New House and Growing Family

I know, I'm not too original in my titles.  Yes, we got our house in Leeds, after moving the closing date like three times.  I have learned to hate banks and hope that I'm not one of those "lucky" people who get to move all the time and sell and buy houses a lot!!  Anyway, the other good thing about getting our house was we closed three days before the end of the year so we have a nice tax deduction!!!  And yes, Baby #2 will be arriving the first week of August.  I haven't had internet since we moved and so I haven't had a chance to really say anything or put up our ultrasound pic.  We're excited and looking forward to the changes this year will bring.  I'm thinking it's a boy, call it a gut instinct ;)  But we'll find out in March exactly what it will be.  As long as it is behaving and works with the "camera"!!  I hope everyone is doing well!  I know it's kinda short, but other than a growing list of projects wanted to do in the house, not much more going on in this boring neck of the woods!!  I hope you are all doing well and I can't wait to see you all whenever we get the chance!!

Elizabeth

Fall is in the Thai air!

My title is sorta odd, but you'll see what I mean!

 Life now has been changing rapidly.  We have decided to buy a house in Leeds, AL.  We are looking at a cute little house and meeting with the listing agent today.  The Thai insert is because all of Roma's pictures on here will be of her cute clothes from Ma!  She sent her a package for her birthday and she gave her two cute shirts and a skirt and pants.  She hasn't worn the pants yet, but loves her Lion and Elephant shirts and her cute skirt!!

This is her new way to pose.  She kinda looks like a pirate or something.  She looks like she is thinking.  Her favorite shirt!  She roars every time she wears it!!

Also the closed eyes is new for her posing for pictures.  These are also the shoes that Honey got for her.  

Here is proof that sometimes she lets me fix her hair.  She is also all about skirts and dresses now.  She does have some pants and wears them sometimes, but usually she is in a dress.  She has gotten so big!

I'll keep everyone posted on the house and if we get it or not!!

Love you all and hope you have a great day!!!

Life so far . . .

I haven't been on it a year, well over a year.  I have been super lazy about writing and used every excuse not to write.  We have been super busy with so many changes.  Joe has changed jobs twice now.  Last Fall he left Advanced Auto Parts for an internship at Noble Bank.  He was there for about six months and his friend Amory got him a super nice job at BBVA Compass in Birmingham.  He also decided that Computers wasn't for him, so now he's finishing his degree online at Troy University in Business.  He'll start this Fall so we'll see how it goes.

Roma has been growing like a weed.  At least in height.  She's finally broken 20 lbs at 23!  She is a very active little girl and is in the dress phase.  A few times she'll wear something besides a dress, but usually she'll just say, "I wear a dress Mommy!"  She LOVES the outdoors.  She is NOT my child!!  We go out and run around and play with the rocks in the front yard.  It's too cute to watch her line the big flower bed with rocks.  Joe and Krager moved the Vaughn's swing set and trampoline to Mom and Dad's so she has lots to play on.  She still loves to read all day.  Whenever we go anywhere she has to have a couple books to keep her happy in the car.

I have been busy learning about Scouts.  I'm the First Counselor in Primary and I'm in charge of the Cub Scouts.  I have no bothers and no knowledge of what I'm doing, but it's working out!  I have learned a lot and am really loving it.  Joe was the Mission President and just last month he was called at the Young Men's President.  It fits him perfectly because he's a big kid and loves camping and hiking and all the things that go into Young Men's.

I have finally given into the newest craze:  Pintrest.  I did this because Sara has a super cute bag and I want one.  Also, I think it's something that will help me and Mom start our future cupcake business!  It's really Mom's dream job and I love to bake so it's working great!!  I've learned to make Wally World's whipped butter cream and it is great!  I hope everyone is doing well and knows how much ya'll mean to me and my family.  I love you all!

I'm still alive I swear!

