Monday, June 30, 2014

Weren't you freaked out when they said TWINS???

I get a lot of questions about my life as the mom of twins. And sometimes its odd to me, because I've been doing it for 7 yrs now, and its really not a big deal to me. Looking back, I don't think it ever really was. It was more of a shock of going from 1 child to 3 overnight. But the fact that 2 were the same age, wasn't as big of a deal as most people might think.

But then again, I am a firm believer, that if you feel like parenting is going to drain you and be horrible, it will be.

I will admit, that first night with this knowledge was surreal. It was just the same afternoon, I was chatting with a friend of mine, and telling her how I am getting big fast this time around. I was only 9 weeks and needed to start wearing maternity clothes. I chalked it up to the fact that I was still carrying weight from my first pregnancy. I took a mirror selfie and sent it to her, and she "jokingly" swore I was having twins. HA HA yeah whatever, OK.

Fast forward to that evening....
My husband and I took our daughter with us for the first ultrasound. (Now that I think about, most ultrasounds are done at 12 weeks and my doc "offered" me to get mine done early - now I know why, 8 yrs later)  We were all in the room, Madison was up on Daddy's shoulders so she couldn't get into anything, and the tech begins. "Ok, everything looks good. Let's just move around to this side and......Looonnnnngggggg pause......Hmm, OK. I'm going to go talk to the doctor real quick and when I come back we are going to do an internal ultrasound." 
We ask in concern if everything is OK. She says "yes, we just want to get a better look because...do you see this? Looks like 2 lima beans instead of 1???  Looks like its twins, but we need to be sure. I'll be back." 
At this point I begin to get nervous in fear of what my husband is thinking and I start to nervously laugh and curse in surprise. "Ohhh shit, what the fuck, how the hell" . He replies with....are you really surprised??? Yes and no.

 I have been told my whole life -- twins skip a generation, which means its my generation to have them. Also, all my siblings were way older then me and pretty much done child rearing.  I knew from the age of 15 that I was doomed to be the one to have twins. But its still a shock when you see it.

Nurse comes back in and we get set up. Sure enough -- Baby A and Baby B clear as day. 2 sacs clear as day.  When asked if twins run in the family, I explain how yes they are AND....my husband is a twin. This is when we found out, the husbands genes really have nothing to do with it. Its rare for a twin to have twins, so in this case, its all MY fault.

I check out and make my next appointment, while hubby takes our daughter into the lobby. I come out, not sure what to say or how to react, and he hands me the phone. He apparently called one of my closest friends and told her. I grab the phone and stopped walking - because for reason I couldn't walk and talk at the same time.  He continues on outside with Madison. I put the phone to my ear and hear "Is he freaking joking? Are you really having twins?"  At that point, I lost it. I broke down crying so hard, I couldn't even make any noises, I could barely breathe. I hear her on the other end of the call asking if I am there &  calling my name. So I started snapping into the phone so she new I was still there. She realized why I wasn't talking and calmed me down enough that I coudl say "WTF am I gonna do????"  She asked what my real thoughts were at that time and I went on to explain that I really had no idea. I was scared about money. Freaking out because we live in a 2 BR apartment.  Are our cars big enough? Can we afford all that formula and diapers?  How is my 3 yr old going to take this?  But also along with that was, excitement, pride, anxious.  I basically had every emotion possible running through my veins.  But I knew that we were the kid of people, who take what is given us and we go with it.  We were just like "Well, we are going to have twins." I don't think that past that initial shock, I really freaked out anymore.

NO, I did not have a c-section. I am very proud to say that. Most people automatically assume I did, so when they find out I didn't that brings a lot more questions. Yes I was nervous. I thought for sure I would end up with a c-section. But i didn't have to. Heck, at 38 weeks with twins, when I first got there, they sent me home because I was laughing and talking through the contractions. REALLY???  I carried those babies to 38 weeks and they were ready, and you want to send me home???  Mind you, I was only home for a few hours.
All in all, I have said I would deliver twins again, over a singleton, any day.  For some odd reason, my recovery was so much better with the twins too. It was odd.

