Baby Update!

Baby Reuben is doing Great!  He is wiggling and kicking non-stop. went in for a check up and they said he sounds healthy!  He has found his knees and elbows now and is experimenting with poking me with them.
I got a new Tummy Picture!  Here's me at 6 months Pregnant!

I'm growing fast!

I also Finally got a few photos loaded via my sister and was able to play with them some.
Here is one of my amazing husband matt.

HOLIDAY NEWS!      Me and Matt held a Hannukah party with the help of some friends. During which matt made Turducken ( a chicken inside of a duck inside of a turkey. with stuffing layered in between each layer). Several other friends brought the side dishes and desserts. The party was a hit!  we had over 20 people attend, we lit the menorah and sang all our favorite songs!   Here is a photo of the turducken

My Charity for the month was Angel Tree. Me and Matt picked two names (both girls) from the Angel Tree at walmart and picked out some clothes for them.

This was what I picked out for the youngest girl. A tinkerbell outfit with socks and a hat to match!
I also found an adorable sweat shirt that I added to the bag later.

I have decided that I would like to try and contribute to a charity once a month, as part of our titthe.
If we decide to do something more expensive such as heifer international then we will put money aside each month until we have enough!

QUOTE OF THE DAY: Act as if what you do makes a difference. It does.
                                                                               William James

Daycare Duty

I just got a job at a Daycare!  Lots of mommy practice involved. So far I have worked mostly with the infants  (under 1yr) I am in charge of 6 kids at a time.  Its a lot of work but I am learning a lot about handling different situations!  Yesterday I worked with the 18 month olds for about an hour... right at nap time. so it was my job to clean them up after lunch and put them down for a nap ... YEAH RIGHT!  Thanks to help from another teacher in the next room we had all but 2 asleep by the time my replacement got there.

BABY UPDATE:    Yesterday baby Reuben stuck an elbow or knee against my stomach you could kind of see the little knob and you could DEFINITELY feel it. Both me and Matt got to feel it before he moved away! It still feels weird when he rolls around and kicks and now that I can actually see it when he moved it's extremely odd yet beautiful at the same time.

                                                           (photo not of me)

Holding and caring for all these baby's is making me even more impatient for Reuben to arrive!
I have been extremely uncomfortable lately. I have needed a Chiropractic Adjustment for quite a while, now that I'm doing all this bending and lifting of babies I need one more then ever. I plan on going in this next week.

Thank you all for your prayers for my baby, I request that you continue to pray and pass the prayer request on to your friends and family. The power of prayer can work miracles! 

QUOTE OF THE DAY:
If one feels the need of something grand, something infinite, something that makes one feel aware of God, one need not go far to find it. I think that I see something deeper, more infinite, more eternal than the ocean in the expression of the eyes of a little baby when it wakes in the morning and coos or laughs because it sees the sun shining on its cradle.
Vincent van Gogh

My Excuse: Computer Issues

My Excuse for not posting in so long is computer issues. The place where I plug my laptop in is loose and isn't letting my computer charge. therefore I can't use it till its fixed. I also cant load pics very well on our other thoroughly outdated computers.

there is a lot to catch you up on, some of it will wait til I can post the pics that go along with them though.
today I uploaded a dress I made out of recycled T-shirts to Ebay. I am attempting to start my own business called Chubba-Lump Designs!
Recycled T-Shirt Dress Juniors Med

Last night was the last night of Channukah. I was sad to see it end and wish we had prepared more for it.. oh well next year!  My sister gave me a lovely pair of earrings and my husband got be TONS of reeses ( a box of reeses puff cereal, a bag of mini reeses, a bag of reeses pieces, and a bunch of reeses cups) as well as some pink fuzzy slippers, a tinkerbell calendar and the new Taylor swift CD (which I have been listening to all day).
Because we never got the chance to, I am going to attempt to make latkes tonight!

