My life, as I see it.

Everett opening presents

2012-01-14T22:53:00.003-05:00

Here's Everett two day post birthdate, opening presents. He was MOST excited for his new Tintin book. Savannah got one for her first birthday and we intended to always give one for first birthdays but somehow we forgot :) So Everett got his for his second birthday. He also got some other toys, a book that lights up and is about shapes and colors and a little stuffed animal that says happy birthday. Wish we could've done a big party and invited everyone but I have a feeling RSVPs would've all been no :) Hopefully he'll get a big party someday when he actually cares :)

Bad Blogger.

2012-01-05T23:03:00.003-05:00

I'm a very very bad blogger. For shame :)
As I last had said in July, Life is for Living :) And we have been.
So Savannah is older. Everett is older. They like to play together. They like to fight sometimes. Jesse is sometimes busier at work. Sometimes less busy.
I'm pregnant with kiddo number 3 with limited details as we're figuring out insurance details. But the little munchkin should appear between June and July, roughly :)
I'll try to be better at posting here. I can only try afterall :)
Love you all!

pic365 #141-148

2011-07-02T04:17:00.004-04:00

may 23-30
apologies again for so few pics :) ah well. life is for living, right?

pic365 #133-140

2011-07-02T04:00:00.004-04:00

may 15-22

pic365: #125-132

2011-07-01T02:19:00.005-04:00

may 7 - may 14
here's what i got for this particular chunk of days, enjoy!

pic365 117-124

2011-07-01T01:53:00.007-04:00

april 29-may 6
busy week last week means tired out, few pictures this week. sorry, this is where we start to go downhill :D quality and quantity, i'm afraid!
AND!
i just realized i've been uploading without watermarks! dang it! oh well.

pic365: #109-116

2011-07-01T01:26:00.008-04:00

april 21-28
busy week. savannah's birthday, including trip to savannah georgia AND easter.

random post of old house photos

2011-07-01T00:57:00.004-04:00

i was thinking about how much i miss my peonies this year and went looking through some photos. thought some of you might be interested. in particular, how much savannah and everett look alike :) they're twins! agh!

Pic365: #101-108

2011-06-30T23:38:00.007-04:00

April 13-20
Ok peeps. I'm trying to catch up. I'm trying :)
This is strawberry farm, a walk on a nice nature path, easter egg hunt, and at home... no particular order.

Pic365: day 98-100

2011-04-12T23:40:00.007-04:00

April 10-12
Yay! 100 days! And caught up! Only missed a couple of days, less than 5 methinks. I thought it was much worse. Hoorah!
Sadly I have nothing for the tenth and eleventh. Let's not label this glossing over as cheating... I know Jesse has more pictures on his phone from the other day but I don't have his pictures. So let's just get on with it and try to be better tomorrow, k? :) lol
((Do y'all know that downloading, sorting, uploading and minimally commenting on a month's worth of pictures all at once takes more than 3 hours???!!! I bet it takes longer when I do each day separately. Y'all best appreciate! haha!))
DRUMROLL....
Here's today's outing: Carolina Raptor Center. This place was so neat it deserves more than a couple of pictures :) The inchworms were ALL OVER the place and the kids loved them :) P.S. that last picture of Savannah cracks me up :D

Pic365: day 91-97

2011-04-12T23:17:00.008-04:00

APRIL 3RD TO APRIL 9TH
THIS POST IS DEDICATED TO CAPS LOCK. BECAUSE I CAN.
SOME OF YOU MAY WONDER WHY I LET SAVANNAH DRESS HERSELF. LET A COUPLE OF THESE PHOTOS STAND AS EVIDENCE THAT I WONDER AS WELL......
AREN'T MY BOYS CUTE?
WE BOUGHT A BUNCH OF GREAT BOOKS. AND GOT SUNBURNT. OOPS. AND THE HILARIOUS WAYS THEY TAKE CARE OF THE SIDEWALKS HERE, SINCE SO MANY PEOPLE WALK PLACES.

Pic365: day 84-90

2011-04-12T22:56:00.006-04:00

march 27 through april 2
Missing a day or two. Not sure where :)
Included here is the worst picture from a concert EVAR :) But it was fun.
Some of these are from my phone some are from the camera.

Pic365: day 77-83

2011-04-12T22:42:00.011-04:00

March 20 to 26
I think I missed a day or two here, but clearly I still have enough photos. Did I tell you we've been having beautiful weather??
Again, not chronological. And not paring down to 7. That's hard.

Pic365: days 70-76

2011-04-12T20:45:00.008-04:00

March 13 thru March 19
Sorry my peeps about my month hiatus :) It's seriously been a fight to keep up with everything now that the great outdoors is so wonderful and the kids don't want to be inside OR sleep :D
So here's the pictures in a big week post instead of a bajillion little ones. Not in order. Cuz you just want to see pictures, right?

