A Mother's Love Comes with a Price

Healthy Deals in Phoenix!

amotherslove4ever — Sun, 15 Jan 2012 06:01:16 +0000

At our local Albertsons Grocery Stores here is a GREAT steal for the week!

They are also offering Red Wine Vinegar on sale if you enjoy that on your salads

Will be updating more

Children’s Chore Pages

amotherslove4ever — Sun, 15 Jan 2012 05:43:39 +0000

Here are some examples of the chore pages I printed up for my children. This does NOT include normal basic tasks. Such as, hygiene or daily tidying. Hope this gives some ideas

Daven

Raymond

Anastasia

And on to Another Journey

amotherslove4ever — Sun, 15 Jan 2012 05:20:27 +0000

As I struggle with a family of 3, being pregnant, AND being a military spouse, I now am on the journey to FOUR children on top of it all! I have yet to find a “routine” for cleaning that has worked for more than a few hours. YEP thats right a mere few hours! I cannot seem to keep myself motivated! Let alone my children who I feel are a correct age to be doing age appropriate chores. So now that this journey absolutely HAS to begin I figured I would let you in on what it is I am going to try. I failed terribly at FlyLady which I never really was a fan of in the first place, although I know it has been a miracle worker for many many women. I also attempted the Home Management Binder which was more successful than anything.

Yet, here I find myself buried in clothes, dishes, and miscellaneous items. Hoping to figure something out that can keep me from the MASS weekend cleanups!

Also, since I am organizing anyways and I absolutely LOVE couponing (yes my darling husband I used it as a verb!)..I will be sharing what I find to be the best deals going on in my area and just how it is I go about saving WITHOUT spending ALL my time clipping coupons.

Hope you enjoy the new journey and the continuation of my blog.

Wow…Its been ages!

amotherslove4ever — Fri, 11 Mar 2011 03:03:46 +0000

Well 6 months later…and here we are. So sorry I have not blogged in so long. We have had a very very hectic last 6 months. Im not even able to write about all of it now . I wanted to let you know that we are all still alive. Also the Lord works in mysterious ways. Here we are 6 months later…and besides for having beautiful growing children. I am not sure how I have grown. I do know that I am madly in love with my children and my husband. Im also working on my faith and dedication to the Lord. So this is just a simple post. I plan on writing a more organized post soon. Thanks as always for reading

Finally over…

amotherslove4ever — Fri, 10 Sep 2010 07:31:56 +0000

Well I finally had our darling princess on Sunday Sept. 5th 2010, at 10:42 pm. Life threw a curve ball at me with this little drama queen though. Since 33 weeks pregnant I have been struggling with “preterm labor”, contractions, full blown soreness, pre-eclampsia scare, and now…I had to be induced for…YEP pre-eclampsia. I went in on sunday because I thought my water had been leaking and I was running a fever, which made me fear infection. Much to my surprise it was not my water that had caused issues it was the dreadful pre eclampsia showing up finally. So at 630pm I get told that Im going to be induced and have my baby soon. I went in at 4cm, 90% effaced, and station -2. By time my friend Nicole made it to the hospital after getting the kiddos to their grandmas I was still 4cm but they were starting ONLY a small dose of pitocin as I was already having contractions. Not long after that I was 6 cm and then asked for an epidural as the pain and high blood pressure was too much for me to handle. After getting the epidural I opened to 7 and asked the doc to break my water as I knew it would be only a matter of minutes after that. Which I was right it was about 15 minutes after breaking my water that I could feel her head coming down the birth canal. This was it I was soon going to meet my princess. I breathed through 2 contractions and out came her head then a tiny push and there she was! They laid her on my belly and both of us wept. My glorious little angel that I had tried to reason with for so many weeks had finally made it into the world in her very own way. I nursed her quickly and then things turned. She stopped breathing and turned purple. They tried to get her to respond but had to give her oxygen. Thankfully they allowed me to give her a kiss before taking her off to NICU. Once I was cleaned up and able to plop into a wheel chair they took me to see her. She was doing ok but not ideal. I tried to nurse her again but only to watch her forget to breathe again. This happened only a few more times. Monday morning at 5am would be her last time having a breathing episode. My darling girl was allowed back in my room monday night . Tuesday night they were going to release us but I had started having high blood pressure again and was kept over night to see how some medication would help. It helped me so we were released wednesday morning.

