Poor Man's March

No, we're not striking, or joining any occupy movement.

On Thursday March 1st, Kyle and I will begin what we've termed: “Poor Man’s March”. We are going to see how little we can spend throughout the month of March.

That is why before Thursday, I plan to do a whole lotta shopping and rack up a whole lotta credit card debt (just kidding). *Side note: One of Kyle’s pet peeves is when people eat horribly the week before they start a diet. Similarly, spending a lot of money before a spending-fast

Instead of calling it "saving money" we're opting for the term "not spending money"

Here are some ways that we’re planning on not spending money this month:

1. When analyzing our credit card bills, the majority of our money goes towards food. So we’re starting with this rule: No sit down restaurants for the whole month (unless of course someone else is buying)

2. Fast food only four times throughout the entire month.

3. Use our gift cards. We still have a Q’doba gift card and 2 subs worth of a Jimmy John’s gift card. That’s two extra meals this month that won’t show up on our credit card.

4. Starbucks on Saturdays only. This is actually very cheap entertainment for us. We each get a coffee, and I print out a USA Today crossword online, and we spend an hour or two sipping our coffee, chatting, and completing a crossword together. This is one activity we hope to someday enjoy when we're retired (but on a daily basis).

5. Eating freezer and pantry food – You’d be amazed how much food we have stocked away that we just haven’t eaten yet

6. Eat leftovers. How many times have we thrown out an entire meal of good food?!? Not happening this March!

7. Set a menu. We do better when we set a menu. It prevents us from stopping at Subway or BWW. We're thinking a healthy menu too.

8. Go in to work one hour earlier. If I go into work an hour earlier, I leave an hour earlier. This gives me more time to start on cooking those delicious home-cooked dinners.

9. No alcohol. This has obviously been a given for me. I haven’t had a drink since Ireland. However, this means no beer purchases for Kyle too. Let’s just call it a 31 day sympathy detox. Though, he is allowed to finish the 3 beers left in the fridge.

10. DIY haircut. We do this anyways. I enjoy cutting Kyle’s hair, and I’ve gotten better and quicker at it. An added plus: he doesn’t have to schedule an appointment or spend the time to go to the barber.

11. Cheap and productive entertainment. Like fertilizing our lawn, bathing the dogs, fixing up things that we already have the supplies to fix.

12. No shopping (in stores or online). Yep, I won’t be buying a thing. No matter how cute or what a great deal it is.

*One exception: If the i pad 3 comes out in March and they drop the price on the i pad 2, we may be purchasing an i pad 2 for Kyle

30 weeks

Last weekend was awesome. My sister threw a coed baby shower for us at the abode of my cousin Lisa and Doug in Chicago. There was a great turn out, and it was so nice to see everyone. We played a fun game, and ate some great food. Instead of a card my sister had requested that people bring a book and sign their names on the inside. I LOVED THIS! Kyle and I love reading through the books that everyone had picked. Some had picked their childhood favorite, and others picked a book that they enjoy reading to their young loved ones. 

On Sunday, we went on two brewery tours. It was a great way to spend a beautiful Sunday in Chicago. Like a good attendee I drank all my samples :)

 OK, well maybe I got a little bit of help.

Lucy is at 30 weeks. So only 10 weeks left to go. I'm really getting excited to meet her. She is now the size of an English cucumber. I can constantly feel her kicks and movements. I haven't been feeling well... at all. The doctor thinks it's because of my low blood sugar and super low blood pressure. Add that to a cold and sore throat. I hate to complain, since I had it so easy the first 6 months. The doctor wants to see me weekly and run blood work until I start to feel better, and at least until the chest pains and nausea/vomiting goes away. Until then, Kyle will have to stay on pregnant wife duty :)

29 weeks

Lucy and I are at 29 out of 40 weeks. With how crummy I've been feeling, I'm glad that we're about 75% of the way done. 

And the obscure veggie of the week is...

The ever so well known acorn squash. I cooked with acorn squash once, it was terrible. But that probably had something to do with my lack of cooking talent, and my need to make substitutions and estimations on the fly.

Today I'm going to go down to Bloomington to look at a Jeep Liberty. After that I'll be hanging out with Miss Franny. She's going to stay over at Auntie Chel and Kyle's house tonight. It's a good thing too, since we have a bear on the loose in our home, and we will need someone to assist us on a good bear hunt :) I'll keep you posted on whether or not we catch him.

Chicago this weekend with some awesome friends and family. Super excited!

