Sentimental Sunday

I LOVE my kiddos!!!

Snow Weekend

I drove in  the SNOW!!!! That's all I should say....



Tim thinks he is a pro snow boarder. 



When I was 18 I was in a fairly bad accident while I was driving in the snow and ice. Ever since then I try to avoind driving in it. I had to drive in it to get to my aunts house. We decided to to visit for the weekend.



Tim and Nick couldn't wait to go play in the snow!! Bryson in still pretty sick so we didn't take the babies out, but the big kids sure had a blast!



Weeeeeeee



 

Watch out for the snow ball!



She is kind of a HAM! 



Bridgette wanted to go out soo bad!



 

I think Nick is ready to be done...lol



Did you have a good time in the snow?

Crazy Hair

 Attention: DO NOT TRY THIS AT HOME!!!!!



In October I was feeling a little bored one day and decided to dye my hair.  I chose a burgundy color, and it turned out soooo bad!  So I decided to dye it darker, well that didn't  turn out either.  I was freaking out about having to go to work with my hail looking sooo bad,  I went to bed all sorts of upset.... The next morning (Monday) I dyed my hair yet again, this time I tried to go back to blond....Nope! That didn't work either...lol

Murry from Sesame Street

It turned out with the funky red on top and on the ends of my hair, but all the stuff in between was blond. It was the weirdest thing. So I pulled my hair up and went to work. (I didn't really have a choice) Some people at work liked it, they said it was different and looked like I did it on purpose. Son said I should keep it that way. And other didn't say a word, but gave me that disappointing, disgusted look. I work in an office for the State of Oregon and that kind of thing is sorta frowned upon (un-natural hair colors) .

When my Aunt saw me she said I looked like Murry from Sesame Street. ( I still don't see the resemblance) Bryson would just laugh and laugh at me ( I think he agreed with my aunt). I decided to give my hair a break and left it that way for about 2 weeks (I kept it up in a pony so you couldn't tell as much)

I figured I had better just suck it up and go have it fixed professionally, so that is what I did. I went in there with the expectation of coming out with my beautiful blond hair and happy with the world again....

But that didn't happen, instead I was told that I would have to go darker, yes DARKER to be able to cover the mess I had made....I wanted to cry.... :(  but I guess darker is better then what I had going on...I couldn't look like Murry anymore! (not that I thought I did in the first place) So I agreed. 

It does look better than it did, but I still cried! The hair stylist told me that my hair was really damaged from the pregnancy and thats why it did what it did. I need to leave it alone for a while and let it have health grow out before I mess with it again. So that is what I'm doing. I plan to have it back to blond soon!  P.s. I'm NOT doing it myself. I'm going to have it done professionally!  lol





Whats your Home hair dye horror story?

Weight loss

Today I'm going to tell you a bit about me...

Me October 08

Ever since I had Tim in March of "97" I have struggled with my weight. I lost a little after having him and then got pregnant with Nick and after that it just became a battle, a losing battle! I tried all kids of things to get the weight off and it would work for a bit and then something would happen (depression mostly) and I would gain it back plus more. You know the story, mine was the same. A weight loss/gain Yo-yo. In March of "08" I had, had enough! I found out that my insurance covered Weight loss Surgery at certain "Centers of Excellence" and we just happen to have 2 in Oregon. Legacy Good Samaritan could get me in the soonest for the "required information session" So my Aunt and I went. I already knew what I was getting myself into because my Mom-in-law had the same surgery.

Me January 09

A few things were going on so I didn't make my initial appointment right away but when I did make it they were able to get my in the first part of May. From May until surgery date I had a bunch of counseling, sleep studies, nutritional and weight management classes and appointments I had to go to. I was approved for the surgery! I was sooo excited.  I had it August 8th, 2008.  

Me May 09

 Healing went well and I started losing weight but it was pretty slow to start. You see, I chose to have the "Lap Band".  I love my choice but there is a lot of maintenance with it. With this band you need to go in and have fluid put in it to keep it tight. As time goes on the "fills" get less frequent. At first I had to go every 3 weeks, then once a month. My start weight was 265 lbs by April "09" I was down to 192 lbs. I was pretty excited about that, then unfortunately I had a "band slip" which mean my band came un-done and had slipped down my stomach and was shutting it off completely. I couldn't keep any food down, so I went in and had to have emergency surgery to fix it. They took all the fluid out of my band and I had to start all over....I was NOT happy about that...lol...Well I started getting fills and losing weight again but in June I got pregnant with the twins and had to have all the fluid removed for my band again...I needed to be able to eat and help my babies grow.

Me preggo January 2010

When the babies were almost 6 months old I started getting fills again and slowly started losing weight again...At my first "fill" appointment I was at 233, (VERY embarrassing to admit that, but I'm trying to keep this real)  Life is crazy having a sick baby so I didn't lose as much, as quickly as I had hoped for, but I was losing....Well, Christmas day I ended up in the Emergency room with Gall bladder issues and need to have it removed. UGH! So December 29th I had surgery and all the fluid taken back out of my band.  DANG it!!! LOL.

