I know someone who could use...

A new laptop! And no, it's not me :)

5 minutes for mom is giving away a laptop and printer to one deserving person. And I have one to nominate.

The rules say to leave names and financial situations out of our post, but it also says it needs to be someone that really needs it. So I'll gladly do that. I think many of you will readily agree with my nomination as well, and if you do, head over HERE and leave them a comment to let them know that you agree with this person as a nominee! HURRY, they stop taking nominations and comments on August 27th.

Ok, on to my nomination. This person works from home approximately 70 hours a week. WITHOUT PAY. Every bit of that is on her computer and no, she doesn't have a laptop. In fact, she doesn't even have a sound card for her computer, and in her work it would often be helpful. She is the founder and director which ministry that works to find families for children with Down syndrome around the globe. She works long hours with families to find the right child for them, but it doesn't stop there. She walks with them through the process and is with them every step of the way to help with their paperwork, travel plans, communication with the other country officials, and is cheering them on and available while overseas as well.

This person means more than just an organization to me... she means 2 of my children came home. I e-mailed her a year ago and this past 12 months I've spoken with her or e-mailed her almost every day. I've cried with her over deaths of kids overseas and over things with her own kids, family, life, and mine. She's an inspiration in that she carries so much for so many people- over 90 children are home in just 2 years and another 100 are still waiting... and new kids are being added to the database every week.

What will a new laptop and printer mean for this person? First off, mobility. She has two sons, one with special needs, and the ability to sit on the couch and work or to go to where they are would be helpful in integrating ministry and family. Did I mention that one of her sons has Down syndrome? Yes, and keeping a close eye out is often a necessity. Also, her current computer doesn't have a working sound card, so seeing the videos of the kids once they're home she just has to imagine what they sound like with their sweet tiny voices talking through the silence. More than that, though, she doesn't have the ability to make internet-based phone calls such as Skype or Yahoo Talk to communicate with traveling families. A sound card would take the ministry to a new level of communication.

Also, her current computer is failing which makes it difficult for her to update the website regularly without errors and to keep up with all the happenings of the many families in the process of adopting. A new laptop would make a world of difference for this mom that gives so much of herself!

If you agree with my nomination, please hop over to http://www.5minutesformom.com/4033/blogs-can-change-lives/ and leave a comment agreeing to award this person a laptop! It's listed as "Meredith" on the Mr. Linky list. (ETA: it was #46 but apparently that # keeps changing as people can delete their nomination)!!

Also, feel free to copy/past this to your own blog or link back to this post to help spread the word!

Our House

We own a house that has 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms, situated in a quiet neighborhood where there are lots of school age kids and retired folks.  A lot of the older people are snow birds and come down for only half the year.  It's a pretty quiet neighborhood with a family feel to it.  Sidewalks, street lamps, you know the bit.  That house has a huge master bedroom suite (22x13) and the master bath has a big garden tub and pedestal sink.  The other two bedrooms are good sizes for bedrooms or an office or study.  There's a good sized family room, a dining room, and an eat-in kitchen with a dishwasher that my husband worked hard to install and then we only used it for 5 months before moving out.   It's on a corner lot, has a fenced yard, and has the juiciest tangelos I've ever eaten.  There's a fig tree on the side and avocados in the back.  Yum.

Why am I telling you about our house?  Because it's still for sale.  And we desperately need to sell it.  Not just because we're living somewhere else and don't want to keep it up.  Not because we expect to actually make any money on the sale (we won't be).  Mostly because we have a family of 6 which includes 3 kids in diapers, 2 on formula, and 2 eating baby food.  Even making my own babyfood and using store-brand products where we can, those things alone cost about $100/week.  It adds up quickly.  Don't get me wrong, the kids are worth every penny.  But when thinking of ways to save in order to make ends meet, this house stands out as a major agenda item.  When we placed it on the market, "market value" was $172,000.  We slowly dropped it in price, then QUICKLY dropped it more.  This week we took another $20,000 cut and now have it listed for $109,000.  We just need to sell it.  That's less than we bought it for, and we bought it before the market increased.  There are a few other houses on the market in that neighborhood right now, but those are all smaller, not as updated, and are all priced much higher.

If you know anyone interested in buying anytime soon, it's a great starter house or "finisher" house and we really need it to move.  Please share the link http://www.zillow.com/homedetails/43385722_zpid which shows details of the house, photos, and has contact information.  