Waiting for Lucy

Remember this post?

What's in a name...

Well, I think we're ready to handle a few vomity faces (at least we keep telling ourselves that we're prepared to). We've chosen a name for little Ringlet... 

Lucy Ring. (I know, I know, "it has a nice 'ring' to it"). We had a few other names picked out, and one morning, out of the middle of nowhere, I told Kyle "I think she feels like a Lucy", and it stuck. Surprisingly, we randomly found a name that we both love.

Kyle painted purple letters, wrapped them with green yarn and hung them over her crib. So it's official. No changing it now. So don't ask. Those letters were too hard get hung up. (My slightly OCD husband had to make sure that they were perfectly centered and spaced above the crib).

**For those who are curious, yes, we finally agreed on a middle name too. But we're keeping that one a secret until her arrival**

Here are some more pictures of our just about finished nursery. I doubt her closet will always stay this neat and organized.

 

My mom refinished my grandmothers baby dresser and finished it off with some baby animal knobs. It looks a-maz-ing!

Kyle and I enjoy sitting in this rocking chair and admiring our work.

28 weeks

Little Ringlet is 28 weeks. Measuring in at roughly the size of a Chinese Cabbage (about 14 inches from head to toe).

It looks like from here on out, we'll be learning more about obscure fruits and vegetables than Ringlet's actual measurements.

Thank you for everyone's wonderful comments on my last post. Glad to know that someone is actually reading this :)

27w4d check-up

Little Ringlet is almost 28 weeks.

Her doctor’s appt yesterday went ok. She’s in the breach position, so they were able to get some nice photos of her teenie tiny face. Hopefully she’ll move out of that position in the next couple of weeks.

She weighs over 2 pounds and is in the 45-50 percentile. Her length measured in at 28 weeks. The ultrasound tech called her our little “over-achiever”. You could see her little diaphragm moving up and down, meaning that she’s already practicing her breathing.

I found out that I anti-failed the Glucose Challenge Test.

How the test works: A nurse checks your blood sugar, then you drink a whole bunch of sugary orange drink, wait an hour, and the nurse checks your blood sugar again.

The range is for the second test should be between 80-130, with anything over 130 being an F. Well, mine came back in the 60’s which means that my blood sugar level actually dropped. I figured that was an “A+” but the dr. started using big words like “hypoglycemia” and some other acronyms that I can’t remember; then he said, “eat more small meals”. I understood that part, and am starting today.

He gave me a prescription for my heartburn. However if my chest pains don’t go away we’ll have to do an “EKG” (what is with these doctors and their acronyms, they’re worse than a 14 year old girls text message).

He wasn’t sure why my left eye keeps twitching, but I googled it, and it means good fortune is on it’s way. So I’m going to just stick with that.

Here are a few photos of little Ringlet:

Happy Monday!

Happy Monday from me and my ever-growing, 27 weeks and 3 days belly.

Only 87 more days to go!

27 weeks and feeling fine... (for the most part)

Little Ringlet is at 27 weeks. We have an appointment on Tuesday, which should include an ultrasound to make sure she's growing. That's good, because I feel like it's been FOREVER since I last saw her.

The bump has her at the size of a cauliflower. 

 

I love baby hiccups. It's our little bonding moment that tells me she's in there trying to learn how to breathe. I think that pregnancy has gotten easier now that I can feel her move around. It's been a little reassurance that things are still progressing like they should.

I've been having a few chest pains and periodically a shortness of breath. A tad bit of heartburn. But otherwise we're still just trekking along.

A "Super" Weekend

Since little Ringlet's nursery is just about complete, Kyle and I enjoyed a nice relaxing weekend. We went to the coffee shop and worked on a crossword on Saturday morning. We watched a lot of Big Ten basketball throughout the weekend.

 

On Sunday morning we went to downtown Indy to check out all of the Superbowl festivities. It wasn't nearly as crowded as I had expected. We each kicked a field goal. It was a neat set up, you get one try with a huge crowd watching you. Quite the pressure. Though Kyle missed right and mine was just a tad short, we were both satisfied with our performances.

 

Downtown was really nicely set up. There were people ziplining over our heads. Football fields setup in the street, and an Indy car for every NFL team at the circle (the center of Indianapolis, for those out-of-towners).

Overall, a great weekend!

Too Much Good Ice?