Whoops, forgot the watermark copyright on most of those. Oh well. They're up.

Pic365: day 69

2011-03-13T01:58:00.002-05:00

el doce de marzo.
sabado.
limpiando.
porque espanol? porque yo puedo.

Pic365: day 68

2011-03-13T01:55:00.002-05:00

march the eleventh
everett with papa before and after bathtime. yes we did the mess/clean up in the wrong order.

Pic365: day 67

2011-03-13T01:50:00.003-05:00

march the tenth
do you see how big this guy is getting?! he wasn't tired, he blinked. he has always hated brightness (more than average), since he was born.

Pic365: day 66

2011-03-11T00:00:00.004-05:00

March 9
Our balloon boy. So entertained :)
(See pajama girl in the back? She didn't want "daytime clothes" until 10pm. whatev. Everett doesn't even want clothes, little furnace.)

Pic365: day 65

2011-03-10T23:54:00.007-05:00

March 8
Today we got a big deep cubby hole shelf to organize Savannah's odds and ends. This is us screwing it back together -- with Savannah and Everett inside two of the holes.

Looks pretty good huh? This is how Savannah set it up. I'm going to tackle reorganizing it another day. (note from later: she already covered the floor with toys again...)

She wanted to sleep in the crib. And I don't really care that much WHERE she sleeps... so this is how we found her when we went to bed... she was hugging mama and papa:

Pic365: day 65

2011-03-10T23:54:00.006-05:00

March 8
I didn't know where

Today we got a big deep cubby hole shelf to organize Savannah's odds and ends. This is us screwing it back together -- with Savannah and Everett inside two of the holes.

Pic365: day 64

2011-03-10T23:47:00.003-05:00

March 7

Big girl reading.

Eating butter, working on a growth spurt (yes I am fine with this... if you're surprised look up http://www.westonaprice.org/)

Pic365: day 63

2011-03-06T18:45:00.002-05:00

March 6th.............
March is moving so fast compared with February. So strange. And today I have the hiccups... like all day. So annoying.
Picture of the day today IS..............Everett with another haircut!

His do was getting crazy and poking him in the eye so I accosted him last night post-bath, pre-bedtime. I am not at all sure that I'm good at giving haircuts but I keep doing it since none of us care if it's perfect or not. We're just too practical and too frugal to be vain :)
Can you tell Everett LOVES ketchup? I don't like the ingredients list on ketchup but it sure makes him eat a lot. During his sickness and post-sickness he quit eating and was just nursing, normal but exhausting... now he's starting to get his appetite back again.
Oh and one more thing - Savannah says Everett's hair looks like Uncle Craig's, especially when it was wet and spiky during the cut.

Pic365: day 62

2011-03-06T18:39:00.002-05:00

March 5th - Cleaning Day.

This is the post-sickness mess that I've been avoiding in Savannah's room. UGH. It's terrible, right? But at least when she and I clean the living room/kitchen/dining room, she takes her toys to her room. We just have to work on getting things to their proper place :) We are getting a big 4 foot cubby shelf thing on Monday and we'll see how that helps organize things...

P.S. it got really clean. and then it got messy again. already. that's why I am NOT motivated to do this... no matter how much I do or how much I teach, it's always more fun to pull out EVERYTHING and not put it back :)

Pic365: day 61

2011-03-06T18:34:00.002-05:00

March 4 - Another one of Savannah's matching outfits. Note: all the colors match despite their prints being crazy :)

Pic365: day 60

2011-03-03T03:14:00.002-05:00

Wow! I've actually made it 60 days of photos! I hope to be posting more frequently... less often in big chunks to catch up - but I'm full of grace for myself for getting this done at all with two kiddos :)
So here's March 3rd: Savannah is pretend nibbling Everett's toes, making him giggle. Right after this she tried undressing him so she could "gooch" his bare tummy (blowing raspberries, go ask Grandpa Rob why it's gooching... he's the only one that would know why.) I wouldn't let her undress him though and she pouted. I have a hard enough time convincing him not to take his clothes off... I don't need him to have a 3 year old accomplice... ahem, helper.

Pic365: day 59

2011-03-03T03:13:00.004-05:00

March 1st.
In like a lion or a lamb?
They like to read together at bedtime. Sometimes. And sometimes one of them falls out on their head.

Pic365: day 58

2011-03-03T03:10:00.003-05:00

February 28th. End of February. The longest sickest month ever. Long only because of the sickness, of course. So glad it's over.
Some of you may remember pictures of Savannah doing this exact same thing. Mimicking mama. Always looking something up...
What a happy boy!

Pic365: day 57

2011-03-03T03:03:00.002-05:00

February 27

Pic365: day 56

2011-03-03T02:59:00.001-05:00

February 26 - Playing outside after dark at the tennis courts.

