Ellis Family Update

The girls are at my sister's house right now. This is the first time we've been away from Chloe more than just a few hours and it's the first time since we had Emma six years ago that we've been away from her and it wasn't work related (aside from one night away, less than 24 hours on our 10th anniversary just a couple of months ago). Adam and I have really enjoyed getting to spend some alone time together. Now that Chloe is weaned, I think we'll do this more often, if my mom and sister can handle it. Last Friday, we met my sister and her family at Six Flags and handed the girls off. I have to admit that I've done very well and have enjoyed the break. But, some time yesterday my heart felt a little hole start to creep in and I'm longing for them. We are going to go over for my nieces first birthday tomorrow and I will be anxiously counting the hours until I meet my sister in Montgomery to get my babies. It has been nice to catch up on my blog posts and some things around the house.

I haven't taken many pictures lately. I had to send my camera into Canon for some work. But, I wanted to get caught up with the few things I did get in the last couple of weeks.

My friend Rebecca's little boy stayed with us for a week so their nanny could take a trip to the beach. Chloe just loves Mason and Emma enjoyed him too.



































His favorite toy here was the vacuum cleaner. I figured it was good training for the future, just in case Chloe keeps her affections for him :). Emma of course insisted that he played dress up so, here he is as our Dirt Devil King.


I took Mason and the girls to the library because as part of the summer reading program, they were having the "reptile and amphibian guy" do a demonstration. Now if you know me at all. You know I have a tremendous fear of snakes. I get scared of a crayon colored picture of a snake. When I was a child, I took the blankets off my bed every night before I got into bed to make sure there were no snakes. If I see a snake or a snake on TV, I'll have nightmares for days. Some have called this fear irrational. I do not consider a fear of something that is dangerous as irrational. I have many people in my life that have some sort of psychology degree. I DO NOT FEEL THE NEED TO RID MYSELF OF THIS FEAR, IRRATIONAL OR NOT. IF YOU TRY TO PUT ME INTO CONTACT WITH A SNAKE TO TRY TO "HELP" ME. YOU ARE LIKELY TO DIE. IF I DON'T DIE OF A HEART ATTACK FIRST.

But, my sweet little six year old insisted that the reptile and amphibian guy had been to her school and that he only had things like frogs and turtles and alligators. No snakes. Alligators are fine.. I realize that alligators are more dangerous than some snakes. I don't care hence the irrational part. But anyway, due to Emma's description of the show, we sat on the first row.

There were more pictures... Most of them came out clearly because I was shaking so badly.












































Did you notice his smirk in the second picture. I'm pretty sure that he sensed my uneasiness. Not that it wasn't obvious. Therefore, he decided to hold each and every snake directly over my head. Something tells me he is single and will remain that way. There was a mom sitting behind me that kept committing on how pretty the snakes were. I thought she was pretty ignorant but that didn't keep me from sitting in her lap by the time the show was over.

Emma is grounded for life. Just kidding... She still insists that she was telling the truth. I feel sure she has a career in politics somewhere in her future.

Alas, on to better things...
We found out about this lake that is only 20 minutes from our house. It has a beach and a few water slides and diving boards and it's only 5 dollars for adults and 3 for children. We were very excited about this discovery.

I wasn't going to post this picture of Adam in all of his white glory but, I'm pretty sure that the girl in the bikini was checking him out and I just couldn't resist. And by the end of the day, he had turned to a nice shade of candy apple red..


















Here is a picture of Emma with a friend she made. The kid makes friends everywhere she goes. I only wish I was as social as she.



































And last but not least, our trip to Six Flags. These pictures were copied off of facebook from Denise's account. So, sorry about the resolution. I'm quite sure
that she is making me a CD so that I can have higher res. pictures for our family yearbook ;)

















































































I will post the rest when I get them from Aunt Denise.

