So, I know my resolution was to blog more often but with two kids, things get a little crazy. However, I have been better at bring my camera with me places to document things for the blog. I hope to get better though because Lucas does the funniest things that would make me so sad if I forgot! So here are the last two weeks activities.

Grandma invited Lucas over to help her paint flower pots. Lucas enjoyed it!


We took that time we were over there to take Isaac's pictures. Here is my personal favorite.

Grandma McCabe getting some holding time with the baby.

Grandpa McCabe snuggling with Isaac. I have a picture of me laying on my Grandpa Myers just like this, however, I was sucking my thumb and playing with his ear and a little bit older.

Now that we are not living in an apartment I was thrilled to realize that I could finally get a real tree! Sean's parents were so kind as to purchase one for us. Here was are out at Bachmans picking out the tree!

Getting it home and setting it up. To this day the tree stands a little crooked.


After letting the tree expand, we decided to decorate. Last year when all the Christmas decorations went on sale 75% off, I picked up a lot of stuff. Here is our first year using them. Lucas and daddy did the decorating and I was designated put the hook on the ornament person. Lucas loved decorating the tree and using the icicle ornaments as spears.

Isaac's first Chrismas! Just observing us decorate!


More decorations.


One of the traditions I would like our family to do is buy an ornament for each child, each year so that they will have enough ornaments to decorate their tree when they move out. Here is the ornament that Lucas chose.


Isaac's ornament that we chose for him.


Finished product! (Yes we know that is tilts but it smells so good!)


One of our favorite places to shop is a consignment store called Unique. We find lots of good stuff there. Well Sean found this life vest for Lucas when he goes swimming. Lucas thought it was a helmet and wears it on his head. He wore it all the way through the check out, out to the car and threw a fit when I wouldn't let him wear it into Target. He is such a funny kid!

One of the nice things about where we live now is we are literally 1 min away from the MN Zoo. We have a membership there so we decided to go to the Zoo. Here is Isaac all packed up and ready to go!

Lucas got to meet Santa at the Zoo and loved him! He kept going up to him and hugging him and trying to drag him by his hand over to the window (there are monkey's there). It was soooo cute and nice that they had Santa there because it is like 40.00 to have Lucas's picture with Santa at the mall! I am so excited to have a child who can start to understand the concept of Santa!

Lucas and daddy at the zoo!

One of my many craft projects. Here is the nursing cover I made for my cousin's wife.

So here are a couple of funny stories about Lucas that you might enjoy.

Having a new brother comes exposure to new things. I was really blessed to get a breast pump from my insurance completely free. So on occasion I pump so that I can leave and Isaac will be fed. Anyways, Lucas has been in the room while I have pumped. On day, when Sean got home, I was laying on the bed and Lucas was puttering around in our closet. Sean was sitting on the bed so he could see into half of the closet. All of a sudden Sean started to laugh. Inside of our closet hunched over and with two breast pump covers up to his chest was Lucas. The funnest thing was he was mimicing the sound that breast pumps make. Sean and I both wish that we had had a camera at that very moment!

Yesterday was Sunday so obviously we went to church. Lucas loves nursery. Lucas's Grandma Gordhamer (Sean's mom) was asked to sub in nursery for 2nd hour. During Relief Society she scooted in but had chalk all over the back of her black dress. When she came to sit down next to me I told her that she had chalk all over her back. She responded "Yes, I know. Lucas drew all over me with chalk. I just thought he was giving me a back massage!" I could not stop laughing!

My parents live in a four level split. You walk in there are stairs going to the upstairs, and next to those stairs going down to the family room and next to those stairs going to the basement. Well, Lucas was being watched by my parents and was being entertained with Grandpa McCabe in his work room which is in the basement. Jim has lots of lights in the basement and most of them are controlled by the light switch. Lucas, of course, found the light that was turned on by a pull string (the light is attached to the ceiling). I guess that I should preface this that Lucas has learned that when he needs to reach something he gets a chair and then can stand on it. Well, after discovering this light and feeling the need to pull the string Lucas went up two flights of stairs to the dining room where he knew there were chairs. He picked up this barrel like chair brought it to the stairs, pushed it down after which he followed to only push it down the stairs again. Then when he got it to the basement he picked it up, brought it over to the light and then had a grand old time pulling the string. Jim said he was downstairs when all this was happening and was trying to figure out what the loud banging noise was as something came flying down the stairs!

