Not All Together

…The sun is shining over our house again.  At the very least, I feel like the little black cloud hovering over us for the past two weeks is gone.  Hooray!   Amazingly, I feel sunny in spite of the fact that I chipped my bottom tooth last night after playing too vigorously with Scout.  And that in itself is a miracle, considering how I idolize my teeth. Possibly, my obsession with my teeth is fading.  I no longer have the recurring nightmare (from about high school to adulthood) of my teeth crumbling one by one.  And now, merely 24 hours after the fact, I am okay with a chipped, possibly cracked tooth.  Ahhh, progress.

Today was a good day.  Mundane, but good.  I spent the afternoon catching up on CVS deals and shopping at Publix.  Even better, I planned a menu for the week and bought my groceries accordingly!  Mundane, I warned you.  But this has never happened in our house. Dinner is usually a “what do you want?”/”well, what do you want?”  conversation at about 6:00 each evening.  I am trying, trying, trying to be a better cook for Ande and eventually Owen.   And now I have time to plan and prepare meals since joining the forces of the SAHMs. Well, if not time at least no excuse.  I am a homemaker now.  It is my job to care for my family.   When I visited my friend Lydia back in January, we both bought these adorable weekly menu and to-do list pads from momagenda in the clearance section of a Chattanooga boutique.  Today I used the menu one, proudly posting my meal choices on the fridge.  I think I will enjoy this.  Very much.  I am even planning on making from-scratch whole wheat yeast rolls on Tuesday.  Crazy, I know.

So things indeed feel less cloudy here.  Thanks again to all those who have prayed for us these couple weeks.  We certainly needed it, and those prayers were answered.

PS- I promise to post pictures soon.  Time to dust off the camera.  Owen is getting TALL!  Although he dropped in weight at his last appointment, his height shot up to 75th percent.  So sweet and smiley, that boy…

Filed under: on September 7th, 2008 | 1 Comment »

In case you were wondering…

Yes, I did go to the ER.  I told them about my week at the front desk (while crying…not fake tears, unfortunately).  I got in in 10 minutes. They gave me IV fluids, told me I had a stomach virus, and sent me home.

I went to my doctor yesterday.  I have NEVER been so sick in my life.  That was day 6 of “stomach virus”.  Apparently, it was/is Giardia.  Yes, Giardia.  (Rinnie, you were right!!!).  No, I am not sure where I got it.  Started medication and immediately felt like a different person.

Total pounds lost in 6 days: 10.5!!!!

Through my tears at the doctor’s office yesterday, I told the nurse how when I felt better, I would be happy the last of my pregnancy weight was gone.  But I can tell you, I would have rather kept it forever than endured that to lose it.

Filed under: on September 3rd, 2008 | 9 Comments »

Yes,  that’s where it came from.  Literally.  I am convinced.
It started Monday morning when I woke Owen for his 7 AM feeding.  When I went to remove his diaper for changing, TO MY ABSOLUTE HORROR I saw a LIVE roach in his diaper.  To make a very long and traumatic story short, our pediatrician’s office felt I had purchased an infested package of diapers.  Yes, that’s right.  The giant wholesale club box of 200 Pampers Sensitive Size 2 Diapers sitting in Owen’s closet for five days.  “It happens,” the nurse said calmly.   Well, it has never happened to anyone I know. So Monday was spent freaking out, going to the doctor, feverishly cleaning EVERYTHING in our house (including washing every little thing in Owen’s room…including curtains…out of paranoia), Ande visiting our local pest control shop, then having our house three-step processed for roach removal in case they had escaped the feast the diapers provided.

That was Monday.

Tuesday was spent going back to the doctor, this time for Owen’s scheduled 4 month appointment.  There I learned he had dropped in weight to the 10th percentile from the 50th.  The doctor later ordered a series of skull xrays for Owen at the children’s hospital as she was concerned about his skull bones possibly fusing prematurely.  And we concluded that terrific appointment with a couple of vaccinations.

