I always wanted to make a separate post regarding the most recent blessing God has bestowed upon us. As many of you know, we do not have maternity coverage, so we've been paying for this baby out-of-pocket the whole way. We've been blessed to find people who will work with us, give us discounts for paying up front with cash, and our insurance will often reprice the cost of various things, such as my lab work.
Anyway, when we registered the hospital where we are delivering, we did qualify for a 43% assistance discount, which gave us an estimated delivery bill of about $5300. Three and a half months ago we did start the process with them to apply for financial assistance, which took a while, but we got everything we could together, including letters from references and even the executive director of the home. The benefit of working in a job where a decent chunk of your income comes in the way of housing, utilities, and food is that on paper, you don't bring in a huge salary.
Yesterday we got our letter from them saying we had been approved for financial assistance from the for the next year, both Jonathan and I. However, we got really approved! We pay an out-of-pocket payment and then 100% of our hospital bill is covered. That out of pocket amount? $1050. And as we've already been paying on our hospital bill, we almost have that covered, and will have it done by the end of April, and after that, we are done with the big delivery bills (we finished paying the OB this week). I called them, confirmed it with them, and yep, that's all we have to pay and everything else is covered. The only thing not is the pediatrician at the hospital, but that is covered by our insurance. We were expecting maybe to see the original $5300 maybe cut in 1/3 (and best, 1/2). But nope, 100%. We're still in shock, but utterly rejoicing at this latest blessing. :-)
Saturday, March 22, 2008
It's Easter!
Well, technically Easter is tomorrow, but Happy Easter weekend to everyone! In some ways I hated being off duty this weekend; there were a couple more cool things I wanted to do with the kids, such as resurrection cookies. But the new garden project kind of took over during the last two days, and all of us, kids included have had a ball with it. The boys helped Jonathan find the stones and dig in the dirt, and the girls helped me get tomato, green pepper, herbs, zinnias, and teddy bear sunflowers into peat planters to grow for the few weeks so we can put them into the garden. In the next week or so we'll plant peas, green beans, carrots, spinach, lettuce, onions, okra, strawberries, cucumbers, yellow squash, and watermelons now that our frost season is done. Here are the garden-ready, preplanting pictures of my fantastic husband's landscaping project:
He did such a good job, and I love the walkway (it matches his other project on the other side of the backyard). He also put a gate in on the garden side so we don't have to walk behind the house every time we come outside. I love the spring - we are going to spend so much time out there this year!
We've also got new pictures of the kiddos, but I think I'll put those on a seperate post!
He did such a good job, and I love the walkway (it matches his other project on the other side of the backyard). He also put a gate in on the garden side so we don't have to walk behind the house every time we come outside. I love the spring - we are going to spend so much time out there this year!
We've also got new pictures of the kiddos, but I think I'll put those on a seperate post!
Thursday, March 20, 2008
And Still No Cigar...
We still have not found the source of the stench in the house, which makes me think it is in the walls. Yucky. And of course, it has to be right in my two most-used rooms of the house: the kitchen (and thus the pantry) and the laundry room.
*sigh*
And when I thought the week couldn't get any worse (what is worse than a dead animal rotting in the wall?), Cheyeanne came down in spots and fever yesterday. Yep, we have the chicken pox in the house. Doesn't matter that she was vaccinated against it - apparently you can still get it! No one else is showing spots yet, so I'm crossing my fingers. And yes, I did call my OB - since I had it when I was a kid, I (and Baby Rogers) are not at risk at this time.
But on a happy note, we are starting on my garden this week! :-) We got all the supplies at Lowe's yesterday and today and tomorrow, Jonathan is working on making me three raised beds for my 13 veggies that we will grow this year (and about six herbs, and marigolds, morning glories, zinneas, and sunflowers that the kids are growing). I'm so happy! I haven't had a garden in two years. Oooh, and I'm getting to start making my own compost this season, too (I prefer the brown/green layers - not nearly as smelly as some compost), so I can have truly awesome stuff for the winter garden and next spring. As we get it planted, I'll post pictures.