We love Lucas and love all the silly and at that moment, frustrating things that he does. Lately, Lucas has not wanted to go to bed. My mom says it is just a faze and all children go through it. Before we got a door knob cover it would take about an hour and a half of Lucas getting out of bed and us putting him back before he would go to sleep. Then, in the middle of the night we would find Lucas in our bed which the followed another half an hour of getting Lucas to fall asleep in his bed again. Thank goodness we finally got a door cover because it is very sad to have your child crying outside your door. However, he will lay down just outside his door so he can see through the door crack until he falls asleep. We have to go in there and put him in his bed or he will sleep on the hard wood floor.

Isaac is doing well. He is smiling now! That brings joy to my soul and sleep to my body (I am lacking it immensely!). When he is awake and smiling in the morning it helps me forget how little sleep I got that night. He is starting to coo as well which is fantastic. When we went to WIC this last Tuesday he was 11lbs 14oz and 22 1/2 inches long! He is a growing boy!

Freezer Cooking Day with Lucas and Isaac

So in efforts to become more frugal and fending off any temptation that I have to say "Let's just go and get dinner" I have decided to do what is know as freezer cooking. You basically cook massive amounts of food up and then freeze it all and take it out to eat when you need it. It is nice to just thaw and go. So Saturday while Sean was at the Bishop storehouse volunteering the boys and I set out to get some cooking done. While I was in the kitchen Lucas and Isaac were being very cute together so I decided to take some pictures. Here they are.

Brother laying together on the couch!

Gotta love the security blankets!
Smiles! When they fight I will show them this picture and say "See, you do love eachother!"

My loyal kitchen companion who always seemed to be laying right where I needed to stand. Kisses!

Almost 5 weeks old and getting so big

Lucas up on the chair (Grrrr) and showing me that the griddle is hot!2 batches of french toast to freeze. Which is my favorite breakfast food. 3 lbs of meat that I cooked for taco meat and spaghetti along with a batch of sloppy joesChicken Enchiladas Yum!2 batches of waffles made up and ready to be frozen.

I have a couple more meals to make up and freeze but unfortunately I ran out of time and materials but all in all it was a pretty successful day. Lucas did well entertaining himself and Isaac.... well did what most 4 week olds do, ate, slept and pooped! Hopefully when all is said and done I will have made enough food to last the whole month of December. We will see if we can stick to eating in instead of eating out. Keep your fingers crossed!

Ansel Adams

Having a two and a half year old is definitely an adventure. This kid does some seriously funny things and some things where you are like "Where did you learn that?" At my parents house a few nights ago Lucas discovered a music box that he had since he was little. But instead of using it as a music box it became his camera. He would walk around the house and say "Cheese" and push down that blue thing like he was talking a picture. It was hilarious!

Sleep

Last night Isaac slept from 10pm to 4am which means I would have gotten 6 hours of sleep (I didn't go to bed until 12am). My little man is definitely growing up and fast! Today's goals are to make a couple batches of french toast and waffles to freeze. Browning up hambuger for tacos, spaghetti and sloppy joes. Make up Kate's nursing cover, start making Christmas bags and finish my scrapbook pages. We will see how much I get done!

