New Post!

  Sorry that it has taken me so long to post anything on here.  It's been a little crazy around here.  After I posted my last post about us being sick, things got really busy for me.  For starters, Brandon broke his back in a parachuting accident!  He's ok and has no spinal cord damage.  He just has to wear a brace for 6 weeks.  We down to 2 weeks left of that.  It was pretty hectic the 1st couple of weeks for me b/c he couldn't do anything and was in a lot of pain.  It was like have two babies to take care of.  Now, he rarely has to take pain meds, goes to physical therapy 3 times a week, and can do almost everything by himself. 
  I'm now 34 weeks pregnant and feeling like it.  Allison is pretty busy these days and keeps me busy as well.  I'm back to when she naps, I nap or prop my feet up, and it takes me a long time to get anything done.  It took me over 30 minutes the other day to fold one load of laundry!  Of course, I had a little helper too. ;)
  The weather is getting really nice here, so we've been able to spend the afternoons outside.  We have an awesome playset in our backyard, but it's not friendly for 8-month pregnant women who have heavy toddlers.  Therefore, I've been taking Allison to the park a lot.  Sumter has really nice parks here.  They are safe and very clean.  We go often enough to where Allison knows where we are going before we get there, and she gets super excited and starts clapping and shrieking with joy.
  Allison is getting funnier, smarter, more entertaining, etc. everyday.  She is still not saying much, but she knows all her shapes, understands almost every command I give her, and knows the colors red and yellow.  She is also getting more clingy towards me.  I think she knows something is going on and her alone time with Mommy is limited.  She's been crying and throwing tantrums when I drop her off at the nursery at MOPS, something she's never done and really throws all the workers for a loop.  I even had the head of the nursery ask me today why she was doing that b/c she's the baby who never cries.
  We are also making the switch to cloth diapers, but I'll write more about that later.  I now hear Allison waking up from her nap.  Here is the only pic I have of Allison wear the cute cloth diapers.  It also shows her silly side.

P.S.  I'm sorry for the terrible grammar in this post. 

Tired of Being Sick

  All 3 of us have been sick all week.  I don't know if it's because I'm pregnant or what, but this is one of the worst colds I've ever had.  I've never had a cough where I've wheezed before, and Brandon and I have been sleeping in separate rooms so that each other's coughing wouldn't disturb the other person.  Allison has been quite the cuddler all week.  Here is a picture of Brandon and her watching the Sound of Music. 

Allison and I today were feeling slightly better today, so we ventured out to Walmart.  I got her a potty chair.  She just had to have the Elmo one.  She couldn't wait to sit on it.  She's not ready to use it yet but is very interested in the potty.  Anytime I tell her that "Mommy is going potty," she runs to the bathroom and waits for me to open the door and helps me tear off the toilet paper.  Her favorite books these days are also potty books, so I thought she might like her own potty chair like Mommy and her favorite books.  Only time will tell how soon she'll acutally use it for its purpose.



Indoor Snow Day

  We got 5 inches of snow today!  It rarely snows here, and so far we have had 2 days of snow, today and on Dec. 26th.  When it snowed on the 26th, that was the 1st time it had snowed in Dec. here since 1877!  Last year when we got this much snow in Texas, I gave all my friends with toddlers a hard time for not going out in the snow with them.  Well, I was that mom who didn't want to go outside today.  Allison has only been walking well for a couple of weeks now.  She's now attempting to run and falling down a lot.  I just knew if we went outside, she would fall within the 1st minute of being out, and since she doesn't have waterproof clothes, we would have to come in.  That would lead to a big tantrum because she loves being outside no matter what the weather is like. 
  With all that said, I was a little creative.  I filled a bowl with snow and let her play with it in the kitchen.  We built a snowman and made apple juice snowcones.  Allison enjoyed touching the snow and messing up whatever I made out of it.  We did all this fun in the morning.  I was planning on doing it all again after her afternoon nap, but by then, the snow falling had turned into freezing rain.  There was a thick layer of ice on top of the fun snow, so we just watched Veggietales and read a lot of books.

Hmm, to go outside or not?

Playing with the snow

The snowman I made

 Allison enjoying ripping the snowman's head off

Waiting for her clothes to dry. Love that belly!

More Basics

  After I wrote the last post, I thought of a few more basic ways to save.