As I'm procrasting the dishes and laundry, I should go. Hopefully our car will come back home to us soon (she's getting a tune-up today), so I can do some Premier errands this afternoon.
*sigh*
And when I thought the week couldn't get any worse (what is worse than a dead animal rotting in the wall?), Cheyeanne came down in spots and fever yesterday. Yep, we have the chicken pox in the house. Doesn't matter that she was vaccinated against it - apparently you can still get it! No one else is showing spots yet, so I'm crossing my fingers. And yes, I did call my OB - since I had it when I was a kid, I (and Baby Rogers) are not at risk at this time.
But on a happy note, we are starting on my garden this week! :-) We got all the supplies at Lowe's yesterday and today and tomorrow, Jonathan is working on making me three raised beds for my 13 veggies that we will grow this year (and about six herbs, and marigolds, morning glories, zinneas, and sunflowers that the kids are growing). I'm so happy! I haven't had a garden in two years. Oooh, and I'm getting to start making my own compost this season, too (I prefer the brown/green layers - not nearly as smelly as some compost), so I can have truly awesome stuff for the winter garden and next spring. As we get it planted, I'll post pictures.
As I'm procrasting the dishes and laundry, I should go. Hopefully our car will come back home to us soon (she's getting a tune-up today), so I can do some Premier errands this afternoon.
Monday, March 17, 2008
It's Taking Over the House...
I'm seriously ready to call the exterminator. I can't touch the problem or even see it, but man, can I ever smell. And it is not just a bad aroma, like a dirty diaper. Over the weekend, it has grown to a full-blown knock you on your rear-end stench.
So we have looked. Everywhere.
In the cupboards. The pantry. Behind the appliances (we had a hamster who died behind the stove once when I was growing up). Under furniture. All the kid's backpacks. All the the diaper bags. Nada. NOTHING!
And the stench is getting stronger.
I'm beginning to think that it is maybe in the vents. Why? Well, there is an air duct right above the area that has the strongest aroma, but at some times of the day it is tolerable, but at others, it is awful. So our maintenance guy is going to do some looking tomorrow to see what he can find.
I hope he finds it. I think it's a dead mouse or something. But it makes my house smell awful and if DHEC were to walk in for a surprise inspection, we'd be busted. That and my pregnant nose can't stand it too much longer.
So we have looked. Everywhere.
In the cupboards. The pantry. Behind the appliances (we had a hamster who died behind the stove once when I was growing up). Under furniture. All the kid's backpacks. All the the diaper bags. Nada. NOTHING!
And the stench is getting stronger.
I'm beginning to think that it is maybe in the vents. Why? Well, there is an air duct right above the area that has the strongest aroma, but at some times of the day it is tolerable, but at others, it is awful. So our maintenance guy is going to do some looking tomorrow to see what he can find.
I hope he finds it. I think it's a dead mouse or something. But it makes my house smell awful and if DHEC were to walk in for a surprise inspection, we'd be busted. That and my pregnant nose can't stand it too much longer.
Saturday, March 15, 2008
Freedom Here We Come!!!!
Even though it's been a bit of a dreary rainy Saturday, it is happy dance day for the Rogers family!
(Why is there no smile for dancing???? If there was one, insert it here!)
Why we are grinning like idiots today goes back to our February 16th post. Today we finished our emergency savings fund and paid off four debts. Small ones, yes, but TOTALLY KILLED THEM nonetheless; the rest of our tax refund and the rebate later in the year will kill about six more.
Now we wait for Murphy to strike, I suppose! But in reality, now that we are budgeting and not overspending, Mr. Murphy can be held at bay. We are taking the car in for her 30K tuneup next week and will also be putting a bit more into the savings account for the month of August, to cover what I won't be making in July with Premier (I'm taking 1 1/2 months off for baby!). It is totally amazing to see how get our finances in order has helped in so many areas of our lives. We are shooting for the end of 2010 to be totally debt free (that includes both of our student loans), but it may take until the middle of 2011, and that will depend on Baby Rogers coming into the world. In the meantime, we are basking in... well... whatever you would call it!
