She's Three

I am still trying to realize how it all happened...it seems so recently that we were bringing her home from the hospital and trying to figure out what being a parent was all about. Now she is 3 years old. She is her own person--with ideas and opinions (often very strong). What is most amazing about her and what I love the most is her heart. Chris recently asked me what qualities I most wanted to see in my children and I answered, "...a servant's heart." I can already see how God is shaping her heart and it warms my heart so much. I am so blessed to be her mom. Happy Birthday our little princess!

Here are a few recent pictures and a little about Ella at three:

She absolutely adores her little brother. She loves to give him toys and to help give him baths. She talks sweetly to him when he is upset and brings out his belly laughs.

She loves being a princess and having her girlfriends join her.

With her castle birthday cake that Mom and Dad poured so much love into (not that it was evident by the skill demonstrated by the finished product).
She loves arts and crafts and could spend the day creating great works from playdough, paint, crayons (or all). You can typically find her helping Mom, reading or doing something artsy!

Dawson's Dedication

Believing that our son was given to us as a priceless treasure from the Lord, we are dedicating him back to our God, knowing that he belongs to Him. In acknowledging this, we are dedicating ourselves, as his parents, to raise him according to biblical standards and to do our best always to be Godly examples for him to observe all of the days that God would allow us to be together here on this earth.

With Pastor James.

With Mimi and Papa, visiting from Michigan.

Look Alikes?

Dawson at 9 weeks.

Ella at 10 weeks.

Dawson at Two Months

It is hard for me to believe that only a couple of weeks ago I was in tears over Dawson's crying and lack of sleeping (thus, my lack of sleeping). At 2 months old he is a different baby. He is happy, sweet and even a good sleeper. I want to document a few things so that I will remember them down the road. My mom and Chris keep reminding me about things with Ella because I didn't write them down. So, this is a easy way to record what he is doing.

At 2 months:
~He is on a 2.5 to 3 hour eat, play, sleep routine. His wake time is between 1 and 1.5 hours.
~He is sleeping through the night (at least for the past two nights and two other nights previously). He is nursing 7 times a day (if he nurses at night it is the 8th feeding). The times are typically around 6am, 9am, 12pm, 3pm, 5:30pm, 7:30pm (shorter, cluster feed) at 10pm (late night/dream feed).
~He is going down for naps with little or no crying. The only exception is the evening naps. After the 3pm feeding he typically sleeps in the swing and if there is a nap after the 5:30 feeding it is in the swing. Our naptime routine consists of a diaper change, my singing Jesus Loves Me and patting his back and shooshing for a few minutes before putting him in his crib. Most of the time he gives me look of "what are you doing to me" when I lay him down and then he puts his bottom lip out for one last attempt for me to give in and hold him through nap (which I have given into, but only once). As I walk out the door he may give a little fuss or he may cry for 2-3 minutes, but he typically goes off to sleep.
~He loves to smile, especially at his big sister and daddy. He also likes the bouncy seat, swing, and a floor activity mat. He doesn't prefer to be laid on the boppy pillow.

Some other events to note:
~At about 5 weeks he started to go to bed without crying--routine was nurse, bath, massage and then a little rendition of Jesus Loves Me and put in bed (bassinet in mom and dad's room at first).
~At 6 weeks (when nighttime feeding dropped to once) moved into his room to sleep in crib.
~At 7 weeks he became noticeably less fussy and started to smile more.
~At 7 weeks he started to take some naps without crying or only crying 5 minutes or less.
~At 8 weeks he had his first big diaper blow out. And I mean big and messy!!

His 2 month check-up is Monday so we will post about his weight. He seems huge to us and is starting to develop those kissable chubby arms and legs. His hands and feet still seem large to us. Maybe we have the next swimming great in our midst!!

So Big

One day old.

And now, at 8 weeks.

Catching a smile!

Improvement

I almost don't want to say it, because typically when I do things go downhill...but, Dawson seems to be improving. I can't say that I know why- could be that I am no longer consuming dairy, could be that we have stayed home everyday this week and really worked on a routine. Who knows, but I'll take it! Thanks to all of you who wrote/called with ideas and support.

