SwagBucks

I have to tell you about Swagbucks for a couple of reasons...
1. It's their birthday today and they are giving away a ton of swag bucks
2. You can earn free gift cards (or other items) just by using their search engine
3. I've earned (almost) 2 $10 Amazon gift cards in one month.  My goal is to earn $100 in Amazon gift cards by Christmas....FREE MONEY!!!!  Read this post I did up on our Clipper Chicks blog.

If you are a follower of all the great couponing and deal blogs, you have no doubt heard about Swagbucks. I signed up a while ago, but I didn't really do much in the way of trying to earn them. In fact, I did nothing. Recently though I decided to put a little more effort into it, and I just "cashed out" last night for my first $5.00 Amazon gift card. My "goal" is to earn 2 $5.00 gift cards per month, which would be $100 in gift cards by Christmas (since I sort of missed the month of January). That's not a bad little start to my Christmas shopping budget for doing nothing but searching.

What is Swagbucks some of you are asking? I'm not a great expert on it, but I'll try to explain. You earn Swagbucks in several different ways by

a) using their search engine instead of google. You randomly earn between 10 and 50 swagbucks (or more), just for typing in a search (this is how I earned almost all of mine) You can install a toolbar to make it easier to search.

b)You earn them by finding Swagcodes that are released. I just put a widget at the bottom of my blog. You can check for random Swagcodes on that widget. If a code is published, type it into your account and earn a Swagbuck

c) Earn them by signing up for offers....you earn lots of Swagbucks for that

d)OR earn them by viewing offers and saying no thanks. You may only earn one...but you don't have to worry about canceling offers later (this is the only thing I've done so far)

e) Earn them by having people sign up under you.
This is the part I feel weird about because I don't usually ask people to do things like that. BUT....if you've been wanting to try Swagbucks out and haven't yet, click the little icon to the right and you would sign up under me. Basically, for the referral, I would earn 1 Swagbuck for every Swagbuck you earn up to 100 Swagbucks. So, there is a real benefit in having people sign up under you. So...if your going to do it, do it under someone from our group and not a random coupon blogger I guess. Or...sign up on your own, whichever you please.

f)You can also find Swagcodes by following them on their blog, on facebook, on twitter and all those other social network things. I don't do those, so I don't know how many codes are out there.  But if you on facebook or twitter, you'll probably earn faster than me.

g) There are other ways to earn too like being a random hourly winner, giving them your old cell phone...etc....

I kind of thought Swagbucks would be to hard to earn to be worth by time, but I read a comment somewhere recently that said they try to earn 30 Swagbucks a day, either by searching or by looking at no obligation offers. They should get to the 450 Swagbucks needed to earn a $5 Amazon gift card in 15 days....so that equals 2 cards a month. That sounded do-able to me...and it even took less than 15 days to get to my 450 Swagbucks for my gift card.

I guess I've jumped on the wagon. If you want to jump on too...then click the box to the right or above this paragraph that says Swagbucks and join today. Don't forget to use your "junk/coupon" email address! And...let me know when you earn a gift card (or there are A TON of other things you can win if you want. I just like money for Christmas)

Our Hats

If you've ever been around a pre-schooler, you know they have a routine they like to follow, especially at bed time.  Our bedtime routine takes 15 to 20 minutes, on a good night.  We always read a story from their Bible (or Bibey as Hannah calls it).  Both girls pick out a story, and the baton has been passed,  Hannah almost always picks out Job.  Remember Nicole's fascination with Job?

So, we read the Bible story, then we sing "a song of prayer".  It's actually a verse from an old song Steven Curtis Chapman sang "Let us pray, let us pray.  Everywhere and every way.  Every moment of the day, it is the right time.  For the Father Above, He is listening in love, and he wants to answer us, so let us pray".  We have to all sing that together, followed by Nicole saying she is going to sing it "all by myself". 

The next step is to "put our hats on".  I believe this started when Jeremy was coming home late from 'tiva last summer where he had a big job and a long drive.  He would often walk in the door and into the girls' bedroom to help put them to bed.  He usually had on his visor and Nicole got into a routine of taking it off. Well, somehow she also started putting invisible hats on.  In a few weeks I had to put my hat on too.  By the time Nathan was born, we all were putting on many many hats.  Nicole and Hannah race to see how many they can put on at a time.  It's very funny and NEEDS to be caught on camera soon!

Anyway, what I want to remember is this....

One night Nicole asked Jeremy to put his hat on, which he very obediently did:-)  And Nicole looked up at him and very seriously said...."Uh, Daddy is that a new hat?"

Jeremy looked at me and we both laughed hysterically.  Remember, these are invisible hats, but to her, like to any pre-schooler, they are real.  I can't help but giggle most nights when we put our "hats on" and remember that moment.  But, I'm afraid one day I'll forget.  Now, it's forever saved in our blog:-)

It's hot

I have really enjoyed the very cool 2 months we've had in Florida.  A few days it was to cold to spend to much time outside, but most of the time it was simply gorgeous.  Today is NOT one of those days.  It's hot and muggy and yucky.  This morning I packed the kids up and we went to the park to ride bikes and walk with a friend of ours....this is how it works by the way...  Nicole rides her bike (which she LOVES), Hannah sits in the stroller, which she tolerates, and Nate sleeps all cozy in the Moby Wrap. 

Anyway, it started off ok, but I could feel the humidity in the air and knew the "niceness" wouldn't last for long.  By the time 11:00 came around, I was drenched in sweat and ready to get inside.  When I got home, all I could think about was how I was not looking forward to summer...it's stifling around here sometimes!  I know we have a few more cool days in store, and I'm going to enjoy them, because once summer comes around, we usually have to get inside by 10am to avoid heat exhaustion.

I'm still looking for a place that has a high temperature of 72 degrees at least 325 a year.....anyone know of a place like that?

PS...sorry for no pictures.  I forgot to take the camera.  I wanted to show you pics of Nicole drawing a "sesame" (think "open sesame") for us to go through on the sidewalks, and show you videos of Hannah spinning in circles on the playground equipment.  Maybe next time.

She gets up while it is still early....

That's a portion of Proverbs 31:15. 

A portion I've got down right now ( the rest of the verse says "she provides food for her family and portions for her servant girls."  I guess I've got the providing food half way down too...because I'm usually nursing Nathan).

My day starts between 4 and 5 am.   Sometime in that hour, Nathan begins grunting.  The past couple of days, I've been trying to give him a paci and encourage him back to sleep.  It helps for about 1/2 and hour, but eventually I pick him up and feed him.  This doesn't really bother me at all.  The problem is that, I have two little girls sleeping in that same room.  Two little girls who could probably start their days at 4 or 5 am.  My main goal is to not wake Hannah, because at that point, she won't go back to sleep and she'll probably end up crying.  Nicole ALWAYS wakes up.  Most days she'll get up once or twice to go to the bathroom.  The thing that gets me is that she thinks (or acts like she thinks) I'm in there to talk to her.  If I were given a dime for every time she told me to keep the light on (bathroom light), keep the door open a little bit, come cover her up, help find her happy doggy, etc....I'd have a new outfit.  Again...this wouldn't bother me to much, excpet that I'm trying to keep Hannah asleep.  Most mornings my efforts are fruitless and both girls are up at 6.  Then for the next hour we are in a power struggle to keep them in their room, quiet so Nathan can sleep.  I refuse to allow them to get up before 7. 

I love that my kids are all in the same room, I really do.  But it doesn't come without difficulty (already).  It's hard to teach Nate to fuss it out, my first impulse is to scoop him up....again...to keep Hannah asleep.  It's hard not to be grumpy and frustrated when Nicole wakes up Hannah getting in and out of bed, or telling me again to keep the door open a little bit.  I do a lot of praying during those first two hours...but they are selfish....please give me self control prayers.  I don't really like the way my morning start.  I don't like being frustrated before 6 in the morning because I've been playing in and out of bed games for 2 hours.  A few weeks ago, I had just decided not to go back to bed, because I HATE to get in and out of bed myself.  I've found that my temper stays much more in check if I just get up when Nathan gets up with the idea that I'm up for the day.  The problem is...by 9:00, I'm ready for a Dr. Pepper or Mr. Pibb....a habit that is getting harder to kick.

So...yes, I do get up while it's still early, but I don't usually have a good attitude about it. Do you think the woman Solomon was describing here got up with a good attitude every morning?


On a different note...Nicole got ahold of the camera again yesterday.  She loves to go around and take pictures of people and things.  Check out these pics she snapped all by herself.

 

This might be the best picture of Hannah I have!

  

Nicole held the camera out in front of her to snap this picture, like I do all the time.  By the way, she has a fruit smoothie mustache on her face.

 

No daddy...don't eat Hannah!!!! (Hannah refused to smile here)

 

Nicole's feet

 

Daddy's feet

 

Mommy's "I need a pedicure" feet

 

Grammy's feet

As you can see, Nicole will photograph anything.  She loves to take pictures, of anything and everything!

About Nathan

I simply love that little boy.  Over the past couple of weeks, Nate's little personality is beginning to show.  He is becoming more settled with each passing day.  He will sit in his bouncy chair or lay on the floor, content for an hour, as long as there is activity around him and an occasional glimpse in his direction.  My smiles are always returned with HUGE grins and the occasional laugh. 

I love to watch him fall asleep....something I didn't really do with Nicole and I probably did too much with Hannah.  I really can't tell you anything about how Nicole fell asleep because I was trying to do it "by the book".  With Hannah, she would always tuck her arms under her belly and lift her little toosh in the air just before she crashed. 

Nate....he has two styles.  The first is easy.  He lays down, sucks on a paci for about 30 seconds and is out.  The second style he fights.  He'll kick and grunt and flail his arms and turn his head.  He'll refuse a paci or any comfort device.  He fights and fights and fights.  One moment he's grunting and kicking and the very next, he's passed out...asleep.  He'll often raise his right arm above his head and tuck his left under his chin or under his belly.  That's what he did tonight.  It's almost like sleep is so much more of a reward if he has to fight a bit for it.

I love how Nathan seems to wrap his little arms around me when I rock him to sleep or when he's being carried in the Moby Wrap.  I love how he will surprise me with a sudden glimpse to me and flash a big smile to simply make my day. 

He's a sweet, sweet boy.  People often ask me how it's different having a boy.  Honestly, right now, I still haven't noticed a difference....I know it will come.  For right now, I'm enjoying my third little baby, my first son and our newest addition.  I love you Nate!

Take your (grand)daughter to work day

2 weeks ago, Nicole got a surprise phone call from Grammy, asking her if she would like to come spend the day at work with her.  And, so began a new little tradition with Grammy & Gramps and their grandkids.  For right now, Nicole is the only one old enough to go for the whole day.  Here's what happened that day.

Nicole got  to ride to work with daddy in his work van.  This is a very special treat for her.  She got  to sit up front (because there is no back seat), listen to veggie tales and "raise the roof" music all the way to work with her daddy.

She spent the day helping Grammy staple papers, retrieve faxes, writing e-mails, and giving phone messages.  

So as not to break any child labor laws, they also gave her some break time to ride her bike in the back parking lot, watch a little Disney channel

  eat a few animal crackers, have lunch at The Cracker Barrel and have a short afternoon siesta. 

Nicole Loved, Loved, Loved spending the day with Grammy and Gramps, and riding to work with daddy.  I know that all involved are looking forward to doing this again.

A popular blogger I like to follow, MckMama of My Charming Kids, has a post series she often does called "Stream of Consciousness" where she sort of rambles off whatever she's thinking about.  I think I'm going to do something like that today because I haven't written a post in a while, I'm not sure what I'm going to say, and I have lots of little tidbits to share, but nothing to fill a whole post.  So...here it goes.

Sickness
We have battled the worse case of sicknesses these past 4 weeks that our family has ever had.  I've had to cancel the same play date, 4 weeks in a row because of it.  My sweet friend Jennifer still hasn't given up on us yet.  Hopefully next week we won't have to cancel.  After Nicole and I finished our battle with the 24 hour stomach flu, we so graciously shared it with Jeremy (I'm pretty sure he would have rather us kept it to ourselves though!).  The poor guy was sick, sick sick.  My entire house has been laundered twice in 5 days.  I guess it's one reason for a nice fresh start.  Thankfully, Hannah and Nate seem to have been spared. 

 

Hannah and Nathan NOT sick

  

Um....this is funny.  They have the same exact facial expression.

 

Potty Training
Speaking of Miss Hannah, she's pretty much day time potty trained.  She is in undies full time now. The diapers have been packed up and stored away for a year or so from now when Nathan fits in size 4.  I'm happy to have one less diaper to put on.   She wears Pull-ups at night and at nap, and they are dry about 50% of the time.  Potty training wasn't much of an effort.  I just thought one day that since we were stuck at home sick, there was no reason for her to be wearing diapers and we'd give it a shot.  There's been a few accidents here and there, but  for the most part she's done a fantastic job.  I'm not sure that having her potty trained is easier or harder....it's easier at home, but harder when we are out and I'm alone with them (I'm sure I put on a quite a show for others in the bathroom with us! In fact, I pretty much think public bathroom time can be the funniest time between me and my kids.  Between them cheering for someone in the other stall because they just went potty, to being afraid of the sensor hand dryers, to Nicole reaching under the stall one time to touch a random lady's very pretty painted toenails)  I'm happy we are through it though...and she loves her undies (by the way, she calls them ALL Dora, because she has Dora on like 5 pair, so the rest must be Dora too, right?).

Wedding
Justin and Erica are getting married in a week and half.  My poor mom has been trying to get our family's hair colored and cut for 2 weeks, but we keep backing out of our "appointments" because we have been sick.  This weekend they have to be done. Nicole is excited about wearing her princess dress (she's a flower girl), Hannah has a precious purple crotched hat to go with her little dress, and my friend Kirsten is making Nathan a faux tuxedo on a onsie.  I can't wait to show you pictures of these kids.  They will be perfectly adorable!

I've been thinking a lot lately about love, water dripping and sheep.  Maybe I'll share more later.

 

Can you feel the love?

I've also become a mystery shopper.  I have a shop I need to perform by Friday around noon.  I'm hoping to go tomorrow.  I'm not being paid, but I am being reimbursed for my purchase.  Jeremy and I are going to try mystery shopping a few restaurants when they are available.  We have to pay the money upfront, but get reimbursed, so it's sort of like a free date night.  I'll share how my experience goes.  I can't tell you where I went, but I can tell you the companies I've signed up with, probably later once I do a few.

I've also found a way to sort of earn a very little bit of money each month in the form of gift cards.  These gift cards I'll use to help pay for Christmas next year.  I'm hoping to have $100 in Amazon gift cards by then.  To read a little about how to do it, click here.  I wrote a little post on our Clipper Chicks website.

I went to a Mary Kay party last night that my friend Jami hosted.  I was really looking forward to going out for a couple hours, but once I got there, really all I wanted to do was be home.  I miss Jeremy when he's home and I'm not.  It's true...I just do.  I love him and want to be near him as much as possible.  People tell me it's good for me to get away, and maybe it is...but I really only want to be away if I'm with him. 

I like to hang out with the kids and take pictures.  Here are a few more we snapped this morning.

 

This little boy is really getting to be fun.  He simply loves to be talked to and to "talk" back.  He soaks up every ounce of attention he can get.  He's adorable!

 

Look....a real Hannah smile!  I had to share!!!!

 

We had to let Nicole in on the action too.  She's been wearing her cinderlla princess dress pretty much any time we are at home right now.  I need to go to a garage sale or two and find some more dress up clothes for her.  She simply loves it.

Well....I think that's it for me today.  We are having chicken enchiladas for dinner tonight.  Yumm-o.  What are you having?

FIRST LAUGH!!!!

Seriously...you missed it.  Every single one of you!  Nathan let out two of the biggest laughs I've EVER heard from a baby before.  Even Nicole and Hannah were laughing at him.  It was perfectly wonderful! 

24

It's amazing the difference 24 hours can make.

24 hours ago, this was what our house looked like.

 

I don't have a picture of today, but let's just say it is much different.  Hannah is playing with play-doh, Nicole is looking at a magazine, and Nate is happy to be getting some attention.

24 hours ago, Nicole I were both battling a stomach bug.  We had been up all night, along with Jeremy who had Hannah in bed with him because,well, she couldn't stay in her bed.  Jeremy was a great sport and help in the middle of the night, even though he had a very important day at work the next morning.

When day broke, so did the videos.  We watched movies and videos all day long.  We generally limit ourselves to one 1/2 hour video a day, but hey...there's always exceptions to the rule, right?

So far, Hannah, Nathan and Jeremy haven't shown signs of getting this nasty little bug.  I am still praying they won't.

Thankfully I had both my mom and my mother-in-law to help me yesterday.  My mom went to the store and brought us some much needed supplies like juice, gatorade, crackers and soup.  She also did an incredible amount of laundry for me.

Valerie came over and helped me disinfect my bathrooms and clean the floors.  I won't go into details, but it was needed. Grammy found a happy little helper though:-)

I'm sure Hannah didn't understand what was going on, but she also loved "vegging out" on the couch yesterday:-)  And, somehow, Nathan knew his job was to sleep as much as possible and he did!

Praise the Lord, we are 100% better.  It's amazing what 24 hours can do!

I am tired of doing the dishes
I am tired of sweeping the floors
I am tired of washing, folding, putting away clothes
I am tired of putting toys and books away
I am tired of not feeling well
I am tired of saying no
I am tired of being tired

I am NOT tired of this

Or this

I am never tired of him

or her

or her

or him

On the days that I feel tired of my duties....I am always encouraged by the ones I work hard for.  The ones I work to keep clean clothes on their backs, clean dishes in the cupboards, crumbs off their little feet, and discipline in their hearts.  Days like today when I still don't feel that great, when I feel like I can't keep up, it's moments like these

 

  

  

 

that bring a smile to my face and remind me that I am blessed, far more than I could ever deserve. 

I love my family.