A Big Brother T-Shirt to Announce Our Pregnancy

When we found out we were expecting our 2nd wee one, I tried to come up with a sweet way of announcing the pregnancy to our friends here in Dallas, our family far away, and my bloggy folks.  I decided to hand embroider the announcement on to a t-shirt for The Bear to wear.  My hand embroidery skills are... not strong.  But hey, what's life without a little imperfection?  

 I shot a few pics of The Bear in his t-shirt after I finished it, and sent them out to friends and family that live far away, with the caption, "The Bear has an announcement."

 It took some of our friends and family a bit to figure out they had to read the shirt to get the announcement.

 Later we put the shirt back on The Bear to go see some of our friends at our regular Taco Thursday dinner. Such great reactions.

 The Bear also wore his shirt to my Young Life "retirement" party to share the good news with all our YL friends.  

 Finally, I used the the pics to announce the pregnancy here on the blog.

 To make the shirt, I used a plain navy blue shirt that was already a part of The Bear's wardrobe.  I have a collection of vintage felt and embroidery floss from and estate sale purchase years ago.  I used orange felt and navy blue floss and an embroidery needle that was waaaaay too big to stitch the design.  I fastened the felt into an embroidery hoop and stitched away after drawing the words with an disappearing ink pen.  I used the hoop as a guide to cut out the circle, and then stitched the circle onto the shirt.  Done.

How did you announce your pregnancy? 

I'm sharing this design over at Prudent Baby's Embroidery Contest and at some other fun craft parties.

Working on Christmas Cards

Stationery card

View the entire collection of cards.

I know it is only September, but I started working on my Christmas cards this year.  If your family usually receives one of our cards, do not in any way think that this will make them arrive early.  Maybe, but don't count on it.  :) One step at a time, people.  Shutterfly sent out a code for 10 free cards to email subscribers last week, so I jumped on it.  One of my goals this year is to get lovely Christmas cards to send to friends and family for as little $$ as possible.  After I ordered the cards, an offer popped up for a $10 credit if I shared my card with y'all.  Awesome.  So, if you make your cards early with Shutterfly, be sure to take advantage of the $10 credit.  You don't even have to have a blog.  I think you can share on Facebook and get credit.  Shutterfly has tons of cute card designs, and also offers photo books, photo gifts, and photo printing.  I use it for most of my photo printing needs and love it.

    Have you started thinking about Christmas yet?

A Morning Sickness Cure - Seriously.

Y'all.  I have been down for the count for the last 2 weeks with morning (all day) sickness from the sweet baby growing inside me.  During my last pregnancy I was really sick from week 5-14.  My former OB prescribed Zofran, and it worked to an extent, but I was still pretty miserable.  This time the nausea, dizziness, and all around awful kicked in between 7-8 weeks.  I went to my new OB, whom I already love, last week and she recommended I try Sea Bands.  She also called in a prescription for me because I seemed so doubtful of the bands.  Friday night I was really sick and I sent Jed to CVS to get said prescription.  It wasn't there.  Out of desperation I had him pick up the Sea Bands.  I did not think they would work.  At all.  But, it was worth a try.  The minute I put the 2nd band on, it was miraculous.  I immediately felt better.  I'm so not kidding.  I've been wearing them every waking moment since then.  

The question I keep asking is, "Why didn't anyone tell me this last time?"  Seriously people, WHY???  So, I'm telling you now.  If you are suffering, go NOW and get a pair.  We paid $11, but as you can see in the Amazon link below, you can get them for $6-7 online.  

This is not a stigmata.  Don't canonize me.

The one negative I've found for the Sea Bands is that because the beads are constantly putting pressure on your pressure points they leave a mark on your wrists and can be uncomfortable at first.  Trust me when I say I've tried every other "morning sickness cure" out there, and this is the only thing that works for me.  I'm ok with a little discomfort.  Other than that there are no side effects, which cannot be said for any nausea medication.  I'm now on day 4 and I hardly notice my Wonder Woman Bracelets of Power any more.    

