Grocery Savings

Today at Meijer I was able to take advantage of some good in-store sales as well as some good coupons.  I'm not a "big-time couponer" so my savings is likely much less than someone who puts in a lot more effort.  But I still think my savings is significant enough to post about it!  With coupons alone, I saved $17!!!  With coupons, in-store deals and meijer promotions (i.e. buy 4 boxes of cereal, get a gallon of milk free) my total savings for the week was....(drumroll, please)....$46.62.  I'm really proud of that!

Holy Week Ramblings

This Holy Week has been more meaningful to me this year than in previous years.  I'm not sure why.  Maybe it's because I've finally gotten into a pretty good habit of being in the Word.  But I found myself thinking a lot this week about Jesus.  Specifically, I've been wrestling with thinking about what if I was alive when Jesus was?  Would I have followed Him?  Or would I have been a skeptic?  Would the supernatural have wowed me, or turned me off?  Would I have had the courage to throw away everything I knew to be a follower, or would I have been too comfortable in my life?  And if I would have followed him, would I have been able to stay awake in the garden?  Would I have fled when the soldiers came?  Would I have denied him?  And it struck me that I've never really considered the hours and days and weeks after the resurrection.  In my mind, each person took sides before the cross, and that was that.  I hadn't considered that people surely WERE swayed by the events of Friday and Sunday.  Weren't they?  Would I have been?

I'm incredibly grateful that Jesus loves me so much that he was willing to suffer hell so that I wouldn't have to.  I put him on the cross, but my guilt is wiped away by his precious blood.  Thank you, Jesus!

Rain!

The sun is actually shining!  And it's not freezing cold outside!  We've had quite a bit of weather roll through in the last few days, with more to come.  I'm talking severe storms (although we haven't been hit too hard yet) with rain measured in full inches.  Between today and Monday morning we're supposed to get 3-4 MORE inches on top of what we've already received.  And our yard is already practically swimmable.  I really didn't mind the rain yesterday.  In fact, the rumbles of thunder around 3pm were quite appropriate for Good Friday.  I was reading through the passion story in Matthew at the time, and that was very meaningful.  But I have to admit that I'm not excited about rain on Easter.  I suppose most people would echo my sentiments.  On Thursday I brought Ethan to baseball practice, along with the other kids, and it was SO COLD.  I was so thankful that I had thought to grab Anelise's winter coat at the last second.  I made the mistake of wearing crocs without socks, and my teeth were chattering.  There's rain in the forecast for the next 5 days in a row, so I guess I should enjoy a few minutes of sunshine while we have it!

Unemployed

Today I'm going to the unemployment office.

No, I'm not looking for work.  Twice this year we have been to the emergency room.  Once with Ethan for stitches on his foot, and once for Caleb for a partially dislocated elbow.  Both visits resulted in very large hospital bills that weren't completely covered by insurance.  I'm in the process of applying for financial assistance.  I sent in all our paperwork a little over a week ago, but I received a call this morning saying that they need verification that I'm not employed.  So I get to take a detour during my Tuesday grocery shopping excursion to stop at the unemployment office with my social security card, to get an "unemployment verification sheet."  It seems like something hospitals should be able to do, since they already have my social security number, but, whatever.

In other news, I CLEANED yesterday.  "Get down on my hands and knees, scrubbing floors and baseboards" cleaning.  "Washing windows inside and out" cleaning.  "Mom would be proud of me" cleaning.  (And she is.)  My fingers hurt.  My knees probably would too, if I got down on them today.  Which I won't.

