Meet No. 4

Since it's been a while since my last post, I figured it was time to give an update. And...well, this update is pretty special. We learned about 2 weeks ago that we are expecting baby #4!!!!! On Friday we had our first ultrasound and learned that we were 6 weeks and 2 days. So I guess that makes us 7 weeks today. The little bean looked good and healthy. We heard the little heartbeat at 124 bpm. That was pretty special too! It's always exciting to hear the heartbeat for the first time...and every time after that. Our official due date is Feb. 9 which is just 2 days before Lily's 6th birthday.

I was slow to get an update on here because I started feeling pregnancy symptoms very early on. Mostly fatigue and nausea. I've been resting as much as possible and trying to reserve energy for all the other responsibilities around here. My brain has been fuzzy most of the time - I think it's major pregnancy brain. I've been afraid to write anything for fear it will come out wrong. But I did want to post some commonly asked questions that we've received since we began spreading the news:

Q: Where you expecting this?
A: We don't not expect it. I'm sure that makes no sense at all so let me explain. If you aren't preventing pregnancy and you have already had 3 healthy viable pregnancies before than you can expect to expect it. Although I don't ever put expectations on God's will and I never truly know if He will chose to bless us that way again. So we don't not expect it.

Q: Were you surprised?
A: No. Excited, but not surprised...which leads us to the next question.

Q: Do you know what causes this?
A: Yes, and its so darn fun! (Sorry, but if you are rude enough to ask me this, then please expect a rude answer).

Q: Are you insane?
A: I guess so if loving a large family makes us insane. I'm okay with that label. It's sure better than other labels.

Q: Do you own a TV?
A: Yes

Q: How are you going to keep up with 4 little ones?
A: I don't know but I'm sure it'll happen because we are responsible adults who love our children. We've done fine with 3. I don't suspect that a 4th will totally wreck our home and marriage. I've been told it's just another peanut-butter-and-jelly sandwich to make at lunchtime. LOL

Q: You are brave (not really a question, but a statement I get a lot).
A: No, I'm not. My hubby is brave for loving me through another pregnancy (I'm a beast!), but I'm a weak doubting woman who just wants to make it through today.

Purses and Jewelry!

I came across Pursenickety today and really enjoyed browsing through their shop. It has fun purses and accessories inspired by expensive designers. But their prices are actually do-able for frugal gals who still like to be girlie-girls. Enjoy!

Schaeffer's 3rd Birthday Party...and a BIG surprise!

Check out the photos Grandmama posted of Schaeffer's 3rd birthday party. We surprised him by asking some friends of ours to bring over a big piece of heavy equipment, you know, the kind a 3-year old boy would drool over. And they delivered! They brought the Peterbilt out to play! Schaeffer was in awe. He could not believe his eyes when the rig backed into our driveway, and then he realized he could climb up in it and try 'er out. He nearly wet his pants...oh, wait. He did wet his pants! Sorry Shane. Hope it dried ok. (We are still potty training). My little man was in heaven...I'm sure God will have big rigs in heaven for all the little (and big) boys up there. It was such an awesome evening with family and friends. We are such lucky people to be surrounded by such awesome people all the time!

Cheap Products I Love

I figured it was time to curl up with the laptop in my bed tonight since BJ is cozying up to Elementary Greek textbooks and homework right now. BJ and I have been looking for all sorts of ways to cut costs here and there. The cable went out the door first (well, technically we have cable channels 2-9 just because it's cheaper to do that and still get cable internet). Then it was our home phone. We now use Magic Jack and Google Voice, which is very cool by the way. We can give out one phone number and it will ring our land line at home, my cell phone, or BJ's cell phone. We never miss a call when we aren't at home. Unwanted callers can be blocked or directed directly (is that redundant?) to voicemail. Very cool!

And, BJ has me on a serious tight budget now. I'm not quite used to it yet. I've been a very lucky girl. I've pretty much purchased what I want when I want. I have the Sugar Daddy that I've always dreamed of. LOL. Honestly, though, I've always been a frugal gal and I enjoy the challenge of coming in under budget - sort of like one of those HGTV shows where they re-make an entire room for less than $1,000 (for me it's more like $20). We know we'll need to make some changes (more like a lot of them) on a preacher's salary so we are making preparations now.

I've been pleasantly surprised with some of the new products I've found that are quite a bit cheaper than what I had been using. I don't feel like I've sacrificed quality and that's always a nice perk when saving money. Without further ado, here's a list of my favorite "cheap" products:

Beauty Products:

1. Suave Rosemary Mint shampoo and conditioner. The scent has been perfect for the spring and summer months. It reminds me of a glass of iced mint tea. My hair is actually softer and more manageable after using these products than when I was using a more expensive brand ($2.87/ea at Walmart).