Pic365: day 55

2011-03-03T02:56:00.001-05:00

February 25 - Awesomely fun day for the kids at the park. Bee-YOU-tifull weather.

Pic365: day 54

2011-03-03T02:53:00.004-05:00

February 24 - Showing off her tat. Artist: papa. (Just like her 2nd-cousin Adam.)
Faded of course, for darker picture of tat minus the pose, see yesterday.

Pic365: day 53

2011-03-03T02:50:00.004-05:00

February 23 Savannah = SRSLY excited about paper dolls.
See how they're all matching??
Oh. And how I'm not the kind of mom that goes around wiping faces all day when they just get messy again?
P.S. when did she get so big?

Pic365: day 52

2011-03-03T02:47:00.002-05:00

February 22 Still a baby.

Pic365: day 51

2011-03-03T02:45:00.003-05:00

Feb 21 - The pollen making Savannah's eyes itch (? or she was just being 3?) made it very difficult to capture this adorable Savannah-picked outfit. The jacket is an auntie shopping find.

Pic365: day 51

2011-03-03T02:33:00.003-05:00

February 20

For whatever reason, Savannah always says "this dress matches my haircut." (and some of her others she says don't match)
Okay, darling....
And here's a look back one year exactly:
(Happy Anniversary, if you read this! We'll always remember that day!)

Pic365: day 50

2011-03-03T02:30:00.003-05:00

February 19 - Everett still likes being carried in the pouch, especially when he's cranky -- teething here. And he's not to heavy for me to carry either.

Pic365: day 49

2011-03-03T00:38:00.002-05:00

February 18 - Two kids in a box. They sure do love cuddling.

Pic365: day 48

2011-03-02T21:11:00.002-05:00

Feb 17 -
Such a long time coming...... I've been getting so behind on things lately :)
My little serious boy eating chocolate.

Pic365: day 47

2011-02-16T18:04:00.005-05:00

February 16th - Riding Bikes
Let the kids outside for 2 minutes and look who's learning to ride!

Pic365: day 46

2011-02-15T16:15:00.004-05:00

Februrary 15th - PARK DAY! Despite what you'd assume based on the long sleeves on the children,it was beautifully warm out today!!! I wore a tank top at the park. But alas... Everett is a South Carolinian born child and Savannah has now spent a third of her life in warm weather. So I didn't want to ruin their immune response by exposing them to the weather cold turkey :)

Pic365: day 45

2011-02-15T15:47:00.004-05:00

Valentine's Day 2011
Here's me and my valentine... the only valentine I have that let's me dress them however I want and takes lots of kissy pictures. The girl valentine likes to pick her own clothes and gets shy with kissy pictures, which is lovely in its own way. The older and also uncooperative valentine is much loved for many different reasons :)

Pic365: day 44

2011-02-13T22:30:00.002-05:00

February 13th
Jesse is reading the Narnia books to Savannah. Everett hovers around like a helicopter. Of course there is varying success in terms of paying attention but that's half the fun - she'll be able to hear the stories dozens of times without getting tired of it.

Pic365: day 43

2011-02-13T22:29:00.001-05:00

February 12th
Savannah set up this pose with Thane and asked me to take a picture.

Pic365: day 42

2011-02-13T22:28:00.002-05:00

February 11
This look on Everett's face reminds me of Jesse a lot :)

Pic365: day 41

2011-02-13T22:25:00.003-05:00

February 10
Brenda will remember this shirt. I always liked the print so I saved it to sew for Savannah. The extra length I cut off I used to make a stretchy headband to match. As you can tell, she was very excited about it.

Pic365: day 40

2011-02-13T22:19:00.003-05:00

February 9
They both really like cuddling each other lately :) Makes us so happy that they love each other :)

Pic365: day 39

2011-02-08T22:08:00.002-05:00

February 8
Today we had a junk food day..... Jesse got me some cookies the other night. I've been craving junk food so bad lately. Hopefully we'll make up for the junk food tomorrow with some real food.
Also today we're praying for our friends here in town... pray for them and their family this week as they mourn the unexpected loss of my friend's mom. The kids will be missing their grandma :(

Pic365: day 38

2011-02-08T21:42:00.003-05:00

Feb 7
happy birthday younger brother of mine!

funny pictures huh? they're both feeling good now and we're getting back to normal. we went to the library for the first time in weeks and weeks. so unusual for us :)

Pic365: day 37

2011-02-07T11:49:00.003-05:00

Feb 6th - Savannah is almost completely recovered now. But she's still coughing a lot and therefore not sleeping very well. It's been a very movie filled month :)

Pic365: day 36

2011-02-07T11:47:00.004-05:00

Feb 5
Been a while since there's been a picture of Jesse. He's finally almost completely recovered too. And has been having fun playing lots of video games since the kids haven't been particularly active.

