Tidbits - What's on my mind!

Hi friends!

Today on Tidbits I am going to share a little bit of everything on my mind!

March of Dimes Walk
Yesterday was the walk! Because it was the first year that I did it I wasn't sure what to expect. I had these ideas in my head, but you can only be so prepared. Let me tell you, it was way more exciting and long than I expected. I certainly didn't expect 5 miles to be so long...it doesn't seem like it would be long, but holy cow! I am proud to say that we did finish the 5 miles with very few stops (towards the end I did start to get sick, thank goodness for Steak and Shake!) We finished strong and very proud to have been a part of such a great event. Yes, I even shed a tear or two or 70. There were a ton of other's there, though I have clue what the actual number was! My team consisted of Drew, Parker and me, as well as our friends Teresa, Kim and Kara and one of my blogger friends even walked with us (Thanks C.). We ran into one of Parker's nurses from the NICU! That was exciting and unexpected and so good! We didn't get to see anyone else, though she did say there were some others there! It was cool to see other family teams and their posters. Ours was out and I was so excited, I am also excited because we got to keep it if we wanted to! Parker did so so good! I was expecting a meltdown from being too hot or not getting a diaper change - but no, he sat in his stroller with his incredibly cute outfit and played with his toys and talked! I think we finished in an hour and 45 minutes. After the walk we spent the afternoon resting (while Parker spent it playing!). I am not too sore today, my blister on my foot hurts, and the random sunburn I got on only one arm and only on the back! Pictures to come - I haven't dumped the camera!

Saturday
Saturday was a good day too - just really busy. That morning, Parker and I got up early and went to a soccer game to cheer on M. He is the son of my good friend C and B and we promised him we'd come to a game. He adores Parker and visa versa. His team did well and won!!! We came home and our friend Teresa came over to help me make our team shirts! (We were the only team there with hand maid shirts!) After she left I headed to a coupon class hosted by Ellen of ThriftyChicMom. She is an insane (good insane) couponer and she shared her tips! I look forward to getting into it. I have clipped coupons, but I have never been so organized and thoughtful in my shopping. After that I went grocery shopping for a little bit of stuff and came home and relaxed.

Parker
This little man is giving mommy and daddy headaches! He gets into everything, pulls up on everything, bumps his head on everything (nothing serious) and is just running amuck! This weekend he has started crawling more and more and he pulls up on anything he can. It's crazy to think a week ago he barely did anything but roll and now...yah, not so much. He's such a big boy and he is doing so well!

Today I am going to do some spring cleaning! Our house is so cluttered and especially our walk in closet - A MESS! i am planning on getting some new clothes since I can't fit into most of my summer clothes from last year. We are going to tennessee in two weeks so I want to get some new things for that trip. Also, I need to get all the winter clothes put away too. Plus, with how sore I am it will be a good break before I am busy later this week!

I am done, thanks for reading my novel! I hope to get pictures up later today of the walk!

TidBits: HAHA moments, TN, Grocery, Parker

It's time for another issue of Tidbits. Tidbits is where I basically write all that is in my head. A little bit of this, a little bit of that.

1) I am happy to report that Mr. Parker precious pants is back to his normal breathing self. Last time he had any form of his inhaler was a week ago! He is acting as if nothing really happened. I still have to be careful with him, but I think it's all over with. I hope that his breathing issues never happen again, but with every challenge I realize that I am a great mom and know my son. I am sad in a weird way that he is no long on his steroids. They cleared up his eczema beautifully, but it's back...but at least it's not every part of his body, it's really just his cheeks and knees and his arms. I am continually rubbing lotion on him. It's frustrating, but with this nicer weather, it's not nearly as bad as it had been!
- 2 Quick Questions: 1) How do I teach Parker to use a cup? well a sippy actually. Is there anything I can do to help him realize you don't chew it, you suck? 2) If you baby has an allergic reaction to something, how do you know the difference between that and say just eczema?
Now I am not saying that Parker had an allergic reaction, but I just was wondering if maybe part of his breathing issue was due to one. It was the first day he had tried beef and he ended up in hospital. Granted I think his breathing had started out that day being more rough than normal, but not as bad until the evening. I feel like I am questioning myself and all I do for Parker. But maybe the hospital would have noticed if it were an allergic reaction - don't you think?

2) Moving along - I have to say, I find myself amused by random things. For example today, I am leaving the grocery. I am getting ready to pull out of my spot and I see this precious little old lady attempting to pull into a handicap spot. She totally missed it and ends up parking in the striped part. She sits there for a minute and realizes she didn't make it into the actual spot. I don't know, but I found it humorous. You know what else I find humorous? That I hate drinking wine, but I use it to cook with. They say only cook with wine you would drink - well what do you do when you wouldn't drink it? I think it tastes awful personally, I love cooking with it though because the alcohol cooks out. I think it's funny. Also funny - attempting to purchase wine when I know squat about it.

