Being Frugal and a Vitamix

     If you've been reading my blog, I'm sure you've read about our house and how tiny it is, but with this market we are stuck here for a while. So since we know we will have to be here for a while longer we decided in the fall Jack will most likely go to school full time and work part time. That means that we will need to be more frugal and save as much as we can . So I've been trying to do what I can now and decided I will start posting about what we are doing to save money and live a more simple, green life. Some upcoming posts will include: how to make your own laundry detergent, baby wash, shopping, gardening, and more. By the way one thing we did to help us save is join Costco (not really sure how much you save, but since I don't enjoy grocery shopping, now I don't have to do it as often).
 I was there today and they had someone making drinks with a Vitamix and now I totally want one. I know just after talking about being frugal I want a $400 blender, but I try to make juice and smoothies everyday so they kids get their fruits and veggies and they look so much easier then the juicer we have, but they are $400 which is a lot of money to spend on one. I'm debating if we should get one. Does anyone have one what do you think, is it worth it?

Declan

  

    A few nights ago I watched this video on youtube. It was so sad it brought tears to my eyes especially because I was thinking of our son, Declan.
    After having Declan, Jack and I were super excited like most parents. The day before we were leaving the hospital the doctors detected a murmur while listening to his heart. They said it was probably nothing, and all newborns had a murmur for the first day or so but they wanted to check to make sure. So they took him for about an hour, and Jack and I didn't really think much of it since they said it would probably be nothing. When they brought him back they told us they were going to have the cardiologist review the results and talk to us in the morning. They said he had a heart condition and he would explain it to us, and that we shouldn't worry. What kind of thing is that to say to parents of a newborn, of course we were worried, we cried and I was going crazy I didn't want to wait until the morning to hear more, a heart condition sounded pretty serious to me and I wanted to know what it was, but the cardiologist was gone for the day. All we could do is wait and I held Declan trying to hold back tears and hoping that he would be okay and wondering what would be in store for him.
     The next morning we kept asking when the doctor would be in to talk to us, but each time they would say soon and it kept getting later and later. We were both getting extremely upset, how can you tell parents their newborn has a heart condition and just make them wait. Finally after much pestering someone at least told us what it was he has, a bicuspid aortic valve. Immediately Jack started researching it online and finding out any information possible. Basically most people have three valves, but Declan only has two. You can read more about it here or here. We were still upset after reading about it, but at least we knew what it was and read most people will still live long healthy lives with it. Later that afternoon, after what seemed like forever the cardiologist finally came in to speak with us. He made us feel better, he said we will just have to monitor it and one day he will probably need surgery, but there was no way to tell when. Some people live many years and only have one surgery while others may have to go every few years, it just depends on each individual.
     At first every time I would tell people about it I couldn't help, but cry. I couldn't imagine my baby ever having surgery or being in pain. I know though we are very lucky to know about his condition, since it could be deadly without knowing. It is also not what the teenager in the video has, but it got me thinking about Declan's future and how I hope he can do everything he wants.
    Now we go to the cardiologist every 3-6 months to get it checked and luckily his valves have stayed the same size. He just went for a check up today and they are still the same size which is good. If they start shrinking then we have to worry and he may need surgery. For the most part now I don't really think about his heart condition, since it hasn't affected him yet in any way. I know one day it might and there may be need for surgery, but we'll face that road if and when it comes. I am just thankful I know, so that we can monitor it and keep him as safe and healthy as possible. 

Calling in Sick

Well I haven't been on here for awhile. We had a great Thanksgiving. Then Friday Jack and I had plans to go out we were both feeling a little sick, but decided to go anyways. We made it to dinner, but both felt too sick to do much else so we rented a movie and came home. Then things took a turn for the worse I couldn't even make it through the movie. I'm not sure if I had food poisoning or stomach flu, but I was up puking all night and felt miserable the next day. Luckily I have awesome in-laws who were nice enough to watch the kids, so Jack and I could rest. It was so nice of them and I totally needed it since all I did was sleep and lay around for those two days. Yesterday they brought the kids back and I was so happy to see them, but now I'm exhausted since I'm still not feeling great and  have a cough that's been keeping me up all night. So, that's where I've been and if I seem to be laying low for the next couple of days it's because I'm trying to get better. Too bad as moms we can't ever call in sick, that would be nice.

