13 Weeks

How Far Along: 13 Weeks

Milestones: The organs that formed during the first trimester are now developing into the mature, working organs the baby needs. 

Baby's Size:  Baby weighs about three-quarters of an ounce and measures between 2 1/2 to 3 inches from the top of the head to his or her bottom.

Sleep: Actually had a few days this week where I didn't feel like I needed a nap!

Best Moment This Week:  Taking Princess to Babies R Us for fun and watching her gush over EVERYTHING.  Except the baby boy stuff.  She skipped that and went straight for anything pink, lol. 

Miss Anything?: Having energy and eating deli meats.

Movement?: Not yet, but hoping in the next few weeks to feel something!

Food Cravings: Craving KFC, but living 45 minutes from the closest one means I'm out of luck. *sob*

Things That Make Me Queasy: Brushing my teeth or watching someone else brush theirs.  I can't even be in the room when Hubby brushes his teeth or I start gagging.

Gender: Princess is positive it's a girl and so far she has a 100% prediction accuracy (she's predicted 5 pregnancies).  Except that I don't know if she actually thinks it's a girl or just wants it to be a girl.  She's desperate for a baby sister because "I already have a brother, Mommy."  This pregnancy does remind me a lot of my pregnancy with Princess though.  My pregnancy with Little Man was completely different.

Labor Signs: Hopefully not for a while yet!

Symptoms: Acne, fatigue, heartburn, lots of trips to the bathroom.  Yesterday I went shopping and had to check out the bathroom in each store we went to. 

Inny or Outy: Inny

Mood Most Of The Time: Mood swings are starting to settle down, but I still cry easily.

Looking Forward To: What the second trimester brings: no morning sickness, energy, feeling movements, ultrasound!

A Homeschooler Who Happens to Go to School

I was homeschooled up through 10th grade.  My four siblings were homeschooled for most of their school "careers," and all of my nieces and nephews on my side of the family will be homeschooled.  I'm a big believer in the benefits of homeschooling for both the individual child and the family as a whole.  I'm an outspoken advocate of homeschooling and have been blessed with several opportunities to encourage others to take a leap of faith and begin homeschooling their own children.  I drool over homeschooling curriculum and teaching aids.  I think of my kids, although still young, as homeschoolers.     

Princess playing with "snow" aka shaving cream

 And they'll be attending public school, with Princess starting 4/5 preschool this fall.

Little Man and his cousin discovering a bug.

 Hubby and I never got around to discussing where our children would spend their school years before we got married.  Who thinks that far ahead when you're in love, right?  Well, after we got married and Princess started inching closer to preschool age, I found out that Hubby already had a strong opinion concerning public school vs. homeschooling.  And, although, I don't agree with his decision, I will honor and respect it because God has commanded me to obey my husband.  If God wants my children somewhere other than public school, He will make it happen, not me.

Hubby did agree to let me homeschool Princess for her first year of preschool.  I can't begin to tell you how rewarding it has been this past year to be the one to watch her learn and grow so much.  I embraced a Montessori-type approach to learning.  I strongly believe that young children learn best when they're allowed to play and learn through experiences rather than sitting at a table doing worksheets.  They also need to learn much more than just the alphabet and numbers.  Life skills, how to relate to others of all ages, having a loving and caring spirit, learning how to live for God, these are just as important.

Little Man loves reading.

My solution to sending my children to public school will be to treat them like homeschoolers.  I think 1st grader, Smootch, at the Indietutes blog said it best when she told someone that "I'm a homeschooler who happens to go to school." I will continue to make every experience a learning experience and stay as involved in their studies as I can.  I want to know what my children are learning every step of the way.  I know I won't be the only parent who does this for their children who are enrolled in public school and I think that's great.  However, I know too many parents who hand their child over to the public school system and essentially say, "Here, do it for me."

My kids with Grandma and a few of the cousins this summer.

Before I end this post, I want to make it very clear that I am in no way judging or condemning your choices.  If you choose to send your children to public school and it works for you, then I'm happy for your family.  This is all about personal choices and individual families.  Me...I'm a homeschooler at heart and always will be.     

Rescue Me!

