Stay Dry, Humble and Win Some Free Tiny Prints!

Today is the last day to enter the tiny prints giveaway.  Even if you don't send out Christmas cards, you could use the gift certificate for birthday cards, thank you cards, or other fun stuff on the tiny prints website.  Plus since only 4 people have entered, odds are really good!

I hope everyone is safe and dry today on the east coast.  We are all hunkered down enjoying the stillness of the storm.  I'm so thankful all our lines are buried and we live across the street from Wegmans.

This really puts things into perspective.  Not just for the servicemen who are cold and wet and in danger, but for the sacrifice of those who have served and given so much that there would be members of our armed services whose duty it is to watch over their grave 24/7 365 even when it puts their own lives in danger.  So incredibly thankful that our problems have always been microscopic in comparison.

Here's what we are up to today!

Good luck to everybody.  Stay dry and safe!

Bliss In Imperfection

As I sit here at close to 9:30pm, eyes heavy from a long day from chasing a wee one who loves to be chased, with sore tatas because said chasee now likes to bite, in a room with a suitcase used as a baby toy I am thankful for my blissfully imperfect life.  There is nothing like bringing a baby into a family to teach you that perfection really is imperfection.  I wouldn't change a thing, even the baby teeth coming in that combined with the kiss followed up with a nice chomp on my cheek and left a bruise.

After a lot of thought, I've decided since 99% of my posts have nothing to do with living frugally anymore, I'm going to update my blog name to "Bliss In Imperfection".  I'd have made it imperfect bliss or blissful imperfection, but both were taken from people who don't even blog.  I hope you like the new name and can relate to the concept that while nothing and no one is perfect, those that can embrace their imperfect life really do live blissfully.

Also, since no post is complete without a picture, I leave you two cute ones from today with the the biter and his companion.

2011, a pictoral year in review

Last Year I did this same post.  I had to because when I went to write about 2010, the only things that I could think of were family tragedies, illnesses and the babies we kept on miscarrying.  Laying the year out in pictures, reminded me of how much happiness was embedded in the sadness.  Ironic how pictures can do that.  We don't normally capture the sad times in pictures, I guess for good reason.

Well, I'm so grateful to say that I could write an infinite amount on how awesome 2011 was for our family.  I am not even sure the pictures will capture the happiness enough.   You'll notice a lack of photos in the earlier months, because even though I was happy, I was way under the weather with morning sickness and fatique and pretty much did nothing but jump on the hamster wheel and pray I didn't fall asleep and fall off!  I can honestly say that this was definitly the best year of my life.  I pray I will have more years just like this, even though I know it surely will be dispersed amoungst years similar to 2010.  Once in a while we are lucky enough to have a good day, month and in my case even a year.  In times of struggle, I try to remember that we are lucky enough to be given the gift of another day. 

In January Paul and I were homebodies.  He was still recovering from surgery and getting ready to head back to work.  We both ended up really sick for the first time in 12 years together.  It was strange to be curled up on the couch loving each other as much as we loved our puffs plus and nyquil. 
After Paul recovered from having back to back surgeries, January became the month of new life.  This was the month we finally conceived our sticky baby!  Sammy what a dream!  You were well worth the flu, the double kidney infection and antibiotics from hell.  Note to self, never take antibiotics without also taking a probiotics and buying stock in fage greek yogurt. 

See what I mean, I was SICK! UGH, at least I have my cute furbabies (I have three, but one cat doesn't like to be caught near the dog).

February started off fantastic!  On 2.3.11 I saw two pink lines:

I doubted I was pregnant, but took a test anyways because I wanted to be sure I could drink on superbowl!  Yea to finally not being able to have a drink!

About two weeks later, we had an amazing time at the beach.  I was just newly pregnant, a few days away from hearing our baby's heartbeat for the first time.  What a wonderful tranquil place to be when you are starting to get morning sickness.



This picture cracks me up because Paul didn't realize he wasn't supposed to be in it! 



March:
The birth of our niece Grace Elizabeth!  What a miracle baby, born at 38 weeks weighing just 4.4 lbs due to IUGR.