Off to finish tacos for dinner, so adios!
(Why is there no smile for dancing???? If there was one, insert it here!)
Why we are grinning like idiots today goes back to our February 16th post. Today we finished our emergency savings fund and paid off four debts. Small ones, yes, but TOTALLY KILLED THEM nonetheless; the rest of our tax refund and the rebate later in the year will kill about six more.
Now we wait for Murphy to strike, I suppose! But in reality, now that we are budgeting and not overspending, Mr. Murphy can be held at bay. We are taking the car in for her 30K tuneup next week and will also be putting a bit more into the savings account for the month of August, to cover what I won't be making in July with Premier (I'm taking 1 1/2 months off for baby!). It is totally amazing to see how get our finances in order has helped in so many areas of our lives. We are shooting for the end of 2010 to be totally debt free (that includes both of our student loans), but it may take until the middle of 2011, and that will depend on Baby Rogers coming into the world. In the meantime, we are basking in... well... whatever you would call it!
Off to finish tacos for dinner, so adios!
Thursday, March 13, 2008
Pregnant Women Don't Sleep
I am learning this...
...as it is 4:30 AM and I'm blogging 'cause I'm stinking tired of tossing and turning in bed. *sigh* I'm definitely started to feel more pregnant - the past week or so I've started to feel stretched and swollen in my tummy, though my heartburn has been less. I'm also struggling with finding a comfortable spot - the most comfortable for me is always on my back, but I'm not supposed to sleep on my back (though I always wake up that way!). I'm always exhausted all the time, but I'm thinking I have to cut out my after lunch nap so I can sleep better at night. That and put my walk back into the schedule regularly. But no stretch marks yet, and I'm hoping they won't come! I've been regularly using baby oil twice a day (once after morning shower, and once after the much needed evening bath) as well as cocca butter. But we'll see as I get bigger!
I am proud that my eating habits have gotten better. I really struggled after Valentines Day with all the sugar the kids brought home, but after my last OB visit to see that I'd gained 10 pounds in five weeks, I started cutting out the sugar and simple carbs again. The kids get a light breakfast here (yogurt, granola bar, etc) 'cause they all get breakfast again at school, so I'm very proud that this past week I've really worked on making Jonathan and I a good healthy breakfast (including cut-up fresh fruit with a bit of yogurt mixed in - he actually likes it!). A) it keeps him from running to Chick-fil-a for breakfast, which costs money, isn't healthy, and horrible for his stomach issues, and B) without breakfast, we are usually very run down for the rest of the day. So I've enjoyed sitting down with him to eat every morning after he comes back from running carpool. The little girls get jealous (they love their "daddy", who used to be their cuddler on the couch when he got back from carpool), but they can get over it! :-) Now I just send them into our room to wake him up when they get up at seven. But anyway, here is a great breakfast sandwich recipe (it's for two):
2 bagels (or 4 slices of toast, or whatever sandwich bread you like)
3-4 eggs, scrambled with S&P
4 slices ham (I just use the lunch meat out of the fridge)
2 slices of cheese, or a small handful of shredded cheddar cheese
butter (if wanted)
While scrambling eggs, toast and butter (if wanted) bagels. Layer half of eggs, ham, and cheese on each bagel, wrap in foil, and put in the over at 350 for ten minutes. Tastes like a fast food sandwich but way better for you! I use whole wheat for mine, and they turn our great! I have served this with a fresh fruit salad (strawberries, blueberries, grapes, and a cut-up plum) that have about a tablespoon of vanilla yogurt mixed in with it. Very healthy and filling!
