When Austin was David's size

I couldn't help but share these pictures of Austin when he was wearing these clothes the first time. The great thing about having two boys is that we are getting to use our baby clothes twice. The seasons are working out perfectly.

how sweet!

goof

hi!

the curiosity at this age is universal

who doesn't love a good swing?

Summer 2008

It's fun re-living this toddler stage with David. They may have different personalities, but in a lot of ways, kids are the same. Now I just need to start taking more pictures of David! One thing about the second kid is that you never take as many pictures as with the first. I'll try to post recent pictures in my next post, I promise :)

Are we home yet?

Joseph and I have lived in Louisville for six years now. We were married for six months before Joseph started seminary, and during that time we lived in a little house in rural West Tennessee. I was finishing up my bachelor's degree and working part-time at the campus library, and Joseph was working at Lifeway and serving on staff at a church as a youth pastor. Looking back, those six months seem like such a short time compared to the six years we have spent in Louisville. I kind of forget about them, actually.

Our families are in TN. We both grew up in TN, went to college in TN and were married in TN. We lived in our first home together in TN. But we have lived in KY for most of our adult lives. The question is- Are we home yet? Has Kentucky become our new "home" or do we still consider TN to be home?

I'm really not sure.

Our boys have been born and raised in Kentuckiana (Kentucky/Indiana= Kentuckiana). We are still living here even after Joseph finished seminary. We like living in Louisville, in fact. It is a neat city.... However, when we go to TN to visit our parents, we still catch ourselves telling people that "We are going home to TN for a few days." There is a special place in our hearts for our home state of Tennessee, where the grass is greener, the air is cleaner and the potholes are smaller. (Kentucky has terrible roads!)

So, the question is still out there, "Are we home yet?" Only time will tell.

One Big Sick Family

There  has been a little cold swimming around our home this past week, and a few days ago, I caught it. It had already bitten Austin's hook, who gave it to David (who was already suffering from teething congestion, mind you). I started feeling bad the beginning of the week, and it has only gone downhill since then :(

It's been a long time since I was really sick, probably since about the time I had David. It is no good for the momma to get sick because she still has to cook dinner and wash the dishes, not to mention washing the laundry and taking care of sick children.

I took the boys to the doctor yesterday after David woke up with a 102.5 degree temperature under his arm (which is like 103.5 in the mouth). He has an ear infection, so I started him on an antibiotic. Austin has had a cough, which turned out to be just a virus (no strep, thankfully!).

Side note: So I don't forget, Austin is holding steady at 34 pounds, and David was 23 lb 7 oz.

I remember a few years ago when Austin was about 2 1/2 and he had several bouts of strep throat. I made a video about it, and you can view it on my old blog.

One more thing, remind me to never take Benadryl during the day. I don't know which is worse- being miserable with a cold or being hungover on cold medicine (while taking two sick boys to the doctor's office). I think I'll stick with my hot peppermint tea. That seems to be providing me with some relief.

Summer Reading Wrap-up (Books 91-100+)

We have officially finished our summer reading goal of 100 new books by the end of the summer. Here are some of our latest reads:

Backyard Bug Battle by Scott Nickel, illustrated by Andy J. Smith (a "graphic novel" aka comic book- Who knew? I would have thought a graphic novel would be something like a dirty romance novel.)

Something Might Happen by Helen Lester, illustrated by Lynn Munsinger (cute fiction book about a worried lemur)

Dogzilla by Dav Pilkey (We have read this at least ten times. Austin loves this ridiculous Godzilla knockoff.)

Jazzy in the Jungle by Lucy Cousins (a hide and seek adventure about two lemurs)

Giant Shark: Megalodon, Prehistoric Super Predator (You've got to say MEG-uh-lo-don with a dramatic emphasis for the full effect :) by Caroline Arnold, illustrated by Laurie Caple (non-fiction)

Hey! I'm Reading! by Betty Miles, illustrated by Sylvie Wickstrom (a book for new readers- gives hints and tips about learning to read)

Stop, Drop and Roll by Margery Cuyler, illustrated by Arthur Howard (brought about good discussion about fire safety)

Dinosaurs: Big and Small by Kathleen Weidner Zoehfeld, illustrated by Lucia Washburn (non-fiction)

A Kangaroo Joey Grows Up by Joan Hewett (non-fiction)

We also checked out three more non-fiction lemur books. Can you tell that Austin likes lemurs?

Austin has a little more than five weeks left of summer before he starts his kindergarten adventure.

Cheap Diaper Deal

Here's how I got a box of Pampers Cruisers size 4 (68 count) for $11.76. That's $0.17 per diaper, which is as good or better of a deal than off-brand diapers.

I signed up for an Amazon Mom account. It's free, and you get a free Amazon Prime membership for a certain period of time. This gets you free shipping benefits on certain items. This also allows you to participate in the Subscribe and Save feature.

Then I clipped the Pampers coupon, which was added to my Amazon account and was taken off when I checked out.

I browsed through the Pampers deals to find the size that I wanted that was on sale. There are different options, but the one that I found was on sale for $17.99 for a 68 count. Then I clicked the Subscribe and Save option at the right side, which brought my price down to $12.59.

With the Subscribe and Save feature, you are basically telling them that you want them to ship you the same product on a regular schedule like a magazine subscription. Don't worry, as soon as your product ships, you can cancel the subscription, and you won't get any future charges.

Then I followed the prompts through to the checkout, and they took my $1.50 coupon off which brought my total to $11.76, tax included. Shipping is free with Subscribe and Save, so that gives me a unit cost of $0.17.

Pretty good deal for premium diapers, I'd say.

Note: Don't forget to cancel your subscription, though.

Keep your eye out for other good diaper deals. The other day, I got a big box of Pampers Swaddlers Size 1-2 for $0.10/ diaper!