A Radio Interview with Andrea Roberts

"Reece was my gift, and at first it doesn't feel like so much of a gift, but now it's very much so.... God has also made it possible through Reece to show me what the rest of the world is really living like, and to not just think "what about me" or "why me". Because it's not about me. Reece was put in my life for a particular purpose and God is showing me that purpose through this Down syndrome adoption ministry. God only knows what's down the road..."

Listen to the whole interview HERE.

I called the Senator's Office

And they asked to send a webmail. They'll then send me a consent sign to mail back and they'll help me get this figured out. The guy that answered the phone (on the second ring!) said that it sounds like an issue they can easily help resolve. Finally, someone with a brain of their own. Not a policy and a number and an automated system.

(not that I blame the people I spoke with-- except maybe the rude one-- because I realize they are just doing what they're told and sometimes someone else with the authority to do so needs to come in and say "do this" and then they can...)

Walks, Food, and Frustrations

This morning we finally got out of the house! It's still gray skies here and pretty nasty looking, but we didn't fair too badly with just a light misty sprinkle on our last little bit of the way home. The new stroller rides like a dream and the kids all really enjoyed it-- even moreso because we haven't left he house in 3 days! Kristopher has decided that the strap on the handlebar that's intended to keep the stroller from rolling away if you're running on hills especially, is for him. I guess it's my preschooler leash :) I won't complain! It keeps him close! On our way out of the house we grabbed the mail and had two wonderful surprises! One was a cup holder for the stroller from Bethany- THANKS!! And the other was from All Children's Hospital and included 2 letters sent to Emma that were forwarded to our house since we got out of there so quick. Thank you for the kind words! I save all the cards sent to the kids and have them in a scrapbook. One day when Emma is older I hope she'll enjoy looking through her book and seeing all the beautiful pictures and people who have prayed for her life.

When we got home Emma was still refusing to eat. She hasn't been eating that well lately and hadn't eaten anything since getting up. I continued to hand the bottle back to her when she'd toss it over and over and over again, then take it away for a little while, then give it back... we did this for about 30 minutes. Finally I got a medicine dropper and teaspoon by teaspoon and amidst tears she took down most of the rest of the bottle. I really hope she didn't aspirate as sometimes she'd gasp when she swallowed... She never has before, but that wouldn't be a good thing. You wouldn't think apples with oatmeal would be such a bad thing to stomach! She seemed to like it, just didn't want to EAT it... Hopefully this too shall pass, but I didn't think her hunger strike should go on much longer since she hadn't eaten si nce last night.

And the majority of the day today I've spent hitting "redial" on my phone. Trying to get through to the Medicaid office to be sure they've matched up our old case and new one. The letter they sent me in the mail says that they need everything since the beginning including all the 10,000 papers that I've already sent them... And every time I call I get a busy signal.

After literally 4 hours of redial I got through. A very rude lady gave me another number, of course, to call to see if my information has been scanned into the system. I try to clarify and she says again- "it's just a system, it has to be scanned in," she tells me.
"Ok, I get that, but what do I do if it HAS or even if it HASN'T been scanned in?" Ah... this was a difficult question.
"Susan is your case manager, but since you're just applying for medicaid you don't need to talk to her, just that number."
"I'm sorry, but I'd like to know who to follow up with, this is my third time trying to get through this application and I want to know TODAY whether my paperwork was received and whether they're expecting anything else from me. My paperwork in the mail says that it's due by Monday and today is Friday. I'm not willing to find out they don't have it by another denial letter in the mail. Can I have a contact number for Susan?"
And with that... She said "You're just applying for medicaid, you just call that number, the case manager won't take a call." And SHE HUNG UP.

On to this super important call number to find out if it is in the system... AUTOMATED. Finally I get a prompt "If you need to talk to a representative..." YEP. Then it says... "Due to high call volume, all representatives are now busy. Please try you call again later." And it HANGS UP.

I tried another three times, all to find the same result. Then I got on the Internet. I found a number for our area medicaid office. Worth a try... I called and hit "0" for the operator after finding out that it, too, wanted to send me to the same automated number I'd just gotten off with. I quickly explained to the operator that I've applied for Medicaid 3 times and haven't been able to make it through the entire process yet. I'm having difficulty finding someone that can answer my questions. She says she'll transfer me to a customer service representative. That was at 12:30. For the next FORTY FIVE minutes I sat on hold listening to the recording say that the wait time was currently over 10 minutes. HA! A LITTLE!