And then the waiting.  Waiting for Friday’s appointment for the xrays.  Going between absolute panic and trust in a God who is sovereign and good.  Sometimes within a couple of minutes.  All this while continuing to put our house back together from the 10 loads of laundry, cleaning the pantry out, bleaching all surfaces that can handle bleach, etc. from Mondays’ roach incident.

Thursday I came down with stomach issues.  Big time.  Not surprising, I thought, considering the stress I was under.  Friday we learned the xrays showed a normally developing skull.  (Thank you, Lord!!!!)  We learned that at 5:45 PM, with RUF students coming over about 20 minutes later for an ice cream social.  (We had wanted to cancel the event for our sanity, but flyers had been handed out during the week to TONS of UCF students.  There was no way to cancel.)  The event wrapped up about 11:00.  My stomach issues continued.  And have continued to continue for four days now. Nearly 5.  I can’t keep anything in.  We are definitely dealing with more than stress.  Not the best situation for a nursing mom whose son is 10th percentile for weight.  And since it is a holiday weekend, I’m kind of up the creek as far as medical care goes, until Tuesday.  I have almost gone to the hospital several times, but would have to bring Owen since he refuses all formula attempts and I would likely be there forever.  I would really rather not expose my kiddo for hours to all that is airborne in an emergency room waiting area.  I may go tonight after I have fed him his 10 pm feed.

So that’s where we are.  I told you it was the week from hell. Not surprising is the timing: UCF’s first week of school, and Ande’s busiest week as a campus minister.  Satan is on the prowl.  Many times this week while waiting for Owen’s appointment and results, I told Owen (out loud, so I could hear the truth myself) that Jesus is victorious, even when it doesn’t feel like it.  And He is.  I know it.

Thanks to all who prayed for us, particularly for Owen, this week.  I continue to ask for prayers for his feeding and weight, my milk supply, and my stomach issues (which we think the whole family may have now).

On a positive note, I have realized there is no one I would rather have on my team than Ande to go through this week with.  Hooray for good husbands!!!

Filed under: on August 31st, 2008 | 7 Comments »

Dear Craigslist Sellers,

Let’s be honest: your word choice to describe your piece of crap desk is untrue.  “Beautiful” does not come close to that ratty old thing made out of laminate and particle board.  I was tricked into looking at the picture.  “Oooo, beautiful for $50?? Let me see…”

Shame on you.  Shame on you.

Filed under: on August 21st, 2008 | 3 Comments »

At my six-week post-Owen appointment, I was given the medical okay to begin exercising again. I was excited by this, and I was very excited to begin to lose the 42 pounds of weight I gained during pregnancy. Forty-two. Yikes.

Following that appointment, I sent Ande off to Walmart to purchase a scale for me. We had never owned a scale during our marriage, and I was always happy that way. But now I wanted to track the weight as it melted away. My exact words to him were “Buy the cheapest scale there. I do not want a fat-meter or anything like that. I prefer non-digital. Cheap. Basic.”.

He returned with an $18 scale, basic but digital. As soon as I stepped on, it said more than I thought it would. So I stepped off, then stepped on again. Different number by a couple pounds. Interesting. I chose the lower number mentally and walked away.

Each time I stepped on the scale immediately after stepping off the scale, I always got a different number by a couple of pounds. Annoying. But only a couple of pounds off from the first number. Not so today…

Today, I stepped on the scale and it read 197 pounds. What the heck!?!?!?  I laughed and stepped off.  I stepped back on the scale: 0.0 pounds. Hmm, maybe the scale does not work well…or at all.  I stepped on again and it gave me what I think is my current weight.  A 70 pound difference from what it said the first time.

I believe I will be returning the scale to Walmart.

Filed under: on August 20th, 2008 | 3 Comments »

Enough about deals (for now!)…here are some Owey shots:

After a swim with mommy and daddy

Loving bath time

Filed under: on August 19th, 2008 | 5 Comments »

So here are the deals I have gotten since becoming coupon savvier, broken down into stores:

CVS:

Infant Advil - free, 40 oz. Soaftsoap refill- $2 out of pocket using my initial 9 ECBs accumulated on last post. I earned 9.79 ECBs from these products as well for next time to use as CVS “cash”.