You can buy them off Amazon for $6-7, or at your local CVS for $11.
  
What morning sickness cures have you tried?  What worked for you?  What didn't work?

Steal of the Week: FREE Baby Sling

As you can tell from yesterday's post, I've got babies on the brain.  The morning sickness has kicked in big time, all day every day, so I only had the energy to come up with one steal this week.  Click the box below and use the promo code "ENBABY" to get a free baby sling.  The sling is a $40 value, but you just pay shipping.  They have lots of great colors and patterns.  I like Autumn Blaze and Black Magic the best.  The slings have a little bit of stretch and are a safe, comfortable, hands free way to wear your baby.  We've used several baby wearing techniques with the Bear, and a sling is my favorite for running quick errands.  The baby is safe and comfy on your chest, and your hands are free to get your stuff done.  Seven Slings can hold babes up to 35 pounds.  Check out the steal and let me know if you get your free sling.  

 

The Bear has BIG News...

He's going to be a ...

BIG BROTHER!!!

We are so excited.  Baby #2, who we are calling Mini Bear, is due at the end of April.  I'm about 9 weeks pregnant with tons of morning sickness to show for it.  I'll post lots more fun details and the sonogram picture later, so stay tuned.  

Double Rainbows in Colorado

We took an amazing road trip through the western United States this summer with our toddler on board.  You can read more posts about our travels here, and more about Colorado here.  Everything about Colorado has this magical quality, even the weather. Storms move through fast and are unpredictable.  From our view at Trail West we could watch storms roll in over Mt. Princeton almost daily.  

 These rainbows appeared one afternoon and alternately faded and glowed as the storm took its course.

 You can see some of the collegiate peaks in the background, and the base of Princeton is just to the right.
Below you can see the storm over the top of Mt. Princeton.  Princeton is over 14,000 feet high, a true Colorado fourteener.  The summit is completely covered by the storm.

Scripture and Prayer of the Week: Colossians 3:15-17

Thanks for joining me for the scripture and prayer for the week.  I try to bring a little focus to my life and my home with a specific prayer and verse every week.  You can find past verses of the week here, and other posts about following Jesus here.  

Let the peace of Christ keep you in tune with each other, in step with each other. None of this going off and doing your own thing. And cultivate thankfulness. Let the Word of Christ—the Message—have the run of the house. Give it plenty of room in your lives. Instruct and direct one another using good common sense. And sing, sing your hearts out to God! Let every detail in your lives—words, actions, whatever—be done in the name of the Master, Jesus, thanking God the Father every step of the way.

Colossians 3:15-17 (The Message)

How am I cultivating thankfulness in my home?  Certainly not when I show my frustration over tiny, insignificant things, or when I yell at my husband or child.  I want this verse to be true in my house, but it is sooooo far from it on some days.  Ann Voskamp has it right, thankfulness is the key to understanding grace and finding peace with God.  The problem is my own selfishness.  I don't want to be thankful and joyful when I want to be mad and I want to be right.  Anybody?  My prayer this week will be that the Word will have the run of my house, not me.  We will be thankful, because God has blessed us beyond all reason.  We will sing with joy and through pride out the window.  Hopefully.  Pray with me.

Prayer of the week:

Father God, Have the run of my house with your Word.  Fill us with joy and thankfulness.  You have given us grace we don't deserve, and more than anything we want our little one to grasp that.  How can he if we are selfish, yelling, frustrated parents who reflect nothing of you?  Remind me to sing to you this week.  Remind me to be consciously thankful, out loud, in front of my family.  Help me get over the need to be right and to be justified.  We want to give you plenty of room in our lives, but our own selfishness takes over.  Help me to get over myself this week.  Amen.

What are you thankful for this week?

Frugal Friday: The Dollar Store - Deal or No Deal?

I love the dollar store.

