I was meant for Ramen Noodles!

What we really want to do is what we are really meant to do. When we do what we are meant to do, money comes to us, doors open for us, we feel useful, and the work we do feels like play to us. ~Julia Cameron

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I'm psychic! You think I'm kidding? Yeah, you are probably right..but I'm going to enjoy being psychic. I knew Corbin was a boy, knew my sister was having a boy, and just the other day, I told Richard we needed a new tape in the video camera practically a milli-second before it cut off...I'm totally psychic :) Anyway, while I was pregnant, Richard and I were banking money for a rainy day or "just in case I decided to stay home with the new baby". We'll say I was "psychic" or at least that's what I tell him..ha ha! Anyway, that "rainy day" has come and gone, along with some of our savings. I was told babies were expensive, but no one told me about Corbin. In recent months, he is eating us out of house and home...clocking in at practically a car payment a month just for food and meds. Thanks Corbs, you'll get my invoice when you turn 18!

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He has hit his peak recently, taking close to 34oz on some days and we are just up to two solid meals. You would think the kid was starving, but..oh how he sleeps :) I'll definitely keep paying for that one. Since his tummy is such an issue, we had put off starting him on solids until about 2-3 weeks ago. So far, so good. He had an allergic reaction to rice cereal, but loves sweet potatoes and avocado. But with the expense of his formula and his new bottom-less belly, things are a little tight. We figured during this transition to cheaper food, it would be. So to alleviate any financial stress in our house...I have made my trip to the dark side...yup, the coupon dark side. Now it is pretty stereotypical for a stay-at-home mom to cut coupons. Every new thing I take on that seems so common sense to most women has just been a new surprise to this new mom. I don't know what fantasy world I was living in..but the thrill of coupons is both fabulous and a little hilarious all at the same time. Now that I'm in this money saving state...I ask myself why I ever bought ANYTHING at full price. I'll tell you my story of how I became the "Coupon Queen" in the Bray/Shah households!

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So Corbin started eating us out of house and home..skip forward to all the mommies on Charlotte Mommies going mad over "triples". Yes, I was just as lost on it as you may be. My first thought was that I really didn't need all that cleaning crap and a bunch of condiments, so I would skip out on the whole confusing adventure. But as "triples" started and I got sucked into these women's results...I had to try it. I've been cutting coupons for a while now and had a reserve that we used twice a month when we went grocery shopping. I was stoked the first time I saved $20. Amateur! Yeah, some of these women were cutting 98% of their grocery costs...how you ask? You better believe I did! Oh yes, there is a huge strategy to coupons that had fallen on deaf ears if anyone had told me before, but if I had to eat Ramen noodles any time after I graduated from college..it would have been too soon. So off I went...to Google... to find my own method to the madness. Turns out that you can get all kinds of stuff for crazy cheap and even free...not to mention some of these women were leaving Harris Teeter with groceries and MORE money in their pocket! It's insane! So Richard and I found all the stuff we needed and I made a late night trip to Harris Teeter for my first shot at triples. Mistake number one...you don't pick which coupons you want to use..you follow the sales to determine that..duh! So I go through the store and get my coupons as I'm looking at sales and figure out that it will cost me $11 for all the stuff I had....cereal, yogart, Balmex, deodarant, etc. So she rings it up and much to my disappointment..it was $40! What the hell!! I ask why she didn't triple all my coupons...much to my surprise, I didn't research enough. The only coupons that triple are .99 or less...well that's some shit! But I did save 50% on my first trip..not bad for a rookie. And I was soooo hooked! Yes, Richard makes a weekly trip to my parents house to steal their Sunday coupons and then a stop to buy an extra paper. I clip, categorize, and file them away for the optimal time to use each one. I think I'm going to need to go get some sort of therapy, but in the past two weeks since my first shot at triples, I have saved $124 on $243 worth of stuff...so I'm pretty much averaging 50%. It's hilarious! I'm in heaven when I see a killer coupon and have had several dreams about what deals I may find. :)

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So here are the rules for any of you wanna-be Queens out there...Bi-Lo, Lowes Foods, and Harris Teeter double any coupons under .99 every day. Harris Teeter triples coupons for three days once a quarter and the trick is to use a double/triple coupon on something that is already on sale. For instance, I made my first FREE transaction the other day. I got a box of brownie mix, a box of rice, and three boxes of cereal...guess how much...they OWED ME 40 cents! WAHOO!! I, of course, called and bragged to everyone I knew. Who probably weren't as impressed as I was...I've even landed 4 boxes of toothpaste from Target for free because you can use a Target coupon and a mfg coupon on the same product...can you hear the excitement in my voice???? I know its sad, but you better believe that $123 has me laughing all the way to the bank!

