CLICK HERE FOR FREE BLOGGER TEMPLATES, LINK BUTTONS AND MORE! »

1.30.2012

Walgreens - Special Discount for Prescription Savings Club!

This post brought to you by Walgreens. All opinions are 100% mine.
I'm always shocked at some of the high prices on prescriptions that my dad has to take, being a diabetic he needs certain medications to keep his sugar stabilized. Insurance only covers so much, and whatever is left has to be paid out of pocket! In this economy.. that's tough. On top of his prescriptions, he also has to have supplies to test his sugar levels as well! Luckily, pharmacies such as Walgreens has special offers and memberships that can help with those costly prescriptions!
Walgreens is offering a special discount on their annual membership for it's Walgreens Prescription Savings Club. For $10 a year a family membership covers everyone in your immediate family. This includes your spouse, any dependents who are 22 or younger, and your PETS! Yes, you read that right... your pets. Individuals can join for a low annual price of $5 and will receive the same benefits! Joining will allow you to receive discount prices on your prescriptions!
Other benefits include:
  • savings on more than 8,000 brand-name and all generic medications
  • discounts on flu shots, pet prescriptions, nebulizers, and diabetic supplies (SEE! diabetic supplies)
  • bonuses when you purchase Walgreens brand products and photofinishing services
Take a look at Walgreens Prescription Savings Club and see if it's right for you and your family, you might see a large chunk of savings this coming month! But hurry! This offer is only good through tomorrow!
For more information, coupons, and more you can go like Walgreens on Facebook and follow Walgreens on Twitter!


Visit Sponsor's Site

1.27.2012

Five Question Friday



1. Do you swim in the winter?
Uh... no. 

2. Do you love or hate winter?
This winter? Love it... hasn't snowed enough to annoy me... past few winters? HATED. I'm not a fan of snow, or being snowed in.

3. Do you put makeup/actual clothes on when you know you're going to be home all day with just family?
Nope... why bother? I'd just be dirtying up more clothes for me to wash later... Boogie gets dressed or runs around in a diaper, but that's usually because she got food all over her pj's or she pee'd through a diaper!

4. How old were you when you had your first alcoholic beverage?
If you know me... then you can answer this question. I think it's pretty obvious.

5. How many ill calls in a 12 month period do you think are acceptable?
As in calling in to work sick? Well... none... because if I can't call in sick neither should you. :-p



1.25.2012

What's On Your Nightstand? - January


What's On Your Nightstand

There is nothing I love more than putting Boogie to bed in the evenings and cuddling up under the covers of my own bed with a book (or my nook!). I love to read, if given the chance (and the time) I could read several books a day. 

This month I've read:

This book is excellent, I love every Francine Rivers book I've read so far. This book is about a young girl named Marta who lives in Switzerland with her parents and two siblings. During this era (first world war) in poor families, the children (particularly the girls) were expected to work in other households to help with the family finances. Marta's father sends her to a maid "college" where she is taught how to be a proper maid for a household.... her abusive father expects her to stay and work to provide for his family, her mother pushes her to "spread her wings and fly" so that's exactly what she does. Her journey through this book is both amazing and inspiring. The book continues on to the life of Marta's daughter Hildemara, and then her daughter Carolyn. Allof their journeys are remarkable and each has a lesson to learn.

This is the sequel to "Her Mother's Hope", this book continues off where the last one left... in Carolyn's life. Carolyn starts her story in this book with Tuberculosis and her mother comes to take care of her and her family. As Carolyn grew attached to her grandmother, Marta as a child, now Carolyn's daughter May Flower Dawn grows attached to her grandmother Hildemara. This is the best of the two books... the turmoil between generations, the love that is found... the journey that they all face. It's phenomenal. 

Oh, this book... I read this book in ONE night. It's a wonderful book that I'm sure all of you have heard about or have even seen the movie. The story is based in the early 1960's when African American's were "free" but still didn't have really ANY rights. A white woman who dreams of being a reporter decides to write an anonymous book filled with the stories of white family's maids. 

There is not a single book by Karen Kingsbury that I haven't like. Her series are awe-inspiring, Christian-based... and I LOVE them. This particular book is the 3rd of the Bailey Flanigan series, which actually continues from several of her other series. I won't describe this one because you really should read the other series first, and then the first two of this one! But I HIGHLY recommend them ALL!