Blessings,
Dana

Tuesday's Tips and Tricks-- What Your Child's Teacher Wants You to Know about Kindergarten

My how the summer has flown and how surprised am I that it is already time to start getting Emma ready to go back to school.. sigh... Sending my oldest child to Kindergarten was quite a traumatic experience for me. Instead of re-hashing the emotions, if you feel so inclined, you can read about it HERE. But take my word for it, you would have thought that I was sending my oldest off to college. For those of you that are sending your little one off for the first time this year, let me say that we did survive and it was a wonderful year and Emma grew in beautiful ways. Both, in knowledge and in character. Though I'm going to miss my little delight during the days, and I'm certainly not looking forward to the horrible wake times, this year is sure to be less traumatic. One of the things that helped me survive those first days of Kindergarten was having a sister who is a Kindergarten teacher. Having her reassurance that Emma's teacher wanted her to succeed as much as I and having her share tips with me on how to help Emma succeed helped me to approach the situation with confidence. So, I was very excited when Denise very willingly agreed to do a guest post about the things she wishes the parents of her students knew about Kindergarten.. And so without further delay, I'll stop rambling on and let you hear from the expert...

When Dana first asked me to do a guest post about kindergarten for her blog, I asked myself what I would most want my kindergartener’s parents to know BEFORE their students enter my classroom. I decided there are a few things for which I would love parents to prepare both themselves and their little ones. So here goes….. Lessons I would love to give first time kindergarten parents:

First- We teach because we love children. We want your children to do their very best. Kindergarten is the foundation on which your child will build a lifetime of education, so when we tell you that your child needs to do this or that, it is generally because we love them-- just as you punish them and discipline them because you love them, we do the same. So please don’t ever think that a kindergarten teacher has “it in” for your child….your child becomes ours too and that is why we do what we do!

Having said that, I would love to give you some practical things to think about as you get your little one ready to begin their educational journey:

1. Overalls are so cute on young children but have you ever tried to buckle fifteen pairs after a bathroom break and still make it to the lunchroom on time? Please save those for the weekend. Your child’s teacher will really appreciate it.

2. Either teach your child to tie shoes or buy buckles, Velcro or slip-ons. Double knots do not last all day and shoes generally come off at nap time. This is also a time that your child’s teacher will thank you when she is not tying shoes allllll day!

3. Take your little boys to a public restroom before school starts and make sure that they know what a urinal is. Also, make sure that they know that their pants should be pulled all the way up before they approach the restroom door.

4. Practice makes perfect… practice opening chip bags, putting straws in drink boxes, and opening pudding cups. Your student will feel so powerful at lunch and snack.

5. Let your child dress themselves. I know that you feel the need to help them but they can learn how to put on their coat, sweater or jacket. I promise. Again a powerful experience for them!

6. Flip flops! Oh, flip flops! Another clothing item that is best left for the weekend. Even if they can keep them on their feet while walking down the hall in a line, flip flops become very distracting during large group rug time when they easily slip off to become toys or weapons.

7. Your child will be using scissors, pencils, glue, crayons, markers, and paper. It will be beneficial if they have experienced these supplies before entering the classroom. They will thank you for it later when they can cut and color in a straight line.

8. Finally, READ, READ, READ! Read to your child! Read with your child! Read in front of your child! Talk to your child about what they read! Talk to your child about what you read! You are your child’s first teacher! They will treasure what you treasure. Make reading and learning one of those things!

I will close just by saying that I absolutely love, love, love being a kindergarten teacher. I have met very few kindergarten teachers who do not feel the same. When your child walks into our kindergarten classroom for the first time, they become someone else’s child too! For all parents out there, I want to thank you for sharing your children with us. To date, I have one biological child and 72 that I have because God gave me the honor of being the one to help them begin their educational journey. I look forward to each school year as much as my incoming students. I look forward to adding 20 more to my family this year and I hope that each of you will have a wonderful experience this coming year!

Remember that knowledge is the only thing that no one can take from you! If you want to leave your children with a truly worthwhile gift…..give them knowledge!

There are a couple of other items I remember Denise sharing with me through the year. So, I'm going to add those here:

1. If you have a little girl that wears dresses, put shorts under them.. Do I really need to explain further?

2. The overalls, same thing applies to jewelry and hair barrettes. Try to put things on your kids that will stay on them. It interrupts valuable teaching time for the teacher to have to try to keep up with those items.

3. When your child gets in trouble, try to keep in mind that the teacher is trying to train them for the future. And, it is very difficult for a teacher to teach while someone is misbehaving. It is difficult for any parent to hear that their child has done something wrong (I have a lot of experience with this). I'm not saying that there is never a time to stand in your child's defense but, for the most part, if you place blame on the teacher, you're teaching your child to place blame also instead of taking responsibility for their actions. Emma was one of the few kids in her class that got a medal for "star behavior". I feel strongly the reason for that was because she didn't have "star behavior" in preschool and her teacher lovingly disciplined her. Not, because she had it out for her but because she believed in her. I'm so thankful that she saw some things about Emma that as parents, we were too biased to see.

