Thanks for the guest post by Jo Levy

It’s easy to get complacent and be lazy about home safety. My husband and I like many of our neighbors never really thought much about it as we live in a low crime area. That is until recently when a rash of car break-ins in our neighborhood gave us a rude awakening! The police spoke at a recent meeting at our clubhouse and advised us that it is common for thieves to target low crime areas because people often do get lazy. We all think it would never happen to us so we stop locking our doors or leave items in our cars in plain sight, tempting would be burglars. It’s a shame that the break-ins had to happen, but it was a better wake up call for us than something worse. For our neighborhood meeting I put together a list of simple tips from homesecurity101 that I thought would be helpful for my family and our neighbors. It really is simple to protect your home and family you just have to remember to do it!

Nine month novena for the election

Tuesday, November 6th, 2012:  Election Day.

I sat with an aching heart and sick stomach as the new mandates for Obamacare came out last week.  I prayed a rosary crying, wondering what our future would be like for us and our children and often have to remind myself to simply say "Jesus, I trust in You".  I am confident that He's "got our back", but can't help but question, "At what cost?  What suffering will we have to endure?"  I pray He gives each and every American foresight and wisdom when voting in both the primaries and general election and I pray we always have courage to stand up and fight for our faith, knowing what magnificence lies ahead for those who are faithful.

I'm not here to make a political speech or convince you of the right candidate.  My family and will be fasting and praying this novena the 1st Tuesday of every month, leading up to and ending on November 6th.  We ask you to join us.

Our Lady of Guadalupe, pray for us!!

We'll Show You!

This morning my sister and I stood armed and ready with the three girls, off to conquer price comparing and Christmas shopping. They were dressed, they were fed, their hair was actually done and now we were standing in front of the doors, two children in the stroller and one holding her aunt's hand. We first promised Ruby Red a smoothie, sort of as a "peace offering", bribing her to be good while in here, and so off we went. I could just see the panicked looks of the other customers at the cafe as we entered. I thought to myself, You'll see. I'll make you WANT to have kids after you see how adept I am at juggling them. We'll show you how awesome this really is!

I was putting Baby Blue in the baby carrier on my back and swaying the stroller so Sapphire Sweetie would stay in her drousy, but blissful state. Ruby Red was up at the counter waiting for her pink smoothie. She came back with a cookie sample and without being asked split it in half and shared with her sister. I praised her and thought, See?! And you people were so worried about me and my children being a disruption!

Thought not even complete.....

Ruby Red, with her light-hearted three-year-old enthusiasm, starts jumping in an excited shivery wiggle, trips over the stroller and her whole smoothie goes flyyyyyyying. It lands at my feet, getting mine and my sister's pants dirty, causing a big slippery mess and I can't even run and hide because the smoothie-covered stroller wheels would certainly give us away. SS starts screaming- she's hungry, of course! BB is flopped out of my carrier as I hadn't had time to properly clip her in.  RR is so upset about her smoothie and crying because "No, I wasn't going to buy another one." 



And we wouldn't change a thing...except for maybe that 14%!



We finally got everything cleaned up with some juggling, shifting, nursing, shush-ing, rushing and mopping. I finally looked up and saw several staring at me in horror. At this point all I was doing was laughing. I mean, what else was I supposed to do- cry?! Thinking to myself about those stares, You people are obviously way too dull to ever embark on such a journey, you over there with your darn non-fat, frothy latte, reading your paper like you have all the time in the world.

And so off we went, much to their relief, ready to finish what we had set out to accomplish.

Oh yes, and thank you to the trains and legos in the store for them to play with while mommy actually shopped!

It's a Busy, Yet Wonderful Life

Wow, it's been quite awhile since I've been on here to write. A lot has changed in two months....not only do we have a new little angel in our home (Sapphire Sweetie), but mommy has begun sewing again and that has taken up most of my free time.

Remember my post a couple months ago where I said I was going to give sewing a try? Well, it has developed into a frequent past-time, and by that I mean making gifts and costumes in order to save money. ;)

I'll give a quick re-cap of what we've been up to...

Ruby Red started dance classes in September and is loving them. I have to admit, her eagerness and energy in her class often leave me anxious so I don't usually watch and just let the teachers work their magic, but I think it'll be good for her. She's learning how to interact with other kids and listen to other adults. She's my little "spitfire" so this, my husband and I believe, is essential! She's also becoming moe coordinated, which means less bumps and bruises....well, maybe.

We have also joined a Catholic homeschool group. Our girls are still very young but they're meeting great friends and we've met some amazing families!

