Watermelon

Due to the early frost in June and again in August, this is what we got as far as watermelon. At least we got something.

A Time For Pondering

As we rapidly approach the 1 year mark of Little Man's birth, it is time for my husband and I to again start thinking about adding to our family or not. Just yesterday, I met with my doctor and had a long talk with her regarding my fears and concerns. The biggest one being: I cheated death once trying to have a child, do I dare tempt fate again?

There is also the added complication that now that we have a little one having a pregnancy like last time would be next to impossible. Being on bed rest with an EXTREMELY active and inquisitive almost toddler would not be a good combo, especially with no extended family to help.

As I sit and think about the possibilities and concerns, I can't help but to think of my husband. He is all for having another child. However, his mother died when he was 8 so he knows all too well what is like to grow up without a mother. Is it worth taking that risk for Little Man?

Could I live with the guilt if I miscarried a child when I knew I was at high risk going into it? I can't help but feel it would be partly my fault.

While there are currently many tests being run, including the glucose tolerance test tomorrow to see if I am still Insulin Resistant - gag!, there are no guarantees or sure answers. While I know there are many out there who say, "I felt the best I ever did when I was pregnant," I can't say the same. I have never been so scared and frustrated. Every doctor's appointment was filled with dread and anxiety regarding what could be wrong now. In fact during the full pregnancy there were on 2 visits that were "normal." Consequently, 9 months is a looooooooooooooong time of worry and fear. Those who have lost children in utero or have had difficult pregnancies are the only ones who can understand. It's not something you can "just get over" or not think about. It is a constant worry until you see that newborn with all the appropriate parts and healthy.

Plus with 3 1/2 more years of grad school looming ahead, adding one more child for me to handle mostly on my own? hmmmmmm I am still trying to keep up with the first one who is too dang smart for his own good. (i.e. He's already figured out how to take out the safety plugs from the electrical sockets and he's not even 10 months! AAAAGGGHHH!!)

Adoption is not an option for us due to age, time, and family issues that would definitely put up red flags with the social history. (I know, since I have done adoption home studies professionally.) Plus having helped to place children for adoption I have seen the strong pros and cons for this. Right now for our family, there are too many cons. However, I still believe adoption is a wonderful process and with the right people can be a truly great and miraculous thing for all involved.

This is definitely a time where faith, common sense, and modern medical science are extremely intertwined. I don't know what those answers are, and no one can provide them for me. I just know there is a lot of pondering and thinking that is in my future.

More Deals!

If you are in need of Cheerios, like I was, then Smith's was the place to be! They are having a HUGE GM sale where you get $6 off when you buy 4 boxes and there are a lot of printable coupons to use as well. This together makes them $0.94 - $0.99 EACH! Woohoo! You can buy 8 at a time, which I did and had coupons for all 8!

In fact, I bought 8 boxes of Cheerios, 3 boxes of 18 pk Playtex, and 3 peaches. All were on sale, and I had coupons for all except the peaches. I spent $27 and saved $28 plus got $0.05 cents off per gallon of gas and another Cheerios coupon.

Albertson's also has the Campbell's Soup sale going on! Lots of printable coupons for this as well. Without going into detail, I again saved more than I spent, got 3 more coupons, $0.05 cents off of gas/gallon, and have lots of yummy soups that I can eat and my hubby can take to work.

For more info, please see Pinching Your Pennies. (Their button is on the right side of my blog.) and look at the grocery lists. They great thing is that they tell right where to go to get the printable coupons!

Are You a Chicken Lover?

If you love boneless, skinless chicken breasts, have a deep freezer where you like to keep extra, and live in SE Idaho or Boise here is a deal for you!

Zaycon Foods (like Bountiful Baskets) is a type of co-op only for meat. Right now they are selling 40 lb. cases of boneless, skinless chicken breasts for $1.59/lb. You have to by in the case, and once the "sale event" is final you just go to the location, pay them, and it is put in your car for you.

For more information go to: http://www.zayconfoods.com/

So far this is only available in parts of Washington, Oregon, Idaho, and Utah.

Just thought I would pass this along!

Um, Excuse Me. There May Be a Fly In Your Drink.

Should I be completely grossed out that as I finished blending my strawberry smoothie, I took off the lid and noticed a nasty fruit fly/gnat squished to the inside of the lid? Never mind that I don't remember it being there before. Ugh!

Salsa Time!

Because of the frost that we got last night, we decided to harvest some of the garden and start canning. I had to buy tomatoes from a local farm since ours have yet to turn, so we are in the process of forcing them. However, the ones I bought were garden fresh and HUGE!

I used all of the jalapenos and green peppers that I harvested and cut up awhile ago and used onions from our garden. Let's just say this will be a batch we will be keeping for ourselves. It H-O-T, HOT! This is fine with us since we love hot salsa but I know most people don't. I hope I can get enough tomatoes to turn and peppers to hang in there until then to make another batch. I don't predict this one lasting for very long.

I'm a Surviver!

This lonely cucumber has quite a story.

When our garden was hit with frost in June that practially killed everything, we had one sole cucumber plan that was partially alive. I decided to take off the dead part and see what would happen. Amazingly, it grew and this one cucumber was produced. There are others starting on it, but I don't know if they will make it since it is really starting to get cold. Seems almost a shame to eat it. However, notice I said . . . . almost!