Kyle is a self-proclaimed expert on "good ice". He rates Pizza Hut as having the best ice. Round fountain drink ice is also at the top, followed by cubed fountain drink ice. Towards the bottom of the list is bagged purchased ice that started as a chunk of that's been broken down to pieces. At at the very bottom of the list is the dreaded... Non-filtered, homemade freezer ice. 

Kyle and his brother have an extensive critiquing procedure and rating system for all ice. So at lunch today, I was worried when my ice-ing skills came into question. He stated that my ice to soda ratio is far too high. Too much ice? Is there such a thing? 

He admits that good ice will make any drink taste better. However, he was concerned that I need to refill my soda too often due to the amount of space that the ice takes up. This then takes away from the satisfaction that the ice is providing. He stated that there just might be a preferred soda to ice ratio that will minimize your trips to the refill station while providing enough good ice to maximize your taste buds.

So, is there such thing as too much good ice? He said that we will need to wait for the other "ice-expert" (his brother) to shed some light on the dilemma...

100 days left…

100 days until the estimated arrival of Ringlet. What? Did I calculate this out of frustration at work, because I'm looking forward to a few weeks away from this awful place?  Psh... Ok, well, maybe, but I promise that I'm even more excited to be a mother for the rest of my life than just a few weeks of sanity. And yes, going through delivery and caring for a newborn baby will be less chaotic and less hostile than my current work place.

We're coming up on week 26. This marks the start of  the third trimester. Little Ringlet is kind of a night owl and likes to jump and kick at all hours of the night. Besides a growing belly, we haven't been getting any of the other symptoms other pregnant women are experiencing. No sickness or cravings, aches or pains. Hopefully she stays this well behaved and easy for the next 18 years :)

Two Years and Counting...

Kyle and I celebrated our two year anniversary today.

I'm almost 25 pounds heavier, and he loves me at least 25% more.

I got him an anniversary present, but she won't be here until May (or maybe late April)

Thank the Lord for Starbucks, Jimmy Johns and Mother-In-Laws

I went back to work today. I was out of the office for 3 days visiting a customer and then was in Alabama for an AFS-4M committee meeting. I went back to work, and was instantly frustrated with my job and the people there who constantly make me miserable. Luckily, my mother-in-law had sent me a Jimmy John's and Starbucks giftcard for my birthday. 

My day went from this:

to this:

The big stack of papers, 108 emails, and those not very nice people may just have to wait until Monday...

So this is Thirty

I'm officially out of my twenties. When I look back at where I thought I'd be at thirty, this isn't exactly what I predicted, but it's pretty darn close. Great family. Wonderful husband. Nice house. Stable career. And a little baby on the way... Not too bad for 30. This weekend, Kyle and I celebrated with plenty of Kyle and Michelle time.

It was a cell phone and computer-free weekend (Sorry if I missed your call). From morning tea and crosswords to a little bit of NFL playoffs, to an amazing dinner at J.Fords. We had pork belly for the first time. No wonder why they always cook pork belly on top chef, it's delicious! Kyle had made reservations and when I opened my menu it said "Happy Birthday Michelle!" at the top. We followed up dinner with some friendly Mario-Sonic wii.

We worked on Ringlets nursery this weekend. It went from this:

To this:

Here are a few more pictures of our progress:

On Sunday night we went to the Indiana State game with some of Kyle's friends. A great weekend. I'm looking forward to the next 30 years!

Happy Birthday Michelle!

Happy 30th Birthday to my beautiful bride and favorite blogger.  Even as gorgeous as you are, you are even more beautiful on the inside.  You are very loved.

Ringlet's Now the Size of a... (Insert random fruit/veggie here)

So little Ringlet is now the size of a rutabaga. If you're like me your first thought is "Isn't that the guy who sang Mambo No. 5??"

Not only have I never eaten a rutabaga, but I don't think I've ever seen a rutabaga either. Is a rutabaga the same as a turnip? Not that it matters, since turnips are also on the list of things I've never seen or eaten... I guess I'm just not much of a veggie connoisseur. 

Rutabaga

Last week, Kyle and I set up two baby registries for Ringlet. I hope she likes what we picked out. A slightly hungover Kyle (it was the morning after his birthday party) did really well registering at Buy buy baby. I think he picked out more items than I did! Then when we got home, I picked out a slew of cool stuff from Amazon.

We're on the last boards for the nursery floor. And then I'll post some pictures of our progress.

Next week, I fly to Alabama for work, and then I'll go on a traveling hiatus until Ringlet arrives. 

For anyone else who is still trying to Google the size of a rutabaga is, use this instead...

