Pregnancy Update: 31 Weeks

When I was newly pregnant, and before I knew I was pregnant, I was at a local store, in line behind a pregnant woman. The cashier asked her how far along she was and she replied that she was 31 weeks, and had about 9 weeks to go. I remember thinking that sounded like Heaven. At the time it seemed unlikely that I'd be there again, but here I am, 31 weeks and 1 day into this pregnancy.

We certainly seem to have gotten here fast. I am now on every two week OB visits, which always makes me feel like I'm in the home stretch. At my last appointment blood work showed that my iron was low, so my OB has me taking iron supplements twice a day. After just a few days on them I feel more energetic and not so dog tired, wiped out all the time. Also gone are bouts of a racing heart that I was getting out of the blue for no apparent reason. Both of these are signs of low iron, I've since learned.

I'm also having Braxton-Hicks contractions throughout the day already. I had them for the entire second half of my pregnancy with Aspen, so I'm not terribly worried about it. My next doctor's appointment is Wednesday, so I imagine my OB will want to check to make sure they're not thinning anything out just yet, but I don't feel like they are. I've noticed that they seem to come when I am on my feet too long, so I've cut back on my activity and I'm taking time to rest several times a day now. It's nice to have an excuse to stop and sit down, to slow my pace down some, although I really do prefer being active. Aspen is enjoying my down time too, and comes to cuddle with me whenever the opportunity presents itself. I am really trying to focus on her as much as I can now, so that when Abby arrives she won't feel too displaced. I'm really praising all the "big girl" things she does now and talking up how fun it will be to be a big sister, and so on. I can tell she has mixed feeling about the whole affair.

Labor and baby preparations are continuing at a modest pace now. I have several lists running to help me keep up with all the things I need to remember to do and things that need to get done before Abby makes her appearance. We have most of the baby gear we need now. My hubby's parents gifted us with a crib and mattress, which they will be bringing with them when they visit later in June. We have crib bedding, diapering and nursing supplies and cute little summer clothes all ready to go, organized on shelves above the table we'll be using as a changing table. Aspen is now riding in her new booster seat in the car, which we call her big girl seat, and the car seat has been cleaned, washed and adjusted back down to newborn specs, and is waiting in the garage to go back into the car. We still have a small list of things to get, but it's slowly dwindling. My to-do list includes things like taking Aspen on a sibling tour at the hospital and getting bags packed.

I'm still doing my prenatal yoga and relaxation practice for labor. I find the relaxation techniques I've learned to be very helpful in dealing with daily stresses too, which has been an unexpected bonus. I find the yoga to be wonderful at helping me sleep if I do it before bedtime too. Whether or not I will have a completely natural birth remains to be seen, but I find that these days I am much more relaxed about that. My main focus is sticking close to the Lord and looking forward to meet little Abby when the time comes.

Peace In The Stillness

It's been only a few days since I decided to take a break from blogging, but those days have been good. With the quieting of my mind during my retreat from the online world, the Lord has been able to show me many things, good and bad, about the time I spend on the Internet. Here is some of what I've learned:

1- It's not all bad.
A lot, and I mean a lot, of good has come from my experiences in online groups, forums and the blogging arena. I've met some amazing people and been uplifted and inspired in my walk with Christ and especially in my roles as a wife, mother and homemaker. I joined my first mom-related Internet group when I was pregnant with Aspen, and although I'm no longer involved with the original group, it was there that I was introduced to blogging and several forums for Christian moms. This was a factor in my return to my Christian faith and opened the door for the Lord to begin to mold me into the woman He wants me to be.

2- It has it's place in my life, so long as it does not become my highest priority.
It's so easy for that to happen, and I know a lot of you other blogging mamas out there know that. It's easy to fall into the trap of using the fun and attention of blogging and online groups like a drug, something I crave daily and get cranky when I don't get enough. It's easy to let it become too important. It's easy to fall into the trap of spending time online reading about and discussing parenting and homemaking, rather that actually doing those things. I can always tell when I've gotten to this point, because this is when it inevitably loses it's luster and begins to feel empty.

