Be Thankful

Be thankful that you don't already have everything you desire,
If you did, what would there be to look forward to?

Be thankful when you don't know something
For it gives you the opportunity to learn.

Be thankful for the difficult times.
During those times you grow.

Be thankful for your limitations
Because they give you opportunities for improvement.

Be thankful for each new challenge
Because it will build your strength and character.

Be thankful for your mistakes
They will teach you valuable lessons.

Be thankful when you're tired and weary
Because it means you've made a difference.

It is easy to be thankful for the good things.
A life of rich fulfillment comes to those who are
also thankful for the setbacks.

GRATITUDE can turn a negative into a positive.
Find a way to be thankful for your troubles
and they can become your blessings.

~ Author Unknown ~

Not Possible!

Remember yesterday I posted this about possibly staying home with Samuel. Well, after only one day, I don't see it happening.

I spoke with the retirement board and I'm not even eligible until I've taught for 25 years, which is only 7 years away, but I would lose out if I retired now. If only we had started by living off of one income.

The $1000 I said that my husband gets is gross. Net is more like $750.

The other medical insurance company is not any less then what we are paying now.

We're going to continue to look into reducing all of our other bills, as this is one of our goals for this year, but I think me staying home is now a pipe dream.

OMG! IT'S MY BLOGOVERSARY!

What a difference a year makes! This has been an amazing experience and I have met such wonderful people along the way. I follow ALL the blogs in my sidebar. If you don't know them already, here are some great blogs to check out. They will bless your life.

Some are educational, uplifting and give great advice like:

5 Minutes for Mom,
Monica,
The House Hold Helper,
I'm An Organizing Junkie and
To Love Honor and Vacuum.

Some are just plain funny and make me laugh like:

Beachy Mimi,
Headless Mom,
Queen Bee and
Darcie.

Amy and Becky are great moms, wives and women of faith. God has touched me through their kind words. They have shared their stories, uplifted me on bad days and are an inspiration.

Debbie, made open adoption less scary and made me realize that God gives you the child he intends for you no matter the color or circumstance.

Ashley, who has a son that is a few months ahead of Samuel, has given me perspective on what is coming up next.

I also love the blogs of Kris and Kathy. They are wonderful women going through life with grace and style and I feel in good company being able to relate to them. 

So, HAPPY BLOGOVERSARY to me and to another wonderful year, sharing our lives together!!

Whether he wants a bath or not...

My husband was washing the cars recently and our neighbors cat, Boots, came by. Richard has a very big heart and hates that this cat lives outside (Our neighbor is allergic to cats, but his kids love it.). The cat is very friendly and loves Richard.

Richard thought the cat looked very dirty, so he decided to wash him. He's using the scrubbing glove for the car and a little dish washing liquid.

The cat kept walking away.....Imagine a cat, not liking water. Anyway, Richard decided to follow him and continue washing him. The cat wasn't too pleased and after Richard finished he proceeded to roll in the dirt.

Tagged!!!

Rachel tagged me for 25 random things about me:

25 Random Things Rules: Once you've been tagged, you are supposed to write a note with 25 random things, facts, habits, or goals about you. If I tagged you, it's because I want to know more about you.

1. I color my hair with Sun In.
2. I always drive 5 miles over the speed limit.
3. I only wash my car 2-3 times a year.
4. My memory is terrible, so I write everything down.
5. I hate cleaning bathrooms.
6. I almost died when I was born so my mother baptized me.
7. I love revenge movies.
8. I love to ski, but I hate being cold.
9. I used to studder horribly.
10. If I'm concentrating, I forget to blink.
11. If I'm busy, I forget to eat.
12. I avoid people who monopolize the conversation.
13. I hate teaching Science.
14. I love spending time by myself.
15. I love thrift stores and yard sales.
16. I'm addicted to self-help books.
17. It drives me nuts when people are late.
18. I love reality tv.
19. I love milk chocolate candy kisses.
20. I love to have french tipped nails and a spray on tan.
21. If I say I'll do something, it definitely gets done.
22. Entitled people drive me nuts.
23. I am a very impatient person.
24. Clutter and disorganization drives me nuts.
25. I love milk. I drink about 3 gallons a week.

Now I am tagging:

Kathy
Ashley
Monica
PeeWee
Kim

Is it possible!?!

Before Samuel came home, I never even considered being a stay at home mom. I didn't even imagine that it would be possible, but the longer I'm home with him, the more I hate the idea of going back to work. Now I'm thinking harder and harder about it and even looking into how we could cut back and what would have to happen to make it a reality.

