Staycation

Jill here...a couple of years ago, Aarons family decided to stop giving gifts for all the holidays that pop up throughout the year. Birthdays, Mothers Day, Fathers Day, Christmas...they all pass now with an easy trip to the store for meaningful cards instead of a hectic (not to mention expensive) trip out for gifts. Instead, we set aside some money so that we can go on a family trip together. We have been to Martha's Vineyard, Grand Canyon and St. George Island Florida...all great trips and nice time spent together.

This year with so many really little kids and Brooke expecting her second baby in December, we decided to do a "Stay-cation". We spent the week at Aaron's parents place on Lake Fork. We just returned today from our week there, and what a lovely time it was! Emily was able to join us for the week and my mom, Julia and Jennie stopped in for a visit too. We had great meals (each family was responsible for 2 dinners), lots of fishing, boating, a little tubing, three birthdays, 1 trip to a tiger refuge and lots of general laziness (picture laziness with 5 kids, ages: 7 months, 2, 3, 6 and 7). Here are a few pics!

Coupon Crazy!

It’s true. I’m a couponer. Just as I once thought I’d never consider driving a mini-van. I swore I would NOT end up one of those crazy mothers with 3 kids in tow in a grocery store with a coupon pack larger than a duffel bag, but well, here I am. And I LOVE it! The days of paying for toiletries and pantry staples are LONG GONE and I couldn’t be happier.

Those of you who think you’re too busy, well, maybe you are. But I promise you, it’s worth the time and, of course, the money. Yes, I have 2 small children at home, yes my husband works 12 hours a day, and yes, I have a full-time job. I still coupon, and I am still sane. Not only that, I spend about 60% less on groceries and Target stuff than I did before but the best part is, it’s FUN!
Last year this time, we were spending about $220/week at our Target Supercenter . Now, we hardly ever spend over $80. And LOTS of weeks its less than $50.
How do you start? I’ll list the steps I took and I’ll list a few links that helped me get started.

1. First, you’re going to have to start collecting coupons. Here’s a link that will help you acquire a nice stash of coupons, but if you want to go oldschool, and just use ONE set of coupons from your Sunday paper, that will work too. Get yourself a coupon sorter, start getting the Sunday paper, and KEEP YOUR OLD INSERTS. (I put my inserts in a file folder with 12 dividers – one for each month.)

2. Second, change the way you shop. Buy things at their rock bottom prices, STOCK UP, and USE COUPONS! Learn more about rock bottom pricing and couponing 101 here.

3. Third, go the drugstore route. Some of the best purchases I make are at CVS and Walgreens. I no longer pay for razors, toothpaste, toothbrushes, deodorant, lotion, aspirin, mouthwash, or panty liners. These items are all FREE. This week at CVS, the free items include sunscreen and Alka seltzer. Last week it was Band-Aids, tampons, nail polish, Clearasil and toothpaste. Every week there’s something free and though you might not need toothpaste right now, you’ll need it eventually, so you might as well stock up while it’s FREE! Check MSM for your weekly list of FREE stuff!

4. Lastly, enjoy what you do! Maybe if we were dirt poor and this were the only way to eat it wouldn’t be fun. OR maybe if I hated doing it and I only did it so I could get my nagging husband off my back for spending so much on groceries, it wouldn’t be worth it. But I LOVE couponing. It makes me feel like a smarter shopper, a better wife, and certainly a better Mommy. I’m teaching my kids about the value of the items we use or consume every day and besides that, it’s fun, it’s FREE and it’s frugal!

So if you still say you’re too busy or you don’t have time to do it, then don’t. But, like Dave says, you probably don’t have time NOT to.

I’d love to hear from those of you who are just starting out, and I’d be happy to answer questions if you’re mid-stride. Couponing takes some getting used to but once you catch on, it takes hardly any extra time, and the value you get in return is awesome.
Now go out, and get yourself some FREE STUFF!

Week 22: What's in a name?

I would like to apologize for every time I’ve snickered, made a snide comment, blatantly made fun of or even thought of making a joke about some parent’s seemingly misguided baby-naming efforts. As I’ve learned over the past several weeks, it’s just plain gut wrenching trying to name another human being!!! I now understand that at some point you want to throw in the towel and just name the little darling whatever next enters your stream of consciousness. I’m thinking this may be how all of those months of the year names came to be (and don’t get me wrong, some of them are simply adorable).