3- Happiness and contentment in my life as a homemaker depend entirely on my priorities and on putting the Lord first. I can't do it alone, nor am I meant to. He is my strength and I need Him daily and first. Crystal puts this really well in this post on her wonderful blog, Mom of Littles.

4- I need to strive to glorify God in everything I do, including how I spend my time on the Internet and in the testimony I share with my readers. I've really dropped the ball on that recently, as I've allowed myself to lose sight of Him during some difficult times. Sometimes it's so much easier to feel sorry for ourselves and allow dispair to creep in, rather that to seek the Lord that much more.

5- I'm not meant to be the Provider in our family, my husband is. For years I prayed that God would allow me to stay home. He made that happen a little over a year ago and is still molding me into the role of a stay at home mom. My blogging does not need to be a source of income. I need to trust in Him to Provide and to help Shawn to provide, and to teach me to be a good steward of what is provided. In order for this to happen I need to let go of my fierce desire to control everything. This is hard for me, but I clearly see the need for this change and the need for me to be still and allow the Lord to facilitate it. I can also see clearly how all of my present circumstances are in place to this end.

There are other things, but these are the ones that pertain to my blogging and other online activities. With all this clear to me, I feel much calmer and more content again. It was as though God said, "Turn off the computer, I want to talk to you."

Having had a break from the Internet I also find I have much less desire to sit down in front of it and aimlessly surf. Priorities have been restored, and I feel refreshed and newly inspired. I feel now that I can continue personal blogging, which I truly do enjoy, without all the noise and pressure of trying to drive traffic and write sponsored posts in order to make money. I now feel like I can blog when I feel like it, share with my fellow bloggy moms and enjoy the positives of it without being sucked in too deeply or turning it into something it shouldn't be.

With all this in mind, I plan to continue, enjoying it when I can, taking breaks when I need to, and always remembering that the Lord comes first, and that my home and family do too. Thank you again to those of you who left kind and supportive comments and sent me such thoughtful emails on the subject. I hope to continue sharing my journey with all of you.

Rest For My Soul

It's time for a break. So many things have happened lately that have made me take a long hard look at the role of the Internet in my home and my life, and while it's been largely positive, there are negatives that go along with anything. Through a lot of prayer and soul-searching I have been able to see that at this point, I need to step back from blogging and Internet groups. I feel like the recent incident involving my domain name was really a clear message from the Lord. I've been reluctant to take the break I know I need because my blog has been a source of income that we've needed. I prayed about this a lot, asking for clear cut guidance. With the demise of my domain, so went my page rank and any decent income my blog was able to generate. It seems that a huge chunk of my readership has vanished as well, in spite of many hours spent trying to let everyone I could think of know that I am still here and still blogging. This part makes me sad, I have to admit. And I have to say too, I was a little taken aback at how quickly (within a day in many cases) my link was removed from so many other blogs when my error message began popping up. Thus is the nature of all things Internet I suppose.

Let me send out a special Thank You to all of my readers who did stick with me through that whole domain thing and continue to stop by, read and comment. I'll still be stopping by your blogs as often as I am able.

I wish you all the best for a safe and happy summer.

Making Home A Haven

Today's challenge for Making Your Home a Haven is this: Find a pile somewhere in your home and tackle it! This could be a pile of papers, laundry, trash, shoes, dishes, whatever!

I am delighted to report that as I sit here, gazing around the main living are of our home, I can honestly say there are no piles! Compared to the way things have been in the past in our home, where piles threatened to take over, or the way it typically is (there is usually a pile someplace) this is a real treat.