"The Special Case"

Isaac James Meyer Born Nov 3, 2009 VBACFor those who don't know, my first child was born c-section. I went into labor at 2 am on May 2nd 2007, my due date. I excitedly went into the hospital where I was told that I was 1-2 centimeters. After an hour of walking around I dialated to a 3 and was then formally admitted into the hospital. I requested that my water be broken to which the doctor told me "If your water is broken then you can not leave the hospital. If you are not progressing fast enough we will give you pitocin because you don't want to be here all day." Now it is important to note that this doctor was not my original doctor. To what the doctor said I responded "Can we just wait and hour to see if I progress." He agreed. The nurse standing by said "I don't know why he said that, you are progressing just fine." I had also told the doctor that I was not interested in getting an epidural to which he said, after about 5 times of telling me that I should get one because we need to start pitocin "What do you have against an epidural?"So around 2pm I had dialated to a 8 but then because my cervix was getting irritated I shrank to a 7. Lucas's heart rate kept dropping so they would make me get off the birthing ball (which are amazing) and lay in bed. For those who have labored with no drugs know that is all a mental game. If you have mental control laboring is not that bad. Anyways, I was in so much pain because of being made to sit down and lay down and I had about 50 people checking me and I wasn't given the time to regroup. Anyways, after much deliberation the doctor concluded that I needed a c-section. So they wheeled me down the operating room and Lucas was born at 3pm. I was able to see him for about 3 seconds and they scooped him up and brought him upstairs where just about everyone got to hold him before me. I went on to having a rocky recovery. The doctor came up later and told us that the reason I needed a c-section was because Lucas was head down but facing the wrong way and because of his size, 9lbs, 10 oz.

Ever since this experience I have felt cheated and much disappointment. I felt that this doctor was more interested in getting me through the labor process as fast as possible because he did not want to be at the hospital. I was nobody to him. I felt that he robbed me of the whole birthing experience. I felt that the first moments of Lucas's birth were meant to be spent with me and I missed out. Instead, I layed on an operating table while everyone else got to see him, touch him, and hold him. So when I found out in February 2009 that I was pregnant with my 2nd child I know that trying a VBAC was important to me. So I knew that I needed to find a doctor who was willing to help me meet that demand. Sean's mom had a c-section with Sean but with the next two births had a VBAC. The doctor that delivered them is still practicing at the same clinic I went to with Lucas. So I decided that he would be my doctor. I let Doctor Sabal know from the beginning that a VBAC was my desire. He said he was not against VBAC's but the size of my child are a concern for him so we will see as I get closer to my due date. During the first week of October I went into the clinic to get an ultra sound which was going to tell us the size of Isaac. A month before my due date Isaac was measuring at 7 lbs, 11 oz. Babies put on about 1/2 a pound per week. After finding out that I would probably be having another 10 lb child, Doctor Sabal told me that the only way of having Isaac VBAC is if I go into labor by myself before November. Because of the c-section he was reluctant to induce me just so I could do a VBAC. So, defeated, I scheduled a c-section for the 11th of November with the secret hope that I would go into labor.

