Pregnancy Whine...

WARNING: Hormonal rantings! Read at your own risk!

So I'm six and a half months pregnant. I have just over three months to go. And I'm miserable! I feel like my stomach is ready to explode. If I eat more than a bowl of cereal or a piece of toast I feel like everything in my abdomen is being stretched to its limits. I'm starting to get morning sickness back again. Bleh! My back, hips, knees and shoulders hurt so bad at night that I can hardly sleep. I am back to sleeping on the couch about half the time because I either have horrible heartburn or I'm so sick to my stomach that I can't hardly stand it. I'm soooo not looking forward to Friday when I get to do my glucose tolerance test. I think I'll make Clayton take me out to breakfast afterward just for suffering through. ;o)

Okay, I think I'm done. All in all, things aren't so bad. The baby is moving around A LOT! Which doesn't help the discomfort, but at least lets me know that he's still okay.

Oh, I so have to tell you what Andrew did the other day. Clayton and I have been talking about names for the baby. I like Luke. My mom suggested Lucas. So Clayton and I were talking about how we both like Luke (don't go getting T-shirts printed...it's just another name to add to the list of possibilities), but we don't like Lucas. A couple of nights later Clayton had class so it was just Andrew and me at home. We were talking about the baby and all the things Big Brother is going to teach him. I decided to ask Andrew what we should name the baby. He got this mischievous smile and said, "We should name him Lucas...cuz you don't like that name" followed by the most evil little toddler laugh you can imagine. I couldn't believe he remembered it. Then to be such a little turkey and suggest something he knows we don't like. All I can do is shake my head. Looks like he's going to get his dad's sense of humor.

Results of my money saving efforts...

So I thought I'd share how much money I was able to save. It's not as good as serious couponers, but considering I only get one Sunday paper and don't keep every coupon in every paper...

I spent a total of $261.15 and saved $275.35. That's over 50%. Some of that savings was club/vip card savings; some of it was ad matching at Walmart; $52.33 of that was in coupon savings. I figured that's pretty good for a baginner.

So here's some of what I got:
35 lbs of flour 40 lbs of sugar
2 lbs of brown sugar 1 lb of powdered sugar
15 lbs of potatoes 3 jars of peanut butter
48 boxes of mac n cheese 48 cans of tomato sauce
12 cans of fruit 12 cans of chili
12 cans of spaghettios 6 cans of evaporated milk
12 4-packs of pudding 8 1/2 gallons of milk
2 cases of bottled water 4 cans of Pledge
4 cans of Scrubbing Bubbles 4 bottles of Lysol bathroom/kitchen cleaner
2 containters of Lysol wipes 2 bottles of Windex
6 Glade Scented Oil warmers 6 Glade Scented Oil refills

I also bought some other things we needed, but this was the bulk of my purchases. We're stocked on cleaning supplies for a LONG time. I'm sure it's more than a year supply of that. We also have a lot more food in our food storage. We still need to stock up more of toiletries and a few other essentials like that, but it's a start.

We are considering extra copies of the newspaper for more coupons and I've been spending time online printing coupons from the Internet and doing research into how to save money. I told Clayton I guessed if it was his job to make money, my job is to save as much of it as I can.

I'm completely addicted...

I've always been a reasonable frugal shopper. A year or so ago, I started clipping a few coupons here and there. Then I got the itch... The money-saving itch. It could have to do with the economy in it's current state of chaos or just my frugality. I'm not sure which. But thanks to a gal in my ward (Connie), I'm getting really addicted. A few websites that I frequent to find out the deals and how to save and which coupons to use are listed in my "Places We Go Often" list on the side of my blog. I figure if it's Clayton's job to make money, it's my job to save as much as I can. Clayton thinks it's great. And it gives me something constructive to do with my time. So I'll start letting everyone know how it goes. Tonight should be a good trip. I'm actually, for probably one of the first times in my life, excited to go grocery shopping. I HATE grocery shopping. If Clayton doesn't go with me, it more likely than not won't get done at all. If anyone has and great ideas...let me know! I'm always open to new ideas. And I'll share any tips and tricks I get!

Eight is Enough....

I'm taking this tag from Heidi. Thought it might be fun. I'm not tagging anyone though. If you want to do it, great. If not, great.

