A Night Away...

Gosh, a night away with my best friend sounded like so much fun! And so many of you agreed with me that the Mandarin-Oriental DC hotel looked like just the place to kick back and relax. Boy, was I wrong. Let me share our weekend with you...

We arrived at the Mandarin around 2:30pm after a leisurely morning browsing the stores at the Pentagon City mall. We had reserved a premiere waterfront suite with a view of the Jefferson Memorial. Our view was definitely beautiful, but our room looked very little like this picture that represented it on the website. It was nowhere near this large. Here's what our room actually looked like:
And what the picture fails to show is the lovely set of railroad tracks directly under the windows. Every 30-60minutes your room starts vibrating when Amtrak thunders past. Great fun. And the furniture was pretty ratty.

As I mentioned, the view was lovely, but the windows were so dirty I couldn't take any good pictures through them. Major bummer. Here's the best one I was able to capture:

The bathroom was very classy, but the marble in the shower had rust stains and the wood vanity was scratched and smudged a great deal. Not the thing you would expect when staying at a five-star hotel and paying an arm and a leg.

We had called in the morning to schedule our reservations for dinner at the hotel's well-known restaurant, CityZen. Having not heard back from them upon check-in, we inquired if we could make a reservation for the evening... and were practically laughed out of the hotel. Apparently that restaurant's reservations fill up approx. 2 wks-2 months in advance. Oh.

I really can't tell you how disappointed we were. I had purchased a special Chinese dress (from Shanghai) for the occasion and, well, there were many other factors this hang-up complicated as well. I admit, at this point I started pouting. Big time. But after a lot of strange events (it would take too long to recount them all) we ended up being given a table for the 6:30pm seating. Thank you, Lord!

The food at the CityZen was delicious (though not even comparable to the stuff we raved about in St. Lucia)! Perhaps the most notable event was that I ate rabbit for the very first time. And it was really good! We did enjoy our time there, although our waitress left a lot to be desired (lots of fun stories there, but I'll save it for another time). But hey, it went with the theme of our weekend. :-) I wasn't able to capture any good pictures of us or the dress, but this kinda shows the artistry of the silk cheongsam. My husband adored it... which was all the mattered to me. :-)

On the whole, we would heartily discourage anyone from going to the Mandarin. I've left out a bunch of stories about the poor service and all the ways they nickle and dimed you out of your money. Probably the real breaking point for us was learning they had a $15 per 24 hour fee for wireless internet. Uh, come on! Even Super 8 motels have that for free. We had a far better experience (and far better suite - a bedroom, kitchen, and living room!!!) at the Reston Hyatt where we spent our wedding night. And it was half the price.

But should you think my weekend tale is over, it's not. On Sunday morning we found out that my mom had experienced some troubling symptons similar to retinal detachment with one of her eyes. Long story short, we had to head home early so she could make a visit to the ER. (Good news, it was a vitreous detachment, and not as much a cause for alarm.) So that definitely brought our already awkward weekend to a dramatic end.

::Sigh:: I need a weekend to recover from my weekend. :-P

Uh oh.

This morning I gave Morenna a box of Cheerios to play with. I should've guessed there might be a mess. :-) This is the first mess of any significance that she's created (I know all you seasoned moms are laughing at me right now) so I acted rather surprised when I saw it. Poor thing, she thought she had done something really wrong.

My parents are coming today and I can't wait. While I'm definitely excited to see them (and Morenna can't wait to see Uncle Buddy, the dog), perhaps my excitement more stems from the fact that they are coming so that M and I can leave. Yup, we're leaving Morenna overnight with Gramma and G-Daddy and heading off to the Mandarin-Oriental Washington D.C. for a night of peaceful sleep and sweet luxury. I. Can't. Wait. More on that later. :-)

Here's another semi-out-of-date, but favored picture of Morenna, below.

1/7/2009

Helpfulness

Today I noticed the beginning of a helpful "big-girl" attitude in Morenna, and what a joy it was! Her new favorite thing? Handing me the clothes out of the dryer.

For being so little, she certainly pulled those heavy clothes out well! I loved the joyful grin she gave me everytime I praised her. I'm so going to love teaching her how to run a home! :-)

Though about a month old, this picture shows something else she loves to help me with, though she's not too helpful...

It's Been A While

I stink at blogging. It's a vicious circle... I don't post, so I obviously don't have floods of people visit my blog. And often when I think of something interesting to post... well, I figure I don't have any visitors so it's not worth it. Silly, huh.

Most of you know that I publish an e-newsletter about the latest goings on with our family. I originally wanted to post all my newsletters here, but didn't want to wrestle with making my blog private. But a new wind might be blowing. Stay tuned for more.

M and I have been really busy with work/school/parenting challenges, hence the lengthy absence. But I know some family members are going to kill me if I don't start updating them on our goings-on, especially with Morenna growing up so quickly! So here's my hopefully-not-empty promise to resume regular blogging soon.

And keep in mind that I will probably make this blog private if I do end up posting often, so if that happens just email me or drop me a note on facebook.

