Rainy Day Randoms

Whenever Tommy has to go potty he kind of prances around rhythmically singing "I have to go pot-ty, I have to go pot-ty". When I try to confirm that with him, he says "No, I was just singing about it." Moments later he really does have to go.

I've been trying to keep my pregnancy weight gain to a minimum but with this cold and rainy winter, all I've wanted to do is bake!

We've gone for years without a working DVD remote and so had settled into the realization that when we watch a DVD, we only have the option of pressing "play" and watching the whole thing in its entirety. No special features, no chapter selection, nothing. But yesterday I hooked up a new one and it's like we've entered a whole new world of DVD awesomeness.

With this rainy weather we're having today, Tommy's imagination will be in full bloom. This kid has the most active imagination I've seen! It takes forever to do a puzzle because halfway through, he assigns roles to the pieces ("this is the mommy, this is the daddy, this is the uncle") and acts out stories with them. They're puzzle pieces! I have no imagination, so I don't understand this. I try to participate though.

Along the lines of imagination, Tommy has taken a real interest in babies. At his little school, there's a section for playing house and there's a selection of baby dolls. Tommy has taken a liking to one in particular and carries it around with him, saying it's his baby brother. He brings it with him when he plays super heroes, or with cars or trains because he's "teaching him how to do it". He even pulls it away from other kids if they're not being careful with it. They baby doll is black, so he may be a bit confused when his real brother is born with a different skin tone. Maybe not.

I'm feeling incredibly dedicated to my health at the moment. I'm about to go to the gym and it's cold and rainy outside. Normally that's an excuse for me to never leave the house. But today I'm not going to let it stop me!

Houseguests

I'm a tough mom. I clean my share of pee pee and poo poo clothes and sheets, usually without flinching. When Tommy threw up on me a couple years ago I didn't respond by throwing up back on him. I can handle bugs. Spiders, ants, even roaches. And I'll take a cricket or two. Perhaps even a frog or toad (but that's getting very close to the line).

However, don't give me a mouse. Unless he's the main attraction at my favorite theme park, I absolutely despise mice. They're not cute and cuddly, they're gross and disease-ridden. And they have icky little feet. So you can imagine my dismay when I found large (as in, not made by a bug) droppings all throughout my garage yesterday. I actually cried. Then thankfully, the pest man came by for our quarterly bug treatment and I asked him what to do about mice in the garage. He very kindly put two glue boards down right near the garage door and said to call if we haven't caught anything in two to three weeks.

This afternoon when I went to check them, I counted no less than 6 little dead mice. And threw up in my mouth a little. I'm not exactly sure what to do with the critters now, but you can bet I'll be calling my pest control guy again. Any tips on ridding a garage of a large rodent family?

Things I Love About Pregnancy

1. I have a built-in tray table.

2. The kicks. Even the uncomfortable kick in the ribs. Nothing beats knowing there's little feet in there.

3. Washing Tommy's old baby clothes, trying to remember when he was actually that small and having trouble believing a new baby will actually fit into those.

4. Coming up with nursery ideas.

5. Having random strangers stop you and ask what you're having (and the looks on their faces when you either reply with "a baby" or just a blank stare... I don't do that too much, but you do need to be careful when you ask someone that. Perhaps they just had a baby! You still look pregnant for a little bit afterward, fyi)

6. Having an excuse to stop what you're doing and put your feet up and close your eyes.

7. I now officially need a pedicure because I'm having trouble reaching my feet. It's no longer just a want.

8. The great questions I get from Tommy about his new baby brother ("Is your baby eating his breakfast right now? What toys is he playing with in your tummy? When he comes out, will he come out of your mouth?")

9. Strangers feeling the need to touch my belly. Most people get offended by this, but I almost enjoy it because I know it's just for a short time longer. If they still do it after baby's born, then we'll have problems.

10. Reading my weekly e-mails to find out what size fruit or vegetable he is this week (He's over a pound and the size of a very large banana this week... maybe a plantain?)

11. Knowing that I will most likely survive childbirth. I totally didn't think that when I was having Tommy but I figure if I can get through that, I can do it again. And I imagine it has to be better this time. Can't get too much worse.

Little Emeril

The weather was nice today so Tommy and I played in his sandbox in our newly finished backyard. Most kids build a sandcastle. Tommy made a "sand casserole". That's what he called it. True story.

Valentine's Day Projects

In Tommy's little "school", they make a project each week. This week he did a Valentine's Day wreath. Dean's exact comment when he saw it was "Didn't they have a boy option?"



Little does Dean know I have lots of fun Valentine's Day projects up my sleeve for the next week.

My Big Baby

It's happening. I knew this time would come, I just thought it would be more towards the summer. No, I'm not in labor. But Tommy's reverting back to wanting to be a baby. Yesterday it took him more than 45 minutes to eat half a container of yogurt because he wanted me to feed it to him because he wants to be a baby (his words, not mine). I refused and so he just sat there and screamed. I continued getting ready for church and stepped around his screaming, fit-throwing self. Finally he just decided he was hungry and he realized that I actually wasn't going to feed him. So he ate the yogurt himself. Once he started eating, the process took about 4 minutes. Today he is doing the same yogurt routine. Suggestions anyone?

My Attempt at Frugality

I've been blessed immensely with this great side business of teaching piano lessons. I blinked and now I suddenly have 22 students! But I'll stop teaching in the beginning of May and have a baby and I'll quickly have 2 children and no students. Meaning, no extra income. And one extra baby (don't worry I'll teach again in the fall). So as the financial planner in the family, I'm trying to think ahead. You know, saving all my piano checks to pay things off, not getting used to living on two incomes, etc. This becomes a bit of a challenge, as we've grown accustomed to my little side income. But I've been clipping coupons, with help from Frugal Coupon Living. That has saved a lot. However, we were still spending too much. Something had to go.

That something was eating out. We have a crazy schedule, so unless I'm planning like crazy, dinner will simply not get made (or eaten) about 3 nights a week. And it's much easier to grab lunch on the run than always have something on hand. Well, say hello to someone who is now planning like crazy. How do I do it, you ask? I'd love to share!

I sat down on a Sunday night with my coupon inserts in one hand and the Publix sale ad for that week in the other (and Frugal Coupon Living on the computer for extra help). Based on what was on sale that week, meat-wise, I planned our dinner menu. It had to include at least one vegetable and be something that could potentially be leftovers for lunch or dinner on a crazy day. For both this week and last week I was able to plan a meal every single night that we didn't have plans. Here's this week's menu:

Monday: Dean had a Bible study at Coosh's, Tommy was eating at MeMe's, and I was eating at my small group. No meal needed.

Tuesday: Dean was out of town, I had a frozen Kashi Spinach and Mushroom trio pizza in my freezer from a few weeks ago when they were on sale at Publix. Tommy and I split it. They're delicious and healthy!

Wednesday: Autumn Sausage Casserole (from a great website called A Year of Slow Cooking. Definitely worth checking out)

Thursday: Slow Cooker Potato Soup (also from the same website)

Friday: We have dinner plans with my family and Dean's family at his parents' house. No meal needed.

Saturday: Lasagna

Sunday: Slow Cooker Shepherd's Pie (yes, again from the same website).

I was able to get all my ingredients and groceries for the week plus an extra pack of chicken breasts, because you never know when they'll come in handy, for a grand total of $78.00 (roughly). Not bad to feed a family of 3 (plus my parents for 3 nights) lunch and dinner for a week!