4. Oh and an important one: When you send money to school for different things, ice cream, lunch, bookfair, whatever. The teacher does not have a cash register in her classroom nor the ability to make change. Either have exact change or write a check for the exact amount. Put the money for each individual purpose in individual envelopes with the purpose of the money and any other information that your child's school requires clearly stated on the envelope (name, class number etc).

I know that there are other teachers and parents with experience in this area that sometimes read here. If you have tips that can be added here, please, please, share with us!

Blessings,

Dana

Manic Monday-- Free Coffee at McDonalds

I didn't browse around for an activity for my kids today because today's activity for my girls is being at Nonna's house which is way more fun than the activities that I supply. And, my activity is playing catchup without having to worry about neglecting my sweet girls. I know, I'm the luckiest girl in the whole USA. It's the first time in six years that we haven't had either teenagers or our own children with us for more than a couple of hours and I must say, Adam and I are really enjoying our second honeymoon. But those of you that are not quite as fortunate to have a safe and fun place to send your kids so that you can get a staycation without your kiddos, McDonald's is giving away free coffee today from 7:00 a.m. - 7:00 p.m. Find out about that HERE

And if you fit into that category of people desperately needing that cup of coffee, I doubt that you have time to hang out on my blog all day but just in case, I've made up a new definition for "going postal" The post-modern definition is what mommy bloggers do when they have free time without their kiddos. They run to their blog and write posts about all the fleeting thoughts they've had in recent months. So, if you do so dare, continue on but I must warn you, there are a few soapboxes I've climbed up on.. So, read at your own risk!

Blessings,
Dana

So what if I'm a tree hugging hippie..

I was having a conversation with a friend the other day about my experience with Endometriosis. When she asked why I had never before, given her this information, the only thing I could reply was... fear.. Fear that I will be not taken seriously because I will be seen as a tree hugging hippie. And if the truth be known, a tree hugging hippie would not be the worst thing that I could be mistaken for. But, just to head off any misconceptions.. I will start by saying.. I believe in the use of antibiotics... as a last resort. I am a fan of my friend the epidural. A BIG FAN! I use cold medicine.. in moderation. I felt guilty about my ton (literal ton as in 2,000 pounds) in diaper waste that I created with each of my children. I didn't feel like cloth diapering was a realistic option since we were always on the go with Adam being a youth minister so for a while, I used recyclable diapers. It eventually became too much of a burden on our budget so I decided to make changes where it was less costly. I would like to buy all organic food but, it is not something that I can afford to do at this point in my life so I pick and choose the things that I think are most important. But, it is a personal conviction of mine that I find some sort of balance between taking care of my family's health, making wise spending decisions and taking care of God's creation that He loves so much. And yes, in my eyes, that means conserving. And why we're at it.. If you just called me a liberal... Can you please explain to me how CONSERVING can be anything but being CONSERVATIVE? I really don't care for the assumption that I'm politically liberal because I care about the environment and btw, if you look up the word "liberal" in the dictionary, you will find that using it in that way is a severe misuse of the word, thank you very much. And if you do want to know my views on politics...THEY STINK and are most often twisted around someone's pocketbook.

So, off my soapbox and back to the experience..
If you've been here before, you've no doubt heard me mention my quest to have a chemical free home. It is not possible for me to totally explain what started me down this path but, it began with the desire to not just treat the symptoms of the cause of the Endometriosis that I had been diagnosed with that doctors said had most likely left me infertile (read that story HERE) but, to discover the cause of the Endometriosis. In my research, I discovered that the occurrences of Endometriosis has risen by 50% in the last 25 years. Because of a book I read, "What your Doctor May Not Tell You about Pre-menopause", I became pretty convinced that this rise was due to hormone imbalances due to exposure of chemicals that women have encountered through what we breathe, eat, and absorb through our skin. Yes, that was the shocker to me that chemicals could be ingested through my skin. If you are having trouble sleeping, if you are suddenly having skin problems, if you have painful periods, if you're periods are irregular, if you are having serious problems with PMS, or any other issues that could be hormone related., I highly recommend this book. It answered so many questions about what was going on with my body. Anyway, to make a long story short, after following the recommendations that Dr. John Lee gave in this book, I have two healthy children and very regular, pain free cycles, something that had never happened prior to obtaining this information. Not only did I become convinced that these hormone imbalances were the cause of female problems but also certain types of cancers.

