Monday, March 28, 2011

favorites

things i've been loving lately...

1. http://www.littlelovesdesigns.com/.  i won a blog giveaway to her site and ended up ordering more because her bows and headbands are soooo cute! i am so excited to give these away at upcoming showers to all of my friends who are having little girls (which is like 2 since everyone i know is having more boys).  it is a good thing i do not have a little girl because i would go crazy buying cute things like this!!


2. faux sheepskin rug.  i picked up the 2x3 rug for $19 while i was in kansas city last weekend at home decorators.  hopefully this will make a cute photo prop for at home newborn pics!
3. this lil' elf hat from etsy as well (now if only i can teach myself how to take pictures like this in the next two months):
4. children's place and gymboree.  i buy most of parker's clothes here (and kohl's a close 3rd) since they are so close to our house and always have great sales.  i refuse to buy any clothes from these stores unless they are on sale...these little outfits below were on sale + 30% off fill a bag sale + 20% off coupon from parents.
5. cookies from a local nwa girl, robin.  she made these uber cute ones for our superbowl party and i can't wait to have her make elmo ones for parker's party this weekend!

hope everyone is having a wonderful week!

Wednesday, March 23, 2011

dad of the year

as much as i hate people bragging about how awesome their spouse is, i am very thankful for james and what a wonderful husband and father he is.  over the last few months, i have been traveling a lot, and james has sacrificially taken vacation days to stay home and watch parker. 

for two weeks in a row in february, i got stuck in airports waiting for the snow and ice to clear up at xna so i could fly home.  james was not just home with parker by himself for 5 days each week (which was originally supposed to be 3 days), but he was stuck inside because of the snow and maintained a very positive attitude throughout the whole thing. 

to get out of the house, he traded his snow shoveling services for the neighbors' babysitting time so he could have a few hours to himself, and some of our wonderful friends knew james was home alone and invited him and parker over for dinner.  he also tried to keep parker entertained with various activities like sledding...
 and making snowmen...
 snow snow and more snow!

i know this picture is blurry, but you can still see james and parker's expressions and it captures their fun-loving spirits and relationship.  they have so much fun together and i know will be such great friends as parker grows up.
i am glad that is is spring.  i am happy to be done traveling, and thankful we can hangout as a family and enjoy the lovely weather!  i just finalized my last day of work: may 27th and first day back (september 1st) and can't wait to spend the whole summer focused on building memories with my sweet babies and james.  here's to extra family time in t-minus 2 months!! 
love yall!

Saturday, March 12, 2011

glucose tolerance test--refusal of 3 hr. test

on wednesday i received a voicemail from my nurse stating that my 1 hr. glucose test score was a little high and giving me the phone number to schedule a 3 hr. test with a local lab.  i was in meetings for most of the day, so when i called back at 4:35pm the doctor's office was already closed for the day.

i felt a little frustrated...mainly in myself that i "failed" the test, but also in the fact that i could not get a hold of the doctor's office to ask my score.  naturally i googled "glucose test pregnant normal score" and saw many message boards about the subject.  most people said that anything over 130 or 140 required a retest.

finally when i was able to talk to the nurse the next day, our conversation went something like this...

me: yes i was just calling back about my glucose test results
nurse: what is your name?
me: silvy
nurse: was your result normal or abnormal?
me: um, the voicemail i got said abnormal...
nurse: did you get the phone number for the local lab?
me: yes. 
nurse: well what else do you need?
me: i was just wondering if you could tell me my score
nurse: oh, well i'd have to pull your chart to do that
me: okay
*awkward pause*
nurse: well i'll have to call you back since i have to pull your chart
me: okay thank you
hangup...

several hours later i still had not heard back, so i called again and found out my score: 135.

after a few hours of thinking about and researching it some more, i decided not to retest.  main reasons:
1. i don't think i have gestational diabetes.
2. even if i did have gestational diabetes, the treatment would likely be to regulate with diet.
3. i can regulate my own diet.
4. i don't think it is ideal to fast for long periods of time while pregnant or drink large amounts of sugar water on an empty stomach.
5. i often feel lightheaded when getting my blood drawn.
6. i don't want to take a whole morning off of work for the test.
7. i read many doctors have tightened the "passing window" for the glucose test, thus retesting many more people and producing many more false positives.
8. my score, 135, is not often retested.
9. as much as i love and respect doctors, i think know their own liability plays into extra unnecessary tests and procedures (i.e. why the c-section rate has gone up so much recently), this test included.
9. my pregnancy is not high risk and i passed the glucose test with parker.
10. the nurse did not call me about my results for 5 days after the glucose test (when she had the results in 1 day) and also indicated there was no rush in scheduling my 3 hr. test...so is it really necessary?

