counting down...

well, I now have a tentative date for when I'll be a mom to five.  it's both a relief to know when the end will be and a source of anxiety because I still am not thrilled with having another c section.  overall though it's a relief.  I feel pretty okay about the whole thing.  now I go into my mega planning mode.  I have only five short weeks to get everything done I need to get done!  how did it come down to only five weeks?  oy my vey! 

things I still need to do

• figure out what to pack
• pick an adorable coming home outfit even though it'll only be the fam to see it.  it has to be cute I tell you!
• buy diapers (nope, don't have a single diaper for her yet).
• plan out easy meals, perhaps even premake and freeze some.
• rearrange my room to fit the baby in
• set up the van for the carseat (this requires moving several children around)
• line up childcare for the other children for when I'm actually having the baby.  I'd like hubby to be there to be with her til I wake up and it'd be really hard to do with four kids in tow.
• find out about blood donation.  I needed a transfusion last time so I was hoping to find some people that love me enough to predonate some blood for me.

I'm sure there's more but I am overwhelming myself just making the list.  so now I'm going to pull out my handy notebook and make a bunch of lists.  lists help.  oh they do too....  if nothing else they're a good way to get out some of my nervous energy.

meatloaf

today I am being brave.  I am making meatloaf.  what?  you're looking at me like it's something people do every single day or something.  well, okay, maybe they do, but it's a new one on me. 
I have a small confession to make.  I'm not a very adept cook.  I can make some things.  I mean I make a mean pot of spaghetti, rocking homemade pizza, lasagna, tacos, quesadillas and even enchiladas.  when it comes to "real" food or the food that you'd think of as homestyle I am so not able to pull that off most of the time.  I've never made a roast or even a turkey (yes, we have lasagna for thanksgiving, don't hate).  sides in my house are generally not two veggies and bread.  sides are more along the lines of pickles, olives, fruit, beans, salad or fries.  I just never learned.  didn't really have anyone to teach me.
so here I am in my 30s learning to cook foods most people can do in their sleep.  it's interesting and I'm not real sure how the minions will take to it.  they happen to love tacos.  but variety is the spice of life, right?  okay, so that's probably one of those saying people have to defend themselves when they're being wishy washy about things but it's working for me in this instance.
I figure I'll make meatloaf this month.  don't go reminding me that the month is almost over...  at least I'm trying here!  then next month I'll make something else "that momma used to make."  not my momma, but that's what they say, right?  I can't remember what my momma made anymore.  I have a terrible memory about things and her cooking is not in my memory.  I mean obviously we had food so there had to be cooking going on kwim?  my ultimate plan is to do at least one "traditional" meal each month.  who knows, maybe I'll do it more often as I get more used to it.  for now though, I'm thinking once a month is a dandy way to start out.
now for a totally random video, well, okay not totally random since I AM talking about meatloaf here.  and yes, this version is the only decent version of the song.  no offense to that chick that did it too....

 

remakes

sometimes I think the remake of a song outshines the original.  not always, but there are times.  perhaps it has to do with generational changes.  who knows....  but here are a few remakes I prefer over the original.

Cake - I will survive

Marilyn Manson - Tainted Love

Weird Al - Fat
or any Weird Al pretty much....

not what I wanted to hear

I got another ultrasound yesterday.  my doc took pity on me basically and I got one so I could get a better guess at gender.  well, it was a good appt and a bad one.  the good was that the tech was really cool and worked really hard to get me some decent pics and a gender shot.  the last tech was less than professional and I got no pics that were identifiable as anything and she wouldn't even try for the gender, first saying the legs were tightly crossed then a minute later showing me the legs literally jumping / kicking up and down on my bladder.  but that is almost beside the point, eh?  so I got a good tech this time.  I know I'm having a girl.  it took some work to get her foot out of the way but after a while it happened.  I also got a good profile shot and a shot of the foot (of course).
 