So, what is he doing now. The most amazing thing is that he can put himself to sleep at night. I feed him around 8pm and then he has a bath and goes right down. He may grunt and fidget for a few minutes, but then he is out. Now, why can't he do this during the day? My conclusion is that he has realized that there is a routine. So, now I am focusing on the routine during the day. We have launched into Babywise, which I didn't plan to do this early. We always start the order part- eat, play, then sleep early on, but not the cry it out part. With Ella it wasn't really needed. She learned to sleep on her own and was doing good naps and sleeping through the night by 9 weeks. I likely wouldn't have started with Dawson until about 8 weeks at the earliest. However, nothing else has worked for him (swing, carrying, rocking, etc.) with him so for my sanity and the chance that he may fall asleep I have started to let him cry. It seems to be working. He did put himself to sleep today after limited crying. We'll see how this continues to go!!!

That isn't gas...it is a smile. The shadow is sweet Ella trying to get a picture with her camera!

Ella sharing all of her favorite things- blanket, lovey, pillow and bunny.

Coffee Anyone?

Yes, I would love to have coffee with each of you! Especially as I hang out with one of our old playgroups and discuss why my little man doesn't sleep and watch our toddlers play together!

But, this post is more about how my ability to have a cup of coffee is an indicator of how my day is going. I had not been making coffee at home for some time. Not because I don't drink it when I am pregnant (although I couldn't stomach it for the first part of this last pregnancy), but it is hot here and I don't have much counter space for the coffee pot. Well, when my parents were here we made coffee every morning. I got hooked again. It is not caffeine, as it is only 1/2 caffeinated, but because of the yummy creamer that I have with my coffee and the thought of having a moment to relax a bit and drink it. Now that my parents are gone, a cup of coffee can tell you how my day is going. There have been many days when I don't make it at all, which is no big deal typically as we are busy doing something. The difficult days are either when I make it and the pot just sits there or when I make it, pour a cup and never drink it. The later seems to be happening most often. One day I ended up having iced coffee before dinner (thanks to Angela B. for introducing me to making this) just so I wouldn't waste the coffee.

So, why can't I get this coffee down. Dawson has 3 modes--sleeping, eating and crying.

Sleeping...no that doesn't look comfortable. I'll take whatever I can get.

Right before breaking out into a wail! Yes, the bottom lip is cute, but what comes afterwards is not!

And I can't get a picture of him eating since I am the food supply. Either Ella was a much easier baby or I just don't remember it being this hard. This little man fights sleep like he was going to war. He has been know to go up to eight hours without sleeping (4 is more typical). I have been into the pediatrician to discuss and the only advice she gave was to keep doing what I am doing as he is gaining weight and looks good. Well, she isn't living through these periods when he only cries or nurses, for HOURS. I'm looking for a new pediatrician. Not only for this reason, but because in my 3 interactions with her she always seems rushed and doesn't really listen. So, any advice you have would be appreciated. Anyone want to fly out for a visit?

Sorry for all of the complaining. This is a very honest post. We are having some wonderful moments sprinkled in with the difficult ones. And I know this will pass- hopefully soon!

Here are some more pictures...

Ella being a little mommy. We were at the lactation center to weigh Dawson and she found a baby, took off it's clothes and diapered it with one of Dawson's diapers and read to it while I nursed. What a big girl she is!

At the library with one of the puppets.

We are loving pig-tails. Although she is not cooperative with having her picture taken!

Dawson is Here!

Welcome Dawson Henry

Little did Katie and I know that while I was updating our blog on Saturday, August 2 that Dawson was about to join our family. Around noon on Saturday, Katie was having what she thought were Braxton-Hicks contractions and by 4:00 pm she was having strong regular contractions. The Van Slooten's sprang into action calling on our new friends to take care of Ella and others to take care of Double Stuff and Oreo. Katie checked into the hospital at 5:00 pm and at 7:21 pm Dawson Henry was born weighing 7 lbs 12 oz and 20 1/2 inches in length.

What's In A Name?

Dawson was the name of Katie's maternal grandfather and Henry was the name of Chris' maternal grandfather, but more than family namesakes Dawson Henry means beloved home ruler.

What Does Ella Think?

To write that Ella is going through dramatic changes would be an understatement, but she takes great pride in being the big sister. She loves to hold Dawson and share her blanket, lovie, and bunny with Dawson. Katie and I keep our ears tuned into what she is saying so that we can better understand what she is processing. Here are some recent conversations with Ella:

"Daddy please ask God to turn the heat down."

"I am sorry Sweetheart it is hot in Texas. Here in Texas it is hot, but in Virginia there is snow."

"I don't like snow Daddy. I like Texas"

"Daddy, please don't let the sun hit our car."

"The sun is warming our car Sweetheart..."
"No, Daddy the sun is going down and I don't want it to hit the car or the buildings."

"Ella, who made the sun?"

