New Photos

No real news to update. Here are a few more pictures of the house.


Kids Room Before


Kids Room After-This was done by Mr. Man. You can't really tell in this picture but it's a light green.


Our room with a 3rd coat of paint.


Ummm Yumm-Ari eating her dinner saying "Ummm Yumm"

Umm Yum!!!

This is Ari's new favorite thing to say. We taught her what "yummy" means and now every time she eats something she likes she rubs her tummy and says "umm yum". It is the cutest thing in the world. It kinda makes up for when she's causing trouble.

Things have been super-crazy around here. The house is almost painted. One more coat in the bedroom, the bathrooms, and maybe some touch-ups in the living room and we're done. I am so happy my boss is going to South Africa tomorrow for 2 weeks so I don't have to worry too much about not working. I really don't want to go back, but sadly the bank accound demands it.

Thanks to Zoloft I am feeling wonderful!! I have been able to make dinner again, clean up the kitchen, and I just feel better. This is not to say times are always grand, but life is more manageable. I hope I don't have to be on this stuff forever, but for now I am so thankful. Once we get settled in the house I will start talking to a pro about my funk to help things out.

Now it's time to relax and get some knitting done before I need to feed Eli and get to bed. Here are some pictures of the house.


The one wall with wallpaper before.


The room after.


Our bedroom before.


Our bedroom after.


Eli-2 months old

It Was A Good Day

Today was a good day. I started things off with a trip to Home Depot to buy all of our paint and supplies for the house. Everything was way more than I thought it would be, but it will be worth it...I hope. Thankfully the lady helping me was really nice and didn't take advantage of a beginner painter.

I thought things were going to take a turn for the worse when I got to work and found out I was supposed to have planned a lunch for my boss!! His usual secretary forgot to mention that to me when we were going over my weekly things to do. Thankfully it all worked out and I got some of the extra stuff for lunch. I found out that I don't have to be there all week to tomorrow and Thursday will be major workdays at the house.

It finally rained in Cleveland!!! We have been having such a bad drought and it finally rained for more than 5 minutes today. I hope the rain stays for a while because we need it and I don't want to pay money to water our new lawn.

More good news...Eli finally has insurance!! I had a good talk with the people in Nashville who handle all of the processing. Everything was finally processed last Friday and both kids have full coverage. Sadly mine ends at the end of the month, but we knew that would happen. At least it will cover my final appointment Thursday. Sadly our assets are too high to qualify for food stamps. The good news is after moving into the house we will have drained most of our funds and should qualify. In the long run I think it will be worth getting rid of some money to not have to pay for groceries every month.

Overall I am starting to feel much better. I'm still dealing with feeling dizzy from my meds but today I kind of felt like my normal self, which hasn't happened in a while. I was also able to clean up the kitchen without dragging myself in the kitchen to do it. Dinner on the other hand is another story, but that is partly has to do with the fact that we haven't been shopping in a while. I do have something planned for tomorrow or Thursday, which is amazing.

In the world of cloth diapers things are good and bad. Good that I've been doing really well with not putting disposables on Eli, bad that most of his fitteds are creating super plumber butt. His prefolds are starting to fall apart in some places and after re-serging them they are a little too small. I'm pretty sure my diaper sewing supplies will be here tomorrow, but half of my sewing stuff is here and half is at the house. I can't wait to move to have some space to work on projects. Sewing Eli some new diapers is at the top of the list. If anyone in Cleveland is reading this and you have any old t-shirts or sweatshirts that you need to get rid of let me know because I can recycle them into diapers.

I think that's it for now. I hope day 1 of painting goes well tomorrow.

What Day Is It?

I was sitting here about to start writing and couldn't remember what day it was. That's how things have been around here. Here's what's been going on since the last posting.

Thursday
Had another good day with the fam figuring stuff out for the house. Mr. Man had the day off again which was nice. Though with all the good it was still a funk-filled ugly day.

Friday
Decided I need some help coping with life so I called up the doc and started taking Zoloft. I'm happy that I made the call and I know that things will slowly start to get better with time, but until life smooths out I don't want the icky days to be around.

Saturday
More time at Home Depot and Lowes looking for stuff for the house. We are starting to spend way to much time at these places.

Sunday
Happy Father's Day to Mr. Man!!! Well sort of. He had to spend 8 hours at work. One of these days he'll get to spend a holiday with us.

I got to catch up with some friends from Hope which was wonderful!! It looks like we're going to be having some company in the semi-near future and I can't wait. I miss my friends dearly and hate that everyone lives so far away. Thankfuly there's the internet to keep us all updated.

Today
Started working at the church for my boss. There was nothing to do. I really hope the next few days are better or I'm going to go crazy.

We decided that we're going to try and do most of the house painting ourselves and get help next week if needed. Now it's time to go and get supplies. I hope it turns out well since neither of us have paited a wall in our lives. Pictures will come. Here are some of the kids though.