Even though my plan was to birth at home unassisted for so many many months I am very happy with my birthing experience even though there was medical intervention. My case was one of many where mothers and babies TRULY need doctors and medicine. If I had been stubborn and not listened to what my body was telling me we could both be very very sick and possibly I could have lost my daughter. Im so very thankful that God gave me great instincts and has taught me to listen to my body very attentively.

Here we are nursing for the first time after birth…

What is “preterm labor” REALLY??

amotherslove4ever — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 18:42:51 +0000

After 4 weeks of what doctors like to call preterm labor…My body has calmed down and my darling princess has nestled in for a little bit longer. Now as I look back on our trecherous “adventures” that we went through the last four weeks I wonder if any of it was necessary?? She is in posterior position. Which both of my boys were as well. Well im wondering if this “preterm labor” these doctors freak about and then my children decide to wait til full term, is JUST preparation. Posterior labors are often known to be much more strenuous and long. Perhaps my body just gets an early start so I do not have to do all the work at once? This is what I think is happening. I do not feel that any of the medication was really necessary now that I look back on it. However, in the moment I was scared for my darling tiny baby. Im so glad that contractions have slowed down and nearly stopped. I only have a few belly tightening cramps now, which is much easier to deal with.

Now as my darling daughter and I go into our next phase of not waiting but preparing for our wonderful meeting, Im so entrigued to meet her and have that journey together called “labor”. I think that birth should be renamed. The word labor definitely has a negative connotation I think. But anyways. My visions of an unassisted homebirth become clear once again. I envision birthing her late in the evening after R has already been moved from his bed to mine. Dealing calmly and peacefully with every contraction there on the bed beside my peacefully sleeping boy until I feel the need to throw up which tells me Im in transition. Then to birth her over a blanket placed on the floor next to the bed. Followed by checking her and I over in the bath and washing off. Then returning to bed to nurse her back to sleep. Ideally never waking R. I know this is probably NOT going to happen in this way but it is very very nice to dream about . The next few weeks will be spent getting everything in order for her and my family. My house needs some serious recovery from 4 weeks of bedrest/labor. Plus I need to get my van running again and car seats all installed. Lots to do and glad she is being ever so patient now. Hoping to, no GOING to enjoy the next few weeks patiently waiting to meet my wonderful princess!

Whats for Dinner=Whats for lunch

amotherslove4ever — Thu, 26 Aug 2010 22:39:41 +0000

I am so shocked that I have not blogged in forever! So I will do an easy peasy meal and school lunch idea This also qualifies for MSPI meal as well.

Tonight we are having spaghetti w/ turkey meatballs and some butter bread I think. (my son w/ the allergy is for some reason ok with cows butter). Im still not into the whole veggie thing yet. Hoping when hubby comes home he will help me incorporate more veggies.

For D’s school lunch tomorrow I will pack him up some left over spaghetti with turkey meatballs, butter bread, and apple slices w/ peanut butter also send him with some Tropical fruit punch that has 100% Vitamin C as he is getting over a cold.

We are both excited because this is his first hot meal he is taking to school . So far it has all been cold lunches. Which were usually sandwiches of some sort or left overs which could be eaten cold.

For the spaghetti I actually use linguine noodles, tomato sauce, seasonings, etc. Then the meatballs, ground turkey, egg, seasonings, panko breadcrumbs, and let those cook in the sauce. Very very easy . Hope you all enjoy! Camera is out of commission so unless I get energetic and use the webcam to take a pic I will unfortunately not be sharing pics of meals until I get a new digital camera.

Finally allowed to nest!

amotherslove4ever — Thu, 26 Aug 2010 22:30:37 +0000

The final nesting stage has hit and Im so excited! Now that Im out of the clear with all the preterm labor crap and scares I can clean til my little heart is content. As most of you know I moved into my new apartment in April. And by the looks of it you would swear I just moved in a week ago which must have been the same time that random hurricane hit in PHOENIX! lol Cause it seriously looks like boxes and stuff magically landed EVERYWHERE throughout the apartment. My main goal is to get ALL the trash and unnecessary crap out of my house and into the garbage dumpsters. Then I want to wash ALL my laundry and fold and put into dressers or put into a cubby for storage. After that its going through the boxes that have taken over my room and completely taken my wonderfully large closet hostage! Then I think I will tackle the easier tasks, like going through the kids’ toys, clothes, etc. This all does not exclude the scrubbing of every inch of the house and vacuuming so much my neighbors start to complain Must get everything ready for my little princess to arrive. Im hoping thats why she has only teased me into thinking she’s coming instead of actually showing up early Im kind of hoping she’ll be fashionably late so I dont have to do this all in 3 weeks lol.

