Favorite Things

My Favorite Things!

1. Nescafe Single Serve Coffee

2. Bio True Contact Solution

3. Breathe Right Strips

4. 2 ply toilet paper

5. Microwave steamer for bottles and pump supplies and dirty pacis

6. NUK pacifiers

7. Woombie

8. French Pedicure

9. Cowgirl Boots

10. Hershey Almond Joy Bites

What are yours???

Size 3

Okay, so we all know my boy is big. He has doubled his birth weight in less than three months. I would not be exaggerating to say that he has chunk to spare. We used only 2 bags of newborn diapers. 9 bags of size one. Only 10 bags of size 2. And we are really squeezing him into the size 2 diapers (we have a few bags left). Now that we have that established, I will tell you my struggle.

I don't want Noah to wear size 3 diapers. He needs to, that is for sure. Part of my heart breaks that my tiny little infant is gone...with his soft hair, and his brand new skin and his always clean smell. I love his new self...how he smiles when he sees his momma, and how we can read books together, and how he is so happy to be alive (and clean and fed). I love how he is trying new things, and checking out his environment all the time. How there is something new every day.

I know most kids don't wear size 3 this early...my boy is on the large size. :) Maybe that is why it is so hard for me. Next week, I will have to put his cute little booty cheeks into a size 3, and I will be okay with it. Cause he is more fun than he was 12 weeks ago. Cause he is happy and healthy. And cause he is my little boy, who is slowly growing into the sweet young man that he will one day be.

Dear Aileron

Dear Aileron,

We still love you boy. You are still very important to us. We are sorry you are feeling neglected. I promise, life will perk up soon. When that little boy starts eating real food, you will have a field day. You will love every minute of every meal. The rejected feeling won't last long. You are still the best little buddy ever. :)

Love,

me

Freezer Cooking

My sister inspired me to try Once-A-Month-Cooking. After returning to work last week, I am looking for quick, healthy, cook-at-home dinner options for us that does not involve the usual tacos-and-spaghetti (which is the only thing I really can cook well). It took me two days because 1. I was too excited to wait till Saturday and 2. Jeremy was sick, so I was on cooking and Noah duty all at the same time.

(he's not asleep!!! :) )

I made:

2 lasagnas

8 turkey burgers

10 freezer chicken quesadillas

pepperoni pizza roll ups

turkey pepperoni pizza roll ups

1 honey glazed chicken dinner

2 chicken stir fry

2 turkey taco meats

1 batch freezer chocolate chip cookies

1 batch freezer snickerdoodle cookies

So excited to pull one of these out this week and make a quick dinner!

Daycare Update

I'm so excited to report that my boy did great on his first day at daycare. We are very happy with our last minute change in daycare. Nothing against the first choice...but our current choice is a better fit for us. We lost our $90 deposit, but it was the best $90 I ever wasted (really it was the only $90 I have ever wasted...I'm so stingy!!!).

Noah had a fantastic day today! I dropped him off for a trial run so I could go to the doctor and run a few errands. The trial run was more for my own benefit...so I could get my crying out of the way. And guess what...I didn't cry! Noah had a great time...his teachers were happy to follow my crazy schedule...and he did wonderful sleeping in his new little daycare bed with his new little daycare mobile. He got his little daily report card and I was happy to see what he did while I was gone. I missed my little booger, but I couldn't be happier with his daycare situation.

Now if only we can get out the door and to work on time tomorrow! :)

The Last 12 Weeks

I'm heading back to work on Thursday. After a last minute change in Noah's daycare situation (today- yikes!), we are excited about our new situation.

I'm going back to work part time (8-12), and I am looking forward to socializing with my patients and co-workers and returning to work with my kids. Noah's new situation is so good, I don't really have any stress about it...I'm pretty sure he will love it...and it will work great for me too!

Before the big day, I wanted to take a few minutes to reflect on some of the things we have accomplished in the last 12 weeks. Boy, how life changing they have been!

• Yeah for Noah sleeping through the night! We do his last "dream feed" at 10:30 (which he doesn't even wake up for), and he sleeps from 8 pm to 7 am. It is wonderful!!! He has done this 6 nights in a row!
• Noah falls asleep on his own, in his own bed, every time. (well almost every time!)

• We have succeeded at breast-feeding. Not fun, not easy. It has been a challenge, and nursing Noah is like wrestling with a shark, but he weighed in at 15.5 pounds this morning, so I will call that a success.
• Noah has fallen into a smooth 3 hour routine, which we both love!
• Noah is a happy little boy!!! He smiles, laughs, and he is even ticklish!
• He recognizes his mommy and daddy, and is starting to smile and laugh at strangers.
• He has almost outgrown all of his 0-3 month clothes, and is comfortable in the 3-6 (except for those super adorable Gap jeans in the above picture. I just had to smoosh him into them!!!)
• After breaking free of every swaddle, and even the double swaddle, we bought Noah the "Woombie", which he loves (even though he doesn't look like he loves it in the picture)


• We have been out to church, restaurants, couponing, Walmart, the mall, the grocery store, the gas station and lots of other places!