In the meantime, here was our family Christmas 2008 picture for those of you who may not have seen it. :-)

.... A Lot Like Christmas

Christmas has made it's way to our house, albeit a little delayed on account of a hubby with the flu and a little one with a bad cold. But nevertheless, we've had a batch of Spritz Cookies, some Peanut Butter Blossoms and this evening I turned out a dozen homemade Truffles (above). Mmmm. They make such great gifts and are so pretty, rolled in almonds, coconut, powdered sugar and Christmas sugar. Not to mention, well, I mean they're chocolate. :-)

And for those of you who receive our bi-weekly newsletters... no, I haven't forgotten about them. Things have been just so busy that I hadn't had a spare second to turn them out. If you don't get our newsletter, and would like to, feel free to just leave a comment or shoot me off an email.

Merry Christmas to all!

Sing sweet and low your lullaby till angels say, "Amen." A mother tonight is rocking a cradle in Bethlehem while wise men follow through the dark a star that beckons them. A mother tonight is rocking a cradle in Bethlehem. "A little child shall lead them," the prophets said of old. In storm and tempest keep 'em until the bells is tolled. Sing sweet and low your lullaby till angels say, "Amen." A mother tonight is rocking a cradle in Bethlehem. choir Sing sweet and low your lullaby.

Home as a Haven

I was encouraged and motivated by two ladies who decided to challenge themselves in making their home a haven (see here and here) for their family. I know I could always stand improvement and godly counsel in that area. So following their lead, I thought I'd post about how I'm trying to make my home a haven, specifically in keeping it tidy.

I'm in no way OCD about keeping my house clean... but as I mentioned before, I can't stand major messes and crumbs on the floor. Keeping a three story townhouse clean has been a challenge, though. Not to mention I have a hard time devoting a whole day (or week!) to cleaning. So I created a six-week plan that helps me keep the whole house clean, and the other odd household jobs in order. It's worked great for me so far, but better yet, my husband loves coming home to a tidy house (most days :-) ). It's far from fool proof, and there are some days I just don't get things done (as visitors to my house can definitely witness), but it's been very helpful to keep me on track.

What I Did on Sunday Morning...

Why, CVS of course! I rarely drag myself out of bed in time to arrive at CVS at opening time, but this morning was different. And boy was I glad I did.

Maybe it was the fact I was sleep deprived (didn't get to bed until 2am due to a caffeinated beverage mistake and a hungry, teething, child... and then up again at 5am for a comforting session), but I arrived at CVS early this morning and was the first customer thru the doors.

Here's what I scored...

(1) Jumbo pack of Huggies Supreme diapers - $2/18.99
(2) Crest Pro-Health Toothpastes - $3.49 each
(2) Palmolive Dish Soap - $1.49 each
(1) Fructis Hair Mousse - $2.99
(1) St. Ives Body Wash - $3.99
(1) L'Oreal Skin Revitalizer - $11.99
(1) Glageau Smart Water - $1.59
(1) Chapstick Shimmer - $2.99
(2) Stayfree MaxiPads - $3.89 each
(1) Starbucks Chocolate bar - $2.99

Here are the coupons I used:

$1 Huggies
2 - $1 Crest toothpastes
$1/2 Palmolive
$1 Fructis
expired $1 St. Ives (I was so elated to find that my store excepts expired coupons!)
$1 L'Oreal
$2/2 Stayfree
$1.50 Starbucks chocolate

The total came to just over $56. I used my $10 off $50 CVS coupon pluse the $28+ in ExtraCare bucks from last time.

Total OOP: $5.29

And I also have a manufacturer rebate for the chapstick... so in reality I only paid $2.30 for all of it. In my mind, that's $2.30 for diapers! Whoo hoo!

And I have over $30 in ExtraCare bucks for my next trip.

If you weren't a CVS believer before... maybe you are now?

In a Given Day

It was so nice to have a weekend. Matt took baby duty for most of Sunday and I felt like a free woman again. We spent time pulling out the horrid ornamental grass from our front landscaping. Matt figured he got in a good workout. And when I wasn't outside enjoying the beautiful day, I was inside tinkering around with my newest hobby: digital scrapbooking. It's got me hooked.

I'm not really into super complex scrapbooking pages, but I certainly appreciate the simple stuff. And it's a good thing, too, because I'm not as creative as I'd like to be. :-) But anyway, I digress.

It was so refreshing and I was more than ready to pack up Morenna and descend upon the great and mighty CVS for our weekly visit. We didn't fair too badly, I might add.


One transaction afforded us:

- (1) mega-pack of Huggies Diapers
- (1) Always Infinity Pads
- (1) Bayer Breeze 2 Glucose Monitor (great donation for a pregnancy care center or just to sell in a garage sale!)
- (4) SoyJoy bars

I used:
- $10 off purchase of $50 CVS coupon
- $1 mnf. coupon for Huggies / $2 CVS coupon for Huggies
- $2 mnf. coupon for Always + $4.99 rain check from two weeks ago for a free box
- $buy-one-get-one for SoyJoy (= $1)
- $30 mnf. coupon for Bayer Monitor (in this week's RedPlum)
- $1.67 ExtraCare buck

I spent: $1.71

In return: I got another $5 in ExtraCare bucks, bringing my current total up to $29. Holy cow. Need anything from CVS?

Ahh, I heart CVS. Not to mention there is also a manufacture mail-in rebate on the monitor box. Should they affort a full price-paid refund, it would be a $30 money-maker! Yeah, I heart CVS.

