Crazy Days!

My great idea of Christmas shopping without any kids last week came to a screeching halt when the local schools closed for TWO DAYS due to a mild ice storm! It was quite crazy because on the second day, all the streets were clear and dry. Everyone I know was frustrated that school was still out. I finally went shopping with Arden on Friday morning, and Stuart is still wrapping up buying kids' gifts today (yes, three days before Christmas!).

On top of that, Arden has now gotten another bad cold with yucky nose and crankiness. She has also had a really bad diaper rash for almost two weeks now, so I am taking her to the pediatrician today to get that checked. The boys have never had one that wouldn't clear up, and hers is pretty bad. From what I've read, it might have turned into a yeast rash that needs medical treatment. I hope we can get her feeling better before we travel for Christmas on December 24.

We closed on the Cabot house today and are in the midst of taking everything off the walls and doing touch-up painting, etc. It will be a crazy remaining six days to get everything loaded up, but we are excited that the end is near!

Keep us in your prayers, and please pray that Arden gets better and no one else gets sick this week!

P.S. I must make sure I dress Arden in more pink because she has been mistaken for a boy three different times this week when I've had her out!

14 days and counting . . .

We are getting down to the final 14 days before out big move! It has been pretty busy, as I just finished my semester at the college (where I'm an adjunct instructor of Comp I) on Friday and entered my last grades this weekend. Last week was a blur of trying to grade final exam essays every night after the kids were in bed, while dealing with title companies and packing during the days!

This next week, I intend to shop . . . Christmas shop that is! If you know me, then you know that in my entire life, I have never, ever been this late in doing my Christmas shopping. Usually, I'm done before Thanksgiving. This year, I have absolutely had no time with the house selling, house buying, and my job (which is normally very relaxed except for the last two weeks of each semester). So, I am aiming to hit Target on Tuesday between 12-2 p.m. That is my only window without kids before school gets out on Friday for Christmas break, and every other daytime hour is booked with three dental appointments, school Christmas parties, a haircut appointment, and a photo session for the kids. So, Target had better have the items I need, or Christmas won't be very merry!

Stuart headed back to Bentonville today for his last week apart from us. He comes home on Friday and will be on vacation leave until January 2, in order to make the big move. Next weekend, we will have to wrap up some final Christmas shopping. We close on the Cabot house on Monday, Dec. 22. Then, we will head to Stuart's parents on Dec. 24. Then, we will have Christmas Day alone back in our house (for one final time). We will visit my mom on December 26 and prepare for the packers (ie: put aside everything we don't want them to put into boxes, so we have clothes for the next four days). Then, the packers arrive December 27, and the truck is loaded on December 29.

If anyone would like to volunteer to take my children(one, two, or all three), on Saturday, December 27, or Monday, December 29, we could really use a few hours of childcare, so the kids aren't here in the house and underfoot while the packers and loaders are working. Let me know if you feel charitable! Ha ha.

A Great New Blog

If you know me, then you know that I love to decorate. I love fabric . . . the kind that is $50 per yard. I love expensive fringes and ribbons. I drool over the thought of new furniture, and I enjoy browsing in stores like Norwalk and Ethan Allen. One of my favorite catalogs is Pottery Barn. I enjoy making things for the house . . . window treatments, table runners, fringe trimmed lampshades.

Well . . . I also have the problem that I can't afford to buy full price, or even new most of the time. I have that "champagne taste" on a "beer budget" problem. I do enjoy a good bargain, flea market, Ebay auction, etc. I love to be able to share that I bought all my living room furniture used, that the boy's valance is actually just stapled bandanas from Walmart that I spent $8 on, and that Arden's custom made crib bedding was purchased used from an Ebay auction. I do have "splurge" items every once and awhile (like Arden's custom made drapes . . . but I can count that as money well spent to get a baby to sleep!).

I came across this wonderful blog about decorating. She's a Christian gal in North Carolina who also does the "crazy, Dave Ramsey, only pay cash for everything" plan that I also do. She gets my philosophy! She has a house to die for . . . and she makes everything with tacks, a glue gun, and remnant fabric! She's my new hero!

I'm excited to find some new ideas to implement in our new house, which is a great time to repurpose some old items and try something new.

Check it out!

http://nestingplacenc.blogspot.com/

Quick Update

**Update, 12/5/08, 8 p.m.**
We just found out that the appraisal for the Bentonville house came back slightly above the sale price, so there is no issue with the mortgage! We are now waiting on the roofer's report on any potential repairs (hopefully minor) and are moving towards closing on that house.


**Update, 12/10/08, 2 p.m.
The roofing report on the Bentonville house showed no significant damage and no repairing needed. Everything on both houses is going smoothly; we are ready to close on the Cabot house with the title company already finished with their end.

Just a quick update --

Everything is pretty much done to close on the Cabot house on time. We've finished the appraisal, inspection, termite clearance letter, survey, title work, etc. Since the buyer's are paying cash, their funds have been verified, and there is no lender to deal with. It's been a bit of a headache this week, as our appraisal on the Cabot house came in under the sale price we'd agreed to. That was quite a shock, as we thought we had priced low. However, only two homes in our neighborhood have sold in the past year to use as comps since we live in a small neighborhood with relatively low turnover. Those two sales were priced low and did not have the upgrades my home has, but they were all the appraiser had to compare for sales prices. We came to a compromise with the buyers since they didn't have to satisfy a lender, and we met in the middle for a new sales price (they came up from the appraisal, and we came down from the original sale price). The inspection went well, and the buyers are not making us fix anything. We are on schedule to close on December 22 and vacate by December 29.

The Bentonville house was inspected this week, with some damaged shingles as the only issue. The sellers got a roofer out there yesterday, and we are awaiting his report today. It appears to be minor damage, and all the other inspection items were small. The main things we are waiting for is the appraisal! Since our Cabot house appraisal was low, we are concerned about the Bentonville appraisal. That house is in a similar situation to our Cabot home, in that there aren't any good comps from 2008 sales in that neighborhood for the appraiser to use. Only five homes in that neighborhood sold in 2008, and all of them were significantly smaller than the one we are buying which can skew the comp figures in an appraisal. We expect to get the report today or Monday, and we are praying it appraises close to the sale price, so we don't have to walk away from the property, as our mortgage is tied to the appraisal value. If the appraisal is low, we are going to ask the seller to lower the selling price to the appraisal value and see what happens! If this house falls through, we will live in temporary housing in Bentonville for 2-4 weeks while we try to close on another property (which we would have to locate!).

Keep praying! It's a crazy, wild ride with real estate in this market!

A "Must Read" Christmas Favorite

If you haven't read the short book The Best Christmas Pageant Ever by Barbara Robinson, then you need to do so this holiday season!

This short, seven chapter book is written at about a 3rd grade reading level and is readily available in the children's section of all bookstores and libraries. It is best read out loud, so everyone can enjoy the humor and dialogue!

We traditionally read this book to the boys sometime between Thanksgiving and Christmas over a one week period, with one chapter per night at bedtime. We just finished it last night.

Here's a short synopsis:

"The Herdman kids lie, and steal, and smoke cigars (even the girls). They also talk dirty, cuss their teachers, and take the name of the Lord in vain. The last place anyone expects to see them is in church.

So no one is prepared when the Herdmans storm Sunday school and take over the annual Christmas pageant. Before anyone can stop them, they're plotting revenge on Herod, frightening the angels, and burping the baby Jesus. They've got the whole town up in arms.

How the Herdmans turn a series of disasters into what everyone agrees is the best Christmas pageant ever is a hilarious, touching, and unforgettable tale from a beloved storyteller."

It is family-appropriate, and it gives lots of opportunities for good discussions on sharing the gospel, forgiveness, redemption, and acceptance of others who are different.

If you choose to take on the challenge to read this book with your kids over this holiday season, post and share how it went!

School Days

I think the only thing that concerns me about our impending move to Bentonville, AR, is transitioning Owen to a new school during the middle of the year. I remember moving around his age, and then again after fourth grade. It wasn't fun to be the "new kid" for the first few months. Stuart bought the boys a Wii to soften the blow of the move, and we will give it to them once we get into the new house. I am also praying that God will provide Owen with some great friends during the first few days of school.

I remember taking him to kindergarten two years ago, and he was so brave. His smile was the nervous kind, and I could see his chin quiver a few times, but he didn't cry. Luckily, when we picked him up, he had had "the best day ever" and didn't even want me to walk him to his classroom after the second day. Now, I have to take him to a new school during second grade, and I think it's going to be harder than leaving him at kindergarten. At least when he started kindergarten, I knew all about the teacher he had from my other friends whose children also attended the same school. Also, all the kindergarteners were having their "first day" together, so it didn't seem strange to be nervous or shed some tears when your mother left.