"God made the sun. It will be ok Daddy"

"Daddy, God is making me and Dawson a castle."

Dawson's first pictures:

About 7:30pm, new to the world.


Yes, those are chubby cheaks.


Ella finally gets to meet her little brother.

Helping mommy.

Two days old.

Dear Friends,

In our last posting we gave you a summary of what the V's have been up to and now we will fill in some of the details.

First, thank you for your prayers - prayers when we were prayerfully seeking His councel for wisdom and clarity; prayers during the packing phase, while we were traveling, and now as we begin this new chapter in our family. We also want to thank all of you who helped us pack up our moving truck. As you can see, Ella had fun in the packing paper.

The actual packing of our moving truck only took three hours and while 95% of the packing was easy we were faced with a few challenges. The first challenge was safely moving and securing a pre-Civil War hutch which proved to be a bonding experience from the securing of the piece to physically moving it (taking 6 men to move it). We finally moved it onto the truck and secured it. I am happy to write that it arrived safely.


We set out on Sunday, July 13 after many tearful goodbyes and traveled to Roanoke to spend the night with Katie's mom and dad. The entire caravan (me and my father-in-law in the moving truck and Katie, Ella, my mother-in-law, Double Stuff, and Oreo in our minivan) left Monday morning on July 14. I must write that I have a deep appreciation for truck divers since we were cut-off, not allowed to merge, and even stopped on the interstate because one driver misinterpreted a Yield sign for a Stop sign.

Throughout our journey we clung to the promise in Psalm 91:11-12 "For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways; they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone." We serve a Creator who is so good and we were reminded each day of His love for us. I am reminded of Isaiah 40:11 "He tends to his flock like a shepherd:" Each day providing us with safety, health, wisdom, and moments when we were tired to look into the eyes of a child and remember that He is with us. One night we were very tired and we could not find a hotel that would take pets (one would take goldfish. Who travels with goldfish?) and we had to drive an extra hour to a hotel. After dinner Katie and I drove the minivan with Ella and the dogs; we were exhausted and a little short with one another when I looked in the rearview mirror and saw Ella sticking her crayons in her shoe! This is exactly what Katie and I needed afterall here we are as adults with sour hearts and Ella still has a sense of humor! Oh how our Shepherd tends to EVERY need. "He gathers the lambs in his arms and carries them close to his heart; he gently leads those that have young." I am so thankful that I am
carried close to His heart and not at a distance like I sometimes do when Ella has a really stinky pull-up! No matter how "stinky" our hearts are He promises to carry us close to His heart and tend our needs.

Well on Wednesday, July 16 we arrived in San Antonio and took some time to rest and be together. Ella finally has her big-girl bed and I admit that sometimes it is hard for me to blink my eyes because when I do it she is more grown up and I don't want to miss one nanosecond.



Friends, we miss you and are looking forward to seeing you again - either in Heaven or here on earth.

One final note, I don't know how many of you know Pastor Greg Laurie of Harvest Christain Ministries, but last week his 32 year-old son went Home. I encourage you to visit the website at Harvest and watch the video from July 28.

SDG,
The V's

Where have we been?

Since I am so terrible at blogging you may not be asking this question, but we have been:

• Putting our house on the market
• Packing up
• Growing a baby in a belly (just me :-)
• Ending a job
• Moving half-way across the country
• Preparing for a new job

So, there hasn't been too much going on! Chris has promised to help me out with the blog, so look for more updates soon!

This Week's Menu

Monday- Asian Lettuce Wraps and Fresh Pineapple
Tuesday- Black Bean and Brown Rice Pitas and Tortilla Chips and Salsa
Wednesday- Greek Salad with Chicken and Oregano Breadsticks
Thursday and Friday- playing it by ear as Chris will not be joining us for dinner
Saturday- Meatloaf, Mashed Potatoes and Broccoli
Sunday- Mother's Day- hoping to head to Lewis Ginter Botanical Gardens, so we will eat in Richmond


A new CVS just opened right outside our neighborhood, so I am heading there today. I'll share my deals later!!!

Shopping this Week

I must say that this week's shopping trip was discouraging. I spent way more than I expected and haven't yet sat down with the budget to determine how this will effect the rest of the month. I did shop the sales, but didn't use many coupons. I started with a bare freezer and zero meat, so I knew that I wouldn't get out cheap. And I was feeling like I had been ran over by a train as I am really feeling the symptoms of allergies! DH reminded me that I am doing my best and I will become more efficient as time goes on.