They were my Christmas babies - brought them home on Christmas Eve 2006.

Yes life was a little odd that first week. I mean we did just go from one child to 3. And the first few days, I think I was running on 6 hrs sleep total.  But I kept thinking...I can cry and whine and complain all I want, its not going to change the fact that they still need to be fed and changed  every couple hours. A lot of pep talking myself that it won't be like this forever, things will normal out eventually. Its not going to be like this forever, you can get through this first year. 

It also helps to have a spouse that loves babies as much as I do and would basically jump into full parent mode the second he walked through that door at night.  We switched off duties all the time. He would come home and take over while I went out grocery shopping or ran the errands that needed to get done. The nights he did not have work the next day, I got a full nights sleep while he took over middle of the night baby duties.

The hardest part was trying to get 3 children all dressed in a timely manner while I am in freak out mode ( i still struggle with this 7 yrs later), when I went back to work. AND, we had a pretty bad winter that year, we lived in an apartment complex, so there was a lot of strategic planning on how to get 3 kids to the car, while walking on ice in below freezing temps. But we did it. We made it through that first year.

In their early years, it was hard to figure out who was getting what teeth in. Keeping track of a baby book went out the window. Keeping track of who ate when..forget it. If I didn't know, I tried. If they ate, they ate, if they weren't hungry, they didn't eat. I was also lucky enough that they were never really sick at the same time. They still don't get sick at the same time.

Now, people think we have triplets, so once we correct them that we have twins and an older daughter, they don't seem as shocked about the twin factor, just as how much they all look alike. And on top of it, they all have the same red hair which "you can't buy in a box". 

So in answer to all the questions -- Yes I was scared, but that's natural. I didn't harp on it though. I had twins for some unknown reason, so I just go with it. I only get them confused from behind, as they are NOT identical.  I don't think of myself as a twin mom as much as I do a mom of 3 girls.  Having 3 girls I think is more of a task, then having twins. 







Sunday, June 29, 2014

Dollar Tree haul

Hey all! So I headed out to Dollar Tree today for a few items that I have been wanting to get. One of which being some 4th of July decor. That was a bust......they didn't have anything but banners left.  So that was a disappointment. 
But I did find a bunch of other things that I went in for.
Now I know a dollar store haul is not all that exciting, but it might be interesting to some people to see what you can get at dollar stores these days for really cheap. So here we go...

I did go in there specific to find a bin or something to put in the kitchen to hold our bags of snacks. The packages we get from Naturebox are a strange shape and then we get half eaten bigger bags of chips that are clipped. I wanted to have place to put those, that is not all over the place.

I heard that there were going to be snow crab legs around at our 4th of July BBQ. Then I saw a Dollar Tree haul on YouTube and the woman found these crackers. I had to have them.
I have a lot of those plastic to go cups but i always seem to lose the straws. And I have been in the habit lately of using straws all the time. But I don't like the throw out kind because my kids go through them like crazy. I saw these and again....had to have them. Typically lately you can only find the big fat ones for the plastic mason jar mugs. 
Below are just a few essential for around the house - cleaning wipes, trash bags for the bathroom, floss and floss pics, and tissues (yes those are FROZEN tissues, OMG!!!)
 
And last, I picked up a scrubber for a friend. I have the ladybug one and she really needed the piggy. Its so cute!!


Friday, June 27, 2014

Friday Funnies - June 27, 2014

I have not done a Friday Funnies in a while, because the more I waited for funny things to happen, the more they didn't. However.....today I heard a great one. So I took notes all day and was able to compile the below. Enjoy.

Isabel comes running down the stairs after someone (my back is turned):   "IF YOU RIP A PAGE OUT OF MY PERSONAL JOURNAL AGAIN, I WILL DISMISS YOU AS MY SISTER!!!!!!!"
(Isabel is 7yrs old)

Sorry, that's all I have for now.  Have a great weekend!!!


Thursday, June 26, 2014

It's CHORE time!!!

I admit, I am bad with keeping on top of my kids with a chore schedule. Typically what happens is that we will be on path for a week, then they start to whine and I start to forget to be consistent (I HATE that word in parenting), and I end up doing it myself along with just barking orders at who to clean up what.

