Half Way

Yesterday, I began my 20th week of pregnancy with Baby Hein #3. Halfway home, hopefully! Everything is going wonderfully and I am certainly feeling much better these days. We have been very busy with activities and errands with Brooklyn and Cayleigh and enjoying, what has been, a mild summer thus far for us Texans!

Baby Hein #3 is developing and kicking up a storm; measuring around 7 inches long so far according to our sonogram this past Tuesday. We are still thrilled to see another healthy, thriving baby inside there! 

20 weeks, Baby Hein #3

(I am so unmotivated to do any pregnancy pictures this time. I know, I am the worst memorabilia mommy ever!)

Headed to a wedding last night

Honda Love

For years, Aaron has wanted me to get a van. Me?!? Van?!? Lord, NO!!!!! But ever since we found out about Baby #3, it had become a serious contemplation. I wanted to make things work with what we had and we discussed ways to get 3 car seats in the second row of the Explorer, but it would be tight and we would have to get a thinner base infant seat, etc. The access to the third row was very inconvenient for Brooklyn to just climb to the back (having to put seats down that don't really fold down completely flat) and Aaron hated the idea of having to open the tailgate every time so she could sit in the third row. We even contacted a few Ford dealerships about having the second row removed and converted to two captain seats, so you could at least walk through the middle to the very back. No way, they said :( but I was not ready to give up my Explorer and DID NOT want a van!

Well, it took one 102 degree day and several short errands in and out of places to send me into "sliding door mode!" I told Aaron I would consider a van; I was ready for all the wonderful conveniences that it offers. We looked at the budget that night, prayed and he contacted a few dealerships the next day. The first dealership wouldn't budge on price, but the second came down to Aaron's price and that was that!! I had already done my research online and knew if I was going to take the plunge, it had to be a Honda!! My sweet 2005 Accord was traded for an awesome new 2013 Odyssey that very same weekend.

I have been converted and love every single aspect of it!! There are about 4 different ways to slide the side doors open....the girls can do it and climb in and out by themselves....AWESOME!!! Everything is automatic and I never have to sling the tailgate shut like in the Explorer. Leather seats, Bluetooth, tons of storage and options with easily moving and removing all the back seats, back up camera, heat front seats, a cool box, storage compartments and cup holders everywhere, built in sunshades for the back windows, sunroof, triple temperature control so driver, passenger and back rows can all be at their own desired comfort. The technology is outstanding; I know I am leaving out a bunch of stuff.

I LOVE IT!! And my husband is the most amazing man ever for making it happen! He now drives the Explorer, so in case we ever needed to still fit three car seats in our other vehicle, we can. Plus, it allows us that much more towing space for the continuous projects we do around the house!

Travel life for this Mommy is 5 Star!!

Front Room

Our former formal dining room has completed its makeover and now considered our "front room." It now serves as a multi-functional room for our family. The custom cabinets hold books, knickknacks, overflow kitchen items and dishes, toys, board games and Mommy's sewing and bow-making supplies. It is fabulous because we desperately need as much storage space as possible!! The curtains have been changed out and we purchased a new chair and a half. The girls and I live half the day in there now (whereas it was rarely to never utilized as a formal dining room) reading books on the chair, doing crafts, playing games and just hanging out. So I guess you could call it our Library/Sitting/Office/Game Room!

As promised, here are the final pictures.

Advantage and Disadvantage

Being the parent who stays at home with their kids is the double-edged sword. When your children are polite and well behaved, make good choices and know the answers to things, YOU get all the credit. When they are disrespectful and fussy, uncooperative and rude, YOU take the blame. 

I remember talking to my sister-in-law, Jen, about this when I first became a stay at home mom. You are the main influence almost all of the time on your kids and therefore YOU either get to raise your hand with pride (to claim them) or lower your head in shame (to hide from them). 

Today, both Brooklyn and Cayleigh displayed behaviors in different instances at the house that made my heart smile. They both do things and says things on a continuous basis that make me smile, laugh, shake my head, cry, scream, and just remain speechless over! It's true. One minute they crack me up and the next I am in tears over how frustrated I am with them. It's a bit wild to think about, but you are essentially living with and looking at your achievements and mistakes every single day. I just pray that I continue to improve at this whole thing they call "parenting." 

Silly Daisy

A little entertainment before bedtime. Apparently, Daisy dog is a bit of a volleyball player we found out tonight!

Dinner Savings

I love to cook! Now, being a stay at home mom, I almost always have the luxury of being able to make home cooked dinners. I am not a gourmet chef and do not prepare super fancy meals, but I can definitely throw together some really tasty meals. Since I no longer financially contribute to our family, I look to save and do as much "of the little stuff" for our family as humanly possible. One major way is by cooking dinner pretty much every night of the week. Again, I make meals, for the most part, that don't require an abundance of my time. We also have two small children with simple taste, so breakfast for dinner or hotdogs definitely fall into planning!!

I buy food that's on sale. I go to the grocery store and know what is a good price and what isn't. I will spend more on quality food because I know it will taste better; but I will get (for instance) Boar's Head deli meat that is on special for the week. I know what items are going to cost me less at Walmart than at Kroger and so forth. Aaron asked me to break down some dinners and what the price of each ingredient to truly get a better picture of what I am spending verses our cost if we were eating out. Every meal I make, huge savings for sure. And healthier....except for my sweet tooth desserts added sometimes!

Shrimp and asparagus pasta:
1 lb of asparagus (only buy when it's on sale) $2.99
1 lb of fresh shrimp (on sale) $5.99
1 can of diced tomatoes $1.19
fresh garlic $.50, and this gets used for several meals
box of pasta $1.79, only half gets used
A tasty meal that has plenty of leftovers for around $12! That's cheap!

Throw in a salad (head of lettuce, a couple tomatoes, cucumber) and it's still only about $16. We can't all eat at Chick-fil-a at that price, let alone a restaurant.

3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts $6.79
corn on the cob 3 for $.99 X 2
fresh broccoli $1.84
Grilled chicken and fresh veggies for a great summer meal around $11....yummy!!

Obviously these are super easy meals that I have broken down, but even looking at my meatloaf and all the little ingredients in it that get used for several other meals (eggs, bread crumbs, etc), it is just crazy how much cheaper it is to cook than eat out.
It is certainly fun to analyze some of that stuff and nice to know exactly what my family is ingesting! Ha!

4th of July

We decided to check out Roanoke this year for fireworks and celebration on the 3rd of July. There were free bounce houses and slides, fun things for the kiddos to do and cheap BBQ sandwich dinners. There was a live band that played later that I am familiar with because a few of my teacher friends and I frequent their performances. And then, of course, fireworks late at night. The weather could not have been more beautiful and it was nice letting the girls hang out on the blanket and dance and what not. Our very routine-oriented girls did get restless and tired since we arrived around 6. So, we left before the fireworks went off and headed to another parking area where we watched them with easy access to the house afterwards. A very late bedtime lead to some sleep eyes the next day at cousin Claire's 1st birthday and party!! But nothing some family fun and cupcakes couldn't fix with a very early bedtime on the 4th of July!

Our little rascal :)

Sweet girls!

Bounce House fun!

Chow time

Birthday Girl Claire!!