Unfortunately, I don't have many pictures of the next few months because I was holed up inside trying to survive a 16 week bout with horrible morning (evening) sickness and fatigue.  About all I can say for our family in March is Bailey got his first bath at barks and bubbles thanks to an awesome groupon ($10!):

In April, it was pretty much the same as March, I dragged my butt out of bed to go to work, dragged it home to sit on the couch, puke, then to bed by 8pm.  I did go to the outlets with my friend Kari who unlike me was excited to help me get some maternity clothes.

We did enjoy some pretty flowers in our front yard:

In May: I finally saw the light of day, FINALLY!  I think the last three months were the hardest physically that I'd ever gone through.  Growing a human is no joke!  In what felt like our first time out since Novemeber without illness and work stress lingering.  Our marriage really struggled during this time and it was great when I finally was able to live again.  We had the best time taking Bailey to the Reston Pet Fiesta and then to my best friend's sons birthday.  It was a glorious day.  Paul and I finally connected again and how awesome is that!  Sometimes you just need to get out and have a couples day, you really remember that your spouse is your best friend.

Here is Bailey, cooling off in the fountain at reston town center!

A few days later on my mom's birthday, we found our baby, would be baby Sammy!  Confimration of what my heart was saying, baby was a boy!

Feeling better couldn't have come soon enough because we had lots to do.
My sister in laws wedding in cocoa beach

Laura, my childhood best friend's wedding whom I had the privledge of doing her flowers and making her desserts. 

In June: Michelle, my other childhood best friend's wedding in miami, FL (we made this trip into our fantastic babymoon). 

While we were there, just 1 day after our 7th wedding anniversary, our newest nephew William was born on father's day.
In July: The birth of our newest niece Lana

We also had our maternity pictures taken.  I bought an awesome groupon for brooke bready photography and because I had $60 in groupon bucks these awesome photos were only $30!

In Aug: We finally laid low this month.  I did a ton of nesting and hanging around the house.  I was also crazy busy this month at work.  We went for our annual gypsy kings concert with our awesome neighbors:

We had a scare on the last day of August that brought me closer than I ever want to get to the NICU.  I was sent to L&D with contractions 1-2 minutes apart.  Sammy was only 34 weeks baked!  Ugh, that is one scare I never want to experience again.  Thank God I had chosen an amazing OB practice (Dr. Hodges at fair ridge OBGYN, you are my hero).

In Sept: So much fun stuff like our baby shower!

In Oct: Well, you already know what happened in Oct! 

In the two weeks before Sam arrived we packed about 8 years worth of dates into two weekends!  I so looking forward to going on fun dates like that again!  We went to eastern market in DC, went to Clifton Day, ate out a ton.  Apparently, it was so much fun that we forgot to take pictures whomp, whomp..fail.  Here is the last picture of me pregnant (39.3 weeks).  Thanks Stephanie for taking this awesome photo, I treasure it!

In Nov: Preparing for our first thanksgiving with just me and Paul and Sam.  It was so weird not to be with our family, but nice too!  I have no clue where the pictures are.  Sammy woke up just as we sat down for dinner (at 2pm what we thought would be his nap time, ay yi yi) this is the closest I could find:

In Dec: Baby's first christmas!  Need I say more?!  I also had an awesome birthday.  According to the mayans this could be my last!  I may never turn 30!  I'm sure me and my family will be better off in heaven anyways.

I hope everyone else had a great 2011.  Do you also like do use your pictures to see how much fun you had over the year?

National Day of Prayer: My Child Poem

I'm not too sure why I have never brought up faith on this blog before.  It is infanct one of the most frugalicious ways of life out there.  Faith is free and freeing.  I'm not going to stand on a soap box and go on and on about my religion, but what I can tell you is that I have lived without the acknowledgment of God in my life and have lived with the acknowledgment of God in my life and from the second I made the change, I can't and won't go back. 

Aside from today being national drink a margarita day aka cinco de mayo, it is also the national day of prayer.  I am a firm believer in the power of prayer.  I have absolutely no doubt that prayer by me, Paul and my friends and family is how Paul and I got pregnant naturally despite being diagnosed with infertility.  It is also how Paul beat cancer so quickly.  I can tell you with certainty that I have prayed my heart out for many of those that I love wanting children or a miracle to happen and it does.  There have been times when miracles have happened like Bailey running into a moving car and surviving with only a headache and a bruise that makes you know God loves you so unconditionally that you don't even need to pray to keep your beloveds safe.  Sometimes what you don't want happens even with prayer; but I do believe all things are meant to be, no matter how hard it is to be on the receiving end of bad and unfortunate news.

