Saving money

When Bob and I went through our hard times this last year, we weren't sure what to do. We weren't sure we would be able to put food on the table and stay in our home, we just weren't sure. I haven't said much about his, because still to this moment its hard to talk about and I don't want to ever have to go through it again. Before our medical insurance would cover Bob to have surgery we had to fork out money. Here my Husbands life is on the line and I couldn't imagine him not being able to have it. I dropped everything, I forked out the money I had to to save my Husband because you just couldn't put a price tag on anyone in your family. It was hard, life was rough and I didn't know how to go on. Looking back, I still wonder how we did it, but we did. We had family and friends pull together to help us out, we went two weeks after Bob got home without having to cook a meal, each night someone in our neighborhood brought over a cook meal with a dessert. It was amazing! I am still amazed by all that was done. We are so lucky in a way, because the only thing we really loss from this all is our truck and I am not sad about it. At first I was, but my Husbands life is so much more than a stupid truck. Then not long after surgery all these medical bills poured in, it was one after another after another after another and I just cried every time I seen one. We went 6 months and got a medical bill every single day. Lexi spent 2 weeks in the NICU and her bill was unbelievable. Bob spent 3 days in SICU, 24 hours on life support and 3 more day on the floor in the hospital. He had 3 chest tubes, 14 hours of surgery and a repaired heart. I still can't believe how much it costs to have surgery, I am shocked.

So during all this chaos I was looking for ways to help out my family and try and make things easier on Bob and I. I didn't want to sell my house, I love it here, I have great neighbors who have become some of my greatest friends, the kids love it and I feel safe. So a friend at work introduced me to Grocery smarts, not sure who has heard of it, but it is amazing. I would spend anywhere from $200 to $300 dollars a pay day, so almost $600 a month on just groceries, now I am spending about $100.00 or less. Its simple process and yes it takes some time and you have to go to several stores, but it is totally worth every minute spent on doing it. Plus I get twice as much as I would before and all for less. So if your interested, the website is wwww.grocerysmarts.com and the passcode is G84CRJ. It really is worth it! Its easy to figure out too, you can print coupons on line and the only other thing to do is save your coupons throughout the week. I promise you will love it, just like I do. Now Bob and I have extra money and I am not stressed about money anymore.

P.S. Also Target has coupons on their website for all that don't know and you can double your coupons there. GREAT SAVINGS!!!!

Happy Birthday Bob!!!

There are times in life when I amazed at all that has happened. but there is one thing that shocks me the most about the last year and that is what has happened with my Husband. I realized quickly that life is short, but even quicker that you should cherish everyday to the fullest. So I am proud of where we are today, we lost a lot, butthe most important thing is that we didn't lose each other. We have learned from our mistakes and we aren't, but we love each other more now than ever. Bob is still here tosee his 37th birthday and we are celebrating it together. He is a true miracle and our Heavenly Father knew it wasn't Bobs time to go. At this time last we had no clue what we were about to experience, Bob had mentioned that he felt old, but we didn't think anything of it. Well today he is turning 37, he is healthier and happier than ever and he feels great. So i am going to list out 37 things about him.

1. Bob grew up Catholic, graduated from St Josephs High School in Ogden.
2. He played basketball and soccer for them.
3. He worked at Lagoon for a long time as a prep cook.
4. He started at Citi which was not Citi at the time when he was 18 and has been here ever since then.
5. He has been married 3 times.
6. He loves things to do with computers and technology.
7. He could watch the history channel all day, oh wait he has.
8. He hates reality TV so bad.
9. He loves to mow the lawn.
10. He loves to be outdoors.
11. He has a good view of life....live it to the fullest, drive it like you stole it.
12. He is very protective of his family.
13. He loves older movies.
14. He loves to wrestle with his kids.
15. He likes carpenter jeans.
16. He has the skinniest legs I have ever seen.
17. He has two tattoos he hates and is getting removed eventually.
18. He does not like to shop unless its at Lowes.
19. He is very sensitive when talking about his little girls heart condition.
20. He has been in a motor cycle accident.
21. He loves fish.
22. He eats 2 carrots and a apple for breakfast every week day.
23. He loves a good breakfast on the weekends.
24. He is a perfectionist.
25. He does all the cooking in our house.
26. He claims to like the Green Bay Packers.
27. He has a huge heart, he will do anything for anyone.
28. He someday wants to be a chef at a restaurant where at the bottom of the menu it say "financing available".
29. He likes to camp and we hope to atleast go once this year.
30. He hates his Birthday which makes it even more fun for me.
31. He doesn't like going to the movies.
32. He loves to smoke meat.
33. He hates desserts though.
34. He loves cars and has had more cars then I can count.
35. He loves his kids unconditionally, would do anything for them.
36. He loves me and provides so much for me.
37. He is the strongest person I know, he was adopted at 3 and had open heart at 36 and well he made it!!!

