Tuesday, May 27, 2008

Peanut Update

9-weeks:

Your new resident is nearly an inch long — about the size of a grape — and weighs just a fraction of an ounce. She's starting to look more and more human. Her essential body parts are accounted for, though they'll go through plenty of fine-tuning in the coming months. Other changes abound: Your baby's heart finishes dividing into four chambers, and the valves start to form — as do her tiny teeth. The embryonic "tail" is completely gone. Your baby's organs, muscles, and nerves are kicking into gear. The external sex organs are there but won't be distinguishable as male or female for another few weeks.

Just got back from the beach and unfortunately, I have sun poisoning. Usually, I try to avoid going to the doctor, but I was in so much pain that I had to just give in and go. I guess I am as stubborn as my husband about sunscreen. Jayden, on the other hand, got a little pink but not burnt.

Thursday, May 22, 2008

Survey Companies

Here is a list of some of the companies that I take survey's for. I have signed up for so many that I did not have time to go through and find all of them. I will try to go back later and update. Be patient if the surveys do not come right away. It takes time, and you might not always qualify for a survey that you take.


Epoll

Clear Voice

Global Test Market

Lightspeed

Survey Spot

Brand Institute -I have received a couple surveys from them, but I have not yet qualified.

Zoom Panel

imyst -I was paid by them a while back. I took a survey. They are mostly a secret shopping company, but you might occassionally get a survey.

Partnership-Plus -This is a unique survey opportunity. You take a survey each month about the clothes that you purchased the previous month. You then earn points that you can cash in for cash or prizes. It has to be clothes that you purchased for yourself and you will need your store receipt.

Wednesday, May 21, 2008

Paid Survey

I just received a payment from another survey company, this time through paypal. I completely forgot about Esearch until they sent me $5 via paypal. I wish all of the survey companies would start offerring paypal as a method of payment instead of a check. It is much easier. Esearch sends surveys to your email account, and they only pay through paypal. If your email address that you sign up with is different from your paypal email address then you can confirm the new one. I also have a paypal debit card, which is much easier. You can link your paypal account to your bank account, so if you go over the limit in your paypal, it will be taken out of your bank account. Obviously, you cannot make a living off of surveys, but the extra cash helps. By taking a few minutes out of your day to give your opinions and get paid, how much easier could it get?

Tuesday, May 20, 2008

Freebies of the Day

Tempur-Pedic Nightime Renewal Kit

Music CD from Zantac- UPC Codes: 681421031035, 312547684101, 312547686655 (I used the first batch of numbers and mine went through)

Starbucks Coffee- Click on "Find My Perfect Coffee", answer some of the questions, and then request a sample.

Voucher for a Free Can of Mighty Dog

Hillary Clinton Bumper Sticker- If you are not a Hillary fan, please do not hold this against me. I just provide the freebies...

Dove Cream Oil Lotion

Neutrogena Oil Free Scrub

Playtex Gentle Glide

My Frugal Contribution


Jayden is crawling everywhere, and with that comes carpet burns. His legs also get cold when he rolls around the hallway where there is no carpet. I've been seeing baby leg warmers and arm warmers on the Internet but they are priced super high. I remembered that Jake had a huge drawer of socks that he never wears so I grabbed some of his longer socks, cut part of the feet out and made Jayden leg warmers. I cut the socks off where the heel would go. They are a little big around the knees, but I double them over and it works. These will work great in the winter, because little baby and toddler pants always ride up and their little legs are always exposed. Plus, he looks super adorable!

Monday, May 19, 2008

My Baby at 8 weeks

I just got this in my Inbox for my 8th week of pregnancy:

Your baby is now 5/8 of an inch long, about the size of a kidney bean. New this week: Webbed fingers and toes are poking out from your baby's hands and feet, his eyelids practically cover his eyes, breathing tubes extend from his throat to the branches of his developing lungs, and his "tail" is just about gone. His arms have lengthened, too, and his hands are now flexed at the wrist and meet over his heart. His knee joints have formed, and his feet may be long enough to meet in front of his body. In his brain, nerve cells are branching out to connect with one another, forming primitive neural pathways.

Why do they keep referring to the little peanut as "he"?? Pshhh

Anyways, we watched Juno the other day, which is an awesome movie by the way. She decides not to have an abortion because she finds out that her baby has fingernails. FINGERNAILS! How awesome is that?! If it is a little girl I would totally paint her nails right now. I keep seeing little girl clothes everywhere, which I would love to buy. But, I'm not getting my hopes up, and I would love to have another son, especially if he is as cute as Jayden.

I realized that I havn't spoken much about my pregnancy, besides the fact that I'm completely nauseous and my stomach is growing at a rapid rate. There is really not much to tell. Everyone thinks I'm having a girl this time, because my hips are getting extremely wide and I'm carrying much higher than I was with Jayden. I do feel different this time. Maybe it is because I'm not working close to 7 days a week like I was last year. If you are totally frustrated with your dead end job like I was, then you should work from home like me. I love it!

I think people are a little worried about how to approach the fact that I'm pregnant. They are not really sure if I am happy, so they do not know if they should say Congrats. Well, I will tell everyone right now that it was not planned. I mean, I'm not that insane...well maybe a little. But, in truth, it happened. We cannot change it, and we are really excited and a little scared at the same time. An added benefit is that we know what to expect and that we are more mature than we were last year. We have been through a lot, and Jake has had the biggest improvement.

I think a lot of people are also wondering when we are going to stop having kids and if we are going to continue after this one since we are so young. Well for starters, they will not tie the tubes of any woman at the age of 21, even though I never had that idea in my head. Just so everyone knows, we plan on having a large family. Jake is from a large family and I'm not, but we have both agreed that we want more than 2. Jake actually wants 5..gasp..yes I'm serious. We have a long time to have kids, and I'm sure we'll try not to have another one so quickly after this one. I just feel blessed that God gave me the opportunity to have children. My Mom could only have me, and even though I am SO thankful that I was the only child(I hate sharing), she regrets not being able to have more.