The next person I talked to was actually very sweet. She, unfortunately, couldn't help. She said that DCF is the sole people that work with the application and that they only deal with benefits when it gets to her. She asked questions and tried to understand the situation, and she gave me a number to call which is the DCF Client Relations number. Long distance for me, but then there were two extensions as well. I asked who else, other than everyone I'd talked to already, might be able to help, and she said that the state office always gets things done. Yes, my next calls will be to Tallahassee. After I try the Client Relations.

I dial the number, put in the extension... "this extension is undefined." and back to the automated answering machine. I put in the second extension I was given... "this extension is undefined." and back to the automated answering machine. Know what the machine was saying? Call the AUTOMATED NUMBER that I'd been hung up on 4 times already from... I don't think that's gonna cut it.

So now it's 1:30, I've been on the phone for probably 5 hours today and have yet to get ANYWHERE helpful. And you know what? I'm REALLY FRUSTRATED. In case you couldn't tell...

I have this Ukrainian article...

While I was in Ukraine I was interviewed by a local journalist. She wrote an article about a few of the families currently adopting from that orphanage. It was published on my "gotcha day" but I wasn't able to get a copy of it that day. I contacted Erin and Rob, my American friends who I really owe a phone call to, that were also adopting and asked if they'd ask for a photocopy of the article for me. A few weeks later I got a wonderful surprise in the mail- two copies of the article!

Unfortunately... I still don't know what it says! The photocopies aren't very good, but I think they're legible. But I don't speak Russian/Ukrainian (don't even know which language it's written in!) and I can't type in the Cyrillic letters to have it translated online.

So in the deep reaches of cyberspace... does anyone read these languages? I'd love to scan and e-mail it and get a translation of the article. I wish I could offer you something in return. Hmm... maybe I can think of something... If you can, would you leave me a way of contacting you in the comments or e-mail me at mkp1982@hotmail.com?

(Think that 6 degrees of separation can get me a translated newspaper article?)

Money

This morning I paid our mid-month bills and looked at what's coming due. I began thinking about the stress factor that money has had on me lately and then I read this blog: http://schlorfjourney.blogspot.com/2008/08/money.html It's not long, but it makes you rethink things a bit. It's amazing what people are able to live off of. And it's amazing the perspective it can give you too.

3 days of school

Kristopher started school last Wednesday and attended a whole 3 days before school was canceled for the remainder of this week.  But in the three days he's been home this week I've noticed several things that are just a bit different from him now.

One of them is his fascination with a treasure box.  His classroom teacher has a treasure box and if you behave during the week (she has crayons kids pull if they're not obeying the rules and they have to have a certain number) you get a prize from the box.  Kristopher got a small rubbery plastic airplane that he thinks is wonderful last week.  Now he's making treasure boxes around the house with assorted toys and is telling Mike and I that we've been good and giving us treasures from his box.  Why is it that when the teacher says it, it works, but when MOM had a "surprise box" that he could earn toys from (hey, they were even better toys! lol) it didn't make a difference in his behavior?

Another thing is time.  He's now aware it exists.  This is not my home schooling kid.  Not right now anyway.  He needs someone other than Mom to say things to him and then they stick the first time it appears.  I could point out the hands of the clock a million times (I HAVE!) and he still doesn't pay attention to the fact that I suggested when "the big hands is at 2 we'll have lunch" and continuously asks for lunch...  But now, he says to me "when the big hand is at the 1 I want lunch instead."  And he actually knows what I'm talking about.  It's because his teacher uses the clock during the day too and she has other kids in there that "got it" therefore he TRIED!

And the third and possibly biggest thing because it's something I was a little concerned about- ok, not really.  Kristopher tends to color in scribbles, all over the page, and his tracing is more like a half winded attempt to make a mark somewhere on the page.  Dot to dots are a little better, but in general his fine motor for writing and such were just lacking.  I know at 4 this isn't a necessity, but I was thinking this might be a place he struggled.  But then, he came home each day so far with a coloring paper, and on Monday with a tracing paper.  All of them are in the lines and great!  Then yesterday... he scribbled a picture for me ??????

Morning ramblings

Micah decided to sound the alarms at 6:30 that he wanted to get up.  Now he's eating breakfast and K and I are watching cartoons... Sounded like a good time for an update.

