Steal!

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Camille from Archives of our Lives made a goal to get at least ten people to participate in her weekly steals post, and I am all about helping people achieve their goals and dreams. So I have three steals today. (I've been saving them up, sorry Camille.)
First, I got a real steal on the baby I had back in July (see previous post for photos of said baby.) Being as how I'm on AHCCCS and all, I paid absolutely zero to have this adorable bundle of joy. Ofcourse you could say the price I paid was being super poor. Or the price I paid was going through nine months of pregnancy, followed by labor, followed by endless sleepless nights. But we are talking about monetary costs here, so I guess he still counts as a steal.

Steal number two: diapers! My friend Tiffany and I are doing a research study for this company. They give us six days worth of diapers for free! Not only free, but then they will pay us $105 to fill out a questionnaire about the diapers. So easy. The only bad part is you have to return the used diapers, but they are in little individualized ziplocks, so it's no big deal.

And finally, steal number three... Underwear! not just any underwear. Sexy Victoria's Secret underwear. How did I get them for free you ask? Well, I am signed up for their emails and apparently they have my address too. So they send me things in the mail (which Michael looks away from). So far this year they have sent me FIVE coupons for a free pair of underwear NO PURCHASE NECESSARY! Every time I tell myself to get something practical and black, but as of right now I have a drawer full of pinks and greens and polka dots. They are just too cute!

So there ya have it... awesome steal since each pair of VS panties costs $10 or more, that makes this steal at least $50. Awesome!

Photo Shoot

Tracy came over to try and get some good pics of Weston. I feel bad that I didn't get around to this until he was already six weeks, but oh well. He was NOT cooperative. Here are a few. He is growing so fast!

Funny Girl

My friend Janae always posts the funniest conversations she has with her two year old. It inspired me to share some pretty cute/funny things that Raegan does. This is in the hopes that writing these things will make me appreciate her more when she is screaming NO about everything and throwing herself on the floor. (It was funny at first, but now it's just funny to other people.)

Whenever we leave the house, or even sometimes when she leaves the room, she says good bye to EVERYTHING! Yesterday as we walked out the door she said, while waving to the objects in question: "Bye couch. Bye Shoe. Bye Orange (which wasn't an orange, but an orange object she didn't know the name of). Bye Chair. Bye Room." She walks to the garage door, then walks back when she remembers something else to say goodbye to. I think she has picked this up from the book Goodnight Moon. Not sure, but it's pretty funny, even though it takes us forever to get out the door.

She also has boundless energy. We never go anywhere without someone commenting to me about her energy. She runs and runs and runs and dances and runs. (Her dancing is basically running while music is playing.)

She really likes Weston. She is very nice to him for the most part and only kicks him or throws things at him unintentionally, which does happen often due to the boundless energy mentioned above.

She is obsessed with Octopi(uses) She LOVES them. When we color she asks for an octopus in every color. Grandma bought her this octopus shirt because of her obsession and she loves it too. She also loves friends and says "Hi Friend" to everyone she comes across if she doesn't know their name.

Lastly, she is a phenominal ball kicker. I can't wait till she's old enough to play soccer. She can always kick the ball right where she wants it to go and she can totally dribble and steal the ball from other little kids. Cuts right in front of them. While normally I enforce (or try) the sharing thing, I can't help but be proud when she can steal the ball from an oponent (another toddler). So I am sure she will be a future soccer star. Too bad there's not much money in the sport. I would post a video of her kicking prowess, but I don't think I get them to post right.

Growing baby

Here are some pics Michael snapped the other day. Mostly we take pics with our phones, so we really need to upload those pictures. Then I will have lots to post. :) Till then, here is a semi-recent (within the last week) picture of Weston. He is wearing his least cute outfit. It's not even an outfit, it's a stupid onesie our neighbors gave us as a hand-me-down. Go figure that's the one he gets photographed in. He will be six weeks on Wednesday. 

The one of Raegan showcases her doing her favorite thing: playing in the sink. She really loves to be up there, but she makes a huge mess so she can't wear any clothes. Why the weird look you ask? Raegan just does not like smiling for the camera. Go figure. She will be sorry someday when she is older and she has dumb pictures, but that's not my problem. :) 

More Baby Pics

I feel bad, but I definitely took more pics of Raegan as a newborn. I guess that is just the way things go with second children. Not that it really matters, because I have about 100 times more pictures of Raegan than any one person would ever care to see. So maybe I have just the right amount of pictures of Weston. Anyway.... no one cares. 

Here are pictures of my adorable son. He is growing beautifully and is on a pretty reliable schedule. Raegan is being really good with him now and is very concerned when he cries and tries (unsuccesfully) to help him. She will say "Uh Oh! Baby Cwying. I get it!" Then she tries to put in his pacifier or rock his carseat or something. She will even help me try to burp him, but maybe that's just an excuse for her to hit him on the back and not get in trouble for it. Who knows?

Aunt Tracy. What shiny hair! (Healthy shiny, not greasy shiny) How is Weston already tanner than you?

This is my favorite pic of him. Love the quilt my mom made him. Thanks mom!

Post bath. Poor kid likes being cold about as much as I do. 

Baby Weston

He is here! We are very excited. He was born Wednesday, July 20 at 5:25 PM weighing in at a perfect 7 lb 2 oz and 20in long. He is pretty much the most handsome little boy I have ever seen. Not sure who he looks like. Labor and delivery went very smoothly. The doctor actually had me pull my own baby out. It was crazy. He had me push out the head and shoulders, then he told me to grab underneath his arms and pull. So I did. At the moment it was really gross because he was so bloody and goopy, but it was really a cool experience. I came home the next night. I don't like sleeping in the hospital. Since bringing him home he has been really good and easy. He eats like a champ and yesterday he was back up to his birthweight. I can't think of any other details to add. I am kinda sad it's over. My sister related having a baby to getting married. There are nine months of anticipation and waiting and planning. Everything builds up to that moment and then it's over in the blink of an eye and it's kinda sad that it's over. Oh well. I guess that's why I will just have to have another one. :) I feel very blessed to have two beautiful healthy children. I am also so blessed to have such a loving supportive family. My mother-in-law took Raegan for two solid days (no easy task) and my mom flew out Thursday and has been here helping and cooking and losing about as much sleep as I have. And lots of other people have been so nice to come visit and to offer to bring treats and meals. 

Yay for the IRS

So being poor can definitely have its perks. We originally got back about $1800 for our tax return (which was awesome). THEN a few weeks later we got a letter from the IRS in the mail telling us that we were probably elligible for an additional tax credit. I was dubious and didn't want to fill out complicated paperwork. (Why didn't our tax guy catch this in the first place for what we paid him?) But the paperwork was actually really simple and I thought, what could it hurt?

Fast forward to today: We got a FAT check in the mail for $2500!!! Sweet right? (Before you get too jealous, please remember that we actually have 0 (zero) income.) And if you're asking yourself what plans I have in store for this money? It will be going in the bank to help us feed our starving children. Trust me, we have enough bills to use it up very quickly without doubling our return on a new RV.

The point? I just wanted to say thank you to the IRS for giving us a heads up and helping us out. Now that's honesty for ya. What pals. They get such a bad rap. By the way, is it tacky for me to write the actual amount we received? I'm never really sure.