Individualism vs. Education

Matt and I wrote this post for the BreakPoint "The Point" blog.

Here is the quote we wanted, but couldn't, place at the end:

When an opponent declares, "I will not come over to your side," I calmly say, "Your child belongs to us already... What are you? You will pass on. Your descendants, however, now stand in the new camp. In a short time they will know nothing else but this new community."

~ Adolf Hitler

Touche.

Toys for the Housewife

(Get your mind out of the gutter)

Otherwise Entitled: Ode to My Swiffer Duster

I can't believe I'm actually dedicating precious time and energy to blogging about this, but allow me to say: I love my new Swiffer Duster!

I bought one at random last night as part of a huge (but inexpensive) CVS purchase and I haven't stopped swiffering (is that a word) since I opened the box. Unlike other dusters that simply push the dust around, the Swiffer really does pick up all the little dust particles. It's perfect for any type of dusting job.

But the best part of all is that it's incredibly fluffy and soft. It just begs to be pet between jobs.

Ok. Did I really just say that?

CVS for Newbies

Lately a couple of you have mentioned your interest in bargain shopping at CVS. You go girls!

The deals are amazing, the bargains, endless (well, we wish they were)... and overall, it's really not a complicated way to save hundreds of dollars. I thought about doing a little "how-to" post for getting started CVS-ing, but then I noticed that the frugal blogger, Thrifty Mama, is actually doing a great informative series for beginners. Feel free to follow her along, here.

One thing worth mentioning: as a new shopper, you can either sign up for CVS' extracare program online or in the store. Should you decide to try your hand at the sales this week (following Thrifty Mama's program), you'll definitely need to sign up in the store so that your card is activated immediately.


And not to steal the spotlight from CVS by any means, but RiteAid pharmacy has some incredible deals on over-the-counter medications this week. The October monthly rebate offers line up perfectly with many of the cold/flu items on sale this week.

All of the items in the picture at right, I got for free after rebate. Not only that, but for the Children's Advil and the Excedrin, I was able to use $3 in coupons, plus the Sucrets came with a manufacture $1.50 mail-in-rebate! It's pretty nice to be paid $4.50 to stock up on medication for the winter season! :-) Check out MoneySavingMom for a listing of the 30 items that are free after rebate for this week.

CVS 10/5-10/11

So my CVS posts have been a bit absent of late - my apologies. Here was my run for this week, and what a great week it was!

Transaction One

• Bic Soleil Razor $5.99
  
• Tylenol Gels $6.00
• Vitamin Water $2.29
  
• Always Infinity $4.98
• Colgate Toothpaste $2.99

Total + tax: $22.31

Used:
$2 off Bic, available here
$2 off Tylenol (9/14 Red Plum)
$1 off Colgate Max (9/28 SmartSource) + $1 CVS Register Coupon for Colgate

$14.99 in ExtraCare bucks

Total Out-of-Pocket: $1.32
ECB's Earned: $13.27

---

Transaction Two

• Tylenol PM Gelcaps $6.00
• (2) Children's Tylenol $6.00 each
  
• CVS Kid's Hand Sanitizer $1.99
  

Total: $19.99

Used:
$2 off Tylenol PM (9/7 RedPlum)
$2 off (2) Children's Tylenol (9/14 SmartSource)

$13.27 in ECBs

Total Out-of-Pocket: $2.72
ECBs earned: $11.00

I was pretty pleased with these deals, but my savings could've been better. I bought the kids sanitizer because I thought I needed a filler item (so that my total was enough that I could use all my ECBs earned in the previous transaction), but I didn't need it after all. So if I hadn't bought that, I would've only paid $0.72 for the second transaction, and would have earned $10 in ECBs instead of $11. But as I reminded myself on the trip home, it's still only $4 for all those items. :-)

The Proof

"Mommamama" might have been the first spoken word... but it only counts when you get it on camera. And so, friends, I give you... "Da-Da". Forgive the shaky video. :-)

Gettin' 'em started early...

My dad has been hinting for a while that he wanted to take Morenna for her first ride on a 4-wheeler. Until recently, my answer was an adamant "NO!". But for whatever reason - perhaps the fact that I wholeheartedly trust my Dad? - I gave in and let him take her for a ride. I completely expected the typical Morenna breakdown that occurs anytime she's around loud noises, people she doesn't know, things she doesn't like, etc. But I was pleasantly surprised that she took it all in stride and even gave a brief smile at the end. I guess she trusts her G-Daddy, too. :-)

This video is a little blurry and there's no sound (I need a new camera!), but at least you can get the gist of the event.

PS: Naked content disclaimer - It was a really hot day and Morenna had spit up all over her clothes, so I just gave up. :-)

Dinner with the Schwartz's

Pork Chops with Cranberry Pear Sauce... a la Schwartz!