BABY UPDATE:  Baby Reuben is still healthy and growing fast! I have about 3 months left till he's born and I get more and more excited everyday!  He kicks like crazy ALL THE TIME!  He has also officially turned me into a bottomless pit... I have been eating non-stop all day!  I got some 3D pictures of his face but untill I can load them you'll have to take my word that he is ADORABLE!

I dedicate my Quote of the day to my amazing husband. without whom I would go insane. whenever I get stressed out he holds me while I cry and then gives me back rubs and foot massages. he is my life and I thank G-d every night for giving him to me!
Quote of the Day: That quiet mutual gaze of a trusting husband and wife is like the first moment of rest or refuge from a great weariness or a great danger.  ~George Eliot

Operation Military Kids

For the past two summers I've had the privilege of working as a camp counselor for Operation Military Kids.
O.M.K is a support program for kids who's parents are in the military. O.M.K works with all branches of the military and host several camps over the year. These camps help the kids meet others going through the same situations, helping them connect with one another as well as teaching them valuable skills such as teamwork.

Metro Camp: This camp is held in September in Little Rock, Ar.
We rented a bus and took the kids on a 3 day adventure of downtown Little Rock.
The kids started their adventure at the Old State House Museum and from there took a GPS scavenger hunt to the River Walk where we ate lunch and toured the Game and Fish Commission Museum.
We took them to tour the Military Museum where they participated in another scavenger hunt set up by the Museum. Once they had finished there we walked over to the Children's Theatre and saw a play. We also went over to the Big Dam Bridge where a park ranger walked us halfway across and told us all about how the Dam was built and how dam's work.
One night we took them to Playtime Pizza where each kid got a card with tokens to play games.
 The last day we all got up and went to Hike Mount Pinnacle. It was a lot of work but I think the kids really enjoyed it. 
Each night we returned to camp and had a campfire program, the kids made smores and watched as the counselors preformed skits.
This is a great camp full of fun Activities and lots of group bonding! Recently they have started a similar camp in the Fort Smith area.

Movie and Art's Camp:  This camp is less of a run around and play type camp and more of a working to achieve a goal camp.
In Movie and Art's Camp we divide the camp into three groups. Documentary Movie, Creative Writing, and Quilting. 
Documentary Movie Group: This group spent the camp learning all about Documentary Film making and how to make one. During the 5 day camp they put together and create their own documentary film about OMK, Under the guidance of  directors and producers of the Sundance film festival.

Creative Writing Group: This group learns what creative writing is and over the camp does writing exercises that they will use at the end to write their story of what its like to be a military kid. This past year we were fortunate to have the Producer of Tales From The South a radio program on NPR. One of the days she brought out the radio recording supplys and had several of us read our stories for her show!

Quilting Group: This group used the art of quilting to tell their story of being a military kid by making story quilts.

At the end of camp we had a Red Carpet Event. Where the parents where invited to see what their kids had done over the course of the camp. The writing group made books that were handed out to each person. this book contained the stories and poems they had written.
The story quilts created byt the quilting group were displayed on stage for all to see.
and the documentary that the kids had made had its premier showing.
I was in also in charge of making a slideshow, just some fun pictures of the kids participating in the camp. this too was shown at our red carpet event.

Although this camp take a lot of focus and hard work from the kids they learn so many skills and get to take breaks from the workshops with a recreation time that includes Swimming, Canoeing, Basketball, and Board Games.
Also at night we have a campfire program where each night skits are preformed not only by the counselors but the kids as well! we have Fun time, when the kids can relax and enjoy themselves before bed where we served ice cream sundaes one night and popcorn the next. the kids could eat and play boardgames, wii play and other games they had learned during camp.

The Documentary that the kids made can be seen on youtube. I tried to post the link but my computer isn't letting me. the video is titled operation military arts & film camp 2010

If you or someone you know is in the military and has children please let them know about this program and these camps. If your not in Arkansas don't worry OMK is a national program you can find one in your area!

Happy Veterans Day!

Big Plans, Big Dreams.

The other day me and my mom were looking up 4-H in the area we are looking at moving to.