Pic365: day 35

2011-02-07T11:45:00.001-05:00

Feb 4th - Savannah still recovering. Everett being very sympathetic. Still messy everyone as the house recovers as well.

Pic365: day 34

2011-02-07T11:43:00.002-05:00

Excessive amounts of laundry had to be done post sickness. Seriously. This was like half of it.

Pic365: day 33

2011-02-07T11:40:00.004-05:00

Savannah feeling pretty awful. Everett feeling better with a new and strange obsession with kitchen tools... spatula flippers and whisks etc. A little gourmet.

Pic365: day 32

2011-02-07T11:36:00.003-05:00

Everett starting to feel good again. But still runny nose :)

Pic365: day 31

2011-02-07T11:28:00.002-05:00

And then there were three.
P.S. Savannah is sleeping with a soft cotton stained dishcloth. I tried taking it a few times and giving her a blanket but she was so incoherent she wouldn't let me. She was using it as a blanket PLUS tissue... so I figured if I had given her a blanket she probably would've just wiped her nose on it anyway :) Similar to the chocolate sneeze stains on her rainbow comforter. Clearly I was so sick I didn't care at all :) And I had NO idea that the dishes didn't get done for days and days and days. I was seriously sick. You can tell I lost weight in this picture. Nothing like the flu to get you swimsuit ready for summer lol.

Pic365: day 30

2011-02-07T11:25:00.002-05:00

And then there were two.

Pic365: day 29

2011-02-07T11:23:00.003-05:00

Everett was so congested that he was making this cute kissy face for days to breathe through his mouth instead :) Doesn't he look so exhausted?!

Pic365: day 28

2011-02-07T11:19:00.003-05:00

Good big sister taking care of little boy blue. She had the idea to put him in the baby doll cradle so he could rest while watching planet earth.

Pic365: day 27

2011-02-07T11:14:00.003-05:00

This is Everett sick (and me slightly sick, exhausted):

This is Savannah feeling just fine :) This is her new shirt from Aunt Donna and her new headband. Obviously thrilled. And getting to be pretty good with the lipstick too ;) lol

Pic365: day 26

2011-02-07T11:13:00.002-05:00

Savannah and I took a walk without Everett since he was still so sick. Her awesome Mongolian boots from her cousin STILL fit :)

Pic365: day 25

2011-02-07T11:09:00.003-05:00

Me and Savannah - not sick... Everett - SO SICK.

Pic365: day 24

2011-02-07T11:04:00.002-05:00

Everett got sick right after Jesse:

Pic365: day 23

2011-01-24T22:15:00.005-05:00

Sleeping Beauty!

Pic365: day 22

2011-01-24T22:15:00.004-05:00

What happened???!!!! AAAAHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!

Ok. nevermind, that was just fruit juice.
And look at these fancy little shoes he got from Gma M for his birthday! Cute aren't they. Happy Birthday Grandpa M!!!

Pic365: day 21

2011-01-24T20:39:00.002-05:00

I thought Jesse took a picture too... but no picture today... just a video.
This is the day that Everett learned that the harmonica is not just a noise maker... it also makes music. He was really jamming out and enjoying himself as is evidenced in this short video :)

Pic365: day 20

2011-01-24T19:29:00.003-05:00

Can't accuse me of filtering my online life out of vanity. i.e. background mess :) Actually a lot of pictures I take, I'd prefer were different in some way... but that's not reflective of real life. I mean, probably most people would find most of my pictures quite normal, even boring. But that's pretty reflective of my life... Unique: just like everybody else... and boring in the best way possible - minimum amounts of drama. Just life, please.

Pic365: day 19

2011-01-24T19:26:00.004-05:00

Car accident picture. Not much to be said. We're 99% sure it's totaled.

Pic365: day 18

2011-01-24T19:14:00.002-05:00

Sorry it's been a week since I've posted! But I have been taking pictures!
It's been busy since the car accident and then Jesse has been sick. And we went to a wild and crazy kids play area, another different one. Anyhow, it seems like enough that the children are mostly clean and sleeping at the right time :)

In this picture: Everett and Thane. You might think that Everett got sat and on a squished...but you'd be wrong, Thane was there first and Everett squeezed in behind him to cuddle and relax.

My favorite hipster

2011-01-17T23:11:00.004-05:00

Sad hipster :(

Hipster going to grab some meatballs and salmon tacos. YUMZ.
Hipster LUVS Hipster food!