3-5 medium thick-sliced pork chops
salt/pepper/garlic powder
2 T. butter, divided
2 T. apple juice
1 T. lemon juice
2 t. honey
2 T. dried cranberries
1 red pear
1 t. cinnamon
1/4 t. cloves

Melt 1 1/2 T of butter in a medium skillet over high heat. Generously coat pork chops (both sides) with sea salt, pepper and garlic powder and place into skillet. Allow to fry until browned. Turn and cover. Meanwhile, mix apple juice, lemon juice, honey and cranberries in a small saucepan and allow to soak for 5 minutes. Thinly slice pear. Add to cranberry mixture along with remaining butter, cinnamon and cloves. Cover. Bring to boil and cook until slightly thickened. Uncover pork chops and allow to fry in juices for another 5 minutes. Remove and top with sauce.

Image courtesy of www.wholefoodsmarket.com

Our Day (By Morenna, and by proxy, Mommy)

Our day included getting up at 6:45 for no apparent reason...

Our day included a mega trip to Harris Teeter for triple coupon days where we passed the time trying to overcome the hiccups without crying too loudly...

Our day included one 10-minute morning nap that was prematurely ended by the trash truck...

Our day included three poopy diapers...

Our day included ruining clothes four different times, though not by said poopy diapers...

Our day included one 10-minute afternoon nap that was prematurely ended by the recycling truck (no offense guys, but could you please keep a twenty-mile radius from our house during sleeping and non-sleeping hours? Otherwise you will have a bad case of Mommy-Rage)...

Our day included more than two clocked hours in the rocking chair and two Andy Griffith Shows trying to induce sleep...

Our day included petitioning Daddy to skip class to rescue us from the brink of sleep-deprivation insanity...

Our day... still continues.

But sleep must come sometime, right?

A little somethin' somethin'

A wonderful recipe for a yummy, but healthy, drink! M and I tried this tonight and loved it. I took the original recipe and added a few changes. Enjoy!

Virgin Mango Pina-Colada

1 mango - peeled, seeded and cubed
3/4 cups ice cubes
2 teaspoons white sugar
1 cup frozen pineapple
1/3 cup water
1 (14 ounce) can coconut milk

Blend well in a blender.

CVS 8/24-8/30

Pretty good run for CVS this week. There were a couple different ways to organize my purchases for this week; a good reminder of the value in playing around with the different transaction combinations for your purchases in order to score the best deal. The list below includes all the items I bought, but is organized for the buyer to pay the least out of pocket (OOP). However, though cheaper, doing the transactions in the order below will leave you with no leftover ExtraCare Bucks (ECBs). And to me, that is a sad thing. So at the end I'll tell you how I did things a little differently.

Transaction One

• Zipfizz Sports Drink(my husband adores this stuff so I was super excided when it was on sale!) - $5.99
• Kotex Liners $1.49
• (2) CVS hand sanitizers - $2.99 each

Total: $13.46 + tax

Used:
- $2/$10 CVS coupon (available here, page 30)
- $1 Kotex coupon (7/20 SmartSource) and also here.
- (2) $2 CVS Skincare, available here.
- $5 ECB (from last week)

Total OOP: $1.46 + Tax

Received:
$5.99 ECB for Zipfizz
$1.49 ECB for Kotex
$1.00 ECB for hand sanitizer


Transaction Two

Zipfizz Sports Drink - $5.99

Total: $5.99 + tax
Use: $5.99 ECB from transaction one
Total OOP: Tax

Receive: $5.99 for Zipfizz

Transaction Three

Huggies Mega diapers - $13.99

Total: $13.99 + tax
Used:
- $2/$10 CVS coupon (available here, page 30)
- $2 CVS coupon for Huggies (received as printout for scanning my card at the ExtraCare box)
- $1 manufacturer coupon
- $5.99 ECB; $1.49ECB; $1.00ECB

Total OOP: $0.51 + tax

Overall, a terrific deal for diapers! However, since I wanted to have ECBs left over for next week, I actually did only two transactions.

Transaction One included (1) Zipfizz; (1) Kotex; (1) CVS hand sanitizer; = Total OOP: $1.49.

Transaction Two included (1) Huggies Mega pack; (1) Zipfizz; (1) CVS hand sanitizer; = Total OOP: $9.19.

Still not a bad deal considering the diapers. And now I have a $5.99 ECB (Zipfiz) and a $1.00 ECB (hand sanitizer) left over for next week. Sound complicated? It really isn't... :-)

CVS 8/17-8/23

Here's the CVS tally from this week:

Transaction One

1 Infant's Advil - $5.79
3 Puffs Tissues - (3) $0.88
2 Glade Air Fresheners - (2) $0.88
2 CVS Gold Emblem Candies - (2) $0.88

Used:
$2/$10 CVS coupon (available here, page 30)
$1 off Advil
$1 off 3 Puffs Tissues (8/3 P&G)
BYGO Free Glade (8/3 SmartSource)
$1 Gold Emblem (CVS coupon)

$5 Extra Care Buck (ECB) from last week

Total OOP: $0.24
Received: $5.79 ECB for Advil (monthly CVS deal)


Transaction Two

2 Johnson & Johnson First Aid Tape
1 box of Band-Aid Ultra Strips

Used:
$2/$10 CVS coupon (available here, page 30)
$1 Johnson & Johnson First Aid (8/10 SmartSource)
$1 Band-Aid Ultra (6/22 RedPlum)

$5.79 ECB

Total OOP: $0.81
Received: $5.00 ECB for buying $10 worth of Johnson & Johnson products (CVS weekly deal)

I was really happy with this transaction, but kinda wish I could have done it all for one measly dollar. :-) I know, I know... don't push it. :-)

Babies Don't Keep

A friend of mine remarked recently how in order my house was. I laughed, thinking, if only she looked behind my closet doors. :-) I love being organized. I love being clean and clutter-free. But the truth is, I fail at it everyday. Sure I have my daily list of things "to do" to keep the house straightened, the birds fed, the plants watered, and Morenna clean and smelling good. But I often find myself discouraged that it can't all seem to be done at the same time.