so now for the bad.  I'm 32 weeks, will be 33 on Friday.  baby is transverse (aka laying sideways).  oh of course, your first thought is something along the lines of there being time and that the baby will turn and all that, right?  well, let's rewind a little over two years ago.  I had an ultrasound at about 32 weeks pregnant with my toddler.  you guessed it, he was transverse and yes, he did turn but not the way that we'd have liked.  he turned a lot after that.  he went breech, then transverse the other way then head down and then breech and so on and so forth til I finally went into labor with him 15 days after his due date.  when I went into labor I knew he was either breech or head down.  I was planning on having another unassisted home birth with him like I'd done with my third child.  many, many hours into labor I was ready to push but my water would not break.  I knew in my heart there was a problem so hubby went and got his mom (she lives two houses down) to come sit with the kids while I went to the hossy.  I knew then I was going to have to be sectioned but I held out hope.  we got there, they did a quick ultrasound and saw that he was breech.  my doc was going to let me deliver him breech since he was my 4th baby and I'd delivered a 9lb baby at home before him.  well, when he broke my water instead of a butt there was a foot, just one little foot.  that made it too risky to deliver him naturally so I got prepped for a c section.  the c section was a good and bad thing.  a natural birth would have most likely killed my son.  he had a true knot in his cord and was actually limp when born.  the section nearly killed me.  I bled way too much and ended up needing a transfusion.  even with that my doc said I was a good candidate for a vbac only the hossy here has banned them.  so that of course brought up the idea of a home vbac, which while insane to many people makes perfect sense to me.  until the ultrasound yesterday that is.  so now I have to mentally prep myself for the reality of another c section.  I cannot take the risk of the same thing happening again.  I know every labor is different but still.  I'm being realistic here.  as much as it pains me, this is what needs to happen.  

so for the next 7 weeks I will...

• pray
• prep
• breathe
• believe
• try to ignore

and then I'll go to the hossy, check in and pretend I'm okay.  I will pretend I'm not afraid I won't wake up.  I will pretend that this was something I wanted to do, not something I'm doing because there's no other option.  I will pretend that when I get released from the hossy I won't be all alone, recovering from a major surgery with five children.  doing this will turn me into an actress.  I just hope I can pull off the act.

it's one of those years

I know we're only 18 days into the "new year" but it's already one of those years.  I don't get days, I get months, seasons and years.  so far this year it seems like everything I try is failing.  the only thing I'm still doing good with is my GPT sites and that's more of a need to do than anything.  
I decided I wanted to crochet some preemie baby hats.  I have crocheted hundreds of hats.  I'm great at hats because they're so easy.   I have no tried it five times and each time it's just wrong and I have to pull them apart.  or in the case of the one I did yesterday that was actually pretty much right, my toddler grabbed and undid it before I could tie it off and weave it in.
my pregnancy is getting harder on my by the day.  I don't want to complain about it but this is by far the hardest pregnancy I have had yet.  top off the fact that it's a hard pregnancy with the fact that my hospital banned vbac so I'm now facing some hard choices for this delivery at 32 weeks pregnant.  fun times I tell you - NOT!
schooling the minions isn't going terribly well at the moment either.  I've got some serious pregnancy induced anxiety and it makes it very hard to do the harder schooling.  which means once the baby is here and the anxiety is gone (oh I hope and pray it is!) then I have to bust hiney to get them back on track and one of them was already behind. 

so basically that sums up why I've been so inactive around here.  I've been dealing with life, poorly I might add.  I'm ready to move on and not be a grump but that may have to wait a few months.

learning something new!

I love my free ebooks from amazon.  I check the list several times each day because it updates hourly.  but yeah, yesterday I learned something new...  the links to the side also show free ebooks by category.  I had always ignored them thinking it'd take me away from my beloved freebies.  I was so wrong!  so, so wrong!  let me tell you, it's awesome having so many options for free books!  yes, I'm a reading junkie and no, I'm not ashamed.  show of hands, how many people were also in the dark on this?  come now, I can't be alone...  oh well, okay then.

in case the link isn't obvious in the blog post, it's the word "freebies" in the middle.

Wacky Weds Day

I had a random thought...  gamers getting married.  it happens.  really, it does.  me and hubby are both gamers.  so I went trolling along on google images and found some epic gamer marriage pics...  check it out!

see and you thought we all had no creativity!  I laugh in your general direction...    fairy tales my foot, I'll take a level up any day!