Pic365: day 17

2011-01-17T22:42:00.003-05:00

Just in case anyone reading thought that Everett was a perfect angel, here's proof otherwise :) He was smiling JUST before this, until Savannah took his toy... so this is all the camera got :)

Pic365: day 16

2011-01-16T18:50:00.004-05:00

Ok so now I'm caught up :) Sorry about the delay...We've been busy and tired people this week. We got in a car accident too! We're all fine though. I'll probably post a picture of the car tomorrow. We haven't taken a picture yet.

This is from today when I couldn't find Everett... he just disappeared and it was quiet. Quiet with a toddler=bad. But not this time, he just went the their chair by the xbox and was mimicking papa and pretending he was playing and watching a black screen. Funny kid :)

Oh and the stickers on the other chair? One of Savannah's favorite things to do. Ugh, oh well. They're only this age once. And the chairs don't really matter, they were almost free after all. But these kids need a yard.

Pic365: day 15

2011-01-16T18:39:00.004-05:00

I forgot the camera at home when we took the kids to a crazy wild indoor play area yesterday. It was for a little boy 1 yr old birthday party with my friend Jamie and her family. Maybe she'll send me the pictures they took ;)
This picture was from late the night before...too cute...

Pic365: day 14

2011-01-16T18:36:00.002-05:00

Pic365: day 13

2011-01-16T17:28:00.004-05:00

Finally found the spot in our little apartment for this Christmas gift - an Amish made quilted decoration with three little pockets :) from Marilee. At least that's where it's at for now :)

Pic365: day 12

2011-01-13T00:34:00.004-05:00

EVERETT'S FIRST BIRTHDAY!
Wowee he's grown up a lot!
I just reread the post I wrote after he was born... about his birth. It seems like yesterday!

He got a practice candle on his bagel snack - technically it was MY bagel and he only poked holes in it and licked some cream cheese off, but I digress...

And then the cake - German chocolate - which is named after a man surnamed German, not from Germany - with chocolate cream cheese frosting. I was gonna make an apple carrot cake like I did for Savannah's first birthday but honestly with it being just for us, I can't handle that much apple-carrot.
He didn't blow out his candle. He spit a little though.
And he didn't smash it into his face. He's been eating real food a lot longer than most 1 year olds, I think... so he's an old pro using a fork.

Pic365: day 11

2011-01-11T18:51:00.006-05:00

Baby's First Haircut!

Nope not that baby... he already had his first haircut...
It's my first baby's first haircut.

BEFORE:

AFTER:

And just too cute to pass up:

Pic365: day 10

2011-01-11T18:38:00.003-05:00

Snow in Charlotte

Everett playing drums. And snow.

2011-01-09T18:13:00.004-05:00

This is the video of Everett playing the drums he got for Christmas. He "plays" a little bit everyday :)

Here's what Savannah thought of our snow after Christmas:

Here was what Everett thought of our snow after Christmas:

Pic365: day 9

2011-01-09T18:03:00.004-05:00

Today:

Everett is usually just in a diaper at home lately... the apartment is too hot for him. He just cries when we make him wear clothes - he turns bright red and tries to take them off. He smiles for the camera now but doesn't usually stand in one place like this. Oh yea, and today Savannah has been trying to marry Everett.

Pic365: day 8

2011-01-08T13:57:00.003-05:00

so i lied yesterday. about posting last night.
i think everett's next molar is arriving - he's been crank-tastic.

so last night's picture was a surprise. i thought i was going to get a really good picture of kitten and this is what i got:

oh yea. everett grabbed the camera earlier in the day... and apparently has greasy little kid fingers. so then i had to find the lens cleaner and lint free cloth etc. and then clean it and then took some pictures of everett but he was cranky and i lost my motivation. so this picture really describes yesterday well.

Pic365: day 7

2011-01-08T13:46:00.004-05:00

Picture from yesterday. I was too exhausted to put it up last night. It's Everett in his lumberjack onesie. Or Grandpa Rob onesie, if you like.
Today's will be up later tonight.

Pic365: day 6

2011-01-06T23:27:00.003-05:00

First of all. I'm trying to decide how to deal with privacy. I'm thinking of posting here when I have the daily picture with a link to see it on Flickr. Otherwise I can't control who takes my pictures and does goodness-know-what with them. I am researching what other people do to protect photos on blogs.
Meanwhile I hope you enjoy the new atmosphere here. Very brown. Very awesome.
Blue was so 2010.
Brown is the new blue.

Picture today.... Drumroll.....
Savannah again! She is really loving getting her picture taken lately. And Everett is really hard to catch. He's moving too fast. His favorite evening activity is walking fast up and down the hall with food in his hand. But at bedtime, this is how Savannah is always found:

pic365 day 5

2011-01-05T17:17:00.001-05:00

Paperdolls during Everett's naptime

Pic365: day 4

2011-01-04T18:12:00.004-05:00

From today. Heavily edited, thankyou picasa. I guess you could say nothing was very photoworthy today. Or perhaps, since my glasses are broken and I can't see, it just appears that way to me :)

Everett's eyes

2011-01-03T17:47:00.013-05:00

This picture from a few days ago was worth blowing up to show everyone Everett's amazing eyes. I am biased but I think you'll agree it's very interesting.