I know it's been FOREVER since I've written anything. It's been a fun and hectic year since Miss Pris arrived. We've been to Florida and DC with the little one in tow and I've decided I don't like travelling or staying places that aren't home. Don't get me wrong, I loved getting to see our friends in DC and spend time with the Family at the beach, it's just Roma is not one to enjoy or sleep in new places which in turn means I don't sleep. I'll have to post some pictures from the beach and DC when I get a chance to put them on the computer. They're on the camera and Cd's from our friend Tristan (thanks for all the great shots). We went to the Zoo and Smithsonian and the Mall so we have some great shots. I just thought I'd get on here and give an update.

The biggest update of all: Roma is walking!!! She does a little at a time, but she's starting to keep her balance better and recover faster. She is too cute for words. We enjoyed Easter and will shortly be feeding her her chocolate bunny bit by bit. Another biggy: She quit nursing at 10 months. She just decided one morning that she was done. So I gave her a bottle and we've had no complaints ever since. It only took me a couple days to dry up. I tried to do it "cold turkey" but it hurt way too bad and I knew I could dry up from pumping so why not feel some relief and get to sleep at night. I did it that night and the next day and night, and then I was done! I was really glad it wasn't some horribly long, drawn out experience.

Next, her 1st birthday is next month. I'm looking forward to the caterpillar cake or a lady bug I can't decide. I'm leaning towards the caterpillar because Mom already has the pan, but the icing of said cake is going to be a nightmare. Maybe my craftiness will come out in full force then and I'll be the next Martha of cake decorating! I can only dream ;)

Joe is doing well in school. He's finished another semester and is taking another Summer class to stay on track and get a little ahead. He's trying to get everything worked out so he can have some assistance from the University since he has ADHD. He does well in class it's just tests he gets anxious and freezes. Hopefully he'll get the help he needs and can feel better about school.

Church is going well. I'm the First Councilor in the Young Women's and Joe is the Ward Mission Leader. We have yet to ride to church together any Sunday. He either rides with Mom for Ward Council (1st and 3rd) or PEC alone (2nd and 4th). Roma has gotten better about getting ready for church. She used to cry when I would try to get her ready, if only she knew that's how I felt on the inside it wouldn't have been a problem ;)

Other than that we're just preparing for another disgustingly hot summer again. Hopefully Roma will like the pool and enjoy the summer with us.

Love you all and hope you are all doing well!!

Rice Cereal

At the beginning of the month Miss Roma had a little problem with her rice cereal. I had starting feeding her cereal before each feeding because it always seemed that she was still hungry. She loved her cereal and it spread out her feedings to every 4 hours. I was enjoying that until earlier this month. She had a bowel movement on Monday and then didn't have another one for 5 days. Sara happened to be here that weekend and she told me that Rice Cereal has 45% of her daily intake of iron! Which is crazy. So I stopped feeding her cereal and tried everything in the book to get her to go. I know she was in pain because every time she would try to push her belly would get really hard and she would just scream and cry. I finally went to the doctor and he said there wasn't anything wrong, she was just lazy and didn't want to push. Which I guess was sorta true, but I think at the same time her poop was too thick from all the cereal. That was a Friday morning and she had a bowel movement that afternoon. So I looked at the cereal box and realized that all it was was ground up rice. I looked online to see if anyone had made their own; since I had made all my baby food why not make my own cereal. I found a blog that talked about using brown rice and grinding it in a coffee grinder. Another talked about using a food processor or blender. But they all said that once you made the powder you had to cook it before you could serve it. I wondered if I cooked the rice first and then just dehydrated it and ground it if that would work. So, here's what I did:

I took 1 cup of brown rice,

boiled it on the stove until it was a little over done,

drained it and spread it on a baking sheet with wax paper (next time, no wax paper),

set the oven to 200 degrees F. and opened the door so to let the moisture out and used a fan to circulate some air (not always necessary but a dehydrating machine has a fan),

"dehydrated" it for about 2 hours, just until all the rice is dry and then broke out Mom's stone grinder (food processor or blender or coffee grinder would work because the rice is dry again),

do a little at a time to make sure that the grinder is set fine enough (with the food processor, blender, and coffee grinder you can keep blitzing until fine powder just like you buy from the store),

Then just put in a zip lock bag or Tupperware container and mix like you would the rice cereal from the store (for Roma I'm going to use Apple Juice to add some fiber).