I wanted to share with you all a poem called "My Child" which as a child of God and as an expectant mother is really amazing.  Each line is a verse either from the old testament or new testament.  Remember the old testament is the same in the Koran, Torah and Bible.  It is long, but I hope you guys spend the few minutes to read it.  Regardless of your religious beliefs, you will feel loved and wanted by the end I promise you.

"My Child"
You may not know me, but I know everything about you (Psalm 139.1)
I know when you sit down and when you rise up (Psalm 139.2)
I am familiar with all your ways (Psalm 139.3)
Even the very hairs on your head are numbered (Matthew 10.29-31)
For you were made in my image (Genesis 1.27)
In me you live and move and have your being (Acts 17.28)
For you are my offspring (Acts 17.28)
I knew you even before you were conceived Jeremiah (1.4-5)
I chose you when I planned creation (Ephesians 1.11-12)
You were not a mistake, for all your days are written in my book (Psalm 139.15-16)
I determined the exact time of your birth and where you would live (Acts 17.26)
You are fearfully and wonderfully made (Psalm 139.14)
I knit you together in your mother's womb (Psalm 139.13)
And brought you forth on the day you were born (Psalm 71.6)
I have been misrepresented by those who don't know me (John 8.41-44)
I am not distant and angry, but am the complete expression of love (1 John 4.16)
And it is my desire to lavish my love on you (1 John 3.1)
Simply because you are my child and I am your Father (1 John 3.1)
I offer you more than your earthly father ever could (Matthew 7.11)
For I am the perfect father (Matthew 5.48)
Every good gift that you receive comes from my hand (James 1.17)
For I am your provider and I meet all your needs (Matthew 6.31-33)
My plan for your future has always been filled with hope (Jeremiah 29.11)
Because I love you with an everlasting love (Jeremiah 31.3)
My thoughts toward you are countless as the sand on the seashore... (Psalms 139.17-18)
And I rejoice over you with singing (Zephaniah 3.17)
I will never stop doing good to you (Jeremiah 32.40)
For you are my treasured possession (Exodus 19.5)
I desire to establish you with all my heart and all my soul Jeremiah (32.41)
And I want to show you great and marvellous things (Jeremiah 33.3)
If you seek me with all your heart, you will find me (Deuteronomy 4.29)
Delight in me and I will give you the desires of your heart (Psalm 37.4)
For it is I who gave you those desires (Philippians 2.13)
I am able to do more for you than you could possibly imagine (Ephesians 3.20)
For I am your greatest encourager (2 Thessalonians 2.16-17)
I am also the Father who comforts you in all your troubles (2 Corinthians 1.3-4)
When you are broken-hearted, I am close to you (Psalm 34.18)
As a shepherd carries a lamb, I have carried you close to my heart (Isaiah 40.11)
One day I will wipe away every tear from your eyes (Revelation 21.3-4)
And I'll take away all the pain you have suffered on this earth (Revelation 21.3-4)
I am your Father, and I love you even as I love my son, Jesus (John 17.23)
For in Jesus, my love for you is revealed (John 17.26)
He is the exact representation of my being (Hebrews 1.3)
He came to demonstrate that I am for you, not against you (Romans 8.31)
And to tell you that I am not counting your sins (2 Corinthians 5.18-19)
Jesus died so that you and I could be reconciled (2 Corinthians 5.18-19)
His death was the ultimate expression of my love for you (1 John 4.10)
I gave up everything I loved that I might gain your love (Romans 8.31-32)
If you receive the gift of my son Jesus, you receive me (1 John 2.23)
And nothing will ever separate you from my love again (Romans 8.38-39)
Come home and I'll throw the biggest party heaven has ever seen (Luke 15.7)
I have always been Father, and will always be Father (Ephesians 3.14-15)
My question is “Will you be my child?” (John 1.12-13)
I am waiting for you (Luke 15.11-32)

Love, Your Dad.