We are STILL being pounded by Tropical Storm Fay, and it's just not that funny anymore!  This is the third morning we've woken up to her rain and wind, and the water is beginning to get out of control in some areas.  No major damage here, small branches down all over, but we can't get outside to rake them up yet.

Here's a pic of my pool yesterday and another from this morning (we throw the pool chairs in so they don't get tossed through the screen with the heavy winds).  This is about 15 HOURS difference:

 

Needness to say, we're ready for Fay to go away!

I tried to take a picture of the trees blowing this morning and when the flash went off, all I could get is this:

 

No I didn't cover the lens with my finger, that would be the flash illuminating the MOISTURE in the air.  It wasn't even raining at that moment!

These I took early in the afternoon yesterday.  You can see the yard is littered with little branches and a few bigger ones here and there.

This puddle is about 2" deep and 18" x6' in this picture.  Last night it was about 6" deep and 4'x10' in each direction.  That was BEFORE the brunt of the storm.  We got the worst weather yet overnight.

Last night I folded up the monster stroller and took it out to my van (in the garage) to see how this was going to work.  It took me a few tries to figure out what position would make it fit best, but it definitely fits just fine:

And the single will fit with it when we go that route too:

But Buttermilk doesn't like it too much... she also didn't like the trash cans being in the garage or the winds and rains howling outside:

Looking good...

These pictures are from Monday, 2 weeks post-op :)

 

  

I Won The Lottery!

All right... here's those pic's I promised, but in a little different form than I was thinking.  Here are pictures of the kids in their BRAND NEW STROLLER!  Yes, you read that right, and no, I didn't win the ACTUAL lottery, I won the lottery when it comes to friends.  Yep, definitely so.  You see, 28 of my friends got together and gave to a Chip In account while Emma and I were away in St. Pete for her surgery.  I got two phone calls saying "people want to help, tell us how we can."  And I had to say "I really don't know, just pray us home."  Well, that they did, but they did something else at the same time.  Bethany owns a store called the Polkadot Platypus which sells great baby products.  She and Michelle spearheaded the efforts and posted to my the RR adoption group and an online Ds support group, Downsyn and together they raised the money for the stroller.  I didn't know about it until the end, but I think they raised the money in a week... maybe less.

Michelle and I have some very frank conversations and she was aware that the triple stroller we had was not going to serve our family's needs long term.  She knew it wasn't washable (a biggie in my house) and didn't support Emma well enough to be used frequently.  It was difficult to maneuver and to get taken apart to go in the car.  She knew I hoped to replace it once we knew Emma would be staying with us a while longer... and a conversation from months prior came to mind when I told her we were fine. 

I was surprised and so thankful when I found out what these ladies were up to- but then I was SHOCKED to see the total that they raised!  Over $550!  Between the donations of friends and the final amount being donated by Bethany herself, I received a stroller this morning.  One that is more than I could have ever gotten for myself, and I am so impressed with even though it hasn't set wheel outside (since there's still a tropical storm sitting on us).

I have to tell you a little more about my friends though.  A little bit more about why this surprised me and why I'm so grateful for their generosity.  Because you may think "28 people, that's not that much money each" well, I didn't divide it up to figure out an average, but I didn't need to in order to know their heart.  You see... out of those 28 people... I have personally met three in real life, face-to-face meet-ups.  The other 25 people have donated to this project- one that I didn't even know about- just because they wanted to bless our family.  How's that for winning the lotto?  I couldn't have been more blessed.  THANK YOU FOR YOUR GENEROCITY!!

Now, let me tell you about this wonderful stroller that this group of friends purchased for our family...  It is a "double jogging stroller" with an optional third seat which fairly easily attaches and detaches to use the third seat or not.  Each seat has a sun canopy (the 'toddler seat' canopy is on backorder) which is wonderful for the Florida heat.  It has little bags on either side that are perfect for keeping a constant supply of TISSUES and for the bottles that are discarded halfway through our walk.  On the back of each side there's another small bag which zips off and on, great for Mom's cell phone and keys.  If your kids are mobile, then this would allow you to take your valuables with you if you leave the stroller for a moment.  Since none of my 3 are walking, I won't be leaving the stroller... but I will appreciate it some day when they're all able to run away without the wheels as well :)  In addition, there's a decent size basket for a jacket, blanket, pillow, diaper bag, whatever.  It won't fit my big diaper bag down there but there's enough other ways to carry things that it will be just fine! 