However, in summertime, the kids are home more, while I am working. And the last thing I want to do when I am done working is clean up. NO, I want to get these whiny kids outside!!!

I realized the only way to keep this house not looking like a tornado is to force them to help. So we compiled the chore chart below. Now this is just for normal everyday clean up that needs to be done and not any large cleaning hauls. We take care of that in our own time.

Below is the chore chart that we use.


Each person has a different chore to do each day with day off a week.

We have Mommy & Daddy chores listed too, for the reason that, my children are very known to pull the old "How come you aren't doing anything and I am doing it all".   Oh really kid???
I found that this way, each daily chore got done pretty much each day.

Also, for each daily chore the girls do WITHOUT any complaint and WITHOUT me having to tell them to do it 5 times, they get a tally mark. A money amount is applied to each tally mark. Then when the chart fills up, we take their tally marks and cash them in, and go on a mini shopping, at a location of their choice.
This way, not only am I getting them to help me clean up THEIR mess, but I am coning them into not complaining about it. He He  But really, they are able to see who has more tally marks, and it sometimes helps them try to do better.

Teachers get them to work off of charts and lists at school, and it seems to work at home too.

Tuesday, June 24, 2014

Fireworks must haves

4th of July is right around the corner. And that means going to Fireworks!!!

Now if you have children, its not as easy as it used to be, when you could just find a place to park last minute, meet your friends, throw a blanket down and be done.

There are kids involved now. Which means there will be complaining on hunger, thirst, potty breaks, and tiredness.

So here are a few tips I like to keep in mind, for those 4th of July fireworks. 
(Note: Yes there are fireworks other times of the year, but come on...are they as crowded and stressful? NO)

1 - Go early to park close & convenient.
The kids will be whining and cranky by the time they are over, so you want to ensure you can get out of there fast and preferably with ease.

2 - Bring things to do.
Yes,  you are there to see fireworks, why should you have to entertain the kids with more then that? Well if you need to go early, there WILL be a good amount of time sitting and waiting around.  things to do could mean bringing food and drink, glow up sticks/toys, or even other kids. best thing is to park your butt as close to a playground as possible, IF possible.

3 - Speaking of glow sticks....buy your own.
Trust me, if you are frugal, you will want to buy your own. You would rather your child have something that lights up, just like all the other kids, then have to tell them NO b/c you won't pay $10 for a light up stick.

4 - Bug spray.
This is a Summer staple of mine. My kids always get eaten alive. And if they are eaten alive, they tend to be even more miserable.

5 - Blanket/chair
This should go without explanation.


Here is to a Happy & Healthy and & stress-less 4th of July!!


Naturebox for June 2014



Finally got my NatureBox!!!! Man, it seemed to take forever this month. But.....I tried my best to chill out..it IS FREE shipping after all.

Let's get started!!

*Cherry Berry Bonanza -- this is a mixture of dried cherries and mixed berries. Pretty good. They are comparable to the Ocean Spray dried cherries in blueberry juice. Just not as sweet.

*Praline Pumpkin Seeds -- yummmm. they are just a little crunch of praline. The pumpkin seeds are so cooked you can't really taste them.

*Honey Mustard Diipin' Stix -- honey mustard sesame seed stick. Pretty much self explanatory. pretty tasty.

*Salted Caramel Pretzel Pops - pretzel balls coated in this salty caramel flavoring. Not overly sweet or salty. Not too bad.

*Cheddar and Onion sunflower kernels -- these taste more on the sour cream and onion side. Tasty little snack.


Not a bad month. We did pick 3 of the snacks and the other 2 were chosen by Nature Box.

Again, if you are new to this,  Naturebox is a monthly subscription box of all natural snacks. They are very tasty. You can select what specific snacks you want each month, or you can have them choose for you. Boxes range from $13.99 for 3 bags, all the way up to $49.99 for 10 bags. (I think they just changed their prices and sizes, so be sure to check the website)

Also, if you decide to sign up, us the coupon code listed below and we will each get a $10 credit off your first box.

