Home, Sweet Home

On November 25, 2009, I was sitting in a room at Metropolitan Title scared out of my mind. Not too sure I knew what I was doing or if I was doing the right thing. About to tell a bank that I would gladly pay them something like $150,000 over the course of the next 33 years, if they would give me money to buy a house.

Nervous with anticipation and a tinge of fear, I signed the documents that said I'd gladly make a monthly mortgage payment.

Thanks to Steve McMichael from Imagine Real Estate for cleaning up the mess of my previous realtor, and helping get our very own home!

Finally, Some Progress!

We had a follow-up visit with Dr. Mike today.

Since our last follow-up a month ago, I've been keeping a journal chronically her behavior and sleep patterns. I noticed that I was forgetting to mention a lot of things that happened in the previous 4 weeks, I was really only focusing on what had happened in the last week or so.

Of course, when it was time to leave for the appointment, I couldn't find the notebook. I haven't been able to find it since we've been home, either. However, I was able to recall some of the recurring themes in Lily's behavior and sleep patterns.

We're going to try something to help Lily's irritability and aggression. This is what gets her in trouble the most at school.

Lily also has trouble sleeping. She doesn't sleep through the night most nights. It's been this way her whole life. It she sleeps until 5am, that's a successful night.

I was doing some preliminary research on "irritability in preschoolers". That's the exact phrase I typed in. The very first link was Sleep Apnea in Preschoolers which is what I suspect is a large part of Lily's behavior issue.

We're going to try this for 2 weeks and go back. I know it doesn't seem like it's all that great, but it feels like we're finally getting somewhere. Like we're on the right path to getting this taken care of, hopefully for good.

Saving Money on Groceries & More

A couple of people have asked how I save so much on groceries. Here it is...

Tip: Watch store ads. Sales on things like meat and produce usually run in cycles. Some stores rotate their meat sales. Stock up on sale items and enjoy them when they aren't on sale.

My favorite site to use is My Savings. It's pretty user friendly, and has the deals from Smart Source and RedPlum.

I also get coupons from store websites: Kroger, which has some that you can load directly to your Kroger Plus card, and Target, which offers Target store coupons.

I also use i heart cvs for information on upcoming sales and how to structure transactions to get the best deals. I will never pay retail for toothpaste again! Erica also authors the sites i heart wags for information on sales at Walgreens and i heart rite aid.

Note: Target lets you "stack" coupons. You can use a Target coupon and a manufacturer's coupon for extra savings on a single item.

These sites let you "load" coupons right to your store card. P&G eSAVER and Cellfire.

Shop Local is pretty new to me, but it has the ads, as well as links to coupons.

A newer thing is coupons that load onto your Smartphone. Shooger has apps for iPhone, Android, and BlackBerry.

There are some companies that have coupons that you can get on their site:
Betty Crocker
French's mustard, Frank's Red Hot
Lysol

Just when you're at your wit's end, renewal is in sight

I really don't talk a lot about what we've been dealing with, with Lily lately. Honestly, we still don't have a lot of answers. It's still a lot of trial and error. There are times when it feels like we're making a lot of progress, times when everything seems to be fine, and those moments when it feels almost impossible.

I started keeping a journal a couple of weeks ago. It's a timeline of Lily's day. When she wakes up in the middle of the night, what time she gets up in the morning, her bahavior, when she goes to bed, etc. Patterns are starting to emerge.

After some things that others have shared about their children, and the children of friends, I have a nice battery of knowledge on what I think might be something we're dealing with. Armed with that, as well as this journal of information on Lily's personal behaviors, I think that I have a strong case to present.

But, yeah, back to the "wit's end" part for now... :c)