Little Miss Nudie Bottom

When my alarm went off this morning at 7:00, I heard Anelise talking in her room.  It's unusual for her to be up so early, so I wasn't terribly surprised when she was getting really cranky by 10:30.  I decided it was a good time for a rare morning nap.  For both of us.  So I put Anelise down in her crib, did a few things on the computer, and then decided to snooze for a bit.  I dozed for maybe 25-30 minutes, definitely falling asleep at times, but still hearing Anelise talking, squealing, yelling from her room.  I woke up at 11:30 and realized she was quiet.  At that point I knew she had only been asleep for maybe 15 minutes, and I decided I didn't want her to nap anymore, because there wasn't time for a full nap before picking up Caleb, and I'd prefer to take her good nap in the afternoon anyway.  So I went to wake her up.  I found her asleep on her tummy, knees pulled up under her body, hands under her face.  And she was naked from the waist down.  Her jeans and diaper were in the crib with her.  Anelise, you crack me up.  (Pun intended)

One more day

I've been a single parent since Tuesday morning.  Not really, of course, especially since Krista's been around too.  But Jonathan is at the Gospel Coalition conference in Chicago this week.  The pastors of our church were going, and when Jonathan heard about it, he wanted to go too.  So the reps from Faith Church are the senior pastor, the associate pastor, the youth pastor, the worship director, and Jonathan.  Of course, Jonathan had to pay for his registration (I'm assuming the pastors' registrations are taken care of by the church, but I could be wrong).  He'll be coming home tomorrow, hopefully in time for his (and Ethan's) first baseball practice.  I'm ready for him to come home.  I've had major meltdowns from Ethan, and when I picked up Caleb from school today I was told he had had two (TWO!!!) timeouts (very unusual for Caleb).  Sigh.  Anelise has been happy and pleasant for the most part, which is refreshing.  Nights are the worst.  I should be in bed.  But it's hard to go to bed when I'm home "alone".  I don't feel nervous or afraid about Jonathan not being here; I just don't feel like physically getting up and doing the getting ready for bed things.  But it's time.  Here I go.

Canal

Friday was a beautiful day, so after Anelise's afternoon nap, we decided to do a little sightseeing.  We went downtown and walked through White River Gardens.  It was a quick walk, as we arrived there 10 minutes before closing time.  After WRG, we walked the bridge over the White River, and then walked along the canal.  Jonathan had grabbed some bread crusts before leaving home, so when the boys saw some ducks, we stopped to feed them for a few minutes.  So picture this in your mind: the boys are throwing bread to the ducks, Jonathan is on the phone, Dad is holding Anelise, and I'm standing behind the (empty) stroller, when there was an exclamation and then a splash!  Caleb fell into the canal!  It's not particularly deep, but  he was completely submerged.  It all happened so fast.  Dad grabbed his foot (and scratched his camera a little on the concrete), Jonathan put the phone down and jumped in to get him out.  And me?  I just stood there watching it happen.  Yeah, epic fail.  Caleb was pretty upset at first, but is able to laugh at it now.  The rest of us were laughing as soon as Caleb was safely out of the canal.  Poor Jonathan had soaking wet jeans, socks and shoes.  Caleb had only been wearing shorts and crocs, so he really fared pretty well.  This is the stuff memories are made of.

It's Shower Time!

Yesterday, Jonathan, Ethan, and Dad Baker (who is in town for a visit) went to Cincinnati to see a Reds game (read: indoctrinate Ethan).  Our friend Josh and his son Patrick went too.  Caleb (who was deemed too young to sit through the game) had preschool, so I anticipated a quiet day with Anelise, getting things done around the house.  First I had to go to the post office.  On my way there, I realized I was going right by Lowes, and maybe I should see if I can find the stuff I need to fix our leaky bathtub faucet.