Now, don't get me wrong, I do have piles I can tackle in other places. In my bedroom there is a pile of baby items that I am in the process of organizing into baskets. In my closet there are a few small piles, mostly things I need to put away. In my car there is a red bin of stuff that needs to be put away too. But the fact that there are no major piles staring me in the face and making me feel stressed really makes me feel great.

So, what will I tackle for today's challenge? A pile of parts, and the only pile of anything in our main living area. A few months ago my then 3-year-old daughter, Aspen managed to get her finger stuck in a hole in her play kitchen. My hubby, who freaks out in emergencies, went a little overboard getting her free. You can read that whole story here. Anyway, the pile of parts you see here on top of the kitchen has been sitting there ever since. The bare pegs that are visible support a shelf where her finger got stuck and that shelf in turn supports a little door that is her microwave. The white piece behind the kitchen is the backing. He's been meaning to fix it, but it just hasn't happened, so I'm tackling it today. Aspen loves her kitchen and has been really bummed that it's not up to snuff, so that is my Making Home A Haven focus for today.




Here is the updated pic, and you can see that tackling this pile was definitely worth the effort. That smile on her face says it all.

Day by Day

Isn't this a restful scene? I can just imagine lying in that hammock, comfortably dozing, surrounded by a salty ocean breeze, warm sunshine and the sounds of the waves caressing the shore. Alas, I will have little time to rest this coming week. It will be a busy one around here. I have things I need to accomplish, errands to run, appointments to keep, and company coming. I have phone calls to make and paperwork to complete and mail.

I decided this will definitely need to be a list week. Most weeks, if I don't have too much to keep up with I don't really need a list, but this week I can really see the need to get everything jotted down so I can get organized, get everything done, and still have some time to rest.

First and foremost I need to spend a lot of time in prayer this week, because our guests are my hubby's parents. Visits with them are challenging, to say the least, and being seven months pregnant will likely make this one more so than usual. I need God's grace this week. I will need His patience and His strength to survive several days of a crowded, noisy, messy house filled with a variety of tensions. I get tense just thinking about it. There will be lots of praise music in the CD player this week in addition to my soothing labor music and my CD of ocean waves.

As far as errands and clerical type things, I need to mail a packet to my insurance company, ship an item I sold on eBay, pick up an extra piece of track that we need to complete a new layout we made on Aspen's train table, and pick up the cutest little bag I saw for only $10 at Aeropostal (this will be Abby's diaper bag). Have to get one before they sell out. I also need to get to the grocery store to pick up a few extras I like to have while having company. Stuff like paper plates and plastic cups and whatever else will make things easier on me.

On the homeschool front, I need to get Ashley's annual testing ordered. I am way behind on this, so it is at the top of my list. I also need to get busy learning about telescopes so we can pick a reasonably good one for our summer Astronomy curriculum.

As for getting ready for company, this involves digging extra blankets out of storage and washing them and finding the coffee pot that they like to use when they're here. There are also things (mostly big toys) that I'll put away to make a little extra space for their luggage so that we won't all be tripping over each other.

I've also started to get baby things organized, and I need to sit down and make some lists of things we still need and things we need to do before little miss Abby makes her appearance in just 11 weeks. I have my last monthly OB visit on Wednesday, and then I start going to the doctor every two weeks. I'm amazed that stage has gotten here so fast.

It doesn't really sound like all that much to do as I write it all down here, but considering we've been sticking very close to home and enjoying a lot of peace and quiet, a busy week sounds a little overwhelming. I'll just have to take it day by day, as in the words of one of my favorite songs, Day by Day from Godspell. If I can remember to pray for these three things, I'll be fine. Come to think of it, that's good advice for every day.

Frugal Friday: Free Worksheets For Kids

I am late getting this post done, but I really want to get back to participating in Frugal Friday.