What's Going on in the Clarke House

 

   The other day I wrote a few posts about topics that have been on my mind lately and scheduled them, but I haven't had a chance to tell you what's been going on here. It's been pretty chilly here and Liam does not like wearing coats or pants or shirts that are too long a.k.a shirts that fit, so everyday before preschool it's quite the ordeal to get him to wear pants and a coat. Usually at home he's in shorts all day. I've been debating if I should have a shorts gnome come and hide them all. When he was a year and half and summer came he had a real issue wearing shorts and would only wear pants and long sleeves when it was 90 degrees out. I guess he just doesn't like change. People probably thought I was crazy when he had pants on in 100 degrees, but I can't send him to school in shorts it's just too cold. I did try to have him go outside briefly in shorts, so he could see how cold he would be but he said he'd rather just stay inside all the time. I love him, but the kid's crazy.
     Declan has decided he no longer wants to wear pants either and runs around in his diaper all day, which really is no big deal I just think it's bad timing now since it's cold out. He's also decided to take his diaper off at night and I'm sure he will start doing it at nap soon too. I'm thinking I may have to duck tape his diaper at night if he keeps it up, if anyone one has other suggestions I'd love to hear. I tried cloth, but he can get those off as well.  He's started talking more and saying alot more words on Sunday he started saying Liam and he can tell me when he needs to poop, which is good. Of course his favorite word is no and he says it all day and is becoming more independent and opinionated about things. I know it's good, but it also makes life more difficult and shows he's not my baby anymore.
     Then there's my little angel Rory. When I had Liam I thought life was so hard, but now babies seem easy compared to a toddler and a preschooler. It doesn't take much to make Rory happy just a little attention or a cuddle. He started pulling himself up and standing a couple of weeks ago. The first time he did it was on the bathtub, so he could see Liam and Declan in there. Sunday he started clapping too. This time goes by way too fast I can't believe he turned 7 months on the 11th.
   It seems like everyone here has been sick for the last week or so. As soon as one of them gets better then another one gets sick . I thought we were in the clear then Wednesday Liam came home with a fever and Friday Rory was burning up. Liam seems to be getting better and Rory is a bit better. Hopefully we're in the clear. Why is it kids can't sleep at night when they're sick? When I'm sick all I want to do is sleep, but they seem to be up all night between the three of them. I've had many sleepless nights now and am hoping this bug will leave our house soon, but I'm scared it may have hit me now. I'm crossing my fingers I'll fight it off. Hope you guys are staying healthy:)

Staying Motivated once it's cold out

 


     I know this will definitely be a problem for me. While it has been nice out I've been doing pretty good about exercising at least 3 times a week, but now that it's getting cold I'm scared I will start slacking. Right now whenever it is nice after I take Liam to school I go jogging with my other little ones then I days when I can't or don't do that I try to do the Jillian Michaels 30 day shred DVD I bought or some weights/cardio in the basement or garage. What's really helped me stick with working out is jogging because it's a set time, I do it everyday and even when I don't feel like it I figure I'm out with the stroller anyways so I should at least jog for a little bit and usually end up doing more then planned. It is starting to get colder though so I know my days of doing that will be less and less with the months to come.
     For example yesterday it was raining, so I came home and thought well, I will try to do the Jillian Michaels DVD since it's only 20 minutes. I did get to finish it, but with the two little ones there it was not easy. Rory spit up twice, so I had to stop and clean that up. Then Declan would cry every time I used the weights and try to grab them from me because he wanted them, and when it came to the ab part he insisted on sitting on my stomach or he would scream. Overall it just didn't work out to well.
     I'm just trying to figure out when is the best time to fit it in my day. It's rare everyone naps at the same time and by the time they are all actually asleep and I finish cleaning up it's usually almost 10pm and then I always just end up skipping it. I'd love any advice or opinions before I really start slacking.

The Chemicals that Make Us Clean

     I usually try to purchase all natural and organic body washes at least for my kids since I always worry about what I put on them. I was shocked to find out though that Johnson & Johnson uses chemicals in their products that cause cancer. As a mom I find that unacceptable and was upset because I received tons of Johnson& Johnson products as gifts and would use them on my children when I didn't have a chance to get to the store. There are many articles written about it if you search online, there is one I found here. I guess it's just a reminder that we need to be aware of the products we put on our children's bodies. I should probably be more aware of what I use as well. It's sad that companies do not care enough to make safe products for consumers, and while I love to buy organic and all natural products it does get expensive especially when my kids dump a bottle in the bathtub. In the end though the extra cost is worth it.

A bit of a Scare

     So I had another post I was going to finish today, but it was a bit of a crazy day. Liam woke up at 4:30am last night crying saying his legs hurt and he couldn't walk. Liam can be a bit dramatic, so we didn't think too much of it. I figured maybe he was just sick and achy, so I gave him some Tylenol and put him back to bed. Then all day he was limping around crying that he couldn't walk. He kept pointing at his thigh and saying that's where it hurt. Jack's uncle looked at him who is a doctor and told us it seemed like his hip and we should get him looked at. That got me super worried, so we took him to the ER and he got some blood work and x-rays. It ended up just being transient synovitis, which is an inflammation of the hip usually caused by a virus. I never heard of it before, but it was a much better diagnosis then the other things going through my head. He was just told to rest for a couple days and take Motrin every six hours. I am hoping if he rests tomorrow he will feel better for Halloween. Hopefully if things slow down tomorrow I will finish my review and giveaway of Stinky Kids and the Runaway Scissors book, so stay tuned.