Weekly Randoms 7/10

heatherdubrow

Whats going on this week?

heatherdubrow

My girls start a combo dance camp today and I think I'm more excited than they are. They're in the same class so I get to drop them off and be alone for an hour!
My ultrasound is Wednesday and I am on pins and needles waiting for it.

notthefather

Waiting is so hard and the last couple days is the worst! Hope time passes quickly for you @heatherdubrow!

LiveNLove44

@heatherdubrow the dance class time would have my heart all aflutter with excitement for a little me time, too! Enjoy it!!

We have a crazy busy day today where I'm going to feel like part taxi, part crazy. To finish the day, I have my second beta draw. It usually only takes an hour (or two, like last time) to get my results, but since my appointment has to be at the end of the day, I don't think I'll hear until tomorrow

My pick-me-up is that I'm watching my 1.5 y/o dance in the kitchen to my running mix. I turn the volume way down and he walks around jamming to questionable, arguably inappropriate music...and it's adorable. The kid just loves his music!

mylovelittlelove

I hope Wednesday comes quickly, @heatherdubrow! ❤

KristinUM12

Back from vacation...finally. Why does it always feel like you need a vacation to recover from vacation? But taking DS to the beach for the first time was fun...so worth it.

I feel like there's way too much to catch up on here, so I won't even try. But hello again. So exciting to see so many more ladies joining the March board!

hullabalou

Good luck Wednesday @heatherdubrow!

I am so sad the weekend ended so quickly. I got next to nothing accomplished and feel like I'm starting the week off already behind.

heatherdubrow

@LiveNLove44 I hope they call you with your betas today!! It's torture to wait!
My oldest is almost 5 so I can't listen to my inappropriate music anymore but she used to jam out to all kinds of profanity laced music when she was little!

@mylovelittlelove and @notthefather thank you!!

ellekell

hullabalou said:

Good luck Wednesday @heatherdubrow!

I am so sad the weekend ended so quickly. I got next to nothing accomplished and feel like I'm starting the week off already behind.

I feel the same way. It was nice to relax this weekend, but I hate feeling so behind!

runsoncoffee

@heatherdubrow enjoy that extra me time this week!!!
@LiveNLove44 fingers crossed you get your betas back quickly! I stalk the online portal like crazy! 
@KristinUM12 welcome back! I can't wait to take our DS to the beach for the first time! Hope you had a fun vacation!

DS's first birthday is next week  so I am *trying* to get in full on planning mode but the fatigue struggle is real! Also somehow our low-key party turned into 50+ people. Whoops. I am thankful for the busyness to keep my mind on something besides worrying about this pregnancy!
Also, we got DS's one year photos done last night and included a few with hi wearing a big brother shirt on. It was so fun telling our photographer especially since the first sentence out of her mouth was "so have people been asking you about number two yet?" She was so excited! I think we'll be making our announcement at the birthday party  next Saturday.

KLmyz

I have less hours this week at work. Thank goodness ! Will be nice to chill at home and let being KU actually sink it !  
I also have to call and make my first appointment. I haven't yet since I just found out Friday.  a friend of mine works the front  desk and makes the appointments which means telling someone outside of my DH that is in my real life. 
Should I be phoning right away? Do they recommend that since I likely won't even have an appointment till 8-10 weeks right ? Ftm over here  

@heatherdubrow hope that appointment comes quick ! 

KristinUM12

@scoogy19 Thanks! It was a wonderful vacation, I'm sure your DS will love the beach!

That's adorable about the shirt. Great idea to do it at the birthday party. We did a onesie that had "Best Brother Ever" on it at the beach to share with family and everyone thought it was a hand me down...lol. I feel like "Big Brother" is more obvious though!

Are you doing a birthday party theme?

mylovelittlelove

Our tube of toothpaste went missing so I had to use DD's "bubblegum" one. I almost puked.

JournoGrl23

@scoogy19 DD's first birthday party turned into 70 invited (but closer to 50 will probably attend). It happens so quickly!