I thought I would adore being a stay-at-home mom... and I do adore the "mom" part... but the "staying home" can certainly be difficult.

I rock my baby, but I notice that I missed a spot when I dusted yesterday. I get on the floor with my baby and her toys, but I'm more preoccupied with the dog hair remaining on my living room carpet from Uncle Buddy's (my parent's dog) visit last week. I smile as I feed Morenna her cereal, but there are irritating crumbs under my bare feet that need vacuuming.

A post I read today reminded me of the importance of not having it all together. God gives us just the grace we need to make it through the important things today. Not the trivial. My Mom used to sing a poem to me when I was little (I'm not sure of the author).. and it has really struck home with me lately. It's my guidepost today:

Cleaning and scrubbing
Can wait till timorrow,

For babies grow up
We've learned to our sorrow.

So quiet down cobwebs,
Dust go to sleep,

I'm rocking my baby,
And babies don't keep.

On the move!

There are two new things at our house... Goodnight Moon and a baby on the move!

CVS 8/3-8/9 -- Stop #2

With all the good deals this week, I just couldn't help but going a second time. Little did I know that the candy deal from three weeks ago was still going on (under the wire, I might add) so I decided two more transactions wouldn't break the bank even if they might tip the scale. :-)
















Transaction One

• (2) Dove Bags Dark Chocolate - $4.49 each
• (1) Dove Chocolate Bar - $2.49

Used

• Buy one Dove bag get one free
• $2/$10 CVS coupon
• $5 ECBs

Total OOP (out of pocket): $0.11 with $5 ECBs

Transaction Two

• Scott 12pk Toilet Paper - $6.49
• (2) Pert Plus Shampoo/Conditioner B1G1 - $3.99
• CVS Mouthwash - $2.39
• Colgate Toothpaste - $2.99

Used

• $2/$10 coupon
  
• (2) $2 off Pert Plus
• Free CVS mouthwash from earlier this week
• $1 Colgate
• $1 Scott
  
• $5 ECBs

Total OOP (out of pocket): $0.48 with $2 ECBs to spare

And we're on to next week...

Pearly Whites

Pray for us. We're teething today...

CVS 8/3-8/9

Back by popular demand, here are my CVS wheelings and dealings for this week! Not another huge week for me, but I obtained some good deals, including a couple of things we needed.

Did I mention a brand new CVS store opened up a mere two miles from our house? As an announcement of their grand opening, the store sent around some great coupon fliers, including a $5/$15 coupon! I was very grateful.

Transaction One

Bought:

• (2) Dawn Dishsoaps - $0.88 each
  
• (1) Crest Toothpaste - $2.49 each
  
• (1) Oral-B Toothbrush - $2.49 each
  
• (1) Colgate Toothpaste - $2.99 each
  
• (1) Infant Advil - $5.79 each

Total: $15.52
Used:

• $1.00 Crest Toothpaste coupon
• $1.00 Colgate Toothpaste coupon
• $1.00 Children's Advil coupon
• $1.00 (2) Dawn coupon
• $1.00 Oral-B coupon
• $5/$15 coupon
  
• $4.00 in ExtraCare bucks (ECBs) *ECBs are basically paper money that you can use at CVS on any future purchase
  

Total Out of Pocket (OOP) expense: $1.56
Earned: $10.79 in ECBs

Transaction Two

Bought:

• (1) Almay Eyeliner - $8.99
  
• (1) CVS Cotton Pads - $2.99
  
• (1) L'oreal Styling Gel - $4.99

Total: $16.97
Used:

• $1.00 Almay coupon
• $3.00 CVS product coupon
• $1.00 L'oreal coupon
• $10.97 ECBs

Total OOP: $1.34
Earned: $5.oo in ECBs; (1) free CVS mouthwash

All in all, not a shabby deal. I was a little disappointed that I wasn't able to score any of the Pert Plus that they had on sale this week (it was buy one at $3.99 get one free and I had two $2.00 coupons, making the deal a $0.01 moneymaker). According to the manager they sold out of all the bottles early this afternoon, but she graciously offered me a raincheck for them, so I guess I'll just pick those up next week. :-)

I'm Alive!!!

Yes, I'm still alive - contrary to the recent state of my blog. As I mentioned before, my writing time has been channeled towards composing a newsletter once a week on all our recent household happenings as well as updates about our baby girl for our family and friends. (It's easier for me to write the e-newsletter than to post on my blog, for some reason. If you want to receive a copy of the newsletter just shoot me off an email at first initial, M, last name at gmail dot com).

But things have been hopping here for us. My mother-in-law paid us a two-week visit in the middle July. It was a real treat to have her here (hey, live-in babysitter!) and I know she appreciated getting some quality time with her first grandchild. Morenna certainly loves her Nana.

