My Beautiful Girls

As I look at my three beautiful girls, I thank God that He decided to send them to me.
But I can't help wondering what I did to deserve them.

Alex is already 17! How did that happen?

My goofy Jordyn! What more can I say!

 

 

Sweet Adrian! Just learning to smile!

Adrian Rene Van Slyke

Adrian Rene made a dramatic entrance into the world on Monday June 6, 2011 at 4:44 p.m.
She weighed 6lbs 13 oz and was 20 inches long.

After a little breathing trouble at birth, (it was the longest 2 minutes of my life!) she is healthy and doing great! 


Micah's sister Dawn and my mom were with Micah and I during Adrian's delivery. I know it is something they will never forget! I can tell Adrian has already made a special place in their hearts! I think Dawn was crying more than Adrian was!

The nurse let Alex & Jordyn give Adrian her first bath.

Since I did not get an epidural we were able to go home early the next day.
Her Daddy made sure she had a pretty new dress to wear!

She's already so loved! She's got us all wrapped around her tiny finger!

Aubergine Eggplant Parmigiana

I read an article the other day that mentioned a restaurant Scalini's, that served Eggplant Parmigiana. After eating it many pregnant women go  into labor with in 48 hours. So of course being full term, I had to try it! :)

Jordyn and I took the recipe and did exactly like it said. I got the recipe here.
It was wonderful! I ate it for dinner Saturday night, had it again for lunch on Sunday and brought the rest to work for lunch on Monday.

It didn't work! :(

But it tasted great! I will definitely cook it again!

Yes, I will be using cloth diapers!

Yes, I will be using cloth diapers on my daughter.
No I don't care if you think it's gross, expensive, hard, stupid, or anything else.
It's my baby's butt and I'll cover it how I want.

I've been getting scrunched up noses, the jaw drop, the "Why would you do that?"
People think I'm crazy, they think it's gross. They tell me that they are not going to use cloth diapers when she is at their house. (well then I guess my daughter won't be staying at your house!)

I have a stash of cloth diapers at my house and that is what I will be using most of the time.
I can't say that I will never put on a disposable diaper, but I can say that for 90% of the time, my daughter will be wearing cloth diapers.




bumGenius- This is my favorite diaper.

The diapers look just like disposable diapers! They are All In Ones (AIO) They go on just like a disposable diaper and when soiled, you just take it off like a disposable diaper, the only difference is that instead of throwing it away, you wash it. What's so hard about that?




This is an Angel Bottom Diaper


The Angel Bottom diapers are purchased from a Stay-at-Home Mom who makes them.
They are $7.00 a piece! That's not expensive at all! And I'm helping another mother be able to stay at home with her children.



Aren't these a lot cuter than the ugly old disposable diapers?

Cloth diapers are made from organic materials such as cotton. On the other hand disposable diapers contain  sodium polyacrylate, this is the same material that was removed from tampons on the 1980's because of it's link to toxic shock syndrome. (hmmmmm, don't want that on my baby's butt!)

It is estimated that around 5 million tons of untreated waste is deposited into landfills via disposables every year. I really don't want to be a part of all that waste.

I could go on and on in this cloth diaper post. But I'll stop here.
My decision to use cloth diapers is one that I am proud of and one that I feel strongly about.
I'm not trying to convince you to switch, I'm just telling you some of the reasons of why I'm using them.

If you want to know more, or have questions there are lots of websites out there.

Joshua's Senior Pictures

My oldest nephew is graduating from high school this year.
I can't believe he has grown up so fast! I still remember the day he was born and how small he was holding him for the first time. Now I have to look up at him when we talk!
I am so proud of the smart, funny, handsome man he has become.

 

This is my favorite picture of Josh and his little sister Payton.

Congratulations Josh and all the seniors at Iowa High School!

Kindle

My wonderful husband bought me a Kindle for my birthday!

I love to read so this is now my new favorite thing!

But I am also cheap!
I read pretty fast and could see how the Kindle was going to get pretty expensive if I kept buying books.
But I soon found out that I could get free books!

Here's how.

 Go to Amazon. Under Kindle books Best Sellers, on the right side are a list of free e-books! Just select one and check out. But if you see one you want to read, download it, because the free ones change quickly and are not always available.
Amazon Free Books

Amazon is the easiest to get free books from, but there are other sites as well.
Many Books
Book Yards
Planet e-Book

Some of these sites require you to download it to your computer then upload it to your Kindle. It's really easy and they tell you how to do it on the sites.

If anyone knows of other sites for free e-books, please share!