We just adore that little boy!!!

Feels So Good

Is it too early to brag?

Is it a coincidence or possibly an emerging pattern?

Well, it might be too early..

But my baby slept through the night.

Not once, not twice, but THREE NIGHTS IN A ROW!!!!

Whoooohoooo!!!!

Ahhhhh....it feels so good!!!

NEPB (Never Ending Pasta Bowl)

One week from today, right now, we will be at the Keith Urban concert in Tupelo! My friend Jennifer and her husband and daughter (thank you!!!) volunteered to watch Noah while Jeremy and I go on a date!

This is really our first big outing in the last 12 weeks, and we are super excited. Even better, the tickets were only $3.50 each for military! I also have a $4 off coupon to Olive Garden, and they are HAVING THE NEVER ENDING PASTA BOWL!!!!! We are so excited for both of these events. What a great combination!

On another totally random note, I heard a rumor that if you write a letter to a company telling them how much you love their products, you can get great coupons! So I gave it a try. I wrote to Pampers and Iams (both P&G products). We use these products like crazy, and really do love them. I got a nice e-mail from Pampers basically saying that they are glad we like them. But we really scored from Iams, who send us 4 good coupons!!! Pretty awesome for a quick e-mail! :)

Moo-in-a-Blanket

First, ignore the way I look so crazy in this picture.

Second, we had breakfast for dinner. Chocolate chip pancakes and eggs.

We finished eating, and there was one spare chocolate chip pancake. In my defense, I probably would have eaten it anyway.

As I was thinking about the pancake, and trying to justify why I really needed to eat it, I also started thinking about dessert. Ice cream to be exact. Blue Bell. Chocolate.

And then I started thinking..."I wonder how chocolate ice cream would taste in a chocolate chip pancake".

Like a pig in a blanket. Only ice cream in a pancake. Moo-in-a-blanket.

Then the idea was born.

Long story short...it was awesome. Too bad we only had one pancake left over.

I'm really making progress toward losing those 5 pounds. :)

Walking

The temperature finally went down yesterday! Last night, I loaded up my favorite little boy and went out to work off those extra 5 pounds! :) We had a great time...Noah spent some time looking around at the trees, grass and houses, and then he fell asleep! It is funny to watch him look around...everything is new to him! That stroller is AWESOME and was worth every penny.

I was going to re-join the gym. But I'm having a hard time letting my little boy out of my sight any more than necessary. The gym will have to wait, and Noah and I will hit the pavement!

I hope it is cool again this evening for another walk!

Sad Toms

Our pepper garden has been going crazy this year. There is so much, it is hard to keep up. We have made tons of jalapeno poppers (jalapenos cut in half, stuffed with cream cheese and wrapped in bacon).

Out tomatoes have not been doing so well this year. This is the third year in a row we got the spectoria leaf spot. The actual tomatoes look okay, but the stems and leaves look awful. To tell you the truth, I'm not into the tomatoes this year. I'm tired of dealing with the fungus...especially since neither Jeremy or myself even eat tomatoes. I think I'm quitting as a tomato grower. Here is a picture of my sad tomatoes:

On the positive side, our bell peppers also look great, and we got a fantastic green bean crop, which is now finished. Guess we have a little more on our plate (obviously not literally) this year!

Watching

It is hard to believe that my baby is 10 weeks old. I have 2 more wonderful weeks left at home with my boy, and I am enjoying every minute. I'm headed back to work part time, and then I will rush to pick him up and squeeze him.

While I hate that the tiny baby days are gone, Noah is becoming more and more fun by the day. People told me that would happen, but I was so stuck on him "not getting old", that it was hard to comprehend. It still is to some extent.

While feeding his morning, at 6:45, when I was wondering if I would be able to sneak him back to bed, he looked up at me with a huge grin. After the second or third smile, I couldn't bear it anymore, and got my handsome boy up to play. :) I could be grumpy, tired, cranky..and he still loves me. Noah is such a happy boy...he smiles and laughs constantly. He is so much fun, and he is so much more alert these days. He is starting to notice the dogs, and he will turn his head to follow his daddy across the room. He is learning new skills every day, and it is so much fun to watch.

I sure do love watching this little boy grow up.

The Itch

I've officially been couponing for 7 months. I love it. I've continued to have fun couponing even after Noah arrived...I just can't drop everything a run to Walgreens as often as I used to for every deal, but I go at least once a week.

I'm slightly obsessed. I have a few things that I just can't stop buying. The reason I can't stop buying is because I'm afraid that I will get down to the last one, and heaven forbid, have to pay full price (gasp!!!). :)

Here are a few things that I have A LOT of:

Toilet Paper

Paper Towels

Bottled Water

Diapers (lots of diapers, lots of sizes. I'm keeping track of how many of each size we use for future stock-ups).

Wipes (I believe I have crossed the 3,000 wipe total)

Laundry Detergent

Cereal

Shampoo & Conditioner

Toothpaste

Coffee

Deo

Hair ties

Toothbrushes

My stock is neatly organized, and not out of control. In fact if I didn't tell you about my stock, you would probably never know.