Now, I am navigating the line between wanting to shelter him and provide security, yet not hover or embarrass him. He has already said he doesn't want me to walk him to his classroom . . . at all. "Mom, it's second grade!" he told me emphatically. I know he'll be brave, yet I hope the kids can include him. I will worry about him sitting at lunch and recess all alone with no one talking to him.

I'm nervous because I don't know anyone at his school either. When he started kindergarten, I had already toured the facilities, taken him to the playground, and met the principal and office staff before the first day of school (yes, I'm one of "those" parents!). Now, I'm sort of nervous too! I don't know the directions for picking up and dropping off in the car lanes. What if I hold up all the traffic? What if it takes me a lot longer to go through the carpool lane, and Owen thinks I've forgotten him? What if I get lost trying to find my way back to the school from our new house (if you know me, then you know that is a real possibility, as I'm "directionally impaired").

The other issue that I'm praying about is which school Owen will actually get to attend. Bentonville (and Rogers, too) have a problem with their schools being full. Even for kindergarten, there is a "lottery" to decide who gets to go to the nearby school and who has to go to alternate schools! We began to hear from our realtor that Owen might not get to attend the public school he is zoned for because it is full. I've never heard of this before! I always assumed that if you live in the neighborhood for a particular school, then you get to go there. However, when I talked to the people at the Bentonville public schools administration office, they informed me that because of the extreme growth in their county, only TWO out of eight elementary schools have any openings right now in second grade. Neither school with openings is near us! So, we are expecting Owen to have to go to an "overflow" school and be put on the waiting list (yes, a waiting list for public school!) at his zoned school. When he gets a spot, he will transfer over. I'm not thrilled with this option because of the extra driving to transport him to a school on the other side of town, plus the fact that he will have to be the "new kid" all over again and make new friends for third grade.

Please pray for the school situation! I know the Bentonville schools are top ranked, and I've checked all the test scores, and Bentonville's schools are always listed in the top ten districts for Arkansas on all the lists I've found. Bentonville High School was a national Blue Ribbon School for 2007 which is an honor only given to the top 33 schools in the nation. I am amazed at their curriculum and feel Owen will love it. I just want him to get into our neighborhood school quickly and be accepted easily by his classmates. Hopefully, he'll come home and say that it was the "best day ever" again!

Real Estate Rollercoaster Ride

After about 50 plus home tours and 4 written contracts, we finally have a house in Bentonville! When we went back to Bentonville this past weekend, we narrowed down our search to our top three houses. Unfortunately, two of those three houses went under contract during the weekend while we were there! Our realtor was shocked that two houses sold within hours of each other when the market had been so slow there recently.

We made an offer on the only house left that we really liked (there weren't many houses in our price range with the size we were desiring), but we encountered some "hard ball" negotiating from their forceful agent. We wrote multiple offers and counter offers back and forth over price for four, long days! We finally walked away from the house on Tuesday after they returned the same counter offer back to us twice without any drop in price. However, after we walked way, the seller suddenly became much more willing to negotiate! They called our agent with a lower price the next day to see if we would reconsider. Thankfully (no pun intended!), we signed a contract this morning, right in time for the Thanksgiving holiday! The best part is that we got the house for the exact price that we had been praying for! God continues to lead so clearly!

We close on our house in Cabot on December 22, and we close on the Bentonville house on December 23. We plan to get the Cabot house completely packed the weekend after Christmas and have the movers load the truck on Monday, December 29. We will unload in Bentonville on Wednesday, December 31, after we take possession on December 30.

Please pray for us throughout the rest of the move. There are still inspections and appraisals that must be done, and we pray that everything goes smoothly through the two closings. We're very excited about the new house and think it will be a good fit for our family. Stuart moves to Bentonville this weekend to start his new job on Monday, December 1, and he'll be living in temporary housing for the month of December. Please pray for him as he is there for a few weeks by himself, and pray for me as I deal with the kids alone!

God is Our Realtor

Seventeen days ago we listed our Cabot house for sale. The "FSBO" signs went up in the yard with the handy-dandy info tube. I typed up neat flyers that described the property. We placed two more signs on nearby streets, paid for a flat fee MLS listing, set up a website at owners.com, and placed an ad in the local paper.

Suddenly, the house that we had lovingly built and designed was on the market. It was no longer "home" but a showcase for potential buyers. Most traces of our personal effects were erased. Down went all the tabletop picture frames, the fridge was cleared of all the school papers, and the kitchen counters were vacant.

Not too many years ago, we stood on the foundation of this house and looked at the bright, blue sky above our heads through the open beams. Owen was just two years old and thought that a construction site was the greatest play area! Now, five years later, we have added two more children to our family. We brought Hudson and Arden home from the hospital to this house where we had hand-picked every wall switchplate, carpet swatch, paint color, and faucet.

There is some reflection as we prepare to leave these walls; however, God has given us an amazing peace about our upcoming move, and He has worked His hand in utterly miraculous ways to show us that this is the way we should go. Who can doubt the hand of God when you can almost see it?

As we packed away our personal effects on October 31, we embarked on a whirlwind 17 days of fanatical house cleaning and 7 house showings. Within these 17 days, we ended up with a total of 3 offers from buyers to purchase our house. The first one fell through due to financing, and just yesterday, we received two more offers that were both very good. We signed with the offer that also allowed us the longest time to remain in the home, in order to give us time to locate a new home in Bentonville. We plan to close on the Cabot house on December 22 and vacate by December 29.

The amount of the offer we accepted was the exact number we had been praying for. The couple adore the house and "just love" my decorating style and color choices! I feel that we are passing down this home to a wonderful couple who will appreciate the house and love it as much as we do. This couple is also planning to pay cash for the house, so we anticipate few, if any, glitches to get to closing.

When we listed our house for sale, we were aware that the housing market was in a slump. There were over 60 houses on the local market in our price bracket, and only 2-3 per month were selling. We were listing the house in November, a typically slow time of year to sell. We were listing by owner which had never worked in our neighborhood before. Yet, we sold our house in 17 days.

If you'd like to use our realtor, feel free to contact Him. He's available day or night, from any location. His name is God, and He can work miracles.

Driving to My New Home

We loaded up Hudson and Owen and traveled to Bentonville on Saturday through Monday. We left Arden with grandparents since we didn't think we could get as much accomplished with her bottles, naps, and diaper changes!

I had never been to Bentonville/Rogers before, so it was very exciting to know that we were driving to my new home! I honestly have no fears or nervousness about the move; God has so thoroughly prepared our hearts for a move that we knew it was inevitable. He has changed many of our circumstances here in Cabot in order to make it easier to leave. We view this an adventure and look forward to all the benefits it will offer our family.

My first impression of Bentonville was . . . . wow! They have amenities and shopping . . . lots and lots of it! Pottery Barn, Williams-Sonoma, Gymboree, Children's Place, Harold's, Dillards, Gap, Old Navy, Target, J. Jill, Starbucks, Borders, Barnes and Noble, and the list goes on and on. All of this within ten to fifteen minutes from my new neighborhood!

We drove by the new elementary campus that is most likely the school the boys will attend. It has an amazing facility, and the boys seemed excited to play on their playground. They offer weekly Spanish classes as well as some neat electives like lacrosse, golf, drama, and pottery (in grades K-4!!).

I checked out the Bentonville Public Library website, and they have (get this!) . . . a library cafe where you can order sandwich "wraps," coffee, etc, and real, working fireplaces in the library sitting areas! That sounds pretty amazing! They offer a lot of neat programs for kids and have a fantastic, two year old facility. This weekend, for example, they are having an extravaganza in conjunction with the Children's Museum of Northwest Arkansas and putting on a dinosaur-themed party (don't tell Hudson, or he'll be so upset he missed it!).

Also, I am excited that they have a lot of great family amenities like neighborhood pools/parks, an ice skating rink, The Little Gym, Gymboree Play and Music, Pump It Up, paint your own pottery studio, and lots of other fun things to do with preschoolers. I enjoyed all of those things in West Little Rock when Owen was a toddler, and I am looking forward to participating again with Arden. The area is in the beautiful Ozark mountains with lots of hills; it is urban yet not too crowded. There are still cows and fields interspersed between businesses.