The first in the Rose Trilogy series, Nora Robert's writes again about life with the Amish. This particular series is about a girl named Rose who is helping take care of her mother (who was severely injured in an accident), hoping to find a beau, and is dealing with many other struggles in her young life. You meet her sister Hen who left the Amish life to marry an Englisher but is now craving the life she left. I love Nora's books, they are wonderful.

This is the 2nd in the Rose Trilogy series, and I'm still reading it... but so far, so good!










1.20.2012

Trouble!

I have dreaded this day... the day when Boogie learned to climb. ::sigh:: In the past few days she's started walking across the length of our living room (but she still isn't walking full time) and has started climbing on the furniture. Oh joy! I thought it was just a fluke at first because she used my legs and my clothing to pull herself up... but then I moved. She can get up all by herself. She also discovered that it's great fun to leap into the armchair, which is now flush up against the couch permanently. AND she thinks it's great fun to dive off of the couch into the floor, so during the day my floor will be covered in cushy blankets. I mean, what else can I do? Reprimanding her puts her into these giggly fits! Ay yi yi! My girl is beyond rotten! So yea. Lots of milestones in a short span of time, I'm positive she'll be a full time walker by Valentine's Day if not sooner!



On a side note, we've decided to take a SHORT vacation to Gatlinburg. Our original plan was to go to Chapel Hill, see a few sites, and to visit Hannah but we will be going in October for J's certifying exam in Raleigh so we decided to not go twice. We'll be staying 2 nights, we plan on going to the Melting Pot and the aquarium and staying put in Gatlinburg the entire time. I don't want to drive all over Sevierville and Pigeon Forge and we don't need to spend any money at the outlet stores. We just want to go and relax! So that's that!


Here are a few pictures from the past few days...

Boogie's new "cheese!" face


She looks at me with those big brown eyes and I just melt...

::sigh:: My climber.

When she realized I caught her... she did this:




Five Question Friday



1. Where do you hide the really good snacks?
I don't... why hide them? My daughter doesn't get into the kitchen and the snacks are for everyone.

2. Do you keep your vehicle clean?
We try... but it always seems that clothing, toys, food wrappers, junk mail, etc ends up piling up. It's clean right now though!

3. Have you ever been to Vegas?
Nope, and I don't really have any need/want to go either.

4. Warm room light blankets or cold room warm snuggly blankets?
Cold room with warm snuggly blankets. Although I've kept it a bit warmer lately because Elah has been getting cold and she doesn't like sleeping with a blanket.

5. What is the worst airplane/flying experience you've ever had?
Never been in a plane... nor have I ever flown.








1.19.2012

What A Roller Coaster...

Nothing is more frustrating than when your child won't sleep. This is something we have struggled with from the beginning. Sure, we've had our good nights, we've even had one night in the past few weeks when Boogie slept 8 hours straight (that was a WONDERFUL night)! I debated on whether I should even post this because it seems like anytime I mention sleep issues with someone (even our pediatrician) their immediate response is "Oh, just let her CIO, she'll be fine!" or "you're spoiling her by going to her when she cries" or even "stop nursing her so much and maybe she'll sleep!". No offense to anyone, but that's NOT helpful.

Last night was my confirmation that CIO doesn't work for my daughter. After sleeping for 3 hours, at 10pm Boogie woke up and I could not get her back to sleep. She pitched a full out temper tantrum. I couldn't hold her, I couldn't comfort her, so I set her in the floor and let her pitch her fit until she was done. After about 20 minutes she finally finished, laid back against me and fell asleep. Only problem was that in order to get her up I had to move her and then stand up... which of course woke her up. Since she was at least still calm, I rocked her and nursed her and praised the Lord that she fell back asleep so easily. At least I thought it was easily. The moment I laid her down her eyes popped open and she went into another screaming fit. So I went through the same cycle again. And what happened? Her eyes popped open AGAIN. I hate asking J to get up on nights when he has to work early the next morning, but after an hour of this I didn't know what else to do. So he went in and held her, she would quiet down for a few minutes and then all of a sudden she'd start screaming again! We THINK her gums were hurting her, she kept grabbing her mouth and point in it, so although I am not a fan of Tylenol we gave her some in the hopes that maybe it would help her with the pain, relax her and help her sleep. Nights like this I could care less whether I sleep, I care more that my daughter is in pain and isn't resting well! She calmed down again for about 15 minutes but then J couldn't get her to sleep... so at this point I'm getting pretty frustrated.