Right now I have a 3 item list of free or moneymaker items at Walgreens that I didn't get on Sunday. I'm itching to go get them. Bad.

PS. Walgreens is open 24 hours.

Once a Month

It was kind of an accident...I took this picture in the same outfit on 6/7 and 7/7. So on 8/7 I though I would try to jam my little boy into it again. :) Here is the little fellow, once a month.

6/7

7/7
8/7

(ps....I just love those scrawny legs when he was 5 days old!!!)

Out of Shape

I went to the park yesterday to walk with a friend. Noah sat in his big boy stroller (without the infant attachment!!!). He loved looking around, sleeping, and when he got back home he took a 2 hour nap! Guess all that exercise wore him out.

All was well-until I woke up with morning, and oh my gosh. I am SO out of shape! How can every inch of my body be sore from a WALK?!?! Wow I have a lot of work to do!

Came across this picture of our stroller...does that look like me? ha! Maybe soon!

My Former Life

My Former Life

Back in my former life I was 5 pounds lighter.

Back in my former life, everything was a little less saggy.

Back in my former life, I could sleep in till noon, eat breakfast and go back to bed. Guilt free.

Back in my former life, I did laundry once, maybe twice a week. Not everyday.

Back in my former life, I underestimated the power of a full night sleep.

Back in my former life, running a quick errand was quick and easy.

Back in my former life, I could make a 10 pm run to Sonic without a second thought.

Back in my former life, I didn't carry a baby monitor with me to take out the trash.

Back in my former life, the constant in-and-out of the dogs didn't bother me. Or maybe they didn't do it as much. Either way, it's annoying.

Back in my former life, I wore one shirt a day, and didn't get peed or pooped on, even on a bad day at work.

Back in my former life, I drank regular coffee, not decaf (just in case I get that nap after all!!!)

But back in my former life, I didn't have this little bundle.

Maybe my former life didn't revolve around naps, bottles and diapers. But I didn't have this tiny little bundle that I just love more than words could ever express. One little smile from my baby makes losing my former life worth it a million times over!!!

My former life was great, but I wouldn't trade it for anything...not even a full night sleep. Although I wouldn't complain if I got one. ;)

And when Noah grows up, goes to college, gets married, and has babies of his own...maybe I won't even remember my former life. Maybe I will, but I know I won't miss it.

Walmart Couponing

I discovered this website I Heart the Mart ("the Mart" being Walmart). Normally I try to avoid Walmart if possible except the essentials. I tried some of the couponing ideas on the website, and I have to admit I enjoyed Walmart shopping. I got several freebies, and saved over $20. Unfortunately, I ended up spending a lot too (why is dog food so expensive???), but it was still fun. Especially when a big storm knocked out all the registers. Everyone in the store had to check out in electronics, which was also fun.

I got all this stuff for free (I got some of it at Rite Aid too) or for less than $.50!

7 pound bag of dog food

2 boxes of Bengay

3 single load Tide detergent

3 3-packs of Cascade dishwasher soap

2 travel first aid kits

4 boxes of Viactiv viatamins

I also bought 2 frozen IHOP breakfasts-I had a coupon, and they looked fun to try!

Overall, Walmart couponing was successful!

2 months

I worked on getting Noah's 2 month picture today. Can you believe that my baby is already 2 months!?!?

Now that Noah smiles, taking his picture takes good timing...timing for both a clean outfit and a happy baby. :) I tried twice today, and got a couple of cute pictures, but only after about 20 minutes of squeeky baby talk!

Domestic Quest

In my quest to be domestic, I felt the need to get a bundt pan. Why? I don't know, seeing how I wouldn't even know what to do with one, but I still felt the urge. I saw a deal on one of my crazy couponing blogs...this pan was $1.99 SHIPPED to the house! So, I caved to my urge and bought it.

The bag was shoved in the mailbox, and I gave it a squeeze, and I thought it was a plasticy material. I rolled my eyes and thought, oh well you get what you pay for, and thought I would just toss it.

But when I opened it, I was so excited! The material was that squisy type that you can flip it over and kind of push it (it- being whatever people cook in these things---I don't know) out. Yeah for another good deal. Anyone have any suggestions on what I should cook (Danielle don't you make pull-it bread with this thing?)

I still would like to get a cast iron skillet (two actually, one for small things-like personal size, and one for big things). Seriously, I don't know why I have this urge too...I have no plans to cook anything in it. I really don't like to cook, and I'm not good at it, and I really don't think I will use them if I had them, but what if one day, I just need that cast iron skillet and I don't have one!!?!?!?!

Ugly

I got this for free, so I'm certinately not complaining, but isn't this the ugliest air freshener you have ever seen???

Dollar General had the airwick freshmatic ultra starter kit on sale for $4 this week, and the paper had a $4 off coupon in it last month, making this bad boy free (x2).

But like I said, it is really not that attractive, and it is quite large. I found it a nice cozy home right next to Noah's diaper can. :) I love free stuff!!!