We met a great realtor who spent most of Saturday and Sunday afternoon with us. We got a feel for the neighborhoods that are the best fit for us, and we looked inside almost 20 houses. We have a short list of ones that we really like. We attended Grace Point Church on Sunday morning, and it was really great. We enjoyed the contemporary music, and the kids like the children's programs.

I could picture myself moving right into one of the empty houses we toured, and it already felt familiar. The boys enjoyed the hotel, and we had fun swimming in the indoor pool and sitting in the jacuzzi each night. They served a delicious hot breakfast every morning (much better than what they get at our house!), and that was a treat. We splurged and had a great steak dinner at Texas Land and Cattle restaurant which brought back a lot of memories since the last time I ate there was after my dad's memorial service in San Antonio, TX.

It was a great trip, and we came back tired but excited. Stuart got to go into his new office and meet the staff, and the local newspaper for Northwest Arkansas ran a press release on Saturday to announce Stuart being hired for the chief deputy prosecutor position (our realtor even gave us the clipping!). You can read the article at http://www.nwaonline.net/articles/2008/11/07/news/110808bznumbers.txt

Now, we just have to sell the Cabot house in order to make the move permanent. Please continue to pray for a quick sale!

A Week of My Life

Saturday, October 25 . . . .

Oh, this is so exciting. Stuart got a new job. But, there's so much to do! I have a Sunday school party tonight, and then on Sunday, I have to take Owen to see the new Junie B. Jones play in Little Rock at the Arkansas Children's Theater.

Here we are driving back from the play, and I'm not feeling very well. Why am I feeling dizzy and sick? Oh, this is bad. Stuart, I think I am going to throw up. Okay, I was right. I think I need to lay down . . . by the toilet. A few hours later, I think I need some meds. Oh, I don't feel well.

"Can you help me?" says Stuart. Why? I'm throwing up right now, I reply (in a not-so-nice voice). "Hudson just threw up all over his bed!" I stumble to clean up his mess, while I'm still a mess, and I stagger around in a drug-induced state brought on by phenergan.

The next day, Hudson feels better, but Stuart comes home from work with the stomach flu. I'm not nice enough to help him very much, but I do all the childcare by myself, so he can sleep. Quiet kids. Your father is sick! Yes, I think he got the throw up. I don't know where it comes from. No, it doesn't crawl in your mouth when you sleep.

Finally, maybe a good day to work on the 57 essays that I haven't gotten to yet. I think I've done 18 loads of laundry! Oh, I still have to fill out the 14 page form for the MLS listing for the house, and I have to take digital pictures of every room and make them look like my home is out of Pottery Barn catalog while disguising the toys, exersaucer, and vomit-protection towels all over the floor. I think I'll type a flyer to put in the info-tube. Oh no, Owen are you okay. Are you getting sick too? Yep.

After two days with Owen home from school, I'm only 1/3 into the stack of essays that are supposed to be returned in the next 24 hours. I jot off a sad-but-true email to my class, stating that I will be delayed in returning their magnificent essays. I'm back to emptying out the vomit bucket (for the tenth time).

Ah, finally it's Friday. Owen returns to school, and his broken capillaries from projectile vomiting don't look too bad. I think I can finally get some more grading done today. Oh, I forgot. It's Halloween, and I promised Hudson I would go to his "Fantasy Ball" at his pre-K, then I have to get all the kids ready and dressed as a ladybug, pirate, and army man to attend the church festival. So much for grading again!

It's Saturday, and we get to visit with Lewie Clark as he made a visit while he was in town from Chicago (was I coherent, Lewie?). After our nice break with Lewie, I found my handy-dandy "to do" list, and I worked Stuart to death as we tried to get the house ready to show. Mulch, mow, edge; we need more mulch. The "for sale" sign went out, and we tried to stuff all the "clutter" and extra belongings into our attic to achieve a "spacious and magazine-ish" feel. I don't know if it worked, and our attic flooring might collapse from the weight of it all.

Ah, another Sunday. Oh no, I've got a baby shower, and I don't know where I put the gift, and I forgot to iron the tablecloths for it. Stuart, watch the kids. Gotta run.

Finally, I sit down to eat a relaxing dinner (of 4 day old spaghetti and Halloween candy). The phone rings. What? Twenty minutes? They want to see the house? Kids, start cleaning! Pick up your toys! Stuart, I knew we needed to clean your closet . . . .

We're moving!

It's been a whirlwind week! It started with a call last week for Stuart to interview for a job at the Bentonville prosecutor's office in northwest Arkansas which had an unexpected opening on their staff. Stuart was already headed up that way to Fayetteville, AR, for an annual prosecutor's conference, so the interview was set up during that trip.

On his way to the interview, Stuart got another call from the prosecutor's office in Athens, GA, where we had sent a resume over a month ago. They wanted to interview him too . . . at the same conference in Fayetteville! It turned out that their head prosecutor was a speaker at the Arkansas conference and was on his way to Fayetteville too. So, Stuart had two interviews set up within 24 hours of each other.

Ultimately, both interviews went very well, and Stuart was offered jobs by both of them. We feel very blessed that Stuart was affirmed in his ability and desired for two different positions which were both very good offers. However, the Bentonville office seems like a better fit for us. The location is still in the Arkansas state system, where Stuart knows almost everyone. It is closer to our friends and family, and it is a beautiful area with great amenities and good public schools. So, Stuart accepted an offer to go to Bentonville as their Chief Deputy Prosecuting Attorney (the picture above is of his new office in the Bentonville Courthouse).

Stuart begins his new job on December 1. It will be pretty crazy for the next few weeks or months as we attempt to get all the details worked out. We are planning to put our house on the market in the next week, so please pray for a fast sale! The market isn't the best right now, but we know that God is bigger than that. We are trusting Him in the details since the job basically fell into our laps through divine intervention. We know that God can sell a house! Stuart plans to get a temporary apartment in Bentonville and live there during the work week, and he will drive back to Cabot on weekends. We hope we don't have to do that for very long.

If only I were on I Dream of Jeannie, and I could cross my arms and blink to make all the work be done. House sold . . . blink. Stuff packed . . . blink. New house located . . . . blink. Too bad it won't be quite that easy! Pray for my sanity as we continue this whirlwind and try to get Stuart settled there in a month.

We're excited about the future and all the opportunities that await us in Bentonville. God has shown His faithfulness and revealed where He wants us next. We're ready to follow . . . .

Job Interview -- Revised!

Stuart has a job interview Wednesday, October 22, at 4 p.m. in Bentonville, AR. (The interview has been moved up from its original time of Thursday morning). After about 5 months of serious job hunting for a new job and many resumes sent out, this is only the second job interview that we've gotten. We are really feeling the effects of the tightening economy on the job market.

Please pray for Stuart as he goes into this interview; it is a job that he would love to get, and from our human perspective, it seems like it could be a great fit. We know that God is in control, and we trust Him to bring about just the right option for our family.

Thanks for praying; we'll keep you posted!

Day of Remembrance

Today, October 15th, is the National Day of Remembrance for Infant and Pregnancy Loss. There are many friends and relatives of mine who have been touched personally by miscarriage, stillbirth, SIDS, or infant death due to accident or illness.

If you personally have ever lost a baby at any point after conception, I am praying for all those moms today. Please join me in celebrating life, at any stage, and its value by remembering and grieving those babies who have died too soon.

There is a great blog which I follow that is honoring today's day of remembrance with a place for moms to list the date of their infant loss. It is a Christian blog that was started by a woman Angie Smith whose own daughter died just hours after birth due to birth defects in April 2008. The link to this blog is http://audreycaroline.blogspot.com/. The last time I looked, there were already over 850 posts by moms who have lost children.

There is probably no greater pain than that of a mother who has to say goodbye to a child.

All About Arden

We took Arden to the pediatrician this week to have her 9 month checkup. She is doing great and off the charts in height! She is about 21 lbs now and 31 inches tall! That is over the 98th percentile in height! That is why she weighs quite a bit but doesn't look that chubby; it's just all stretched out. She is the same height the boys were on their first birthday! She is looking more and more like a toddler these days as her hair is thickening in front, too.

She is saying "mamama," "papapapa," "gagagaga" -- but no "dada" yet, much to Stuart's dismay! She can wave bye-bye, and she seems to say "ba" when she is reaching for her bottle. We just began trying out a soft-spout sippy cup with her to try to begin the transition off a bottle over the next few months. I've been pretty good about getting all my kids completely off their bottle within a week or two of their first birthday.

Arden is also crawling much more proficiently now -- enough to get into trouble! She has pulled over several lamps by crawling to them and yanking on the cords from the floor. I don't remember what I did to prevent this with the boys. She can almost crawl the entire length of a room now! She pulls up part way and will try to stand up too! I know she'll be walking by her first birthday.