Giving Thanks and Giving Away

so, it's that time of year again...  we're giving thanks and cooking too much food.  so why not do a quickie giveaway?  enter to win a $10 egiftcard code for either walmart or amazon.  cool eh?  entries are easy and there's only one mandatory entry.  you have three and a half days to enter it.  I'll contact the winner on Sunday and they'll have two days to reply or I will choose another winner.  ready?  get to it!


a Rafflecopter giveaway


this is not sponsored by anyone other than me (and maybe my site referrals lol) 

bubble wrap

at this stage in life I'm thinking therapy might be cheaper than the amount of bubble wrap I would need.  but you can get it on amazon....

Shhhhh....

cravings

I've said it before but in case you're just jumping into my insanity right this moment, I'm pregnant.  yep.  like 21 weeks pregnant which means I am in the stage of pregnancy where I can EAT!  oh food how I missed thee.  but this also means cravings.  not really weird ones, I've never gotten those thankfully because I'm not sure I could live with myself if I did.  my main cravings this pregnancy have been laffy taffy and dairy products.  give me cheese, cottage cheese, chocolate, ice cream, whatever so long as it's dairy.  also cheese and tomato which just so happens to be what is on a pizza.  spaghetti too.  yeah.  this has been a fun pregnancy food wise.  can you just see me ballooning up as I type?  okay, since most of you have no clue what I really look like, think of anyone getting pregnant and then living off of a 85% dairy diet.  it's not pretty I tell you.  only 21 weeks and I am for lack of a better word, HUGE!  

yeah, so if you've ever been pregnant, did you get any cravings?

where have I been....

yeah, so I let this blog fall to the wayside in a big way.  funny thing is that I thought about it just about daily but with all the stress of my normal day to day life plus the added stress of growing another human being it has been rather hard to want to do this.  I've been rather focused on my GPT sites as well because well, we need money.  so that's where I've been.  just busy earning money on various GPT sites so that we can afford a decent if modest holiday for the minions as well as pay some bills and get the needed gear for a new baby.  oh speaking of baby, I'm 20 weeks now and will find out the gender in a few days so long as the bean cooperates when I have the sonogram.

so since I've been so into my sites lately, allow me to share about the one that I've been most focused on.  it's called instaGC and it's just like it says, instant gift cards!  you complete offers , watch videos and the like and when you're ready to cash out, you get the code for your gift card instantly!  how cool is that?   they have so many choices too!  from amazon to walmart and starbucks as well as several game related options.  I have only cashed out for amazon or walmart because those fill needs I have but the choice of what of you get is all yours!  check it out, complete offers and get the card of your choice!  they have weekly and monthly offer and referral contests.  I actually got second in the offer contest a couple weeks ago.  it was so exciting! 

the picture up above shows cashouts for the month.  and the one to the side here is from me winning second place in the offer contest.  yes, I won 1,000 points which is equal to $10.00!  yes, I got an extra $10 just because I was blessed enough to have completed that many offers in one week.  so what are you waiting on?  come join me and see how quickly you can get to earning your free gift cards.

International talk like a Pirate day!

 

ah, it's International Talk like a Pirate day again!  yes, that annoyingly fun day where people make them sound even sillier than normal by trying to talk like a pirate even though let's be honest, we don't really know what a Pirate would have sounded like!  all we have to go on is what was shown to us first in B movies.

apparently in honor of that day, Swagbucks has decided to do a Swag Code Hunt! there's a map in the blog to help you find your codes.  ALSO they have made it Mega Swag Booty Day too!  that means it's MEGA wins!  I got an 11 early this morning and I saw lots of megas being won too!  so today is the best kind of day to be active with Swagbucks!  the first code is already out so get your hunting pants on and check that map!

weather

ah, I feel it.  I do!  it's slightly cooler weather.  I'm so happy.  instead of face of the sun hot it's bearable.  plus we have this rocking breeze happening.  I think it's gonna rain right now too but that is okay.