After realizing that 4-H in that county is practically non-existent I have decided to help it grow. start up a club and show them how amazing 4-H really is!
Anyone who has kids ages 5-19 should look into 4-H it's a great program that teaches kids life skills and builds resources for their future!


The other thing we've found out was that the county doesn't have a county fair! The county does a lot with an adjoining county. So I have decided to build a fairgrounds!  I think It should be a dual county fairgrounds so that both counties can benefit from it.

You may be wondering just how I plan on doing all this? well I'll tell you!
Step 1.  Move there and start a 4-H club.  Really get the 4-H program growing.
Step 2. Join the city council, PTA, ect.  Get to know how the town is run and what the needs of the town are as well as get to know people in the town.
Step 3. Maybe buy a little place and start a shop. join the small business owners association.

Step 4. Get the funds together and start working on the fairgrounds.                                                                Step 5.  Run for Mayor?     Who knows where this dream will lead!                                                          

                                                             

           Quote Of The Day: 

We grow great by dreams. All big men are dreamers. They see things in the soft haze of a spring day or in the red fire of a long winter's evening. Some of us let these great dreams die, but others nourish and protect them; nurse them through bad days till they bring them to the sunshine and light which comes always to those who sincerely hope that their dreams will come true.                                                             - Woodrow Wilson

Green Tip Of The Day:  Compost! Find a place in the corner of your yard and start a compost pile. If you live in the city buy  a trash can and start a compost bin. Here at my home we save those big Ice cream tubs and during the week we dump our compost ( leftovers on plates, leftovers in pans, peels, cores ect.) into the bucket. The bucket has a lid and that helps control smell. When the bucket gets full we take it outside and dump it onto the pile. during the summer taking a big stick or a pitchfork and stirring up the compost pile once a month or so will help everything decompose quickly and evenly.  Come spring you'll have amazing soil for potted plants and garden spaces! 

Zombie for a Day

Conway Held it's first annual ZOMBIE WALK on Oct 30th.
There was a great turn out! Lots of different zombies showed up for the event. we had a star trek zombie, bride zombies and even a banana zombie!

In preparation:  Matt decided he wanted to be a Giant Executioner zombie from the Resident Evil Afterlife movie.   See example below:

 

This was my challenge !

I went to Hobby Lobby hoping to find an apron that would work for this costume. But, the only one I was able to find was a smaller one with pockets.. not exactly zombie worthy. It also cost $6.00.

So I took a stroll over to their fabric department in search of alternatives. I found a solid black calico that was 30% off  and some burlap for the mask. I ran over and picked up a couple colors of acrylic paint for zombie makeup and headed off to find some props. cost of fabric and paint- $7.60

For my costume I decided to go with Zombie Mom with Baby. I bought a shirt at Salvation army and a baby doll at wal-mart. total cost - about $7.00.

Unable to find anymore props I went home and started working. my first step was Matt's butcher apron.

I just held the fabric up to him and made a few marks for the size and started cutting. hemmed three sides (left the bottom unhemmed for shredding)  made some straps and  VOILA! I painted black paint onto the apron to give it a more realistic effect and spattered red paint all over it.  For the mask  we wrapped the burlap around his head and cut  the shape we wanted and modified it as we went.. two holes for eyes and red paint and we had an awesome executioner mask!

Matt went a little crazy with my zombie baby. By the time he had come home from work I had glazed its eyes over in white, dulled its skin color with paint and added a few wounds. Matt bought some chicken that day and saved the bones. he cut the one of the baby's legs off  and glued in the chicken bone with red tinted epoxy.  He glued a second bone into the loose half of the severed leg, and then super glued it to the baby's hand. The effect: the baby looked like it had torn its own foot off ... creepy.

Here are a few pictures from zombie walk!

 Matts costume was a HUGE success!  Several people stopped to take photos of him and the camera crew that was there thought he was awesome!  It was ton's of fun!


QUOTE OF THE DAY:  “Dream as if you'll live forever, live as if you'll die today.”  ~ James Dean


Thank you for sharing an Epic night of Zombieness with me! 