She's had three colds already since she began part-time childcare, but the pediatrician said that should improve as she builds up immunities for the first time (we never even had her in the church nursery on Sundays until August). Luckily, none of her recent colds have turned into ear infections like they did with the boys. She also got her first flu shot this week, so I'm glad she will have that protection. I consented to enroll her in a flu shot study at our pediatrician's office, so we will have one extra doctor's visit, and they had to do a blood draw this week. They will draw blood one more time in 8 weeks when the study ends to check her final antibody level after immunization. The monetary compensation to participate in the study was a nice perk, and Arden also got the mercury-free flu vaccine that I wanted for her due to all the hype about autism.

Stuart has been in Atlanta most of the week, and he was gone over his birthday on October 9. We are looking forward to some good family time when he returns tomorrow.

Bargain Shopping for Kids' Clothes

I'm always on the lookout for a good bargain for kids' clothing, and I have found a few ways that have really helped me to shop more affordably. First, let me say that all of this is just my opinion, so not everyone will agree with it. Also, there are probably a lot of ways to find bargains on kids' clothing, so this is not an exhaustive list.

Before I share how I shop for my kids' clothes, I want to mention that in order to save money on clothing, you also have to understand a couple of my philosophies:

1. Cheaper up front isn't always better down the road for resale value as well as how well clothing holds up and can be passed down to multiple children (as the case is with my two boys).

2. More is not the goal. Many children have so many clothes that the child can only wear each item a handful of times before it is outgrown; these kids have more clothing than my entire adult wardrobe. Ironically, most kids don't even care about what they are wearing, but as parents, we want them to look cute and well dressed. I guess we all want our children to look good, so that it reflects well on us. However, I think it will ultimately mean more to our kids if we invest our resources in items that last longer than clothing, like their college fund or savings accounts. My personal philosophy to save money is that I try to limit the quantity to around 8-10 pairs of pants, 20-25 shirts, a couple sweaters or dresses, 1 coat, and a couple pairs of shoes for boys (maybe around 4 -5 pairs for my daughter). That gives them several weeks before they have to wear the same thing again, but it doesn't require a lot of closet space to store. I try to shop only when clothes are needed for size changes or when seasons change; I never just "browse" (it will make you buy things you don't need). Boys, especially, usually don't care what they are wearing until they are older (mine don't care at all), so ask yourself if you are dressing your kids to please them or to please yourself. That's a tough one . . .

3. You will have to limit the "extras" and the accessories. I didn't have this issue at all until I had a girl. Now, I see where the budget can be destroyed. There are Gymboree hairbows to match every outfit in the store, there are belts, there are sunglasses in every color, there are socks that have a design to coordinate with each dress. I draw the line at spending my money on those items. I buy solid color Gymboree socks that can go with all the outfits. I buy solid color hairbows that aren't Gymboree that can match anything. I completely skip the hats, belts, ponchos, etc. (unless they came in a lot I won from Ebay, more on that below). My daughter rips all that stuff off anyway. It looks cute, and I might splurge on some special accessories for a professional photo session, but I can't afford them for daily life.

4. Everyone can't match. I, too, like the whole look of all the kids coordinating in "matching" shirts or outfits. I know lots of people who have all the children coordinated for most daily wear, and sometimes the entire family for Sundays. However, I can't afford to do this. I have found a good balance that I am happy with; I buy two "matching" outfits per year -- Christmas and Easter. I usually get the boys Christmas and Easter shirts on sale with Gymbucks at the end of the season and buy them in a larger size. Then, the boys wear them the following year. Obviously, buying matching clothing on sale requires some planning! I'm happy with a couple of matching outfits a year, and I know it is saving money over doing it more frequently.

5. You need to be open to buying things used, and that includes shoes and pajamas. I draw the line at undergarments, unless they are passed down from friends or relatives whom I know.

6. Have a set limit on what dollar amount you will routinely pay for items. I average out all my sales by the number of items to get a "price per item" amount. I routinely only pay $6 per shirt (new Gymboree) and $12 per pants (new Gymboree). Resale items average around $5 per item for name brands. I will pay more for a couple "specialty" items like a smocked dress for a photograph (I got one used on Ebay for $20). However, if you want to save money, you can't expect to spend hundreds of dollars on a single outfit on a regular basis.

CHOOSE BRANDS WISELY

When shopping for kids' clothing, I usually rely upon name brands that I like, that are stylish, and that hold up well to multiple children wearing them. I want my kids to look in fashion, just like everyone else! I don't really shop at Walmart or Target, even though some of their clothes are very cute. I buy a few sandals or casual clothes at Target from time to time, but that's about it. My reason is that they just don't wash and wear as well as Gymboree. All of Owen's clothing is passed down to Hudson since they are the same season. Most of the shorts and tee shirts I have bought at cheaper stores in brands such as Cherokee, Circo, Faded Glory, etc. become pilled, faded, or stitching tears before they can be passed down. After throwing away multiple items for this reason, I finally decided to pony up a bit more money on the front-end in order to pass clothing down to multiple children. Additionally, I resell almost all of the clothing that is in good shape after Hudson and Arden are done with it. Gymboree and other brands will get a much better resale price than cheaper store brands, so I recoup a lot of my money there.

I do have some favorite brands. These are my "tried and true" brands that wear well, are stylish, and the stores usually offer good sales and discounts. My first choice is Gymboree! Clothing is well made, cute, and the tee shirts are a softer, higher quality cotton. I have soaked most of the clothes many times in OxyClean for stains, and they can withstand it without much fading. I also like Children's Place, Old Navy, Polo, Tommy Hilfiger, and Baby Gap/Gap Kids. I would say that 85% of my children's clothing are those brands, but I never buy new or full price. How, do you ask? That is the next point.

SHOP CONSIGNMENT SALES

In order to buy clothing and save money, I limit the number of items each child owns, and I buy good brands in fewer items. However, I only buy consignment or on sale. There are large consignment sales in most major cities in fall and spring (usually September and February). In central Arkansas, the biggest ones are Duck Duck Goose and Rhea Lana. I sell around 100-150 items in each sale which allows me to shop early and get the first pick of the consignment clothing for the season. It's a lot of work, don't get me wrong! You have to label all the clothing, put it on hangers, drag it to check in which can take over an hour, and then you have to go back out to shop for 4-5 hours during the sale. At the last sale I just went to in September, I stood in line for 1 hour and 40 minutes to check out at the presale shopping event to buy some clothing! I still feel it's worth it when I leave with 7 pairs of shoes in Stride Rite, Robeez, and Nike brands that totaled under $40! Just realize that you will pay for some of the discounted price with your time. When selling my children's old items, I usually get back around $250 profit from the consignment sale which I put towards the cost of the items I bought.

As boys get older, it is harder to shop consignment. I have begun to see that with Owen who wears a size 7/8. Now, I can only find him 5-6 items at the consignment sales, which is not near enough to complete his wardrobe. That means that the younger kids will get mainly consignment items, and I will have to buy most of Owen's items on sale at local stores with the intent of passing them down to Hudson. There are always twice as many girl items at consignment sales, so you might be able to plan to spend more of your budget for the girls' clothing from used items.

GYMBUCKS and SALES

If you do shop at Gymboree, you need to work the system to get items affordably. I can't walk in and pay full price and get a tee shirt for $19.50 and a pair of pants for $28.50. One thing I do is only look at the clearance rack. This store has great sales, they rotate items frequently, and they mark down prices up to 75% off. I never buy full price, even if the item is "to die for" cute. I don't even look at the full-price racks! It take a lot of self-control, but I make myself shop in my price limits per item. I also shop using Gymbucks which is the famous Gymboree coupon system. If you shop at certain times, you can earn Gymbucks coupons to redeem later. Usually they are given for every $50 spent, you can earn a $25 coupon to redeem later. Then, during Gymbucks redemption, if you spend $50 you can redeem your $25 coupon, so everything is half off. The best part is that you can do this with sale/clearance items. When I shop on clearance and then apply Gymbucks, I usually average $6.00 per item. The key to success is to buy what your kids need (I often buy bigger sizes and put them back for the next season since those items are on clearance) and shop clearance items only. You won't save much just using Gymbucks on full price merchandise. You can also shop Gymbore online which helps me since I live 20-40 minutes away from the two store locations. Usually online inventory has a better selection of sale items than my local store, and I end up paying the same in shipping as I would have spent on gas to drive to the mall. Plus, you can't beat the convenience of shopping from home.