As a side note, my spring semester of classes started up last week and the only time I have to get my homework done (I take online classes) is in the evenings. We're talking 4-8 hours of work here EVERY night. I hadn't finished everything I needed to do, so I decided to just let Boogie run around the living room, get any energy out that she had so I could finish my homework. In the back of my mind I hoped that she would wear herself out and just lay down and go to sleep. Ha! Yea, right. At 11:00, after realizing that while playing she had basically squished every bit of urine out of her night time diaper, I changed her jammies and diaper, read her a book, prayed with her, and sang to her while rocking her. She fell asleep. But as soon as I went to move her so I could lay her down her eyes popped open! BOOGIE! So I held her and rocked her and sang "You Are My Sunshine" over and over and over. Nothing seemed to work. I tried sitting in the floor again. I tried holding her, but she just pushed me away. You could tell she was exhausted, she was constantly rubbing her eyes, pulling on her ears (Boogie has always done this when she's tired, the indicator of an ear infection for her was digging in her ears, not pulling), but she continued to pitch tantrum after tantrum. At this point, I didn't know what to do. So I put her in her crib.

When I put her in the crib she cried. Then she fussed. Then she screamed. But her crying and fussing was entirely a tantrum, so I didn't feel bad about letting her "CIO" at this point. I sat in the rocking chair and sang. The only song that has ever helped me get her to sleep is the same song that my own mom sang to me. I really should learn the rest of the lyrics though, because I only two... and they get really old after 2 hours of singing it. Boogie did everything to keep herself awake. Head-butting her bed, walking around her crib holding onto the side. Throwing herself back onto the bed (this part was a little frightening, I was afraid she was going to whack her head on the crib). At 12:15am, after an hour of letting her get her anger and frustrations out, she really started to cry. Typically a mother can distinguish her child's cries... Boogie has a "mommy milk" cry, a "I'm in pain" cry, a "I'm not getting my way" cry, and her hilarious fake cry (which I really need to video tape...). The cry she had at this point was the "I just need you mommy" cry. Huge tears pouring down her face, plopped in the middle crib looking defeated... she was finally ready for my cuddles. I was so relieved. I hate when she gets to the point where my cuddling doesn't help her. So, I grabbed my girl out of her crib, held her close, nursed her to her heart's content... and she was asleep. Dreamy, lips still puckered as if still nursing, hands above her head, sprawled out and completely asleep. Thank you GOD.

I truly believe that if I had continued to let Boogie cry she would have continued to keep herself awake. I don't know why Boogie acted the way she did last night, normally I can calm her down a lot faster than I was able too... but for whatever reason last night was a rough night. I was hoping that after all that she would sleep for several hours, but after about 2 hours she was up again. Then another 2 hours... and then another 2 hours. So at 6am I gathered her in my arms, sleepily trudged into the living room, fell back into the recliner and the two of us slept til 8am this morning.

You can think what you want... I can't make you think otherwise, but I have high hopes that at some point this whole sleep thing will just click for my baby girl. It's obvious that she CAN and is able to sleep for long stretches, but at this point if she wants/needs mommy's comfort, if she wants/needs mommy's milk... then I will offer it to her. My mother says I was as rotten about sleep as Boogie is, and I love sleep now. So... even if it's not til my child is in her 20's... someday she WILL sleep!


1.13.2012

Five Question Friday

This week's FQF is being hosted by Kate's Life.

1. What's the last thing you bought for yourself?
Hmmm... textbooks. Yay me...

2. What is your favorite meal on a cold winter day?
White chicken chili... but I also like it on a hot summer day. I'm weird. I'll own up too it.

3. Have you started looking at swimsuits this year, and do you buy a new one every year?
Ha... no. I have a bathing suit I bought a few months before I found out I was pregnant that I love. It's vintagey looking, and I tend to buy my suits a size bigger than I need because I don't like how SKIN freaking tight they are. It still looks fitted, but much more comfortable... and with the rouching on it I was able to wear it with my pregnant belly in 2010 :-D So obviously... I don't buy a new one every year.