I've prayed about it a lot too and find that several comments from you all, on other posts, have really spoken to me. I wonder if God is telling me this is what I should do. I find myself wondering now if it's possible.

How could we possible cut back far enough, (without losing our home), for me to quit work!?!

I have major guilt about even considering this because I don't want to put all the financial burden and stress on my husband. I also would have to finish out the school year because I wouldn't be able to just leave my kids and school in the lurch. So, I've given myself the rest of this school year to figure this all out. With that said, here is what I've worked out so far:

1. I've worked as a teacher for 18 years, but to get FULL retirement, my age plus my years experience need to equal 75 and right now they only equal 59. I have a call into the retirement board to see exactly what I would get if I retired now. Also retiring now doesn't mean I can't go back later.

2. My husband has been a straight commission car salesman, up to this point. Meaning, if he doesn't sell anything, he doesn't get paid. Recently however, they've had a lot of guys quit and "the boss" has now given him (and 2 other guys only), a guaranteed $1000 up front each month, "until the economy recovers." 

3. I am looking for part-time (at home) work, (maybe typing) to help out. I'm in the research phase right now, but if anyone has any ideas that would be great. Let the flood gates open!

4. All our medical, eye and dental insurance comes out of my paycheck right now ($450 mth), so my husband is going to look into what his company offers. Six years ago, it was a better deal to go with my employers insurance and we haven't looked back into it since. It's gone up every year and more this year since we added Sam.

5. If I were to stay home, we could cut out my cell phone, which could hopefully cut the bill ($81 mth) in half.

6. We are also looking into different car insurance ($183 mth), cable/Internet/phone ($172 mth) and life insurance plans ($86 mth) too.

7. We wouldn't have to pay for childcare ($320-$400 mth). This will start in February, when I go back to work.

8. Right now I have a 44 mile, round trip, commute each day to work, so that would be cut and we could save a lot in gas money ($60 mth).

9. I wouldn't be spending my own money on supplies for the classroom either ($50 mth).

10. We wouldn't be able to put extra money ($250) to our car and home (to pay them off faster).

11. I also think we'd save at least $100 a month on the food bill because I'd be cooking every night. Right now (when I work) my husband sometimes gets home when I'm heading off to bed, so he just gets fast food and we've been eating a lot of frozen or already prepared meals, which are much more expensive too.

12. I've considered getting a cleaning lady, because with Samuel and a full time job, I fear the house will fall apart without it. I wouldn't get this service if I stay home.

13. I'm also taking into consideration our mental health. It will be a lot more stressful once I go back to work. I know women do it every day, but the more of your blogs I read the more I realize that it would be better for Samuel too. I always had a parent home, when I was growing up and most of my nieces and nephews did too. Also, Richard only has off one day during the week and every other Sunday, so if I were home, we would have more time together as a family.

I know that I need to trust that God will take care of us, but I also have to have a plan. Jumping in without a net is scary! WHAT DOES GOD WANT ME TO DO? CAN WE REALLY MAKE THIS WORK? IS IT EVEN POSSIBLE IN THIS ECONOMY?

Wish List

I have a set of bookmarks on my computer of all the "stuff" I would love to have. That way if anyone ever asks what they can get me, I have the suggestions ready. My birthday is coming up on February 22, so in case anyone was wondering what to get me, here is a list of the things that have caught my eye recently.

First, in case you have a little extra money lying around and don't know what to do with it, you could get me the Ergo Carrier, ranging is price from $105-$120.

For those on a budget, the game RUSHHOUR, which is only $19.99, would be nice too.

The Honey Bankable Bookcase for only $219 would be for Sam's room, but I wouldn't be apposed to getting them for my birthday.

I also would love the Primary Storage-Palooza for only $149, also for Sam's room.

I'm a very organized person and the Children's Weekly Clothes Organizer for only $16.99, would help Sam get off on the right foot each day. Isn't this a great idea.

How about a little bling for me. This bracelet is only $31.49 at Overstock.


This reading program is only $199.99. See how unselfish I am, thinking of Sam and not me.

How about a family sticker for my car. The one I designed would be about $30.00.

Finally, I've been watching a lot of tv lately and have see the Buxton Bag for $19.99, advertised a lot. What a great idea!

I can't wait to see what you get me!

Cheese sandwich anyone!?