Emergency Room Scramble

I'm sorry it's been a while since I have written. This past week has been simply crazy.

To start I was home alone Wednesday afternoon and started to have a pain in my left side, a pain which very quickly had me doubled over on the bathroom floor. After several phone calls a friend of mine came to get me and take me to the hospital.Matt and dad were waiting when I got there. 6 hours later they tell my I have a little bit of a Urinary Tract Infection and possibly a Kidney Stone, and that the baby has Gastroschisis a condition where the baby's intestines are on the outside of its stomach. My regional hospital does not have the equpiment or expertise to handle this situation.  

Gastroschisis Article

Yesterday I started having bad pains again so I had mom drive me to a state hospital. We got there at 3pm and at 11pm were admitted to a room. 3 hours after that we are told that yes I do have a little bit of a urinary tract infection and a small kidney stone.  The only thing that made that trip worth it was that they prescribed new antibiotics and stronger pain pills.

The Bright side of all this is that we were not going to have an ultrasound because they are so expensive. 

If I had not had the kidney stone we would never have known about the baby's condition. 

 I do have some ultrasound pictures to show !  They said at the hospital that its a boy! 

                      I love his little smile in the first one!  He looked right at the camera and smiled hello!

This photo shows the Gastroschisis 

Averys Angels is a group that supports and raises funds for Gastroschisis 

http://www.averysangels.org/

Please pray that the baby's intestines grow back in, or that they are undamaged.  Also the smaller amount of intestines exposed the smaller the risk of complications. 

Quote of the day:

“Anyone can give up, it's the easiest thing in the world to do. But to hold it together when everyone else would understand if you fell apart, that's true strength.”

Emergency Room Scramble.

I'm sorry it's been a while since I have written. This past week has been simply crazy.
To start I was home alone Wednesday afternoon and started to have a pain in my left side, a pain which very quickly had me doubled over on the bathroom floor. After several phone calls a friend of mine came to get me and take me to the hospital.Matt and dad were waiting when I got there. 6 hours later they tell my I have a little bit of a Urinary Tract Infection and possibly a Kidney Stone, and that the baby has Gastroschisis a condition where the baby's intestines are on the outside of its stomach. My regional hospital does not have the equpiment or expertise to handle this situation. 

Gastroschisis Article
GastroschisisArticle

Yesterday I started having bad pains again so I had mom drive me to a state hospital. We got there at 3pm and at 11pm were admitted to a room. 3 hours after that we are told that yes I do have a little bit of a urinary tract infection and a small kidney stone.  The only thing that made that trip worth it was that they prescribed new antibiotics and stronger pain pills.

The Bright side of all this is that we were not going to have an ultrasound because they are so expensive.
If I had not had the kidney stone we would never have known about the baby's condition.
 I do have some 

Party Weekend

Now that I'm home from this weekend I will tell you all about it!
First we'll start with the Bachelor party:
Matt's best friend had a bachelor party this weekend. Just a bunch of friends and a campfire all singing and hanging out. While he was there I was with a few of my friends running some errands and relaxing at a house down the road.

on the way to the bachelor party I stopped at the state fairgrounds to meet a friend. she gave me a big bag full of baby boys clothes (no I don't know what it is yet but who can pass up free baby clothes?)

The next morning I drop my friend jazz off at her friends house and me and Matt take the bachelor home ,a 2 hour drive. After stopping for lunch and visiting with the bachelorettes mom we are running slightly behind schedule.  10 miles from our exit the car makes a loud POP and I am forced to pull over. One of the tires had lost its tread. since the tire was still inflated we call one of matts friends to meet us with a jack (matts jack was broken) and we proceed to limp the car the last 10 miles on the shoulder of the interstate.
luckily we had a doughnut ad that got us to the concert and back.

