consistency

Today was a good day. I feel like I accomplished much, and I'm not exhausted. Did lots of laundry, organized myself, sent off a form that required lots of copies to be made, ran some errands, puttered around the house...

Baby Girl took some good naps, and I feel like she got some quality rest. Poor little thing has been drug all over the place the past couple of weeks! I never realized how important consistent consistency is for a baby until having my own child. We're currently working on a nap/bedtime routine... We go in the bedroom, where I rock her in my arms and sing a couple songs, and then lay her in bed. She's usually drowsy-eyed and sicking on her thumb. Halfway through the songs, she takes her thumb out of her mouth, looks up at me, and gives me a sleepy little grin. It's so adorable...

After an epic fail yesterday in my caloric intake, I did very well today. Well enough to reward myself with an ice cream bar after dinner. I <3 ice cream in the summer! Now to stay consistent with that, and add in exercise. Currently stalking craigslist for a jogging stroller. The baby weight is gone, but I desperately need to get back in shape. Maybe by the end of the summer?

Deal finding this week is off to a good start. So far we've hit CVS and Target. Tomorrow is Harps double coupon event... I SO can't wait! Sometimes I wonder how lame is it that finding deals is so exciting and fun for me. But on the other hand, how can a person NOT be happy about getting more for less?

And a bit of news that's making me smile... Husby is coming home tomorrow night rather than Friday. He'll leave again Thursday, but seeing him in the middle of the week makes everything a little brighter. *sigh* I'm so hopelessly in love.

falling rain

It's a Monday, and the skies are gray with falling rain. Sadly, my mood has morphed to fit the gloominess that looms. I've been trying to re-morph my mood into a content one, where the gentle patter of rain is soothing, but so far no luck. Two cups of coffee this morning, slowly sipped, while catching up with the online world. Baby Girl is teething, I think. Or something... Her naps are anything but predictable lately. Thirty minutes. Maybe an hour. And she has gone from sleeping eight hours straight at night to three - four hour stretches. I know they say that once your get used to something with a baby, everything changes... but I feel like I have very few nerves left. Husby left again this morning for another week away. I do not like to see him go, and I will quickly admit that this is extremely hard on me. But... I keep reminding myself that it's only a few days at a time and that it should be over in August. Maybe then life will return to some semblance of normality. It has helped incredibly much to hae CC here. I don't know what I will do when she leaves next week. Somehow I need to get my emotional tank full again...

Yesterday's sermon challenged me a bit... to have an unstoppable faith. I know I keep asking "Why, God? Why is life so freakin' hard right now? When will it be over? How much longer do I have to prove myself?" Deep down in my heart, I know that God's timing is perfect and that He will never cease to be faithful, but as I've voiced before, it's been quite difficult to get my head wrapped around that fact. Yesterday I listened as the pastor spoke about Moses, and how after he was the pride and glory of Egypt, he spent 40 years in the desert. FORTY YEARS. Forty years of silence and feeling forgotten. That certainly makes my issues seem small. And in those forty years, God did not forget, but He was waiting for the perfect time to act, molding Moses in the meantime.

*sigh*

Now the hard part... remembering these things when I'm in the midst of a difficult moment... or day. Remembering that my life is not really bad or hard, when compared to what others face. Remembering that God is watching and waiting and that He IS moving, even though I can't see it. Remembering that He loves me and is there to wrap His arms around me at anytime. Raise your coffee mugs with me - here's to an unstoppable faith!

little sister

My youngest sister is visiting me for three weeks. THREE whole weeks!!! It's SO very wonderful to have a part of my family here with me. I really love Oklahoma and my life here, but a girl does get homesick now and again. Anyway, we've been hanging out lots, having GREAT times. Sixteen is a fun age. :) Time at the pool, playing with Baby Girl, shopping, baking, movies... it's been a lovely three days so far. :) AND.... I'm giving her a crash course in couponing and finding deals. So far we've hit up Walgreens (sweet deals!), Target (more sweet deals), Krispy Kreme (do I hear a shout out for free donuts??), introduced her to Chikfila (free spicy chicken sandwiches!), and checked out the brand new QT (three cheers for .49cent drinks). We also stumbled on coupons for free drinks at Taco Bell and more free donuts from Krispy Kreme, so you can guess where we'll be eating... Now we need to work some exercise into our plans. (bah humbug!)

Baby Girl has discovered the fine art of rolling over, from her tummy to her back. It's incredibly adorable to find her in her bed in the morning, not on her tummy, but on her back, rolling around and talking to herself. Even at 4:30 in the morning...

Sweet deals this week:
Walgreens: we spent $10.92, saved $56.38, and have $4.50 in RR! We got: 4 boxes Kotex U products, 4 bags of Hersheys pieces, 3 bars Neutrogena face soap, 7 packs of Orbit gum, 3 cans Arizona tea, 2 bags of Lifesavers, 1 Butterfinger, and 3 bottles asprin. Not bad for $10, eh?

Target: (we totally rocked here!)
I think I threw my receipts away when I cleaned out my purse, but I can tell you about the 40 bottles of Sobe Lifewater for only $5 oop!!!! Target had a deal this week that for every 10 bottles you bought, you'd get a $5 gift card. We used a .50/1 Target coupon for each bottle, and did four separate transactions. We spent $5 the first time, and then the second transactions we used the $5 GC. The third transaction we had three B1/G1 coupons to add to the .50/1 Qs, so we only used $2 off the GC. Last transaction we had two b1/g1 Qs, so we used the remaining $3 on the GC and came out with an extra $5 GC. I think we did pretty good, eh?