We are a homeschool family, and I currently have two students. My 16-year-old daughter, Ashley is currently finishing up what would be her 11th grade year. Our 4-year-old daughter, Aspen is just starting what would be Preschool. We have taken a very laid back, unschooling approach with Aspen so far and I am amazed at how much she has learned just from age appropriate games, exploring outdoors and other normal daily activities. Recently though, she has been asking to do "school work". Not wanting to invest much money in preschool curriculum materials, I started searching the Internet for some freebies. I found TONS of great sites. She's been especially fond of worksheets, so I've been printing out freebies from the following sites:

First School
TLS Books
Early Childhood Links
Activity Pad
Preschool Learners
Shirley's Preschool Activities

Aspen also enjoys worksheets because she likes to show them off, to everyone! I put them in a binder, sorted by subject as she completes them and she's very excited to show them off and explain what they are. It's so cute. I hope I am encouraging and excitement and love of learning that will carry on with her.

Why I Love My Hubby

There are many reasons, of course. Lately I've been reminded of many of them. One of the things I really love and appreciate about my hubby is that he is incredibly handy. He can fix just about anything, no matter how complicated. When it comes to diagnosing problems, taking things apart and fixing them properly, he is talented and has the patience of a saint.

We've been having a problem for a while now with our laundry smelling foul. Not the dirty stuff, mind you, but the clean stuff. It smells fine coming out of the dryer, but if it gets wet, a lovely aroma akin to wet dog is detectable. It's not pretty. A few months ago I read on an appliance repair website that this is often caused by a build-up of grime on the outside of the basket, inside the tub.

For those of you who aren't washer saavy (not that I am) the tub is the solid part that fills with water, and the basket is the part with all the holes that sits in the tub, the part we drop the clothing into. Anyway, over time dirt and detergent can build up there.

There are a few simple solutions that were recommended on the site I found. Washer Magic is one, a product you pour into the washer and run a tub of hot water. It's supposed to break down the grime. Also suggested are a hot load of water with vinegar, or a hot tub of water with bleach. I tried all 3 and all of them helped to some degree, but the fix was always temporary and has lasted less and less time each time I did it.

So, being the handy hubby that he is, Shawn tackled the problem himself this afternoon. He took an hour that had off from work early and took apart the washer. Taking it apart to the point of being able to remove the cover was no small (nor easy!) task. Once he did get down that far though, what he found was absolutely gross.

Around the top rim of both the tub and the basket, was a thick ring of black sludge. It was clear looking at it that while the other solutions I'd been running through there had done a pretty decent job of cleaning the are below that, this sludge had built up above the water line. Can you say.....yuck???




I offered to help clean it but Shawn would have no part of pregnant me using harsh cleaners or being around the goo so he did it himself. It took a while but he got it clean, and then set about putting the whole thing back together again. All in all this was over two hours worth of work for him, for which the girls and I are all grateful. I made sure to call them all over to see what the problem was and make sure they realized how hard he worked to correct it for us. I'm trying to not only show my love and appreciation for him to him more, but to set an example for them as well.

In the end, we all agree, we're lucky to have such a handy guy in our household of women.

Notes From The Shower

Or, appreciating my pregnant body....

I'm seven months pregnant now. My belly has grown to the point where there is literally no getting around it. I can't bend over to pick things up without being careful about how I do it. Shaving my legs has become a bit of a challenge, and forget all about trying to trim up that lovely bikini area. You can't trim what you can't see, know what I mean? My darling hubby finds this really funny and has offered to assist me with that. With summer basically here, and a bathing suit now part of my weekly wardrobe, I guess I'll have to take him up on his offer. Applying lotion after my shower is also entertaining now, as are other little things like trimming my toenails or painting them. I don't think I am any bigger with this pregnancy than I typically am at this stage, but all these challenges do have me wondering how I will manage in two months.

It's not just my pregnant belly that has changed of course. My ankles and hands have started to swell a little. I always have a little bit of that in my third trimester and it's not a cause for too much concern, except that my wedding rings are now getting shifted around. I take them off to shower, and tonight getting them off of my finger over a slightly swollen knuckle was not easy. Now, I wear my rings on my middle finger, simply because they're a little big for my ring finger and I am paranoid about losing them. Tonight, after I did manage to get them off that finger, I decided to put them back on on the ring finger, expecting a perfect fit. Nope, still too big. Weird, huh?