Back in October of 2011, I took up the 31 Days Challenge to blog about the same subject for 31 days.  My subject was 31 Days to a Clean House using the Flylady system.  Things looked pretty good at my house for a while.  And then, the busy Christmas season was upon me and with it came so many orders from my boutique that I literally had to time to clean.  At all.  Don't get me wrong, I was thrilled to have so many orders, but it did mean that I fell so far behind in my daily and weekly routines that I didn't think I'd ever recover.  Right after Christmas, things finally got back to normal, but something was off with me.  I was really hormonal and just not feeling like myself which I attributed to "that time of the month" and stress from the holiday season.  Except it just kept getting worse.  I just couldn't bring myself to get back on track with the cleaning so I gave up.  Then, on January 11th, I took a pregnancy test just for peace of mind because I hadn't been feeling well lately, fully expecting it to be negative.  It was positive.  Then the morning sickness and fatigue kicked in.  Cleaning my house and getting back to my routines was out of the question.  Just taking care of the kids was hard enough most days.

I'm 12 weeks pregnant now and still not feeling the greatest, but it's slowly getting better.  Today, I looked around my pig sty of a house and decided it was time.  Using my own version of Flylady's Rescue Routines, I got to work.  On Monday, I'll be able to get back to my daily and weekly routines to get my house in good condition and keep it that way.

Here's an example of how the rescue routines work:
First, turn on some energetic music and light a candle (or switch out the wax in your Scentsy warmer :)
Set your timer for 15 minutes and get ready to go.
I started in the kitchen (which doubles as our entryway and coat closet, making it the messiest room in the house) and worked in there until the timer went off.  I was almost done loading the dishwasher when the timer dinged, so I finished that before resetting the timer and moving onto the living room.  I bulldozed through the toys for 15 minutes until the timer went off again.  Next, I set the timer for another 15 minutes and worked on the kids' room.
After 45 minutes of serious hard work, it was time for a break.  I set the timer for 15 minutes and sat down to relax.  When the timer went off, it was time to get back to work!
Setting the timer for 15 minutes, I worked on the master bedroom and then spent another 15 minutes in the bathroom.  Then it was time to head back to the kitchen for another 15 minutes.  Time for another 15 minute break!  Yay!

At this point, I stopped to make lunch and I plan on spending the rest of the day working on sewing.  But after doing my rescue routines, things look SO much better!

Here's the beauty of the rescue routines...no job is too overwhelming because you're just tackling 15 minutes at a time.  That's it.  You get breaks too to reenergize.  If you can just work on something for 15 minutes you'll get it done.

Here's a few tips for doing your own rescue routine:

• Don't get distracted!  Bring a garbage bag and a box with you to each area you're working on.  Throw garbage away as you come upon it.  When you find something that goes in a different room, toss it in the box.  
• If the timer goes off while you're in the middle of something, finish it up and then move on to the next 15 minute segment.
• Make the most of your breaks.  Don't sit there and think about everything you have left.

12 Weeks

How Far Along: 12 Weeks

Milestones: Baby can open his or her mouth and wiggle toes and fingers.  Fingernails are starting to grow!

Baby's Size:  About 2 1/2" long and weighs about 1/2 ounce.

Sleep: Can't get enough.  I'm SO tired all the time.  With the two older kids, naps for me are few and far between.  I usually have to wake up once a night to use the bathroom.

Best Moment This Week:  Technically, the second trimester begins at 13 1/2 weeks, but a lot of people consider 12 weeks to be the end of the first trimester.  I'm so ready to be done with the first trimester that I'm going with the 12 week people!  Second trimester, here we come!

Miss Anything?: I miss having energy and I really miss not being nauseous most of the time! 

Movement?: Not yet, but hoping in the next few weeks to feel something!

Food Cravings: I'm craving a lot of meat and vegetables, but unfortunately, I'm mostly craving the meat and vegetables my mother-in-law makes when we're eating dinner or supper at the in-law's house which makes it hard to feed the cravings, lol. 

Things That Make Me Queasy: Afternoons and evenings.  Mornings are okay as long as I eat breakfast and don't move around too much.  Afternoons and evenings are awful.

Gender: Princess is positive it's a girl and so far she has a 100% prediction accuracy (she's predicted 5 pregnancies).  However, I don't know if she actually thinks it's a girl or just wants it to be a girl.  She's desperate for a baby sister because "I already have a brother, Mommy."

Labor Signs: Hopefully not for a while yet!

Symptoms: Acne, fatigue, heartburn, lots of trips to the bathroom.

Inny or Outy: Inny

Mood Most Of The Time: Pretty hormonal.  I sat down to cut fabric the other day and started crying all of a sudden for absolutely no reason.