SHOP EBAY

Besides shopping consignment, using Gymbucks, or using other store clearance sales, I also use Ebay . . . a lot. This online auction format is not intimidating once you've done it a few times. I sell some of my better items on Ebay instead of selling them in consignment, since the consignment sales take a 30% cut of your profit. I also look regularly for Gymboree clothing, especially for older boys, as I have lucked out on some lots for Owen of 25 items for $75 (average of $3 /item!). Most sellers are reputable, and they have a feedback score listed. I only bid if the score is 99% positive or higher. I also ask if items are from a smoke-free home, which is important for leather goods/shoes. It is hard to find shoes at consignment sales, especially for boys. Ebay is a place where I look for shoes. Owen is wearing a pair of gently used Merrell shoes right now that I won for $13 (including shipping)! They are great! I buy all my Robeez used on Ebay and then resell them. I found some consignment shoes for Arden at the Rhea Lana sale, but then I got a few other ones she needed on Ebay. Stride Rite, Merrell, Ecco, Nike, Born, and Robeez are all brands of shoes that I have bought used on Ebay. I also found Arden's custom made crib bedding, lampshade, and child chair slipcover in an auction on Ebay last year. It was in immaculate condition, and I saved 70% over what it would have cost to buy fabric and hire someone to sew all the pieces. Then, I was able to locate the same fabric through fabric wholesale outlets and make additional items to complete her nursery.

Hopefully, some of these tips will work for you. It still takes discipline to walk past a cute kids' outfit and choose not to buy it because your child doesn't really need it. However, it will pay off when you are routinely saving money on their clothing and can fund a vacation or college fund instead. I think my kids always look cute, and they get compliments on their clothing. But I smile because I know that the sweater was $4, the pants $3, and the Robeez were $8 . . . but she looks like a million bucks!

Recipe for Homemade Foaming Handsoap

In my neverending quest to save money, I decided to try this recipe for homemade foaming handsoap. My kids have loved the Kandoo brand in their bathroom, as the foaming dispenser makes it easy for young kids to get their own soap out to wash their hands. However, the Kandoo soap is over $3.50 per bottle, and it only lasts about 6 weeks in my house with several dirty boys. That cost adds up!

This week on Good Morning America, there was a segment on saving money, and this recipe was shared. I decided to give it a try. We were just about out of Kandoo soap, so I just rinsed and reused that dispenser.

Results: wonderful, foaming handsoap that is just as good as Kandoo for a fraction of the price! If you use a good soap product (like Bath and Body Works), you can still enjoy the great fragrance too.

You will need:
1 foaming type pump dispenser (you can buy them in many brands and then just refill it yourself when empty, or Pampered Chef sells a plain one for about $2.00)

2 TBS concentrated handsoap (I used some antibacterial soap from Bath and Body Works that I already had from a previous sale; use the kind in a NON-FOAMING dispenser)

1 cup water

Pour soap into dispenser and add water. Shake.

I intend to make my own for each bathroom from now on!

Close to Crawling

We're almost there! Arden is up on all fours, and rocking furiously, as she tries to grab an item in front of her. Yesterday, she lunged forward to grab a toy and did one brief "crawling" motion. Before long, she will be very active and crawling everywhere! Then, we will have to remember how to child-proof the house again.

Here are a few pictures that show her progression of normal activity: smile, try to crawl, then eat her clothes. Seriously, she is the only one out of all my three children who is always chewing on her clothing! Maybe it's because girl's tops are looser and are more flowing, so she has an easier time pulling the fabric up to her face. It's really attractive to take her places when she is chewing on her shirt and exposing her belly! Then, she leaves drool stains on her shirt. I'm still trying to figure out how to do her next professional photo session, since she will probably be eating her clothes just 3 minutes into it, and the wet spots will show in the photos! Oh well . . .

Stuart returns home from Arizona today, and he had lots of fun going to the Grand Canyon for the last two days of his trip.

Cash Update

Use it up,

Wear it out,

Make it do,

or do without!

We did it!!

We went a full month without using a credit card or debit card for any of our food, miscellaneous, and general household expenses! Just cold, green CASH.

The great part was getting the credit card bill in the mail the other day. It was so thin, so light. When I opened it up, I was sure that it would scare me. It didn't. For the first time in a long time, the balance was what I expected. It was just gasoline charges. Yea! (Now, I could write a whole other post about how gas prices are so high, that the bill wasn't as low as it should be, even though all that was on it was gas. I mean, don't you remember the days not so long ago when gas was just .99 cents per gallon! . . . )

The reward came when I got done with paying the required bills after Stuart just got paid, and we had almost $700 left this month! Too bad that it all has to go towards the annual property tax bill that is due in early October. But, it's still great progress! After this month, we hope to begin applying that amount each month towards paying off our Odyssey van early.

So . . was it worth it, and will I continue to do the Dave Ramsey-crazy-fanatical-cash only-envelope system thing? Definitely, yes.

Is it hard? Definitely, yes.

I feel like we are scrimping right now. I am checking prices constantly. I compare grocery food products for the best price per ounce. I bought a huge, 5 lb tube of ground beef and split it into freezer portions in order to save price per pound on meat. I am buying all of Arden's clothing second hand with consignment sales and Ebay (I mean down to EVERY pair of her shoes for this fall!). I have noticed that I haven't gone out to "browse" at the stores much because I know I can't buy anything. We haven't paid to eat out as a family a single time. I waited in line for 40 minutes to get the boys' hair cut at a "grand opening" special at a new salon for $2.99 each, in order to save the usual cost of $12.00 per haircut.

It is taking hard work, dedication, denial, and sacrifice. If you see me still wearing shorts and capris into October and November, it's because I don't have enough clothing money budgeted yet to buy jeans that fit post-baby #3! However, it's been fun to challenge ourselves to be better stewards of our money, and we know that it will have a reward of accumulating more savings down the road.

So, I've already spent all but $100 of my food/household cash that is to last for the next two weeks . . . in three days! Yes, Sam's Club and Walmart can consume most of my budget. I've got to make it for 12 more days. I'm determined, and I'm looking around for more things to sell on Ebay!

Wrecks and Resignations

It's been quite a crazy week!

Stuart left last Saturday to go to a conference in Arizona with the intent of "destressing" from various pressures here. He thought that going to a conference and having multiple evenings without kids would be very relaxing. You know . . . watching an entire movie without interruption, doing some Bible study, going sightseeing, no one crying or whining.

Well, less than 48 hours after arriving, Stuart had a car accident . . . in the rental car. So, his well-deserved "get away" turned into hours of phone calls to insurance agents, rental car companies, etc. He made friends with the person he hit, but that doesn't seem to get him out of the ticket that the Tucson policeman gave him. Ugh! Hopefully, we can get all of the details resolved quickly, and then we can get on with regular life . . . albeit with higher car insurance premiums!

Additionally, Stuart's boss Lona McCastlain, the elected prosecutor of Lonoke County, publicly announced her resignation to the press yesterday (http://www.arkansasleader.com/2008/09/top-story-prosecutor-for-lonoke.html). Governor Beebe will appoint a replacement to finish the rest of her term. Basically, that leaves Stuart's job uncertain after December 31 of this year. We are looking for new employment, so please pray for our job situation. We are desiring that God will move us to a place where we can do ministry as well as work in a stable job situation. We would like to live nearby, but we are open to any possibility at this point. We are praying for a job that would meet our family's financial needs, be in a location with good public schools, and also be in a place where there is a great contemporary church which we could get involved in.

We know that God's timing is always perfect . . . it's just hard to wait when the clock is ticking loudly!

Tightening our Belts

Okay . . . this cash thing is hard. I keep telling myself that this month will be the hardest since we had to pay the credit card bill from last month's charges AND come up with enough funds to live on cash for our current expenses. It's almost like having double the expenses for household and food this month, just so we can finally live on cash. Next month has got to get easier!

Here are some things I have done so far that are different from our normal spending habits before cash:

1. I went to Walmart to get groceries, and I honestly didn't know if I would have enough cash in my wallet to pay the bill. I didn't want to bring a calculator and have to add up 182 items manually as I went up and down the aisles, since that seemed a bit too tedious and time consuming. I had estimated my cost via calculator with my list before arriving, and I knew it would be tight. So, I put all the non-essential items in the cart's basket to separate them from the "got to have" items like milk, meat, bread, recipe ingredients, etc. When I got to the checkout, I asked the cashier to give me a total after she rang up all the items on the conveyer belt, so I could see if I had enough money to put in the optional items at the end. I was fully prepared to have to put those items back and leave them at the store, if it came to that. It really wasn't too embarrassing. She didn't act like it was a big deal. I figured that they see people on food stamps every day who check out, so this can't be that strange. Luckily, I barely had enough for the "non-essential" items (like scrapbook adhesive, chocolate, facial toner, teething medicine, a few snack items etc).