Sleeping is getting interesting at this point too, as you other mamas probably suspect. I am used to sleeping on my back a lot, and I'm fast approaching the stage where they say you should avoid that. Something about the weight of the baby compressing major blood vessels. So I've been trying to readjust to sleeping on my left side as much as I can. Then there's the fact that four-year-old Aspen is still my frequent bed partner, especially after her Dad leaves for work in the mornings. She can be a restless sleeper, and so I sometimes wake her trying to get comfy. She's still adjusting to not being able to pounce on me too, so we have our challenges.

If it sounds like I'm complaining, I'm not. Those are just the challenges. There are things I love about my pregnant body too. For one thing, my hair and nails look terrific, with the addition of my prenatal vitamins to my diet. My hair is normally a bit on the greasy side, but during pregnancy it is much drier and takes on a bit of a shine that it normally doesn't have. My skin tone is rosier than usual, hence the pregnancy "glow" you hear people talk about. I love my growing belly too, and spend lots of time enjoying feeling, and now seeing, Abby's movements. I am more aware of my body when I'm pregnant and tend to take better care of myself during pregnancy, and the extra pampering is nice. I need to remind myself to keep that up after Abby is born.

All the discomforts aside, I love being pregnant. The fact that this is my last pregnancy has made me much more aware of that and more in tune to all of those subtle and enjoyable moments.

Paper Crafting Wednesday

I love participating in Paper Crafting Wednesday, hosted by Kelli at There's No Place Like Home. Not only does it give me a chance to share my creations, and provide me with some motivation to get them done so I can share them, it also gives me a chance to see all the neat things others are creating!

Today I want to share a couple of different things. First is a Mother's Day card made for me by my daughter, Ashley. She and I share a love for the beach and all things summer so this one was totally perfect for me. The amazing thing about this, and this is so typical of her, is that she made this totally by hand, without using my Cricut cutter or any kind of pattern. I was impressed. The inside verse reads "...'cuz it's your day! Happy Mother's Day!"



I also wanted to share some recent scrapbook page layouts I've been working on. These are from our Summer 2008 album. Last summer was a great time for our family, an unprecedented time of happiness and contentment, so all of our memories from that time are very special to us.







I hope you enjoyed your visit! Be sure to stop by Kelli's for some more great ideas and inspiration!

Daybook: May 11, 2009

This is a wonderful meme from The Simple Woman. If you haven't visited Peggy's site I highly recommend it. Her philosophy is just what the stressed-out mama needs to slow down and appreciate the simple things.

My Daybook

For today....May 11, 2009

Outside My Window...chilly and overcast. At about 59 degrees and with a dampness in the air, it feels more like Autumn than Spring.

I am thinking....I can't wait for every day to be warm.

From the learning rooms....Biology is nearly complete. Aspen is working on her handwriting worksheets and then we're starting a more focused unit on learning our letters.

I am thankful for...peace between my hubby and me, something that has been elusive of late. I am sure the Lord is at work in our marriage and that gives me a renewed sense of peace and security.

From the kitchen...leftovers are on the menu but hubby has decided he wants to cook, so we'll bump the leftovers to later in the week.

I am wearing...maternity jeans, t-shirt, socks and shoes.

I am creating...a baby! As of this past Saturday I am twenty-eight weeks and entering my third trimester.

I am going...nowhere today, yay!

I am reading... reviews of the new Star Trek movie and wishing hubby and I could go on a date to see it!

I am hoping...for a peaceful week, and that the Lord will help me to keep my focus on my home and family where it needs to be, instead of on fretting over a million little things I can't control.

I am hearing...the TV. I hate the TV.