This week will bring more sisterly, deal-finding adventures.... we'll be sure to keep you posted!

normality

And life continues on... Summer has set in, hot and humid. Lines at the local snowcone shacks are long. Pools are open and crowded from morning to well after dark. Baby Girl is sleeping longer every night (nine hours straight last night!), and rolling from her tummy to her back quite routinely. There's something strangely endearing about being woken up at 4:30am by a cooing baby, who, when you check on her, is not on her tummy as you left her, but rather on her back, playing with her blanket and smiling when she sees you.

This last week was a strange one, in that Husby was out of town 4 of the 5 weekdays, including two nights away. The coming week will be the same, as will the next three months. I do not like him being gone so much... it's lonely. But it's a necessity right now, and it gives me a greater appreciation for those who deal with this as a normal part of life. The bright side is that Baby and I can occasionally go spend a day or two with him. We'll explore the "unique" little towns that are a part of middle-of-nowhere OK and TX.

My baby sister (who's now 16!!!) is coming to visit in a few days. Three cheers for that! We will go shopping and swimming and watch chick-flicks, and have a total blast. Baby Girl is going to love meeting her Aunt CC, too. :)

And that's about it. Just another normal week in the life of a stay-at-home-mommy. :)

head above water

I have thought about this blog often in the past couple of weeks. Visions of sitting down and typing have played through my mind at regular intervals. I think this has been the busiest I've been since I was pregnant, and trying to accomplish it all with a four-month old baby was no small feat. Besides being incredibly busy with THINGS to do, PLACES to be, and TASKS to accomplish, there has been turmoil to sort through. Small family dramas, employment uncertainties, life decisions, etc, etc. The few times I did try and write, my mind refused to cooperate, begging instead for a few moments of silence and time to just zone out. It looks like things are slowing down now, and I'm glad. I think much more of what felt like chaos, and I'd break down in tears... and then only a day or two of watching fluff filled movies, eating comfort food, and snuggling with my baby and husby would have helped me recover!

It's a curiosity really, the things that God allows into our lives at times. Like when we feel we are doing everything right and on track, and yet life is HARD. Like when it feels that curveballs are being thrown one after another and there is no way to see them coming and prepare. We beg God to give us just a glimpse of what He is doing and it feels silent... We hold on, knowing that He is good and faithful, but wanting to see evidence. It's a hard road, but one I will continue to walk, even though I have my days of stopping to cry and say, "God, please! I need some air!". One day, all this will be clear. I am really looking forward to seeing the big picture for this season of our lives...

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In other news, Baby Girl is growing SO much lately! Not only has she jumped into the next size diapers and clothes, her development is progressing more every day. She rolls over now, from her tummy to her back. (A look of wide-eyed shock accompanies this feat.) She's beginning to lay on her tummy and play happily for a few minutes at a time. She grabs at toys that dangle about her. She laughs and giggles. EVERYTHING captures her interest. She is getting to be so much FUN! She is my light on gray days. :)

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In couponing and deal finding news, I totally rocked CVS the past two weeks. A new store opened near me, and mailed out a set of coupons. $10 off a $20 purchase, a free 2 liter of Coke, and up to $3 off a CVS brand product. They allowed all coupons to be combined into one purchase, so it made it easy to pay a dollar or two for over $20 worth of stuff. The best part? I live in an apartment complex, and many of my neighbors threw their coupons in the junk mail bin up by the mailboxes. I snatched up as many as I could and made SEVERAL trips to CVS, doing multiple transactions each time. We are totally stocked up on Coke, Vitamin Water, pop, and bottled water... Not to mention toiletries, makeup, paper goods.... It was SUCH an incredible blessing to be able to get so much for so very little.

All of this for only $2.71!!!!! (A savings of almost $200!)

being a mother

It's always encouraging when someone you don't expect expresses how great they think it is that you've made the choice to be a stay-at-home-mom. Not that I am unsure of my decision. It's just really nice - affirming - to hear it from someone from whom you don't expect it. From the time I was a little girl, I knew that "when I grew up" I wanted to be a mommy. I never had aspirations or dreams of a great career. Instead my dreams were about puttering around my house, making cookies and doing fun things with my kids. And now that my life is just that, I am happy. Fulfilled. I don't want more. Of course I have days when I feel like going insane because the only people I've seen for three days are my husband and infant daughter, but that's easily remedied by a trip to Target or Starbucks. :) This is a good life I lead. As always, God has been good.

lost... bought... found.

Yesterday I lost my phone. One my morning walk with Baby Girl, it fell out of the stroller somewhere. I searched my whole route. Twice. And found nothing. It is amazing how attached one can become to a little piece of plastic. Honestly, I felt as if I was disconnected from the world. And I felt like a big clutz... having to replace a phone could not have come at a more inconvenient time. But God was good and we discovered that we were eligible for upgrade pricing... Now I have a sweet new phone, and it was quite a good deal! Wanna know the crazy thing? After I went to get the new one this morning, I checked in at the apartment complex office to see if anyone had found it and turned it in. It was there. And it still worked. *sigh* Oh well. It was about dead anyway, having been drowned twice and dropped about a bazillion times. Now I have a backup phone if anything drastic happens to the new one. I will admit... My new phone is pretty sweet... Touch screen. Full keyboard. The works.