2. Owen is now having to use his monthly allowence that he's been saving for some of his cub scout expenses and not just for toys. We previously would have absorbed all of those costs, but this month it just isn't possible. So, Owen chipped in and bought his own sleeping bag for his upcoming camping trip, and he also bought his own cub scout shirt, neck scarf, and tie for his uniform. He actually didn't complain at all about using his own money, and I was very proud of him!

3. Poor Stuart! He has been rolling all his change like crazy to come up with extra cash. He is going to Arizona for a week-long business trip and taking a couple of extra days to drive to the Grand Canyon to do some photography. He is rolling coins in order to come up with some extra spending money for the trip.

4. I needed a couple paperback novels for a professional development course that I am taking next week, so I went through my own books to see which ones I could part with. Then, I traded in several fiction books towards the cost of the new ones I needed. Plus, I did all this by going to a used bookstore instead of going through Barnes and Noble.

5. I have gone through all the cabinets and closets looking for items which we bought that were never taken out of the packaging or used. I found four such items (special art markers, media cord set, a metronome, and a flash drive). Then, I returned them to Walmart to use the money for food. I sold the metronome on Ebay for $30 since it was purchased at a music store, and we no longer had the receipt. It's taken some creative thinking to get extra cash!

6. I rescheduled my haircut appointment that was supposed to be next week because I won't have the cash to pay for it. I have even considered going to a really cheap salon instead of the $30 cut I usually get, but I'm not quite that desperate yet, and I don't want to spend three months growing out a really bad haircut. So, now I am waiting two more weeks to get my hair cut after Stuart gets paid again, and I can replenish my cash. I guess I'll just have about 7 days of "bad hair days" to live through!

It's been an eye-opening challenge, and I'm determined not to cheat on the "all cash" plan in the first month! Even though we have always had a budget, I am surprised about how much money we actually need for groceries and the bare essentials. I really underestimated some categories on paper.

I now have $48.37 to last for another ten days. It will be tough, but I'm sure I'll think of some other ways to make it stretch!

Smiles and Tears

Hudson had a large fall on Saturday that resulted in a goose-egg size knot on his forehead! He was apparently trying to jump from couch to couch (against house rules!) and fell headfirst on the edge of the wooden couch leg. Normally pretty tough, he cried quite a bit over this injury, and Stuart and I fretted over whether he had a "traumatic head injury." We spent several hours watching him and asking him things like, "How many fingers am I holding up?" and "Do you feel dizzy?" Luckily, it appears that he suffered no permanent damage and doesn't have a skull fracture!

Arden finally has enough hair for a little bow now! Isn't she cute! The boys can't get enough of her, but that might change once she gets mobile and figures out how to get into their stuff! She has had her own tears lately due to more teething . . . she is cutting her 7th and 8th teeth now. She appears to have little tolerance for pain and spends 7-10 days crying in the middle of the night every time we cut a tooth. Stuart says it's just the drama of being a girl!

A Stash of Cash

I never, ever used to carry cash. My reasoning was that I might lose it. My purse might get stolen. I might spend more if the money was readily available. It was too much trouble to get to the ATM. My handy debit card, credit card, and checkbook became the only way that I ever paid for anything, and our society made it very easy for that to work.

That would soon change.

Last week I took out several hundred dollars at the ATM. Cash. All mine. Okay, not really all mine. This cash had to pay for every Walmart purchase, all the groceries, the boys' haircuts, my Joico hair product at the salon, Owen's school lunches, Arden's prescription, stamps, and anything else that I needed for the next two weeks.

Suddenly, the stash of cash didn't look like it would last very long.

The reason behind this experiment that I've embarked on (and dragged Stuart into, as well!) is that I am trying to be more frugal and stretch our budget. With gas costs, food increases, and the costs of adding a third child, we are really stretching our budget pretty thin these days. I added up how much Arden has added to our monthly budget, and it is an extra $950 per month! Good thing I didn't know that when I was thinking of having baby #3, or I might have changed my mind! That includes her formula, baby food, baby cereal, a month's worth of diapers and wipes, monthly prescription, two days per week of childcare while I work, and the new car payment which came as a result of needing a car that would seat three kids in carseats. She costs more each month than our mortgage!

Anyway, each month I have been frustrated when I have a budget on paper, but it gets completely ruined when the credit card bill arrives. We never, ever carry a balance and have no credit card debt (thankfully), but the bill has gotten bigger and bigger each month and harder to pay. Afterwards, there was no money left for savings. I knew this had to change. We had to make the money we earned stretch further.

I would scrutinize the credit card bill, sure that there was a $500 error somehow that was causing the balance to be so high. Unfortunately, there weren't any big charges on it. Just pages and pages of small ones that added up to more than $500 over what I'd budgeted. Who knew that we charged things at Walmart over 10 times each month? The small charges of $4 and $5 for books, coffee, McDonalds, etc. ended up adding up to $258!

I recently saw an inspirational news clip on Yahoo about this family that decided to use cash completely for one month, as studies have shown that people spend 25-30% LESS when they have to pay with cash (opposite of my theory that I would spend more!). I looked up the Christian financial guru Dave Ramsey that Stuart had heard speak last year, and then I dusted off his book The Total Money Makeover that we'd never read . . . and I read it. In one day. Then, I ordered Dave Ramsey's super, duper "deluxe" envelope system wallet to organize my cash and record my expenditures (it just looked cool and made this whole frugal thing seem more stylish, and it was on sale 1/2 off!)

Luckily, we are ahead of most Americans since we have no credit card debit, but I was determined to have no unexpected, large credit card bill arrive in a one inch thick envelope every month. I've decided not to go 100% cash on everything, and I'm still paying for our set monthly bills electronically, and we are still using our credit card for gasoline at the pump (I can't imagine taking three young children into the gas station to pay cash every time I had to fill up!). However, all the areas where we typically overspend such as "miscellaneous," "food," or "household" expenses get paid with cash. When we run out, we run out. I'm trying to live more aware of how every dollar is spent, but I'm not at the extreme point where I'm making my own deodorant or granola!

I've actually gotten on http://allrecipes.com/ to search for ingredients that I had on hand to match with existing recipes, so we can eat the food already in our cabinets. Stuart and I rolled about ten rolls of quarters the other night. I returned a couple unused things at Walmart that were never opened, and I used the money for food. I bought my first large grocery shopping at Walmart this week and paid cash. I think they thought I was a drug dealer as I counted out my twenty dollar bills in a large pile!

I'm excited about the challenge. I think it is making me spend more consciously and not just slap down the credit card when the checking account gets low. Hopefully, next month there will be the reward of the nice, thin credit card envelope arriving in the mail . . . with only gas charges on it. Then, I'll feel like it's worth it!

A Legacy

I just started back to work teaching four sections of Composition I two weeks ago, and it just dawned on me today that I am beginning my 16th year of teaching.

Wow . . . when did I get so old?

I've been teaching since I was 23 years old. I have spent 2 years in a public junior high (now I know why those are the jobs they give the "new" teachers!), 8 years in a private preparatory high school, and I am beginning my 6th year as a college instructor. I've taught students who could hardly read above the 3rd grade level to ones who went on to Ivy League colleges; I've taught gang members during summer school with the Little Rock School District while a guard stood outside my door; I've taught pregnant teenagers; I've taught National Merit Scholars; I've taught college students who are old enough to be my parents.

It's been a wonderful, crazy, busy, and exciting ride!

Teaching has definitely been my calling and my passion. From the time I was little, I remember playing school and recycling old workbooks and making my siblings do them for "fun." I had dreamed of teaching college when I was in high school, only then to "settle" for a job as a high school teacher because there wasn't a way for me to pursue my doctorate degree after I got married and lived in Little Rock. It turned out to be the very best thing I ever did, as I found a great niche as a high school teacher, and I feel that I really got to make a difference during those years. Ironically, God has allowed that dream to come true in a different way than I ever imagined, as I currently teach at the college level and can work from home to be with my young children. I've had the best experiences being a teacher. It's never been like a job to me; it's been a part of who I am -- a product of my upbringing, a part of my innate need to connect with people and help them learn. As Stuart says, it's a way for me to use up the 10,000 words that I have to get out every day! Without it, I don't think I would feel as useful in the world. I am so grateful that I can still combine teaching with raising my children, and when they are ready, I will reenter the classroom as a full-time faculty member once again.