Around the house...Laundry is running, and I need to run the dishwasher. My hubby brought home a large plastic 3-drawer organizer and I need to figure out where I want to use it.

One of my favorite things...looking through scrapbooks and photo albums, and remembering that the good times always outnumber the bad.

A Few Plans For The Rest Of The Week: a few organizing projects, OB appointment on Thursday.

Here is picture thought I am sharing...




Have a blessed week and visit us often!

Gifting: Sweet Treats

One of my favorite things to give as a gift is bucket, box or other container decorated and filled with Bulk Candy. At the top of my list of favorite candy gifts is a collection of Vintage Candy
that may have been a part of the gift recipient's childhood. I also like themed candy gifts, like the bouquets that offer a variety of different candies arranged to look ultra-cool. A basket of PEZ dispensers and refill tarts is always fun, especially for those collecting buffs out there. A flower pot filled with chocolate cards and poker chips also makes a fun gift for game enthusiasts.

Another fun option, for those who might not be so into candy, is a gift assortment of Wrigley's Gum. There are so many different gums on the market today but the Wrigley's varieties are still my favorites. They taste better and hold their flavor longer. The classic varieties are my favorite, such as Spearmint, Juicy Fruit, Big Red, Doublemint and Winterfresh. Wrigley's also makes fun kids varieties, like Hubba Bubba and Ouch Bubble Gums.

Would you enjoy a candy gift? Is there a special kind of candy or gum that brings back happy memories for you?

Menu Plan Monday

I haven't participated in Menu Plan Monday for a while now. The truth is I've been in kind of a funk when it comes to cooking. Our grocery budget has been super tight since mid-March when we had a $1000 car repair, and it will be for a bit longer while we pay my hubby's parents back for their generous help in getting us back on the road. When we have to really stretch our grocery dollar, I tend to get stuck in a rut, cooking the same frugal dishes over and over.

This week I decided to get back to actively planning menus and seeking out new recipes to try using our regular staple ingredients. Here's the plan for this week:

Monday: Leftover Roast and Gravy from our Mother's Day feast, mashed potatoes, green beans

Tuesday: Tuna Salad Cones
I'll be adapting this and serving it with whole wheat crackers instead of in the cones, but I love the idea.

Wednesday: Slow Cooker Honey Mustard Lime Chicken
I'll be using lemon juice instead of lime since that's what I have on hand.

Thursday: Hamburgers & French Fries

Friday: Cold Pasta Salad (recipe below)

Saturday: Baked Salsa Chicken(recipe below)

Sunday: Sloppy Joes


Cold Pasta Salad
This is a recipe my hubby came up with a few years ago and it has been a family favorite ever since. It serves 6 as a Main Course or 8-10 as a Side Dish.

Ingredients:
1 box Garden Rotini Pasta (any pasta you have on hand will do)
4 large boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 can corn
1 can green beans
2 cans sliced potatoes
2 chicken bouillon cubes
Celery salt

Instructions:
Cook past according to box instructions, to desired tenderness. Cut chicken into small cubes. Bring several cups of water to a rapid boil in a large skillet. Add chicken, bouillon cubes and celery salt (enough to cover surface of chicken). Boil until thoroughly cooked. Drain vegetables and pour into a large salad bowl. Do not heat the veggies. Drain pasta and chicken and add to the vegetables. Mix completely. Serve immediately, as is or with your favorite salad dressing.


Baked Salsa Chicken
This version of this recipe is an adaptation of an adaptation of an adaptation, lol. Similar results can be achieved several different ways and several options can be subbed in for the taco sauce I use. We always ask for extra sauce packets whenever we eat out, and I use them at home too.