The first guy I talked to at Lowes was downright rude.  But I found new handles and a new spout, knowing I wouldn't know what I needed for the repair until I went home and looked at what we had there.  Then I came home and started watching videos on how to repair the leak.  I turned off the water to the house (because I don't have a shut-off valve to the shower), and removed the three handles and trim pieces (with some tools and a little muscle help from our neighbor).  Then I removed the stems and seats.  I could see that the rubber gaskets on the stems were very worn, and likely the cause of the leaking.  So off Anelise and I went, back to Lowes, with the stems I'd just removed.  I found a different guy who was very helpful in finding the correct replacement stems.  Unfortunately, they only had one.  So we went to another Lowes, and bought the other one I needed (I didn't replace the diverter stem).  After we were home, we grabbed some lunch and picked up Caleb from school.  Then I put Anelise down for a nap and set up Caleb with a video before picking up the project again.  I put the new seats and the new stems in.  And I got the new spout on.  But I discovered that the metal trim pieces (the metal part that goes between the handle and the wall) wasn't compatible with my stems.  Grr.  At this point, I couldn't go anywhere, because Anelise was napping, and I couldn't get anything done around the house, because there was no water.  No shower, no laundry, no dishes.  So I repaired the screens on our sliding doors.  :)   After Anelise woke up, we went to a plumbing supply store, where I got what I needed to finish the job.  I put the new trim pieces on, put the new handles on, and turned the water back on.  No leaks!!!  Within 5 minutes, the guys were home from the game.  They were very impressed with my work in the bathroom.  It wasn't the quiet day I'd anticipated, but I'm very pleased that the project is done and the problem is fixed.  And since I hadn't been able to do dishes or start dinner, Dad took us all out to Chile Verde, which was the perfect reward for my hard work! 

One sad note:  Ethan came home from Cincinnati with a fever and a sore throat.  :(

Oops

On a NORMAL day, my alarm gets me up at 7:00 so that I can get Ethan out the door by 7:30.
On a NORMAL day, Jonathan is around in the morning to help get Caleb to school by 9:00.
On a NORMAL day, Anelise wakes up between 7:30 and 8:00, usually closer to 8.
On a NORMAL day, I don't have strep throat.

Today was not a normal day.

Today my alarm was not set, because it's Ethan's spring break.
Today Jonathan had training at 8:00 and was out the door before 7:30.
Today Anelise slept until 8:50.
Today I slept late because I'm sick.

Here's what happened:  The boys were up at 7:00, and Jonathan was already up getting ready.  So he got PBS turned on for them and gave them instructions to "not bother mommy."  Wasn't that sweet?  So I continued to sleep, oblivious to anything.  And so did Anelise.  Until 8:50, when Anelise started talking, and I woke up and GASP! Caleb has to be at school in 10 minutes!!!  And of course Caleb was still in his pajamas and hadn't had breakfast.  I'm pretty pleased to report that he was only 15 minutes late.  I'm pretty sure I packed him a lunch, but that memory is pretty fuzzy.

Throat Swab

Sunday was a picture-perfect day.  It was sunny and, amazingly, 76 degrees.  I LOVE SPRING!  After our weekend guests left, and we all had a chance to nap, we went to Fort Harrison for a hike.  The boys received walkie-talkies for Christmas, and hadn't really used them yet.  So we took them along.  Ethan and Caleb would run ahead of us on the path with one walkie-talkie, and we adults (and Anelise in the backpack) kept the other.  It was very enjoyable. 

Unfortunately, before we left, I felt a headache coming on, and despite taking some medicine for it, it didn't seem to be going anywhere.  After we got home, I went downhill fast.  At one point, it felt like my head was radiating, so I thought maybe I should check my temperature.  102.  Hmm.  I guess it wasn't just a headache.  Sunday night was terrible.  I don't think I ever got a good REM cycle in.  I was burning up one minute, and shaking with chills the next.  Yesterday when I woke up things weren't any better.  I'd been taking ibuprofin and tylenol to treat the fever, but it kept coming back.  On top of that, I also had a lingering sore throat that seemed to be getting worse.

This morning, after a very good night's sleep, I checked my temperature and was surprised that it was still 101.  I decided it was time to go in.  So I made an appointment for this afternoon.  I have strep throat.  I haven't had a chance to go get my antibiotic yet, but I'm glad to have a definitive answer and hopefully a cure soon!