How is your CALIFORNIA USDA ORGANIC item….made in China?

Is it even organic?

What pesticides etc are they using?

Apparently you can just plop the sticker on any old thing and claim it’s certified organic.

WTF?! Whole Foods, you’ve got some ‘splainin to do!!

I told you about scary tuesday.  Well, turns out I had scary thursday, friday, saturday…. you get the picture.  Doc put me on bedrest until today depending on what happens with the spotting and cramping.  Waiting for her to call me back, but since both are still occurring I fear I may be seeing more of this comfy new bed than I planned.

I’m dealing with feelings of fear, anger, sadness, shame and disappointment and trying to combat them with feelings of hope and love but it’s hard.  I feel trapped and ineffective, and anxious.  Deep down, I am certain Embry is OK, and if I have to stay horizontal for 40million years to ensure his health that’s what I’ll gladly do, but the worry monster is on my back.  My job situation is a big factor, I run a small office.  I am set up to work from home but there’s a lot I need to do in person as well. A financial hit would not be good right now.  I’m just hopeful that this ends very soon and I can get back to normal functioning.

How Far Along? 22 Weeks!!! 18 (ish) to go!  (1/29/12)

Symptoms: I don’t wanna talk about it.

Total Weight Gain/Loss: Same 8lbs as last week.

Maternity Clothes: Same sitch. Still looking for a maternity coat.

Stretch Marks: Not yet, still fighting stretchmarks as best I can.

Sleep: Horrendous.  Just horrendous.

Food Cravings: Peanut butter and jelly.  Fake strawberry shortcake (take a slice of entenmanns all butter loaf, put sliced strawberries on it, cover with whip cream, shove it in your mouth, mmmmmm)

Best Moment This Week: ….I’ll get back to you on that.  Might have been eating my fake strawberry shortcakes lol

Movement: Loads.  This little guy is so active.  John feels him a lot and they have little conversations.  “Do you think the giants will win? Kick once for yes”

Labor Signs: ::sigh::

Belly Button In Or Out?  Yeah, I need to just delete this question. You won’t be seeing this next week.

What I Miss:  Ummm not bleeding and not cramping.

What I Am Looking Forward To: Doc saying no more bed.

Milestones: We can see Embry moving from the outside now.  It’s sooo alienish. I love it.

Weekly Wisdom:  It’s ok to take it easy without feeling guilty.

Any advice for me at this stage in pregnancy? Did you have to go on bedrest of any sort during your pregnancy?

OK So this is a lil overdue, we got the scan last week Thursday. 

Why didn’t you guys tell me how cool the anatomy scan was gunna be!??!  Oh man.  We saw him dancing!!

We got to see everything.  They measured my lil man all up down and sideways. The doctor said everything looks fine and he’s a good size.  And what I liked was that he showed us why everything was fine instead of just saying we’re all good and rushing us along.  He even showed us some extra parts of the brain and why they were important.  I was so pleased.

I actually got scanned 3 times by 3 separate people.  The first was the usual sonogram chick who went through and measured all the parts of the body.  The wierd part of this was, she started the convo with “hi, I can’t answer any questions so please don’t ask me.”  (she did answer one of my questions though)  I guess they’re not allowed to say anything, and the doctor has to be the one to give good or bad news.

That scan lasted the longest, and we saw little guy’s head, face, legs, feet, back, arms, hands/feet, everything.  Then while she went to input our information and meet with the doctor, I got scanned a 2nd time by a woman who’s still studying to be a sonogrammer. (what is their real title?!)  She did the fun stuff, showed us his lil ears, and nose, and counted fingers and toes with us, and let us see Embry facing us, he looked like a scary skeleton beast, it was really cool.  Then he made a muscle for us!!! What a ham!

The 3rd scan was the thorough one from the doctor where he showed us extra parts, and answered our questions.  I have people telling me the baby’s going to be huge because John is, and it was making me nervous, but the doctor reassured me that the size of the baby at birth has more to do with the size and habits of the mother versus the size of the father, so that was comforting.