Perhaps dear husband and I put too much pressure on ourselves when we decided (more than just a tad altruistically) that this baby’s name would have MEANING! We would not just thrust a darling name upon her, instead we would sift through long forgotten relatives, discuss favorite authors, consider strong women from mythology, and come to agreement on the most fitting and inspiring name possible! After several weeks of discussion, sometimes heated, and lots of time spent with books, baby naming websites, and more than a handful of Swedish baby name lists (who knew Ida was so popular in my homeland?) we’re no further along than when we started. And suddenly May and June sound quite appealing.

And what’s with everyone you’ve ever met thinking they should weigh in on your naming options? I’m considering adopting the approach of a good friend, who kept the name a secret until her little one’s birthday. Not a bad idea. After all, it’s easy to criticize a planned name like Trixie or Lolita, but if instead someone hands you a tiny newborn and you’ve fallen in love with her tiny little fingers and upturned nose just as the new parent announces that she would like to introduce you to little Lolita, suddenly the name doesn’t carry quite the same offense.

For now anyway, out little one remains nameless. Stay tuned.

18 Weeks!

That’s right, I am at 18 weeks today! It’s true, I’m no good at math and if you’ve been keeping track, I did skip a week here. But at my last doctor’s appointment, my fabulous doctor confirmed what I’ve known all along - I am actually a week ahead of his projected due date. Oh, the joy of affirmation!

And, we found out we’re having a GIRL!!!! Well, at least we are pretty sure it’s a girl. The doctor couldn’t give us an absolute answer but it seemed pretty clear. We’ll know for sure in two weeks after the sonogram.

In the meantime, my husband and I have shifted into girl-prep mode! My poor husband is only slightly terrified at the thought of a baby girl. He grew up in a very blue house. Luckily a good friend suggested a book called “Be Prepared.” Think of it as a MacGyver-esque guide for new dads. It looks FABULOUS and it’s already on the way to us from our friends at Amazon. I promise I’m not in the business of plugging anything BUT all of you first-time parents out there should check this book out. The website has a lot of very funny (and seemingly practical) advice: http://www.beprepared.net/ Plus, I think it makes my husband feel quite manly about the whole daddy thing. There are lots of pictures of dads looking like lumberjacks and several references to scouting and tools and the like. What ever it takes! I know you ladies are with me on that one.

Please keep sharing your tips and thoughts. We love to hear from you!

Until next time,

Beth from LaBump (that’s )

Weel 16

Hello friends, well I am almost all the way to week 16. Officially, the count is 15 weeks and 5 days (but who’s counting). Second trimester ROCKS!!! I have so much more energy, I don’t feel like I’m living a lie and I’m embracing wearing comfy clothes. I still can’t make maternity clothes work but I’ve just decided that it’s fine to wear the exact same 3 or 4 things over and over until they do. I’ve warned co-workers and friends to go ahead and get used to my exactly 2 dresses and 2 pairs of pants that fit. I must say, people have been quite kind.

I’m pretty much back into a regular routine now that I can keep my eyes open for more than 8 or so hours a day. I’ve even been making it to the gym in the mornings again. Word on the street is that I better enjoy it while it lasts because apparently during T3 the exhaustion will be back with a vengeance.

So here’s my pregnancy tip for the week – don’t be afraid to show a little skin while pregnant. Now ladies, I’m not talking about va-va-voom or risqué here, but seriously, why not? Especially during that time where no one can really tell that you’re pregnant (at least not until 5 seconds or so after you meet since you likely will have told them by then) and you just sort of look like you’re growing a spare tire, why not show off those shoulders or legs a little? By all means, let’s take the attention off the tree trunk middle! You are beautiful, so put on a little spray tan and grab a cute tank top or an adorable skirt (just be sure it’s stretchy).

Please share your pregnancy tips and advice here. Goodness knows we’ve all read enough about drinking 10 glasses of water and eating plenty of fiber! Let’s get to the good stuff! What are your thoughts, insights and secret tips? Please share for the good of swollen, broken out, pregnant women everywhere. We need all the help we can get!

Una Mas Bump!

Beth here,

Well friends, the cat is officially out of the bag. For the past three months I feel like I've been lying to everyone. I am not good at keeping secrets (just ask my sisters). It's not that I can't or that I don't understand the sanctity of a really big secret. It's just that I feel SO guilty NOT telling. Anyway, this baby secret has been a doozy! And I haven't done a great job of keeping it either. Included in my misadventures with secret keeping was a fairly embarrasing face book moment where I thought I was confidentially telling a good friend the news. I learned quickly that there's no such thing as confidential on facebook! I really hate Facebook! Luckily, a sympathetic on-looker pointed out my mistake and I was able to yank the post after only a few hundred people had seen it. I spent the past several weeks hoping my boss wasn't included in that group.

