Category Archives: It’s A Family Affair

It's A Family Affair, It's All About Me

Family Time

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Just wanted to drop a quick note and let you know that my kids are home on Winter break from school until January 6th and I plan on enjoying as much time as I can with them and not working, although I may need to hop on the computer and blog and work here and there.

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While I am gone, please, feel free to check out the giveaways going on in the sidebar. Or if you want, check out some of my favorite posts from 2014, or any of the other suggestions below.

Also, if you really want to keep up on what is happening with us over the holidays, hop on Instagram and follow me for picture updates and see what we’re doing over winter break.

I hope we will see you in 2015 and that you’ll love everything that is coming in the new year!

Happy Holidays to all!

Anne

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It's A Family Affair

The Family That Gets Sick Together, Stays Together

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You may have noticed that things have been quiet around here the last few days and that is because the entire family has been sick.

It started with me not feeling well last Thursday and by that night, both Ellie and Peanut were throwing up all night long.  By Friday night, Zack was hit and then it pretty much took down the rest of the family.

It has not been fun.

But, we are still here.  We’ve stocked up on every Lysol product out there, have been washing our hands and doing laundry like crazy and trying to scrub down and disinfect the entire house.

Since we are having a ‘snow’ day tomorrow because of the lovely artic blast that is causing us to have temps as low as -55*F below 0 I am hoping that we can get everyone healthy and get the house back in order.

Until I return, here are a few pics to hold you over!

He's My Husband, It's A Family Affair

The Wing Eating Championship Competition

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Back in May, Alex competed in a local wing eating competition at Legend Larry’s.  When he first mentioned entering this competition I figured it would be a win/win situation.  He would be out of the house for a few hours and get to eat for free and I would be able to enjoy some quiet time at home and get some work done.

In the end, it was definitely more of a win/win situation then I thought it would be.

Here he is in the local competition.

That day, the Alex polished off 2.58lbs of medium chicken wings in 10 minutes AND he won the local competition. Winning the local competition earned him a $50 gift card to Legend Larry’s and a spot to compete at the championship competition.  

No, they didn’t really put a tiara on him, I did that for my own entertainment!

This past weekend, we packed up the family minivan and made our way to the Legend Larry’s in Sheboygan Falls for the big championship competition.

It was the Alex vs 5 other guys who had one at the other Legend Larry’s restaurants and the bars that use the LL’s sauce on their wings.  Not only did we get to make the way to Sheboygan Falls for the competition but Legend Larry’s also put us up at the beautiful Blue Harbor Resort for the night (but that’s a whole other post).

Here’s Alex competing at the championship.

Yes, he won….again!

This time around he won $300 and gets to have his name on the giant trophy.  It was pretty amazing to watch him compete and even though he didn’t win enough money for us to stop at the Sheboygan Chrysler Dealership and buy a new van, it was more than enough for us to have some fun and leave some in the bank.

All in all, we had a great time at the competition and the hotel and enjoyed getting away from home for a bit!

It's A Family Affair

Back to Being a 2 Car Family

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You may recall back in October of 2011 when we sold my beloved KIA Spectra and became a one car family.  Since then, things have REALLY changed around here.  When we sold the car, Alex was working 3rd shift and we were expecting baby #4 which also meant our family would no longer fit, as a whole, in the car.  During that time, gas prices were also outrageous and it just made more sense, financially, to only have one car.

While, since then, Alex has moved to 2nd shift, we welcomed baby #5 AND we now have a 2nd car once again (and it only cost us $1.00 plus license, title and registration).

Now that we are rocking two cars once again, I try to do whatever I can to save when it comes to vehicle maintenance, which can get very expensive.  This year, we’ve already put new tires on the van in addition to new wipers, an alignment and of course an oil change too. 

Since we are approaching fall and soon winter will arrive along with the holidays, I am pinching every penny I can and trying to stick to a strict budget.  This is when I search the internet for the best deals and I have discovered that there are great savings on car maintenance as well at many places, including Lynch Chevy of WI.  With great service specials, we will be able to prepare our vehicles for winter at a price that we can afford!

It is because of my penny pinching and budgeting during this time of year that we are able to have a great holiday season and spoil the kids with gifts!

I'm Knocked Up, It's A Family Affair

Frustration

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Frustration is going to the hospital with the Dr’s permission expecting to have your water broken and have a baby then leaving almost 8 hours later with your bag of waters still intact and no baby.

That was my day yesterday.

I woke up yesterday morning and things felt off.  I was still experiencing contractions, as usual, but these contractions were new and stronger.  

After almost 2 hours of no change in them regardless of what I was doing, we called the Dr’s office and they asked me to come in and have things checked out.

First the nurse practitioner made an attempt to check me but since I have this crazy tilted and uncooperative cervix she was havinga difficult time so she asked the other Dr at the practice to check me, since mine was out and in surgery.

The Dr determined me to be dialated 5cm and 90% thinned and felt baby was in a great position.  After talking to my Dr on the phone, it was decided that we would head to the hospital and she would most likely break my water since she was there and we could get things moving.

From there, things just went downhill for us.

We arrived at the hospital excited and ready to get things moving so we could finally meet our little guy.  

When we got up to L&D we were directed to triage because my Dr wanted to check me herself.  My Dr determined that I hadn’t made any change from the previous week and left me in triage to be observed and rechecked in 2 hours.

2 hours came and went and I was checked by a labor nurse who said I was now dialated to 4cm.  Yay, we had made progress, this was a good thing!  Then I was checked again by the same Dr who had checked me at my OBGYN office and she said I was definitely 5cm.  

After a call to my Dr, it was decided that we would stay in triage and see if things progressed and she would be back to check me herself after the office closed.

Shortly after 6pm my Dr arrived at the hospital to check me and she again said that I hadn’t made any change and she was sending me home with some Vicodin so I could get some rest.

Here I am, the day after, pregnant, still contracting, at home, and waiting for baby.  I have an appointment tomorrow (Thursday) for an NST and am hoping we can get some kind of plan in place since I am 39 weeks on Friday.  I have NEVER been this pregnant before and my body is not enjoying it and neither am I.

Here’s hoping our little guy decides to join us soon!