I do need to share this hilarious story with everyone: The other day Jake, Jayden, and I walked to the mailbox, which is at the commons area since we live in an apartment complex. There's this old man that lives in one of the buildings and he often talks to himself, but he always seems lonely so I always speak to him. Well he said hey and I said hello back, and then he says "where'd you gain all that weight, you weren't that big when you moved in". I wish I had been more quick to think and say something totally smart, but instead I simply said "I'm pregnant". I'm just glad I'm pregnant or I would have really had my feelings hurt :)

Happy Happy Birthday!

Momma turned a year older yesterday, and we were there to celebrate with her. The weird fact about our family is that all of the women have birthday's in May, with the exception of a boy cousin. My Grandma's is at the beginning of May, Mom's is the 18th, mine is the 29th, and my Great-Grandma's would have been at the end of the month. Of course, I'm not going to reveal how old Momma is now, but Jake lovingly referred to her as 21 the entire day, so we'll just say that. We had a cookout, as well as a Turtle Carmel Ice Cream Cake and Coconut Cake for dessert. Jayden gave Nana(Momma) a great bday present yesterday by pulling up on his own for the first time! We tried to get him to walk on his own, but as all men are, he's stubborn. :) Happy Birthday Mom!












Sunday, May 18, 2008

Freebies of the Day

When I have free time, I read several blogs. I guess you could call that 'blogstalking'? Either way, these amazing women make all of these crafty items. I have so many ideas, but I never have the time. I barely have time to brush my hair in the morning, let alone make awesome crafts for my home. The only way that I can contribute to society is to provide you with links to the awesome freebies that I sign up for. Enjoy :)


Child Safety Kit

Kidney Awareness Bracelet

Cervical Cancer Awareness Bracelet

Voucher for a FREE Bottle of Country Bob's BBQ Sauce -All areas of US except for Alaska, California, Hawaii, North Dakota, Oregon, and Vermont.

Forklift Safety Poster - I think I'm going to hang this near the trashcan, so that my husband will remember to take out the trash....

NC Sweet Potatoes Recipe Brochure

Easy Entertaining Recipe Booklet from Lindsay Olives

Wednesday, May 14, 2008

On the Farm

We helped, well mostly supervised, Nana and Poppy planting the garden. Jayden got very involved, and no, that is not chocolate on Jayden's mouth....







Tuesday, May 13, 2008

Freebies of the Day

Dove Go Fresh Deoderant

Porsche Calendar

Travelers Guide and Atlas from Best Western

Dunkin Donuts Coffee Sample (I know the survey is asking about the sample you received previously, but answer the questions in the best way possible and you will receive a sample)

Happy Belated Mother's Day

I meant to post this on Mother's Day but we got back from our trip on that day so I got side tracked. I'm not sure how old I was in this pic, but I think we were at Busch Gardens. They don't make outfits like that anymore.... but I really wish I still had that shirt :)

Happy Mother's Day!


Newest Survey Payout

I love getting things in the mail, even junkmail. I'll tell you why: I have to walk down our flight of stairs, across the parking lot all while carrying Jayden to get to the mailbox. I make it a daily routine to go to the mailbox with Jayden and then take him to our neighborhood park. He is getting extremely heavy so by the time I get to the mailbox, I expect to see something in there or it is disappointing! Anyways, I enjoy getting checks in the mail even more. I thought I would share this site with you guys since I now have proof that they do pay. American Consumer Opinion is a company that I signed up with a while back. They email you "pre-qualification" surveys to see if you qualify for upcoming surveys. Once you qualify for a survey, they then email you the information. It took a while for me to get a real survey to take from them, which I learned after reading info from other work-at-home moms that they had the same issue. Apparently, the survey companies want to make sure that you are not "spam". No, not the food, even though that is some good stuff. I mean spam as in robotic computers.

So, I completed a survey last month and I just got a $4 check from them yesterday. I would have received more if I had checked my other email account more often, but I usually have less time for surveys with little butt running around here. I have had a lot of people asking me which survey places I work for and I am going to try to compile a list to put on here soon when I get time. As I mentioned earlier, CashCrate is a great site also. I get all of my work at home leads off of WAHM. It is a site ran by a work-at-home mom and on the message board you can talk to other moms who work from home. Online surveys do take time, so do not go into thinking that it will be an easy and quick job. But, if you enjoy giving your opinion as much as I do, then you will enjoy it. I learned that if you make a separate email account for your survey sites and other work at home opportunities then the emails will be less likely to end up in the bulk folder. However, even after I opened a new email account, some of the emails did go to the bulk folder. Just add them to your address book and all will be fine!

Monday, May 12, 2008

Trip to the Mountains

Jake and I took a trip to the Great Smokey Mountains this past weekend, just the two of us. We stayed in an adorable cabin in Cherokee. If you plan on making a trip there soon, make sure you book a stay with 'Cabins in the Smokeys'. The owners are so nice and the cabins are decorated beautifully. My ancestors are actually from the reservation but it has changed greatly since I was a little girl. I was nauseated most of the time, but overall, we had a great time. You can also see in the picture how big I'm getting! :)

















Thursday, May 8, 2008

Jayfish





I've been meaning to post these, but I never found the time. Jake's Mom has a pass at the YMCA so we took Jayden swimming for the first time. He was a little scared by the large pool, and he actually liked the hot tub more. However, he did start to like the pool a little more later on.....

Funny Guys

Monday, May 5, 2008