He also told us that up until week 20 or so most babies are around the same size and in the weeks to come we’ll see how Embry’s size really develops against the median sizes.  I don’t get another long scan during this pregnancy but I will still get the quickies at the doctor’s office so that’s good.  Next appointment is at 24 weeks and I’ll have to do the 1-hour glucose test.  I’m not looking forward to it.

We got loads of printouts from this scan.  I’m excited to start Embry’s lil photo album!

How did your anatomy scan go?!  How was your glucose test? Is that stuff really vile to swallow?

NOTE: I am NOT a financial advisor, this is just info from personal experience, don’t try to sue me. Thanks!

I’m really surprised at how many emails I’m receiving with money questions after posting about operation penny pinch, and asking for financial advice!  I didn’t expect to be posting more on money, but it is an important part of all of our lives, and a big part of mine especially this year so I guess it makes sense to share what lil bit I know.  I’ll do it in parts.  Today’s will be about budgeting.

Budgeting Tips:

1. Make budgeting a priority – it’s really the best way to ensure you are spending less than you’re earning

2. Create an annual budget and then break it down monthly. – this works better than going month by month because you’ll include things like auto insurance and Xmas gifts that don’t come around each month and can save accordingly

3. Automate what you can – easy button.  pay those bills automatically, move money to your savings automatically.  If it’s easy/done for you, you’re more likely to do it.

4. Track everything – seriously, track EVERY penny, and check your accounts for accuracy online as well.

5. Don’t give up – in the beginning it can be annoying to go through and see where your money’s going and how you want to fix it, but it’s totally worth it once you see your debt getting smaller and your savings growing bigger!

How I Budget

I get paid on the 15th and 30th. of each month.  A certain % of each check gets pulled out pre-tax for my 401K to obtain the full $17k match from my employer.  The balance goes to my main bank (TD Bank, love them)

My take home income gets divvied up into these parts (in no order):

Bills:

• Rent
• Geico (car/rental insurance)
• Con Edison (gas/electric)
• Virgin Mobile (mobile phone)
• Food (groceries/eating out w/ John)
• Time Warner (internet)

Faux Bills:

• Down Payment Savings
• Emergency Savings (no longer contributing, fully funded, 8 months worth)
• Gifts (Xmas/Bday savings)
• RTH Account (FYI Those are Embry’s initials, that’s his saving fund)
• Personal Savings (toiletries and random house stuff gets paid from this acct)
• 529/IRA (I haven’t yet started Embry’s 529, and I haven’t put my 2011 IRA money to the account yet so it just sits in the bank until I stop being a lazy mofo)
• Travel Savings

Me:

• Fun Money!! (anything goes, guilt free spending, YAY!)

*Public transpo is paid for by my job, as is food during the weekdays, gas is paid for by John since I don’t drive the car, also we split the bills 50/50 except my phone I pay for and house phone he pays for.

So yeah, majority of my income goes to savings for different goals, but I treat them as if they’re bills.  Some gets automatically transferred on pay days from my main bank to my online bank account where I earn better interest, and some I physically move (online) from my bank to online bank to “trick” myself into feeling like I just paid a bill.  For ME, that’s the only way to ensure the money will go where it needs to…. instead of to Target or Amazon lol.

Where to budget:

I keep my budget on a spreadsheet, I used to use excel, but now use google docs so I can access my budget anywhere.  I have sheets for each month, a net worth sheet, and a projected savings sheet to keep tabs on my down payment savings goal.

I used to use Mint, but had issues with it updating from my bank accounts in a timely manner….I check my accounts often.

However, I started out with good old pencil and paper, and maintained my budget this way for a long while.So please don’t feel like you need any gadgets, software, or anything to get started with a budget.