M's been really busy at work and has been forced to work some crazy hours, much to our disappointment. He's actually in the process of considering a new job with a large consulting firm near our home. Feel free to keep that in your prayers! I think he's enjoying fatherhood on the whole. I remember back in our college days I often wondered what M would look like as a dad. He always told me he didn't want to have children (a little white lie at the time) and I figured I could see why - he never seemed like the daddy sort. But boy could I ever be more wrong. He is so great with Morenna and seems to enjoy her more and more everyday!


Morenna herself is, well, just amazing. She continues to surprise us with her developmental growth. She's starting to teeth now, but so far it hasn't been too traumatic for baby or mommy. She rolls from tummy to back and back to tummy.

She likes to sleep on her side (at least I think she does since I put her to bed on her tummy and she's always on her side when I go to get her in the morning). She's sleeping through the night like a champ (8-9pm to 6-7:30am) and she loves to scoot around and knaw on her toys. Sitting up is also a new activity.

I have to say her favorite place is probably either outside or on her Mommy and Daddy's bed. We're keeping my parent's golden retriever for a couple of weeks and she's enjoying the presence of another slobbery companion.



And me... well, I'm just loving life. What a joy it is to be a wife and a mother. A challenge, yes, but what life-endeavers aren't? I'm really enjoying my new hobby of bargain shopping. Since we've gone down to one income, I'm gripping my wallet a little tighter these days, but the resulting effect has been terrific. I'm loving all the deals I am able to score each week at places like CVS.

My most recent trip was just yesterday. It wasn't one of my most glorious trips ever, but I was pretty excited to obtain the following items for just over $2:

• 1 package of make-up remover pads
• 1 16 oz bag Skittles
• 1 package of Bandaids
• 2 bars of Dove dark chocolate
• 3 packages of Mentos
• 1 Revlon lip gloss
• 1 package of M&M Premium candies
• 1 Clairol Natural Instincts hair color (and no, I don't color my hair... it was for a friend :-))

What's even better is that I have $4 in CVS money to spend on my next visit. Whoo hoo! I'm loving it! And to make things even better, my local grocery had triple coupon day last week. In all I spent over $90 just in coupons alone... and some items the store actually "paid" me $0.10. $0.25 or $0.90 cents to buy. Tee hee :-)

And one other money-saving activity has been our little garden: two tomatoes and one pepper plant. Somehow or another, our little pepper plant has become the fertile king of the land, popping out eight peppers so far and leaving 40 blooms to go. Very interesting.

So that's a little glimpse into our lives. Hope all is well with you!

If You Came Over to My House...

You would see: A pile of unorganized shoes by the front door; Morenna's exersaucer in the living room with multiple burp rags scattered about; paper snow flakes that are still hanging on our back door and a pile of coupons on the kitchen table.

I’d probably feed you: Banana oatmeal chocolate chip cookies (homemade), peach pie (also homemade), chips and salsa or some really delicious Bing cherries I have in my fridge.

And offer you this to drink: Milk, homemade iced tea with mango, cranberry/blueberry juice, water, hot tea or coffee. Sorry, no soft drinks.

I’d undoubtedly ask if you’d read: Any good theories on LOST or the recent, stupid, Washington Post article on racial bias.

I’d want to play this music for you: Coldplay's new album, Viva la Vida

I’d want to tell you the latest about: Morenna's sleeping habits; the money I've saved by shopping at CVS; my devotional time; Morenna's first laugh.

I’d probably suggest a game of: Carcassonne, Settlers of Catan, Backgammon.

I might show off: My new laptop or my new cell phone. Both are pretty spiffy.

I might get on the computer and show you: Recent snapshots of Morenna or one of the recent newsletters.

If it was a long enough visit, I might watch: Transformers on our home theater system. I love showing off the bass in that movie... or if it was a ladies gathering perhaps a Thin Man, or Jane Austen favorite?


Many thanks to Leeann for the inspiration for this post. :-)

Happy Father's Day

Happy Father's Day to all our friends who are new Daddys this year!

And here's to two very special "Daddys" in my life - you guys are the best!!!

Houston we have a problem

Once again you'll have to pardon my lack of posts. M has had to take the laptop to work with him this last week and I'm not able to download pictures on our old desktop here at home. Bummer. And last week I was home in Ohio bogged down with yet another sinus infection! So no posting then, either (not that I would post using my parent's crawling dial-up anyway).

On the whole, though, we're doing exceptionally well. Morenna is growing like a weed and is a bit more of a handful. She's taken to standing up whenever anyone will help her and consequently she wants to be held all the time! She's sleeping well, though, so I'm able to spend most of her waking hours with her and still get things done in the meantime.

M and I are looking into buying a mini-van. Don't jump to conclusions, and no, we're not getting ahead of ourselves. It's just that Morenna's carseat barely fits into my Civic, and it's hard to get to her during our long trips back and forth to Ohio. All the SUVs we looked at had gynormous consoles between the driver/passenger seats, which is exactly what we're trying to get away from. We looked into the Honda Odysseys and fell in love with them. Come this July, you might see me driving one. Holy cow... that will be the day.

A long weekend lunch...

With our extra time this past weekend, M and I decided to be a little extravagant with our cooking:

Grilled Salmon
Scallops with Procutto Ham and Rosemary
Black Bean Relish on Greens
Biscuits

Yum!