8 TV shows that I love to watch:

1. CSI
2. Gilmore Girls
3. Diners, Drive-ins and Dives
4. Food Network Challenge
5. Super Nanny
6. Nanny 911
7. D-Backs Baseball games
8. Suns Basketball games

8 Favorite Restaurants:

1. Texas Roadhouse
2. Carrabbas
3. Chili's
4. PF Changs
5. Dilly's Deli
6. Papa Kelsey's
7. Canton (It's a long drive to Idaho Falls for it, but it's worth it!)
8. Sonic

8 Things that Happened Yesterday:

1. Drove home from my mom's house
2. Spent time researching candidates for office so I can make a semi-informed decision.
3. Read a little from "The Divine Center" by Stephen Covey
4. Talked to my grandma on the phone
5. Cleaned up a doggy accident.
6. Chatted a little with Clayton while he was at school. (I know I shouldn't distract him, but I miss him on the days he has school and work.)
7. Took a nap.
8. I forgot something.

8 Things I'm Looking Forward to:

1. Not being pregnany anymore (Boy do you I hear you on this one, Heidi!)
2. Not being tired any more.
3. Being able to work out again.
4. Having Clayton out of school for the first week in November.
5. Clayton finishing his Masters and being home more.
6. Fall weather... I'm tired of roasting when I go outside.
7. My grandparents coming to Arizona for the winter.
8. Going to my brother's Navy retirement ceremony next May/June.

8 Things On My Wish List:

1. Having the rest of my pregnancy go well and delivering a healthy baby boy!
2. The housing market to recover so we can sell our house and move closer to civilization.
3. Andrew finally grasping the concept of potty training
4. Fitting into the same size clothes I wore before I got pregnant with Andrew
5. Learning to decorate cakes and make pasteries...maybe having my own little bakery someday.
6. Going to see General Conference live sometime
7. Having good enough retirement savings to be able to do some travelling...maybe going on a mission with Clayton.
8.

The Rat Pack

Clayton and I have season tickets to Broadway in Arizona at Gammage Theater. It's not super expensive since we get balcony tickets and it pretty well guarantees a date night at least every other month or so. Last night we went to see "The Rat Pack: Live at the Sands". It was a really good show for the most part. I love music from that era and so does Clayton. The first act was awesome. The second act left me with a bit of a sour taste in my mouth. It was basically "Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis, Jr., and Dean Martin" stumbling drunk all over the stage. As we were walking to the car, I told Clayton that I'm glad we just saw a Broadway show and not an actual concert. If I had paid top dollar (which I'm sure tickets to see The Rat Pack were back in the day), and the performers were out on the stage that drunk and out of it, I would have gotten up and demanded my money back. I can't imagine anyone being so unprofessional and disrespectful to the people who made them famous by acting that way. I'm sure it happens more often than I care to know.

On a little different note about the show, I realized just how much my husband misses playing the trombone. The band they had was awesome and in an unusual twist one of the trombonists had a solo. I looked over at Clayton and he looked like a kid on Christmas morning. His face just lit up! I got him to admit he misses playing and want to get a trombone again someday. He's even trying to teach Andrew to "play the trombone" by showing him how to blow into a toy hose and make noise. Andrew's got it down, Dad's in trouble, and Mom's nerves are shot!

Doctor's Appointment

I had another regularly scheduled doctor's appointment today. Everything looked good and it was short and sweet...although that meant almost two hours of driving for a 5 minutes appointment. Found out that I've done a pretty good job with my weight. I've only gained about 10 lbs. And it was this time last pregnancy that I started to retain water really bad, shot up 17lbs in a month and started to look like a walking water balloon. So far, no major weight gain and no swelling. I'm happily still wearing my wedding ring. WOOHOO. I'm not even going to try and say I'll get through the whole pregnancy with it on. I'd hate to disappoint myself like that. I'm just happy I can still wear it.

Andrew was surprisingly good. I try to schedule my appointments so that Clayton can go and help corral the kid. No such luck this time around. But I told Andrew if he was good he'd get a surprise afterward. I was actually stunned when he sat in the chair in the exam room pretty much the whole time and didn't get into too much. Doctors' offices are just so much fun to play around in. And whose crazy idea is it to not have a kids' play area in an OB/GYN office? There are so many of us that end up having to take our kids with us that it would only make sense to give them something to do than destroy everything. My doc just moved to a new office a year or so ago and it's pretty posh. The waiting room looks more like a spa than a doctor's office. Nothing like making mom's blood pressure go up having to keep kids from knocking over lamps or knocking pictures off the wall.

I'm not really looking forward to the next appointment...The dreaded blood glucose test. Seriously, how do they cram 50 grams of glucose (sugar) into a 10 oz. drink? My levels all came back fine last time so I'm not too worried this time around either.