@heatherdubrow  Good luck at your u/s!

missnc77

Anyone thinking that this baby means a change in cars? My husband is 6'4, so we have DD's car seat behind the passenger seat in our "family"/my primary car. But this means on the weekends when we're all together, I can never drive because my husband is all knees in dash on the passenger side. We've been looking at new cars including a Buick Enclave, Tahoes, and the typical mini vans, but even in a Honda Odyssey, he can't put the drivers seat back far enough to be comfortable. Tahoe was a tight fit. I don't know what we're going to do. The Buick Enclave has the best fit when putting a car seat in, so that looks like our only option. We didn't look at a Toyota Sienna yet, but I figure it's the same size as the Odyssey? We need AWL or 4WD because it snows a lot here.

kburg15

We have a GMC Terrain, but the lease isn't up until next November. I really hope they start sending us offers early next year so we can get the Acadia instead. We barely have enough room with one car seat when we travel anywhere or offer to drive family with us. 

Our neighbors have a Honda Odyssey and they can't say enough good things about it! However, neither of them are tall...

megpeg

I would love a Toyota Sequoia. DHs lease won't be up until next office- hopefully they will want it back sooner.
  I drive a Honda Element now and it only has 4 seats which isn't bad now but I don't know if I want my 9 year old in the front seat. But my car is paid off and I would like the keep driving it until it dies.

KristinUM12

@missnc77 I'm with you on thinking about change in cars. DH was in an accident that totaled his car (everyone was fine...just not his car) about a month ago and for a brief moment we considered just switching to a mini-van...we are also looking for AWD, so we already know we'd probably go with the Sienna...but then decided that we would probably have more time and so he just bought the same car he'd had before. A week later I got my BFP, and we were like shoot we should've gone with the mini-van. So now we're trying to figure out if we want 2 kids in little cars or if we should make the switch.

KristinUM12

@missnc77  I forgot to mention...my BIL is like 6'6" and they just got a Toyota Sienna before their second was born and he fits in it fine and loves it.

missnc77

Good to know @KristinUM12 - I don't know why I was quick to discount it since the Odyssey wasn't a good fit. I think when I was researching I read that the reason Honda never went to AWD for the Odyssey is because it takes more room and lessens seating options. We will go check them out!

tosh24

@missnc77 I don't know how you feel about driving a pick-up truck, but I drive one as my "mom-mobile" and LOVE it. Tons and tons of room if you buy the extended cab - I'm sure YH would fit just fine. We bought a tonneau cover and some compartments to put in the truck bed and you just throw all your baby gear back there and it's awesome. 

i_mean_really

I swear if my H calls me one more time from the grocery store for guidance, I'm going to change the locks. "Can I sub mandarins for clementines?" "They're out of 2%, how about skim?" Turn. Your. Brain. On. And. Stop. Calling. Me.

kburg15

Ha!! Do we have the same husband?! Every single time!

i_mean_really

@kburg15 haha are we stuck with them? yeesh!

paigew123

@missnc77 we got the same leg problem over here! My husband is 6' 3 and finds our little car very uncomfortable. My fil who is about the same height has a sienna and loves it! 

mdfarmchick

I've been woken up every two hours by huge thunderstorms. I'm relieved that LO hasn't woken up yet. But he sleeps through fireworks so maybe we are good. After 5 years of living in places without thunderstorms, I think I'm not as good at sleeping through them as I was. Now, please no first trimester insomnia.

arhodes6

i_mean_really said:

I swear if my H calls me one more time from the grocery store for guidance, I'm going to change the locks. "Can I sub mandarins for clementines?" "They're out of 2%, how about skim?" Turn. Your. Brain. On. And. Stop. Calling. Me.

Haha! I have gotten to the point where I write the items with little notes next to it so he doesn't get confused. I will even send him pictures of stuff so he gets exactly what I want! 

LiveNLove44

Not really baby related, but when you factor in finances, I guess it is: DH and I are liberal spenders at the grocery store. We do a good job of cooking and eating at home for most meals, but we also don't pay as much attention to sales and coupons as we could. With this third one on the way, he and I both need to do a better job about being more aware of how much we're spending on food and where we can make better choices. 