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I've also recently landed a part-time, stay-at-home gig..paying a nice salary! I'll be working 12 hours a week in the office until the end of Sept and then I will be doing her books for the same amount of time from home. It's pretty sweet! A litte extra cash, something to do when Corbs is napping, and all in my PJs! This I also found on Charlotte Mommies...so this post is for you lovely ladies who are keeping me from eating Ramen noodles while my son eats "Morton's" milk :)

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I just find it so funny how you always get what you need when you need it...turns out that my new salary, after-tax, is the EXACT amount a month that we have been spending on Corbin. Someone is definitely looking out for us. The extra money I'm saving with my new passion can easily go towards putting our savings back to where it was and even give us an occasional date night while Corbin gets some much needed "Grandma" time. Most people find any financial woes to be so depressing, but the challenge makes staying home with Corbin that much sweeter. I can't imagine doing anything else and I would definitely eat Ramen noodles, three meals a day, until the day I die to get to see him all day long. Its so hard to explain how you never feel "full" off the time you have with your baby. He started saying mama and dada recently, plus he has started reaching out to you when he wants you to hold him. So, this is what I say to that....Pass me the bowl because I'm not going anywhere anytime soon :)

Don't lie..you'd say the same thing ;)

It may be that your sole purpose in life is simply to serve as a warning to others. ~Anonymous *

"I'd rather my kid be dumb and blind!" Oh yes, this I say to our pediatrician who just personally called us to check on my son. Taken out of context, this statement might make me sound like a horrible mother..well, yes it makes me sound terrible. But in the midst of the conversation..doctor laughing on the other end...it is, in fact, a mother who is completely worried and at the end of her rope with what seems to be the never ending allergy! URGH!

So under the instruction of our doctor and no excitement of my own, we attempted to switch Corbin to a new formula..slightly less expensive and contains microscopic broken down milk protein. Oh, goodie. I believe his exact words were..its time for a challenge. Little did he know how right he was. For days before this "challenge", I could not sleep, eat, or do any other necessary events you learn to go without when you become a mother. So the day we appointed as the right one arrives and our adventure begins. We had planned to make the switch over 3 weeks..slowly but surely...and just like that, my pipe dream was shot down with a new reality of...wait for it, wait for it...TWO days. You heard me..make the switch in TWO days...incase you didn't get it...TWO DAYS. We were to start with a teaspoon of the new stuff mixed in the old..double it at every bottle..to end the second day with 7oz of the "new" liquid gold. So we start. Tsp in...2 tsps...4 tsps...etc. We got through the first day without a hitch...I'm thinking this is going to be a breeze and I was clinging to that inevitable mommy worry just for the thrill of it. Second day, we've got this under control. Get to the full bottle with no problem. YAY!! So here's where the fun begins...two more full bottles in and we've got colic. I don't mean..I'm a new mommy and I think my baby's belly hurts...I mean straight up..what the f*ck happened to my happy baby. Corbin's screaming..I'm trying to talk to the GI...and Richard, formula in fist..is ready to pitch that (bleep) out the window. Moral of the story..we are still on the expensive formula. Boo!

Of course, I hit google. Google is like your best friend when you have all the time in the world and a mole hill worry, you just have to make into a mountain. Needless to say, I've been banned by my husband. So, I'm searching EVERYTHING I can possibly find on milk protein allergies because we were assured this would be "outgrown" by now. When I come across, my new enemy...DHA/ARA! Now, this could be perfectly fine, but I'm pissed and looking for something other than what we know is the issue. I think its a woman thing. Anyway, DHA/ARA, for those of you who don't know, is a manufactured fatty acid that is added to formula to make it closer to breastmilk. It's supposed to make your baby smarter and have 20/20. With an entire family of pretty blind people, glasses are in Corbin's future, so I've come to accept it. Back to the point...the first case of Neocate I gave Corbin had this acid in it..did I mention it comes from algae....no go with the Neocate at that point. We thought it was his acid reflux peaking (which is probably true), but when I bought the second case..off ebay for less than half the cost...it didn't have it and Corbin was fine. Sooo, I find this website on Google of mothers who have filed complaints against the formula people for putting this in the formula and thier babies don't tolerate. Yup, one sounded JUST like Corbin.

“My son has been having serious problems with formulas that contain DHA/ARA. From the time he was 2 weeks old he was on formula that contained DHA/ARA and from the time he went on this he became extremely gassy and fussy. He would scream at each bottle. Under the doctor’s advice we tried him on the hypoallergenic formula and he still had the problems. We were on the verge of putting him on medication for reflux when I decided to try a formula that does not contain DHA/ARA and I now have a new baby. He is content and eating without pain. I completely believe that the DHA/ARA was the cause of my son’s problem. I truly believe that the DHA/ARA should be studied more and these issues made more public as I know that I am not alone after talking with other mothers.”

So this leads me to the conversation with Dr. Glass....I mentioned this and said that I can only find ONE formula besides Neocate that gives you the choice of whether you want to put this fake fatty acid in your child's body..which he nicely responds with, well if they find something that will make your child smarter and make him see better..they are going to use it. Hence the "I'd rather have a dumb, blind kid" See, I'm not so bad :)

Since this lovely event, we've tried rice cereal with no luck and had a serious reaction to a round of 6 month shots...does it seem like it never ends to anyone else? My sensitive lil' boy requires just a little more care than most, but I'm happy to do it because this is what I've learned so far from the situation. When you aren't a parent, its so easy to buy into the cliche of being a mom...especially a stay-at-home mom...is the hardest job in the world. That you don't care if you have a boy or a girl..you just want them to be healthy. It's not until you are in the middle of the storm that you realize the truth in these words. No one can possibly begin to understand what its like in your shoes. But I'm here to tell you that it is the hardest, but best, job in the world and you will never care about anything else as long as your baby is healthy. So yes, I'll take the dumb, blind kid..thanks! He just might have to hear about it later :)