I'm back. Apparently, I decided to take an unplanned blogging break for the last month! Holy smokes...I had no idea it's been over a month since I blogged. I knew life was chaotic, but man, oh man!
So- happy Easter, y'all! Since I didn't get the chance to wish you so earlier, I pray you all had wonderful celebrations of the resurrection of our Lord. Easter is one of my favorite times of year....without the resurrected Lord, our faith would mean nothing! We have hope because Christ was raised from the dead. Alleluia to that!
So what's been going on the last month plus? I'm so glad you asked. Lots of stuff!
-house hunting. We continue to hunt for our house in the South. It's been a learning process as this is the first time DH and I have looked to buy a home together. DH had a home built in the West, and after we got married, I just moved into it. We are learning together that I'm the picky, frugal one and he just wants to be in something to start making it a home. Funny, huh?
We've actually gone through two homes that we both really liked. DH has really liked a few more, but I (Miss Picky), didn't like them as well. Neither of the two homes is our "perfect" home, but they are nice. Both are overpriced quite a bit, so we're just sitting and waiting for a bit to see what happens and what else might come on the market. The big thing down here are swim/tennis subdivisions (it sounds so elitist, doesn't it?), and we're trying to see if we can get in one. They tend to have more families with kids, an HOA with better upkeep up yards (and fees to pay, of course), more neighborhood activities, etc. Swimming pools are already getting ready to open early May and remain open until late September. Oh boy...this four-season loving, Midwest girl is not quite ready for that kind of weather!
-SIL. The latest we've heard from DH calling CPS on his sister is that she is not allowed to be alone with her 3 kids! Yikes. Not sure what caused the CPS worker to determine that, but he definitely feels he did the right thing by calling to report her. His other sister and mom still have not returned the phone call from the CPS worker requesting more information about SIL's situation. So frustrating since they are there and see it all, but just want to avoid conflict and not necessarily do what's best for the kids and SIL (in my opinion). If they were to return the phone calls, there may be more CPS can and would do.
-runs/illness. R is over the runs- hooray! That only took 2 weeks last month. But then she came down with an ear infection and we did 10 days of antibiotics, which meant more days of runny diapers. I was doing laundry almost every day because of all the blowouts. Sure felt like those newborn days all over again. I'd nearly forgotten about those days. We then had 4 great days with her around Easter where it felt like our little girl was back, and then we ended up at the doctor's office again because her ear infection hadn't cleared with the 1st round of meds!
This time we started her on a different medication for a 2nd round attack on the ear infection. She was so terribly congested that 1st day of meds that she started vomiting (we think to clear some of the mucus out). Multiple times vomiting, a page to and personal call back from her doctor within 5 minutes (I love that level of personal attention from her pediatrician!), and we started her on a different antibiotic the next day.
Me, in my infinite sleep-deprivation, gave her a double dose of that new medication for 3 days before realizing it! Doh. No wonder why she got the runs again. Poor, sweet girl. Once we corrected that dose, her diapers finally returned back to normal this last week after a month of abnormality. Phew. That's been a roller coaster ride.
She finished her medication, and then I actually took her back to the doctor's yesterday to get her ear check. I wasn't going to mess around with more sick time. She got a clean bill of health...no fluid on the ears whatsoever! PTL. We've had 3 sick visits and 1 ear check with her doctor in less than a month! Ugh. That has been so hard on everyone. I am so, so thankful though that we went ahead and transferred all our her files over to the new doctor after our terrible experience with the previous doctor at 9 months. Little did I know the wisdom in doing that transferring at the time. I just thought I was being super organized in preparation for her 12 month appt.
-diaper changes are going way better. Part of all her changing maneuvers was because of her ear infection, I believe, and it being uncomfortable to lay down. She still wiggles around and makes it challenge to change some time, but she's not throwing fits and screaming like before. Toys and music can distract her most of the time to where I can change the diaper.
-my weight. It's finally, mostly going down! DH and I are 9 weeks into a food and exercise challenge through our insurance provider. We did this last year where we exercise 3 times a week and eat 5 servings of fruits and veggies at least 5 times a week. We record it in 6 week increments and can do up to 24 weeks. There are also a bunch of other things we can do and record, but this is where we're starting. We earn points which translate into dollars on gift cards with a maximum of $350 each for the year! I've also been keeping a food journal where I write down everything I eat each day.