Coupon Websites & Blogs

You all know I coupon, and a lot of times I'm asked which websites I use.
Well, here they are. A list of the websites I like to go to, the blogs I read and the forums I participate in.

A Full Cup  This is my favorite! It is a forum, so there are lots of people putting information in. Some of it is local and some is not, you just have to weed thru it. I love the coupon database here. You just search for the product you are buying and it tells you if there is a coupon for it.

Couponing101  This is a great blog. She posts recent deals. "Like" her on Facebook, she is always updating.

Coupon Queen  Another great blog. She updates frequently on Facebook also.

Coupons.com   A site to print coupons.

Smart Source  A site to print coupons. Smart Source is the same company that prints the coupons you get in your Sunday paper.

Coupon Cabin This site is good to print coupons to particular stores.

Coupon Mom  This is a good site also. I don't go to this one as much as the others, but it is a good one. Lots of people like it.

These are the sites that I use most.

I'm always online looking for something, so as I find more, I'll update the list.

Things You Shouldn't Say To A Pregnant Lady

There are some things that you really should not ask or say to a pregnant woman.

It seems like people forget all manners when speaking to a pregnant woman.

Remember that we are hormonal and tired and not responsible for things we may say back to you. We are also not responsible for throwing things at your head.

Here is a list of a few things that maybe you shouldn't say. And a few responses that I have either said, or really want to say!

What'd you do? Swallow a watermelon seed?
Really? Do you know how dumb that sounds?

You have a 17 year old and a 14 year old and you're pregnant again? Are you crazy?

I usually respond with "No, I just had to have my babysitters first."

You look like you are about to pop.

Gee, thanks.

Can I rub your stomach?

Sure, right after I rub yours!

Are you sure it's not twins? Maybe there's one hiding in there.

And maybe your brain is hiding somewhere! After 4 ultrasounds, I'm pretty sure it's not twins!

Was it planned?

Yes. 

Oh my gosh, I figured it was an accident.

Yea, I bet you were an accident.

How much weight have you gained?

How much weight have YOU gained?

Another girl? Well, you can always try again.

Why? Did I do it wrong this time?

What's wrong, can't you have boys?

Well, I'm not sure, let me ask God.

You look tired.

That's just a nice way of telling me I look like crap!

Do you have any stretch marks?

Sure do, wanna see? 

You haven't had that baby yet?

Does it look like I have?

Sleep now, because you won't be able to when the baby gets here.

What's that mean? Can I store up my sleep so I won't be so tired later?

After asking what the name is, "I don't like that"

Oh no! Guess I have to change it now!

This is just a list of some things you shouldn't say. 
Please think before you speak!

Alex's Junior Prom

Alex's Junior Prom was last night, and of course she was beautiful!
I was thinking after she left how crazy it was that I had a daughter going to her Junior Prom and was about to have a newborn! AAAHHHH!!!! I'm insane!

Anyway, just wanted to share a few pictures!

Isn't she beautiful!

Alex & Joel

How in the world did she grow up so fast????

3 generations of women

I was sitting on my grandmother's front porch yesterday with my grandmother, my mother, my daughters, my niece and my sister. 3 generations of women. All three generations totally different, but all three generations totally the same.

I happened to look over at my mother who is recovering from a mastectomy, she was smiling, and looked happy. My mother is beautiful when she smiles, her whole face lights up and you can't help but smile when you see her happy. She was sitting proud on the swing next to my grandmother. It is painfully obvious that she has had a mastectomy, and anyone that didn't know her would automatically see that. In fact some less polite individuals would probably stare.

I then looked up at my older sister Loren. She is strikingly beautiful with blonde hair and blue eyes.  She used to joke to my mother about not passing down her large breast size. My mom would always laugh and tell her that she had plenty to share! Loren had breast augmentation done a couple of years ago. That started a whole new round of jokes!


I looked over at my oldest daughter Alex, she is the smallest out of all the cousins. Short and skinny, with more confidence in herself than anyone I've ever seen. She's pretty and she knows it!
When she was younger she told me that she wanted breasts like Boo-Boo (nickname for my mother) and not like mine! We still laugh about that one.

I looked over at my daughter Jordyn and my niece Maddy. They favor each other a lot. Both blonde, with big blue eyes. Maddy looks like my sister and Jordyn looks like me. They are only a few months apart in age, people thought they were twins when they were babies. At their age they are still trying to figure out just who they are.