For those of you that don't know me personally, this is my first baby. I'm going to be sharing some of my pregnancy adventures here. I'll try to avoid all of the boring and obvious stuff - like how we're so excited we don't quite know what to do with ourselves (and we are, of course) - and stick to the more interesting (and usually embarassing) subjects like, is it possible that NONE of my pants fit me and it's only week 8???? Please share your thoughts and comments. Goodness knows, I can use all the good advice I can get.

So here I am in the middle of week 14. Okay, so according to my doctor, I'm only in the middle of week 13. I disagree with his math. He changed my due date from October 3 to October 9th a few weeks back, but ever since he's been telling me that the baby measures really big. I really love my doctor, please don't get me wrong. I think it's really just that I WANT to be further along in this little journey than I am. I think I'm pretty much the most excited person on earth about becoming a new mom. The problem is, I'm not quite so excited about the whole, pimply, bloated, headachy, fat-pants wearing journey that leads to a new baby. Am I a terrible person? I fully get that there's A LOT more physical discomfort to come when this little one is born. It's just that, at that point, I'll also have perfect little fingers and toes to look at and a little tummy to kiss.

What I'm thinking about this week:

Weight gain. That's right. As much as we all want it to be a non-issue during pregnancy, if you're like me, it's on your mind! So last week my doctor commented that I hadn't gained any weight in awhile. Don't worry - the baby is totally doing great and looks like a rock star on the ultrasound, if I do say so myself. And let me just clarify that I see my doctor much more frequently than you might expect. I had a miscarraige awhile ago and in addition to that, it's just his style to do visits every 3 weeks instead of once a month. Anyway, after that no-weight-gain comment I went home and felt I had permission to eat pretty much the entire bag of cheesy Baked Lays - next to the Dorito, these are the yummiest chips in existence, in my opinion. Plus, I like to pretend they are health food based on the whole "baked" thing. Okay, so I recognize that there's just not much nutritional value there and all that but man those chips are sooooo good! Then, I spent most of the weekend eating waffles, mexican food and cheese plates (only the hard cheeses of course). Somehow I was a tad shocked when I realized I had gained 3 pounds in just under the same number of days. nice. I'm pretty sure this isn't what El Doctoro had in mind. Perhaps I can start wearing those cute maternity jeans a little earlier than I thought.

3 Birthday parties, Camping, and tying down the Trampoline!

We went CAMPING! And by “we” I mean, Jill & Aaron, Me & Joe, Claire (7), Emily (6), Ava (2), Julia (22 mo.) and Holden (4.5 mo.). It was super-fun! We headed down to TenCamper State Park in Oklahoma for our 4 day, 3 night adventure. Though it was indeed called Tenkiller, Jill wouldn’t come along unless we called it something less scary. So . . . .TenCAMPER was born! No, I’m not pregnant – there were actually only 9 of us camping. The last time we went camping (I was pregnant) Jill didn’t seem to have any issue with Devil’s Den State Park but I guess I can see how Tenkiller is more scary than the Devil. Whatever.

Despite the State-wide burn-ban, we camped, made s’mores and Emily had her 6th Birthday Party in the woods! We “roughed it” in our 3 bedroom cabin and though we’ve had to defend our position of camping in a cabin to more folks than one, we stand by our claim! The fact is, 2 sizes of diapers, 2 sets of bunk beds, and a pink potty seat is as much camping as a family traveling with 5 kids needs. EVER. Oh, did I mention the tiny, cute infant who nurses every 3 hours? You can set your clock to it. (As long as you’re in a cabin, that is – tents don’t have clocks.)

Aaron had enough of the fun and flew home to the comforts of his own bed (actually work called, but you get the idea). Jill and her 3, and me with my 3 (Joe included) headed north to KC. Dad came down on Monday followed by Mom the next day. I left for Chicago at 4am on Monday morning and missed Emily’s real birthday – I SUCK. Luckily, she was having too much fun to notice I was gone. I got home just in time for everyone to leave. Dad whipped the house into shape just in time for Joe’s dad and Jade & Anna (2 of our 3 MN nieces) who arrived on Friday evening moments after we got home. Luckily, they came bearing gifts – about 40 pounds of Chinese food included!

Em had her third 6th birthday party on Saturday at the Roller Rink – I would recommend holding off on the roller-skating until your kiddos are a little older. Say, oh 14 or so. LOL! Anyway, thanks to all of you for coming . . .camping, cooking, skating, all of it. I love you! Oh, and I had to tie down the trampoline tonight because of the crazy strong wind! Last time it ended up in our big maple tree! Uff da!