Ingredients
1 boneless chicken breast per person
Taco Bell Mild Taco Sauce (teriyaki or soy sauce can also be used)
1 cup mild salsa per chicken breast
1/2 cup shredded cheese per chicken breast

Thaw chicken breasts in the fridge overnight. Marinate thawed meat for 1-2 hours in taco sauce. Place marinated breasts in a glass baking dish and cover each one in mild salsa. Sprinkle shredded cheese on top. Bake uncovered at 400 for 20-25 minutes, or until chicken is thoroughly cooked. Serve over rice.

Be sure to visit Menu Plan Monday for hundreds of creative ways to feed your family!

Happy Mother's Day

Third Trimester, Here We Come

I am 28 weeks pregnant today, and officially starting the third trimester. It certainly seems to have gotten here fast. I'm already uncomfortable, with the usual mid to late pregnancy complaints. Today I have had atrocious indigestion all day, complete with heartburn that would light up New York. Of course, I'll take this over my first trimester nausea any day! And the fact that the time for little Abby's arrival is much closer now, makes the discomforts easier to tolerate.

I go next week for my 28-week OB visit, and then I go to every two weeks after that. It seems like we still have so much to do to get ready. We still need a car seat and a crib. All of the baby stuff we have so far is in a big cardboard box in our closet, we have nothing set up. We still need to tour the hospital and put the final touches on our birth plan. I still have a lot to do in the way of preparing Aspen for the reality of having a baby sister. I didn't do a very good job of that with Kelly when Ashley was born, so I am wiser this time around. I have lots of ideas for helping her adapt and making sure she doesn't feel pushed aside in the family dynamic. After all, she's been the baby for four years.

I've made a few decisions on how I want to do things once Abby is here. Although I do plan to breastfeed her for an extended period, it won't be as long as I went with Aspen. Nor will I cosleep this time around. Now don't get me wrong. Both of these were wonderful and I don't regret the choices I made with Aspen. They worked for her and they worked for me and I have no regrets. This time around though, I am looking more at practicality, and what will work best not only for Abby but for everyone in the household as well. Having Aspen so attached to me was wonderful but it was very draining on me at times too, and made for frustrations when it came time for others in the house to care for her in my absence. By absence I mean everything from when I went to work or went to take a shower. I'm all for attachment parenting, but this time around I just don't see it working too well for us. Of course parenting a baby is a one day at a time deal, and I'll adjust things accordingly depending on Abby's needs and mine and the rest of the family's as well.

This pregnancy has been quite a journey for me. We've had more than our share of ups and downs in our finances, our marriage and our family dynamic. My hubby and I spent the entire day talking about all of these matters today, communicating in a way that we have not in a very long time, and I'm feeling more hopeful about our future than I was prior to today.

My goal for now is to continue that communication and try to enjoy the rest of this pregnancy as much as I can.

Home Security

Home making for me doesn't just include things like cleaning and decorating anymore. Crime is on the rise here in Charlotte. Everyone is talking about it. What's really scary to me is that violent crime seems to be on the rise, and a good bit of it is in and around the area where we live. A neighborhood a few miles down the road from ours has recently had a series of break-ins and even two violent home invasions. That neighborhood and ours, as well as several others, are linked together by a wooded, paved green way that spans a large area, and offers would be burglars an easy path into area that have previously been considered safe. As a result of all this, we've been looking into some ways we can make our home a little safer, and a little less appealing to criminals. There are a variety of home security gadgets on the market now that are affordable and that we can install ourselves without having to pay big bucks for a security system. Door and window alarms and additional outdoor lighting are two of the things we're considering using but there are a lot of other options out there.

How is crime where you live? Do you feel safe? What type of security, if any, do you have on your property?

Hiring an Electrician

A friend of ours from Colorado, who has his own business as a Denver Electrician, was relating some crazy stories to us recently about clients who bit off more than they could chew when attempting to make repairs to the electrical systems in their homes. It's amazing the things people will try to fix themselves, when clearly someone with some expertise is required.