Me November 2010

So now I have had one fill so far and am down to 209 and was planning on getting a fill today but this dang snow had other plans...GRRR!!...lol   So that's my weight loss story so far.



 P.s. I am planning on making my hair blonde again soon!!!



Do any of you have weight loss issues? Care to share?

Bryson and Cystic Fibrosis part 2

Aunt Judy, Bridgette and I got to Emanuel Hospital around 2:30. We found out were to go and headed up to see Bryson.

We got there just in time to see him in another contraption/surgery bed thing. He was already prepped for surgery and headed that way, I didn't even get to touch him or kiss him good-bye, my heart broke watching him get wheeled away again!

A nurse showed us to a special waiting room, and we waited, and waited, and waited... it seemed like FOREVER.

Finally the doctor came in and told us that Bryson's obstruction was called a "Meconium Ileus" and it's not that common. It could be from Hirschsprung's Disease or Cystic Fibrosis. Bob's face went white, Aunt Judy said "oh No" and I was like "what's that?"  All the Doctor would tell me was to look it up if I needed to but not to get too carried away until we knew for sure. They had taken Bryson's blood and sent it in. The results should be in by the following Wednesday. Well, that didn't help! The surgery went well and as far as we could tell.

This post ended up being shorter then I anticipated and I'm sorry...It's very difficult to think about everything that we went through. I will finish this another day but I still wanted you all to be able to read this much, at least. I truly hope that writing this will help someone else. If for no other reason then to know that you are not alone. Finding out that your child has a disease that you didn't even know existed (or even if you did know)is a pretty scary thing.

Thanks for reading!!!

Diapers

We have 2 in diapers and it gets REALLY expensive fast! We usually buy our diapers at Walmart and get the cheap ones. They work fine but the colors they choose kinda bug me. When both babies were in size two the diapers were all white, but Parents Choice decided to change them. Now the size 3 are purple, it annoyed me, but I guess it isn't horrible, (there room is purple and green, after all) So I think Bryson sporting purple diapers will be fine.

Then we bought Bridgette size 5 diapers and they are PINK, I think they are suppose to Salmon or Orange or something, but they are NOT. They are PINK. NO way am I putting Bryson in those!! (when he finally gets that big)  So I started looking at different options... and BOY did I find one!!! Thanks to Frugal Living NW  Wish I had found it sooner.

Amazon.com  has diapers on sale right now, Huggies 140 ct size 4 diapers are $33.59 and shipping  $11.60 so the total was $45.19
No shipping promo -$11.60
coupon from Baby talk -$6.52
coupon from Parents mag -$10.00
Total was $16.87 = $.12 a diaper. (Walmart diapers are $.17 each)
I was pretty EXCITED about this deal, until I read about the subscribe and save feature...OMG...
T2
Huggies size 5 120 ct  $32.33

shipping $20.68
Total $53.01
no shipping promo -$20.68
sub n save -$6.47
coupon from baby talk -$6.47
coupon from (cant remember?)-$9.70
Total.....$9.69 that makes these diaper $.8 each!!!! that is CRAZINESS!!!

Then I bought some wipes...same type of deal...720 pampers wipes for $11.51!!!

I just can't believe the savings!! I'm a hooked Amazonian now!!



What is the best deal you have found on diapers?

Bryson and Cystic Fibrosis part 1

This how our CF story starts...

Bridgette and Bryson were born at 2:09 am and 2:16 am February 3, 2010.

Everything was normal, or so it seemed... Both babies were latching on well and APGAR was perfect the second time for both babies.

Around 11 am Bryson started throwing up after nursing. It was sooo scary! We called the nurse and she told us that it's normal for preemie babies to have trouble at first. So we didn't think more about it... Until the next feeding...and he did it again only worse! He had green stuff coming out of nose and was turning BLUE! Bob ran out of the room SCREAMING at the nurses that our baby couldn't breathe and was choking. (Bryson also hadn't had a bowl movement yet) Bob demanded that they do something. So around 3:30 pm they took Bryson to the NICU for X-rays and observation. 

Bob went with Bryson and I stayed in the room with Bridgette because I was having issues myself and I couldn't really walk yet, plus I had to nurse and take care of Bridgette. Let me tell you...Having to be separated from your newborn like that is HORRIBLE, then I felt like I was having to choose between my kids made it worse, in addition to the fact that I hadn't been able to see the other kids (for fear of H1N1 kids under 18 were not allowed back)and I knew Tim was probably a total mess. (He worries about his Momma). My hormones were all OVER the place.  Saying I was a mess would be an understatement, but I had to be strong, I couldn't fall apart, I had things to take care of! So I kept it all inside, the best I could anyway.