The Concert:
NICKELBACK with Three Days Grace and Buckcherry!
We bought floor tickets and somehow managed to make it there in time. It seemed like the gates had just opened when we got there and we didn't have to wait very long in line.
We got down to the floor and there is the stage on one wall with a runway that has a circular platform at the end. we stood against the railing next to the stage at the corner of the circular platform, up close and personal!
Buckcherry was ok, I dont know many of their songs so I wasn't quite as interested in them. Three Days Grace was great! Very energetic and got the crowd going. and Nickelback was Phenomenal! They had amazing pyrotechnics, great music selection, and interacted with the crowd well. They also passed out shots of Yeager bombs and tequila to those close enough to the stage with ID' over 21. Matt got a tequila shot.
in between the bands me and the girls next to me talked to one of the head security guys. he was real nice! later in the night I asked if there was anyway he could get me a guitar pick (the bands were throwing them into the crowd but never close enough to us.). He said they were out and then a little while later the other security guard came out and handed me two! One was Nickelbacks the others Three Days Grace!

I was afraid being that close to the stage that the volume would be intolerable.  But, it really wasn't all that loud, the bass however, made my tummy rattle all night which I'm sure the baby was none to happy about.

Me and Matt both agree that the concert was worth the aggravation of the tire blowing.

now it's time to get back to work and get some more projects done :(

Project Day

First of all my mom still has my camera and is out of town, so I will not be able to get it back until next weekend. GAH!!! Without it I'm practically going NUTS!  My last few ebay items are selling today and tomorrow morning, and I have a Ton of new things to load to ebay but no way to take pictures of them.

The foot board for the bed is fully painted now and I'm starting on the headboard and side bars.
I have also found a lamp my mom put in the sale box that had chipped blue paint on it. I am repainting it pink.
As soon as I get these projects finish and get a camera I will post pictures.

I went down to check on the Flea market booth and took a small load of items for the booth.
So far I've made $70 this week! Hopefully some of these new items will sell quickly. I just priced a pile of fall clothes to switch out with the summer clothes that are still there.

BABY UPDATE:  last night me and my husband sat up eating pizza and watching an episode of Monk before bed.

The baby started kicking and rolling and growling.. yes GROWLING.  we could clearly hear it without our heads close to my tummy. This continued for about an hour after the show had ended and we had laid down to sleep. It felt like the baby was pretending to be a Ninja.

 GREEN TIP OF THE DAY: Now that the weather is getting cooler try keeping your thermostat a few degrees lower. wear a sweater around the house. We still have our thermostat set for air conditioning it gets to about 65 degrees inside in the morning. but I just wear a sweater and keep all the doors to the rooms shut. This really helps keep the house tolerable and Eco friendly.  Also this will cut down on your gas or electricity bill! 


Quote of the Day:  Happiness does not come from doing easy work but from the afterglow of satisfaction that comes after the achievement of a difficult task that demanded our best.
~ Theodore Isaac Rubin 

Speed Bump

Today I feel very productive, and being productive makes me happy. It all started with my husband dragging me out of bed to make breakfast as I had promised the night before. As I crawled out of bed and put on a hoodie and socks I was throughly regretting that promise. Today I give my self a Gold star for efficiency, not only have I gotten laundry and dishes done. but have cleaned my bedroom which I have been trying to clean for a week, started on a poster for Pixter Photograhy to advertise in my flea market booth, I have also sanded and started painting the foot board of the bed frame!

I have done so well only to run across a few speed bumps. such as; No eggs to finish the oatmeal cookies I was making, No thread to fix a popped seam on our comforter and No camera to take pictures of more ebay items.
I am somewhat disappointed in this slow down but I will continue to do other small chores until my husband gets home from work with the thread and eggs.

Going Green! 
I have always been a go greener, not the tree hugger type but enough to call my self Eco Friendly.
I have decided to post my go green tips. things that I do that are simple and you don't have to go out of your way for. will this lead to a second blog?  who knows!

GREEN TIP OF THE DAY :  Reuse your bath towels. you are only using them to dry your already clean body. hang them up on a hook or doorknob and use then again the next time you shower. In my house we use our towels twice then send them through the wash, just so things stay sanitary.