That's about it for now... more to come later! :-)
...as it is 4:30 AM and I'm blogging 'cause I'm stinking tired of tossing and turning in bed. *sigh* I'm definitely started to feel more pregnant - the past week or so I've started to feel stretched and swollen in my tummy, though my heartburn has been less. I'm also struggling with finding a comfortable spot - the most comfortable for me is always on my back, but I'm not supposed to sleep on my back (though I always wake up that way!). I'm always exhausted all the time, but I'm thinking I have to cut out my after lunch nap so I can sleep better at night. That and put my walk back into the schedule regularly. But no stretch marks yet, and I'm hoping they won't come! I've been regularly using baby oil twice a day (once after morning shower, and once after the much needed evening bath) as well as cocca butter. But we'll see as I get bigger!
I am proud that my eating habits have gotten better. I really struggled after Valentines Day with all the sugar the kids brought home, but after my last OB visit to see that I'd gained 10 pounds in five weeks, I started cutting out the sugar and simple carbs again. The kids get a light breakfast here (yogurt, granola bar, etc) 'cause they all get breakfast again at school, so I'm very proud that this past week I've really worked on making Jonathan and I a good healthy breakfast (including cut-up fresh fruit with a bit of yogurt mixed in - he actually likes it!). A) it keeps him from running to Chick-fil-a for breakfast, which costs money, isn't healthy, and horrible for his stomach issues, and B) without breakfast, we are usually very run down for the rest of the day. So I've enjoyed sitting down with him to eat every morning after he comes back from running carpool. The little girls get jealous (they love their "daddy", who used to be their cuddler on the couch when he got back from carpool), but they can get over it! :-) Now I just send them into our room to wake him up when they get up at seven. But anyway, here is a great breakfast sandwich recipe (it's for two):
2 bagels (or 4 slices of toast, or whatever sandwich bread you like)
3-4 eggs, scrambled with S&P
4 slices ham (I just use the lunch meat out of the fridge)
2 slices of cheese, or a small handful of shredded cheddar cheese
butter (if wanted)
While scrambling eggs, toast and butter (if wanted) bagels. Layer half of eggs, ham, and cheese on each bagel, wrap in foil, and put in the over at 350 for ten minutes. Tastes like a fast food sandwich but way better for you! I use whole wheat for mine, and they turn our great! I have served this with a fresh fruit salad (strawberries, blueberries, grapes, and a cut-up plum) that have about a tablespoon of vanilla yogurt mixed in with it. Very healthy and filling!
That's about it for now... more to come later! :-)
Sunday, March 9, 2008
So It's Been Awhile...
Okay, my deepest apologies - three weeks is a long time for an Internet hiatus from my blog. We've been having issues with our Verizon broadband card and is very spotty. It will occasionally work, and when it does, it is slower than our AOL dial-up. So we've been using dial-up from time to time, but we cannot use it too often, as it times up the phone line! So I'm writing from my MIL's and her wireless Internet hub, as this is our weekend off. So here's our update!
Calvary Home:
We still have seven kiddos in our home: Cheyeanne (2 1/2), Mikalyn (3), Jayda (3 1/2), Jaime (5), Logan (5), DJ (5 1/2), and D'ante (9). We are expecting two to be adopted this spring, and three to be reunited with their parents by the end of the school, so we will have a whole new house come this summer!
Premier Designs:
After getting a slower start back into the business before Christmas (doctors orders to take it easy) we are picking up the calendar again, which I completely and utterly love! I did not realize how much I had missed it, and though I cannot do as many shows a month as I used to before being at Calvary, I try to stay consistent with 4-6 shows a month. We also are working on building our business by building our Premier family, thus enabling us to stay in Leadership Club next year, so we'll keep you posted as we add "daughters" to our jewelry family!
