Goodbye, Carousel, Hello PF Changs

We just found out a few weeks ago that the carousel at our mall is going bye-bye, so since Beets had never been on it, we all went and said our farewells to it. That is Beets enjoying her first carousel ride ever! After years of looking like a mall straight out of the projects, the mall peeps finally decided to try their hand at something called improvement....so they are adding cute sitting areas, a kid's indoor play area and restaurants like PF Changs and Cheesecake Factory (if we can believe the rumors.....humph).

Right now, both the babies are sick. :(
Beets is battling a double ear infection and bronchiolitis and is using a nebulizer for breathing treatments. She is responding very well and has THANK GOD gotten past the lethargic sleepy phase. Ruggie is feverish and coughing and wanting to rest more than usual, but he is still acting like his normal self for the most part. We're taking them both to the doc tomorrow (Beets for a follow-up and Ruggie for an initial visit). I pray to God that they both get well very quickly. I hate them being sick, as I know all mamas do.

Beets has moved on from oatmeal to bananas (which I think she found tart since she would close one eye like Popeye every time she had a taste) and sweet potatoes (which she finds quite delicious). Ruggie was more than happy to eat her leftovers (especially the bananas!). Beets has her six month appointment/immunizations in two weeks, yikes! She is growing up so quickly! At five months, she weighed 18 lbs even and is still at 27 1/4 inches long. Her and Ruggie wear the same size diaper! Oy! Beets is such a wonderful baby girl, and we feel so blessed that she is ours. She has such a great temperament and it is just BONKERS to us how much she loves her brother. I mean, he's loveable, of course, but she is just head over heels in love with him. Even when he is hitting her, he can do no wrong, I swear. It is adorable to see. The feeling is mutual, although Beets can do some wrong by playing with his favorite toys, ha! For the past couple of weeks, she has been sitting up for longer stretches of time! She falls over after a minute or two, but she is really learning how to keep herself upright by balancing her arms and torso. It's cute to see. She is busting out of her 6 month clothes and is easily fitting into the 12 month clothes we thought she wouldn't wear for a while now....uh oh!

Ruggie is getting sooooooooooooooo smart each and every day. He constantly makes us laugh with repeating what we say or what he hears and remembering the weirdest parts of his favorite movies! In Kung Fu Panda, he says "Archers!" and in Shrek 2, he says "Far, far AWAY!" He talks sooooo much and is actually responding to our questions. Full blown-out conversations are just inches away, I can feel it. He is so loving and sweet and full of pure, innocent joy. He loves to have us sit in his room and stack blocks (which he quickly topples) or crash cars (he always gives you the smaller car and he gets the big Tonka truck to demolish you).

On a more romantic note, Tuna and I are joining forces with our friends Joshie and Banana and once a month, we take care of their son and daughter and once a month, they will take care of Ruggie and Beets so we can all have a true date night. It's about time we get some alone time, that's for sure! We always talked about doing that, but now we are actually making plans for it! We took care of their children this past Friday, and everyone was so GREAT! It was easy-peezy. I just pray for their sake, that Ruggie and Beets are good for them this upcoming Friday for our date night, yikes! We considered watching Mall Cop, but I think we'll just go out and have dinner and an adult conversation....or as adult as Tuna and I can get! Or maybe we'll just go home and take a nap, haha!

On a budget note, I have started clipping coupons, much to Tuna's amusement. With inspiration from places like slickdeals.net and dealseekingmom.com, I have been clipping coupons, doing more comparison shopping and taking advantage of CVS's Extra Care Bucks and Walgreen's Register Rewards. Just the other day, I bought $11 worth of merchandise at CVS for only $2.98. I kept thinking, how am I JUST NOW starting to do this!? Anyway, my mother is proud of me as she has been a coupon clipper for decades! Now, I am an official budgeting mama!

On a career note, I just got a promotion at work! I decided to move from our IT department to do more project management work and they are making the offer to me tomorrow (although I am taking tomorrow off to take care of Ruggie and Beets, so the offer will be Tuesday, I guess, ha!). AND Tuna just got promoted to the next level in our business....the coveted Regional Vice President level! We will get our official promotion in March, but I believe we'll be getting the better pay starting in February.

We have been watching Facing The Giants at our Bible study and I want to fall on my knees, too, right now and say, "God, I am so overwhelmed." After a year of financial ups and downs and a few past months of financial freak-out, all I can say now is WE ARE BLESSED. We have the BEST son we could ever imagine, the BEST daughter in the universe....I have the most sensational husband ever....seriously, ladies, he is a catch (he CLEANS!)....we go to very inspirational and supportive church.....we have friends and family who are ALWAYS there for us.....we are all healthy.....God, I am overwhelmed with Your grace and favor. Thank You and I love You.