More on my New Leaf and an Ariel Update

The New Leaf
Well, I have actually started changing this week. I'm getting re-organized.

I'm back to reading blogs and now I have plans to blog weekly. They may not interest anyone else very much at this point, but I think it will be really good for me. In that same vein, I'm also working on reorganizing my weekly schedule into something more orderly. I want to plan with Jason every week, write things down, and actually do it - keeping it simple and flexible. I was inspired by SimpleMom.

I'm re-doing our monthly budget, actually got that mostly done yesterday. However, there are a few areas that really need some work (aka it looks like we don't have enough money). Well, we do actually. I just have to find it, I think.

This isn't really a new leaf, but I did get our bills for August organized and set yesterday too. It just feels good to have that out of the way.

My new plans for this week are exciting to me though. I'm trying to start a "price book" for our groceries and such. I know this is not a new idea, but it is to me. Here my inspiration came from Want What You Have. At first it sounded so overwhelming I immediately decided it wasn't for me, but now I can't stop thinking about it. I look at grocery ads and think about it, I walk through a store and think about it, I talk about it, etc. I am going to do it - if nothing else just to get it out of my head. I'm really excited about the way it will help me get organized in my shopping. My plan: reorganize my grocery list, then find prices from weekly ads and grocery stores as I shop (no extra trips) - noting regular prices and sale prices in different places. That's as far as I have gotten so far. I'm trying to do this as simply as possible so that I won't give up. I have a tendency to make things more complicated than necessary (all in the name of being thorough of course) and end up quitting before it helps. After, I get my price book going I also want to start a guide book for my house and stuff that I also found on this blog, but that is a big task for another week. To be continued...


Ariel Update
Ariel is officially 9 months old and healthy, per her pediatrician. We are still scanning for Beckwith-Wiedemann Syndrome every three months, but so far it looks like she's in the clear.

**The Details**
**I should probably back up here a little and give some more information for those who don't know about this at all. BWS is a genetic overgrowth disorder - not necessarily passed down from mom and dad, but more like it originates in your genes. We started looking for this when we realized Ariel is above the 97th percentile in weight, pretty high in height, and had a prominent tongue (translation: her tongue was out ALOT) for her first few months. BTW, her tongue is not longer prominent, but the other symptoms are still there. After some research I realized, she had some other symptoms common to BWS and so we talked to the doctor. She was also concerned and referred us to a specialist. The specialist order tests and months later we finally met with her. The tests have all come out normal. However, there is only one tests that says "yes, you have BWS" and it is only accurate 70% of the time. So, since Ariel has a lot of physical symptoms still we are going to continue making sure she doesn't have it for it a little while. That means she gets an abdominal ultrasound and bloodwork done every three months until she is about three. They are making sure she doesn't have any organ overgrowth that could lead to tumors and then cancer. If we find any abnormalities, there are drugs that can correct. Essentially - it's treatable. Further, even if kids do have BWS, most of them outgrow it by 3 years old or 8 years old and it doesn't cause any kind of developmental delays at all. Here's my disclaimer, I'm just a mom with a few doctors appointments and internet research - I am not a BWS specialist - I may have gotten some of my info off a little here. **

More about Ariel. She has recently become very clingy, especially to me. I guess we are at the right time for separation anxiety to hit. I'm not a big fan when it has been a long day and she only wants me to hold her, but when I do hold her she wants to squirm and touch everything just outside of her reach and move around CONSTANTLY. I am trying to remember this will pass though and one day all too soon she won't want me to hold her at all or at least not much. She is a great baby to hug. She is learning to crawl right now. She can't quite figure out how to move forward yet, but I feel it coming probably this week. She pulled herself up to stand using a chair yesterday for the first time. She's been holding herself in a stand and pulling up on me for weeks, but this is the first time unassisted.

She is awesome. I love my little girl so much. Sometimes, I'm amazed at how much I love her. Never expected to say this, but being a mom is the most amazing thing. I didn't get it when people said it before - thought they were just mushy and I'm not. But momdom is different from anything else in life and the feelings are completely different and wonderful. Ok...maybe I am mushy now.

See you next week. At least that's the plan!