We loved having 4 days with Becky here. Courtney got a boo boo the other day, and who did she run past? Me. Who did she run to for a kiss? Becky! Courtney just loves her Aunt Becky so much. Although on our way home from taking Becky to the airport, I asked Courtney what was her favorite activity with Becky. She said, "Chocolate!". Sorry Becky! Courtney is easily bought.We went to Colonial Williamsburg, spent a couple of days at home, and had a blast at the beach! I only put up 4 pictures; I'll let Becky have the honors of posting more on her blog. We love you Becky!

Happy Easter!

Courtney would like to thank Grandma Mitchell for her beautiful new Easter dress. Happy Easter everyone!

Mason Andrew Tartini

Our little boy is here! I figured you might his birth story interesting; I know it was wonderful (mostly) for me. I woke up around 2:30 am on Friday with what I assumed were braxton hicks contractions because that had been happening all week.
When Devin's alarm went off at 4 for work, and I realized I hadn't so much as nodded off, I started to think this could be the real deal! But I more strongly thought, "There's noway he's coming, it's his due date! No one comes ON their due date!" So I told Devin to go to work anyway. My contractions continued to come, and so my visiting teacher took me to the hospital, then took Courtney to her house. She also brought us soups, chilis, and a loaf of homemade french bread! Anyway, when I got to the hospital, I was dilated to a 6, so I thought I'd have Mason really soon. I was happy to hear the "doctor" on call was actually a midwife, and not an OB/GYN, because I'd already determined that I wanted a med free birth. Unfortunately, there were 2 or 3 nurses who were fresh into the program, and they tried my patience. And felt my rude, fiery wrath. But when I tell you I feel the urge to push, and you tell me not to push until you get the midwife, and THEN you don't get her, you just mess around on the computer, you can't blame me for the tone I choose to take. So the midwife broke my water which made the contractions much worse, but it super sped up the process. I felt 3 or 4 contractions, pushed for 4 (also, watch a natural birth sometime; I chuckled to myself as other moms screamed/sang through contractions, but I did the same exact thing!), and then I had a new little fetus on my bed!!! And yes, I did it without meds. So thank you to my sister, Lindsay, for inspiring me to do this pain free; i'll share more of my thoughts and experiences later.

Thrifty Tartinis

I have been rereading my copies of "The Tightwad Gazette" books, and I wanted to share a tightwad victory. I have read them at least 3 or 4 times, and so of course I'm not learning new information. However, when I read it, the cogs in my brain crank out thrifty ideas. Plus it fosters a frugal mindset and I see solutions to problems everywhere. For example, we chosen to live a on a very tight budget so that we can maximize savings, but our power bill was killing us! I wanted a clothes line so we could eliminate dryer use, but I didn't want to pay for the line. On Saturday, one of our neighbors finished spring cleaning and had some black, 18" lengths of plastic chain. I grabbed up a bunch, threaded them together, and hung it between our shed and our deck. I hang the clothes on hangers because then they can go directly into closets, and it saves space. I hung my first load today, and thanks to a gentle breeze, the clothes didn't even dry into stiff shingles :) The clothes dried FASTER than when I use my dryer! I must say, if I hadn't been in thrift mode, I would've passed right by that pile of plastic.

Birthday update

Courtney still tells me everyday her birthday is Sunday. Luckily, she is still fascinated with her gifts, which means we hit the right amount of toys; she wasn't over or underwhelmed! In fact, she got stamps from her grandparents, and she decided that this was an appropriate use of them:

At least she always enjoys herself. And it didn't end up on carpets or furniture.

We are now less than 2 weeks from having Mason here. I saw two instead of one because Courtney, Devin and myself were all born late so I'm keeping my hopes in check. Although I have had lots of contractions over the weekend, so I'm letting my hopes get up a little :)

Sugar Detox Revisited

I had hoped that by making my sugar resolve public, I would have motivation to stick with it. That didn't happen. In fact, my mom called me while I was finishing a candy bar to tell me she was going to join me in my quest. Oh the irony. But now that it is a competition, I'm sure I'll stick with it. Feel free to join in. Just know that the addictiveness will really mess with you on day 2 or 3. For me that was Wednesday, and it seemed like I just couldn't get enough to eat! I had lots of fruit in hopes that the natural sugar and fiber would fill me. I also felt irritable and shaky! Now if that's not a signal of something bad for you, I don't know what is! But I know now to expect it, so we'll see how it goes this time. I will try to get my blog working with comment again soon, so feel free to join in with us :)

The Ocean

First off, I fell off the sweet tooth wagon. Courtney and I polished off her b-day ice cream yesterday. Oh well, at least I now have NO sweets whatsoever in the house. You can't eat them if you don't have them :)

Secondly, we have had fabulous weather here! Last Thursday, Devin was let off work early, so we went to the beach! IT was my first time ever seeing an ocean! Courtney and I walked down and got splashed by the incoming waves. Courtney even found a couple of seashells to bring home. Then we walked along the boardwalk and ate at a tiny italian restaurant. The wind made it cold during dinner so we ate inside, but if we'd braved the patio seating we would've had an ocean view. I can hardly wait to go back with our swimsuits and really take advantage of the area! Also, because it was so unexpected, I forgot to take pictures :( Sorry