Baby Blue is our little monkey and climbing on everything! We cannot seem to keep her off the table, no matter how we position chairs or take them away. Even falling flat on her face doesn't seem to keep her from going back...this right now is my biggest challenge with the kiddos. She's finally starting to realize that time out isn't just a "big girl" thing and isn't as fun as it looks...  Baby Blue has also started showing a lot of interest in potty-training, much to my dismay. I have to admit that I'm trying to discourage it at this time (mom fail!) but I just cannot commit to it with a very frequent nursing baby over here. I also don't want to discourage it so that she fears it in the future, so she often hangs out bare from the waist down, sitting on her little potty whenever she chooses. It's very cute, although kinda chilly! She has also been weaned from her binki this week! It was done unintentionally (and at a bad time since daddy left for a trip the day after....) but we couldn't find any of hers and thought "Why not take the plunge?!" So far so good, except for every night at 3 am. I have found that giving her a binki (yes, I eventually found one) with the tip cut off to try to discourage her keeps her somewhat calm and is only given at this ungodly hour of the night! It's very cute to hear her babbling in the car now- she and RR are now competing for who gets to talk the most. Needless to say, Christmas carols are helping mommy block out the competition when it gets to be very volumous ;).

Sapphire Sweetie is already getting so big! She's now in 3 month clothes, is our "chubbiest" baby yet, smiles and talks all the time, loves to eat and loves her big sisters! The older two can often be found holding her and wiping the "pook" (puke) off her face, as Baby Blue declares. Our little girl is extremely intolerant of even the smallest amount of gluten, so our whole family is now gluten free. This took some getting used to but we've adjusted well. A post to come in the future.

The girls were all M&M's for halloween. Ruby Red was St Helena and Baby Blue was St Teresa of Avila for All Saints' Day. I sewed all their costumes myself!


In November my niece turned 2 and I made her a homemade gift. I actually like how it turned out so much that I made it again for Baby Blue for Christmas! A post on how-to will be showing up soon in my children's blog.

Dan and I hosted our 1st Thanksgiving this year, and all gluten-free (including yummy stuffing, pie crusts and dinner rolls)! It went off perfectly and even we were amazed at how smoothly it went. We even had time to relax! Below is a picture of our turkey!

I am almost complete with my mom's birthday gift. My fingers, back and knees are so sore from having to pin the rest of it together on the floor tonight but it's turning out awesome and I can't wait to give it to her. Pictures and details will follow after it's been given to her.

My husband has been on the road (or rather, in the air) for his job a lot. In the past month he's been to Cannes, France; Hawaii; and is currently en route to Ethiopia....yes that's right, in Africa. We miss him more than words can say and are looking forward to having him home for more than a week!

My sister has moved in with us while she pays off student loans. She has a job and is also our "nanny". Sometimes I wonder if she regrets living at the zoo but she humors the girls and plays Ring Around the Rosie and Hide n' Seek countless times a day. I don't know what I'd do without her with Dan traveling so much!

Well, for now that's a pretty good summary. I'll try to write more often. I really do miss keeping track of what we've been up to, especially with our little girlies.

For now, may God bless you this Advent and draw you closer to Him!