The school district I work for is over $100,000 in debt, just from lunch money not being paid. So, the new superintendent made a new policy that says, from now on if kids have too many lunch credits they will be given milk, a fruit or vegetable and a cheese sandwich, instead of the tray of food on the menu that day. Since they made this policy, they have received $42,000 in back pay from parents and have had a few hundred (finally) sign up for help.

I know this will probably open the flood gates, but I agree with the school district. Why should I have to pay for YOUR child to eat? Some parents say it will stigmatize their children, because the other kids will know who can't afford the tray of food. You don't want your child stigmatized, send them with a sack lunch. A tray of food is only $1.25-$1.50. I know some parents have legitimate problems coming up with this, then they need to sign up for the Free or Reduced Lunch Program. I know some of my kids say they can't afford it, but then got a WII for Christmas. I have other kids who say they can't afford it and their parents smoke. I say, give up the cigarettes and then your child could eat.

I am happy the new superintendent of schools is making these rules. It's about time we had some change that makes sense.

WORDLESS WEDNESDAY #31....ZZZZZZZZ

For more WORDLESS WEDNESDAY pictures go to 5 MINUTES FOR MOM.

New Hampshire Winter Poem

My friend, Pat, or as I used to refer to him, "Plastic," sent this cute poem!

It's winter in New Hampshire
And the gentle breezes blow
Seventy miles an hour
At twenty-five below.
Oh, how I love New Hampshire
When the snow's up to your butt
You take a breath of winter
And your nose gets frozen shut.
Yes, the weather here is wonderful
So I guess I'll hang around
I could never leave New Hampshire
'Cause I'm frozen to the ground!!

You asked and I answer...

In this post, I said that one of my goals for this year is to save $10,000. A few of you asked how I planned to do this.

Here is the plan:

1. I am cutting our food budget by $100 a month
2. I usually pay $150.00 extra a month on the car...we will not do this this year
3. We usually pay $150.00 extra a month on our house...we will not do this this year
4. We had 2 life insurance policies and we have cut that in half, which saves $90.00 a month
5. We will get cheaper car insurance...not sure how much I will save yet on this
6. Gas prices have gone down so we are saving about $80 a month here
7. Our dog, Keene, died and she was actually very high maintenance, medically, so we are saving money now that she is gone. Sad, but true.
8. I'm sure there are some other areas I can cut back in, so I'll keep looking.

This will amount to about $600 or so a month and I usually save about $300 anyway, so that is $900 total saved each month. I keep you updated on how the "plan" is going. Wish me luck.

GOD HEAR OUR PRAYERS #28

My mother has always had a prayer list and I've now started one of my own. So each Sunday I will publish the prayer requests of anyone who e-mails me. Please keep us updated as God answers your prayers too.

Who we are praying for this week...

* K-the birthmother of our baby
* my attitude and tiredness
* my mother's health and well being
* my friend, Janice, who has cancer and is now going through chemo
* Ashley needs prayers for her and her sick family
* Abby's cancer treatment
* Bri's hubby's job situation.
* Becky's friends R and J took a baby home a day ago on legal risk. Now bmom seems to be changing her mind! Please pray for their emotions and for God's will to be done!!
* Lisa - prayers for "A's" health, baby and adoption.
* Patti - for their adoption placement soon
* Peace says, "I ask for prayer that any confusion be cleared, and that the way be made straight for my 2 little relatives to come home to us. I also ask for prayer for their biological Mother, (she is addicted to drugs), and their current Foster Family's health and well being during this time of transition."
* Lisa - guidance for hubby & adoption plans to fall into place
* Uplift Michele's spirits
* Reggie Boppy - please match us with a birthmom soon
* Dawn - husband to hear God and find his way to Him
* Trace's baby efforts
* Christy prayers and praise
* Rebel may your troubles end soon and blessings for Turtle
* our economy
* quick healing for Amy, her mom (knee surgery) dad (heart surgery) and Allie
* all service men and women that they may come home soon

Prayers that have been answered:

E-mail me if you have someone for me to add to the weekly prayer request. God Bless.

Twenty-Four Days and Counting....

....until I go back to work! Yesterday, Penny, the lady who will be watching Sam, came over to visit and to see how everything runs. I am so jealous that she will be able to stay here with my son. Though all your comments have been very helpful, I continue to feel inadequate as a mother. I'm told this a very common feeling, especially for mothers who work outside the home. I am jealous of all of you, who have managed to stay home to care for your children.