October 31st came and went and there was no baby. I had finally came to the acceptance that I was probably going to have to have a c-section. But on November 2nd at around 2pm I began to get regular light contractions. Not wanting to jump the gun I sent Sean off to work telling him that if I was indeed in labor I would call him and have him come home. So the day progressed and the contractions did not go away. At around 7pm I called Sean and told him that I thought I was in labor and that he should come home. I called my mother-in-law to come and pick up Lucas. At around 8pm I called the oncall doctor who told me to wait until my contractions were more painful. About 2 hours later I called her and told her that I was in more pain and thought that I should go in. So Sean and I packed up and went to the hospital. There I was about 2 centimeters. After an hour of laboring in the bed I was unchanged. They gave me a few options on included walking around for a half an hour. After walking around I dialated another centimeter so they hooked me back up to the monitors and told me I was admitted. They however, refused to break my water because of my "special case" that I wanted a VBAC. So we were left to labor in the room. It was such a strange experience going from not being left alone with Lucas to not seeing a nurse for 2 hours. We finaly buzzed the nurse's station and asked if anyone forgot about us. They said that I want to do this naturally so that is what they were going to let me do. It was such a nice experience to be left alone though. It was just Sean and I and we turned down the lights, listened to Yanni, and thought of dialating thoughts. However, at 5 am I was checked and was told I was only 4 centimeters (I was not allowed to get up an walk because they need to monitor Isaac's heart rate based on Lucas's issues). Exhausted, I decided on an epidural. I knew that I could get through labor, but the whole pushing a baby out was going to be hard on no sleep in 24 hours. Sean also looked extremely beat so I got the epidural. It was nice at first, the pain went away and I was able to sleep 2 hours but it got annoying to have tinglely legs for so long. After the epidural they broke my water and I slept. When I woke up I was really warm, the nurse thought that it was because our room was super warm so she turned the heat down but I still continued to have a temperature. At around 930 am I began feeling like I was going to vomit, I was shaking and I did not feel good. But because of the epidural I had no desire to push. The nurse check me and I was at 10 centimeters! So they began to tell me to push a little at every contraction to get Isaac to come further down. The doctor came in and was pretty confident that I was going to be able to do this on my own (he was the doctor that I saw for Lucas's appointments who actually told me that I was not going to be able to have Lucas's vaginally if he was 8lbs or over). Now he was telling me that he was pretty confident that I was going to be able to have Isaac no problem. The only problem with Isaac was, you guessed it, he was head down but facing to wrong way, he was sunny side up. Just like his older brother. So the doctore opted to use a vacuum to help bring Isaac down. However, at the last minute the doctor tried to turn Isaac's head and Isaac popped right into position. (The doctor did use the vacuum for about 5 minutes Sean told me afterwards). After an hour a pushing Isaac was born VBAC at 8 lbs 12.7 oz. I was called "the special case" at the hospital because VBAC's are getting to be very, very rare. That day Dr Sabal was in the hospital for a c-section and actually came in and congratuated me on the success. I would have to say that c-sections are so much easier in the labor sense because you don't labor! But in the recovery sense, vaginal births are so much more amazing. I was able to see Isaac, hold him and be in the room with him while they cleaned him up. I did however, get and infection in my amniotic fluid so Isaac had to spend 48 hours in the NICU but I felt more bonded to Isaac then Lucas. That is not the case now, I love both my sons but there is something to be said about going through so much pain and the feelings you have in the end when you hold that child. I hope that everyone gets to experience that. I hope that women understand that what they want in the labor process is important. This is something that we have been doing for centuries and c-sections have only been around for about 20 years (meaning, they are pushing for them more and more). From now on, I will definitely opt for vaginal births over c-sections.

Thanksgiving Happenings

So I couldn't help but put up pictures of our Thanksgiving apple Turkey that Lucas and I made. I am trying to be more active with Lucas during the day. So I have been finding projects that we can do during the day. For Thanksgiving we made a apple turkey. Enjoy the pictures.

Lucas and I getting ready to begin. Look at that grin!

Sticking the marshmallows and Raisins on the sticks. What actually happened was I made the turkey and Lucas ate the marshmallows and raisins all the while saying "Yummy" which each bite.

Happy boy!Picture with Daddy
Finished product, Lucas then decided to take a big bite out of the apple!Showing off his apple turkey! Final product

Goals

With the year of 2009 coming to a close I have decided to try and do more blogging as a early New Year resolution. One reason is so that I can have a record of family memories. When you have a 2 year old, the things he does are so funny and I don't want to forget those moments. Also, when you are a stay at home mom, you feel that the only people you talk to are 2 1/2 year olds and 4 week olds. Not that I am complaining, I love my kids but it will be nice to be able to talk about other things then dinosaurs and bugs. So stay tuned as I attempt to blog everyday.
Today, I woke up and it is snowing. For someone who is an advid Christmas fan it is amazing to me that it is already December 3rd and I have no Christmas decorations up. My goal today it to clean the house, begin decorating and do some cooking. In an attempt to be more frugal I am following the steps of many frugal women as they cook all their month meals in one day and then freeze them all. So that is my goal to begin doing that this month. It is takes so much guess work out of what you are going to eat if you have a list of things that are pre-made. All you have to do is pull it out of the freezer and cook it. We will see how productive I actually get.
Next blog, I plan on talking about my birth experience with Isaac, my new baby. With my oldest I had a c-section and it was my hope and desire to have a vaginal birth with Isaac. Stay tune for that story!