Blown up, you can see that Everett has central heterochromia AND heterochromia (partial?). It's still hard to see in the photo but it's hard to get a good picture of Everett :) Wikipedia:Heterochromia

See on the left? It's got a different color blue immediately surrounding the iris in the center than the blue further away by the whites if his eyes? And on the right, it's a green circle around the iris with blue beyond it.

Above is Savannah's eyes. She's got blue eyes with what looks like solar flares or fire in different shades of blue.

My eyes above, with a strange greenish/brown/olive color in the center. Everett gets his central heterochromia from me! :)

And Savannah gets the wild solar flare pattern from Jesse. Except his eyes are clearly hazel/green. :) He's got a little bit of sectoral heterochromia too - amber colored.

I hope this has been educational for everyone :) I find it very interesting :)

Pic365: day 3

2011-01-03T17:37:00.007-05:00

Today's official picture:

Pictured is: Savannah age 3.69 today, her Christmas ornament she's in love with from Allison and Isaac and boys, the edge of a blue book we got for Christmas (awesome book), and the sad remains of a gingerbread house post-Christmas.

Pic365: day 2

2011-01-03T16:25:00.005-05:00

Cleaning out the toy box...

Pic365: Commence

2011-01-03T16:13:00.003-05:00

Since I'm going to try to post regularly, I figured I needed something more specific for a goal. So I'm going to try to take a picture every day this year. Or more specifically, someone in our house will take a picture.
I'm not a photographer.
And I don't have a great camera (it's better than last year's camera *thanks mom!* but it's still just a point and shoot).
But I can document each day with a flash of light.
I may write with each picture. I may not. I may edit the photos. I may not. Rules suck. So they're not invited.
So that's the plan.
Now to catch up on days.
Here's is the picture from January 1st:

P.S. YOU should do this too :)

Announcing...

2011-01-02T05:04:00.001-05:00

my intention to blog semi-regularly in 2011. Cheers to good intentions!

THREE weeks old

2010-02-04T05:00:00.000-05:00

Everett

2010-02-02T05:58:00.000-05:00

Our second child arrived Tuesday, January 12, 2010, 1:30am.
This is the story of his arrival.

On the Friday before Everett was born, I went to the chiropractor and that evening I started having contractions, 10 minutes apart but not difficult and we thought he might be born soon. But alas, no. He's tricksy like his father :)
At least all the bags were packed (over-packed really, but better safe than sorry...) and waiting in the car.

I kept having periodic contractions through the weekend and then on Monday Jesse, Savannah, and I went out and I got my hair cut at a salon for the first time in YEARS. The appointment went long and so I dropped Jesse off at work to save him time and then Savannah and I went to the grocery store. (They were having super double coupons ending on Tuesday and I wanted to try to go Monday and Tuesday.) Jesse figured that since it was the only time I'd ever dropped him off at work, that I'd for sure go into labor. Of course, he was right. And my water broke in the cereal aisle at 5:30pm. I bent down to grab some baby food and gushed. Ew. It soaked my pants but luckily there were only 2 drops of amniotic fluid on the floor. We left the cart in the aisle and left.

I called Jesse, called the midwife, called my mom, called the in-laws, and went to pick Jesse up at work. We went home and ate and I rested. After a couple of hours, I started walking around to see how intense the contractions would be and within an hour Jesse decided we should head toward the birth center. I didn't think I needed to go yet because they weren't overwhelming contractions but Jesse had a feeling things would quicken soon. And he was right. Again. After more walking and a car ride, I was starting to "cocoon" (ignore the world) by the time we settled in at the birth center around 9:30pm. Savannah had fallen asleep in the car and was sleeping on the couch in the other room. Our midwife, Damaris, got all her stuff ready and started filling the birthing pool. By the time it was full, I was quite ready to relax in water.