Happy Birthday Bob! You have overcome the hardest year of your life and I am so proud of all you have done and accomplished. Love you with all my heart!

We are still alive!

Still tree cutting:





We are still taking down the tree....OKAY!!! Not we, but Bob and he actually has someone coming to help on Saturday to get the whole thing down. I can't wait for it to be gone, I hate the mess and I am excited to plant our own trees.

Basketball BOY:





Jaxon is all of the sudden obsessed with Basketball. He wanted a basketball and has played every single day since he got it. He loves it and can't wait to play for real.

Lexi update:





She is FINALLY feeling better, she lost 2lbs last week and I think drank maybe 2 bottles combined the whole week. She was SICK and I mean SICK! I have never in my life seen someone as sick as she was. I ended up taking her in on Friday to the doc and she had an ear infection on top of RSV. It was amazing, Saturday she started feeling so much better. She ate some dinner, drank her bottles and was smiling again.

Sickness

YES, its out luck! Lexi is sick, it started Saturday and I really thought maybe it was all related to teething, because she is cutting more teeth right now. Well Sunday she woke up having a hard time breathing, she had two blue incidents and I freaked. I wasn't sure what I should do, I was thinking it was mostly heart related, she was short of breath, having a really hard time breathing and couldn't quit coughing when she would move around. Well I went to my friends baby shower and took her with me, because after that I had plans to go to the doctor. Well she started getting worse there, so I left early and headed to McKay Dee's ER. It was a nightmare, I think everyone and their dog was there. The security guy was rude and didn't even ask me what was wrong, but all I knew is that Lexi needed to be seen and it needed to be done immediatley. After waiting for 10 mins with no one saying anything and them not even seeing who was worse than who, I left and headed to Ogden Clinic up the road with my Sister Miranda. We didn't think anything of it, I just knew she needed to be check and so did she. Well they denied us because Lexi is a heart baby and the doctor didn't think he could handle her I guess. I broke down not sure what to do, then finally her pediatrician called Miranda, they use to work together in Magna, so its nice! He said he would call the ER and make sure that she got back immediately, when we showed up the security guard was still a butthead and I wanted to punch him, but I didn't. We waited 5 minutes to finally be taken back and have her checked. THe doctor that night knows Lexi's pediatrician and had just talked to him, so I felt pretty good about the whole situation. It was weird, because all day she hadn't acted right and all the of sudden she got some energy from somewhere and was happy and smiling. Well it turns out she has RSV and its been a horrible 3 days. We got home from the ER a little before midnight and a breathing machine was dropped at my house at midnight. I haven't slept much, I have been so worried about her. They didn't hospitalize her because she was able to keep her sats up, but yesterday was probably the worse, I couldn't get her to eat and she had a really bad temp, she is just plain miserable. And of course tomorrow we go to the cardiologist. I am hoping for the best, but have myself prepared for the worse.

Our Crazy Week

Lexi learned to climb stairs, notice she didn't make it very far.





This little rug rat decided after he got a haircut to give himself another haircut, so guess what, he has no hair for the first time ever and Ashton has always had really thick curly hair, so I am scared to see how it turns out.



We added a new addition to our family, she is a Schnorgy, she is adorable, weighs less than 3 lbs and really has stole our hearts. It was a hard decision to get a puppy, but my boys need a friend and with everything that is coming up we thought this may be good for them.





Bob got a new toy and well this is what happened. He is going to cut the whole tree down, but just gave it a try right now. I can't wait until its gone, its such a huge mess in our yard all the time with the pine cones and needles from it.

