Change of Direction

Well, we're pregnant! 7 weeks along, in fact. So for the next few posts, I'm just going to talk about what that's like. Since only people who already know I'm pregnant read this blog (i.e. Dad), I feel free to discuss it in this forum, but if you are not either my dad or possibly Becky, then do me a favor and don't tell Facebook. Facebook blabs too much, but I know I can trust you, Blogspot.

When you are pregnant, food does not settle into your stomach. Oh, no. Food hits your stomach. And some of it bounces. I have been living off of bananas and toast for the last few days. I am looking forward to trying a potato this afternoon. I tried a potato last week, but I couldn't keep it down. I assure you, though, that it wasn't the potato's fault. The potato was innocent. Turns out that staring at a computer screen for too long will also cause sickness (so you'll forgive me if my posts these days are a little brief). Escalators are also a very bad idea.

Smells are also a problem when you're pregnant. They are way more potent than usual. I have come to believe that my sense of smell right now is that of a super hero. I smell things that no one else even knows are there. I can smell mold on bread before it's even visible, and I promptly throw it out, which has become a source of conflict between Adam and me. He seems to believe that these deadly foods are still edible and that I'm wasting good groceries. He has begun to disbelieve me so much that he inquisitions me every time I remove these foods from the house, and unless it was actually visible mold, he gives me grief over it. As if mold has to be visible to really be there. Ha! But I know. I can tell. It's just sitting there, waiting to bloom and poison us all.

Unfortunately, smell is my only super power, and I would gladly trade it for invisibility or something. My other "super" qualities are super tired, super queasy, super cranky, and super hungry. I also cry easily, so no more Pixar movies for a while.

Anyway, more to come as stranger things happen to me. For now, our little Natalie or James is about the size of a blueberry. A blueberry feels a lot bigger when you imagine it growing in your body. Weeeeird.

Money

We ran into a tiny money crisis. Adam lost half of his hours at work, which meant that we were going to be spending $600 more a month than we were making. I nearly started crying when I was working out our budget. We prayed that the Lord would fix it, because we didn't know what to do.

That week:

1. I got 2 more hours of work a week ($80 more a month)

2. Adam got one drumming student ($60 more a month)

3. Adam got two more prospective students (possible $180 a month)

4. Adam got a lot of work done on a graphic design project ($1,500 between now and December).

So what that means is that in one week, we were back to making close to what we made before he lost hours, or at least we were back to breaking even. God is good and faithful, and He has provided all we need.

We are slashing our food bill, though, because that's all we have control over right now. All of our other expenses are rigid and non-negotiable (insurance, gas, etc.). We are limiting unnecessary car trips and unplugging electronics as we go, but otherwise all we can do is eat less. Beans and rice it is :-) The only other thing we can do is put Netflix on hold again, but it's the only thing we spend money on for entertainment, and it would only save us $10 a month. We're just taking it a day at a time!