Little Sophie's Story

2 days old

I was 37 weeks 5 days and it was a typical Tuesday. We had a fun weekend with the girls, venturing out to the Air Show where the Braxton-Hicks were quite strong. We joked of having the baby in the 2 hour car jam, but we never thought she'd actually be here soon. Our Sunday was normal as well: breakfast with my parents and dinner with his. When I woke up Tuesday morning I regretted that I had cancelled our apple picking field trip and thought maybe we'd head to the apple orchard an hour away but exhaustion got the better of me- thank goodness! The night before my husband asked me if I was ok with the house being so out-of-order. To be honest, I hadn't noticed it wasn't as tidy as usual but I took that as a sign that I should clean. (He wasn't being rude or anything, but I normally become extremely anxious with any mess so I think he was surprised and wanted to know if he should be cleaning). I vacuumed the whole house and listed 27 books on half.com during the day on Tuesday. I went through boxes of books and preschool things and cleaned out the house. I had no real movitavtion- I was simply trying to keep busy. My braxton hicks contractions were unusually dull. In fact, I was getting increasingly annoyed because they were so weak that the thought occurred to me that with contractions like these labor would never start, not even a month from now. So, after naptime, around 4:15 we headed out 30-40 minutes away from home to look for some red raspberry leaf tea in bulk. I wanted the bulk stuff so it was stronger. My intention was not to induce but to get some contractions helping me tone the uterus for labor, delivery and recovery later in the month. I had NO idea I'd have a baby that day. If I did, I would have never ever gone out, especially alone with two very active little girls. Our two stops were completely unsuccessful and I headed home annoyed that I didn't find the tea in bulk. I called my husband and told him I'd have dinner started when he got home. It was now 5:30ish and he was on his way home from work. I walked in the door and turned on the oven to make some biscuits and re-heat the enormous pot of homemade soup I made the day before. As I bent over to get a pot for the soup (it was 5:45) I felt a pop and then a gush. Never having my water break before my first thought was, "That was odd. I don't think I peed. No, I know I didn't. I'm still leaking. OH. MY. GOSH!" Realizing what just happened I had many discombobulated thoughts, "Oh God, I'm not ready! I wasn't expecting this for another few weeks. I don't want to push a person out of me today! ....I never washed those baby hats. Maybe I should call Dan....." I told Ruby Red, "Mommy's going to be having a baby today so I need you to take care of your sister until Daddy gets home". Her reply was, "Ok mommy. We'll just be jumping on the bed!" My reply, "Well, just don't bump your heads" as nonchalantly as if she told me they were going to read books or play with dolls. I really couldn't worry about what they were doing at that moment. I called Dan. I had just gotten off the phone with him about 10 minutes before so he was in complete disbelief when I called him back and told him to come lights and sirens home. He got home soon after and asked how I was doing. Well, except for this gross clear fluid running down my leg, I was fine. I assured him it'd be a much longer labor, a couple hours at least as I barely had cramping. I began to prepare myself mentally- something I've never been able to do before. I wandered the house wondering what to do. This was much too calm for labor. And then they started coming.....  The contractions picked up and with every one came a gush of fluid. I decided to hang out in the bathroom so I didn't leak fluid everywhere. My mom arrived to feed the girls dinner and Dan had the pool filled and ready to go. Yay, I'd actually have time for a water-birth!  Ruby Red would occasionally pop into the bathroom to rub my leg and tell me Sophie didn't mean to hurt me and assured me that I was ok. Baby Blue came in too, completely unaware of what was about to enter her world but loving a pool in the living room to splash in! The midwife was called and Dan stayed with me, helping me stay as calm and as relaxed as I could. I truly could not have done it without him! I had 3 contractions so bad I honestly didn't think I could go on. I remember my eyes welling up with tears and Dan telling me how great I was doing. I felt her drop downward quick and hard. I apparently gave him a look he recognized with the other two girls and told me we better get to the pool if I wanted a water birth. I agreed and then came the worst contraction of all. I stood up and Dan tried encouraging me to move but I couldn't. The pressure was so intense and all I could do was lean over him. He asked if I could sit back down. I couldn't. He was now kneeling on the bathroom floor and I had one hand on his shoulder, the other on the bathroom sink. He let me know she was crowning. Oh believe me, I know. I let out a yell as her head popped out. Her body followed soon after and Dan scrambled to find a towel in the bathroom to catch her. We rolled her over twice since the cord was wrapped around her body and her arm. (It's now 6:30- a 45 minute labor from start to finish!) I took her into my arms and we slowly headed to the bedroom where I placed her on my chest and instantly fell in love. I couldn't have imagined it any more wonderful. There was no rushing to get anywhere and I didn't even care that I never made it to the pool. It was just my husband and I, just as I always wanted. He's now become a pro a this baby catching and birthing thing! Our second unassisted birth complete! We sat together adoring our new little miracle. Our midwife arrived about 15 minutes later, I think. I gave birth to the placenta about an hour after she was born and Dan cut the cord after that.
Right from the start our little girl nursed amazing, latching on perfectly as if she was a pro! She hasn't stopped eating since. She weighed 6 lbs 6 oz and was 19 3/4 in long. A beautiful, tiny and perfect size!
The girls came in and were instantly enamoured with her. Ruby Red refused to touch her at first because she was "so cheesy" as she said. She was "cheesy" for sure and smelled so wonderful!
The recovery was difficult at first as I couldn't keep any food down for the first 24 hours and the after-birth pains were almost worse than the labor itself. My sister-in-law joked that my body just had to get those contractions in there somehow, even if afterwards. It really seemed to be that way. Homeopathy has been crucial and has thankfully made everything much more tolerable.
Ruby Red has been such a help! She holds her baby sister every time I need to get up and is so gentle and motherly. She had to check her out right away. "Mommy, can I see her bummy? .....Oh my goodness, she has the cutest and tiniest buns!" "Mommy, can I see her boobies?..... Oh they're so little....not like your big ones Mommy!"  LOL Out of the mouths of babes....  
Even Baby Blue has been amazing and gives "a-bee" (baby) kisses all day long!
Little Sophie-girl is happy with whoever she's with. She instantly recognized daddy's and her sisters voices and is easily calmed by any of us, except, of course, when she's hungry!
We are so grateful for this new blessing in our lives. Dan and I keep saying over and over again how incredible this all is. The third time around and we're still as in awe as if it was the first time.