i think it is slightly humorous to read all of the posts on message boards of women who cannot believe others would refuse a test their doctor recommended.  comments like "that is so selfish, foolish, etc." and "don't you want to do what is best for the baby?" appear often.  however, i think it is really important for women to educate themselves about all topics related to pregnancy and not just blindly listen to a doctor's suggestion for everything (see the business of being born...yes it is rikki lake but still good, haha).  imo, refusing the 3 hr test is the best thing for my baby.

i received a message from one of my high school friends who is pregnant (and was a national merit scholar, ha, but i do respect that) encouraging me to refuse the test and find alternative ways to check glucose (which i plan on discussing with my doctor on my next visit).  i appreciated her support and wisdom on the subject.  i feel good about the decision to not retest (and so does james), so i'll focus on eating less refined sugar and making sure i exercise at least 30 minutes/day. 

and i can't end the post without a photo, so here is a sweet shot of baby boy kehrli at 20 weeks.  can't wait to meet you little guy!  (less than 3 months to go!!!)

Monday, March 7, 2011

cheapest way to buy diapers: amazon!

even though i am cheap/frugal, i am not a huge coupon person because it takes too much time and seems like too much of a hassle.  however, there is one coupon worth the time--Amazon Diapers!

over the last few months, i've only bought diapers and wipes from amazon and saved about 50% or more off the cheapest price i can find anywhere else.  for example, twice this month i bought this 720 ct. Pampers wipes for $3.43!  (originally $25). 

here's the breakdown:
amazon sale price: $19.19
-amazon $10 coupon: (10.00)
-amazon mom subscribe & save promo (5.76)
= $3.43 with no tax and free shipping!
where do you find these coupons?  the amazon mom promotion for 30% subcribe & save is free.  i always sign up to receive the diapers once every 6 months and then make sure i cancel it sometime in the next few moths.

the following magazines often have the $10 off or 20% off coupons (photos below):
*parenting
*parents
*baby talk
*american baby
*fit pregnancy

i ordered a 3 year subscription to parenting for $6 a few months ago (if i see another deal like this i'll post it, but i've heard of several similar promos), so a coupon comes in that almost every month.  subscriptions for babytalk are also free, so i get that one as well (besides the coupons, i enjoy reading these magazines as well).

i found coupons in magazines in the doctor's office this month, dentist office & hair salon, so i'd suggest searching for free ones there.  here is what the coupons look like:

good luck finding the coupons and happy shopping!  i'm excited to use my stockpile of diapers and wipes as baby gifts for some upcoming showers.  with a little time, these coupons make diapers/parenting very affordable!

Saturday, March 5, 2011

elmo saturday

i am going to apologize in advance for all of the elmo posts coming over the next few weeks as i am collecting supplies for parker's bday party, but...yesterday we got our elmo pinata in the mail!!!

btw, i ordered most of his supplies from birthday express (and be sure to look for a coupon code before placing your order).  with a toddler i have a new affinity for shopping online!

here is the all glorious 2 ft. tall pinata (it is pull string, which is safer for the lil' kids and also preserves elmo so he can be used as a room decoration later).
 parker wanted to pose beside elmo...you can't tell but he is saying "cheeeese" here, so sweet.
 the elmo pinata was the highlight of his day.  i can't count the # of times parker chirped "elmo!" today.  he even cried when i would not let him take him in his bed for night night.
 he kept going up to elmo and hugging and kissing him (and maybe hitting and kicking him a few times).  muah!!
 ahhh!!  let's get the party started, momma!!
 and there you have our day (plus yoga, ku watch party, friends' surprise party and a neighbor's bday party)...but elmo was definitely parker's favorite part!!!
love yall!  sweet dreams and rock chalk!  it's almost tournament time baby!