I love being a teacher, but I love being a mom even more. Being a teacher is a great job to have when you have kids because of the time you have off, but after having taught for 18 years, it doesn't hold the same appeal it once did, especially since Samuel came along.

I feel like I have three jobs now: mother, housewife, teacher, and dividing my time among them all, will cause me to not do any of them great. My A-personality is having a hard time adjusting to this.

I am envious of everyone who (seems to) has it all together. I'm trying to enjoy every day, but not sleeping through the night is really kicking my butt. We have 1 great night (sleeping 4 hours at a feeding) and then 2 bad nights (sleeping 2 hours at a feeding). I wish I could figure out more of a pattern to all this. I try to keep Samuel up more of the day, but even when I do this, it doesn't necessarily mean a great night will follow. I've kept a spread sheet for 2 weeks now and I'm not any better at getting a pattern down. You keep telling me, "it will happen," and "don't rush it," but I get so discouraged. 

I keep telling myself that God knows what He is doing and He never gives you more then you can handle, but it's becoming more and more difficult to believe this.

BABY WISE...that's for me!

I read and love this book. The 5 S's: Swaddle, Shhhh, Swing, Suck and Side/Stomach have been invaluable, but the book, BABY WISE, has been even better and I wish I had read it before Samuel came. Now I have a few bad habits to break.

There are so many theories on feeding and sleeping for babies that it gets overwhelming, but as soon as you find the one that fits your personality, I think you just know it. Cosleeping just seemed wrong from the beginning, Demand Feeding would have been too demanding and unrealistic with my work schedule and Clock Feeding is too strict. I knew Parent-Directing Feeding or PDF was the thing for me as soon as I started reading. Basically it involves "a healthy mix of structure with flexibility." I love the way he categorizes things by how many weeks old the baby is.

Here are the basics of what I have learned:

#1. Establish a feed/wake/sleep routine: During the day feed your baby, have some awake time and then sleep time. I've done this some, but I've also allowed Samuel to fall asleep from feeding, which is a no-no. Doing his routine will help develop healthy nighttime patterns.

#2. Rocking your baby to sleep interferes with your child's learning to fall asleep on their own. Seemed harmless enough at the beginning, but now it seems logical that if he never has to fall asleep on his own, how will he ever learn. 

#3. During the late evening and nighttime feedings I've been doing it right in putting Samuel right back to sleep. I have the lights low or off, I don't talk to him and the other stimuli are very low. During the day, I keep the noises and lights at daytime levels.

#4. Walks and bath times (which I have also done...yah for me...I've actually done a few things right.) are great awake activities and help to relax and wind down from the business of the day.

#5. "Crying for 15-20 minutes is not going to hurt your baby physically or emotionally. If you want a fussy baby, never let him cry, and hold, rock and feed him as soon as he starts to fuss. We guarantee that you will achieve your goal." (p. 131) THIS IS THE ONE I NEED TO FOCUS ON! I come by it honestly, though, because my sister and mother have a hard time here too.

He also says, "Think of crying as a signal, not a statement against your parenting." (p. 137) It felt so good to hear this, because this is exactly how I was feeling.

The "why's" of his crying are more important. I do know the difference between his hungry cry, gassy cry and wet cry. What I wasn't allowing for was his, "I'm tired and I need to sleep," cry. I would rock, carry, swaddle, or whatever to "help" him fall asleep. I've never just fed him and put him in his crib, allowing him to cry himself to sleep. The author says that if you want to change this habit, do it with the daytime naps first, so you don't have a horrible nighttime sleep. I think I want to try putting him in his crib, turning off the monitor and let him cry for maybe 10 minutes and then check on him. Once he's asleep I'll turn the monitor back on. That way the crying will be easier to get through. I'm sure for a lot of you this seems like a major, "WELL, DUHHH, TRACEY!?!", but for this new mom it took 6 weeks to realize.

#6. He also talks about infant slings being great for shopping, hiking or taking a walk, but that they should not be used as a substitute for the crib. (p. 209)

So, any "soon to be" mothers out there, read this book before your baby comes and you'll have a much easier time. The next 4 weeks before I go back to work will be focused on continuing the great things I've started, but correcting some of the bad habits too, especially #5.

Life Lesson #4...Money and Finances!

Having a child has been an overwhelming experience. There are so many things I want to teach Samuel. I don't want him to make the same mistakes I did. I think back and wonder how things would have been different if I knew then, what I know now!?!

