So yeah getting to that point really quickly. I will be 37-weeks on Saturday. Whoa where did the time go? It has been thankfully and uneventful pregnancy this go round all except being elderly in the eyes of the American Medical Association hahaha. But with that comes a whole lot more appointments towards the end. I have been going for twice weekly NST tests as well as now weekly OB appointments and let me tell you between those, my daughter's basketball practices, games, her medical appointments, pets, household duties (which all are on me since hubs is never here) and a now sick son I am one tired lady. Not to mention going broke LOL.

I have an appointment on Memorial Day to be induced though, so even if he doesn't come before that (which for my scheduling I sure hope he doesn't) I only have two more weeks from this coming Monday. Now don't get me wrong I am ready now, but dang these next couple of weeks are just too jam packed with stuff I need to handle. My daughter will be leaving on a trip to Disneyland for her 8th grade field trip and that means dropping her off late at night to catch the chartered bus, then 1.5 days later I have to pick her up late at night. Then the following day go to promotion practice and later that same day to her actual promotion. This is all happening the week before my induction so he needs to stay parked ha. So you can see with all I have on my plate in addition to a husband that works out of the state, induction is the way I need to go this time and I hope it all works out. I sure hope he waits as there is no way my husband would make it back in time. Not to mention that I want a tubal now that it will be paid for by insurance, so I have to have him at a time when there is OR time for regular GYN surgeries not late on a Friday or over the weekend.

I feel confident that I am all set in what I need now. I did get a brand new jogging stroller which was delivered last week and I am excited for that. I had originally planned to get an infant frame stroller to use with his car seat, but the more I thought about the more it made sense to get one that could be used from start to finish. It is so neat and his car seat fits perfectly even though it is a different brand. I can't wait to start taking walks for more than a few minutes without pelvic pain, although the heat will make that hard for a few months regardless. I have plenty of diapers, clothes, a place for him to sleep, swing, bouncer, and plenty of bottles and formula samples in case breast feeding does not work. I am determined, however have a heart condition that may require me to go back on meds that I can't nurse while on. I am excited that a breast pump will be covered by insurance (however I'll believe it when I get one as most places that carry decent ones are out of stock because everyone and their daddy is ordering one). I have an order on hold until the week after he is born or so as that is when the company I went with should be getting more of the one I want back in. If they don't get them I will order the other brand. My only reason for preferring one over the other is the availability of parts in a local store vs. having to order them if needed.

It will be strange in the next few months that I am confident of. I will have a freshman in high school, a kindergartner  and a baby wow who would have thought?

Yeah Pinterest have you heard of it before? I had signed up a while back then after the whole hoopla over being sued over copy write infringement with photos and photographers, I deleted my account. About a month and a half ago, I recreated another account and have been spending ungodly amounts of time on there! You can find anything and everything you have ever wanted there. I have yet to pin any photos though just to be on the safe side, however as an amateur photographer myself, as long as I was given credit for the images and where they are located I would have no issues being pinned. As a matter of  fact once I start my photography site, which I plan to do at SOME point, I will invite everyone to pin my images. Anyway....back to my post.

I have found so many ideas to help me in my ever growing obsession err I mean my goals of being more and more frugal. With baby number three on the way, I am finding that I have this primal need to hoard as much of my money as possible. I have always been a saver. I guess when you grow up with not a lot, you tend, or at least I did, to want to have money saved. I can't say that I never spend money because I do, I just love to see money in my bank and have the security of knowing if something happens that I have a bit of a safety net. Today more than anytime in the past, I think we as a society need to be concerned about our own futures. I see all these posts from the older generations and Social Security ,and while I get the frustration I really do, YOU cannot depend on that being there for you. Seriously I have paid in my whole life and doubt I will see one penny. The Government will do what it wants. If it decides to do away with it there is not much that can be done. I do not feel as though it is an entitlement, however I feel like many think they are entitled to it. Does that make sense? It has never been a promise, but rather an idea, albeit one that we have no choice but to contribute to, but not a promise of getting it back. Does it stink? Hell yes it does, but it is what it is. Until we all are given the right to take that money and invest it elsewhere on our own there is noting we can do. But in the meantime, we need to be saving for ourselves and being as frugal as possible at our comfort levels.