With that said, I have a question for you all:
Do you use any sort of coupon, deal, etc. tool that helps you find the best deals more easily? I'm not new to budgeting, as I definitely had to in our first years out of college, but now I need to dive back in and the tools at our fingertips are different (and hopefully more helpful!).

missnc77

I hate couponing. I'd love to try or be somewhat interested in it, but that's the last thing I want to do with my extra time. We probably spend $300 a week on groceries between me, my husband, and our 1 year old - all fresh meats, fruits, veggies, oils, etc. Sometimes I leave wondering what the heck I just bought, but it just all adds up because we eat most of our meals at home with the occasional lunch out on the weekends. Plus, we have our staples. For example, I don't care if Dannon yogurt is on sale because we eat Fage. I tried to go to natural instead of organic chicken because it was cheaper, but it just didn't taste as good. Organic chicken alone is about $30-$40 of our bill because we grill a bunch, and then I freeze it for salads during the week and a quick protein for my daughter. Fortunately, we live in a state with a low cost of living, but we move next summer, and I'm going to have to really start trying to figure out how to get our grocery bill down.

justkeeptrying

I hate keeping pregnancies a secret. We hung out with my BFF's today and DH told me I "overcompensated" in trying not to tell them. They know we are TTC and apparently a few times I said "IF we get pregnant" and made a way bigger deal about it than I thought. Or he's just reading into it!

SP128

@i_mean_really  I wish I could get my DH to the grocery store.  He has been about 3 times since we have started dating/living together.  Here is a run down of what he has bought.  Trip #1 a cucumber.  Yup, one cucumber.  He told me it was only .69 cents.  

Trip #2  a rotisserie chicken and a box of mac and cheese.

   **TW*** I was going through my loss and he wanted to make sure there was food ***end TW****


Trip #3 - chocolate pudding and two ears of corn

When asked why he does not/cannot go, he tells me because he does not know what to buy.  I've asked him if he knows what we eat.  He told me he would go if I write him a list.  I told him that I don't go with a list and buy things that are on sale and looks good.  He said he needs a list.  I told him that he does not write me a list when I go.  Another reason why he does not go is he says he doesn't know what a good price is.  I told him that if we need bread, we need bread.  On sale or not.  

@LiveNLove44 I used to be the coupon and sale queen.  I would get a ton of things for free or close to nothing.  Unfortunately couponing isn't what it is used to.  I don't do it anymore.  My biggest savings tactic is to look for sales.  I have 2 major grocery stores near my house so I do not have a problem going to each one just to get their sales.  I stock up on non-perishables when they are on sale.  We go to BJs a lot (club house type store).  They have their own coupons they send me.  When I used manufacturer coupons I would pair it with the BJs coupons and save a bundle.  I buy manager special meats if it is available and then freeze it.  I really plan meals based on what is on sale.  

barrelocarol

Love the couponing talk, except I hate hate hate couponing. I've reduced our weekly grocery bill from $120 down to about $60 a week (or less) doing these things:

First, a note: Family of 3, boys are big eaters, I'm a vegetarian, we cook all meals except for one weekend meal, we eat organic and fresh, yada yada 

-I don't coupon but I switched grocery stores and go to the grubby, gross one. That was hardest for me. 

-Restaurant Depot or Gordon Food Service or some place that caters to restaurants. No membership fee and amazing prices on nice and interesting items. 

-Switched Costco and BJ's for Boxed.com. Bulk online store with free 2 day shipping. I can send you a $15 off coupon

-Buy our meat at Omaha Steaks. I know that sounds crazy, but they have THE BEST sales. We buy a huge amount of their meat/fish on sale and stock up. It's frozen but the meat is great and super easy for when you don't have the energy. Their stuff comes out to less than $2 a serving on sale and we are in love. 

missnc77

$60 a week! OMG. We'd be rolling in leftover money. That's amazing!

i_mean_really

@SP128 oh, man, those are pretty sad attempts. sounds like he needs some extra household chores to make up for your mental drain of meal planning and grocery shopping 

LiveNLove44

@barrelocarol you are amazing!! Do you get your produce from your "grubby" grocery store? I think I can figure it out in our area for produce, but our less expensive grocery store has horrible produce on most occasions. We have an Aldi and a Sam's Club that I think have decent prices for fruit at least.  What kinds of items do you get at boxed.com?

KristinUM12

@missnc77  No couponing but I pretty much only shop at Aldi unless I need a specialty item, and only spend about $50/week for DH and I (and DS, but he's 9 months so really only eats a teeny bit of whatever we're eating right now). I find that meal planning a few weeks in advance and keeping an eye on sales tends to go much further than couponing. Aldi puts their sales up online 2 weeks in advance (on Wednesdays) so I normally go there and check the ads for upcoming weeks and meal plan based on that.