Links and info below.
Happy snacking!


https://naturebox.com/
Coupon code to get $10 off your first box:  A9YL-GL2




Monday, June 23, 2014

Recital weekend

This past weekend was recital weekend.







On Friday, we had Isabel's little showcase at the dance school. Her and her acro teammates did a cute little routine. I wasn't sure what to expect, but it actually was a well coordinated "routine". It was sooo cute and she was so proud of herself, as we were proud of her.


Then Saturday was Madison's recital. This was her second year in a row. And once she again, she owned that routine! Its kind of hard to really want the whole 2 minute dance, and see all the kids, AND concentrate on your own child, but she seemed like one of the better ones. She loves dance. And she pretty much puts her ALL into everything she does, as if she's getting paid to do it.



However, she is talking about backing down from the "dance" and moving onto acro next year. I wish she would stay with the dance because she is so good at it, but I will not be that mom to force my children into extracurricular activities if they don't to. So, we shall see.

Overall it was a very Proud weekend!

Friday, June 20, 2014

Ipsy bag - June 2014



Realtree for her, eau de parfum -- It's a light scent. Not too bad. Reminiscent of Skin So Soft from Avon. not bad, but not my taste. Also, it came in a little ziplock and I wondered why. After spraying it, it got all over the tester sprayer, so keep that baggie for re-storage.

NYX butter gloss in Eclair - light pink color. Thick formula. tingles the lips slightly. usual stickyness like a gloss but not too unbearable.Stay factor seems good.  pigment is not too bad - not shear, but the color is pretty light.

Carol's daughter styling cream (crack me up as I AM a Carol's daughter) -- I don't typically use these, but will review in more detail when i do. Not much of a scent to it.

NickNack NY shimmer eye liner -- liquid eyeliner. Applicator is very pointed, semi-firm, application was pretty good pigment wise. Color I got was a teal blue -- not sure when/where I would use this. But its good to have for those times you wanna do something a little out of the box.


Ofra eyebrow pencil -- seems typical. I just started doing my eyebrows so I am excited to try this and save my actual brown eyeliners. (sorry, no pic but it looks like a brown eyeliner pencil, no big thing)








Thursday, June 19, 2014

Entertain your kids with their snacks



 Summertime is officially here for most of us. Kids are not in school and the temps are rising.

As a lot of us moms experience, we have picky eaters. And out kids get bored in the summer. So lets make their food entertaining.

Below are a few summertime snacks for kids, that are not so on the boring side.





 Watermelon on a stick. Seems simple enough, yet just adding that stick might make things more fun for them. I can picture mine pretending to eat it like a Popsicle. And, it MIGHT help with the mess and juice all over the hands.

Keeping with the watermelon theme, this one is one that my mom did when I was a kid. We called it the watermelon cake. However, now that I am a mom, I think it would just be a great way to keep a large group of kids occupied at a BBQ. or just a cool snack for the neighborhood kids all hanging out.






Cut a watermelon in half and scoop out the melon.  Then take some softened sherbet of any flavor that is pink and fill the half of watermelon shell with it. Top with some chocolate chips to look like the seeds. Re-freeze. When ready, just place it on a table and give each child a spoon and they can dig in!
(sorry there is not a photo of the finished product. I will post as soon as I do this as I plan on it this summer)




Applesauce in the freezer. I started doing this last year, because my kids wanted water ice every night and it was starting to get a bit expensive. However, at our local Dollar General, we could get a 4 pack like this for $1.00. I decided to put one in the freezer to see if they liked it and they LOVED it. So every week, I would buy a few packs, and stick half in the freezer and half in the fridge and they could have water ice whenever they wanted, for 1/4 of the costs.



Kids jello shots. We have all seen the ideas going around of how to hollow out fruit and put alcoholic jello inside for a unique way to do Jello shots. Well why can't we just leave out the alcohol and make them anyway, for our kids?


Fruit kabobs. Plain and simple. Stick fruit on a stick. Also, I am hoping this will keep my daughter from eating an entire bag of grapes all to herself.