What's New...

Here's the truth of it: I'm horrible at blogging. Finding time to blog each day (even each week) continues to be a losing battle for me, but I'm trying. :-)

Things continue to be busy for us. M finished his finals last week (whew) so I've been able to redeem some of my free time for other things. He now has only 15 credit hours left before he will officially be finished with his degree.

I celebrated my 25th birthday last week as well. For once in my life I felt old and tired... but I blame Morenna for that since I was up with her most of the night before. :-) My parents made a last-minute trip over for my special day, and so M and I were able to have a date-night together and went shopping. Yes, shopping. I hate shopping, but I recently discovered that none of my pants/shorts fit. Surprisingly it isn't due to weight (I was back to my pre-pregnancy weight a week after Morenna was born) but the fact that my hips expanded more than I had thought. Thanks to hip-hugger jeans, none of my pants would fit and a shopping trip was a necessity.

It was nice to get dressed up for a date with M. We grabbed a quick family picture before leaving Morenna with my parents (she didn't want to cooperate for the picture):
This past weekend our little family packed up and went to Virginia Beach for the law school graduation of one of our good friends from undergrad. It was our first overnight trip away from home (not staying with family). Morenna did great and we even had the opportunity to take her to the ocean for her first visit. It was cold and she was bundled up like an Eskimo, but nevertheless... she was there.
I should add that part of the reason I haven't been blogging is because each week I put together a newsletter about Morenna for our family and close friends. That pretty much exhausts my creative writing abilities. :-) If you'd like to receive the newsletter I'd be more than happy to send it to you. Just shoot me off an email at: *first initial**middle initial (M.)*last name*@gmail.com.

Homemade "Geddes"

Ok, so maybe this image isn't as good as the professional artistic photographer's, but seeing how it's my baby in the picture I think it's close to perfect :-).

I'm trying to decide whether to title it
Firefly or Ladybug

Grace

I found this post today at Girl Talk to be really encouraging:

Grace When We Need It

Tell me you can’t relate to this scenario. You talk to a woman who is in the middle of a trial. She testifies to God’s overwhelming and sustaining grace. You marvel at her peace and joy that belies her suffering. But instead of praising God for His evident faithfulness, you begin to imagine yourself enduring her ordeal. "How would I cope?" "I don’t think I could handle it." "I hope it doesn’t happen to me." With high-definition clarity and color you see yourself in the midst of her ordeal. Grace is nowhere to be found, and you are gripped by fear and dread.

So often we ignore the awesome displays of God’s faithfulness to people in trials and instead imagine ourselves in their situation, minus the grace of God. We would do well to heed Elisabeth Elliot’s wise reminder that there is no grace for our imaginations. None. It’s simply not available. God is not waiting in the wings to help us through whatever horrible imaginary trouble we can conjure up today. But His goodness is stored up and will be abundantly poured out whenever we walk through a real trial.

I’ve passed along this piece of advice to oodles of women. Maybe that’s because there are so many like me who easily submit to fear. So let’s resolve together: the next time we observe someone going through a trial, let’s turn off our imaginations and instead fix our gaze on the marvelous, abundant, overwhelming and timely grace of God—the same grace that will be available to us when we actually need it.

“…do not fear anything that is frightening.” 1 Peter 3:6

More Firsts!

I'm sorry these posts are few and far between at the moment, but M is preparing for finals and what little bit of free time I have each day (which after household chores ends up being about 45 minutes) has been devoted to helping him prepare his study guides. So bear with me for another two weeks until finals are over. :-)

Morenna has certainly been busy with lots of new things. She had her first bath... laid in her crib for the first time... and took her first bottle all within the last week. We are absolutely loving our time with our little girl. Her personality appears a little bit more and more every day. On the whole, she is a very well-mannered baby. She is sleeping well and nursing well. She does have her cranky periods every evening, but they're short-lived. Car-rides, however, are not her favorite. So pray for us as we intend to travel to Ohio over this weekend to visit my ailing grandfather. I'm not so sure a 6 hour car-ride will be very much fun. :-)







Tummy time














My first bath













My first time in my crib











An afternoon snooze

My first bottle with Daddy




(As usual, all pictures can be viewed on my facebook or here)

Baby's First Outing

Earlier this week, Morenna got to go on her first outing downtown to see the cherry blossoms. Seeing how we call her our "little cherry blossom", we thought it only fitting that we should have some baby pictures with some real blossoms. Unfortunately M couldn't get off of work to meet up with us, but Grandma, G-Daddy, "Aunt" Rachel and Baby Kavan came along for the fun.















Mommy, Morenna, Kavan, "Aunt" Rachel






























Grandma with her lil' blossom

Alive, Alert, Awake...

Here's two recent videos of Morenna. Unfortunately I don't have sound options on my camera, but at least you can see how alert she is becoming.