 I can't wait to be able to open up the windows and leave them open all day.  living in Florida that time seems so fleeting, so quick to disappear.  the summer just drags on and on and on.  I know that this "cooler" weather is probably just a fluke and we'll return to the sun for a while before fall finally makes an appearance for real.  but I am gonna enjoy it for now.

constant motion

sometimes life gets into such a pattern that it's hard stop it.  it's hard to stop and even catch a breath.  that's what my life has been like the last few months.  between flooding, a new pregnancy, my husband having an emergency surgery, starting a new year of schooling and a wicked case of insomnia I have lost a lot of things I intended to do.  this blog obviously fell to the side.  I thought about it daily but did nothing to try to make it happen.  so here I am.  I'm trying again.  I'm mapping out my mind which happens to be really uncharted and kinda scary territory.  I will make this happen!  I will get this going and keep it going and I WILL get followers who care when I drop off the face of the earth for a couple days let alone weeks.  not that my current ones don't but most of them know me personally on Facebook so they know I'm alive but busy.

so come on and get ready.  I'm gonna blow my own mind in the next month.  well that's the plan!

uh... oops

I haven't posted in a week.  I feel like such a failure with this thing.  I try.  I have great intentions but lack the follow through and frankly it's not real easy with four children and being first trimester pregnant.  in general I lie to myself and say I'll do it when the kids go to bed but then once they're in bed I am so tired that I just go to bed.  but here's the plan...  next week I start the new school year.  not that we ever really stop our schooling but I'm revamping how we do it.  so I plan on making time for me to blog part of the school day.  I think I can swing this.  pretty sure I can.  guess we'll just have to wait and see...

GPT funny

so GiftHulk posted this picture earlier today on facebook.  I thought it was pretty awesome and wanted to share it!

This sums up being a GPT aka Reward Site user pretty well.  if you're not using a GPT, why on earth not?  it's money just from doing things you do anyway.  why not try out GiftHulk?  it's pretty easy and has a cool treasure box.  I like the treasure box.  the treasure box was actually enough to convince my hubby to join too.  yes, he's easily amused.

Happy National Lasagna Day!

oh yeah!  now this is a day I can get behind!  I love love love lasagna.  well, pretty much anything Italian really. 

this is a pic of my three oldest helping hubby make lasagna on Thanksgiving a couple years ago.

my favorite lasagna recipe is made in the crock pot though.  it's not a recipe so much as I just kinda throw it all in there and viola!  in just a few hours I have lasagna!  so easy.  you can google a recipe of course or I'm sure there are tons on pinterest if that's your cup of tea.  the way I make it though, there's no precooking of the noodles.  be still my heart!  easy easy!  so, get to it!  make yourself some lasagna!!!!

coke reward bonus codes!

if you use my coke rewards then you need these codes!  they're worth 10 points each and can be used daily!  the codes reset each night.  FREE stuff is cool! I've gotten a bunch of free 12 packs of coke from there as well as a few magazine subscriptions.  it's worth it!

 

10095913378567

10096071476917

10096122897198

Plate filling fast

so there are just a few days left for the thing where we're seeking donations for my family.  we're raised $95 which is not bad all considering.  but as the time has ticked by the punches have continued to roll in... 

---last week I found out I am pregnant with my fifth child.  a little reminder of Tropical Storm Debby as it were. 

---this morning I woke to my husband in a terrible amount of pain.  he's had an umbilical hernia for a long time.  he had it repaired about three years ago but it quickly came back in a different location and has continued to grow to the point we found ourselves this morning.  his intestines had pushed though and were strangulated.  in case you're not familiar with something like this, it can cause death.  last I heard he was being prepped for surgery.  I cannot be there because of the children and lack of anyone to watch them while I go.

---due to him having to have surgery we're going to lose even more work aka finances.  the type of work he does has no "light duty" so it will be a while before he'll be able to fully return to work as an ASE certified tech (aka mechanic but the kind with papers saying he KNOWS what he's doing).

honestly I hate begging.  I really do but I've never been in a place like this.  I've never sat on the edge of losing everything.  that my friends is exactly where I sit right now and trust me when I say it is a terrifying place to be.

if you feel like helping I would be so grateful.  even if you just click the link and share it on your social network sites.  anything is a help!  anything.  and thank you....