2. Softsoap Moisturizing Body Wash Juicy Pomegranate and Mango Infusions. I love the scent of this stuff! I seriously want to eat it when I use it in the shower. And it's very moisturizing. ($3 at Walmart).

3. St. Ives Apricot Scrub. Smells nice and makes my face shine! ($3.27 at Walmart).

4. Covergirl Clean Liquid Foundation. Perfect for summer. Light, but smooth, coverage. (Various prices but generally under $6).

5. Aveeno Daily Moisturizing Lotion. This product works well, and even our dermatologist has recommended numerous Aveeno products for Griffin who has sensitive skin with eczema. (I think it was about $5.99 at Walmart).

Household Products:

1. Great Value Tranquil Lavender Laundry Detergent. This was quite a bit cheaper than Tide, I don't remember exactly how much but it was like $3-5 per box cheaper. I've used different things, such as All and Dreft, but I've always come back to Tide for it's cleaning performance. But this time I think I'll stick with Great Value since it seems to work just as well. The lavender scent is not too strong and does not linger - like Gain. (Price ?)

2. Clorox Clean-up with Bleach. I buy this stuff in the refill-sized jug to refill my spray bottle. I dilute it about 1 part Clorox Clean-up to 3-4 parts water. I like the smell of my bathrooms and kitchen when they've been cleaned with bleach. You can use this stuff on almost anything - a great one-size-fits-most cleaner. Nothing fresher or cleaner smelling! ($2.99 for 32 oz bottle; refill bottle cost more but a better value).

Now it's your turn to share with me your favorite "cheap" products. I'd love to hear!

What I'm Reading Now

This one will probably take me the rest of the summer to get through. It's called The Well-Trained Mind: A Guide to Classical Education at Home written by Susan Wise Bauer and Jessie Wise. Thanks to my dear friend Chris who highly recommended this book. Here's a nice summary of its purpose (Amazon website):

Two veteran home educators outline the classical pattern of education—the trivium—which organizes learning around the maturing capacity of the child's mind. With this model, you will be able to instruct your child in all levels of reading, writing, history, geography, mathematics, science, foreign languages, rhetoric, logic, art, and music, regardless of your own aptitude in those subjects.

Although I've only begun reading this epic-sized book, I can already see how it's going to give me confidence to tackle home education. Even as trained educators for institutionalized education, these authors get straight to the point by emphasizing that parents are more than capable of homeschooling their own children. There's no need to have an early childhood development or educational psychology background in order to educate your own children. I'm so glad to know that since my educational and professional background are merely a bachelor's degree in Business Administration and about 5 years with a Fortune 500 corporation. Funny how homeschooling is making me more nervous than the days when I faced a room full of business professionals or when I wrote talking points for the CEO before he gave a speech or made a company-wide announcement. How can facing my three little ones with an elementary level book with ABC's be more intimitading than that? But it truly is! I have one shot at this and I want to get it right. This is way more important to me than all the work I did with a corporation. This is lasting...this is a legacy!

I'll give a virtual back pat to the first person who can point out the misspelling on Amazon's page about this book!

Funny Things People Say

Well, this time it was my dearest, most-well-meaning husband who said something really funny tonight. He said, "Maybe you should put the kids on a really tight schedule." Ha ha ha! Silly man! Putting these kids on a tight schedule is like trying to walk a cat on a leash. He was only trying to help since my main complaint today was feeling overwhelmed and feeling as if I'm falling behind on everything. When is this guy gonna learn to listen and to leave the advice to my girlfriends? Luv ya, Babe!

Don't Read This Book

Don't read Radical: Taking Back Your Faith from the American Dream by David Platt if:

1. You want to maintain status quo
2. You don't want to be thoroughly convicted
3. You think attaining the American Dream is a noble aspiration
4. You've worked hard for your stuff and want to keep it
5. You think Jesus wants you to work hard to have things to make your life more comfortable
6. You believe material things are always a blessing
7. You think some are "called" to missions but not you
8. You don't like to be told that some of your "Christian" ideas are "straight out of hell."
9. You focus your efforts on hard work, planning and strategy and criticize those who don't
10. You don't like to dwell on the fact that thousands of starving children (and their parents) are dying daily from malnutrition - at this rate the same number of children in the city of Knoxville would be dead in 2-3 days (that's all of mine and yours if you live here).

...And I'm not even done reading the book. I'm about half way through it. I tell you, don't read this book unless you are ready for a heart transplant. It will shake you to your core.