I'm continuing to post pictures at this location: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=16761&l=7c4fe&id=701008116

Two weeks

Our sweet baby girl was two weeks old yesterday. As I was reflecting at an early AM feeding just how much Morenna has changed, it occurred to me that I had yet to post the story of her arrival. I'm still adjusting to the lack of sleep and overall physical recovery, hence the delay... but without further ado (and I apologize for the length):

Thursday March 17th marked my last official day in the office. I had cleaned out my desk, said my goodbyes, trained my replacement and turned in my security badge. Needless to say, Friday morning I was more than anxious to begin the transition to motherhood. I was still battling my third sinus infection of the season, but my Mom was home with me and so we decided to try our luck at inducing labor with a really... really... long walk. I promptly took a nap when we got home and to my surprise, contractions started about an hour and a half later. They were regular... a bit too regular in fact, coming every five minutes right from the get-go. But despite the frequency they were very manageable, so we waited all evening with baited breath for them to increase in intensity. Unfortunately the night passed by and Saturday morning found me wondering whether this was really it or not. As the morning progressed contractions became irregular, some at 5 minutes, some at 8 or more - all completely manageable. So, M and I decided to take another walk followed by a nap. (See a pattern here? :-) ).

Saturday evening one of M's friends came over and we all played a game. Still irregular, my contractions suddenly started getting a bit more intense around 8:30pm. They continued to get stronger, but failed to become consistent. 5 min... 7 min... 3 min...

By 1am I was starting to get thoroughly discouraged. Anyone who knows me knows I hate being up all night, and although my contractions were very strong, they were still all over the map. My OB's words echoed through my head all night long... "call me only when your contractions are 5 minutes apart for one hour and you can't talk through them." I certainly couldn't talk through them, but they certainly weren't consistently 5 minutes apart. We kept waiting anxiously for them to become more regular. Boy, were we in for a surprise.

Around 6:30am the contractions made a drastic change. They started coming every 2-3 minutes apart and were so severe that I was getting sick with each one. At my wits end, I told my mom to call the doctor. Unfortunately my OB was at Disney World for the Easter weekend so I spoke with her replacement who told me I was welcome to come to the Birthing Inn to get checked, but they would likely send me back home. What a great thing to say to a weary laboring woman.

M and my Mom packed up the car and ate a quick breakfast. An hour later, we were on our way. I don't remember much about the trip other than my constant worry about how I was going to walk from the backseat of the car into the hospital. My contractions were so intense I didn't even realize I was pushing through them... until my Mom started hollering at me to stop pushing and start breathing. I think that was the first time in years I ever blatantly disobeyed her. ;-)

Somehow I made it into the Birthing Inn where a nurse ushered us into an observation room. While changing into a gown, my water broke... and I was thrilled. I knew now they wouldn't send me home. :-) The doctor came in shortly thereafter to discover me on all fours on the bed. Moments later, she announced that I was actually at 10 cm and the baby was already +2! I was so relieved. Nurses immediately came from all directions, shooing M and my mom aside so that they could wheel me down the hall into a labor room. It all happened so fast. In retrospect, it reminded me of something out of an ER episode. Drama, drama, drama. Thirty-five minutes of pushing later, our little girl was born.

While it certainly was no easy task, its amazing to all of us that labor, including transition, ended up being completely at home. I'm just glad I didn't have the baby in the car. :-) M and my Mom were fantastic coaches and I couldn't have pursued a natural, unmedicated birth without them. However, if there ever is a future baby expected I think we'll be a little wiser in our timing in heading to the hospital. But for this experience, ignorance was bliss. I guess. :-)

Pictures!

Thanks for your patience in waiting for the baby pics. I have loaded them onto facebook, and you can access them here. I hope to upload them to blogger soon.

Enjoy!

The Blossom Has Bloomed

~ Spring has come to our home ~

Morenna Sakura Marie

March 23, 2008

Easter Morning, 9:51am

6 lbs; 12 ozs

18 inches

More details to come...

The Long and Short of It...

Today marks the two-week point in the countdown to my due date.

And the long and short of it is:

My bags are packed.
The nursery is ready.
My resignation paperwork is complete.
Matt's bag of snacks is waiting by the door. (Like a true man he insisted I buy beef jerky for his snack. I think he thinks a stay at the hospital is comparable to roughing it).
The carseat is clean and installed.
My mom is packed and ready for departure.
There is food in the house.
There are clear liquids in the house.
My big purple ball is fully inflated.

But on the flip side:

I'm soooo tired.
I'm fighting a cold.
I feel miserable.
I can't sleep.
I'm getting impatient.
I'm suddenly emotional! (A phenomenon that has been MIA for the past nine months.)
I'm a grouch.

In medical terms:

I'm ready to have a baby. Let's get this show on the road!

The pregnancy diet...

As my sweet husband said to me: "You have arrived, my dear wife". What he meant was that I have pulled up a kingly chair at the pregnancy table.

Since M was at law school tonight, I was pretty much on my own for dinner... and so I ate what sounded good, not what was healthy. In retrospect, I binged. This was the menu:

• Hostess chocolate mini-doughnuts
• Pickles
• Strawberries
• Eggo waffles... and
• two glasses of milk

Yes, I ate all of this at the same time. Yes, it was delicious. Yes, I'm pregnant. Yes, I'm a little embarrassed as I realize I'm confessing it to the world.

Lord of War

"There are over 550 million firearms in worldwide circulation. That's one firearm for every twelve people on the planet. The only question is: How do we arm the other 11?"

~Yuri Orlov, Lord of War (2005)