Almighty God

2010: A Pictoral Year In Review

When I first thought about writing this post, all I could think of was the bad things that had plagued our family in the beginning, middle and end of 2010.  I thought about trying to solve the weight on my shoulders by writing a list of pros and cons of 2010 and seeing which one was longer or had more weight.  This is my solution.  Even though there was more death and illness than I had ever witnessed in my whole life in just last year, when I went to look back at our pictures I realized there was still way more to be thankful for than what we had lost or been forced to grow from.

I pray that we all remember that God carries us through the bad times and lets us run through the good.  Cherish each day and be happy for what you have.  I can tell you first hand, we don't always know what tomorrow brings.  Thank you 2010 for teaching me that lesson.  I love and appreciate my friends and family that pulled us through and celebrated each and every milestone with.

Enjoy the pictures everyone!

Jan 2010:
Rang in the new year with our friends and neighbors Joe and Laura during the coldest winter ever in St. Augustine, FL

 Then on the last day when we were walking around downtown St. Augustine, we found out Paul won, Assistant Branch Manager of the Year again!  The awards done by Cap One, were amazing! 

 Feb:
This is best summed up by BLIZZARD.  I was so done with snow by this point.  There wasn't too much else going on in Feb 2010 in DC. 

 Valentine's Day was AWESOME!  Found some melting pot copy cat recipes and made fondue:

Bailey's 3rd Birthday: 2/28.  He loves his birthday!

March: 

Got to meet, John Gidding from Curb Appeal the block at the dulles home show.  Also, where I got all the resources for the stone wall and the granite we had installed.

Celebrated the beautiful life my sister and her husband created by throwing her a baby shower.  Although no words can describe my sister, her husband's and our families pain from losing Jacob the day after her shower, I'm so glad my baby nephew was able to have his life celebrated on the eve of his passing.  So many friends were at her shower and Jacob was truly showered with gifts.  His legacy will be everlasting for so many generations.  I will always know God loves us even when he gives and takes away.  He not only saved my sister, but held her tight and will never let her go.

April:
Caught the tail end of the cherry blossoms:

 Had fun at Kari and Chris' wedding!

Easter and Paul's nephews dedication

May:
Spring showed up on the patio and the front yard received a makeover!

Finally Paul Graduates!

Paul's Birthday:

Celebrating at Sweetwater with a few too many mojitos

 June:
Happy 6th Anniversary to us in St. Lucia!  Thanks to the nest.com for gifting us part of the trip!

July:
Good times quickly came to an end just like they had in March.  The day after we got home from St. Lucia,  we found out my oldest, closet and best family friend "grandfather" had died while we were away.  He had a beautiful burial in Quantico National Cemetery.

Same night as the funeral was our annual concert to the gypsy kings with Joe and Laura

The next day was Corinne and Zack's wedding!

August:
Bailey went for the summer doggie swim, too many times!

Had some awesome Sangria with Joe and Laura at BOW vineyards.  Bailey and Clemson came too!

Sept:
Enjoyed the best time with my sister and Joe at their new house on the lake!

Oct:
Joined a small group that has been so amazing and life changing.  What a beautiful bunch of friends God gifted us at the perfect time in our life.  Thank you GOD!

That was the only picture worthy thing we did in Oct apparently.  I'm pretty sure that pic of the small group was taken in Nov too.
We did go to Cox farm fields of fear.  It was totally not scary and I'm scared of everything.  Save your money and go for the regular pumpkin patch instead. 
Nov:
Visited my sisters and her their kids and new puppy Bako!  The went to NYC with my other sister

Then Thanksgiving, we got us some GRANITE, a new stove, Paul got the flu and then I had to do the backsplash myself!

Dec:
Wow, where did the year go?
12/1...this is how it started and trust me folks it didn't get much better!

Then a week later...the Big C, then a week of doctor visits, a pregnancy, a miscarriage and finally surgery # 2
Not before SANTA came to town!  I love our friends so much, there is no way I was letting our Christmas party not happen:

Back to reality:

And then the best birthday present ever, Paul was cancer free within a week of being diagnosed with a tumor on an internal organ!  Go PAUL!  Give that big FU to cancer.  I hate you cancer, just for the record.  Happy Birthday to ME!  Celebrated at Sea Pearl

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!  Cheers to a fabulous, LIFE filled and HEALTHY 2011!!