So, I did all the things on the list I posted. I met with a second mid-wife after Deb Philips. Deb was very very nice. I need to email her and tell her so. She is so experienced and very confident in women. She was very interested in my story and was incredibly encouraging. I really liked her. There was just something missing. I don't know, it was like I just didn't feel as warm and cuddly inside as I wanted to. It doesn't make much sense, but I figured I would just meet with the lady from Birth Works and see how it would go.

So, I met with Mary Alexander at BirthWorks here in Little Rock. She was very sweet, also encouraging, confident, and experienced. Mary was also rather cautious, especially related to my previous gestational diabetes. Mary was incredibly sweet to my kids, who spent a large part of their time rummaging through her toys in the office then running through the halls and closing doors that are probably older than Jason and me put together. The office is in a really cute older home off of Markham. Mary was a good blend of nurturing and professional, coddling, and realistic. It felt right. In short, we've chosen Mary as our midwife! I have my first official appointment with her next Wednesday. Here are the coolest parts. It costs $2600 total for prenatal care and the home birth. There are extra costs for supplies, $70-80 for a list of items needed and then $150 for renting the birthing pool. I mean, that's about what we paid in copays and deductibles when we had full insurance with Addie anyway! It also includes an 8 week long natural childbirth class given by Birth Works and in a group of other couples/women who are having home births. What an awesome resource, huh? I'll talk more about what I've learned regarding midwives here in Arkansas. Just wanted to give you a quick update!

Symptoms: Tired, nauseous without puke (I just be sure and eat as soon as I feel it coming on and I'm okay), and really that is it. Oh, I have had some rather irritable bowels, but it could just be anxiety!

I know it isn't polite to just assume that your children are adorable, but sometimes it is just so plain to see! I FINALLY have my camera working. Thank you to anyone who threw a shout out up there for me. I have taken lots of pictures in the few minutes the camera works, and I was able to get them all uploaded last night. I found my extra battery and it seems to be holding a charge a lot better. So, here is a little peek. I put the rest on my facebook. These were taken at my friend Rebekah's little girl's birthday party in June. It was so much fun and this sweet series of pictures are making me think that they will be some of my very favorites when Addie Belle is grown. Here it is....

Yellow Day

Thought I'd share another tip today. You know how toddlers are incredibly messy and they have kinda awful dexterity especially when it comes to using spoons? ;) Well, Addie is no exception. There are many things she loves to eat but when it comes to breakfast she really likes yogurt and cereal of all sorts. Yogurt is often very hard for her to keep on the spoon and cereal is a pain because she spills the bowl and it falls everywhere for the dog to eat.



Solution: Mix the yogurt and the cereal! She gets extra calcium and nutritional value from the yogurt and it becomes so much easier for her to get onto the spoon. The cereal doesn't fall on the floor and the yogurt doesn't drip off the spoon. It's perfect! She loves it and eats every bite. Her face and hands are still messy, but the alternatives are much worse.







Also, I buy very few brand name food items but I do purchase Dan-o-nino yogurt by Dannon. It comes in mom and kid friendly small servings, is sweetened with real sugar instead of high fructose corn syrup, is full fat for growing toddlers and my 4 year old's visible rib cage hip bones ;), has lots of yummy flavors, and it is super thick so it is perfect for the kiddos to eat without the drippy issue. It usually costs around $2 for the six pack but I often find coupons for .50 to 1.00 off and you can usually find them included in sales at Kroger. These are awesome for lunch bags too!

Eating is expensive. It just is whether you are grocery shopping, stopping for fast food, or out on the town. Food has become a luxury item, an entertainment item, a service industry rather than a basic human necessity. Since people enjoy it so much and use meals as a way to fellowship with others and for a break from the kitchen, our beautiful capitalist country has taken the opportunity to jack up the prices.

I am challenged with the issue of trying to feed the family very cheaply (under $70 a week for everything including diapers, household items, dog & cat food, etc.) and incorporate low carb meals for myself and Jason. He is doing sooo well losing weight. He's lost probably over 30lbs now and I don't want my pregnancy and change in eating habits to sabotage his progress. I am also eating lower carb and following the same diet I did during the last months of my pregnancy when I tested positive for gestational diabetes. This also requires low carb, high protein, high fiber, and low fat. AAAhh! So, I'm going to try and share some recipes and ideas to help folks who may be in a similar predicament.