Life

It is amazing to me, after two weeks of coupon, how much manufacturers mark up the prices on products. A few days ago I went into Target, my total rang up to be around $21.00 and after coupons I walked away having spent only $3.41. Now where is the sense in that! I saved myself 84% by clipping coupons. And what is even more crazy is that is what I used to spend when I went to Target and such. Below is a shopping trip I did where I spent $24.71 out of pocket, gained a $5.00 gift certificate and $15.00 in register rewards at Walgreens. Yes, that is right that is John Frieda shampoo and conditioner. I get to buy things now that I only dreamed of buying before I discovered couponing.

Sean and I are poor, I am not going to lie. We have very little money and the money we do have is basically borrowed because we are living off of only one income. I have $40.00 in my wallet and that used to scare me. How am I going to live off of only $40.00 for the rest of the month. Now I am like '$40.00 I can buy so much with that'. My minds set has changed also. If you go out to eat as a couple to like Wendy's you will probably spend like $12.00. Give me that twelve dollars and I can get you so much stuff with that! I am also thankful I live in an apartment complex. As crazy as this sounds I went out this morning and dug through recycling bins of 4 buildings and accumulated a TON of sunday coupons inserts. And then went to target and took a $80.00 bill down to $19.00 and then at Rainbow a $20.00 bill down to $9.00. Although I am sure I got a lot of strange looks, a ginormously pregnant woman digging through a recycling bin I couldn't help but chuckle because I knew just how much I was going to save. If anyone who is reading this needs coupon inserts, I now have a huge stack of them just sitting on my desk.

My Rainbow and Target shopping tripMy Target, CVS and Walgreens trip.

Needless to say, I am thankful the Lord opens a window when he shuts a door. When I quit my job to stay home it was like having the rug pulled out from underneath us. I guess I kept waiting and waiting for Sean to get a better paying job, us to win the lottery, or for an old rich relative that no one knew about to die and leave us a ton of money. Instead, he gave me tools to use so that we can not only save money but being to store away essentials so that if that rainy day comes, we will be prepared.

Couponing

So my new addiction has become couponing. It is an amazing feeling to walk out of a store having purchased so much for so little. Sean is pretty supportive of this because he figures it is something the family will benefit from. Our pantry is starting to burst at the seams and it is only week 1! I an not the best but with every shopping trip I get better and better! It is also fun to buy those what you used to think were expensive things for next to nothing. If couponing is something you want to do I would suggest checking out moneysavingmom.com and stretchingabuckblog.com they post deals for pretty much any store! I would have to say that I am addicted to shopping and for someone who is on a budget it is nice that I can stretch it so far! Here are my successes this week:Purchases made at Rainbow and Walgreens.
Rainbow: Progresso Soup 10/$10.00 had coupon for $1.10/3 so 6 cans for $3.90
Pillsbury Grands! 10/$10.00 had coupon for $1.00/2 so 4 containers for $2.00
Green Giant Steamers 2/$3.00 had coupons for $.50/1 so 2 bags for $2.00
Olive Oil Buy 1 Get 1 and $1.00/1 so spent $5.98 on 2 bottles
Total: $13.79
Walgreens: Chex Mix $0.99 had coupons for $0.50/1 so spent $0.98
Reese's bars (I did have 2) 2/$2.00 had coupon for $0.55 so 2 for $1.50
Aquafresh Toothpaste $3.49 had coupons for $1.00/1 so $4.98
Glade Sense and Spray $5.99 had coupons for $4.00/1 so 2 for $4.99
Plus Walgreens has Register Rewards and everything (minus the Chex Mix) gave me basically instore credit back. I got $8.00 back in Register Rewards.
Total Spent: $12.45 minus RR
Grand Total: $4.45

Total Shopping Trip to Rainbow and Walgreens cost me $18.24.