Oh, Ringlet and I had a glucose tolerance test on Tuesday. It was not fun. You drink a nasty orange drink and get a whole bunch of blood drawn. Our next appointment will be in 4 weeks. They'll do an ultrasound to check on how much she's grown. I think that this will be longest stretch I've gone with out seeing her!

“No Man is a Failure who has Friends”

 

“Remember, no man is a failure who has friends.” ~from It's a Wonderful Life

Kyle's big "Surprise!!"

My husband has great friends. He has a lot of great friends. He has a lot of great friends who are from all stages of his life; elementary school, high school, Indiana State, law school, work, sports, friends of friends and even friends of friends of friends... He has friends from just about every aspect of his life. He has a very large circle of friends that he’s found and kept a good relationship with over the last 30 years.

Kyle had over 60 friends show up for his surprise 30^th birthday party. That’s a lot of people. Susan and I joked that we would have to pay people off of the street to get that many people to show up for our birthday.

Most of his friends weren’t from Indianapolis. Many had to drive over an hour to be there. There were plenty of couples who had to find a sitter for their child(ren), some had to rent hotel rooms. In attendance there were six pregnant women (one of whom will deliver within the next week or two). And when Kyle or I would thank these people for coming, they would say “of course”.

I think Kyle has so many great friends because he is a great friend. He’s there when his friends need him, and he never seems to make people mad. He is the nicest person I have ever met. No, really. He is the nicest person I have ever met. (Ok, maybe he's tied with his sister for nicest person EVER). 

No one ever says, “Kyle Ring? I don’t really like him”. Kyle is a likeable person because he is a positive and nice person (and I'm sure his great personality adds to this). 

I think that as I enter my 30’s, my resolution is going to be to stride towards being a nicer and more positive person, and to spend more time on my friendships and relationships, and less time on all that other trivial stuff.

Oh and by the way, I do have a few pretty spectacular friends myself…

Happy Birthday Kyle

Happy Birthday to my wonderful husband. I love you so much, and look forward to celebrating every birthday together for the rest of our lives.

I love you anyways and I love you always.

Kicking it into Week 23

Little Ringlet is now 23 weeks. According to my calculations, that equates to negative 17 weeks in human years (-16 weeks, if I predicted the due date correctly).

Though I'm not a fan of the tummy touching, last night Kyle got to feel her kick, and then again this morning. Now that this is becoming more "real" to him, he started talking to my stomach as if she can hear and understand him. Am I the only one that finds this weird? My two year old nephew doesn't understand me half of the time, how am I to expect that a negative 17 week baby can understand?

Since thebump.com suspended our fruit/veggie comparisons until 25 weeks, I've found new sources (who knows the size of a papaya anyway). One site said she's was the length of a Harry Potter book, another website said she's the length of an ear of corn. I'm going with one inch shy of a foot :)

 

11 inches and finally a whole pound in weight.

This weekend is Kyle's 30th birthday. We're planning to go out to dinner with his parents and meeting Hannah and Whitney out for a celebratory drink. I will be the one drinking diet coke and seltzer...

The Best 8 Days of the Year

Kyle on his second birthday 1/7/84

 My favorite week of the year starts on Saturday.

For 8 whole days, Kyle will be 30 and I will be a young 29...

Merry Christmas!!

We had an awesome 4-day weekend. I'm starting to get use to the bump. However, sleeping has been painful. I thought that the sleepless nights were suppose to start AFTER the baby arrived.

22 week Bump photo

We spent time playing games and celebrating Christmas with my family this weekend. Kyle's parents came over and played an eight player version of "Oh-heck". The CD exchange was a success. All different new CDs. Some excellent mixes, The Elf soundtrack, symphony music, a few full albums, and even native American flute music. 

Kyle typically plays his boardgames with one or two small children on his lap

Sister-in-law Theresa and sister Christine

On Sunday my mom, sister and I drove up to Chicago (what a great chance to listen to all our new music) We had dinner/drinks with my cousins, Aunt Sandy, and Uncle Kevin. It is always so nice to see these guys. I really should be making the trip more than just 2 or 3 times a year!

Yesterday (Monday), my dad and Kyle started the hardwood floor installation in Ringlet's nursery. The job has been going fairly smooth. The new flooring nailer gun works wonderful, and is saving us a lot of time. We only have 6 or so rows installed, but I'm hoping the rest of the room goes just as smoothly.

This is what happens when you give a  4 year old your iPhone: