Great deal on diapers!

Matt and I were so good about stocking up on diapers for Levi. We didn't have to buy any diapers for him until he was around 7 months old. This time we have not been so great at stocking up. Here we are at the end of my pregnancy and we hardly have any diapers at all. So I have been searching for deals and sales to try to stock up quickly. Here are a few tips for anyone who has kids in diapers or even better would like to purchase diapers and send them to us (hint hint):

1. diapers.com - If you are a first time user to diapers.com you can usually find a discount code to get $10 off your purchase of $49 or more. Today I purchased 1 extra large box of size 2 diapers (228 diapers in the box) and 2 jumbo packs of size 3 diapers (72 diapers total) for a total of $49.97. But then I had a discount code b/c my total was over $49 and my total came down to $39.97. On top of that there is a mail in rebate of $14.97 that I will be getting. So for 300 diapers total I will be paying $25. Not a bad deal! Also, since my total was over $49 I qualified for free shipping. If you would like to do this deal you can use the discount code: melr4741 to get the $10 discount. Remember this is only for first time users and your order has to be over $49. The info for the mail in rebate can be found by clicking here. diapers.com also accepts manufacturer's coupons and does price matching from other websites. Even if the price matching is only a dollar or two...that can add up.

2. Walgreens and CVS - Usually Walgreens and CVS have deals on diapers. They aren't always the best deals out there but it is a great way to get diapers for less. You can get register rewards or extra care bucks from purchasing other products and use those to get diapers for cheap. You can also use manufacturer coupons to sweeten the deal.

3. Price matching at Target vs Walmart - If I get a weekly ad from Albertsons, for example, and they have Luvs diapers on sale then I will price match that at Target instead of Walmart. For some reason, at Target the box of size 5 diapers has more in it than the size 5 box sold at Walmart. The prices are pretty close to the same but if I can get more diapers, why not? I don't know if this same thing applies to other brands since we only use Pampers or Luvs. I also price match more at Target only b/c Target is closer than Walmart. You can also order diapers from the Walmart and Target websites. Either way, price matching along with coupons can save you money.

Those are my top 3 tips. I hope that helps anyone who may have kids in diapers. And don't forget, if you would like to send diapers our way then feel free to email me for our address. (hint hint).

These horomones are killer!

This pregnancy has been so different for me. Not necessarily in the physical way but the emotional way. When I was pregnant with Levi I was not nearly as emotional as I am this time. It seems as I am ending this pregnancy it is getting worse. I don't know if it is just b/c I am uncomfortable or what exactly. The last time, I worked up until I was 38 weeks and I don't remember at all being this way. I feel like one minute I can cry, then be happy, and then get mad and cry again. I guess it also makes a difference that this time I am taking care of Levi and before I didn't have anyone else. I ask for patience and understanding from those around me. If you have ever been pregnant and experienced something like this before then hopefully you can understand. I really am trying...I promise!

Almost done cooking!

This week I start my weekly dr's visits! That is a good thing b/c it means the end is so close. I just can't wait to have our son here with us. I am not counting on any changes though seeing as how Levi didn't come until his exact due date. I'm crossing my fingers that this baby decides to surprise us and arrive early! 5 weeks or 37 days left. I just can't believe it!

Only 7 weeks left

I am getting more and more nervous as the time draws closer for our 2nd son to arrive. I am so grateful to be a mom even with all the tiring work it requires. Matt and I are still trying to finish up the nursery. When it is complete I will post before and after pictures. For the nursery, I went with a jungle theme. I found a website that has murals that you put up yourself. I found the perfect mural and when it is finished it will be just adorable.

This pregnancy Matt and I have been careful about sharing the name that we have picked out for this baby. We have not had good luck with choosing names and telling people ahead of time. At church there were about 10 people pregnant at the same time. I wanted to make sure that everyone else had names picked out or was having a girl before we said the name we have chosen. Well, the time has come and I feel I can now say our sons name. On March 3rd, hopefully before then, we will gladly welcome:

Jaxon Riley Young

We can't wait for Jaxon to join his brother Levi. I know it will be an adjustment for Levi to not be the only child. Hopefully it will be easy though. We are excited to be a family of 4!!

Christmas is over...but it was good!

Our lights and tree are put away (they were put away on December 26th) and Christmas is over for another year! Each year it is so fun to see Levi get more into opening presents and seeing the lights on houses. Matt and I loaded up Levi and Macey and headed to my parents house for a few days. This will probably be our last Christmas at my parents house for a while. I want to finally have a Christmas in our home, which we have yet to do. We want to start our own family traditions and do our own thing this next year.

Levi woke up on Christmas morning in an ok mood. My family likes to wait until everyone is there to open presents. So we had to wait on my brother and his wife to arrive. Meanwhile, Levi's mood was quickly going down hill as it got closer to nap time. Sidenote, my parents house is very loud when we are all together and usually Levi doesn't get very good sleep while there. Levi started to open a few gifts but just got more and more mad. So half way through opening presents we had to put him down for a nap. Two hours later we resumed the opening of his presents.

Levi before the nap: This is his first look at the presents! He was very excited...at first.

Still in a good mood.

Round 1 of opening presents:

You can tell by the face that Levi is done with the whole gift thing!

Round 2:

The whole family except for Thomas. He is serving our country in Iraq.

Back row: Matt, me, Melanie, Mandy, Jessica, Tamara, Brian

Front row: Dad, Mom, Levi, Aubree, Joel

We hope that everyone had a great holiday and a happy new year!

Icky Icky!

This week has been a horrible, yucky, nasty, gross week! All 3 of us have been sick. Levi has strep and Matt and I have horrible colds. I'm trying to think of the positives and I figure that one good thing is we can all just be sick at once and get it over with. Another positive is that b/c we are sick it gives me a reason to do a good cleaning in my house. Those are the only two good things I have come up with so far.

We are slowly getting better each day. When Levi had strep a few months ago he had diarrhea at the end of the sickness. That is what we are now dealing with for him. Matt had a fever Friday night of 103 and I was at 101. I had a dr's appointment on Friday and I had to have my blood drawn. I made the mistake of holding my breath while they did that. I almost passed out so I had to stay longer at the dr's office until I was able to walk. It didn't help that I was already congested from this cold so I have no clue why I would be so dumb and hold my breath. I think Friday was our peak day of illness. It is hard for me to sleep still since I have congestion in my chest. Every breath I take is a difficult one since I am 7 1/2 months pregnant. But let's just get all the sickness done now before Christmas!

Thank you Mandie for bringing us soup, rolls, and cookies. It was all yummy! Thank you to Brian and Sam for coming over and giving Matt a blessing. We hope everyone has a Merry Christmas.

Tender moment with Levi

So it seems when one person gets sick the whole family is sick soon thereafter. Last week Matt had laryngitis and had no voice. He went the the dr and was put on some meds and he is much better now. This week Levi developed strep. Levi just had strep back in September/October so I was shocked when the dr said he had it again. To top it all off, I have developed a cough that is just about to kill me.

Yesterday Levi woke up with a temp of 104. I was scared to death. That has never happened before. Shortly after waking up Levi threw up as well. That scared me even more b/c Levi has never done that before either. I called Matt frantically and asked him to come home. When Matt arrived here at home we quickly went to Levi's dr. He is now on meds and is so much better today. Levi still isn't 100% but he has more energy than he did yesterday.

Since Levi was sick I knew it was going to be a very long day and night. We tried to put Levi down for a nap but he only slept for maybe 30-45 minutes. When he woke up he was cranky, of course. I cuddled up with Levi on the couch and we laid there for another 30 minutes or so. Levi was laying beside me with his head rested on my chest and I could just feel every breath he took. I haven't had a moment like that with Levi pretty much since he started walking. Shortly after that I moved into our bedroom. We snuggled more in bed and I loved it. I was so happy to know that Levi felt safe and comforted by me. It brought tears to my eyes to know how much Levi really does love me. He has just recently learned how to give kisses but still doesn't give them all the time. It is those moments that I cherish and treasure when he knows his mommy and daddy love him and will protect him. I am so thankful that we have a beautiful son that loves us and knows that he can rely on us to make things better.