With Savannah's birth with midwives at the hospital, they only had a standard bathroom tub and legally could not allow you to actually give birth in the water. In contrast, a nice sized pool to move around in and change positions was great. I got in and out of the water numerous times as I was too hot and too cold and just antsy. Damaris periodically checked the baby's heart rate, I think less than half a dozen times and checked how dilated I was only two times (I think?... I wasn't really in a state of mind to keep track, at the time, hehe). With midwife in the hospital, I was "required" to have fetal heart rate monitor on constantly, but I refused :) and so she checked with the doppler often and they checked cervical dilation more too (half a dozen times? in about the same amount of time). I was very pleased with Savannah's midwife/hospital birth but I was even more satisfied and comfortable with Everett's birth at the birth center. Shameless plug: http://carolinabirth.org

I was able to relax through the contractions much easier in the water than out of it but transition was taking a LONG time -- at least twice as long as it took with Savannah. Around 11:30pm I was dilated to almost 9. And we were discussing whether or not this baby would arrive before midnight. I was hoping so. But after midnight passed and I was growing frustrated, the midwives advised that it might go faster with gravity helping me more. So I decided to get out of the water and try standing and squatting even though it was precisely what I DIDN'T want to do. It was close to impossible to stay standing or squatting through the contractions but I forced myself to try for a few minutes. During this time, I felt like pushing and when they had last checked I wasn't quite fully dilated so I needed to breathe through the contractions... which, anyone who has done this can tell you, is extremely frustrating to do.

Savannah woke up during the transition stage and we had to gauge to see if she'd be alright watching the rest of the labor and the delivery. She was just fine. A little reserved, from waking up in a strange place and watching something new and different, but fine. She went back and forth as she pleased between the birthing room and the other room where she had some of her DVDs running.

So I couldn't bear to stand or squat any longer and got back in the water again. Soon Savannah wanted to hop in the water with me and that's what we brought her swimsuit for :)

I was starting to feel very frustrated that it was taking so long (both compared to the transition stage with Savannah and "textbook" descriptions - though I know they're not really that accurate or important) and I was having more difficulty just breathing through contractions and not pushing. I asked if maybe Damaris should check to see if I was dilated enough to push yet (I was fairly confident my body was ready but I didn't want to hurt my cervix or tear anything) and she said to wait another while. I did but soon I knew my body was definitely pushing that baby even though I was breathing and NOT helping it. I reached down to see if I could feel the baby's head and I had NO idea what I was feeling... but Damaris was surprised to see his head was nearly out. Jesse said his head was dimpled and squished - I was expecting to feel something smooth. Damaris grabbed her stuff and Jesse got into catching position with Savannah right next to him to see best. I pushed with two contractions and his head was out and next contraction his body was out too. As his head was coming out, I was telling Savannah that it was just like the videos we watched of babies being born. Jesse grabbed him out of the water and then he and Damaris passed him over to me onto my chest. He was a "he" and had lots of dark straight hair and LOTS of vernix. He didn't cry at all upon being born, but peeked through his eyelids and wiggled. His apgars were great but we poked and wiggled him to get him to cry to make sure his lungs were fine and he wasn't too cold. The placenta was out shortly thereafter and we started our interesting breastfeeding adventure (maybe that will be another post, maybe). In retrospect, I figure it must have taken so much longer for Everett to make his way down the birth canal because he's so much bigger than Savannah was - more than 2 pounds bigger, so I'm thankful he wasn't my first baby. Recovery has been 10 times easier than the first time too. So all in all, I'm very thankful that God hears and answers prayers :)

They grabbed the first blanket on the stack - a pink one - before we even checked to see if the baby was a boy or girl.

Papa and Everett.
A pair of intense serious guys.

He doesn't really look 6 days old here -- holding his head up so well!

We're moving!

2009-07-16T15:21:00.002-04:00

So I haven't been here forever. Like forever. But when big news hits, it must go somewhere. Jesse got a job in Charlotte, NC. So we're moving at the end of August. So yeah. That's about it for now. lol. Not much more to say than that.

Bloggy makeover.

2009-04-10T23:12:00.003-04:00

If you only read me through a reader, click through and see my new makeover. Tell me what you think if you have time. Did I change too much, or not enough? I feel like I could spend so many more hours working it over (don't even ask how many hours it took...) but maybe I just need some outside opinions.

Reading to dolls

2009-04-10T15:14:00.001-04:00

Helping Kaia take a nap.

All this last Tuesday?

2009-04-09T15:12:00.008-04:00

Grandma and Grandpa wanted to watch Savannah while I shopped so I got to 6 stores! In just about 3 hours. Since I only shop off a list now, it's much faster. I'm starting to stock up on sales items, trying to take advantage of the sales cycles and tips I've found online.

CVS (hints)

Out of Pocket Spent: $25.92
Saved: 55%, $31.59
ECBs left: $19
Mail in rebate sent and waiting: $10
(After ECBs and rebate, earned $3.08 (plus all the loot!))

Victoria's Secret

Spent: $0
Saved: 100%, $15 plus lotion

Cub Foods

Spent: $4.30
Saved: 57%, $5.70
Plus free milk (up to $4.69) for next time! So came out pretty even.

Target

I can't find the actually receipt for Target but I *think* this is accurate within a few cents.
Spent: $18.72
Saved: 66%, $36.84
Mom paying me back $5 for 1 razor (bought 2) and 4 soups (not pictured).