Walgreens:

One ream of HP computer paper (500 sheets) for $.99 by stacking printable coupon (thanks, Rinnie) and Walgreens sale price. Also, Bic Soliel razor starter kit and 4 pack razor refills for $1.98 out of pocket by stacking coupons as well.

Publix:

10 cans organic tomato sauce FREE using printable coupons…and made $.21 cents on each can to put toward my other purchases because the coupon was for $1 off, but the tomato sauce was only $.79!

I only plan to implement my deal-getting at these three stores as I want to spend as little energy and little time as possible and still reap the rewards. There are CVSs and Walgreens on every corner here, so if I hit  them once a week it shouldn’t be too much trouble. So far, so good…and it’s fun!

Filed under: on August 15th, 2008 | 7 Comments »

As of yesterday, I am THAT woman.

It started with Pam’s blog post about her recent jumping into the world of cheapness and coming out a big winner.  I had heard about the CVS deal a year or so before, but NEVER would have taken this on as a working woman, assuming it would take WAY too much time/energy/effort and assuming it didn’t apply to products I actually buy and use.  That is my running complaint with coupons in general, as Ande and I buy the same food and products over and over, and coupons tend to be for a) newer foods/products and b) unhealthy foods.  We eat pretty healthily (excluding my love for M&Ms and soda), and you never see a coupon for cucumbers or tomatoes or plain yogurt or wheat pitas.

However, since Owen’s birth and my becoming a SAHM, our income has been halved.  This is forcing major budget cuts in the Johnson house and also forcing creativity in using our cash wisely, particularly our grocery allowance.   And so I took the plunge, reading the explanation of working the CVS system Pam linked to from Money Saving Mom’s blog.  It took me all of 5 minutes to read and understand.  Then I went straight to my CVS to put it into action.  My initial cash investment was $25.78, all in products I use ALL THE  TIME and needed to buy anyway.  I ended up with 9 ECB from CVS to use as cash on my next visit there…where I will buy more items I use all the time, pay with these ECBs and earn MORE ECBs–continuing to roll over my ECBs to where I am paying little to nothing out of pocket.  Totally worth the 5 minutes it took to read and the hour or so of time I put at CVS trying to put this plan into action.  Next time, it will probably take half that time, since I know how the system works.  My goal is to “buy” all of our soaps, razors, shave gel, band aids, cleaning products, etc at CVS using this system…freeing up all that money to buy milk, meat, and produce at my favorite grocery store Publix.

I also invested in a Sunday paper (for the coupons) and a coupon filer for my car.

I have become that woman.  We’ll see if it’s worth it.  I think it will be.  I can’t believe I’m saying that. 

Filed under: on August 12th, 2008 | 9 Comments »

Fence update, as requested by many: No fence.  Big surprise.

Total neighbor’s animals in my yard today (that I saw): 8

Total giant piles of horse poop in our driveway from neighbor’s horse which was tied to our tree last night: 1

Is this really happening?!?!  Aren’t we in Orlando????

Filed under: on August 11th, 2008 | 5 Comments »

Aside from the neighbor drama we have going on at our house, we welcomed Japanese home-stay student Ranna (pronounced more like La-na) into our home on Wednesday for a month’s stay.  She is 18 years old, and in my opinion very brave to come here, stay with strangers, and attempt to soak in American culture and improve her language skills.  She is great.  Ande and I have found ourselves talking to each other slowly and editing out words due to habit already formed since Ranna’s arrival.  Example: “I go to store now”.  It has been funny to attempt to determine then explain American culture to a foreigner.  She is patient with us.

Ranna brought us several Japanese items for gifts, including this ADORABLE Japanese onesie for Owen.  So, so cute.

And while I’m on Owen, here he is winning the gold for the Olympic sport “Looking Adorable While Sleeping”:

And here is a picture of Owen with his best buddy, his thumb:

This kid is a THUMB-SUCKER.  There is no stopping it.  I can’t complain too much: it is adorable and one of the reasons he is such a champion sleeper!  I’ll pay for the orthodontics later…

Filed under: on August 10th, 2008 | 4 Comments »