The nice thing about using brown rice, besides it's good for you and baby, it only has 8% of your daily iron intake. I just did 1 cup of rice for now, it's just easier if she didn't like it I didn't waste a lot of rice. She liked it, but the only thing is you have to stir longer for it to dissolve right. I think the next batch I will grind it even finer and see if that dissolves better. The only thing I didn't add that normal cereal is made with is Cornflower oil, I'm not sure how that fits in, but it worked! I'm glad I can make something healthy for her and not hurt her stomach too much!! I was very pleased with myself and actually remembered to document what I did this time unlike when I made all my baby food!!

I'll keep ya'll updated on anymore of my projects!!

May 26, 2010

This was the longest day of my life. After passing my due date we decided that I should be induced. We arrived at the hospital at 6:30am for my 7am induction. After three hours of being uncomfortable (with a stupid intrauterine contraction monitor) I decided that I needed an epidural because after two hours of contractions I had only dilated 1 cm. Three hours later I was completely dilated and ready to push. Three hours later Dr. Tamucci told me she was stuck and that she couldn't use forceps if anything happened. So there I go wheeling into surgery. Mom ran into a lady she used to work with and they let her come in too. She and Joe got to be there and I was really relieved. My little Roma Lynn was born at 5:58pm. She weighed 6 lbs 9 ozs and was 19 1/4 in. The next day was the worst. I was sore from surgery and from pushing for so long. It didn't seem that bad until the next day. I have to say that Joe was a trooper because I couldn't get out of bed for 24 hours and that meant he had to change all the diapers and hand her to me so I could nurse.

Once we were home I had a hard time letting other people help me. But I learned that it was okay to ask. I hod only one problem with nursing. My milk came in when I was in the hospital. Luckily when Sara, Emily, and Lacy came to see me in the hospital they brought me the pump. I had to pump on one side for a couple days to even out. Unfortunately my little vacuum found the two thin spots and tore me. I thought I could still nurse and heal but that didn't work. So I had to pump on that side and bottle feed her that milk for a week. I have to say it took about three months for me to feel completely healed from my surgery.

Now my little girl is almost 4 months and now has . . . . . TWO TEETH!!!!!!!! That's right. I was nursing her today and felt a little sharp prick. I looked and there they were, two bottom teeth!!! My little girl is getting so big!!

Here she is doing her latest trick!! Sorry, but I'm being summoned so this is it for now! I'll do better to keep ya'll updated on our little family!

Oh, PS Joe made the Dean's list this past semester! Congratulations my smart hubby!!

BEST NEWS EVER!!!!!!!!!!!!!

JOE GOT A JOB!!!!!!!!!! He starts on Thursday at Advanced Auto Parts in Jacksonville! A big thanks to Jackie for letting us know about this job and putting in a good word for Joe. He's also emailed the managers of the internship at Anniston Army Depot with his resume for a better chance at consideration. That would be a super job to get. He's just started his program and that's what they want so they can train you and keep you for a long time! But it's just nice to know that he's got a job. I know it makes him feel like he's providing for us and it makes me feel better since he cut his dang leg open on MLK day and had to go to the emergency room and get stitches. Luckily he only cut the fatty tissue and nothing deeper. Just 4 internal and 9 external stitches. I felt very blessed about all this because when I called about a payment plan for the ER doc bill the super sweet lady I talked to let me know that since we're practically broke as a freakin' joke that would could qualify for charity. I didn't know we could ask for that! I was so happy to know that is an option. Even if they don't do 100% we now have a job to help pay whatever they don't. I love the church and am glad the Lord will comfort you when you need it. I'll update tomorrow with pictures of stuff I've sewn and the craziness that's been February!

Love you all!!