Walmart

Paints were full price for Easter projects $4.64 :)
Spent: $7.58
Saved: 44%, $5.98

Walgreens (hints)

Spent: $14.48
Saved: 59%, $20.67
RRs left: $7.49
Easy Saver Rebate waiting: $5
On a side note, I was REALLY disappointed in myself when I got home and realized I forgot to check my receipt here. The checkout clerk forgot to scan two coupons and I should've separated my transaction (into 4 instead of 3) to get another $1RR. So I lost $2.20 savings here, another 2%. Hopefully next time I'll remember. :)

TOTAL SPENT: $70.68
TOTAL SAVED:$115.78
Rebates, Register Rewards, Milk, and ECBs remaining: $46.19
Mom paid me $5
Total cost this week (OOP - RR/ECBs/Rebates/Mom)= $19.49
60% savings out of pocket,
83% savings after everything!

Savings for 2009: $623.21
(starting from March 13th)

Sell your attention for $

2009-04-06T20:59:00.003-04:00

This is a website where you get paid to look at advertising. For real!
They says they "are trying to convince consumers like us that we should be the ones controlling our own data and selling our own attention, not third parties like broadcasters, newspapers, and spammers."

It pays 5 cents to just look and it pays another 10-15 cents for clicking the link to learn more. It's even tailored to who you are and what you're interested in. As a result, I'm actually interested in most of the ads I see. I've only done it 3 days (not consecutively) and already earned $4.85. Not huge but nothing to sneeze at when DD's birthday is coming up. I think they pay every Friday, so I've been paid once so far. I'm looking forward to these ads, unlike the "unpaid" junk I see everyday. :)

Here's my referral URL if you're interested. Click this link to sign up. Just put my MeFile ID, rivkaselin, in the "Referral Code."

Shopping Adventures

2009-04-06T20:27:00.004-04:00

Target:
I was pretty impressed with this Target run, especially since the vitamins were full price (cheaper than the coupon I had) at $8.04.
That means everything else ran me $3.04.
4 salads, 2 boxes baby safety swabs, 2 cans soup, 1 lotion, 1 wipes, 1 gummy vitamins
Total OOP: $11.08
Total saved: $10.50

CVS:
Scrubbing Bubbles Action Scrubber $2.99
Used $2.75 off coupon
Total OOP: $0.44 (inc. tax)
Total saved: $5.25

Walgreens #1:
Chapstick @ 1.99
Edge Shaving Gel @ 2.99
Glade Candle @ 5.99
Used 2 coupons for Glade, WAGS $2, MFG $4= $6
Used RR $3 (from previous weeks)
Total OOP: $2.71
Total saved: $10
Plus $5 RR for next week

Walgreens #2:
2 Quaker Life cereals @ $2.50 each
2 Quaker Bars @ $2.50 each
Used $2 RR (Register Rewards) (from previous weeks)
Used 2 $1/2 Quaker coupons
Total OOP: $6.00
Total saved: $10
Plus $4 RR for next week.

TOTAL OOP last week: $20.23
TOTAL Saved last week: $35.75
Total RR and ECBs for rolling: $14.49

Another long weekend...

2009-04-02T03:25:00.002-04:00

More couponing and shopping and working for Jesse. Inventory (again... how does it seem so often, when it's only monthly?). blah. So hopefully, I'll have some interesting posts next week :)
I'm sure I'll be too busy to post until then. So here's to hold you over til then:

No more snow please.

2009-03-31T16:21:00.002-04:00

My favorite snow picture of the season, 2/21/09

Who on earth would bury their own child in snow, against their loud protestations? And then photograph it?!

So it's been a while... again :)

2009-03-30T02:44:00.002-04:00

I just wanted to "brag" to everyone (all 4 of you now? No wait, Jesse doesn't read this, lol) that since I've been following couponing blogs and started practicing what they preach (about 20 days), I have saved 66% on our purchases.
On the one hand, I am saving lots of money by really searching out coupons on products we always buy. On the other hand, I am purchasing products that I never would have looked at before -- in order to EARN money (on overages) or to stockpile different branded products if they are free (or very close to it).
My hunter-gatherer instinct likes this. It's really a lot of fun for me. My personality is (apparently) well-suited to lists and clipping and searching etc. Things many people find tedious.
If you think this would be worth it to you, see: . This lady has got some great tutorials and advice. But, like I said, only if you've got the drive, personality, and a little time for it. (If anyone's REALLY interested, I've got a bunch more in my google blog reader).

This is for anyone who says you can't save LOTS of money clipping coupons.
Bottom line:
Full priced would've been:
$718

Spent:
$242

Saved:
$476!

**Normal budget is less than this, but this included some unusual purchases (new work clothes and shoes for Jesse, among other things) and a learning curve to the new techniques. I anticipate more success in April! :)