As I said, I have always been a saver. So much so that when I have to shop without a discount of coupon it physically pains me. So I have been on a quest to find as many reasonable ways to be frugal without changing or affecting my life or that of my family members. I have been using Pinterest to help me with this. I have found tons of DIY tips and recipes for cleaning supplies, decorating, re-purposing, canning info, etc. I have been pinning like crazy so that when I have time, I can go back and check them all out at my leisure. I have however made my own laundry soap, and a few cleaning products so far and really like the job they do!

If you have never heard of the site, or want to see all I have pinned so far, check it out. I am sure there is something for everyone!

So as I have written I will be adding another child to the clan, and relatively soon at that. Which brings me to the question of how do you really prepare for this? I mean the first child it's all new, the second well you kinda figure or at least I did, that I know what I'm doing now so it will be okay. The third however and I am lost. I don't think it helps when said child was not even a thought in your brain until that lovely test pops up with two pretty pink lines ha. My children all have big gaps in age as well, so this is a big thing on my mind. My oldest will be starting high school at the end of summer, my middle will be starting kindergarten, and yep I will have a newborn as well. My daughter was my first surprise that happened while young and unmarried my son was planned but it took me finding a man, getting married, and being ready to commit to another baby. This child however was not even a thought in my mind until it was decided by a higher power that although in my mind I was done, I was not, and would be having another. It was a great shock but one that I have come to accept and even be excited about, yet very nervous about it at the same time.

I have no clue how the transition will be from two to three. It was very difficult to go from one to two because of the nine year gap and I am hoping that two to three will be okay. The issues I struggle with the most in my brain is how and I going to be able to keep up? I do the majority of all parenting alone. Not that my husband is not a good father, but his role is more the financial provider as his job has him away from home most of the time. How will I cope taking care of two children (one of whom it special needs) and a newborn. Will I ever sleep again for the next year or more? How will I help with homework for two, cook, clean,etc, and survive all the while having the majority of a the responsibility for a new little life. I can't lie I am scared and not just a little I am terrified. I tend to get a bit depressed afterwards. I don't know that it is serious enough to call PPD, but I will tell ya it's bad enough to affect how and what I do for a good while after I deliver and that is a real fear of mine as well. I do not have the choice to curl up and die. I have to keep going for the three kids that will be here with me.

Surprisingly I am not worried about money. For the first time since leaving our home, I am not freaked out about money. We are in a much better place without the constant thoughts of losing money monthly. Do I miss the house......sure don't! I miss nothing about it and that is kind of weird to me. I thought I would miss something about it, but I really don't. I think I disconnected myself from it long before we walked away. I had already come to grips with what I wanted/needed to do long before we actually did it and I think that is why. We have a place that is bigger, the neighborhood is so much better, the rent is comparable to our mortgage, and I feel secure. Isn't that what life is about? Not worrying about how much value your home is losing every month, how worried you are about the safety of your family, and feeling like you are trapped and cannot get out of a no win situation? I think so!

I am also not worried about money as I know how stinking frugal I have always been, and how much further I can and will take it!  I also left my part-time transcription position and few weeks ago. I know that it will take the longest for me to get used to not having a check again as I struggled big time with not being a financial contributor for the first three years of my son's life, I will get over it again in time. I also know what you really need for a baby and what is just really not needed. That being said there is a few things that I will not change. I will not cloth diaper. Nope I don't see that as necessary. While I am all for my environment it is not for me. I have no desire to wash dirty diapers, or spend the money to start a collection. I will continue to use disposables and get the best prices with sales and coupons. I will give it my best shot to breastfeed. My daughter would not have any part of it, and my son sadly once he got the hang of it we had two big strikes. First his intolerance to many foods and then, ultimately I had to wean because of a medication I had to be put on for my heart condition. So again, I will try my hardest but I refuse to beat myself up if it is not in the cards. Clothes, well geeze I am the queen of "popping tags" at thrift stores. Ha I rarely buy new clothes unless I can get them cheaper new than used. I cant even think of one thing I have bought new for the little one yet, and I have almost all I need for his first nine months of life so far in the way of clothing. All babies do is spit and poop on things hahahah. I bought his bouncer and swing already and yes again second hand. I am planning on using my son's convertible car seats for him as they will not expire until next year and have been well care for and never in an accident. I may get an infant car seat for a while to make it easier on me. That item will be bought new as I am leery as you never know how they were treated or if an accident occurred which would render them unsafe. I may just get a travel system as all I have left from my son is an umbrella stroller and that will not be used for a while. I will be getting my crib back from a friend, and in the meantime will use a pack and play that was bought old stock but never used!