Looking Forward To: What the second trimester brings: no morning sickness, feeling movements, ultrasound!

Blogs I Love

I have a list of about 20 blogs in my rss feed right now.  While I would love to introduce all of them to you right now, that might turn this into the longest blog post ever.  Let's start with a few of my favorites, shall we?


Another Day Stronger

Kellie, the author of the blog, and her husband lost their 4 month old baby daughter, Maddie, to SIDS last February.  Kellie's currently expecting a little boy named Jackson in May.  She's working to bring awareness to SIDS prevention.  




In This Wonderful Life
Megan and her husband lost their baby boy, Cohen to a congenital heart defect just 12 days after his birth.  6 months ago, they were blessed with twins, Sloane and Knox.  In memory of Cohen, Megan and Brent have started a project called "Ipods for Cohen." 




Parenting: Illustrated with Crappy Pictures
This blog cracks me up.  Seriously.  Amber pinpoints the funniest stuff about parenthood with her self-described "crappy pictures."  I can always relate to her posts.  If you really want to get the full effect and laugh until your stomach hurts (which when you've had a few kids, doesn't take much), make sure you read the comments other readers post as well.


Mrs. Priss
Morgan blogs about parenting her 3 year old daughter, Maddie, and 1 year old son, Jack, diy crafts, giveaways, etc.  This is another blog that often leaves me in tears from laughing so hard.







"EB"ing a Mommy
This is another tear-jerker.  When I first found this blog, I spent several days reading the whole thing from the beginning.  Courtney's son, Tripp, was born with Junctional Epidermolysis Bullosa.  On January 14, 2012, at the age of 2 years and 8 months old, he passed away.  I haven't made it through even one post of Courtney's blog without tearing up or bawling.  During his short time here on earth, Tripp's life blessed many, many people.    

   

A Big Announcement

See these two great big cheesy grins?

They're grinning because they've been keeping a secret from you.

Actually, to tell the truth, I've been keeping the secret.  They just found out about it a few days ago, which is why they're smiling so big.

See that little guy in the doll stroller?  He's going to be a big brother.

Princess is determined that it's going to be a baby sister because according to her, "girl babies are better."  Little Man really doesn't get what's going on yet, but I think he'll catch on eventually.  Probably around the same time the baby gets here.

Speaking of which, I'm due September 16th.  In our extended families, we have 5 birthdays and 3 anniversaries in September, most of which are right around my due date.  Should be interesting to see if this baby picks one of those days for his or her birthday or prefers his or her very own birthday.

I have been feeling...awful.  Very tired, very nauseous (Morning sickness is a myth!  Call it what it is: All-day sickness!), very cranky, very happy, very scared, very everything.  I've had to cut down on the numbers of orders I take for the boutique because I barely have the energy to take care of the kids, let alone do anything extra.  Besides, every time I move around, I get more nauseous.

My 10 week checkup was a few days ago and, although the doctor thought it would be too early, she still found the baby's heartbeat within only a few seconds!  Exciting stuff!

Confessions

Random confessions:

1. Sometimes I re-read my old blog posts.  Because I'm that self-absorbed.

2. When I tell Princess that she can get up from her rest time in 5 minutes, what I really mean is that she can get up when I'm done watching the episode of House on Netflix.

3. I cheat at Candyland so it'll be done faster.  Sometimes I win, sometimes I let Princess win, but either way, I'm just trying to get it over with.

4. Rather than spend a whole 48 seconds cutting grapes in half for Little Man, I give Princess twice as many as she should have and tell her to bite half off and give the other half to her brother.

5. I sometimes use the kids' dirty socks they leave laying around the living room to do a quick dusting of the coffee table.

6. When I'm too tired/lazy to make two separate meals for supper (with Princess's food allergies, it's pretty rare when she can actually eat the same thing the rest of us do), I let Princess have a bowl of cereal instead.

7. Sometimes I leave the clean towels in the laundry basket for a while, hoping they'll be used up before I have to fold them and put them away.

8. I believe in letting kids handle disagreements with each other themselves instead of stepping in to referee every time.  But sometimes, I just tell myself that to make myself feel better about sitting on the couch trying to ignore the yelling.

9. I don't floss.  I haven't been to a dentist since I was a teenager.  I would rather have my teeth pulled out than do either of those things.  And, I have never had a cavity in my life.