Unusual cleaning tasks I am looking forward to:

Cleaning the shower curtains

Baseboards

Ceiling fan

Doors/doorknobs

Washer/Dryer

and…Im sure I’ll think of more

Hit a milestone on the Journey to Re-nursing!

amotherslove4ever — Wed, 21 Jul 2010 18:51:39 +0000

R finally nursed enough to empty one of my breasts a few days ago! As well as, doing away with his pacifier. He just up and decided he didnt want his pacifier anymore and asked for mommy milk and that was that. He hasnt asked for his pacifier since He also nursed one more time since then. It was on and off for a few hours while we laid in bed watching Heroes. Im so glad that I decided to try to re-nurse. So many people told me it wouldnt be possible after such a long period of time. But here we are!! So if any of you ladies out there are thinking about it you should DEFINITELY go for it. The journey is amazing if you allow it to be. Many people stress about supply first. I decided to focus more on him bonding with the breasts. Suckling will help to increase supply as well. When baby/toddler first latches on and starts showing more interest THEN start taking the herbs, tea, and pumping. Otherwise you will get a supply established and your toddler might not be interested. If you are just wanting to pump the milk and get them on that in a cup until they are ready to nurse then that will work as well But if you are wanting to do the actual nursing then I recommend re introducing your child to your breasts. Its an amazing bond and it feels so loving to have them all cuddled up next to your heart and getting love and nourishment all at the same time! Im hoping he will nurse more often once the baby is born but who knows. We’ll see. If not then at least I will be able to pump and store some milk for him.

If anyone has any questions on how to restart a toddler please contact me and I would love to share my resources!

ABC’s of Homemaking

amotherslove4ever — Tue, 22 Jun 2010 09:04:24 +0000

I snagged this from another blogger LOVE IT!

1.Aprons – Y/N? If Y, what does your favorite look like?

Dont have one yet BUT really want a super girly one!

2.Baking – Favorite thing to bake:

Brownies!!

3.Clothesline – Y/N?

Not yet…we live in an apartment

4.Donuts – Have you ever made them?

No I actually havent

5.Every day – One homemaking thing you do every day:

Cook at least one meal.
6.Freezer – Do you have a separate deep freeze?
Not yet…BUT oh do I want one!!

7.Garbage Disposal – Y/N?
Yes thank God.

8.Handbook – What is your favorite homemaking resource?

www.keepingthehome.com

9.Ironing – Love it or hate it? Or hate it but love the results?

The only thing I iron is my material for sewing.

10.Junk drawer – Y/N? Where is it?

Honestly?? I have a few lol

11.Kitchen – Color and decorating scheme:

Havent quite found exactly what I want yet…I like country theme though. and like a tuscan/italian theme.

12.Love – What is your favorite part of homemaking?

My hubby coming home to a well kept home and kiddos.

13.Mop – Y/N?

Nope they collect germs.

14.Nylons – Wash by hand or in the washing machine?

In the washer.

15.Oven – Do you use the window or open the oven to check

LOL definitely open it.

16.Pizza – What do you put on yours?

Cheese and lots of meats!

17.Quiet – What do you do during the day when you get a quiet moment?

Sleep, blog, read blogs, or facebook.

18.Recipe card box – Y/N? What does it look like?

Nope most of mine are stored away in my head.

19.Style of house – What style is your house?

Umm we live in an apartment…but as far as decor…we’re slowly leaning towards a lot of browns, tans, and wood…nothing set in stone yet.

20.Tablecloths and napkins – Y/N?

In search of the perfect tablecloth and hope to soon sew my own cloth napkins.

21.Under the kitchen sink – Organized or toxic wasteland?

Organized with GREEN SAFE cleaners!

22.Vacuum – How many times per week?

As many times as I can physically handle. I love a freshly vacuumed floor.

23.Wash – How many loads of laundry do you do per week?

Right now I have to go to the laundry mat so we wear a lot of stuff we dont necessarily like until payday comes around and then load it all up and take it to wash. Right now..its about 2 big loads a paycheck.

24.X’s – Do you keep a daily list of things to do that you cross off?

Not right now, too stressful.

25.Yard – Y/N? Who does what?

We dont have one yay!

26.Zzz’s – What is your last homemaking task for the day before going to bed?

Lights are off, doors locked, appliances off, and animals are in their “rooms” and me and kiddos are safely tucked in bed.