Tonight's Meal- Red Beans & Rice (Rice Optional)

Ingredients
1lb red beans (or light kidney beans...different stores call them varying things)
1/2 lb smoked turkey sausage cut into 1/4" slices (I only have to use half the package so I can get two meals out of a $2 package of meat!)
1 tsp onion powder
3 tsp Tony Cachere's Cajun Seasoning
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground thyme
1 bay leaf
1/2 tsp ground red pepper
1 cup brown rice
Louisiana Sauce as needed

Wash your beans and check for rocks. I know this seems silly, but I find at least one tiny rock half the time. It would not be fun to bite into that and the kiddos could totally choke or break a tooth, so I'm super paranoid about it now.

Place beans in a crockpot and top with all seasonings
Put in 10 pieces or so of your smoked turkey sausage
Top with 5 cups of water and stir well

Cook on low for 6-7 hours then add the rest of the sausage about an hour before serving. (This is to keep your sausage from getting cooked down and having very little flavor)
Add salt and Louisiana Hot Sauce to taste. * I take out a few servings for the kids then kick the pot up with some more red pepper and a few shots of Louisiana! If you LOVE Popeye's style Red Beans and Rice I have another tip. Take a potato masher and mush up your beans to your desire consistency. This thickens your beans and creates a smoother creamy texture much like my beloved Popeye's!

Cook rice according to directions.

Nutritional Information

1 cup of Red Beans
Net Carbs (Carbs minus Fiber *note* you can safely subtract Fiber as long as there are over 3 grams in a serving) - 34 grams
Fiber - 10 grams
Calories - 190
Fat - 5.5 grams
Protein- 16 grams

1/4 cup of brown rice
Carbs - 11 grams
Fiber - 1 gram
Calories - 54
Fat - 0 grams
Protein - 1 gram

I separated these because Jason won't eat the rice and I can have 1/4 cup and stay under my 45 carb allotment for dinner. The kids can have more rice if they want. This is a meal that can be altered for everyone's dietary needs.

Best Part - Total cost (not including spices) Estimated $2.69
Beans - 1.19
Turkey Sausage (only used half) - 2.00/2 = 1.00
Rice (only used 1/4 of the box)- 2.00/4 = .50

Hope you enjoy! It's tasty, a great fall meal, cheap, and meets everyone's nutritional needs, AND it's a crockpot meal so it takes no time to prep!

Having children may seem like old hat to some, especially those on their third child. Not us! We are pregnant! Second pregnancy, third child. We are pregnant and excited, anxious, grateful, surprised, a bit terrified, amazed at God's grace and provision, and happy. These emotions all depend on the time of day or way of the wind! So, my blog may be taken over for awhile with this new adventure of ours. Jason and I will look over at the kids sometimes and just turn back to one another and both of us are thinking, "Three, what ever will we do with three?! We'll be outnumbered!" :)

This adventure will show you how a middle class family manages to survive a second pregnancy, third child with no health insurance and little to no extra income. It will be a struggle but a beautiful story of God's faithfulness. It will be beautiful and I'm very excited to share it with you all.

Step 1) Praise the Lord!
Step 2) Immediately began taking my prenatal vitamins and tracking my calories and nutritional info on www.babyfit.com which is a free website by the same folks that brought us Sparkpeople! It is great.
Step 3) Started a yoga mama video to complete 3 times a week for flexibility, strength, and some peace!
Step 4 ) Applied for Medicaid after doing a pregnancy verification test at the Health Department
Step 5) Called my previous OB's office, hospital, and inquired about self-pay and sliding scale rates. Between the doctor's prenatal care and labor/delivery in the hospital this is running at about $10000.
Step 6) Looked into government options such as a new insurance programs specifically for people with pre-existing conditions. This is about $300 a month and has a similar deductible to most private insurance plans.
Step 7) Called a friend for advice on local midwives and set up consultation. This option allows for a homebirth with prenatal care through a midwife. Blood work, initial pap, and even necessary ultrasounds can completed through the Health Department for $5 per visit. The midwife charges between $2500-$3000 TOTAL. I met with Deb Phillips and she is awesome! I have an appointment next week with Mary Alexander from Birthworks.
Step 8) Tell friends and family, share the joy, and pray with a faithful heart that my God who loves me will provide for us and this miracle of life growing inside.
Step 9) BLOG! ;)