10. I encourage Little Man to play with dolls when Hubby isn't around.  I figure that the worst that could happen is that he will grow up to be a sensitive guy who will know how to take care of his own kids.

What are some of your confessions?

Chocolate? Yes, please!

My biggest fan, aka, my mom has been not-so-subtly hinting that she'd like to see another blog post, specifically about Princess turning four.  I promise that that post is coming soon, but I have another one I need to write first.  Sorry, Mama :)

Do you like chocolate?  Strangely enough, I actually know a few people who don't.  I'm still trying to determine what's wrong with them.

Me...I LOVE chocolate.  Like, really love it.  So when my sweet friend at Baby Bug Boutique announced that she was now an Independent Chocolatier (the title alone makes me want to sign up too!) for Dove Chocolate Discoveries, a chocolate home party company (you know, like Tupperware) created by Dove chocolate, I just had to book a party.  Especially after she sent me a catalog to drool over, I mean, pore over and a sample of the Chocolate Chai.  

Dove Chocolate Discoveries

I wasn't sure about the chocolate chai tea at first.  Chai tea is something else I love as much as chocolate, but I was a little unnerved about putting the two flavors together.  What if it was too much of a good thing?  What if the two flavors competed with each other and I ended up not really tasting much of either?  What if I loved it so much that I ended up going into debt buying it?  So many concerns...

That last concern turned out to be a very real one.  The stuff was to. die. for.  And for those who just want to stick with regular chai tea, Dove Chocolate Discoveries sells that too.

And now, to torture you a little, I present you with just a few of the mouth watering creations from Dove Chocolate Discoveries.  

Choco-Caramel Crunch

Salted Caramels

Now you can put chocolate on anything!

 You can check out the online catalog for many more delicious choices.  Online ordering is not available yet, but you can email your order to Jessica at babybugsboutique@yahoo.com to place your e-mail order or call 540-287-0143.  If you're really nice, you'll let her know I sent you so she can apply it to my book party that is currently open until February 15th.  Yes, shameless plug, I know.  I wish I felt bad about it, but I really don't.  Because I want to order lots of chocolate from her, but I'll go broke if I do so I need some hostess credit.  Feel free to book your own party as well so you can earn free chocolate too! 

If you donate $1, $5, or $10 to Make a Wish Foundation through Dove Chocolate Discoveries, they will send you a certificate in the same amount to be used towards a future purchase.  Awesome!

Stop SOPA and PIPA

In case you haven't heard, there are two new bills that Congress is trying to pass that will change the internet as we know it.  Facebook, Etsy, Twitter, small businesses that sell via the internet...these are all at risk of being blocked and/or censored. 

These pictures, taken from here, explain the change better than I can.

Make your voice heard!!  You can sign several petitions online to stop SOPA and PIPA from going through.  Here's one and here's another.  If you know of anymore, please let me know via comments or you can email me at annaliesbabyboutique@yahoo.com

As a certified Lord of the Rings geek, I just had to throw this out there. 

How I Got Hubby a Wii for only $20...

Hubby has hinted a few times that he would like a Wii.  Seeing how he works pretty much nonstop at his full-time job AND The Farm, I didn't really think it was worth spending that much money on something he'd only use a few times a month.

Wii Console with Mario Kart Wii Bundle - Black

And then, last March, I stumbled on a search and earn site called Swagbucks.
After researching it to make sure it wasn't a scam, I signed up.  And quickly earned enough points to exchange for a $5 amazon gift card.  Hmmmm....turns out one can buy almost anything on Amazon and the gift cards never expire.  I did some more research and found a few more sites to sign up for.  Before I knew it, I was a member of 7 earning websites.  Several of them, I'd signed up for earlier, but hadn't really realized their potential.

So what to save up for with all those Amazon gift cards?  A Wii, of course!  I couldn't justify spending all that money on something that would hardly be used, but if it was free or nearly free...

By December 2011, I was just $20 short of buying the Wii.  Since Hubby's birthday is in early January, I decided to go ahead and buy it so that it would arrive in time for his birthday.  Essentially, I paid $20 out of pocket for a brand-new Wii.  Not bad.  And, if I hadn't used some of my amazon gift cards to buy a $22 book on Amazon earlier in the year, the Wii would've been completely free.

