"Pound It!"

One of Judah's favorite new phrases is "pound", as in when you say "pound it" and do a little fist bump. Since he's learned this new trick (from Grandfather Freitas), there is not a day or hour that goes by without seeing Judah raise his fist in the air and hearing him say "Pound!"

Judah Lately

SO MUCH IS NEW!

I can't believe how much my little boy has changed in literally a matter of  a few weeks! 

• He has gained so many new words in his vocabulary that I have lost count completely. 
• Judah loves his sign language and is starting to put two signs together to create his first sentences including "More food." & "Mommy more."  
• He also likes to put two words together now too, such as "No, Momma!" (when I put his socks on), "Momma down" (when he wants to get down), "Hi baby" (for some reason he always like to say hi to "baby", whoever that might be, because he's not looking at my stomach.)
• Judah uses everything from toys to stuffed animals to food as his pretend phone.
• He is beginning to express himself in so many new ways including whenever he wants to get down or out of something he will say "Down" as clear as bell and he tells us when he has a poop in his diaper by saying "Poop"  and then points to his diaper.  Potty training soon?
•  He is walking up a storm!
• One of his favorite things to do is hug his stuffed animals and say "Awwwww."
• As much as  he loves knocking over his towers he loves to build with his blocks too, stacking them one by one (four high has been his highest yet).
• Judah says his name clear as a bell now and recognizes it on his wall and sometimes toybox.
• We like to go through the alphabet with him on a regular basis and he repeats every single letter.  
• He likes to do the same with numbers. But his favorite numbers seem to be "eight", "nine", and "TEN"!
• He is beginning to perfect his animal sounds and body parts.  Occasionally he'll stop whatever he's doing and point to my "Noooooo" (my nose).
• Speaking of nose he now says "Bleh" for "Bless You" and sometimes he'll even say the "you" part.
• Whenever Judah sees food he wants, he automatically says "AMEN!" 
• Judah loves to draw with a pen on paper.  Pens & pencils are some of his favorite things ever.
• He likes to pretend cook and "taste the spoon" and serve me some too.
• My personal favorite.  He started saying "I love you" in both sign and verbally.  Both need perfecting but the meaning is still the same. "Ah-wu!"

So that is just a brief summary of all the new accomplishments on his list of milestones.

One piece of information that is new, but unfortunate is that we officially found out Judah has a peanut allergy.  It is only to peanuts and no other nut, and thankfully it is only very mild, but still worthy of carrying around an epipen.  Hopefully we'll never have to use it.

That seems to be it for now in Judah's world! Bye!

DIY Glass Jar Centerpiece

Now I'm not Marta Stewart or a writer for Better Homes & Garden, but I do like to save money and be creative, which is what brings me to my current blog post.  I decided after seeing some beautiful centerpieces at a wedding, I wanted to recreate that look for my own home.  The centerpiece at the wedding included three clear glass mason jars with real flowers in each jar on top of a curvy rounded wooden flat plank, just gorgeous!  Me, being on a budget, decided, do I actually have to spend money to make this?  The answer was, NO!  I took what I had and repurposed it, I felt so accomplished and creative. 

So here is what I did: 
I took one spaghetti sauce jar (believe it or not, they are real mason jars).  My jar happened to be the Atlas brand.  You unfortunately won't likely find the infamous Ball brand in your local grocery store, but they are beautiful though.  I then took an empty salsa jar and then one old jam jar I had stored in my cabinets.

The trick with repurposing old jars is getting the label, the glue, and the expiration date off. 
To get the label off peel what you can first. If you can't get it all off run it under hot water and that will loosen up the glue and paper, making it easier to rub off.  To get the glue off I used dish liquid and a rough scrubby sponge.  I'd put the dish liquid directly onto the stubborn glue and that would really help to lift the glue.  There is probably an easier way to do this, but this is what worked for me so far.  The easiest part is removing the stamped expiration date.  It will literally come off if you rub it with your fingernail, but save your nails and just give it a good rub with the scrubby sponge, it'll come right off!