Not Dollar General or any other faker store, the real, everything costs $1 or under store, like Dollar Tree or the 99 Cent Store.  But, can you really find great bargains?  Yes!!!  Let me preface this by telling you not everything at the dollar store is a great deal.  While there are a lot of things we buy there often, there are others we will never buy there.  Now that you can use manufacturers' coupons at Dollar Tree, it's like a whole new world.  Today I'll give you the top ten things we love to buy at the dollar store, and a few that we don't.  This post is dedicated to my late mother-in-law, Carrie, whose love for the dollar store was passionate and true.  

Top Ten Deals at the Dollar Store:

1) Cleaning Supplies 

They have it all, including lots of name brands.  Don't pay full price for stuff to clean your toilet bowl.

2) Kids' Books & Coloring Books

They have tons, in English and Spanish.  I already have a bunch picked out for stocking stuffers.  

3) Food

They have our favorite Nature's Own Double Fiber bread for 1/3 the price of the grocery store 1 block away.  We find name brand canned goods all the time.  The freezer section is often overlooked, but they have a great selection of sweet treats and frozen vegetables.

4) Craft Supplies

From grosgrain ribbon to wreath forms, they have tons of craft supplies.  I just bought mini pumpkins to add to my fall wreath.

5) Holiday Decorations  

Easter eggs, Halloween costumes, Christmas garlands, Fourth of July banners, they have a huge selection for every holiday.    I just bought 4 ceramic pumpkins to spray paint for my fall mantle.  

6)Party Supplies

The best deal of all used to be their mylar helium balloons, but there is apparently a helium shortage and our store has been out for months.  You can find wrapping paper and bows, gift bags, balloons, candles, all of it.  I buy brown packing paper and use it for every gift.  

7) Kitchen Supplies

Paper plates, napkins, and cups, as well as glass, plastic, and ceramic ware can all be found in the kitchen section.  Pie plates and random utensils are often a great deal as well.  

8)Home Decor

I buy candles and picture frames all the time.  There are tons of items with potential if you get a little creative.

9) Pregnancy Tests

Instead of $9-$20 at CVS, try $1 for 2 tests. 

10) Candy

Our dollar store has a big selection of movie theater big box candy, and it makes a great treat.   

Top Five Things I Would Never Buy at the Dollar Store:

1) Electronics

2) Batteries

3) Medicine

4) Clothing

5) Anything I want to last for a long time.

Basically, you pay for what you get.  While the dollar store has tons of great deals, a lot of the stuff is not high quality or regulated for content.  Quality doesn't matter as much for party supplies and seasonal decorations, but does matter for your vitamins, your baby's onesies, and your electronics.  

Here's a great article from Forbes that breaks down everything you should and shouldn't buy at the Dollar Store.  Thanks to our friend T.J. for sending it my way.    

Do you shop at the dollar store?  What's the best deal you've ever found there?

Steals of the Week: September 13

We'll call this the photo gift edition of Steals of the Week.  I love a good photo gift, and have definitely given photo canvases often in the past.  Grab these opportunities for some do ahead Christmas gift ideas.

1) Join York Photo for free by clicking the box below and receive 40 free prints as well as a photo placemat for $1.  I think this would be a cute idea for a niece or nephew who lives far away from family, so they could see their loved ones at every meal.   Use the code 1PLACE to get the the $1 placemat.

2) Canvas People is still doing their free 8x10 canvas print (see the ad below my header), but now they are running this deal as well.  You get two 11x14 canvases for $45, shipping included.  These make fabulous gifts for your family (or yourself).  Just click on the box below to get the deal.

3) Vistaprint is always giving away freebies.  This time is is a free calendar.  I'm thinking this could be a great family Christmas gift as well, if you put a little work into the finding of great pictures.  Just click the box below to get the deal.

Have you found any great steals this week?  Share them with me in the comments section.  