 For cleaning, use vinegar, water, and baking soda.  If you really need to degrease, add some lemon juice.
 Make your own baby food!  You will save 70-90% on it.  I loved doing it and experimenting with mixtures of different fruits and veggies.
 Instead of buying books and DVDs, use your local library.  Most libraries get all the new releases the same day the book or DVD is released.
 Get an air popper or pop popcorn the old fashioned way.  Microwavable popcorn is marked up more than 100%.
 Get rid of the cable tv.  It's not necessary to survive in life.
 Just always remember less is more.

Basic Ways to Save

  Many people today just assume they have to pay a certain price to have everyday things.  They are wrong!  People just need to get back to basics.  I make several things from scratch, and it saves us quite a bit of money over time.  Along with couponing and doing a few things from scratch, we actually have more money now than when we both worked.  It's odd to add money to savings at the end of the month instead of taking from savings.  I'm still learning how to make more things from scratch, but here's a list so far:

 Bread-- homemade 80 cents vs store-bought $2.50
 Laundry detergent-- 1 cent a load vs 10 cents a load
 Baby wipes-- 1/10000 cent per wipe vs 1/10 per wipe
 Yogurt--2 cents per ounce vs 30 cents per ounce (I'm trying this for the 1st time this week)
 Dishwasher soap--less than 1 cent a load vs 20 cents a load (I'm still perfecting this one; right now it leaves streaks)

Here are some basics that I don't know how much it costs but saves money:
  Eating and cooking at home AND cooking from scratch.  I cook all 3 meals, and we eat cheap and eat well.  All our meals are less than 500 calories (unless we purposely choose to made an unhealthy meal)
  Making Bisquick from scratch
  Not washing your hair everyday.  This saves a lot of money.  Not only with shampoo costs, but you don't have to cut your hair as often.  I didn't cut my hair for 6 months, went in, and told her to cut off all the split ends.  She only had to cut a half inch!!  So, if you like long, healthy hair, this is a great way to save money.
 Put your crockpot to use!  Not only does it make a lot of food and not as much hands on time, but it also saves a lot of electricty.
  Make a monthly food calendar and only go to the grocery store only once or twice a month and stick to your list!  It saves a lot of money just not constantly going to the store.
 Get a deep freezer or a second fridge.  Freeze leftovers!  We have a couple of weeks worth of food in our freezer just from leftovers.

I know there a lot of other ways to save money, but this is all I can think of at the moment.  Keep things simple, and you will save money.  Nevermind the fact all the perservatives they put in food these days.  Simple IS better.

Couponing Basics

I've had a lot of people ask me lately how to coupon successfully.  Well, I'm still a novice at it, but I can pass on what I have learned.

1.  Get the Sunday paper.  It's recommended to buy a paper per person in your house. 
2.  Know your grocery's and drugstore's policies.  Every store is different.
3.  Find a good website source that tells you the deals.  There are a lot out there.  I use southernsavers.com, and I have used grocerygame.com.  Research what would work best in your region.
4.  Keep coupons for a long time.  I have an expandable file folder that has 13 slots, so I keep my coupons for 13 weeks.  I just stick the newspaper inserts in the spot and wait until southernsavers tells me to use it.

That is about it.  It just takes a few facts, and then you can start couponing like a pro.  It does take time, but when you start saving 60-70%, sometimes 90%, everytime you shop, it's worth it.  I routinely get a pack of diapers for $3 or less.  Good luck and have fun with it! 

18 Months and Having Fun

Allison turned 18 months on Jan. 1, and we are having a blast.  (Hard to believe we'll have another one in 3 months!)  Allison still isn't much of a talker, definitely a babbler just no real words, but she is understanding and comprehending to where it amazes me everyday.
  Today, we were playing, and she wanted to play with my phone.  So, I asked her if she wanted to color, and she then ran into her room to her dresser, started pointing to the crayons and coloring books on the shelf, and clapping.  I took that as a yes.  I was impressed b/c we haven't colored in over a week, and I had no idea that she knew they were up there with a bunch of other random stuff.
  Recently, she's gotten very good about following commands, like a little dog.  I know this won't last, but it's like she wants to please me.  I'll say that it's time to eat, and she'll run to her highchair.  Or, I'll say that it's bathtime, and she'll go to the bathroom.  She even tries to turn on the water and test the temp.
  She's also starting to take care of her stuffed animals and dolls.  She tucked her doll in for naptime today.  Also when playing with her favorite toy Violet the dog, Violet said that she was hungry and needed a snack.  Allison then went and got her snack cup and offered some cereal to Violet.  She's going to be a great big sister.