How you can start your budget:

• choose a time when you’re relaxed and have energy to spend on this
• get your old statements together along with bills and paper/pen (or excel or whatever)
• put down every single thing you spend money on throughout the year
• put down every single penny you earn throughout the year (hopefully it’s more than what you spend)
• break down your annual spending by month
• Plan to include savings and debt repayment in each month (per paycheck)
• put your budget somewhere you will see it and remember to follow it

Am I making sense? 

Resources for ya:

• YNAB – You Need A Budget – by Jesse Mecham
• The Budget Kit – by Judy Lawrence
• Winning w/ Money – The Budget Tool for People Who Hate Budgets  (That sounds promising!)

OK, I hope this was helpful, and if it was unclear, I’m sorry, and feel free to ask for clarification in comments or via okaydani @ gmail . com

Do you have a budget?  Do you stick to it?  How did you create yours?

If you’re pregnant and not trying to read anything that may upset you, don’t read this.

I wake up to pee in the middle of the night.  I’m having light cramps, but think nothing of it.  I go back to continue tossing and turning in bed until my alarm goes off.  I get up and pee yet again, still cramping, and I. see. blood.

Oh jesus oh jesus oh jesus.

I put on a pad, I go lay down.  What do I do now? Should I call my doctor? (it’s 6:30) Should I go to the hospital?  Should I stay home from work?  I consider waking John, but he’s got a final exam in a few hours so I let him sleep.  I get myself ready for work and go in, figuring if there’s blood on the pad when I get to work in an hour, I’ll call the doctor.  Cramping has stopped so that seems like a good sign.

Arrive at work, go pee, no blood.  YAY!

I start to get some work done and the cramps come again.  Harder this time.  It felt like my period was coming at any moment.  I freak out, call the doctor and get told by the receptionist “You’re probably going to have to go to the hospital, but the doctor will call you back.” CALL ME BACK!??!  But I’m on the phone NOW!!! GO GET HER DAMMIT!!!

I hang up.  Bit my lip. Wring my hands.  Move papers around on my desk.  Consider calling John.  Try to do work. Fail miserably.

I have to pee, yet again.

Blood.

I pray to every God I’ve ever heard of that my baby’s fine and this is nothing.

Finally, like eons later (it was really about 15 minutes to be honest with you) my doctor calls, and I barely get anything out before she cuts me off and says “Go to the hospital right now, 12th floor, Dr. Wong is there and will be expecting you.”

Oh jesus oh jesus oh jesus.

I think about calling John and messing his day up.  Instead I text him:  I’m having some cramps, the doctor thinks I should just get checked out, everything’s fine. Good luck on the exam.

Then I got petrified.  What if this is something really bad, and I send this guy to take a stupid test when he really should be with me and our baby?

NO!

Can’t think like that.

I call my mom, interrupt whatever she said when she picked up and somehow told her to get to the hospital asap.

I’m shaking as I try to pack my bag to leave the office.  I barely get out a sentence to tell my guys at work that I’m leaving.  I think I said something like “docta…. i go…..now… docta”  but they saw my tears and asked no questions.  I just shook my head turned and speedwalked outta there.

At the hospital, mom’s already there (moment of clarity burst through the fear….how on earth did she beat me here from all the way down by south ferry when I was just acrosstown?….nyc traffic man….) and seeing her I feel safer.  The crying ensues.  She tries to calm me.  She fails.

We wait in triage for what seems like forever…mom’s trying to be a rock and telling me to relax, but every two seconds she’s like “what’s taking them so long!?”  Gotta love her.

I’m sitting there eating my hands and trying not to think about….you know…the worst… when my angel mother tried an age old tactic that works on toddlers and 30 year old daughters alike.  “Let’s play a game!”  We whip out the kindle and start playing some word game and then time flies.

“Danielle, you can come in now, but your friend has to wait here.”  Friend?

“I’m her MOTHER!”  (she loved that….LOVED it.)