HUGE Cloth Diaper Giveaway ~ Sweet Cheeks Diaper Fundraiser and Awareness Event

Join me September 11th-25th for a Fundraiser and Awareness Event to support:

Sweet Cheeks Diaper Kits is an all volunteer non-profit organization founded by Shane Morris, a cloth-diapering mom. We are incorporated and registered as a non-profit organization with the State of NC.

We began making cloth diapers from recycled t-shirts in August of 2010.

There is currently no federal, state or local assistance for diapers (cloth OR disposable). We are partnering with local WIC offices to supply cloth diaper kits to families in need. There is currently a waiting list for diaper kits!

The giveaway will open September 11 and close September 25. (see form below)

The Twitter Party is September 25th at 9pm est where the winners will be picked!

Giveaway Prize donations for the Twitter Party from these Sponsors:

Fuzzibunz

Applecheeks

Buttercup Baby

Funky Fluff

Fluffy Bums and More

Thirsties

Snappi Baby

KAMsnaps

Ruby Moon

LolliDoos

Ribbon N Stitches

BALM Baby

Diaper Drive donations have been made by:

Sweetbottoms Baby Boutique

For The Monster

Eco Chic Baby

Applecheeks

BALM Baby

A special thanks to Lovely Eco Chic for donating 50% of their diaper rental program profits!

Please email me at housewifemama@gmail.com if you would like to donate diapers.

They are a 501(c)3 organization so donations are tax deductible!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Family Travel: Visiting an Old West Ghost Town

Ghost towns dot the map of the United States, and extremely prevalent in the former wild west states.  As a card carrying history nerd married to another history nerd and world geography teacher, historic sites are a big part of our normal travel itinerary.  Ghost towns in particular have long fascinated me, so much so that I did my senior history thesis on Cadron Settlement, a long lost Arkansas ghost town.    

 One of the activities at Trail West Lodge is a 4x4 Jeep tour up to St. Elmo, a real Old West ghost town.  We jumped on board.  St. Elmo used to be famous for mining, now it is famous for chipmunks.  Oh, how time changes us all.  :)

 
Let me just recommend Jeep tours to anyone with a kid who needs a good nap.  We did a lot of off road driving in Colorado and New Mexico, and it was the Bear's kryptonite.  He couldn't fight it.  Out like a light every time.

The most popular thing to do in St. Elmo is feed the chipmunks.  I freely admit that I enjoyed this more than anyone else, maybe ever.  I had a Disney princess moment, y'all.  

 The Bear, on the other hand, was a bit suspicious of the little critters.  He really liked them, laughed and pointed, but wanted no part of them touching him.  It was probably better that way.

 Jed even fed the little buggers.  This is a huge deal for a non animal lover.

 The second most popular thing about St. Elmo is the scenery.  It is serene and so beautiful.  A lovely mountain stream flows through the middle of town, and mountains surround you on all sides.

 Even the one room schoolhouse has an alpine view.  How did teachers educate a room full of kids of all ages?  This mystifies and amazes me.  My grandmother taught in a schoolhouse much like this in El Paso, Arkansas.

 The pioneer cemetary is on your way in to town, if you come up the jeep route.  The graves reside among lovely trees in an aspen grove, and date back to the mid 1800s.

 This is a replica of what the inside of the courthouse and jail looked like around the time of the town's boom (late 1800s).

 The original Miners' Exchange building is now home to the St. Elmo General Store.  There you can buy a snack for you or for the chipmunks, books about the town and Colorado history, postcards, and lots of souvenirs.

 There are so many of the original buildings still standing.  We really got a glimpse into mining life during the gold rush.  As we walked the dirt streets we pictured miners and their families grinding out an existence high atop a mountain in rugged Colorado.  

 On our second trip up to St. Elmo, my parents joined us.  I inherited my history nerd gene from both of them, so they thought it was awesome.  My dad was a big fan of the cable series Deadwood, and we could picture that kind of action happening on the main street.  It was a great little outing for the whole family.

Do you or your family enjoy historical travel? 

What's your favorite history travel outing?