QUOTE OF THE DAY:

“Productivity is never an accident. It is always the result of a commitment to excellence, intelligent planning, and focused effort.”

kentfrese  Paul J. Meyer

Run Baby Run!

Since I missed a day yesterday I'll write about it this morning. 

we had TONS of errands to run, drop my mom off to pick up our car out of the shop, bank, insurance, send in job app ect. we also had to pick up a credenza my mom was buying, and try and be home by 5 to help my dad make a turkey dinner ( we were having friends over).  Needless to say yesterday was a bit hectic.  I got my drivers license changed over so now I am officially a Zimmermann! Everything went smoothly until we went to pick up my truck. we drive 30 minutes out of our way only to find that we had left the keys at home.  we were going to use the truck to pick up the credenza.. So much for that. We then spent an hour trying to fit the credenza AND a full size bed frame into my hubby's cavalier. I plan on fixing up the bed frame to put into my flea market booth. I'll post pics when it's finished.

I now have a total of 8 items up on ebay and picked up 2 more to be loaded on the way home at a garage sale!

I'm working on setting up a photo shoot for my friend. Here is a pic from our last shoot! 

Quote of the Day : 

"By recording your goals and dreams on paper, you set in motion the process of becoming the person you most want to be." 

-Mark Victor Hansen

WOAH BABY!

Today I had my first prenatal appointment. The appointment went well ! got to hear the baby's heart beat and scheduled my ultrasound for next month, plus I didn't have to do blood work today ( I have a needle phobia).
everything was going great until we got to the payment plan. $3,100.00  we can get 15% off if we can pay it within seven days... riiight. So, what it all boils down to is  NEW GOAL!
If My Dear Trash can save up $2500 in one month I can too!
so now that I got home I am loading like crazy to ebay  I have 6 new items and I'm loading some KC lights and a Sub-woofer to craigslist. I even stopped at our local gas station to apply for a job and I'll be turning in an app at the library tomorrow.

The whole way home my husband Matt stared straight out the windshield he was so worried about the money.
we're searching for other options now.
*fingers crossed*

My goal

After reading My Dear Trash and seeing how she met her goal of $2500 in only 4 weeks I've been inspired to do the same!
I am taking over my mothers flea market booth and putting some of our best items on ebay as well as items on craigslist. add in my photography business and I think I could meet my goal. What is my goal you may ask?

$6,500  for a new (used) car.
 my husband has a small cavalier that I have been driving. It's a great car except for I'm too short to reach the pedals and with a baby on the way I'd like something a little bigger and safer (i'm used to driving my family's ford excursion).

I have just put my first items on Ebay.

Gold wrap top with velvet trim size 14

                   AND
%100 Silk silver floral jacket size 12

I also am selling my snare drum on craigslist for $80.00. I only used it for a short time and no longer have time to play.

Tomorrow I will add a few more items on Ebay and go through my husbands things for craigslist items!
I think I'm off to a good start !

Quote of the day :  To climb steep hills requires a slow pace at first.
                                            ~Shakespeare

Ready, Set, Go!

we'll here I go.  Today is my first day to blog...ever!  lets see how it turns out.

lets start by telling you a little bit about myself.

I am a 19 year old recently married mom to be. I have been VERY active in 4-H for the past 10 years.
I enjoy public speaking and photography. I hope to get my photography business (Pixter Photography) rolling soon.
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Pixter-Photography/39189991991

I have 3 younger siblings, 2 brothers and a sister who have done there best to make me learn patience and self control over the years. I also have a soon to be 6 year old Goldfish named Sushi!

As for Baby. I don't yet know the gender, but I have my first appointment this Thursday. hopefully the office will have a sonogram and I will be able to find out. I am 15 weeks along, just starting to show. and this baby is a WIGGLE WORM! constantly moving and bumping.

I think I'll keep this first post short as I have a lot of errands to do today. the weather has been cooling off lately and its time to hunt down our winter clothes.