I sit thinking about my self. Blonde hair and blue eyes like my sister. I'm not loaded with self confidence like her and my daughter, but I don't look down on the way I look. I favor my mother, and my sister, and when I was younger everyone said I looked like my grandmother. People have always asked if Loren and I were twins. I also used to joke like my sister with my mother about breast size.

Now as I sit with all 3 generations of women, everything is different. So many things have changed.

My sister still drives me crazy, and I'm sure she'd say the same about me. We still get asked if we are twins. (although I don't think we look that much alike!) But it doesn't bother us too much anymore. Jordyn and Maddy no longer look like twins! They have their own styles and their personalities are as different as night and day.
My grandmother, recently widowed, still worries that we are all ok. She still calls to check on us if she knows that we have been driving in the rain. But now we also worry that she is ok. And we also call to check on her to make sure she is doing alright.
My mother, still smiles all the time, still worries about her kids being happy and still full of energy. My mother is still proud of all her children and grandchildren. She is still my best friend. Still beautiful to all of us. But now she has been diagnosed with cancer. Now she is missing a breast.

My sister and I no longer joke about how mom didn't pass down the breast size to us. We are now hoping that  there was no cancer causing gene passed down.  Alex no longer thinks that she wants large breasts like her Boo-Boo, she is hoping that she has 2 healthy breasts like her mother. Loren is no longer worried about how her breasts might look to others, she is worried about how they might look on a mammogram. Maddie and Jordyn, still trying to figure out who they are, may be wondering what would happen if they had cancer. How would they look? What would their friends think?

As we sit on grandma's porch, like we have for years, so many things are different, so much has changed. Yet the important things are still the same.

Mom's still smiling. We are still together and three generations of beautiful woman are still laughing together on grandma's front porch.

My mom has cancer

We found out that my mom has breast cancer.

There I said it. My mom has cancer.
I guess it's an easy thing to say, and a hard thing to believe.

On March 21, she will have a mastectomy and have her lymph nodes removed. After the surgery they will test everything and decide if she needs chemo or not.

It's funny. I've seen the pink ribbons everywhere, I've seen all the walks for awareness. I've seen the bumper stickers, and I've even bought something in pink just because some of the money went toward breast cancer awareness. But I didn't know anything about breast cancer until now.


I'll update more after we know more.
Please keep her and our family in your prayers.

SwagBucks & MyPoints

I know I've told lots of people about how I get free gift cards from the internet.

I thought I'd share the two sites I go to for them. SwagBucks & MyPoints.

I earn points by searching, reading emails and shopping. Very easy!
Accumulate enough points and you can cash them in for a gift card.

And if you sign up under me, I get extra points. :)


Try it out!

Our Upstairs Addition

Ok So I know you've all heard me talk about the addition to the house that we are building. Everyone keeps asking what we've got done and how it's going. Most of you have not seen it. So here are a few pictures to show where we are at.

This is going to be the new master bedroom and the nursery so hopefully it's finished up in the next few months!

Micah ripped out 2 closets.

Cut out the ceiling.

Micah & his dad built some temporary stairs.

And started transforming the attic!

Now we have it all framed in.

And the duct work started.

 We will be insulating real soon, putting down sub-floors and hopefully starting the sheet-rock.
I can't wait for it to be finished so I can start decorating the nursery!

It's a Girl!

So we found out we are having a little girl!
Poor Micah is soooo outnumbered! Even the dog is a girl, so we outnumber him 5 to 1 now!

We are going to name her Adrian, after my grandpa like I promised him. We are stuck on a middle name and hope we decide on one before she makes it here!

Since finding out she was going to have a baby sister, Jordyn has gone Bow Crazy!
She has made so many bows for the baby! She has started making flower loop bows, which are very cute!

Jordyn has made so many of them! She has them in all kinds of sizes and colors! The baby will have a different bow on her head every day!

The Bathroom Remodel

So I woke up one morning and decided that I was going to remodel the hall bathroom.
As with everything in this house, this seemingly simple project has turned into a full blown nightmare! AAAHHHH!
The project started while I was on Christmas Vacation and is still going on. Hopefully this weekend I'll finish it up.

The demolition of the bathroom took 3 days! I thought the whole thing would be done in 3 days!
Ha! Stupid me!

I forgot to take a "before" picture. So here's one when we just got started.

Everyone likes to help demo. It's the fun part!

We found ceramic tile under the ugly vinyl. Anyone out there know how to restore old ceramic tile?

Alex gets the job of uncovering the tile! Kao just likes to get in the way!

Hopefully I'll post the "after" pictures soon! This project just keeps getting bigger and bigger!