I started thinking about the students whom I've taught over the years, and the ones that I've seen as adults and where life has taken them. One of my former ninth grade students is a pharmacist now. He filled my prescription for me at Walgreens one night very late when I had a sick baby with an ear infection. He talked to me through the drive-thru lane with the sliding drawer and asked if I was the same "Mrs. Cearley" from Sheridan Junior High. It felt a bit strange to have to look up at him from my car while he gave me directions about the medication, and I smiled at the role reversal. He reminisced about how he loved my class and asked about my family. He seemed to have fond memories of my class, and I was proud to see that he had turned out so well.

Another student had a difficult and often explosive relationship with her mother. She took several classes with me, and it was always a challenge because the mother was often overinvolved. The student got pregnant during her first year in college. No one was surprised because I had heard several teachers say that she probably got pregnant just to have a way to escape her overbearing mother. She dropped out of college to marry the father, and now she lives near me. I run into her every few months at the soccer field, library, or a consignment sale. She's now been married for eight years, and she just had her fourth baby, but she said she still can't bring herself to call me by my first name; I'm still "Mrs. Cearley." She is such a great mom and shows genuine pleasure and interest in her kids. I visited with her husband at a library party this summer, and he really shows maturity for his young years. He's about to begin a term as a city councilman, and he is a very involved father. They are actively involved in a local church, and I am so proud of this student for turning her rocky start into a stable and loving home.

Another one of my favorite students was arrested last year for selling drugs. It was a widely televised arrest, and I saw his picture flash on the news repeatedly, and my heart broke for him. Initially, I was shocked. He had so much potential. What happened? I remember the talks we'd had, and how he had such severe ADHD that many teachers couldn't stand him being in their class. He liked English and was good at it, so his ADHD never bothered me. He had always seemed so naive and a bit immature, not at all like a person who would become a drug dealer in the next five years. I remember that he ate pencils and tore apart the plastic covers on 3-ring notebooks (literally) because he had such nervous energy. I routinely had to clean up the floor under his desk after he left class because of the debris he'd leave behind. But, he had such natural intelligence, good looks, and charisma. I remember thinking that he'd find his niche in college because high school was hard for him socially. I knew he didn't have a good relationship with his father, who was a very public personality in our community. On his final day of class with me, he sent me flowers. Now he is in jail.

Not all the stories with my students turn out well, but most do. I enjoy running into former students and seeing them grown. I read the Sunday social section to see if I recognize names of former students in high society listings or wedding announcements. Just last December, I was at the OBGYN office for one of my final checkups before I delivered Arden, and I heard an excited voice behind me say, "Mrs. Cearley?" I turned my huge belly in the direction of the voice, and came face to face with a former student who was also pregnant (with her 2nd child). She was probably 25. I was 37. Not to mention that she was as beautiful as a model and still looked trendy even when pregnant! We were both pregnant, but I was way too old for it! She laughed that we were pregnant together, and I enjoyed catching up with her. She is a great Christian mom who is staying home to raise her girls, and she reflected on my English class and all she enjoyed about it. She gave me the news on her classmates whom I also taught, and who is married, who is pregnant, etc.

When she was called out of the waiting room for her appointment, we hugged goodbye. I smiled as I watched her walk away. It felt really good. I felt like I had made a difference, and years later I hadn't been forgotten. Arden kicked inside my belly at the same time, and I laughed. I guess there are are a couple of ways that I'm leaving my legacy!

School resumes!

We survived the first week of school!

It was a tiring week as we attempted to get three kids to bed earlier and up and out the door by 7:40 every morning. Adding that third child has really made it harder to get everyone fed and dressed! Owen is in 2nd grade at a local, public elementary school where he has attended the past two years. Hudson returned to the Methodist church pre-K program on Tuesdays and Thursdays which he also went to last year. Arden didn't get a spot at the Methodist church where Hudson attends due to their lengthy waiting list, so she began part-time childcare at Faith Baptist Preschool on Tuesday and Thursdays. It's a lot of work dropping kids of at three different schools, but luckily they are all within a mile of each other and all near our house. I returned to my part-time job as an adjunct instructor of composition at a local college this week as well, so I simply swapped my busy schedule of having all the kids home during the summer for 100 college students!

Owen loves his class! It helps that his best friend from first grade also got the same second grade teacher (there are 4 classes of second grade at his school). His teacher Mrs. Arnold is a seasoned 27 year teaching veteran with lots of creative ideas. Owen likes her introduction of "Arnoldville" where the kids get weekly "jobs" and earn salary in "Arnoldbucks." Then, they get to use math skills to redeem their money at the local "Arnold-Mart." Owen said they get their first job assignment tomorrow along with their new wallets! That almost makes me want to be in second grade!

Hudson also has veteran 13 year experienced pre-K teacher at the Methodist church. They have a strong curriculum with weekly themes, centers, chapel, P.E., computer, and music class. He would love to attend every day, if we could afford the tuition! However, I am still enjoying having him home with me for one last year before he goes to kindergarten every day next year. It's also good for him to have more time to play with Arden the rest of the week since he will miss that next year. So far, Hudson has made an easy transition to a new teacher and loves his school! The only issue we had during this last week is that Hudson began to break out in hives on Tuesday (first day of school) and has had them off and on ever since. We are now on day 6 of hives! We are giving him Benadryl every 6 hours of so, and that erradicates them until they reappear. Our pediatrician said it looks like an allergy due to something being ingested, but we are having a hard time pinpointing the trigger, since he hasn't had anything new that we know of. His new breakouts have each been occurring after different foods, so it's very confusing. Pray that we can solve this puzzle!

Arden is in a great, loving childcare environment on Tuesdays and Thursdays. I was a bit hesitant at first, since this is my first time to leave here anywhere. I only began putting her in our church nursery on Sunday mornings in the last month! The facility is brand new, and it's a new program. She has a wonderful teacher, and the best part is that there are routinely only 2-3 babies in her room at a time! She is frequently the only baby for several hours during the time she's there. She gets lots of one-on-one love for those two days each week, and she is always happy and content when I pick her up in the afternoon. She now has six teeth, is sitting up well, can roll all around the room, waves bye-bye on occasion, and says "mamamama." It's hard to believe that she only has about 4 more months of being a "baby" before she becomes a walking toddler!

The kids are already excited to return to school for the second week, so it's been a good start so far!

Confusion

I am confused . . . confused about God's direction and purpose. Confused about what we are supposed to do right now as a family.

I thought God was being so clear in His leading over the past month. Doors seemed to be flying open to lead Stuart in a new career direction. So many things happened supernaturally to get us to the point of feeling that God was about to open a door for a new opportunity, then it just slipped away. The open door slammed shut all in one day.

I had thrown myself emotionally and physically into the belief that THAT was the plan. I had a one-inch thick file of information about that new community, just in case we had to move there. We had looked at houses (I had a particularly cute one that I really liked). I was already picturing my furniture in the new floorplan. I had called churches about Mother's Day Out programs. I had seen the potential school that Owen would attend. I was excited about the Target that was under construction just miles from "our new house." We visited a church there that seemed like a perfect fit. The sermon was on exactly the topic we had been praying about . . . being open to change and taking risks to follow God. It was perfect . . . too perfect.

Why didn't it work out?

I still feel raw from the disappointment of the letdown. I feel like I saw God's plan unfolding, but that we lost hold of it. The reality is that it obviously wasn't God's plan to start with. We just thought it was. However, that makes me wonder if I can tell when God is really working or not. Did I imagine all the "open doors"?

Now, we are back to the original place of the unknown. The dark, scary place where the clock seems to be ticking while we try not to worry about job security. The uncertain place when we don't know the answers or the time frame.

I know in my heart that God will provide a clear direction and a path for us to a place where He wants us to settle. Answer soon, Lord, answer soon.

"Some wandered in desert wastelands, finding no way to a city where they could settle. They were hungry and thirsty, and their lives ebbed away. Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble, and he delivered them from their distress. He led them by a straight way to a city where they could settle. " Psalm 107: 4-7

Tried and True Baby Items

After having my third baby last year, I have now gone through quite a lot of baby products. I found some items that I loved back when I had Owen seven years ago, and some items are ones I just recently discovered, or they are newly on the market. I enjoy "testing" out products and finding things sold resale to save money. I think another career I'd enjoy is to be a tester for Consumer Reports magazine (which I subscribe to and follow religiously!).