Holy Goodness

It has been a busy few days. Mr. Man has been moving stuff over to the house like crazy, we have been looking for new appliances, trying to decide on paint colors, and I started "working" again.

I went back to work and found there's still nothing for me to do. Plus, our budget is WAY low. Thankfully I have some job security and I know my boss won't leave me high-and-dry. Nevertheless I think I'm going to start looking for other part time options. I really can't justify going to work to do nothing when there's really no funds to pay me. Plus, they would be better off having someone working there to do the little I do, and be able to do other ministry work as well. I can't do much outside of the office. They're not going to send me out to try and raise money, and me preaching is out of the question. They have survived 2 months without me and managed just fine.

I hope I can get some more insight from my boss next week when I'm filling in for his secretary at his main place of ministry.

I'm really open for anything right now. I have learned a lot, and mostly like my job, but I am STARVED for human interaction. Maybe this is a natural time for a change. Let's just pray there's a job waiting for me.

On a side note...If anyone reading this is good at interior design or painting please let me know. Currently my designer help (my mom) is in Mexico and cannot be reached. Or if you know of anyone who is good at either of these things let me know.

Patience Pays Off

Some good things have happened in the past few days.

On Friday we FINALLY closed on our house!! We are now homeowners!

On Saturday I helped to "coordinate" a wedding for two friends from school. I didn't get to help as much as I had hoped due to kids and Mr. Man's work, but I was so happy to help out where I could. The wedding was beautiful despite all of the behind-the-scene ickyness.

On Sunday Eli had his baby dedication at church. A few friends were able to come and be with us. I hate that our family, well most of it, is so far away for things like this. There are pictures but I'm to lazy to go get the camera to load the pictures, sorry.

Today we went and walked through the house deciding on paint colors and what we want to do to every room. Thankfully there's not too much and I think we can get everything done before we move in at the end of the month. I'm just glad we have plenty of time to move in so we can do it slowly and then have one day to move the big stuff.

Also today I ordered all of my diaper making supplies! The AIO pattern I have been wanting is now back in stock and I was able to get it:) I'm so glad I waited until they updated their inventory to order. The next purchase will be some yarn that's on sale at Knit Picks to make some more soakers and longies. I am finding that I really like these more than PUL covers. Speaking of knitting it is time to go and do just that.

Our First House

Yes folks it's really true this time...We're getting the house!! I got the official call from the USDA today that they have our money and we're closing this week!!! We also had the home inspection today which went very well. Now it's time to get serious about paint colors, curtains, and moving dates.

Here are some pictures of our first house.

Some Good News Today

1. I finally sold my Swaddlebees AIO diaper! It sold on Diaperswappers. I am so happy!

2. I ordered some AIO diapers from Montana's Diaper Store for a testing price so they were a good deal. I just hope they fit well and do their job. I wasn't really wanting to order more, but the kids need something until I can get all of the sewing supplies ordered, shipped here, and made.

3. I hope it's not too good to be true but I think we will be closing on the house Friday!! They won't know until tomorrow or Wednesday for sure if we have the money, but so far all looks good. It's getting inspected tomorrow, someone is working on the title, and we're getting our insurance ready. Now we just need to figure out how we're going to paint everything before we move. I hope we can get some help even if it is paid help because I really don't want to deal with moving furniture, keeping kids off the wet walls, or fumes after we move in.

Closing on the house totally makes up for needing to bring our "new" car in for repairs. The AC stopped working and you can't live without AC in Tennessee.

Other than bringing in the car it was a pretty good day. Eli slept for about 5 hours last night!! I hope this starts to become a trend. I meet with my boss tomorrow to talk about going back to work :( I just hope he's open to letting me work for a few hours every day in the early morning. I just need to work enough to help pay the bills. Please pray that we are both working at the right places, or that the right jobs come along soon. We really need a change in lifestyle and maybe things working with the house is the beginning of some more good changes to come. If not we'll manage like we always do. I hope the good news keeps coming.

It's the Little Things

A few "momentous" things happened today.

1. I went grocery shopping for the first time in close to 2 months. Somehow I started to forget what all is at the store. It was a good time spent with the whole family. I know, we live on the edge.

2. I wore pants that have a zipper with a belt!! I don't remember the last time that happened. Granted the capris are much larger than I would like them to be, but I'm not giving myself too hard of a time since I did just give birth 6 weeks ago. In time these will go into the bin of clothes that need to be saved.

3. I changed the filter in the fish tank!! I haven't done this for at least 5 months. As a former PetCo employee I know that it should be changed every 3-4 weeks, but the tank was clear so why bother? Things are slowly starting to get a bit funky in there, but I'm not going to do a major cleaning until we move. There's just no point.