Mommy and Sophia's 1st picture together



Daddy with his little princess

 



Ruby Red in love




Proud big sister, Baby Blue!
(She now walks around like she's "hot stuff" LOL)

                                  Praise Him from whom all blessings flow!

A Shopping Experience Like No Other

Anyone that knows me knows that I am in love with Wegmans. Seriously it's almost hysterical how excited I get at even the thought of going there. Ruby Red has picked up on this by now and asks weekly when we're going again, knowing a trip is sure to be around the corner. I am proud of myself, though, because I don't go just to to buy stuff but simply use this as my almost exclusive grocery store. Many have argued with me telling me it's more expensive than the other local grocery store and I politely ignore them.

This actually brings me to the point of this post:
In an attempt to prove people wrong and prove to myself and my husband that I wasn't wasting money going there instead of the other grocery store, I decided to "painstakingly" compare prices for every item on my rather large bi-monthly shopping trip. Painstakingly here is in quotes because except for the two separate stops with two kids who wanted to be in and out of one store only, it was easy peasy. Why? Because Wegmans is awesome, that's why! Before we went I printed up a shopping list on Wegmans website for the store location that we use- they listed every item on my list with prices by aisle, making it a quick in and out trip for a momma! So, with my printed Wegmans list in hand we first went to the other grocery store, going up and down every aisle and comparing the prices. I would only put in my cart what was cheaper than Wegmans- not even what was equal in price (there weren't many things equal in price anyway). Why would I want to give them the business when they are clearly not the superior grocer?! Am I crazy? Probably a little. I ended up with a very small shopping cart and spent only about $15. These items were on sale- if they hadn't been, none of them would have been cheaper! I'm not even kidding you! In fact, I found that overall, items ranged from $0.20-$3.00 more expensive per item! For the little amount of money I saved, I've resolved that except for the quick trips (since Wegmans is about 2-3 miles farther away) Wegmans is for us. And, except for some things at VitaCost, Wegmans usually has many health-food items for a pretty decent price! Also to mention, they have W-kids, which Ruby Red loves, so why wouldn't I go there?!

Now on to my Wegmans shopping experience. Oh yes, there's more....  Once Ruby Red is dropped off and happily playing, Baby Blue and I make our way down the aisles that the Wegmans shopping list has carefully organized for me so that we're not back-tracking our footsteps. My husband was amazed by the ease of the list when I used it again for a different trip. I would have him look at the list and he'd go off and get me a few things. He told me the list was incredible and that he'd be able to do all my shopping with no mistakes once baby comes saying it's "husband-proof" (his words, not mine). I mean, they do have cute little pictures and everything so it's really quite hard to mess up.

When my husband isn't with us I also ask for a carry-out. I get the kiddos buckled into the car and they load my groceries, and since they're not allowed to accept tips it's all very easy for the mom with kids in tow. At first I was really awkward about asking for this and only tried it after seeing two other moms ask for one. It really was quite wonderful. However, I have to point out that I only use this for big trips when my husband isn't there.

I know it may seem funny that I'm writing a whole post about my favorite grocery store, but I really really love this place and I didn't even mention the awesome cafe or bakery!

I don't know about other grocers, but if you don't have a Wegmans around you, you should check the websites of local stores to see if they print lists. It really does make it easier!

Getting Crafty



My sewing machine from the '60's

 A few weeks ago I decided to take a stab at making my own cloth wipes for the girls. We use so many and with another baby on the way, I thought I should probably start taking money-saving things like this more seriously. I referenced my sister-in-law's blog post and instructions and off we went to the fabric store. Borrowing my mom's surger, it took about an hour to surge 80 wipes. Done!

Even though it was so easy (I mean it was only 4 straight sides) it gave me enough of a boost to want to do more. I used to sew in middle and high school but the last thing I sewed was my graduation dress back in 2003. Now, I'm trying to be a frugal and practical stay-at-home momma and figured if I could get back into it, I could really save us some money.

Of course do I start with something easy? I'm not sure yet but I do know there are a lot of pieces and it's going to take some patience. Yet, my idea to make my own cloth pads for myself seems worth the effort. With a new baby on the way in 5 weeks, I know I'll be going through them. Granted I will use disposable for the 1st week or so, but my thought is that not only is it going to save me money since they last for years, but it's also healthier and, in reality, less disgusting going in the wash instead of a landfill where they will never decompose. Ew!

After buying the fabric a little at a time using coupons, I finally have all the flannel and PUL material cut out. I also had the idea of cutting and surging my old pre-fold cloth diapers to use as the inserts. Now all I have to do is get this old 1969 sewing machine up and running. This morning I cleaned it from top to bottom- a very unpleasant task as it was covered with mice droppings since it's sat in my parents garage/barn for about 5-10 years. That done, we're off to see if it works! I'll keep you posted on my rather big, at this point anyway, project!