Next the actual seats... There are three positions for the shoulder belts of the 5 point harnesses for the two regular stroller seats.  All my kids are in the second slot and there's room for growth!  The stroller fully supports Emma's back and is easy to recline or sit up with just one hand on either seat.  It has infant headrests that came with it but I'm not sure that it's quite big enough for Emma's head.  I left one on for a time because it is helpful but I think I might need to find something else.  The good part is that I can recline the seat and her neck is fully supported, so the neck support and head alignment are much less of an issue. 

Another great thing... If I keep a basic umbrella fold single in my car, I will have all the combinations I'll need no matter how many kids I have with me!  Single, double, triple!  I'm in heaven :)  We used to move strollers around all the time and I sometimes got stuck "out" and realized I had NO strollers with me.  Not a good thing when there's more kids than there are arms!

The third seat, or toddler seat, Brianna is in love with!  She didn't want to come out when I first put her in it!  She likes being up high and "free" to see and move about!  She's got the bird's eye view :)  That seat also has a 5-pt harness and is wide enough for Brianna to be in it for quite some time- and Micah too!  His belly is quite a bit rounder than Brianna's, but it holds (I think) up to 45 lbs!  The seat doesn't have to be detached (just press two buttons to fold it in) in order to fold the stroller.  Yes, it makes it a 3-step fold, but since it holds 3 kids... I'd say it's worth it! 

THANK YOU BETHANY, MICHELLE, AND ALL THOSE WHO DONATED!!

(Emma was sleeping when I was taking the initial pic's but Kristopher was more than happy to sit in her seat for pictures!  He's a TALL 4 1/2 yr old and still sits great in the stroller tho!  And please Excuse Brianna's "straw" hair- she had just woken up from nap after having a blueberry cereal bar for lunch.  She thinks eating is a head to toe event!)

 

Blah

Today's been such a blah day so far. It's had several bumps in the road which aren't ever fun and it's still too nasty to go outside. Maybe after nap time we'll be able to venture out for a walk. Even better, maybe something that was ordered for us will come today, making our walk much more fun! More on that little surprise later :) That would definitely make my day though! Until then I'll hang out with the gray skies, blowing trees, and constant rain inside the house with four little ones that are very ready to go out!

Fay

Has decided that it really likes us... So much that it is STILL in the same place it was almost 8 hours ago when I went to bed. That's right, it didn't go anywhere ALL NIGHT and continues to plummet our beaches. Flooding in many areas and power is out in a few places. We're glad to have power still and didn't even have a flicker overnight.

The good news is they're not expecting to have Fay become a hurricane once it hits water because so much of it has 'worn out' with us. Fun stuff :)

We're in for another RAINY day..

Tonight I lost my son

And it kind of freaked me out a little.  I'd turned out all the lights, gone to the bedroom and given Emma her medication.  I turned on the baby monitor only to hear it beep that there was no device on the other end... the power had gone out and the monitors needed to be turned back on.  So I ventured back out (and yes I turned my computer back on to post this).

I went into the boys' room and looked in on Kristopher and Micah.  Except Kristopher wasn't there.  I moved his blankets wadded up at the foot of the bed and looked on the floor- in his closet area where I might not have seen him on my way in- on the top bunk.  Nowhere.  I turned the monitor on and left the room.

My mind was reeling... where could he be?  And I figured he must have gotten up when I turned off the TV in the family room and he was probably in the office with Mike.  We had to have just missed each other when I went back to my bedroom.  He couldn't be anywhere else... I'd been on the couch in the family room for quite some time (Lazy, I know!).

I went into Brianna's room and turned on her monitor and found... Kristopher.  Curled up in the spare twin bed in the girls' room.  Wrapped around a book.  He had his books taken away tonight and sneaky Mr. K went and found somewhere else to read.  Not only that... my kid snuck out of bed, into his sister's room, and got away with turning on the hallway light to read...THE BIBLE?

 

Yes, I promise...

I'll post more pictures soon :) Not just all talk... but please do take a look at the AmEx post :)

What would I do?

What would I do with a free morning? I was really thinking I'd have a pretty free morning this morning. Brianna and Micah would be at their first day of KAD and Kristopher would be in preschool. Just Emma and I and an otherwise empty house... What would I do?

Well, I didn't have plans, well, not exactly, and I guess that's a good thing. You see, my plan was to pick up a book, pull up a baby with a musical toy, and lay on the floor with Emma and read for an HOUR. Then I'd fold the laundry, straighten up the porch, start the dishwasher, feed Emma a bottle, and go pick up all the kids at the church. Doesn't that sound both relaxing and productive in the same time-frame?