All of a sudden I’m in the triage room getting all kinds of wires attached to me.  Hearing beeps, seeing contractions being monitored, hearing them debating an IV, I really was going to freak out.  John called mom, she put on calm voice and allayed his fears…SO glad she did cuz if I had him on the phone it would be something like “FUCK YOUR TEST COME NOW COME NOW MY LIFE IS OVER AAAAGGGHHHH!!!”

Blood pressure. Normal.

Contractions. Steady but not strong enough to be worrisome yet.

I suffer through the most painful speculum exam ever.  The doctor (who was like 9 years old btw and so not Dr. Wong) was looking up in there for like 30 minutes.  My mom’s rubbing the skin off my arm during the exam while telling ME to relax. LOL  I’m crying silent tears of fear and nani pain from this rough ass doctor.

They ask me a million questions, STDs, domestic violence, UTIs, bla bla “bitch just tell me what is going on with my son in there!!!”  (I didn’t say that….but I thought it)

Finally they tell me I have a friable cervix which is prone to bleeding even without provocation, but that I’m not bleeding from my cervix proper so that’s good.  Also I’m not actively bleeding which is also good.  Bad news is that bleeding can happen again at any time, and I’d have to come to the hospital every time it happens….just to be safe and ensure it’s not coming from my cervix proper.  Dag.

OK, fine, but what about these damn cramps?

“Oh yeah, your contractions…..let’s give you another painful nani exam to ensure your cervix is closed and long.”

Suffer through that yet again…to be told NOTHING…then they wheel in a sonogram machine.  They give me the internal and external sonogram (which I secretly like because I get to peek at my beautiful boy), find that my cervix is still long, so not to worry. They told me the contractions were unexplained but could be a sign of dehydration.

The doc goes: “Sometimes you drink a liter of water and contractions stop.” And she shrugged.

Is that something you really want to see?  A 9 year old doctor shrug at you.  I wanted to slap her.

But that’s the best they had for me.  They made me stay on the contraction monitoring machine for 1/2 hour, they checked Embry’s heart rate a couple times.  (He did not want to cooperate btw, he was dancing and flipping and made the doctors wait till he was good and ready to take a break before they could get his heart rate haha, that’s my rude baby!) They checked the fluid around him a couple times and then I was given a bunch of no nos:  Sex, exercise, sex, strenuous activity, sex.   They told me to take it easy for the rest of the day and that I can take my friable cervix and go home.

Just like that.

In the cab I text John the full scoop, relieved that it was basically nothing.

He called and I asked him about the final exam.  He goes: “I was so worried, I failed it, I just couldn’t concentrate.”

Ugh! Damn.  “Oh no, I’m so sorry baby!” I felt like complete sh…poo.

“Just kidding! I aced it.  But I was worried.”

Note to self: Punch John in the belly.

————————–

I’m really glad the fears I had didn’t come true.  You see blood and you think the absolute worst ya know.  I think somewhere deeeeeep down inside I knew everything would be okay though.  If it was a lot of blood I would’ve taken a completely different course of action.

So I’m kinda living in fear now that I’m going to start bleeding every day and have to go to the hospital every day.  I’m cramping randomly still, but not as severe or steady as earlier, thank goodness.  I’m still a nervous nellie, but not like earlier.

I get home and  found that John had turned into Mr. Belvedere!  “lay down baby, do you want water, do you want milk, do you need more pillows, are you cold, are you hot, want to watch something, want to read something, are you hungry, want me to cook….”  He’s a nervous nellie too.  Bad combo.

I’m going to just try to chillax, be physically lazy, and keep a calm head as best I can.

So.  How was your Tuesday?

I’ve been tagged!

Thanks Nini for including me on this fun taggy game!

I’ve got to answer these questions, and tag others to answer as well.  But sadly…everyone I want to tag…I’ve already seen this on their blogs! womp womp.   I’ll answer anyway…and everyone who reads this, you answer too in the comments!! I love random info about people!