3) Speaking of the grocery - I have found the perfect time for me to go - 10am on Monday morning. I scored some awesome meat deals, there was no one in the store really, I got to take my time and compare prices and think through things. I loved it. And Drew got to be with daddy here at home so I didn't have to deal with him (though he would have been fine!) I am attempting to use coupons more...it helps!

4) I am getting so excited and giddy about May! On May 10th our church will be holding a dedication time during service. I will be dedicating Parker at that service (no it is not baptism). It happens to be mother's day too, what a great day. Also exciting, Drew's parents are coming down to be there during Parker's dedication. I am hoping maybe some of my family with come from Indiana, it would be awesome to have them, but I don't want to pressure them. Anyways, on the 11th - that monday - we are headed to Tennessee for a week. We are going to Knoxville and I finally get to meet Drew's grandma and grandpa and they will get to meet Parker too. We are going to go to Gatlinburg, Panther Creek State Park and other fun places. We are also going to Mt. Vernon indiana to see Drew's aunt and uncle. We may get to stop in Nashville! I am so excited for our trip, I can't wait to go on a proper family vacation.

This weekend we are heading to Cincinnati to see our friend's The Vinson's who moved to MN a few years back. I haven't seem them in almost a year and I miss them. Heather and I were roommates and I love her to death. I turned to her a lot during my pregnancy and even the first months of Parker's life. She is one of my BFFs! I can't wait. I also get so see some other college buddies too, we are having a cookout at the Reasor's; Brandee was my roommate the last year of college. And the Hobb's - almost all of the CCU posse.

I think that is all I have for today, other than to stay in prayer for Stellan and the MckMama family (see my other post from today.)

Love you all! Glad to be back in the swing of blogging!

A Parker Manuel

Here's my theory, anytime a baby comes out of the belly, it should have a little manuel attached to it, like, instead of them coming out all gunky and gewy and ewwwy and icky, they should come out clean, with a big bow around them (blue for boy and pink for girl, of course!) and in that bow, should be the baby's manuel. Mine of course would be called that "Parker Manuel". And it would give me all the answers I need so I don't lose what little brain I have left.

" Congratulations, you have had your very own Parker! This manuel is designed specifically for him and his needs and all the answers for him! Do not share as your Parker is completely different from any other Parker and will not have the same issues as any other baby! You did great carrying him for "insert amount of time here" and I entrust this child to you for the next "insert amount here"! Again Congratulations! "

Oh how I wish I had one because I am so confused sometimes by this child. Or just things related to him, like for example, at this age (almost 6 months) how often should he be sleeping? What if he is over sleeping or under sleeping? And what about his dry skin, is that ok (actually the doctor and I talked about that on Tuesday). Oh and what about teething, is he or isn't he? Is his poopy allowed to be hard or should it still be soft? If it is hard and he is only on cereal, is that a bad thing? Am I over stimulating him but having Dora on in the background? Boy, I just have so many questions. which sometimes (ok MOST OF THE TIME) leads to me stressing and conjuring up terrible things and this of course leads me to my mommy guilt issues. I can see it now, "Oh no, hard poop....he's really sick!"

Then of course in the manuel would be all the answers I need to solid foods. Mainly, the answers to making my own. I want to do that because I know WIC does not provide baby food, just cereal (anyone else find this silly?) and plus I have always wanted to. (I know of a good book though!) and of course there would be a coupon for free diapers for Parker until he doesn't need them anymore. And there would be a part about how to potty train.

Oh wouldn't it be nice?

Tuesday's Tips

Welcome to the first week of Tuesday's Tips! Today's tip: Menu Planning/Grocery Lists

For our household I do menu planning and then make a grocery list! I do the menu planning for every two weeks, I plan lunches and dinners and then write them on a template I made up. I break it down by each day. Then by Lunch/Dinner. Lunches are normally easy (i.e. hot dogs, sandwiches) and dinners are more fun. I don't do breakfast mainly because I do easy stuff. So I write down each day what the main dish is and then the side dish. Like I said, I plan for two weeks. I then write down everything I need to get. I break it down by categories...i.e. breads, fruits, veggies...ect. I then take the ads for several different stores...I shop at Aldi's, Kroger, Giant Eagle, Meijer (sometimes walmart). I decide where I can get the best deals, and honestly for about a good 2/3 or so of the list, the cheapest is Aldi's! I then highlight each item based on where to get it. 

I also clip coupons and use them. Also, you can find coupons online at sites like, www.couponsuzy.com, www.coupons.com, and also I get them from the Sunday paper. 

Sure, it takes some time, but this week, I saved a lot of money and only spend 102 bucks on 2 weeks of groceries! It's so worth it!