The electric power that runs our homes with such convenience is a necessary part of our everyday lives. Many people are capable enough to handle the small jobs, like installing a ceiling fan or replacing a wall switch. But for the rest of us anything electrical that requires repairs, upgrades or hard wiring of lighting or appliances is going to require the services of a certified electrician. Finding one is something that should be taken on with caution.

Finding an electrician is easy. Finding a qualified one that you can trust to do your job right might not be so easy. Start by asking the people you know such as friends or co-workers to see if they are familiar with any electricians. They'll be honest with you about the experiences they've had, good or bad. Once you’ve found an electrician that might be right for your project, you’ll want to check his background. You can call the local Better Business Bureau to find out if any customers have filed any complaints. An electrician with a number of unresolved complaints is most likely someone you’d do best to avoid.

Next you'll want to interview potential electricians. For a list of questions to ask during an interview and other things to consider when hiring an electrician, you can visit DenverElectrician.org.

Expanding My Education

It's about time for me to think about going back to school. With the exception of a few courses at a technical school, my education consists mostly of my high school diploma. In this economy, that is not going to cut it should I ever need to find a job. While I enjoy being home, and plan to keep it that way, I have to face the reality that for one reason or the other, there may come a point where I would need to be a better provider. Since I have Aspen here at home and Abby on the way, going to classes at a traditional community college or technical school outside my home is not really an option. So, I've been looking at the option of online education.

More and more these days people just like me are finding ways to incorporate a little time into each day to further their education via the Internet. I can still stay home, care for my home and my children and earn an Online Degree at my own pace with just a little time each day, at a lower cost than attending a traditional school. I will still have access to many of the programs offered by traditional educational institutions, including scholarships, financial aid and even monthly payment plans. Once I complete my basic course of study I can even proceed on to Graduate Courses should I so choose.

With the current economic situation, have you been considering expanding your education to find a better job or make more money in your current career?

Wordless Wednesday: Peek-A-Boo

Aspen peeking at me through a hole in a play tube at our local park. She's not a baby anymore, but she's still my baby.

Wordless Wednesday

Making Memories: 20 Years & 4 Babies

Ashley snapped this candid on Friday when Shawn had the day off from work and we took a family trip to the local park. We don't really have very many pictures of the two of us together, since over the years one of us is usually the one behind the camera. Now that Ashley is such an accomplished photographer, we can take advantage of her skills to celebrate our marriage in a fun way.

Thanks A Lot, Google

Note to self: never use Google again!

About a year ago I bought my own custom domain for this blog. I bought www.atshoresend.com through Blogger, which used GoDaddy as the registrar and Google checkout. I manage my domain through my Google Webmaster dashboard. Or, at least I did until the first of May. It seems my domain has expired. Months ago I received an email saying this would happen, and that I needed to renew. I did that, and paid to renew for a year. My domain ceased to work on May 1 anyway. Blogger is no help. GoDaddy is no help. Both say to contact Google. When I try to renew again, I can't. Google's site says my domain has expired and that I should contact customer support.

Have you ever tried to contact Google support? What a joke! After two frustrating days of trying, I came across a forum where numerous bloggers posted about having the same issue and never being able to resolve it without buying a totally new domain name.

So, here I am back to my old blogger free hosting for now. It's not a big deal, or at least it wouldn't be a big deal except that I have over $100 in pending paid posts from PayPerPost which I will likely now not get paid for, since many of them required my page rank of 2, and my own domain. And I am guessing that when enough of them get rejected, in spite of my contacting PPP to ask for their help, that I will get suspended from there.

This is really frustrating to me since I have worked hard to build up that page rank in order to help supplement my hubby's income. The pending payments I am owed were supposed to go towards buying baby gear. If we didn't need things for Abby, I wouldn't be that concerned about this. I enjoy blogging just for the sake of blogging and have only been doing paid posts recently to get ready for Abby.

Maybe this is God's way of telling me I should just blog for fun and stop trying to hard to help provide?

In the meantime, I hope all my readers will be able to find me again and keep on reading!