I ended up going to 5 stores (way more than I had planned). I will not post everything I bought, just enough to give you an idea.

Sam's- I really still think this is the best overall place to get meat and milk. Sometimes I can find meat cheaper on sale, but I am never as happy with the quality. My Sam's total was $93.78 and I got 2 gallons skim milk, 2 half-gallons 2% organic milk, huge box of baby wipes (should last through the summer and into when we start needed them for Dawson), bread, clementines, frozen broccoli, ground turkey, veggie burgers, meatballs, pork chops and chicken. The meat will last us more than a month and hopefully, I can replenish the supply slowly and not run out all at once! Although I gasped at the total, I really got a lot!

Kroger- Didn't get any great deals here, just lots little things. Total was $44.74.

Cville Market- My favorite place for produce. Total was $15.23. Included a 5 pound bag of potatoes and our favorite treat, Voortman cookies!

Asian food market- Just some sesame oil and fish sauce for various recipes, total $3.60.

Food Lion- There were a few things I missed at Kroger...total was $15.66.

Overall:
Grocery Total: $159.51 (yikes, over half our budget for the month, let's see how we make it till May 15)
Ella Total (just wipes, we have a different budget line for this): $13.50

Menu Plan Monday

Hopefully, by posting my menu plan every Monday I will be more motivated to create a menu and follow it. I am still working to get to the point that I shop the sales and then create a menu based on what I have in the pantry, freezer and fridge. This is definitely going to be a slow transition!

This week is a bit different as we are leaving on Wednesday morning to chaperon a field trip to New York for the ninth graders at my DH's school. Hard work, right! My mom will be coming to stay with Ella and she was very nice to say that she would take care of meals for her and Ella!

Here is what I have....

Breakfasts- all with fruit
Cheerios and milk
Eggs and toast
Waffles

Lunches- (for kids, I will find something if I don't eat what they are having)
Leftover meatballs, green beans and scalloped potatoes
Baked beans
Tuna Salad

Dinners-
Monday- Southwestern Chicken Wraps, Fruit, Chips
Tuesday- Lasagna, Salad and Bread (homemade from bread machine)
Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday- out of town
Saturday- Honey Mustard Chicken, Potato salad, Fruit
Sunday- Pork Chops, Mashed potatoes, green beans

To find more ideas for menus, check out http://orgjunkie.com/

This Week at CVS

This was a good week at CVS, however, I am struggling a bit in this process because it seems I have to purchase things I wouldn't typically in order to keep my Extra Care Bucks balance up. This week it was make-up! Now, I enjoy make-up but I don't wear it all that often and I tend to go for a powder foundation, especially during the summer. But, purchasing the make-up gave me $2.50 (after cost of purchase). So, now I am looking to determine how to best use these products that I don't need. I know some folks hold on to them for yard sales, however, I would prefer to donate them as I didn't really pay anything for them. So, I plan to put everything in a box to go through every few months and then determine where I can bless others with them. For the make-up, I was thinking of a women's shelter. Granted, they have much bigger needs, but maybe I can meet a want!

So, here is a break-down of yesterday's trip. Sorry that I don't have a picture. Our camera is almost dead, so I am holding off on pictures until we have enough reward points on our Mastercard to "purchase" a new one!

2 Packs of Huggies Pull-Ups for $8.99
Used 2 $2/1 coupons

1 Pack of Huggies Diapers for $8.99
Used 1 $1.50/1 coupon

From above, I generated $10 in ECB for the Baby Spend $25 get $10 ECB

2 Covergirl True Blend Whipped Makeup for $9.49
Used B1G1 coupon
Generated $12 in ECB, $6 for each

1 Pepsid Easy Chew 25 Count for $7.99
Used $2/1 coupon
Generated $5 ECB
I will be sending off for a rebate of $5.50

What I paid:
Used $16.99 in manufacturer coupons
Use CVS generated coupon that I got at the bottom of last week's receipt for $10 off $50 purchase.
Used $22.97 in ECB.
I paid $5.33 out of pocket (which will be covered completely after I receive the Pepsid rebate).

I currently have $27 in ECB (all from the above).

We are having a...

Our ultrasound was yesterday and we are excited to share the exciting news. The tradition in our Friday playgroup continues...all of the moms of a little girl have (or are having) a boy!!! We are joining the club as Dawson Henry will be making his way into the world in August. We are excited to join the Whites, Lovelaces, Fergusons, and Browns in the land of parenting boys and I'm sure all of the big sisters will educate Ella on how to best handle a little brother!