So there you have it me and my wandering mind. I really hope the transition from two children to three is SMOOTH. I can't say easy because nothing about having children is easy, but I can at least hope for just small bumps in the road and not potholes.

I never make resolutions I do however make goals. This years goal is to get back to my frugal roots. With baby number three on the way and the loss of my two year part time income, I figured I had better get back to be cheap err frugal. I have not really lost that quality in myself, but it has been nice having my income in between the hubs checks so I am sure it will be bit of time to adjust again. I have started back up...today actually,  writing to companies of products I really use and genuinely love to ask about mailing lists for coupons. I have always used coupons, never stopped, but seriously they have become so lame for the most part with short expiration dates and having to buy multiple products in order to get the discount! I have never hesitated to write to express my displeasure in a product if it warranted it, but companies also like to hear when they are doing it right and will often reward you for making a compliment; not to mention sometimes when you have a baby on the way they may want to introduce you to their products in hopes of you becoming a regular user of said products.....so why not take a few minutes to shoot off an email.

I have also started getting back into making things rather than always purchasing them. I have made burp cloths from flannel fabric remnants, a baby wrap,  and baby blankets. I also recently made a big old batch of laundry detergent when this lady nearly had a heart attack when she discovered that she only had one bottle of detergent left and no sales had happened or were on the line-up! I am scouring the net to find good recipes for homemade household cleaners as well, so if you have any suggestion please share!

Has anyone used Market on The Move or Bountiful Baskets for produce? A friend has used MOM, but I am willing to take a change on that one as its only $10.00, however BB is quite a bit more at $30.00 so I would love to hear from anyone that has used them and what you thought of the value. I have always used our .99 Only store for produce, and while its an outstanding value, it can be rather hit or miss at times!

Well off to scour for some more recipes and patterns to make some stuff.

I can't believe that 2012 is just about over! It has been a huge year of change for me, and it will be changing even more next year. You see I am expecting little one number three! Crazy and unplanned, but things happen when you finally relax Hahah. I am officially due 6/1/13, but I am sure he yes I said he will make his appearance in late May. I just wanted to post to prove I still live! Part of 2013 goals is to get back into my blogging. In the mean time, I wish you all a safe, healthy, and prosperous New Year!!

The title says it all. The house went to auction on 8/20/12 as scheduled and as I suspected there were no bids so it reverted back to Fannie Mae. We moved into a nice rental at the end of July, the one that I posted about while waiting to hear if we were approved. My credit had plummeted pretty badly, but since hubby was not on the financing his credit was fine and we were approved. My score was still high enough that had it been only on me I would have been okay as well. It is a nice home in a quiet neighborhood that I am not afraid of my children playing in and is bigger than our home was, as well the rent is cheaper than our mortgage was. We have settled down fine and are happy in the new place. Last week was very stressful as the auction with the house and we found out we have a foundation leak here that was not apparent until we got our first water bill. The landlord is working with the owner to get quotes as I fear the whole house will need to be re-piped as it was built with Polybutylene pipes ugh. As long as they are good about paying the water bills for the portions we didn't use they can take their time, but they better hurry as the water company said next month will be about $400.00 ugh. But this is life and I cant tell you how nice it is to be on the renter side now and not have to be the one facing the repair bills.

So now begins life as renters again and this is fine with me. Home ownership was not a dream for me. Far from it. I have no problem renting indefinitely. If and when I even decide to own again I will never compromise and will get a home big enough and in an area that I can live in for the remainder of of life. It was a horrible experience and one I never wish to go through again, however I do not regret the choice I made to walk away. I have been responsible my entire life and in reality I feel like I am still being responsible in that I am putting my families well being first and not that of a nameless faceless bank.

School has started for my daughter and I am getting ready to all the commuting. School started for me as well but this semester I am taking only one online course. It will be hard getting into that groove as the last online class I took was a couple years ago. I chose to wait to start my son in school until next year. He just turned five a few weeks ago and that coupled with the fact that I am only one person and cant be in two places at once made me realize we both need another year to be successful. My daughter did not start school until she was five almost six because of her birthday so he will be fine. I am still enjoying my photography and looking forward to it cooling down here so I can get out and shoot during the week when the kids are in school! I have already bought a domain name for the future site that will hold my work and that alone makes me giddy.