This is a really hard question man!  I have read so many books that have moved me and sucked me so deeply in.  I’ll go with The Glass Castle today though.  The book was well written, interesting, devastating, funny, inspirational and a real life story! Ask me tomorrow you may get a different answer tho.

Definitely the book.  I get to use my imagination to “see” the people, places and things, versus having it laid out for me.  If I didn’t read the book, then I don’t mind the movie only (like w/ The Help) but if I read it, I know I’m more than likely going to be disappointed with the movie.

Paradoxical. 

disregard my dopey face. I didn't know he was taking me too, thought it was all belly.

How Far Along? 21 Weeks!!! 19(ish) to go!  (1/22/12)

Symptoms: Heartburn!! It’s the worst!!  My mega tiredness is back. and I’m now kinda unweildy.  I’m nowhere near as big as I’m gunna be and I’m already having problems with bending for things, and getting up easily from the couch and bed.

Total Weight Gain/Loss: 8 lbs!!!  I’m so glad to be gaining, and know Embry’s getting fat in there!

Maternity Clothes: I am mainly wearing maternity items, I need to find an inexpensive coat soon.  I think I’m going to take the advice of some of my lovely readers/bloggy friends and wear a uniform of leggings and tunics.

Stretch Marks: Not yet, still fighting stretchmarks as best I can.

Sleep: Glad to have the extra sleeping space from the new bed, but my comfort is still an issue.  I am using pillows all over, but wake up so often at night and have to rearrange them…I think I’m going to bite the bullet and find a 2 sided maternity pillow.  I was lookin at these on amazon.  But not sure which to get.

Food Cravings: Pad Thai with lots of lime. Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. Salty/Tangy anything.  Huge glasses of ice cold milk, water and orange juice.

Best Moment This Week: The anatomy scan.  It was tremendous.  I dunno, I don’t cry when I see Embry anymore, but hearing his lil heartbeat makes me bust out the waterworks. I guess it’s cuz I never get to hear him.  John puts his ear to my belly and says he hears squishy sounds.  I get to feel him but not hear.  I know that first cry I hear when he’s born is going to make me pee my pants.

Movement: Lots, he gets active at certain times….one being 4am…so I wonder if that means he’s sleeping the other times? And I wonder if 4am will be one of our feeding times.  He’s also getting stronger.  This kid is starting to really kick hard!

Labor Signs: None and don’t want any yet! (not for 19ish weeks!)

Belly Button In Or Out?  ::sigh:: let’s just skip this one.

What I Miss: Moving quickly with ease. A full nights sleep. Warm weather…but that’s not Embry’s fault.

What I Am Looking Forward To: Touring the hospital and birthing center, meeting and interviewing the 2 doulas we contacted, starting hypnobabies.  (anyone know where to get hypnobabies cheap?!)

Milestones: Seeing my little guy for the anatomy scan.  Getting to see all his little parts, counting his fingers and toes (i know, i know) looking at his heart pumping away, seeing all is cool brain parts, and hearing how well he’s doing in there.

Weekly Wisdom: Now, I’m not one to give financial advice but I have a hot stock tip.  Buy up all the stock you can in TUMS cuz I am single handedly making their stock rise.  This heartburn is no joke.

Any advice for me at this stage in pregnancy?  Where’d you get your maternity coat (if you needed one)?  Did you use any tools similar to hypnobabies to help self soothe during labor?

And his name is Hana Elite 1.5!!!

OK, let me back up the truck.  Remember when I showed you guys this lovely bag o goodies sent over by Misikko.com?

• Hana Pro Flatiron 1.5 inches
• Rubber mat
• Case
• Huge round brush
• Adorable sleeping mask
• Serum
• Lipstick
• Eyeliner
• Hana version of the Turbietwist
• lots of fake roses (?)
• nail files
• hand sanitizer
• duster bag

Well, I’ve been using the flatiron intermittently since then, and exclusively for the past few weeks and I’ve got to say, it may be the best flat iron I’ve used since my beloved Maxiglide.  It’s a Hana iron, 1.5″, titanium, and AWESOME!