Here are a few products that I really enjoy with Arden. If you are currently pregnant or might be in the future, then I would recommend any of them. They are also great ideas for baby gifts!

1. Bella Tunno pacifier holder: cute ribbon with metal clip. Attaches to paci with velcro. Each to use and machine washable. Very durable from my experience. About $8 at Pickles and Ice Cream or other boutiques

2. Robeez! I can't say enough about these wonderful leather crib shoes for pre-walkers. I began using them with Hudson and now with Arden. I usually use 0-6 and 6-12 month sizes exclusively before putting my kids in hard-soled shoes when they begin walking. I own about 3-4 pairs in each size. I buy them gently used off Ebay for around $12-14, then I resell them for $8-10, so they hardly cost me anything. There are some off-brands (like at Target) that I've never tried, but they won't resell nearly as well as the Robeez brand. So, ultimately it is still cheaper for me to buy the name brand and be able to get money back later. I wash mine in the washing machine and line dry, and I've had no problems with durability. They stay on really well.

3. Fisher Price Rainforest Jumperoo. This is a newer baby item which is a jumper that is in a round frame with toys, lights, and sounds around the seat. Once Arden got to be 6 months, she absolutely loves it, and she can jump in it for an hour! It's a bit bulky in size, but it is worth it for how much she likes it. I bought it used for half price which I would recommend doing, since it's a bit pricey. Retail is $80.

4. JJ Cole System Diaper Bag: I am picky about diaper bags. They have to hold enough, but not feel too bulky. I won't like the bag if it hurts my shoulder or digs into it when I am carrying a full bag. I don't like double strap bags since one strap always slides off my shoulder. I need lots of pockets to stay organized. I don't want a bag with cartoons or a baby design. You get the picture. I have never really loved a diaper bag until now, and I have tried about six or more with three kids. This bag is pricey ($70), but I got mine cheaper on Ebay. I love the stroller straps that you can hook onto the handlebars, so the bag can clip to them. It makes it so easy to access the bag instead of putting it in the stroller basket underneath. It is lightweight, cute, and super comfy to carry with a padded strap. I've had no problems with durability or spot cleaning after 7 months. It even has an iPod pocket, but I use it for my keys since I don't own an iPod.

5. Boppy Pillow with removable cover: I have gone through two of these pillows. I definitely recommend the removable cover, so you don't have to wash the pillow itself. I did that with my first one, and it got lumpy. I still use this for bottle feeding, as it saves my arm and neck from getting stiff because I can just lay Arden on the pillow on my lap to feed her. cost $30-ish

6. Bumbo Chair. I never had one before Arden, and I found some good use for it. I wouldn't pay retail price of $40 for this chair, as I don't think it's worth that much money, but I got mine for $15 at a consignment sale. It was a great device to help her sit upright with support between 3-7 months old. We had problems with "flat head" from laying on her back so much, so this was a great chair to use to get her in a different position.

7. Whoozit Toy: All three of my kids have loved this toy in the infant stage. They crinkle it, chew the pink rings, squeeze the noze, etc. It's the perfect companion for a stroller or carseat. Mine has been washed countless times and is still being used after 7 years! Retail around $12

8. Barefoot Dreams Blankies: These are the best little blankies! All three of my kids have had them (and Owen still sleeps with his!). They wash well, and they don't fall apart unless you eat them (cough . . . Hudson). They come in satin or chenille. Retail around $24, but I got Arden's on Ebay for $10.

9. Pampers Cruisers Diapers: Yes, these are the premium and most expensive diapers. I have tried all the cheaper brands, and I still come back to these. They fit my kids the best and have the best overnight leak protection. I buy one big box per month at Sam's Club, and they last me all month. The average cost in that quantity is .22 cents per diaper for size 3, and I don't have to cut coupons. They aren't the cheapest, but they are the best, in my opinion.

10. Diaper Service Quality (DSQ) cloth diapers: I bought a bundle of these off Ebay, and they are the best burp cloths I've used. They wash well and hold up to lots of wear. They are so much thicker and softer than the Gerber cloth diapers at Walmart. These are the ones people use if they are really going to use cloth diapers for diapering! I sewed some ribbon to the bottom to decorate them, but they are fine just plain white. About $2.50 each.

11. Bumkins Bibs: For two children I bought the cheaper Target or Walmart brand vinyl bibs for highchair use/baby food feedings. They were cheap at 4 for $5.00, but they always got stiff, they weren't machine washable, the print washed off, and they generally got gross after a month of use and had to be thrown away. Finally, I recently splurged and spent $6.00 for a Bumkins Bib (cost for 1), and I will never go back! They are wonderful, flexible material, have an adjustable velcro neck opening for various age babies, and they are machine washable!! This is money well-spent, as they won't wear out or be thrown away. Available at Babies R Us.

12. Graco Contempo High Chair: I really like the design and price of this model. It folds very narrow, and it has multiple height and recline positions. It has a removeable tray and holes to insert high chair toys, if desired. There are various designs and colors. Retail price is $100.

13. Fisher Price Cradle Swing: This newer style swing has a two-position swing (side to side, or front to back), mobile, lights, sounds, etc. Pretty snazzy, but so is the price at around $110! I found a gently used one for $50, and it has been worth every penny. In fact, they are so popular, that I can resell mine in a few months for almost what I paid for it. So, I got to use it for less than $10! Arden loves to swing (the boys didn't), and often this is the only place I can get her to fall asleep if she's cranky. She still sleeps in it for one daytime nap daily, and I'm trying to wean her off it! We've lugged this swing (which does disassemble easily) in our van to multiple places, including our recent weekend roadtrip! Try consignment sales, newspaper listings, or Craigslist for used models. They can be hard to find since they are so popular, so you'll have to look regularly for listings and then contact the seller quickly!

14. Aden and Anais Muslin Swaddle Blankets: I am a big believer in swaddling your newborn to help calm them and help them sleep better. My colicky babies always reponded well to a combination of swaddling, swinging, and white noise. The problem with most blankets is that they are rectangular, too stiff, too heavy, or too small to adequately swaddle a baby past 8 lbs! These 44 inch square blankets are lightweight cotton muslin, and they are perfect in size, shape, and weight. I swaddled Arden to sleep in them until she was almost 5 months old! I found these described in a magazine and ordered them online http://adenandanais.com/. They come in 2-packs or 4-packs and retail for about $12 per blanket. I have used them daily and washed them countless times, and they still look new. This must be my all-time favorite, can't-live-without baby item! They come in girl prints, boy prints, or plain white.

15. Ultimate Crib Sheet: A friend told me about these with Owen, and I have used them with all my babies. Since all three of my babies have had reflux/spit-up issues, it is a big pain to change crib linens multiple times daily after a bit spit-up on the crib sheet. You will love these when your sweet baby has a stomach bug, rotovirus, or a diaper blowout in the crib! You know how it is; you have to take off the bumper pad and untie a zillion ties to get it off, then you have to lift up the heavy mattress and get the sheet off. Then, trying to get the clean sheet on is almost impossible for me with my mattress unless I have help! This crib sheet has a waterproof backing and a soft, cotton top. It simply snaps around the crib slats in six places and lays on top of your pretty crib sheet. To change, just unsnap and replace with bumper pad still in place. I always have at least two to rotate. Retail around $16, but you can find them gently used on Ebay.

My motto is to buy the best quality you can for the lowest price! As you can tell, I love Ebay very much, and it saves me a lot of money (or costs me a lot, depending on how you look at it!).

Birthday Bash!

We celebrated Owen's 7th birthday and Hudson's 4th birthday this past weekend with a joint party on August 2. We rented out a local gym and invited several families from our church as well as a few of the boys' school friends. We ended up with 18 kids plus their parents! My brother Asher flew in from Colorado for the weekend and was able to attend. Stuart's parents drove up from south Arkansas, and my mom was also in town from Bryant for the event.

The boys (and three girls) had a great time playing in the gym! Nothing else can beat running, chasing, jumping, and swinging! The highlights of the event were the inground trampolines, foam pit with swinging rope, hide-and-seek, and a few strong dads who got into the action by throwing boys into "the pit!"

After an hour of running and jumping, the 18 red-faced, sweaty kids were ready for cake and ice cream! We had a dinosaur theme party with a cake shaped like the character Chomp from the cartoon "Dinosaur King." It scored well with the kids! (Many thanks to Sam at http://www.cakesbysam.com/ for another special cake).

We survived the 102 degree heat outside, and we survived another birthday party. We were exhausted, but we have a year to recover! The boys said it was the best birthday ever, and that was worth it all!

Happy birthday, boys! You're growing up so fast!