Feeling optimistic and a new blog

Its been a week! I hate being stressed and I hate even more being depressed. When I get depressed I tend to have emotions about everything. Everything comes out of me and I have so many frustrations. On Tuesday shortly after I wrote my last post I contacted a heart Mom who is very experienced in the heart world. She is so sweet, she talked to me for a long time on Monday night, it sure was a relief to finally be able to talk with someone who knows how I feel and not think that I am completely insane. I am new to this whole thing, I am not sure what is bad and was isn't and I am not really all that educated on Lexi's heart condition. I just don't know, I think somewhere between Ogden Regional and Primary Childrens, things fell out and I was left out of the loop. I've been frustrated lately because all the questions I have are being answered by Lexi's pediatrician because when I went to Primarys, I didn't think things were bad, I thought it was something that would heal on its own and all would be good. Well I was wrong and I guess I learned a lesson. So I have my list of questions for the cardiologist and I plan on making my next visit and very long and educated one. Yesterday I called her cardiologist to find out what I should do about all my concerns, they didn't call back and so I called again today and was a little frustrated. I let this lady know all my frustrations and that I am worried, and I am still waiting for a phone call back. So we will see what happens, I realize her appt is less than 2 weeks away, but what if 2 weeks is too long, I just don't know.

A new blog, I have decided to make Lexi her own blog, I see all the heart Mom's have their own for their heart babies and I would like to focus more on all of my family on this blog which will be linked to Lexi's blog. So if you would like to connect to Lexi's blog, the link is http://alexiasjourney.blogspot.com/. That way I can update all my family, friends and other fellow heart Mom's on the progress and life of my little girl.

I questioned myself all day Monday and Tuesday on why God would give me a baby with special needs, but I think I found my answer. Lexi is truly a blessing, everything about her is. She makes me smile everyday, she is a happy baby, never cries, she loves her Mommy and I truly believe God knew what he was doing when he gave her to me. I feel lucky to tell the truth and although we may have a tough road ahead of us, I will learn so much and be thankful for this sweet and loving little baby girl.

Thanks to everyone for all the support, people have no clue how blessed I feel to have so many people who care and continue to watch out for us or pray for us. This is hard, I won't lie and any Mom who has went through this trial knows. I also feel good about it, I have made new friendships. Thanks Shauntelle for reassuring that miracles do happen, your little girl is a true miracle and I feel so honored to be able to talk and communicate with you.

Another doctor appt

Today we had another doctor appt and I am kind of a little worried about somethings, but lets start with the good.

Lexi is gaining weight, which is awesome. She looks good and is doing thing every 9 month baby should and a little more. Her doctor said she looks perfect on the outside. Well she is perfect in my eyes and will always be. She weights 18lbs 2oz, still not quite to 20lbs. She is finally on the charts for height, meaning before she was off of them she was so tall. And she still has a very teeny head.

So now with the worrying and I am told this is all normal for me to worry about, so I can worry away. Lexi's isn't getting any better and so now she basically has CHD (Congenital Heart Disease). Not that this wasn't what they were thinking before, but normally they give until 9 months for everything to heal. At 9 months things start to take a turn for the worse, meaning that she will start showing signs that she does have a heart disease. Hearing this makes me cringe, nothing more hurts than to think that I may have to go through exactly what I went through with Bob. My heart aches for my little princess. Has anyone else ever wished it was them instead of their child, because that is exactly how I am feeling? I want everything to be fine and to not have to worry. But everything that she does or anything that goes wrong, I automatically relate it to her having a heart problem. Like her sleeping more than she is awake, my boys NEVER did that. Or her eating habits or her running out of energy when she is playing or anything that might seem not right. The other thing that has me worried is that her pediatrician seems more concerned then her cardiologist. So now its time for questioning, do I switch her cardiologist to one who has been around awhile seems to know everything about it all or do I give this guy who is still going to school a chance? Do I sit back and wait for them to do something or press on for something to happen? I don't know what to do, I have never been in this situation. Bobs condition was so bad that we pretty much had no say in what was going to happen. The other thing is that Lexi can't talk and if she could, what would she want? I think she would want me to fight until its taken care of, I think she would everything to be done now so that she can live a normal life and so that she can't remember much of it. So how do I go about this is the question? Lexi is not getting better and she isn't too much worse, but she is worse. Its obviously not going to heal on its own. The cardiologists will wait until it becomes so bad that they have no choice but to fix it and I don't want that. So the appt on March 3rd that we thought would be a heart cath is actually going to be a sedated echo instead. I am hoping with some small miracle that the cardiologist will be on the same page with me and just want to fix her little heart and put me and my family at peace. I worry about every little thing, I am so tired of losing sleep over this, worrying about if it will be worse tomorrow or if things don't work out, I am just so tired of it. I am trying to find the strength to stay positive and focus on today, but I keep worrying about what could happen.

So if anyone cares to share the opinions on what I should do, please do, I am willing to listen to anyones advice, this is the hardest thing ever.