The fourth lesson I want Samuel to learn is how to be smart with money! I had no training in these areas and I get heart palpitations thinking about the money I've wasted and the money I would've saved by now if I had been smarter at an earlier age.

I'm going to start a savings account for Samuel as soon as the adoption is final and I can get his social security number. If he gets an allowance (Still discussing this with Richard. He got one as a kid, but I didn't.), he'll only be allowed to keep 10% of it and the rest will be saved. The same goes for when he has a job.

I also want him to know the DANGERS of credit cards. I never want him to declare bankruptcy, like I did.

A neighbor told us that she gave her kids a debit card that they put money on each month. The kids learned to be responsible and to budget for what they wanted. When the money was gone, oh well...wait until next month. I think this could go a long way to teaching a bunch of lessons.

Other parts of this lesson will include: knowing the difference between wants and needs, tithing, smart shopping, budgeting, instant gratification traps and planning for the future.

We want Samuel to be able to experience life and all it has to offer. We want him to be able to live where he chooses, travel when he likes and have a job he loves. Although money, is by no means everything, it does help you to experience things, go places and create the life you want. Being smart with your money and planning for the future can help to create this reality.

Newborn no more!?!

My little man is a newborn no more, as far as the diaper companies are concerned anyway! These newborn diapers no longer fit Sam and I had to move up to size 1. Don't worry they won't go to waste. My husband has a friend at work that will be having a baby very soon. We'll just pass them on to him. Sam's growing quickly and I can feel it a lot in my shoulders and hands. My muscles tone should be amazing by the time he can walk.

Walking with Samuel

For the past 3 days it has been in the high 50's and we've gone on walks, but I keep forgetting my camera. Today was 57 degrees, and I didn't forget this time.



It's going to be real hard to got back to work and miss out on all this fun!

Thank You Headless Mom

Thank you to Headless Mom for sending me this great e-mail. Here is what she said.

"There have been several nights since we brought Noah home where we felt like we didn't sleep at all...and you can imagine what the next day felt like. Without rest, we were grumpy and not very effective at our jobs, but not so with God. He's never off duty and never gets to rest, but He doesn't need to either. He's so much bigger and stronger than we are and He is able to watch and protect us all the time. He always sees what's going on in our lives and is always there to listen when we call to Him. No matter what time of night or day, God is on call and ready to show His faithfulness! We never need to fear that He won't hear our prayer, and by the same token, we can't ever think we can get away with something because He isn't paying attention. We have a Lord who is alwyas on duty, constantly protecting, guiding, and loving us. Today, take a minute to thank Him for always being on the job for you!"

A Poop Story

I was inspired to write our family "story" because Darcie told hers.

WARNING: This is one of those stories where your mother cringes and your brothers laugh. Actually, at this point, John may kill me, but if you have a blog, you know, just about, anything is fair game for posting. Poop and a toaster are involved. If you are easily offended, don't read further...ok...you've been warned...

My two brothers, Mark and John, are only 18 months apart in age. As young boys they had a paper route. On Sunday they would go around to collect, the money for the papers, from their customers.

One day, John stopped at a particular house and knocked on the door and a teenager answered the door. John was younger then this boy and the teenager was rude to him, told him to go away, that his parents weren't there and they wouldn't pay him anyway. Well, my brother was both scared of this boy and mad because if he didn't get the money, it would come out of his own pocket.

John thought the teenager was lying about his parents not being around and decided to hide in the bushes for awhile to see if the teenager would leave. Then he could go back, knock again and try to talk to an adult.

Well, after waiting for a 1/2 hour in the bushes and thinking about how he had been treated, he got madder and madder. So, by the time the boy left, John, was fuming. He went back to the door and knocked, but no one answered. Now, you've got to understand, living in a small town, doors were rarely locked. John opened the door, peaked in the kitchen and called out, hoping someone would be there. No one was around and no one answered when he called out...

...but John was still mad that this money was going to have to come out of his own pocket. He saw a toaster on the counter and....BINGO...an idea popped into his mind. Quickly, he hopped up onto the counter....pulled down his pants....wait for it.....squatted over the toaster and POOPED!

But wait...there is more.......YES, MORE.....he pulled up his pants and before leaving.......wait for it.......pushed the button down on the toaster.

Take that! He didn't get his money.......but, boy, did that feel good!

Hot Water...Please!

Isn't hot water wonderful!?! The simple pleasures you take for granted, until you don't have them! Then $657 later, life is back to normal.