Finances:
So far, so good with our total money makeover! We both are loving the cash/envelope system (we hardly spend at all!), and though we had an emergency bill 4 days into it, didn't panic as there was money in the bank to cover it. That would have been a different story six months ago! We had our taxes done this week and discovered that we have a return coming that is 3x what we had expected based on last year's return. The big write-off for us? Mileage! Moving twice, Premier Designs, and since working at Calvary, 99% of our mileage can be written-off because it is work related. So we are doing the happy dance as we will finish our emergency fund, get the needed 30K mile tune-up on the car, set money aside for the month of August (since I won't be bringing in any Premier income in July 'cause of the baby), and five and a half bills of debt gone with our return this year. Freedom here we come!!!!
Baby Rogers...
...who is teasingly being called Baby Dorcas (Jonathan's family is being obsessive about the name of the baby, so we've settled on a original, biblical name to call her in the meantime to irk them... teeheehee) is doing just fine. We are 25 weeks today! I can't believe we are in the homestretch of my second trimester and little less than four months until D-Day. I'm getting used to feeling her move more and more every day, though I'm still not totally accustom to it yet. I've started to go through the more hormonal/emotional stuff of pregnancy (a tactless comment last week made me cry in the middle of a restaurant, for example), and my taste buds and gag reflex are totally out of whack. But besides that an 24/7 heartburn, I'm truly enjoying this stage of pregnancy.
I'll end today's post with a viewing of my "belly progress" - enjoy!
Pre-pregnancy by about 3 weeks:
23 Weeks Pregnant (for some reason I look less preggo this month than last, though I think that is because at 18 weeks it was all my "pooch", and now the upper part of my stomach is starting to grow):
Calvary Home:
We still have seven kiddos in our home: Cheyeanne (2 1/2), Mikalyn (3), Jayda (3 1/2), Jaime (5), Logan (5), DJ (5 1/2), and D'ante (9). We are expecting two to be adopted this spring, and three to be reunited with their parents by the end of the school, so we will have a whole new house come this summer!
Premier Designs:
After getting a slower start back into the business before Christmas (doctors orders to take it easy) we are picking up the calendar again, which I completely and utterly love! I did not realize how much I had missed it, and though I cannot do as many shows a month as I used to before being at Calvary, I try to stay consistent with 4-6 shows a month. We also are working on building our business by building our Premier family, thus enabling us to stay in Leadership Club next year, so we'll keep you posted as we add "daughters" to our jewelry family!
Finances:
So far, so good with our total money makeover! We both are loving the cash/envelope system (we hardly spend at all!), and though we had an emergency bill 4 days into it, didn't panic as there was money in the bank to cover it. That would have been a different story six months ago! We had our taxes done this week and discovered that we have a return coming that is 3x what we had expected based on last year's return. The big write-off for us? Mileage! Moving twice, Premier Designs, and since working at Calvary, 99% of our mileage can be written-off because it is work related. So we are doing the happy dance as we will finish our emergency fund, get the needed 30K mile tune-up on the car, set money aside for the month of August (since I won't be bringing in any Premier income in July 'cause of the baby), and five and a half bills of debt gone with our return this year. Freedom here we come!!!!
Baby Rogers...
...who is teasingly being called Baby Dorcas (Jonathan's family is being obsessive about the name of the baby, so we've settled on a original, biblical name to call her in the meantime to irk them... teeheehee) is doing just fine. We are 25 weeks today! I can't believe we are in the homestretch of my second trimester and little less than four months until D-Day. I'm getting used to feeling her move more and more every day, though I'm still not totally accustom to it yet. I've started to go through the more hormonal/emotional stuff of pregnancy (a tactless comment last week made me cry in the middle of a restaurant, for example), and my taste buds and gag reflex are totally out of whack. But besides that an 24/7 heartburn, I'm truly enjoying this stage of pregnancy.
I'll end today's post with a viewing of my "belly progress" - enjoy!
Pre-pregnancy by about 3 weeks:
18 Weeks Pregnant:
23 Weeks Pregnant (for some reason I look less preggo this month than last, though I think that is because at 18 weeks it was all my "pooch", and now the upper part of my stomach is starting to grow):
Cheyeanne decided that she wanted to show off her tummy, too!
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