When I was pregnant with Chloe, I saw a news broadcast about a frightening study that had been done on infants in where it was found that in infants under eight months old that had baby products used on them (lotions, shampoos, etc), those infants had four times the level of chemicals in their blood as the babies who had not had these products used on them. You can read about that HERE. Fortunately, I have a strong
adversion to certain scents and have never used much of these products anyway, but, after hearing this information, I made a concerted effort to buy chemical free products for my children.

So, with that information and so much more, I have decided that my best hope is the to take the information as it comes (as overwhelming as it can be) and do the best I can do. I pick the things that seem the most harmful and do what I can afford. And for the rest, I feed my children lots of foods with nutrients like antioxidants that will hopefully counter the things that I can not remove from their lives. If that makes me a tree hugging hippie, then I stand guilty.. But before you judge or criticize, please keep in mind that I and other moms like me are just trying to do the best we can to take the best possible care of our families.

Blessings,
Dana

This weeks deals and coupon match ups

Edit: July 27, 2009: At last, Southeast Kroger's deals and matchups and also, there has been an interesting free or really cheap forum that might be helpful.


Publix
This weeks penny item is Publix jumbo franks

Walgreens

CVS

Rite Aid


And for others that I know out of our area..

Food World

Kroger Texas Region

Shaw's

Winn Dixie


Let me know if there is another store you'd like to see added. If I can find it, I'll post it.

Blessings,
Dana

Coupons coming out in Sunday's paper

Click on the link to see the coupons that will be in the paper tomorrow, Sunday July 26 The listing is from someone in Virginia but I usually get the same ones in my paper.

CVS 101

If you want to jump on board the coupon wagon, you have to know about CVS. CVS is where the best deals are had. Since the first of the year, I have saved $1056 at CVS with only spending around $60. And, I am just a casual couponer. There are others way more serious about it than I.

The coming week would would be a great week to get started with CVS Extra Bucks deals. They are having a sale on Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday only that has many school supply items that will be free with Extra Bucks. You can find the deals starting tomorrow by clicking HERE.

Here is an example of one of this weeks deals.



My goal here is to give you a brief overview on how to get started without overloading you. We shall see! It does become quite overwhelming .


First, get your CVS ExtraCare card.






You can sign up online but, you'll have to wait to get your card through the mail. If you want to start with this weeks deals, just go in the store, tell the cashier that you want to sign up for an Extra Care Card. It will only take a few minutes and your card will be ready to use immediately.


next, earn EB (Extrabucks)


How do I earn Extra Bucks Rewards?

* Earn 2% back with every purchase in-store and online at CVS.com.
* Earn 1 Extra Buck for every 2 prescriptions purchased in-store and
online at CVS.com.

How do I get my Extra Bucks Rewards?

* Every 3 months your Extra Bucks will print on your store register receipt, or
visit CVS.com to print your Extra Bucks.
* Spend your Extra Bucks at any CVS/pharmacy or online at CVS.com the next time
you shop!


But, the big savings are found by getting EB trhough the weekly and monthly promotions. You can find the weekly circulars at www.iheartcvs.com.
EB are earned through promotions, such as “Buy XX, receive $YY in eb.” The EB print at the end of your receipt on the trip that you buy the qualifying items - clip them and keep them as carefully as you would cash.

♥ The required amount to receive the eb is calculated before coupons.
♥ You do not have to buy all the products for that particular promotion in the same transaction or at the same store.
♥ eb coupons can be used to purchase nearly anything in the store. (excluding prescriptions, alcohol, tobacco, and Gift Cards)
♥ you cannot get change back when you spend your eb's. they can be entered as less than their face value (if your cashier knows how), for example if your total comes to $1.97 and you have an eb for $1.99 that you would like to use, and you don't mind losing 2 cents
♥ eb coupons expire 4 weeks from the date they are printed.