It will continue! The hat did not fit btw, sad. I accomplished some of my goals but not all last week. The yard sale was kind of a bust. More crafts have been possibly sold and I've got lots of plans for Christmas presents. I don't think I have as much time as I have plans though. ;) I need to get super organized but that likely won't happen so I think maybe I just need to get less ambitious! Too sleepy to post much more but I wanted to let folks know that I haven't disappeared. If you think of it, say a little prayer for a silly thing. I really need a new camera. My battery died again and won't hold a charge. I have taken a few pictures in the 10 seconds I get the camera to work and then it dies again. I just really don't want to have months missing out of our family pictures for the SECOND time because of this camera problem. I know it is a bit trivial, but it's just a small thing that has upset me so much over the past several months as my babies are growing and doing such fun things. Next up, Halloween, and we so need pictures! Do you know I haven't even gotten one picture of Freddie in his soccer uniform and he only has two more games? Pure crazy I say!

So, I am a few things down from yesterday. Here's what I still need to do:

1) Complete a letter and math lesson with Freddie
2) Read 2 chapters from my women's group book
3) Cut fabric for Christmas banner and trace scallops

Here's what I finished last night...THE HAT!!! It's precious and I so hope it fits the birthday boy!

Today's List
1) Complete Work work
2) Clean entire house including sweeping, mopping, dusting, taking out garbage, vacuuming, scrubbing the guest bathroom, and clearing hallway of all yard sale clutter
3) Possibly meet with my master's project committee (trying to organize three people to an afternoon meeting at the LAST minute!)
4) Cut freezer paper and print Merry Christmas font, cut out stencils, and iron to scallops, paint letters and lay out to dry
5) Read 2 more chapters from my women's group book

I can do this, but I can't keep having leftovers from the previous day. Wish me luck. I'm almost done with Work work, so that's one thing down!

Nope, I'm completely overloaded with things to do this week and what am I doing...blogging!! I have created a six page schedule/list with each day of the week and a rough schedule and goals for the day. Today's is already completely behind as I've completed nothing on the list. I seriously hope that tomorrow's plans go better and that in the next hour I can accomplish something.

Immediate Goal #1- Do the dishes, wipe down counters, sweep kitchen, clear clutter and wipe down the dining room table. DONE!!

Immediate Goal #2 - Make grocery list...didn't happen until I got to the store!

Immediate Goal #4 - Cut fabric squares for my Christmas banner and trace the scallop I've drawn -Fail


MUST DOs: DONED
Go grocery shopping with Addie while Jason takes Freddie to soccer practice.
Come home and cook dinner and clean up afterwards -Jason did it, cooked and cleaned and put away groceries. He's my hero!!


Evening Goal #1- Complete one letter lesson and one math lesson with Freddie. -Fail!

Evening Goal #2 DONE- Complete Interview Questions and Survey Questions for my master's project for approval by the Institutional Review Board which meets on THURSDAY morning! AAAAHH!


Evening Goal #3- Read 2 chapters of my women's group book before bed...it's 11:19pm so we'll see about that!

Evening Wish- Complete the hat I'm knitting for Andrea's little boy. His first birthday is in two weeks and I can't believe it!


I'll come back later and see what's been accomplished! Oh, and pat on the back to me that I did do something productive today (besides Work of course...I'll use a capital "W" to indicate the kind of work that I get paid money for!). I cleaned out a basket that's been sitting in the garage for months. This basket is now home to all of my yarn, knitting needles, accessories, in progress projects, and it looks like some sweet, organized woman with a knack of tidiness and a taste for chamomile lives here....as a very uncomfortable guest!