The last thing you need is to put something inside the jars.  I used old artificial flowers I had in two varieties and placed a votive candle in the widest jar.  I also decided to place the jars on some repurposed door frame corners turned into coasters that I traded for on Etsy a while ago.  The end result is colorful and unique.

Pregnancy Weeks 10-12

Week 10 - To be quite honest this week was much like weeks 8 & 9 with nothing too crazy to mention, only the occasional nausea.  I did return to the doctor AGAIN because I literally had gone to the bathroom twenty times in one morning.  I was like "what is wrong with me?" He thankfully said that there was nothing wrong with my urine, but that I probably had some sort of irritation.  I was prescribed something to help soothe it so I wouldn't be in the bathroom all day and night like I was.  I actually never ended up taking it because everything kind of cleared up on its own in the next couple days and I haven't had any problems since, its been great! Living in the bathroom for any reason isn't fun.  I did get a quick ultrasound on one of their really old machines again.  Amazing to see that the baby has grown so much in just two weeks.

Click on pic to make me bigger!

Week 11 - This week was the week that would challenge me physically the most so far.  I have been so rediculously busy it is insane (hence my lack of updating) and if my baby can survive with the amount of sleep and food I've been getting this week, he or she can handle anything.  Between packing, going to a wedding, spending the day at my grandma's starting at 7am, and then spending the weekend in Maine in three different hotel rooms, needless to say I've been stretched far in my sleep.  As for symptoms, just tiredness from lack of sleep and occassional nausea.  Haven't felt much stretching or growth in my uterus at all, kinda weird.

Week 12 - I had my 12 week prenatal appointment this week.  There wasn't much to do or see, but I did hear my baby's heartbeat for the first time on the doppler.  First, I heard my heartbeat, then a minute later I heard the baby's and the heartbeat was so much faster, it was amazing.  He didn't tell me the exact bpm, but he said he liked what he heard and that's good enough for me.  The doctor did tell me that I will be able to find out the gender when I am 18 weeks, so just 6 short weeks away!  It'll be our Thanksgiving surprise.  
     Symptoms this week include stretching pains finally!  I have been even more nauseous than usual oddly enough and have found that I feel sore all over my body sometimes.  I can definitely tell my hormones are rushing with major emotions lately and I'm starting to mildly breakout for the first time this pregnancy.  I am still having cravings and am getting more hungry as time goes on.  My belly button is starting to get rather shallow and the hair on my belly is getting more noticeably thick.  I'm definitely in maternity clothes until further notice (yes, that means even post-pregnancy sadly, just like last time I bet).  Overall, feeling great though and glad to be ending my first trimester!

Belly shots will come soon!  I've been bugging Timm, but he's been awfully busy with school & grad school, so just keep him in your prayers.  

I am officially 13 weeks and 1 day today!

Pregnancy Weeks 8 -9 & Some Thoughts

The Pregnancy
Week 8- This week dragged on forever.  I had to return to the doctor for another checkup because I felt something wasn't right, as if I still had some sort of infection. Turns out my instincts were correct and I once again have a UTI, or more likely, just have the same one from before.  I have been put on medication for it again and have been praying that no matter what God will take it away because oddly enough, the nurse told me that if I got another UTI they wouldn't treat it until the time of delivery, does that make sense?  Fortunately when I went to the doctor I was given another quick ultrasound, on a very old machine, but nonetheless he said everything looked fine.  Praise God!
     Well besides the nausea, frequent use of the loo, and tiredness, not much has changed at all except one thing.  This change hit me hard and fast and that's emotions, which I'll explain a little bit later. I did not get enough sleep one day from a huge day of weddings and the next day had to spend another long stretch of time at church.  I was hitting rock bottom in my sleep quota and started crying and feeling terribly sick that day and had to go home.  I definitely will not push myself again.

My 8 week 4 day scan, measuring 8 weeks 3 days that morning.  Dr. J said everything looked great.

Week 9-  Thankful that this is my last week in the single digits and that time might actually move a little quicker.  My next prenatal appointment isn't until another 3 weeks from now but in just another 9 short weeks or so I'll find out what I'm having! I'll finally be able to start preparing a room in the house for the baby and know what types of things to buy.  The house search is still up in the air, but I know the Lord will help us find what we need, when we need it, for His timing is perfect.  As for symptoms I feel as though I feel the same all the time. Really nothing is different but I've been feeling a little more nauseous than usual and it comes at such random times.  I am ready for the second trimester already!

My Thoughts
First of all, it is the weirdest thing, I hardly feel pregnant at all.  If it weren't for the ultrasounds, ever so mild nausea, increased need to pee, and most importantly lack of a period, I honestly wouldn't know I was pregnant at all. I don't even feel like my belly is growing that much, although, that could be from the fact I am always in my pajamas since I'm a stay at home mom.  When you don't need to go out in public and put on regular clothes, I guess its hard to tell the difference when you're not trying to zip up or button your pants.
     Anyway, I feel as though the emotional aspect of my pregnancy is starting to kick in.  The part where I feel bad for myself that I'm going to get "fat" again, the part where if someone doesn't say "hi" to me I cry instantly, the part where I think "Am I in over my head?", and the part where I think "Does anyone actually care about how I'm feeling!?"  I know all of these things are irrational and just emotional things and I know full well the Lord will take care of my needs, especially if I ask in faith.
     One thing I do know for sure, is that when I start to feel the way I do, I need to look beyond myself and see that others need encouragement just as much as I do.  I need to refocus my attention on others rather than myself.  Easier said than done, but it must be done.

Questions I Often Ponder:
Can a mom still have a sense of self while being a mom?
How much time are you "allowed" to take for yourself to keep your own identity, especially in Christ?
If I take any time for myself does that mean I'm not giving my 100% all to my children, or is that impossible?

I am now officially 10 weeks and 1 day pregnant today! Double digits! Next goal...2nd Trimester!

Hooked On Dave

Dave who you say?  Dave Ramsey, the Christian financial guru.  Timm and I have been going through his book Financial Peace Revisited, which is being borrowed from our dear friend Carolyn right now, and let me tell you it is an eye opener.  Dave has gone from living it up, but in great debt, to losing everything, starting over, and building his way back up the proper way.  Since his debt days, he has counseled and coached thousands of people on how to get back on the right track financially. 

In this book, Dave discusses how non-beneficial and harmful debt is to yourself and family emotionally, physically, and spiritually.  He gives many suggestions on how to get rid of debt, including the debt snowball, which is paying your smallest amount debt first, paying that off and then adding that money onto the second smallest debt until you work your way up to your highest debt and then finally become debt free.  When Dave says debt free, he means including the mortgage!  You say, "that's impossible" or "a long way from now", he says don't ever get anything except a 15-year-mortgage.  Its really not that hard and you will save hundreds of thousands of dollars going this route.  If you already have a long term mortgage you can possibly refinance or just add one extra payment a year, he explains it all.

He also discusses the proper way to save (or invest), how much to save (for example an emergency fund should contain three to six months salary in an easily accessible account), and that saving up for things and paying cash for everything is the wisest choice.  God wants us to be good stewards of our money and this book is a great guide if you are unsure how to go about that or just completely lost in that area of your life.

READ THIS BOOK!  At best it will take you one week to complete.

Since the start of reading this book just earlier this week Timm and I have paid off our car and credit card and only have one more student loan to pay.  Of course we don't have a mortgage yet, but we are actively looking for a house.  Well you say, did you lose all your down payment for the house?  Nope!  We did dip in a little but will be replenishing that soon within two months from some perfectly timed checks and little extra work. We already feel a lot more financial freedom from the bondage of debt!

Classic Crusader

Of course we all know that my dear husband Timm is an avid Batman fan, but what you didn't know is that our son is a junior Batman in training.  Move over Robin!

Watch out criminals!

This is junior Batman's Summer uniform, for those hot days.

Classic crime fighting stance.

This is the look that will capture junior Selena Kyle's heart.

He even hangs upside down to sleep after a hard days work.