Life

So, our fridge goes out yesterday. We bought it TWO weeks ago. It was a nice fridge and it worked well for two weeks. Good price, no warranty. Of course.

Life is funny. Because two weeks ago, our car broke down. On the same day that our car broke down, I had just bought all new tires for it. I was waiting for a "good month" before we bought new tires, but the cute grandpa @ Wal-Mart convinced me to go for it- "M'aam, your tires are dangerously bald. I recommend that you don't drive the car anymore until you get new tires." Alrighty then, how can you argue with that?

It just so happens that all these random expenses come when we have to pay tuition for Jared and buy at least one book for all FIVE of his classes. Not to mention, we are still paying off Fridge #1.

Fridge #1...and moving expenses. It's not cheap moving, even if it's just across town. Ex: Gas (I think I made around 50 trips back and forth), carpet cleaning, new random items like toilet brushes and cleaning supplies, etc...

And a YEAR later, we receive a bill from the pediatrician that did check ups on Noah at the hospital saying we hadn't paid him (we swear that we have). Of course that is in addition to what we still actually do owe on the C-section and his NICU experience.

Speaking of doctors though, did I mention we are finally getting health insurance? So now we can tack on another $300 a month, starting...right now.

***The best part of all this for me though is the time I spend clipping coupons and planning trips to the store for sale items. Or the hours each month that Jared and I spend budgeting our money and going through each and every reciept- being accountable for every dime we spend. Or how the majority of my house is decorated by garage sale or ebay finds. Or how we quit going out to eat so that we could save on food expenses.***

It's a bit discouraging to feel like there is no control in your life even when you are doing your part.

This is a trial for me. But I am counting my blessings and I have a LOT of them. I'll keep those in mind as I go out and buy a new fridge this weekend!

Noah's 1st Birthday

Noah's birthday was on July 27. To celebrate, we got together with Noah's aunts, uncle, cousins, and grandparents. Be warned that I am posting a TON of pictures that will probably excite noone other than me and his Grandma Astle (well, and maybe Rick who can see how much we loved his gift to Noah) (or even Katie because she is featured with our delectable treats)!

disclaimer: Please ignore all pictures of my hair in this post. I got rained on and the humidity was killer that day!!!

I still can't believe my little baby is ONE. I love his little personality. He's so calm, laid back (gets it from his daddy), and fun!

I decided to get pseudo creative on Noah's cupcakes, so I went back to an idea that my mom did for me when I was little. Caterpillar Cupcakes! So fun to make! I enlisted Katie, my gourmet cooking friend, to create with me and we had a blast!



Noah contributed by eating the sugar bottle. Thanks buddy.



Here is the surprise gift that we got from Jared's best friend, Rick- one of his college buddies. Rick lives in Florida and surprised us by sending Noah a huge package for his birthday! He said we needed to raise Noah up right, so he sent a baseball mitt, ball, and bat, along with a really cool Sports book. lol! Thanks Rick!



The majority of the rest of the gifts were from Noah's G-ma Astle (my mom!) Noah's one lucky little boy. :)

I was trying to get a picture of the rain that ruined our pool party. We had fun anyways though.

Such a fun day! Next b-day on the docket: Mine in October, YES!!! I love BDAYS!!!

Love you Noah!!!

Baby Vogue

So, the other day, laundry was being done and I noticed Noah playing on a black sheet, waiting to be folded. He was loving it! He kept rolling over and around, then laughing. I quickly grabbed my camera, which he just stared at for a while (1st 2 pictures). But luckily, my little celebrity got used to the camera and started playing again. I joke that these are his "one year old photos" since he's never gotten any professional pictures. These are as close as we are getting for now. Next time, I'll try to remember to pull down his shirt or tuck in his diaper! :)

We're Alive and Life is Good!!!

I haven't been blogging too much lately, thanks to our recent move. However, I can say we are finally pretty much settled in our new place. THANKS to all those who helped us- we couldn't have done it without you guys. I'm posting pictures of our new house- we love it! I have a lot to catch up on- so watch for those posts throughout this week. :)