Update

Once again, I was out of the blog world. Although I like to blog, I just can't make it a priority. So, no stress here, how freeing! I guess I will get to it when I can, which just happens to be today.

We have had a very crazy couple of weeks. On Good Friday we were traveling to Michigan and ran into a snow storm. Chris is wonderful at driving in the snow and was doing everything right when we were cut off by a car that was driving aggressively. Our car began to fish tail and on the fifth or sixth time we hit the rumble strips and rolled into the median. It was so scary! We were protected by God's angels as he promises in Psalm 91:11, "For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways."

There are so many things I am thankful for concerning this accident...I would like to address a few.
~Moments before the accident I sat up straight and adjusted my seat belt under my belly so the baby would be safe if anything were to happen.
~We landed on all four wheels, not on a side or upside down.
~We didn't hit any other cars, AMAZING!
~We left the dogs in Roanoke with my parents.
~We were all incredibly okay!
~God placed a van from the towing company right beside of us at a stoplight when we were looking for the lot so we could follow. Please note, it was snowing and we were in a strange town and had terrible directions.
~Our insurance settlement was much better than we expected so we were able to purchase a van that I can't imagine we would ever have been able to buy.
~Chris spent 2 days with his dad looking for a vehicle and felt extremely supported.
~We returned home to wonderful friends (Thanks Melissa, Jennifer, Dana, Amy, Laurie and Alison) who made dinner for us for a week while we got everything back together, did insurance paperwork and dealt with unexpected emotions.

We are happy to be home and getting back to normal life. We saw God at work through this entire situation and although we would never want to re-live it, we wouldn't change the past!

See Kroger Deals for Cereal and other Stuff

Whoa, I'm going shopping...because I didn't get enough cereal last week!! See Crystal's blog, Money Saving Mom for the details. This is a blog I check daily to get deals and coupons. Crystal's methods really work (see sidebar). She and her husband just fully funded their emergency fund and now they are saving to purchase a house WITHOUT a MORTGAGE.

Grocery Shopping/Deals

Since the first of the year (really way before that, but now with more effort) I have been working to cut our grocery budget. No easy feat considering the rising costs of food. I plan to chronicle this journey here in hopes that others can learn from my efforts (and mistakes). Also, I want to give God the glory for the success I have in this process. I feel extremely blessed to be able to stay at home with Ella and serve my family. We have had to make numerous financial sacrifices, which many friends have thought are crazy, however they are worth it as I am able to invest into Ella's life continuously!!

So, by no means is my grocery budget as low as I hope it will go. I have been using many sites for encouragement, I have listed some of them on the side bar. Money Saving Mom is my favorite site. Crystal is able to feed her family and purchase all cleaning supplies and personal items on $40 a week. Right now, I am working on $300/month. This includes eating out, which I must say we do more often than we can afford (even though Sam's food stand is our most frequent meal "out").

I want to share my successful shopping endeavors from last week. Below is a picture of my purchases from Kroger and CVS.

I didn't plan to do any shopping last week, however, I am learning to stockpile things when there is a good deal.

My quick trip to Kroger...

7 boxes of Honey Bunches of Oats with Chocolate Clusters

Sale price $1.99/box

I had 7 $2 off 1 coupons, so I got all 7 boxes for $0.28 (just paid the tax)

My CVS trip...

2 Mach3 Sensitive 3 count razors

Sale price $7.99, used 2 $3 off 1 coupons

Received $10 Extra Care Bucks (ECB)

So, they were free!

1 Venus Embrace razor

Sale price $9.99, used 1 $4 off 1 coupon

Received $6 ECB

So, they were free!

1 Sunsilk shampoo

Price $4.49, used $2 off 1 coupon

1 Sunskilk conditioner

Price $4.49, used $2 off 1 coupon

1 Dove bar (this was a filler to get to the $30 I needed to use a coupon)

Price $1.99

Received $1 ECB

Paid, $0.99

1 Tic Tac (again, a filler)

Price $0.89

Applied $5 ECB from a previous visit.

Applied a $5 off $30 coupon CVS sent me by email.

My total out of pocket was $11.15.

I received $17 back in ECB.

Not bad for a newbie! I'll keep you posted on my progress!

I'm Back...at least I'm trying!

Have you ever been so far behind with something that you decide not to go back and catch up. That is were I am with this blog. For months I have been ignoring the blog because I didn't have the time to "go back" in time to catch up on all the happenings of our life, so I have decided not to catch up, just move forward. So, here I go, ENJOY!