In order to keep myself accountable, here are my stats:
-pre-pregnancy weight (after eliminating dairy, sugar, gluten, and eggs):125
-highest pregnancy weight: 170
-6-8 weeks post-partum: 145
And that's where I've been stuck for nearly a year- 20 pounds over my lowest ever weight. I know it doesn't sound like much but I'm only 5'5"...and I don't expect to ever get down to my same size,weight and shape as before pregnancy....but when nothing fits and it seriously becomes a depressor, I knew I needed to change what I was doing so I could fit into some of my old clothes and feel better about myself. I'm down to 141 now, so that is progress. I don't have an end number in sight since I know my body is different now. Maybe another 10 pounds? Now I've got to keep you posted since I put my weight on my blog!
-taxes. We filed our federal taxes April 14th and sent the state ones in April 15th...talk about being organized, huh? The good news is we are getting a refund from both state and federal. We have a whopper of a refund coming from the federal return due to all the bags of stuff we donated during Lent as well as before moving coupled with medical expenses from having a baby and regular donations and tithing. I'm actually a little bit worried about all our deductions and credits (my husband was also in school taking some classes, he had unreimbursed business expenses, our donations are high for our income level, etc.) since Turbotax put us in the red/high audit risk zone (we're usually in green). We shall see. I organized all our receipts and tried to file everything away together. How many years is it back that you could get audited? Just what I need...something else to worry about.
It was a little bittersweet filling out our taxes since once we completed the state ones for our old state, we were "officially down" with all our matters in that state. Dropping the return in the box was a little sad. Crazy, I know. But it was a form we were used to filling out for so many years and what we'd become comfortable with. Who knows what the state credits and laws are for taxes here. We'll find out in a year. I will say I'm glad DH finished payroll in December there and started the new job here January 1. At least that made it easier for tax purposes. Still, I miss our former place of residence...the people...our home....I should write a post about adjustment at some point. Just don't really want to go there and reflect on all the change right now. I should though...
And since this post has already been in my drafts for the week, I'm posting it now with more updates at a later date!
So- happy Easter, y'all! Since I didn't get the chance to wish you so earlier, I pray you all had wonderful celebrations of the resurrection of our Lord. Easter is one of my favorite times of year....without the resurrected Lord, our faith would mean nothing! We have hope because Christ was raised from the dead. Alleluia to that!
So what's been going on the last month plus? I'm so glad you asked. Lots of stuff!
-house hunting. We continue to hunt for our house in the South. It's been a learning process as this is the first time DH and I have looked to buy a home together. DH had a home built in the West, and after we got married, I just moved into it. We are learning together that I'm the picky, frugal one and he just wants to be in something to start making it a home. Funny, huh?
We've actually gone through two homes that we both really liked. DH has really liked a few more, but I (Miss Picky), didn't like them as well. Neither of the two homes is our "perfect" home, but they are nice. Both are overpriced quite a bit, so we're just sitting and waiting for a bit to see what happens and what else might come on the market. The big thing down here are swim/tennis subdivisions (it sounds so elitist, doesn't it?), and we're trying to see if we can get in one. They tend to have more families with kids, an HOA with better upkeep up yards (and fees to pay, of course), more neighborhood activities, etc. Swimming pools are already getting ready to open early May and remain open until late September. Oh boy...this four-season loving, Midwest girl is not quite ready for that kind of weather!
-SIL. The latest we've heard from DH calling CPS on his sister is that she is not allowed to be alone with her 3 kids! Yikes. Not sure what caused the CPS worker to determine that, but he definitely feels he did the right thing by calling to report her. His other sister and mom still have not returned the phone call from the CPS worker requesting more information about SIL's situation. So frustrating since they are there and see it all, but just want to avoid conflict and not necessarily do what's best for the kids and SIL (in my opinion). If they were to return the phone calls, there may be more CPS can and would do.
-runs/illness. R is over the runs- hooray! That only took 2 weeks last month. But then she came down with an ear infection and we did 10 days of antibiotics, which meant more days of runny diapers. I was doing laundry almost every day because of all the blowouts. Sure felt like those newborn days all over again. I'd nearly forgotten about those days. We then had 4 great days with her around Easter where it felt like our little girl was back, and then we ended up at the doctor's office again because her ear infection hadn't cleared with the 1st round of meds!
This time we started her on a different medication for a 2nd round attack on the ear infection. She was so terribly congested that 1st day of meds that she started vomiting (we think to clear some of the mucus out). Multiple times vomiting, a page to and personal call back from her doctor within 5 minutes (I love that level of personal attention from her pediatrician!), and we started her on a different antibiotic the next day.
Me, in my infinite sleep-deprivation, gave her a double dose of that new medication for 3 days before realizing it! Doh. No wonder why she got the runs again. Poor, sweet girl. Once we corrected that dose, her diapers finally returned back to normal this last week after a month of abnormality. Phew. That's been a roller coaster ride.
She finished her medication, and then I actually took her back to the doctor's yesterday to get her ear check. I wasn't going to mess around with more sick time. She got a clean bill of health...no fluid on the ears whatsoever! PTL. We've had 3 sick visits and 1 ear check with her doctor in less than a month! Ugh. That has been so hard on everyone. I am so, so thankful though that we went ahead and transferred all our her files over to the new doctor after our terrible experience with the previous doctor at 9 months. Little did I know the wisdom in doing that transferring at the time. I just thought I was being super organized in preparation for her 12 month appt.
-diaper changes are going way better. Part of all her changing maneuvers was because of her ear infection, I believe, and it being uncomfortable to lay down. She still wiggles around and makes it challenge to change some time, but she's not throwing fits and screaming like before. Toys and music can distract her most of the time to where I can change the diaper.
-my weight. It's finally, mostly going down! DH and I are 9 weeks into a food and exercise challenge through our insurance provider. We did this last year where we exercise 3 times a week and eat 5 servings of fruits and veggies at least 5 times a week. We record it in 6 week increments and can do up to 24 weeks. There are also a bunch of other things we can do and record, but this is where we're starting. We earn points which translate into dollars on gift cards with a maximum of $350 each for the year! I've also been keeping a food journal where I write down everything I eat each day.
In order to keep myself accountable, here are my stats:
-pre-pregnancy weight (after eliminating dairy, sugar, gluten, and eggs):125
-highest pregnancy weight: 170
-6-8 weeks post-partum: 145
And that's where I've been stuck for nearly a year- 20 pounds over my lowest ever weight. I know it doesn't sound like much but I'm only 5'5"...and I don't expect to ever get down to my same size,weight and shape as before pregnancy....but when nothing fits and it seriously becomes a depressor, I knew I needed to change what I was doing so I could fit into some of my old clothes and feel better about myself. I'm down to 141 now, so that is progress. I don't have an end number in sight since I know my body is different now. Maybe another 10 pounds? Now I've got to keep you posted since I put my weight on my blog!
-taxes. We filed our federal taxes April 14th and sent the state ones in April 15th...talk about being organized, huh? The good news is we are getting a refund from both state and federal. We have a whopper of a refund coming from the federal return due to all the bags of stuff we donated during Lent as well as before moving coupled with medical expenses from having a baby and regular donations and tithing. I'm actually a little bit worried about all our deductions and credits (my husband was also in school taking some classes, he had unreimbursed business expenses, our donations are high for our income level, etc.) since Turbotax put us in the red/high audit risk zone (we're usually in green). We shall see. I organized all our receipts and tried to file everything away together. How many years is it back that you could get audited? Just what I need...something else to worry about.
It was a little bittersweet filling out our taxes since once we completed the state ones for our old state, we were "officially down" with all our matters in that state. Dropping the return in the box was a little sad. Crazy, I know. But it was a form we were used to filling out for so many years and what we'd become comfortable with. Who knows what the state credits and laws are for taxes here. We'll find out in a year. I will say I'm glad DH finished payroll in December there and started the new job here January 1. At least that made it easier for tax purposes. Still, I miss our former place of residence...the people...our home....I should write a post about adjustment at some point. Just don't really want to go there and reflect on all the change right now. I should though...
And since this post has already been in my drafts for the week, I'm posting it now with more updates at a later date!
I am glad R is doing better with everything it sounds--ears and diapers! Still praying for your perfect house, or a price to drop now! Seems crazy to think it's already swimming weather but I'm sure you'll be thankful for a pool in July!
ReplyDeleteThanks so much! 3 more houses came on the market in the 2 subdivisions we like!! Anxious to get inside them soon.
DeleteWhat insurance do you have? That would be awesome to get gift cards for exercising and eating veggies!
ReplyDeleteBlue Cross Blue Shield
Delete