Kimber's Navy Family

Well, baby #5 has decided that I apparently do not need sleep and she isn't even born yet. I thought I would put these wee hours of the morning to use and write a blog post while I sipped my lemon ginger tea in a quiet, still sleeping house. With 4 children and another on the way, I am not always eager to drag all the children to the store for small errands. Throw in having a husband on submarines, 2 asthmatic children, twin preschoolers, and the roughest pregnancy yet and you can bet running errands is my least favorite thing to do (well, changing pee sheets is probably actually my least favorite thing to do). When our twins were newborns, I really started utilizing the convenience of online shopping. Now I have honed that skill to level expert. Here are my tips on making online shopping work for you and avoiding small errands: 1. Buy in bulk The first step to successful online shopping: go to Costco. We plan our Costco trips every 1-2 weeks. Our twins are in prescho...

Our 2-year olds wrestling on a hotel room couch last PCS ;) I wrote a blog post before titled, " PCSing tips from a Navy wife and mother of three ." We have a PCS coming up in the next couple months and so I wanted to write another blog post about how we start preparing several months before an upcoming PCS. Move Notebook The most important aspect to a smooth PCS is organizing all your paperwork which is why the move notebook is so important. I wrote a blog post called " Write it all down " where I explain how I organize our move notebook. The other day I spent the morning getting our move notebook ready for our next move: throwing out and filing paperwork from our last PCS, printing off new note taking pages, adding sections for our new kitten and baby #4. Move notebook: ready. Donating HHG The next step {and one you can never start too early-- seriously} is going through your household goods (HHG). One of the difficult aspects of being a Navy fami...

This post is not about how to cloth diaper, but about the cost of cloth diapering. We have not cloth diapered before. I really wanted to cloth diaper with our third pregnancy, but when we found out we were having twins, I feel like I talked myself out of it. In some ways I wish we had (budget); in other ways, I think it all worked out (convenience of disposables). Regardless, this time, I am cloth diapering come hell or high water. Realizing this morning that I am almost 36 weeks pregnant, I figured it was about time to get baby #4's things together. My sister and I set out this morning to get all the last minute supplies I need before we have a newborn in the house (nursing pads, breast milk storage bags, pacifiers, etc). We also went by my new favorite local baby store and picked up all the things we will need to start off cloth diapering. I'm pretty pleased when I look at the bottom line of cloth diapering compared to the bottom line of disposable diapering. As of ri...

As a larger family, our grocery budget can be a little intense, especially as we have really tried to cut the crap out of our diet. I've written before about how we cut out hydrogenated oils and aspartame (" The first step ") and how we really try to eat at home (" Dinnertime "). Over two years has passed since I wrote those blog posts and I wanted to do a follow up. How are we doing now that we have two busy toddlers, a homeschooling preschooler, and another on the way? And, since I wrote those original posts, we've moved twice (" Across town move " and " PCS to South Carolina ") and my hubby started power school--a lot has changed since we decided to undertake a new family diet! I'm happy to report that our family diet is going even better than we had anticipated! Not only have we cut out hydrogenated oils and aspartame, but we've also cut out food coloring and fast food. We stick to foods that have ingredients we can prono...

So our very first day of potty training our twin boys was February 6th. I wrote this blog post four days later: " Potty training twins: Party 1 {no plan} ." This is part 2, day 18 of potty training. Potty training our eager toddler C has been good-- actually, almost easy; I think because he really wants to potty train. When I potty trained our oldest, I was very stressed leaving the house with him in underwear. I had a system and a fully loaded diaper bag, ready for every possible scenario. The other day I decided to take the boys to lunch. I made it halfway into the restaurant when I remembered that I didn't have a diaper bag with me (I usually leave the diaper bag in the car since our twins are now toddlers). I took the boys back to the car and scoured around the van trying to find a change of clothes and some spare diapers in case of an accident. I feel like it has been one of those times of what you do with your first child compared to what you do with your second chi...

My sisters can tell you that I am the least crafty in this family, so I am pretty proud of my latest project. We have a trip to Disney coming up. I want the boys in matching shirts everyday that we are there, mostly to have an easier time keeping an eye on everyone and also because it will be adorable. We have already spent a fair amount at Del Sol buying the boys matching Spiderman and Buzz Lightyear changing color shirts. Shirts at the Disney store are about $12.95 each ($38.85 total for 3 not including shipping and handling), though they do have sales. I do not have a local Disney store to pop into so I've been watching the shirts online and have been frustrated that many of the sales shirts do not still have sizing for 2 size 2 shirts (or 2T/3T) and 1 size 6 boys shirt, all matching. So I took matters into my own hands: I crafted! I went to Target and browsed the toddlers and boys t-shirt department. I found white shirts in both departments and neon stripey gray ...