Crafty Moms - How do you do it?

I need advice from you crafty types. I've always had lots of hobbies: sewing, painting, book making, etc., and I'd love to get back into it. I just can't seem to find the time in my busy days full of motherhood. I know there are SO many other moms out there who are able to make a business out of their creative hobbies. The question is, how do you find the time?! I'd love to hear your suggestions and ideas!

Thirty-Four Weeks

Thirty-Three Weeks

Thirty-Two Weeks

Update on my insurance troubles.

Thanks to everyone who has called me and offered me advice on this! I ended up calling Aetna and appealing their decision to not pay for my anesthesia. The girl on the phone was very nice and understanding and helped me submit my appeal over the phone. She told me it would take 30 days to get an answer. I then called the medical billing office and explained the situation to them. The girl there was also very nice and understanding and told me that they would also appeal the decision. She told me that it wouldn't be a problem to get it covered. A couple days later I got a letter from Aetna (dated the day after my appeal!) stating that they had reversed their decision and would pay the full cost.

Hooray! That wasn't so hard...I wonder why they even made such a fuss over it in the first place if it was that easy. :P 

Samantha's First Christmas Tree

The other night we went out for a family adventure to choose Sam's very first Christmas tree! In the past Mommy and Daddy have had a fake tree, but last year it was really on it's last leg (or trunk, ha ha) so we decided that this year we would buy a real tree. We had so much fun going out tree shopping! (Sam fell asleep on the way home, so she was EXTRA excited to find a tree in her house when she woke up the next morning!

Thirty-One Weeks

Now I'm really upset.

Not only have I had serious feelings of guilt and inadequacy for not being able to give birth medication-free, but now the insurance company is saying that the bill for the epidural is not allowable and they are going to try to stick us with the $1500 bill. I could scream right now.

Seven Months

Dear Samantha,

Today you are seven months old! I am still amazed at how fast you are growing. You have become so much more like a little person in this past month. You are developing and learning so quickly!

This has been a very exciting month for you. You learned how to sit up, which was very exciting for Mommy and Daddy. You still fall over sometimes, but you are getting better and better at holding yourself up. You have been rolling over a lot now, and you are really trying hard to figure out how to crawl. You rest on your belly and push up with your arms and sometimes you even bend your knees. You haven't quite figured out how to raise your belly off the floor yet though. You know what you want to do, you just haven't been able to make it work yet. You reach out your arms for me to help pull you along for now.

You have also been using your walker a lot and you have figured out how to walk around the kitchen and living room. You really enjoy being somewhat mobile now! If I hold out my hands to you, you will walk your way over to me. You are doing really well with real walking practice, too. Mommy and Daddy hold your hands and help you walk. If you really want to go see something or someone, you will take huge steps to get there.

This month we took you on your first road trip to Colorado where you got to see Grandma and Grandpa and Aunt Joanna again, and you got to meet more of your aunts, uncles, and cousins. You LOVED being around so much family! You had a great time with the kids and you did great with other adults that you knew you could trust. This trip was also a great week of bonding time with Daddy. You seem to have learned that you can trust him more now. When there are other people around, you realize that Daddy is almost as good as Mommy. One morning while we were in bed, you were ready to get up, and out of the blue you said "Dada!" We were very surprised and Daddy was very thrilled.

On our trip you also went to visit a farm and you loved meeting the animals. The goats and the chickens were your favorite. The chickens made you laugh! You also surprised us and showed us that you can drink out of a straw now. You are so advanced! Your personality has started showing through so much since our vacation. You are a very outgoing and social baby. You love to meet new people and have FUN!

I am pretty sure it won't be long before you are crawling now. Just in these past couple of days you have been trying really hard, and you are very active in rolling and scooting yourself around. In a couple of weeks you will be going on a plane trip to Ohio to see more family, and I'm sure it's going to be very exciting. I can't wait for another wonderful month with my beautiful girl!

I love you,
Mommy

Giving up on cloth?

Lately I have been so tempted to quit cloth diapering. Not because it's too much laundry or because they are too stinky or messy. Honestly, the number one reason is because they are so dang big. Half of Sam's outfits don't fit or they look ridiculous because of all that bulk. And it looks so uncomfortable for her sometimes!

We used disposables while we were on vacation (and we already use them overnight), and it was SO easy. And all her clothes fit so well. With Amazon Mom I've been able to buy disposables for much cheaper than I had imagined I could. And the laundry detergent for the cloth dipes is so expensive.

I'm just so tempted to make the switch to disposables permanently!

Sam's First Thanksgiving

Samantha had a great first Thanksgiving! We celebrated big time by hopping in the car and making a quick little drive to Colorado. Oh, did I say quick? I meant 19 hours. Split up over 2 days. She actually did great though. She slept a lot, and only had a couple of short little tantrums. Most of the time she was content to play in her seat with Mommy or Daddy sitting next to her. She did great in the hotels we stopped at too! Once we got to Colorado Sam got her first experience with cold and snow. None of that was a big deal compared to HOW MUCH FUN she had meeting her cousins and aunts and uncles!!! Grandma and Grandpa were pretty exciting, too. On the way home, Sam had her first Vegas experience. We stopped at the M for lunch and ate at the Hash House A Go Go. She was mesmerized by all the lights and sounds of the casino. So now she can say she saw Vegas, and doesn't need to go back until she's 21. ;)

 We stopped on the way to see Sam's Great-Grandma and Great-Aunt.

 Cousins are the coolest!!!!

 Grandpas give good backrubs.

 Girl cousins forever!

Sam thoroughly enjoyed her first visit to a farm.

Thirty Weeks