Guilty thoughts


Hubby went back to work this week. And since its been really hot this week, he has been coming home exhausted, as expected. He lays around for a while. Tried to play with the kids. But then its rest time again. Then he will wake up and do a load of dishes. Rest time again.

I have been trying to keep up with housework, in the mornings, before I have to log on for work. But then what happens is that I am ready for a nap, as I need to start working.


SIGH

Then I feel guilty for feeling like this. I sometimes still want to yell at him to clean up his stuff. Then other times I feel like I am not allowed to say a damn word. Where is the happy medium?


He can barely walk and when he does, he has no balance & walks into things. So it takes extra effort to walk at all, for him. Who am I to expect him to walk to the kitchen and put a dish in the sink?

He can push himself at work, but can't put his stuff away at home?

Normally I would be huffing and puffing and pissily telling him how it is. Instead now I just sit back, and do it myself. 

Let him sleep Heather - I tell myself.  He "claims" he doesn't sleep at nights. if that's true how is he getting by? Any normal person would not be able to go days with that little sleep.

Am I a horrible person for not being able to just let it go and realize that he IS different now?

Monday, June 16, 2014

CVS deal 6.16.14



Not up for doing a haul and trying to see how much you can get for a few bucks? Couponing can still be rewarding, even if you are only going for ONE thing.

My kids and I were in the sun yesterday and got a little toasty. I need sunscreen NOW!!! It's time to break down, spend the money, and just get it over & done with.

But, as you all know me, I am NOT going to pay full price. No way!

Time to check my CVS goodies....

I checked to see what coupons are at the coupons machine. It sometimes helps to go onto your online account and check this ahead of time, before you get to the store.
And BAM there is a CVS coupon for $2 off any 2 sun products.

So now, I go to search how much their sunscreens are going for right now and come to find the CVS brand spray sunscreen is 2/$10 right now.

So I decide to browse the ad to see if there is anything else I can purchase that will give you back Extra Care bucks. Something I might need.

*BE toothpaste is $2.99 and if you buy one you get back $2 ECBs
- There is a $1.00 off coupon from Coupons.com
-I pay $1.99 OOP and get back $2 ECBs = FREE

So now I have $2ECBs and a $2 off 2 sunscreen products coupon. 
 --------------------------- ------------------------------- -----------------------------
Transaction #1

*BE toothpaste $2.99 - $1cpn = $1.99 OOP and I get back $2 ECBs



Transaction #2

 (2) CVS sunscreen spray  - $10.00 - $2 off 2 sunscreen products - $2 ECBs ==$6.00


COMPLETE OOPS COSTS = $8.00 for 2 sunscreen and toothpaste



So remember, before you head to grab something you NEED, check those coupons first!! You don't have to pay full price.



**BE toothpaste coupon was from www.coupons.com
**OOP = Out of Pocket
**ECB = Extra Care Bucks









 

Father's Day



Hey all!
Just wanted to pop in real fast and do a quick bloggy blog of how our Father's Day weekend was.

We actually celebrated on Saturday, because Brian was headed back to work on Father's Day, after being out for a week.


We went to Uno Chicago Grill for lunch with the girls. It's not often we get to go out and eat, at a real restaraunt, that isn't a buffet. And Brian mentioned a few times when we have driven by, when we can go there again, so we went.

The girls got to make their own pizza, which they really enjoyed doing.

We also tried some new pizzas, that were on the "healthier" side. I fell in love with mine. it was a Prosciutto Arugula pizza with balsamic vinaigrette - VERY tasty.

And I only got a picture of Ava with her daddy....I suck. But its a cute pic!


We then headed to the mall to do a bit of walking around, just to be out and about a little bit. Saw this pretty bush and couldn't resist the photo op.



On Sunday we went over to my parents, for a BBQ there, for my dad. Was a nice afternoon. The girls got to play in the little pool we set up for them. Yes they are a little too big for a kidding pool, but they enjoy it, keeps them occupied, and it helps us stay cool too.

