Huh. Well, I just read the Saracastic Journalists daily post, thinking it would get my creative juices flowing, but she's all depressing today, so NEVERMIND.
Yesterday...hmmm...I remember there BEING a yesterday, just not much of what I did. Oh! I know! I sat on the couch w/ my notebook on my lap and watched TV for a while. Two screens.
OH! Good Lord! Yesterday (and the day before) each felt like 2 days in one. Seriously, one of those "wait, was that this morning or yesterday that I _____?" moments. Duh. Ok, got it together now:
Yesterday we had our 3rd growth scan, and a happy little 27 week old baby was actually willing to behave and give the tech what she needed. The tech was VERY business-like. No trying to get cute profile shots, no printed-out pictures, even! *wah!* Some of these techs don't realize that A) we pregger women are hormonal and needy and B) we know how to kill a person with an ultrasound transducer in a way that would make McGuyver proud. Eh, anyway, we got no pics, but baby is fine. She was measuring a tad big - somewhere in the 28 1/2 week range. That put her in the 68th percentile for growth & development, which immediately freaked me out. I started picturing an early C-section or a hellish 30-hour labor and resulting in the episiotomy from Hell. Nope. The very sweet perinatologist said they don't even begin to worry until the baby enters the 90th percentile. Ok, so we've got some wiggle room before my child is perceived as the incredible hulk or one of those freaky giant babies they bring on Jerry Springer. Love it.
She was in the breech position, though, which 'is not unsuual' at this time, but 'could become a concern if she doesn't change position in the next 8 weeks'. Flip, baby, flip! She was head-down last month, and she moves like it's her job. I'm not worried yet. I have no clue how a 2 1/2 pound ANYTHING could poke me in the ribs so forcefully, though. Oh, and she's still doing the cervix shuffle, too. That's a sensation everyone should experience before they try to use the word "WEEEEEEIIIIIIIIIRD" with any kind of authority.
So we came home from the growth scan and chilled most of the day. Made my grandmother's recipe for Poppyseed Chicken, which we affectionately refer to as "Chicken Cracker Surprise", and then headed to *drumroll, please*
SAM'S CLUB!
We thought it was $100+ at least for a membership into the land of giant vats of mayo. Nope, $40 a year, and I highly recommend it. No, we're not a family of 8, but if you plan well and buy wisely , that place can save you MUCHO MOOLAH! Holy crap, the meat prices alone! $2-something a pound for steak!!! You just have to first make sure that it is actually cheaper than buying each item at your regular store. And never buy something unless you're sure that you'll use it up before it goes bad (if it goes bad at all.) We bought memberships and walked slowly around the whole store, just checking things out. It's a pretty darn big store. High ceiling, huge shelves, big products, cart the size of a small SUV...I felt like a 4-year old.
Then we went grocery shopping at our regular haunt, Wal-Mart. Yeah, we apparently love the Waltons. Well, they put stores near my house, what can I do?
That was pretty much Friday.
Saturday (oops, that's today, isn't it?) was a laundry day, TV & computer day, reading day, relaxing in these lovely giant soft sweatpants I got at Fashion Bug for a whopping $7 day (hey, I'll fit into them no matter how big my little baby elephant grows!) but I was feeling a tad blah and wanted out of the house. I did feel some awesomely strong jabs in the ribs after lunch. Just my right side. She leaves my left side completely alone. And Bobby got to feel them, too, which is so cool, cause it means somebody else knows I'm not crazy and imaginging these pokes and stretches from within. *Alien movie flashbacks!*
Bob suggested going to Sam's Club (again? Yes, again!) and this time pricing things so we could compare the unit prices to that of Wal-Mart and figure out exactly which products are best bought and which store. Yeah, we're that organized.
Wait, it gets better: we do a weekly 'meal planner'. In other words, we figure out what we're going to cook for each meal, breakfast-lunch-dinner, 7-days a week, ahead of time. Then we have a shopping list on the same sheet of paper, and we go through meal by meal and check off the groceries needed to make that meal. This results in very little "well we were going to have chicken but oops I forgot to buy chicken so let's go to McDonald's" and very little impulse-buying. Well we decided to switch to a MONTLY meal planner. This will help a lot when we're trying to deal with a new baby, knowing stuff far ahead of time like that. We're figuring on our usual Friday-night trips to Wal-Mart (we have a super-center, by the way, so it's a grocery store too) and a montly Saturday trip to Sam's Club. Saturdays are best because we have fewer commitments and there are ladies giving out free samples of all kinds of yumminess, I discovered today. Whole cookies! Mmmmm...sorry, pregnant-girl reared her hungry head.
So we make this month-long planner and figure out what groceries we need and which store to get them at, going to Sam's the first week of the month and stocking up on all the not-very-perishable goodies at crazy low prices we can - their medicine prices were insane, too - and then go to Wal-Mart and get the other goods. Sam's also had a very good price on diapers and, should we need it, formula. (For anyone who doesn't know, yes, breastfeeding best but sometimes it doesn't work out. I firmly resolved to avoid all the early mistakes, stay healthy, and MAKE it work...but I sometimes don't get my way. That's where formua comes in. With dollar signs attatched. )
So Monday is pasta night and Tuesday is Mexican night (I love Tuesday night already), Saturday is fish - cause you have to buy fish fresh and then use it quickly and we shop on Fridays. Is it less than spontaneous? Yes. Predictable and potentially boring? Yeah, all right. But will it help me somehow get the spit-up off my face and dinner on the table come winter? Damn straight. And most importantly, it makes us stick to a budget. I'm telling ya, want to have money for anything big? Like a car, a house, a kid, etc.? Budget now. Sock it away, baby. I'm really glad we're doing this, and doing it NOW, so we can get into the swing of things before things get hairy. It was Bob's idea, btw. I'm just the beauty behind the brains. He's awesome at planning this kind of stuff and making things run well. My smarty hubby!
But I digress. I'll close with a list of free samples obtained at Sam's Club today, as an inspirational message:
Chicken sausage w/ asparagus & mozerella inside
Nacho cheese on 2 chips
Whole chocolate chip cookie
Cherry tomatoes w/ some kind of basil-ranch dipping sauce
Dill cheese on a cracker
Pepperoni Pizza.
Ah, the power of free food.
So that was today and yesterday. Growth scan, lounging, Sam's Club w/ free food.
Viva Summer.
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