You can also get items free by combining coupons with deals.

For Example- Colgate toothpaste is 1.99 with 1.00 EB making it .99 cents. But, by combining that deal with a 1.00 off coupon, the item is free. And occasionally, you will come across a deal where toothpaste is 1.99 with 1.99 EB back and then, use a 1.00 off coupon and this my friend, is what we call a MM (or money maker).

And because of these sort of deals, the following is an overview of CVS' coupon policy.


CVS accepts manufacturer's coupons, including ip (internet printable) coupons. CVS also issues their own store-specific coupons. you can get these by email or printed out at the end of your receipt (these are referred to as CRT's - cash register tape).

Both EB and CRT coupons are linked to your CVS account, which means you cannot use them without the same CVS card that earned them. It used to be that we could share email coupons, but recently that has been changing a bit. It seems most of the item coupons (like $1 off gatorade) can still be used with any extracare card. however the $$/$$ coupons (like $3 off $15 or more purchase) will beep and the cashier will receive a message that the coupon was not issued to your card.

The CVS coupon policy allows for the use of one manufacturer and one CVS coupon on the same item. often a very good deal can be had when you combine a CVS item coupon and/or a manufacturer's coupon on an item that gives back eb's.

Hopefully, this will be enough info to start you off. The best way to really figure the system out is to just try a small purchase.

Blessings,
Dana

I'm praying for you Dana. I Can't Imagine What you're Going Through...

Those were the words that came from my Aunt Nancy in an e-mail. I think I heard an audible laugh come from myself when I read those words.. They were written in a response to an update on Chloe's heart condition. What I thought but didn't write back, was that she was the precise person that came to my mind when I thought of the one person I knew that probably did understand what I was going through. And, that my greatest fear was that I would be her, living the life that she has lived but with the inability to live it as gracefully.

I like to think that it was my age and not insensitivity that caused my lack of understanding of the severity of the situation. It never crossed my mind that Christmas was probably much different for her and I wonder now, if she wondered, (still wonders) if every Christmas she enjoys with her son would be the last. Maybe she just never allowed herself to have those thoughts. I'm not sure..

Before I explain myself, I feel the need to express that I am looking at things through an altered lens. My details may be off.. It's information that has been told to me here and there in pieces. None the less, they are the pieces that form the picture in my head. I am the youngest of 15 grandchildren. Ten on my mother's side and five on my dads. The older I get, the more I realize what a different picture that I see as opposed to the picture that my older cousins see. They remember things more clearly than I. They see a younger version of everything.. My cousins disease was old news by the time I was old enough to understand that something wasn't quite right. And honestly, they made it look like it was easy, like it wasn't a big deal.. But as I've faced things with my own children, I've asked more questions, and with every answer, I'm always amazed.

During the two week wait that we had to find out what was going on with Chloe, I thought about them a lot. I thought about the wait that my Aunt Nancy must have endured many years before and of the devastation that she must have experienced when she found out the results and I selfishly thank God that I don't know that devastation first hand because our results turned out much differently.

When my cousin Tony was three months old, he was diagnosed with Cystic Fibrosis. The prognosis was grim. In the beginning, they said that he wouldn't live past six. When he made it past six, they said twelve. I think they eventually stopped giving him a time line and just kept hoping against hopes that he would keep outliving the odds. My aunt and uncle were determined that he would live the most normal life possible. My mother recently told me a story... Tony was a very small child and weak from the disease. But, still, he wanted to play football. My mother said that she was sitting next to my Aunt Nancy at one of Tony's football games, when a much larger kid hit him hard (at least hard in a mothers eyes). My Aunt Nancy scared out of her mind stood up and said, "no, he can't do this. He's too small". My Uncle Gene took her by the hand and sternly told her to sit down, explaining that he COULD do it. And so, she sat there quietly and still. With big tears rolling down her cheeks. I remember them joking about it being time for my uncle to "beat" Tony. I didn't realize then that it was a mode of survival. My uncle had to lay him on his stomach on a regular basis to beat him on the back to loosen the mucus so that he could breath. There were many hospital stays and many medications. They pushed him to eat when he didn't want to because he felt so bad. He trained his lungs so that he could hold his breath the amount of time it took him to swim their swimming pool two and a half times. I walked beside him at a cystic fibrosis walk-a-thon when I was a teenager. I had a hard time keeping up (did I mention I ran track in college?) He beat the odds, all of them. He graduated high school with honors, got a great job, married a wonderful woman that handles his disease like God made her for that, and adopted a beautiful little boy.

