathome.com/   
They send out monthly emails updating you on new deals and tips around the house. Yesterday I received a coupon for a free Glade spring collection product.

All in all my shopping trip yesterday was on the free side.

tuna roll

No this is not sushi.

What you need:

-2 cans of drained tuna

- mayo (however much you like)

-1/4 cup chopped celery

-1/4 cup chopped onion

-1/3 cup of shredded cheddar cheese

-1 clove minced garlic

- a dash of salt and pepper

- a couple shakes of dill (if you don't like it or don't have it no big deal)

- 2 pkgs of crescent rolls 

What to do:

Mix all ingredients in a medium sized bowl...except the crescent rolls :)

 Lay out crescent rolls on a lightly greased cookie sheet

 

 Spoon tuna mixture onto crescent ring.

  

Wrap crescent rolls over tuna mixture.

 Place in 350 degree oven for approx. 12 minutes or until golden brown.

Some variations:

+ I only use 1 pkg of crescent rolls to save on calories from bread.

+You do not have to use all the veggies, my brother only uses tuna, mayo, and cheese for the filling

the meaning of being frugal

Everyone has their own definition as to what they think it means to be frugal. I don't think a lot of people understand what Josh and I do and/or why we do what we do, that's ok. I do not have to explain to others why we do what we do but I would like to share for those that are interested.

Merriam-Webster defines frugal as- characterized by or reflecting economy in the use of resources
Synonyms: economical, economizing, provident, scrimping, sparing, thrifty


Some people define being frugal by seeing how many coupons they are able to clip and how many products they can buy at low costs. I am not "downing" coupons but I don't believe that you can solely be frugal by seeing how much you can save with coupons. I mean would you regularly spend $1,000 at the supermarket? It seems that the money you are saving goes towards all the storage devices that you need to buy to support your habit.


Others may make a commitment to be frugal while eating out but not really frugal with any other lifestyle choices. I take on frugality as a complete lifestyle overhaul. 


I do not think being frugal means you need to give up on having "everything" and I do not believe that the only people that are frugal are people who can't afford certain luxuries.


To be frugal is a choice, a choice that takes a lot of self discipline.


Over the past few months Josh and I have been doing a lot of adjusting and readjusting with our budget. To maintain these changes we have learned to become frugal. What is it that you really need? 


Do you really need to have an internet plan on your phone?
Sure, it's only $10 or $20 a month. That's $120-$240 a year, for what? Convenience. Was your life so difficult before you were able to have a data plan? You are already paying for the internet at home. Now I know there are jobs that require internet service on your phone. Just like Josh's job, but as soon as he goes back to school, the data plan will be gone. Just one more thing to save on.


Do you really need all those cable channels?
We used to pay $124 a month for internet and cable services. Crazy. What is so important to watch, that we need 1,000 channels to do it? We thought it would be difficult to adjust to standard cable but I really enjoy it. I don't have so many channels to look through. If nothings on, it gives me time to do other things, instead of wasting my time starring at a television. We now pay for basic cable and internet for about $70 a month. That is a savings of $648 a year!


Do you really need to shop for name brand food?
We decided to take on the Aldi's Challenge and try their food for a week. We used to spend approx $100 a week in groceries alone. We now try to purchase everything at Aldi's and whatever we can't, we purchase at Wal Mart. Our average grocery bill is approx $60, I don't need to spend hours cutting and organizing coupons and searching ads to find the cheapest deals.


Some of the things I do:
It is almost always cheaper to make and fix things yourself. We make our own household cleaners and they work just as great.
Clothes- we shop for clothes when it is absolutely needed, we don't just go out and shop for fun or to waste time. We make sure we know exactly what we are shopping for and don't get caught up in all the advertising of sales. Most of the sale items are not what we came for. So why spend extra money on something because it is on sale?
Eating out- This used to be a weakness for us. It was always so much easier if Josh would pick up dinner on the way home from work or we would go out an get something just so we wouldn't have to cook and clean. We limit eating out to one meal a week, always with a coupon.
Save, Save, Save- With all the money we have not been spending has been going directly into savings. We were able to keep all of our tax return this year and haven't spent a penny of it.


Don't get me wrong, we indulge every once in a while (like every 3 months or so). We can afford the things we need and want, but by becoming frugal our wants have changed. Choosing to be frugal is something I want to do for my family. To value what is really important.

have a movie night on redbox

   After coming across a few FREE rental codes for Redbox, Josh and I decided to see if they really worked. First, we tried at Wal-Mart, to no avail. So we headed over to Walgreens, success!!! I'm not sure if these codes will work at other locations if you try and they don't I suggest going to a Walgreens. Here are some codes I found, you can only use them once. It recognizes you by your credit card number.

FREE Rental Codes:

Free Rental Code: DVDONME (expiration unknown) we used at Walgreens

Free Rental Code: BREAKROOM (expiration unknown) we used at Walgreens

Free Rental Code: N6TRWTV (expiration unknown) – will give Blu-ray for only $.50

Free Rental Code: QM4KTX6 (expiration unknown) – will give Blu-ray for only $.50

Free Rental Code: DVDKROG (expiration unknown) – only at Kroger locations

Free Rental Code: DVDATWAG (expiration unknown) – only at Walgreen’s locations

Have a great Movie Night!!!