I don't remember the time but Bob and the Dr. came back and said that Bryson had a bowel blockage and it wasn't something that they had the technology to fix so Bryson would have to go to Portland. Bob was with Bryson the whole time they got him all situated in his little(BIG) box thing. When the Ambulance people came in with Bryson in-tow....Oh my! I had never seen anything like it in my life! It was a good thing that my Amazing aunt was there to catch me, because I completely lost it. Bob would have been there but he was stuck behind the case Bryson was in. Bryson was peacefully sleeping in this contraption. It made me feel a bit better seeing him peaceful. They explained what the machine was and why he needed it and ask if I had any questions. They were very nice people, but it didn't change the fact that they were strangers taking my newborn baby 2 hours away from me. I had to let him go. Fortunately they let Bob ride in the ambulance to the next hospital.

Bridgette and I weren't suppose to be released until the following day but in light of everything going on, they reluctantly released me, with me making a promise that I would see my Dr. By Monday and have the Dr. at Emanuel check on me.  My blood pressure was really high, I was swelling pretty bad and more personal stuff was going on from just giving birth to twins. I signed the papers and we were off, My Aunt drove Bridgette and I to Emanuel Hospital in Portland.

More to come....Any of you have a similar situation? Tell me about your baby's birth.




Thanks for reading!!

Shopping Trip

I wasn't feeling well yesterday so being at work wasn't a priority. The big boys both had a Dr. appointment already scheduled so I just chatted with him about me while I was there. Anyway, I needed to go to the store for some Nyquil so I grabbed my coupons and headed to the store. Here is what I did.

T1

 2 Kraft cheese $1.49
10 Bar S hot dogs $1.00
2 Chef Boyardee kiddi cups $1.00

(2) $.55/1 Cheese coupons
(5) $1/2 Hotdogs  coupons
double coupon took $2.00 off
The kiddi cups were Clarence at 50% so I got them for $1.00 total

OOP $5.88

T2

2 Bar S hotdogs $2.00
2 Hillshire Ham lunch  $3.50
1 Hillshire turkey lunch meat $3.50
1 Hillshire Chicken lunch meat $3.50

(All of the lunch meat was also on Clarence for 50% off)

(1) $1/2 Bar S hotdogs coupons
(4) $.35/1 Hillshire lunch meat coupons
and Safeway double coupon. I'm really not sure how she did the calculations but...
 OOP $5.05

T3

2 Kraft cheese $1.49
3 Ball Park franks $4.99
Broccoli $.95
Bananas 1.52

(2) $.55/1 kraft cheese coupons
(3) $.55/1 Ball Park hotdog coupons
The Ball Parks were Clarence 50%

OOP $8.17

So my total for all 3 transactions was $19.10!!

Then I went to Rite Aid and grabbed some Zip loc freezer bags.

On sale right now they are 2 for 5, I had a coupon for $1/2

I got 4 boxes

(2) $1/2 coupons
and paid with +up rewards for last visit...

Total was  $.00 and I earned 2+ up rewards.

It was a good day at the store... I ended up completely forgetting about the Nyguil.  LOL

Did you do well this week?  Find any good deals yourself?

Thanks for reading!!

Couponing

Good afternoon,

My obsession right now is couponing...and when I say obsession, I MEAN obsession....I've been couponing for a little over a month now and I think I'm getting the hang of it, I can't tell you how much FUN I'm having with it. (yes, I'm easily entertained) lol

This is what I do...On Saturday evenings my hubby will go to Dollar tree and pick me up 5, count them...5 newspapers...it's ALOT of paper, let me clue ya..lol  anyway...my big boys will each grab a paper and yank out the comics and hand me the coupons and store ads, then they disappear to laugh at the comics...it's an interesting sight and sound. The way I look at it, at least they're reading and NOT fighting, even if it's only for 5 minutes...

On Sunday morning the big boys get up and do there chores (of course we have to "nicely" convince them to do them) then we sit on the living room floor and start cutting...Oh BOY is it a sight to be had...lol

Sorry about the quality of my photos...I'm working on getting a new camera.

As the boys clip, I organize them and put them in my envelope box. I like to think of it as quality bonding time with them ( I'm sure they disagree, but thats ok, I dont mind. hehe)  Then I go over the ads and plan out my shopping trip based on what coupons I have and what I need to make the following weeks menu.

How do you do you're coupon clipping?

Welcome to my Blog!!!

I can't tell you how excited I am about finally having my very own blog!!! yippee!

Ok, now about me...My name is Christie and I live in the Willemette Valley, Oregon (Salem area). I have been married to Bob for 14 year (in October)
We have 4.5 children (I will explain that situation in another post) and LOVE them VERY much.

I have lots of interests and hobbies that I attempt to keep up on, but it's a pretty difficult task some days...

Some of these interests are....Gardening, scrapbooking, couponing, baking and cooking from scratch, sewing, reading and learning about Autism and Cystic Fibrosis, and spending as much time as possible with my family.

Did I mention that I work outside the home full time too?


I have a wonderfully busy life!!

Smile, It makes people wonder what you've been up to!  :)

Tell me about your interests....