Ah, maybe Thursday. If school isn't canceled again.

Right now Fay is sitting on Brevard county. Seriously. It's stalled out and dumping huge buckets of rain on us. It likes us THAT MUCH. THIS LINK shows updated info on Tropical Storm Fay. It's supposed to hit the ocean, turn north, and smack North Florida and into Georgia as a hurricane. Fun stuff.

Tomorrow's another day hanging out here at the house. Now... I doubt I'll get in an hour with a good book and a baby snuggle, but maybe I'll be able to tackle the porch and dishes at least!

It's Here!

Power Failure #1... Should be a fun night!

Interesting

Looks like we might see that eye after all! Except at the angle it's coming we'll still get the severe weather. That's ok tho, the eye of the storm is usually beautiful :) For now it's a calm morning- not a ruffle of a leaf out there... Ah... all the analogies come to mind of the calm before the storm and being in the eye watching the world around you spinning... LOL

Updates...

No word on Preston over the weekend but I'll try to get ahold of his folks soon to get another update. Thank you all for your continued prayers and support for Chris, Julia, and their entire family and medical team!

Emma's doing great and is starting to roll over again and sit up a little more. She's back to giggling too :)

Kristopher's sad to miss school tomorrow so he must be enjoying it. His teacher is great and I know he's going to be one of those kids itching to go to school on the weekends!

Brianna's taking 2 steps together a few times a day and is so proud of herself. She's also signing and trying to make the sounds for lots of animals and doing great with body part recognition lately.

Micah's loving life and starting to wear his glasses a bit more. He's doing his "bear crawl" a lot more lately and loves going after the Pilates ball that way.

Cardiology for Brianna: Doing WONDERFUL, no need to come back for a YEAR!! YAY!! We've been on 6 months the past few so this is great!

Cardiology for Emma: Doing good, weaning off Lasix- down to once a day in two weeks then we'll go back in a month and she'll see how things look to get her off it all together after that. A little fluid around the heart still but not too bad. Pressures are ok but still a big concern and will likely always be... so we may as well just get used to it :)

Hurricane: Yes, Fay is headed here and we expect to have 40-50mph winds, up to 13" of rain (yeah, right) and possibility of tornadoes. The east bands of a hurricane have the most severe weather so instead of the eye of the storm (which is nice to get because you see the BEAUTIFUL weather while it all storms AROUND you)... we are getting these bands. Then again, it's only expected to be a category 1 when it makes landfall and a tropical storm by the time it makes it to us. We'll bring the trash cans in and the dog will stay in, the pool chairs will get tossed in the pool and the swings wrapped around the bar... and that's about it. The tree that might have fallen down fell on my mom's van during the last set of storms that came through here in '04, so no worries :) School's canceled in most of the path of the storm tomorrow though, so the little ones' first day of KAD won't be until Thursday. I doubt we'll get much more than a windy thunderstorm out of it. Hopefully not too many more mosquito breeding grounds!

Seventy Seven

That's how many jars of babyfood Mike and I just made. Ok, well, I made them, but Mike labeled them and put them in the fridge, which counts! I was hoping for a week's worth, and it looks like we'll get a good 7-8 days out of the batch I just made. Of course it does impede our ability to store anything else in the refrigerator...

So, in my attempts to get more veggies in the kids I tend to give Micah a jar of fruit and a jar of veggies at the same time. So instead of making them separate, this time I made some interesting combinations. Apples and potatoes anyone? Or bananas and zucchini? We'll see how they fly!

And, because I wanted to know whether it was really worth the time and energy that it takes to do something like this, I got out my receipt. I spent $23 on fruit and veggies, including a large container of oatmeal which I'll have for a long time, 2 bananas which I set aside for Mike and K, and half a bag of apples which we'll eat separately. Also, I had a bag of potatoes in the fridge which we used half of and a few other things like whole wheat cereal which I mixed in with some. So... let's just say it cost around $23 when we add and take out the bits and pieces. The grand total in ounce form is 340 ounces (combination of 4, 6, and 8 oz containers). At the store a 4 oz jar is about $0.50 and a 6 oz jar is about $0.85. So I figure each 2 oz is about $0.25. With those figures we would have spent $42.50 on the food we just made. Savings= $19.50. Yes, it was worth my evening... (And yes, I have been spending $42/week on baby food. OUCH)