I use it on air dried hair after washing and deep conditioning, and it smooths out my curls easily with one slow pass from root to tip.  Very very important since the less direct heat the better off you are!  It’s easy to hold, it’s light as air, (way lighter than maxi) and the results are awesome! (If I do say so myself)

PS: these photos are on hair that was flatironed 4 days prior!

The Hana serum they sent over I honestly, always forget to use.  I did use it the first time I tried the iron out, and it had my hair looking shiny, bouncy, and I didn’t have as much reversion in my roots as I normally would….but I’ve never used it again.

It’s kinda hard for me to give this glowing review knowing that I’m cheating on my OG babydaddy Maxiglide, but this Hana iron is the troof.  Not the truth. The TrooF!  I love how bone straight w/ body my hair is! And we had 2 days of crappy rain this week and my hair didn’t revert a bit!  Thank you Hana!

Pros:

• Light and easy to maneuver
• Gets Super Hot 450degrees (if you like that)
• Titanium and feels sturdy despite the light weight
• Heats up surprisingly quickly
• Can be use to straighten hair and/or give soft waves/bump the ends
• The titanium plate wipes clean easily and doesn’t get mucked up

Cons:

• It’s 1.5 inches…I wish it was 2.5 inches lol
• I wish it came with a robot that would flat iron my hair for me while I watch TV

Seriously, I don’t really have anything bad to say about this iron.  I really dig it a lot. For my straight hair til May plan, this Hana is going to be what gets me through.

Thanks Misikko!

This post is sponsored by the generous folks at Misikko, and the thoughts/feelings/review are 100% mine and 100% honest.  If you’re looking for a Chi Iron or a Hana, check them out, they also have the best hair dryers on their site.  And everyone I know (hair bloggers or not) that orders through them gets the most adorable goodies along with whatever they order!

Have you ever had a product that totally stole you away from an old fave? What flat irons do you use? Have you tried the Hana Elite before?

So John and I have nailed down a place to live.  We won’t be moving until April 1, fools that we are , so until then I have time to pack, pare down, and of course….obsess about decorating.  I won’t be doing too much, because  I’m doing Operation Penny Pinch (thanks Katie) but I’ll definitely do a bit of prettifying, especially to Embry’s room.

Pinterest, AKA Awesomeness sent from above, has lots of ideas for a DIY Nursery, and just random baby nursery stuff in general.  I don’t know why I am developing an “I can totally do this” attitude to the DIY stuff, but I’m going to roll with the confidence and try a few things.

Wall Color

Harbor Blue from Pottery Barn Kids (Benjamin Moore’s Line)

Accent Colors: Orange, Teal, Yellow(?), Green(?)

 I like this:

Still not sure if I want to go dark or light or white with the furniture…

I will probably go by price on the glider, and get this style:

And for crib and dresser/changing station (I’m just putting a pad on top of a dresser) we could go:

For the color...which do you like?

As for the DIY Items:

Wall name: Definitely this classic style versus the hanging from a ribbon style.  I’ll just paint it in one of the accent colors or use scrapbook paper with fun designs in the accent colors to cover the wood letters.

Or I can go this route w/ the yarn:

just nix the flower and pretend it’s mounted on a wall.

Above the crib or changing station I’d like to make something cute to hang from the ceilings.  The poms I see all over pinterest are cute, but too girly for Embry’s room.  I saw a cool yarn design that I hope I can pull off.

I’d do it in all the accent colors.  Super cute.  The tutorial is HERE if you’re interested.

What do you think?  My mom thinks the wall color is too pale..I may warm it up..but not sure.  I’ll be back with pinterest inspiration for the living room and bedroom!

What color is/was your nursery?  Did you do any DIY items? Know where to find inexpensive nursery furniture?