Changing the filter meant I had to go and buy one. It was nice to be back at PetCo for a bit. The only thing I miss about working there is being around people. What I hate about my job is that I never get to see or talk to anyone on a regular basis. I'm still dreaming of my job at Starbucks or other coffee shop...God please call me there!!!

4. Ari went to bed early. I don't know if this is good or bad yet. Good for me now, but it could mean a really early morning. I just hope the extra sleep does her good. She's getting another tooth in and I know that's causing some of her troubles.

5. I didn't get to participate in this next one, but my parents left for Mexico today. I'm happy they get to have 2 weeks together in a nice place. Especially since my dad missed last summer since he was in Iraq. I just wish I was there too. I could handle spending my days in the pool swimming up to the bar for freshly made N/A fruit drinks. Though some days make me want to say bring on the real drinks!

Anyhoo, that's it for now. Time to knit:)

Fave Movie Quote of the Day

Mater: I once knew this girl, Doreen. Good lookin' girl. She looked like a Jaguar, only she was a truck. I used to crash into her, just so I could spoke to her.
Lightning: What are you talking about?
Mater: I dunno.

Bunch-o-Stuff

I decided to give the blog an update today. A fresh look is always good. Anyhoo, onto the random stuff of the day.

Still Recovering
I've recovered from the MIL visit, now I'm just working on the postpartum funk. The other day was pretty bad. It was one of those days where you just want to quit it all and go someplace else. I didn't want to be mom, or wife, I just wanted some peace and quiet me time far, far away from Tennessee. Thankfully it passed like it always does.

Mr. Man had two days off and they were good. He gave me a lot of encouragement that was good even though in my funk-filled head it didn't get far. One of these days all of this will pass, but until then I may need some help. I go for my 6-week check-up next week and I'll see what advice they give me.

Little Man
Eli will be 6 weeks on Sunday! I can't believe it's been that long already. He's getting super chubby! He's so cute you just want to eat him up. He must be pushing 12 pounds already. I don't know how much weight he should have gained by now but I think he's put on enough. I must have super-milk or something because he doesn't eat that often. I just hope he keeps growing and starts sleeping for 5-6 hours at night. I can live better with 5-6 hours of sleep, it's not ideal, but it's better. I hope he learns to roll over soon too. He really likes to sleep on his tummy but they say that's not good these days because of SIDS. So, right now he gets tummy sleeping time when we're in the same room and can keep an eye on him just in case. Once he starts rolling over though we shouldn't have to worry about anything. I don't know that there's really a major difference in sleep positions. I'm sure in 10 years they will be telling everyone to put their kids to sleep on their tummy again.

He's starting to spend more time awake and at times is very alert. He's slowly starting to reach for some of the toys on his play mat, and finds himself in the mirror. I'm just so glad he is so mild tempered right now because I couldn't handle 2 of Ari yet.

Still Waiting
We are still waiting for our house. There have been some cut backs and I think that is holding us up on getting our money. We hope it will all happen next week but there is no guarantee. Once the money comes in the house will be ours in about a week. I'm so ready to move. I want to get some painting done, but at the same time I just want to get into a place with more space.

Not only are we waiting on the house but we are waiting for TennCare to kick in for the kids. Since the hospital was slow getting us the unofficial birth certificate and application for Eli's social security card it took us longer to get him added to the TennCare/Medicade insurance. Plus, since I applied for Food Stamps at the same time they can't just process him. He is prequalified for coverage and just can't get it yet. And all of this is taking so long because our new caseworker said we needed to wait for Mr. Man's next pay stub to process everything when this was not true. She claims they needed 2 full months of pay stubs not just 8 continuous weeks like I have done before. Had she told me this a few weeks ago I could have handed them to her right then when I was in the office and all of this would be taken care of. ANGER & FRUSTRATION!!! I know it can be a taxing job, but I really wish that these people would communicate a little better.

Diaper News
I'm slowly learning how to use my serger and I made some more wipes yesterday. I figured out how to use wooly nylon thread and it works great! I also serged all of the wipes I had turned and top stitched before.

All but my Swaddlebees diaper has sold so I have a nice chuck of change to buy fabric with. I'm patiently waiting until next week to order when they have more microfleece in stock. I just wish they had the Very Baby AIO pattern back in stock. I'm going to start out with the fitted pattern and try to patiently wait for the other.

I just hope this sewing adventure goes well. I ordered a few yards of pattern ease today to try out with the diaper patterns, and to finally work on a dress for Ari.

Mushy Brain
So, my brain has turned to mush. There is very little going on up there these days. It needs to be stimulated. Not that I really have time to read, but if you have any good book suggestions I'd love to have them! I need to find something other than kids, diapers, and poo to fill my mind. Not that there's anything wrong with the kids, but I'd like to be able to hold a semi-adult conversation that doesn't involve these things.

Pictures