As in true character of the disease, Tony's condition has continued to worsen. His hospital stays have become longer and the complications have been greater. He eventually got bad enough to be put on a list for a lung transplant. The condition has to be extremely severe for a person to even be considered for a transplant, for the benefits of the transplant to outweigh the risks of the surgery. That has been a painful process as well. First the decision to have the transplant and then, the wait, and many false calls. When I was visiting my family in Alabama a month or so ago, they had one of those false runs. Tony was number two on the list. The person in front of him needed both lungs and a heart. If the heart wasn't good, Tony would get the lungs so with every donor that came in, they prepped Tony too. Just in case. The false runs were no surprise. They had been warned to expect them. But the surprise came in Tony's reaction to the false runs. I guess it wasn't that much of a surprise to those of us that know him. But there is no doubt in my mind that the nurses who provided his care have seen Jesus. I talked to my uncle after one of those false runs. After they had prepped Tony for surgery, shaving him from chin to toes, on the way back to his room to wait for the verdict, Tony stopped to pray, not for himself. But, for the guy that was number one on the list and for the family of the donor. I'm sure I no longer need to explain to you what a sweet, unselfish soul that lies behind those weak lungs. And I can't begin to explain to you the faith that I have seen their whole family exhibit through the whole ordeal(mom, dad, and sisters too), always thanking God and trusting him while waiting for his perfect timing. They have been through so much. In the middle of all the false runs, my aunt fell while she was at the hospital and broke her shoulder in four places. There have been many more hiccups along the way and still, through all the trials they've faced, they haven't taken their eyes off God. And I have no doubt that lives have been changed because of their influence.

I can think of very few other things that I could be more excited about saying more than: It looks like his perfect time has come. This afternoon, they got another call. With great hopes and guarded hearts, they headed for the hospital one more time. He was prepped once more and waited once more to find out that this time, the lungs are good. As I write this, Tony is a few hours into an eight to ten hour surgery. I don't know how many years it's been since he's breathed a breath without being in pain. But, I know one thing for sure. He will never take for granted an every day blessing that most of us never think twice about.

He still has a long road to recovery ahead of him and our family does covet your prayers tremendously. I will update as soon as we get more news.

And just one more thing.. If you aren't an organ donor, please search your heart and please remember that donated organs are always used to save someone's child.

Blessings,
Dana

EDIT: 4:30 a.m. 7/22/09-- The lungs are in and working great. Tony's wife reports already able to see a difference in his color and breathing. Thank you all for your continued prayers!

Update: 12:07 p.m. 7/22/09. Tony has been removed from the ventilator and is breathing on his own! What a blessing! Please continue for his body to accept the transplant.

Tuesday's Tips and Tricks-- Homemade dishwashing detergent and cleaning your washing machine

Lu requested a recipe for detergent for the dishwasher. I found a recipe but have not tried it. (Apparently, it comes from a person named Lorraine, whoever she is, Thanks Lorraine!) Please let us all know how it works if you try it.

Dishwasher soap is easy to make, and cost effective. I mix up a batch in an empty canister, and pour it in the dishwasher as needed.

Mix and use per dishwasher load:
1 Tablespoon Borax
1 Tablespoon Baking soda

OR

Mix equal parts Borax and Baking Soda, and add 2 Tablespoons per load. Increase proportion of soda for hard water. Use vinegar in the rinse cycle.
Lorraine

And my friend Daisy, requested a way to clean her washing machine. You can find directions for that HERE

And my friend Julie had a suggestion for Aprils problem with stains on white counters: Rub a half of a lemon on it. For some abrasiveness, dip the lemon in salt.

Please add any tips or tricks that you might know!

Blessings,

Dana

Swagbucks

Some of you may be wondering about all the talk about swagbucks. Well, swagbucks is an internet search engine powered by google. As you search, you earn swagbucks which can be traded in for merchandise and giftcards. We have some friends that bought all of their Christmas gifts with Swagbucks last year. So, sign up by clicking HERE It's free!

Click HERE for more information about what swagbucks are and how to earn them.