4. If you could be any candy what would you be and why?
White Chocolate. It's yummy... and pastey white like me.

5. What are you most passionate about?
Oh man! Motherhood... and all it entails. Particularly breastfeeding, babywearing, etc.





1.06.2012

Five Question Friday


1. What is the weather like where you are and do you like it?
Today was BEAUTIFUL. Long sleeves and jeans were all we needed! But it's January... and winter isn't over yet. So honestly I just want to get the cold yucky wet stuff out of the way and move on to spring! That means it needs to snow, melt... and be spring. Ok?

2. When you're sick what do you seek comfort from?
Sleep. Water. Reality TV.

3. What do you need to do before the end of the month?
Pay rent. Oh joy!

4. Have you ever served on a jury?
No... nor have I been called... knock on wood.

5. If you could be any animal, what would you be and why?
An eagle. Today is one of the days that I just want to soar above the clouds so I can be closer to God and further away from here. It's been a rough day!



:(

Well... remember that beautiful house we were supposed to move into this February. It fell through. This is TWO houses that haven't worked out for us. I'm pretty devastated, but there's not a thing I can do about it. So time to suck it up and put my big girl panties on.

Anyways.... hold tight.... I'm posting a recipe for one of my family's favorite chili's tonight. It's my favorite comfort food!

1.02.2012

Starting 2012 With....

A double ear infection. Yea. Great fun! For the past two weeks Boogie has slowly gone from a decent sleeper to a screaming all night not wanting to sleep baby. Typically she'd go 3-4 (usually 4) hours between waking, then we had one night where she slept 8 hours, but every night since then she slowly started waking up more frequently. These past several nights have been awful. Waking up screaming, not wanting to be put down, digging in her ears (which isn't abnormal for her... she always messes with her ears when she's very sleepy, but obviously there was more to it this time), only sleeping while being held, not wanting to nurse like usual. It was horrible. I felt like a horrible mother. I felt hopeless... there was nothing I could do to comfort her. Then someone mentioned that she might have an earache. Bingo!

After last night I was desperate for answers. I was up until 1am walking, rocking, holding, nursing, bouncing... doing whatever I could to make her comfortable. I finally got her into her bed after that, but she woke up frequently. Luckily J didn't have to be at work until 9:30am so he got up a few times and helped me out when he could. It was a LONG night for all of us. This morning I made an appointment with the pediatrician... not one we had met yet, but I really wanted to have her ears checked. So, mom picked us up and we headed to the ped's office. She screamed when they took her temperature (in her ear), she didn't know this particular doctor so she freaked out when she touched her, she screamed when she checked her ears... it was NOT fun. But we had our answer. Double ear infection. After an entire year of only having two colds and yucky case of diarrhea.... Boogie decided to start the new year with a bang. Her first ear infections. Anyways... that's how it's going now. We got home around lunchtime and Boogie had taken a short nap in mom's car, so she was in no mood to take another. I finally got her to lay down with me in the recliner at 3:30 and we both took a LONG 2 hour nap. So... it's 8pm right now and J is still rocking her to sleep. She's not crying... just enjoying cuddles with her daddy I guess! If you don't know... Boogie typically falls asleep at 6:30, so it will be interesting to see how this late bedtime will affect the rest of our night! Well... please say a little prayer for our girl as she fights off this double ear infection!

Boogie's First Birthday

Boogie's birthday party went great! We were a little late finishing getting everything set up, but that worked out well because the kids played and my dad had time to get to the party after work! Despite the fact that apparently Boogie has a double ear infection (I'll post about that later) she did SO well! She loved all of the attention, playing with all the kids, and she thoroughly enjoyed her giant cupcake :)

Mom came early to help us set up the decorations... she tried to get a few pictures of Boogie during this but Boogie was constantly on the move!

Eating the letters to her banner.... good thing mom elaminated them!

This is Boogie's timeline banner, mom even elaminated this one and put rings in it afterwards so that Boogie can look through them whenever she wants! And we do.... a LOT.




I made the ribbon banner thing around her chair...


My friend Alecia made Boogie's cake... it was fantastic! I made the small cupcakes and Boogie's giant smash cupcake!


Boogie makes some great faces... and she really enjoyed all the yummy goodies we had at her party and that cupcake...







Happy Birthday Boogie!

And take note... my mom made her shirt :) She rocks!