Note, we did some of my S'mores pockets on the gas grill. The key amount of time for those on the grill is about 3 minutes. Ha Ha  We did a test one first, it came out perfect at 4 mins, bu then half the rest of them got cracker burn. Oh well live and learn. We should have just done it in the oven- ha ha. (*link for the S'more blog post below)

Afterwards, we hit another relatives house for some calming chit chat while kids played. They got to jump on the trampoline and get in the hot tub.

The girls just had a good day all around. Hope you all had a great weekend as well!



*S'mores blog post:  http://bit.ly/T0Y2zU


Wednesday, June 11, 2014

Rebif Rebif Rebif


Hey all!
Just an update. The last few days, my husband has been walking a bit better. He is not reliant on the cane right now, but it still tough. He has been doing small chores around the house and running tiny errands. Not anymore horrible flare ups like Sunday, but he still is no where near what it was like last week, and no way can he work at his job right now.

The nurse came in yesterday and showed us all how to do his injections. He won't admit it, but he seemed a little nervous about it. I only know this because once he actually did it, he was shocked how easy it was. Men an their tough skin. Ha Ha

The only thing that sucks is that we found out it can take a few MONTHS to really get into his system and start leveling out his flare ups. What???? UGH

So off to the doctors we went after this, to talk about how bad it did get over the weekend, and if there is anything that can be done when its that bad. YES there is. Steroid i.v. for 3 days - yay!!
Now we are just waiting for a nurse to come out and set him all up with the iv, and show him how to do it. This is supposed to help kick start him out of the flare up he is in right now, and get back to somewhat normal, so he can go back to work.

Fingers are crossed everyday that he will wake up, and the flare up will be gone. I have heard that MS patients have good and bad days. We were not prepared for a bad day to last a week. But...in the process we are learning when we CAN do something about it and what those things are.

It really IS a day to day type of life now.




My yearly Mother's Day treat - HAUL TIME!

For the last couple of years, around Mother's Day, I have been treating myself to hauls at bath & Body Works and Charming Charlie's. Below are just a few of the items that I purchased.

The foaming hand soaps were 5 for $18 and i also has a Free item coupon, so I also got the body wash in my fave scent Twilight Woods.



(All of the Charming Charlie's stuff was bought with a $30 gift card I got for mother's day)

I am a big fan of Sun Moon Stars stuff so when I saw this necklace I had to have it. It does have some sparkle to it, but I was actaully able to dress it down a little yesterday. I wore it with my plain navy boat neck shirt I have. It can get a bit tangled, but I didn't care. It was one of those "I don't care if I only wear it once I NEED it'  type purchases.

Just a little clearance find - $2.99. I have a lot of purple clothes and ONE pair of purple earrings, so I thought these were simply cute.

I have this one pair of silver earrings that I seem to where with everything lately. So I wanted to some nuetral earrins. This set had gold, silver (pictured here) and a bronzed black color (not pictured). I thought they would be a nice way to dress up a t-shirt without looking like I was trying too hard.


I am really liking the mint color this year, but really only have a few items in that color. I do have a dress that is mint and white that I wear a lot on really hot days and thought these would match it pretty well. Also, the mint is so minimal on these earrings, I can wear them with other coordinating colors as well.


Tuesday, June 10, 2014

Smores by oven

Summer is right around the corner. The spirit of it is already here. Parties and BBQs galore. 
And what is the best way to end a summer night, but with S'mores!!
However, some of us don't have a grill or a fire pit. And some of us just wants S'mores when we want them. 
So how do you make up a quick snack of ooey gooey goodness, with a fire going? In the oven! And I personally prefer them this way, as they are a lot less messy.

Just take your S'more and pile it together in normal S'more fashion. Wrap it in foil. Then put all the little packets on a cookie sheet, and pop in the oven. Once they are warmed up pretty good, let sit so you can touch the foil, and enjoy!

Monday, June 9, 2014

Budget friendly Father's Day idea, for the working dad

As moms, we all want to help our kids, show their Daddy's just how much they love them. But sometimes, we don't always have the money to do it up the way we really want. Or, we may have husbands who always seem to be working on Father's Day.

This made me recall a time about 5 years ago, when we were in that situation. My husband worked on weekends and was not around on Father's Day. We also did not have a lot of money. So, i got a little creative.