There you have it an update on life. As I have said it is never easy to go through a foreclosure whether by choice or not. I felt I needed to put my story out there to help other in this situation to remember if only for a second that you are not alone and there are plenty of people who have and will go through it in their lifetimes!

It has been a bit since I sat down to write a post; it's not that I have not thought about it,but rather that I have been preoccupied. We or should I say I started packing the house slowly a couple of weeks before we left on vacation a couple of weeks ago. I  have been passively looking at homes for rent since we started our walk in January. My search really started once we got our notice of sale.....but still not really actively looking until a couple weeks ago because we wanted to wait as long as possible as to not have a ton of time that we have to keep coming back her to check on the house. We have looked at a few places two inside and another couple just doing the drive by route. I really had a hard time deciding where to look or who through. On one hand property management is "safer" in that at least if the owners of the property go into foreclosure your deposits are held in a separate account so you could get them back. On the the other hand with private sellers they are usually more lenient with credit and/or the animal situation. I contacted two property management groups in advance of checking out properties to explain our situation and received one very positive reply (long time to get back to us though) and one that made me cringe and go hmm. The one that really made we go whaatt? had all the regular stuff about credit, employment, criminal checks and all that jazz that I would expect; however because we are leaving a home due to foreclosure they wanted to come inspect our home now as part of the approval process. Now I have nothing to hide at all. We are not trashing the place nor would I even consider doing that, but this just rubbed me wrong. I mean if I were in a regular rental what would be the difference? Of all the reports I have read from those who have gone through this I have heard nothing of this. I can tell you it was enough for me to not even consider this group.I continued to looks at the two that were through private individuals but they just didn't suite us and I want to find a place to rent long-term. The one was nice from the outside (we did not look inside) as the the back yard fence was too short for what I feel is safe for my larger dog. The other sent red flags to me before I even went there as they had it listed as 2000sft when the assessors office had it at 1650. When confronted they replied "it's about 2000sft" wow I thought my math skills were bad. I did go to look anyway just to see as in reality that is about enough for us. Okay go there look around and the house had not been updated at all except for appliances, but why leave the old 60's kitchen with new appliances? Okay the powder blue bathroom, and the other daisy yellow bathroom were more exciting lol. Go outside and the backyard was lovely. That is when I notice a third sliding glass door. Oh yeah it is to a room that is off limits to renters where they keep their stuff for the house, but they would only need to access it maybe twice a year and would give us plenty of notice! Wow add all that plus the fact that they have a non-running vehicle in one of the two covered parking spaces....that apparently others have appreciated when they go out of town making the home look occupied and I passed. I am sure the look on my face said it all! Who would be okay with a home you don't have 100% access as well as giving up a parking space all for premium rent. WOW!

So as the hubby and I sat at breakfast on Thursday I started emailing some other listings through brokers and heard back right away. I did not go into to detail but rather asked about availability and pets. Two properties were managed by the same group, but one of the properties had been seen already and they were pretty sure the other people would be taking it. We opted to meet at the other that afternoon. It has the square footage we need, a garage, A/C just kinda an odd layout but it is in a nice part of town in a secluded neighborhood and will accept our pets. We filled out the applications and were very honest. The broker said if that is all that is on your report don't worry. It is so prevalent now that we can work around it, you may just have to offer to pay an extra month in advance. No issue there! So we paid the application fee as well as $100.00 to put us first on the list in case any others came to check it out before the apps are back.We got a call Friday just letting us know that the other had indeed been rented and asking us if we for sure wanted to start the application on the other (because we wanted to look at the other property as well if it fell through) we said yes and now we wait. I am so anxious. I continue to pack what I can at this moment to cut the work down for me when we really leave, but also to stay busy. It is amazing how even a few minutes of downtime can lead the mind to be filled with doubt and fear. Is the house perfect....no, but it has all we need. I want the house, we need the house, I really hope that we get the house so I can stop the constant worrying!

So there is an update on our situation. If we get it I will be sure to update, but most likely after we are moved and settled as it will be a quick think I am sure. I hope I am not jinxing myself, but I feel its important to update what is going on and what we are going through for others who may be looking for help.