Here's a rundown of how I earned the money for the Wii:

Swagbucks:  A search and earn site which also rewards its users for other activities such as watching Swagbucks TV (earn points for watching short videos.  Turn it on while you're doing something else on the computer and just hit next every few minutes) , completing special offers (I NEVER do the ones that require a membership or charge money to do, thus keeping the site free), filling out the daily poll, and clicking through the NOSO offers (both found on the left hand bar on the swagbucks site).  Install the Swagbucks toolbar and you automatically receive a swagbuck every day you log onto the internet.  The toolbar also makes it easier to do a quick search which can earn you more swagbucks.  Here's a link to a website that can give you more information on earning swagbucks.  Since March, 2011, I've earned $115 in Amazon gift cards.  Follow this link to join.

MyPoints:  One of the most profitable earning sites I've used.  Use their search engine at least 31 times a month to earn an easy 75 points (bonus points for installing their toolbar!).  Sign up for their email list and they will send you emails that you click through to earn points (the best way to earn points here).  You can also shop at many different websites through MyPoints and earn tons more points.  There are videos you can watch and surveys to fill out.  You get 10 points if you don't qualify for the survey, 50 if you do.  You can also fill out one- question questionaires and special offers on the "Easy Points" tab on the website.  Technically, in 2011, I didn't earn any money on MyPoints.  However, I was just a few points shy of a $25 gift card to Amazon when 2011 ended and that was since signing up in October.  Invites are by email only so send me an email at annaliesbabyboutique@yahoo.com and I'll send you an invite.

Listia:  Ok, so this isn't actually an earning website.  It's an auction site that uses credits instead of money.  You earn credits by auctioning off stuff you don't want anymore on the site and by watching for "Share On Facebook" banners.  I then use my credits to buy Amazon gift cards.  I didn't start buying Amazon gift cards on Listia until late in 2011, using my credits to buy clothes for my kids instead, but I did manage to buy $19 worth of Amazon gift cards once I decided to put my credits toward buying the Wii.   You can sign up with this link.  

Instant Cash Sweepstakes: This one isn't exactly a cash cow, but I did earn $9.62 since late 2011.  You fill out 3-question surveys several times a day to earn a few cents, tickets, and coins.  The actual money you earn will be deposited directly into your Paypal account when you are ready to cash out.  The tickets are automatically entered into a daily sweepstakes for $50 (still waiting to win this!).  The coins can be saved until you're ready to enter then into the $2 drawing that takes place every 4 hours.  I did win this one once.  You can sign up with this link. 

Paid Viewpoint:  This is an offshoot website of Instant Cash Sweepstakes, but it pays more.  You are sent an email every time there's a short survey ready for you to fill out and you earn money every time you complete a survey (the good news is that you're prequalified for the survey when you receive the email).  I didn't sign up for this site until November, but earned $12.71 which can be directly deposited into my Paypal account as soon as I reach $15.00 in earnings.  You can sign up with this link. 

Ebates: This is a paid to shop site.  You log onto Ebates, find the website you are planning to shop on and click through from the Ebates site.  You then earn anywhere from 1-12.5% cash back on your purchases.  Ebates periodically sends you a check or deposits your earnings in your Paypal account.  In 2011, I earned $51.73 just from shopping through their website for online purchases I was going to make anyways.  Definitely an easy way to earn money.  You can sign up with this link.


Edited on 6-1-12!
Bing Rewards:  This is the Bing search engine which I already use a lot, but with rewards!  Every two searches gets you a point and they can add up pretty quickly.  There are also tasks almost every day that show up in the little click down menu on the right side of the screen under your name.  Just click on the tasks and get credited the points.  I signed up for this one in May, 2012 and have earned over $10 in Amazon gift cards already.  You can sign up with this link. 

Edited on 12-31-12!

Recyclebank: This site has lots of "green" living tips.  Make a pledge everyday to do something to go more green and earn 5 points.  You can also earn points by completing special actions, reading online articles, and more.  The site is completely free as long as you don't do any of the special actions that require you to buy something (which I don't!).  You can earn gift cards to various stores, magazine subscriptions, and a lot of other fun things on this site.  I became a member in October and have already earned 3 free magazine subscriptions, a $5 Amazon gift card, and am halfway to earning a $10 Walmart gift card.  You can sign up with this link.  

Have fun earning!  I'd love to see updates on how you're doing on these sites if you decide to sign up for any of them.  If you have any sites that have worked for you, let me know!  If you have any questions, feel free to email me at annaliesbabyboutique@yahoo.com