I took the girls out the day before, while he was at work, and we picked up some plain white t shirts, in the girls sizes. We also grabbed a box a fabric markers. That was it -- about $10- $12 total was spent.


When we got home, I asked the girls what they wanted to tell people about their Daddy, and I wrote those quotes on the t-shirt.

My dad's a cool dude!
My Dad rocks!
My Dad is awesome!
 Etc Etc Etc

Then I just let them draw and color around the phrase. I think we may have even traced their hand prints onto the shirts.

On Father's Day, we made a packed lunch for daddy. We put it inside a paper bag that we colored with more notes like 'I love you Dad!". 
I got the girls all dressed in their t-shirts, and did their hair up really cute.
We then went to Daddy's work, un-announced, and brought him lunch while sporting our t-shirts.

Not only was he surprised that we popped in, but he got to show off his adorable daughters, and they got to show off how much they love Daddy!






First BAD weekend





Hey all!
Sorry I didn't get a chance to post this weekend. I DID hit up Bath & Body Works and Charming Charlies for a little haul that I do plan on posting about either today or tomorrow.

But Friday night started a long weekend for my husband. He had his first MS flare up and it pretty much paralyzed him for 2 days. He was reliant on his cane all weekend and I was following him all over the place  & having to help him get dressed. 
He was forced into a weeks vacation - NO WAY could he make it at work.
Along with it, he was running a fever. So we are not sure if the fever was MS flare up induced or if the MS flare up was because he was sick and had the fever. But either way, it was pretty rough for him. I felt bad. I felt pretty much helpless. 

But the meds FINALLY start tomorrow, and we are all hoping that helps. 

On a side note, I think we came to terms that our next home will NEED to be handicap accessible, even if not needed at the time.

Thursday, June 5, 2014

Shoprite Weekly Highlights, Ad week 6/8 - 6/14


In Ad Coupons:
Eggland's Best large eggs - $.98
Friendly's Ice cream (1/2 gallon) - 2/$3.98
Fresh Talapia Fillet and Silverbrite Salmon fillet - $4.98/ln
Liption 12 pk iced tea, Pure Leaf 8pl iced tea, Pepsi 20 pk -- 2/$7.98

*Shop from Home order $150 or more; order placed wither 6/8 or 6/9 with pick up or delivery before 6/14, Save $20 with Promo Code:  SUN20

*Shop from Home order $200 or more; order placed wither 6/8 or 6/9 with pick up or delivery before 6/14, Save $30 with Promo Code: SHINE30

*Shop from Home - get free deliver and fee of $10.90 with promo code: BROOKLAWN.
Valid until Sept. 6, 2014.

 Deals and steals:
General Mills cereals - $1.88  (possible coupon deals out there)
 Arm & Hammer laundry detergent - $1.88
Kodak batteries - 20ct -- $1.77
Chock Full O Nuts coffee -- $2.69
Strawberries - $1.99
Hi-C 10pk juice drinks - $1.88
Kraft JetPuffed marshmallows - $1.59
Perdue chicken leg quarters - $.89/lb
Domino granulated sugar - $1.99
Guy Fieri BBW sauce - $1.99
Colonna bread crumbs - $1.00
Go Gurt - 2/$4.00



 4-day price break (Wed, Thurs, Fri, Sat):
Blueberries - $2.49
Wish Bone dressing - $.88
JP O'Rielly's beef chuck burgers - $6.99
Wild lobsters - $6.99/lb
Hefty Ultimate tall kitchen bags - $5.77
Hanover soft frozen pretzels - $.99
Nutritional Bars - $.88





I'm ignoring you!!!!


Sitting at my desk, while trying to sort through a mess of a spreadsheet of 22,000 numbers........

Child: Mommy, can you cut me up an apple?
Me: I can't right now. Just eat it normally.
Child: But i dont want to and there is notttttthhhhhhiiiiiinnnnnggggggg to eat.
Me: Well find something else.
Child: But.....
Me: GOOOOOOOOO away from me right now

This is when said child promptly groans in anger and stomps back into the kitchen yelling 'There is nothing to eat in this stupid house."