Trip to CVS, Walgreens, Target


CVS: Aussie Shampoo & Conditioner $2.99/1 so $8.97 for 3
Cover Girl Foundation $4.99 had coupons for B1G1 and $1.00/1 so 2/$3.99
Dove Chocolates 1/$3.50 coupon for $1.00/1 so 3/$9.50
Shick Quattro for Women B1G1 $8.00 had coupon for $4.00/1 so 2/$4.00
Colgate Total B1G1 for $2.79 had coupon for $0.75/1 so 2/$2.04
CVS has rewards similar to Walgreens. Works like instore credit. I earned $15.00 in instore credit with my purchases.
Total: $32.42 minus EBC's
Grand Total: $17.42
Walgreens: Carefree Ultra Pantiliners $1.99/1 coupon for $1.00/1 so $0.99
Batteries $2.99/1 coupon for $0.75/1 so $2.24
Crest Toothpaste and Mouthwash 2/$7.00 had coupon $0.75/2 so $6.25
2 Glade Candles 2/$4.00 had coupon for $3.00/1 so 2/1.00
Glade Sense and Spray $5.99 coupon for $4.00/1 so $1.99
Total: $13.14 minus RR $10.00
Grand Total: $3.14
Target: Yogos $1.75 coupons for $1.00/1 so $0.75 each
Poptarts $1.52 coupon for $0.75/1 so $0.77 each
Dove Deodorant $3.64 coupons for $3.00/1 so $0.64 each
Cookie Mix $1.65 coupon for $0.40/1 so $1.25
Beef Roast Hormel Entree $4.99 coupon for $2.00/1 so $2.99
Ragu Sauce $3.74 coupons for $1.75/2 so $1.99/2
Schick Quattro for women $7.84 coupons for $8.00/1 so FREE!!
Candle $2.99 coupon for free candle so FREE!!!!
Total $10.08 with $5.00 gift certificate earned previously
Grand Total: $5.08

Overall my trip to CVS, Walgreens and Target cost me: $25.64

I made other trips this week but did not take pictures but this is what they looked like:

Cub Foods: 2 lbs of grapes $2.24/1 lb coupon for free lb so FREE!!
Kelloggs Cinnabon Bars $2.50 coupon for $1.00/1 so $1.50
Jolly time Popcorn 2/$5.00 coupons for $1.00/1 so 2/$3.00
Healthy Harvest Noddles 10/$10.00 coupon for $1.00/2 so 4/$2.00
Del Monte Fruit Cups 10/$10.00 coupon for $1.00/3 so 6/$4.00
Dole Jar of Fruit 2/$5.00 coupon for $0.55 so 1/$2.00
Total: $12.48
Walgreens: Quilted Norther Toilet Paper $4.29 coupon for $1.00/1 so $3.29
Reese's Bars 2/$2.00 coupon for $0.55/1 so $1.45/2
Total: $5.48 used $5.00 RR earned $1.00 RR
Grand Total: $0.48
CVS: Old Spice Deodorant 2/$4.50 coupon for $1.00/2 so $3.50
Kotex Tampons and Pads 2/$10.00 coupons for $1.75/2 so 2/$8.25
Softsoap body wash $4.99 coupon for $1.00/1 so $3.99
Total: $16.67 used $15.00 EBC earned $5.00 EBC
Grand Total: $1.67

Trip to Target

Let's just say I purchased all of this food for $27.75 plus got 1 $5.00 gift certificate from it. So overall I got this all for $22.75!!!! Crazy huh! Needless to say I love couponing and getting groceries and household items for next to nothing! If anyone wants to join me I am all game. It takes alittle bit of homework but it is so worth it in the end. If you can't use something you buy right away then you can either donate it, use it as a gift or keep it until you need it!

I Love to See the Temple

So for our family outing today we decided to go and have a picnic outside of the Temple. We even taught Lucas to say temple. It was pretty cool because Sean and I were like "Three years ago we were standing here taking pictures after we got married and here we are with our family now!"

It was fun to spend time looking and walking around the temple. So peaceful.

Here is dad and Lucas!

Mom and Lucas!

Awe.... Sean and Amy!

Lucas thinks that every thing whether it is a flower or in this case a mushroom is like a dandelion and will loose seed if you blow on it. Here he is demonstrating it.