Continue on with my sorting and reading emails with even more information I need to sort out, about a completely different issue now.

Child :  Can I have this water ice? (said in a nice sweet tone now)
Me:  Yes
Child: Grumbling from the kitchen..."UGH, when are you ever going to do the dishes so I can have a spoon???"

At this point, I am completely ignoring her attempt to get ME to stop my work and do this all for her. She is not startving, this is her second snack since we got home.  She them continues on to find a spoon, clean it, and she is on her merry way with not another word.

I then stop to think....WHY didn't I do the dishes this morning, as I usually do? Oh that's right...I was on the phone with your sister, trying to get her to stop hysterically crying, afraid I am going to get mad, over an issue that I could care less about anymore. THAT is why the dishes are not done.






Our new journey....and it sucks!

It's scary to think that new little habits you acquire, and don't think anything about, could very well be warning signs, of something bigger. Something that can be halted in its tracks. But you don't know any better. You think its nothing and go on with your life.

This is what has happened to my husband. A few new little habits, that I kept getting bothered by. Asking him why he was doing it. And him thinking I was just trying to find something to complain about.
NO....here we are about 5 yrs later and he's been diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis.

Its only been a week now and we are currently waiting for medicine. Eagerly awaiting. His symptoms are just getting worse. It s really hard to sit back and feel like you need to watch every step your husband makes, as if he's a toddler learning how to walk.

He has barely any movement in his left leg - it just drags. No pain....its just not working. This is now causing some balance issues. I saw this quote the other day and thought I might need to use it some day. Well, today is that day.

My husband ran into the wall a few times yesterday. But in his normal fashion...he made it look like he did it on purpose and laughed about it.Then I proceeded to stick my foot in my mouth and says "Ugh, can you stop doing that?"  NO, he can't stop doing that. No matter how hard he tries to play it off as a joke, its happening, and its out of his control.

Now, my husband doesn't voice his own feelings and fears.....EVER, so I have to read into him.... A LOT. And the way he has been coping with this lately is by making jokes. I am glad he can do that, but it kills me to think what he is really feeling inside. I am hoping that he will see how I AM here to support him and he will realize he CAN talk to me & ask me for help.

 So, I might be posting some blogs on here to voice feeling I THINK he might be having and to voice my own thoughts, feelings and fears as well.

I hope you all understand that I might just need to vent sometimes.

Wednesday, June 4, 2014

Do I REALLY need a $10 nail polish???

As we all know, make-up has dups all over the place. Well, so does nail polish.
In the last few years I have become a bit of a nail polish-aholic. I started with nail art, then realized I needed every color of the rainbow.

I started with the $1.99 polishes I would get at CVS. Then I found the subscription box Julep and signed up for that. However, I think I was a little to late for that one, because I already had soo much. I haven't even  gotten a box each month because I already have versions of most of the colors.

I have even bought a few higher priced drug store polishes. I have found that more expensive, doesn't really mean better. As a matter of fact, the nail polish that I found to be the best, I still only have 3 bottles of because I haven't worked my coupon magic on them yet. however this is also because I already have 100+ bottles.....I think I pretty much have any color possible....or at least close to it.

I went to look for a new color today and the one I picked, I couldn't open. So instead of just trying harder, I looked again and found I have the same color in a different brand. This prompted me to do a little Dup Review for you all.So after checking out a few of these below, you might want to think next time when you are about to pay some decent bucks for a nail polish you might wear 3 times.


                                   Spoiled in  Your Fly's Down ($1.99)    VS    Julep in Lacey ($11-$14)



                                       NYC in Lincoln Center ($1.99) VS Revlon in Vixen($5.99)




                                        Zoya in Dot ($9.00)   VS   Revlon in Cafe Pink($5.99)


                            Spoiled in Kickin The Habit ($1.99)    VS     Revlon in Plum Seduction ($5.99)



                                 Spoiled in Pumping Gas ($1.99)    VS    NYC in Park Ave ($1.99) 
                                    (these are also dups for OPI in  You don't know Jacques $9.00)