Tooth

What an awesome weekend!

It was so nice to enjoy the 4 day weekend...wish we could every week! Our weekend was complete with eating (and cone-ing), a little shopping, napping, airplane-ing, putting up our Christmas tree, cooking, church...it was awesome. :)

Not so nice: teething. About a week ago, Noah started to get really grumpy and was waking up at night (more than once too!). I had no idea what was going on...everything seemed normal, but his cry was more of a pain cry then just I-don't-want to-sleep cry. So this went on Sunday, Monday, Tuesday. I thought maybe constipation. I even gave him prune juice. Maybe ear infection...he kept playing with his right ear (you can even see in the picture above how he scratched at his head and ear). I gave him Tylenol. I even checked for new teeth...but nothing was there! And then Wednesday I felt it. A little baby tooth, coming in through the bottom gum. You can't see it yet (not well enough to take a picture), but you can feel it! I was not glad he is hurting, but I was glad to know why. So we have been taking good care of my teething little boy. Ice, tylenol, orajel, teething biscuits (which Beagle loves), wet wash clothes. :) And he seems to be perking up already. He slept though the night the last two nights. For this little tooth, I think the worst is over. I'm not rushing the next one! I have to admit, I'm a little sad. I'm going to miss that gummy smile of his, but I bet the one-tooth smile will be just as adorable. I'm just glad my happy and smilie little buddy is back, tooth or no tooth.

Freezer Cooking

I've been a cooking fool today. My freezer was empty and we have been living off of egg sandwiches for the past week. With 3 days off of work, I had no excuse but to fill my freezer back up (with something besides ice cream). I tried to do most of the cooking during Noah's naps, but he did some jumping while I cooked too. Here is the final count:

2 Chicken Enchiladas

8 buffalo chicken calzones

2 Turkey Hashbrown casseroles

4 Turkey Burgers

2 Ranch Chicken Dishes

2 Chicken Parm

11 Twice Baked Potatoes

2 Shreded BBQ Chicken

4 Taco Dinners (2 turkey, 2 chicken)

15 Turkey Balls

I made over 20 dinners! We should be set for a good while. I'm so happy to be done and have a clean kitchen. Now where is my ice cream scooper? :)

Walgreens Black Friday

Between just us friends, I was so excited about the black Friday deals at Walgreens, I got a headache. I was planning to go before work this morning, but Thursday evening Noah was napping and Jeremy was airplane-ing, so on a whim I called Walgreens and the man said that their sales were up and running. I half expected everything to be gone because I didn't know the sales started that day. But I got EVERYTHING I wanted (and then some).

Here's what I got:

3 wrapping paper, buy 1 get 2 free

9 arm & hammer detergent, buy 1 get 2 free (side note...I asked Jeremy if he thought we had enough detergent now, and he said "jamie, we will be moving with some of that detergent next year")

2 infant advil (MUCH needed right now)

1 bic disposable razors

Sparkling grape juice

huggies wipes,

flosser sticks

lip stick

aleve

gilette shave gel

tooth brushes

tooth paste

hair elastics

batteries (buy 1 get 2 free)

paper towels

preparation H ($2 moneymaker).

My grand total? $12

I also went to Rite Aid and got shampoo, hand soap, more hair elastics, deodorant, and a few more things. I'm glad, because my stash of deo for Jeremy was down to only one, and they had the kind that he likes for only 50 cents.

This was my first couponing black friday, and I really enjoyed it. I never would have though about black friday at a drug store, but what do you know! :)

Thankful

Happy Thanksgiving! Hope this picture brings back some fun memories of all the wonderful Thanksgivings that we have celebrated!

Jeremy and I have so much to be thankful for:

our baby boy

two wonderful and loving families

coffee

a king size bed

stable jobs

a cozy, remodeled house

a fireplace

flannel PJ pants

orajel, pacifiers, and children's tylenol (are you seeing a theme here)

3 furry friends

lunch with friends

coupons

drills

Hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

1 year

I can't believe it has been a whole year since Grandma Longo passed away. We sure do miss her! I would have really loved to introduce her to Noah. She would have enjoyed that. And he probably would have come home with a set of china all his own. :) We miss you Grandma!

75% off coats!

This morning, Jeremy and I hit up Old Navy's Doorbuster 75% off outerwear sale. Oh yeah. We hit the road early, and we are so glad we did. There were probably about 60 people in line, and the coats, especially the women's coats were getting a good beating.

I managed to find THREE wonderful coats (none more than $25 after the 75% off). I haven't bought myself a coat since I worked at American Eagle in high school. **Actually that AE pea coat is still hanging in my closet..and ten years later one baby later, it still fits. :) It just looks a little rough. So I grabbed these three beauties...two pea coat type jackets, and one poofy and warm jacket for those cold, miserable days (and also for a possible Alaska assignment...yikes!!).

Jeremy also found three beauties. One poofy down jacket, one rugged man jacket, and a nice one for church.

We are stocked up on coats for a long time...and for so cheap too!!! What a great shopping trip! (ps- they also took two of our $5 off a $25 dollar purchase, making it even cheaper!!!).

Also, they have a 75% off sweater sale going on tomorrow from 12-5, but I'm not sure I feel like wrestling the crowds again tomorrow! Enough shopping fun for one weekend.

A Lick A Day

A lick a day keeps the doctor away. Or maybe not, considering my last post, but is sure is good for the spirit. Especially if it is in a cone, and especially if it is blue bell.

Meet my nightly bad habit:

YUM!!!

Shot in the Butt

I'm sick of being sick. I've been sick, on and off for over 1.5 months. I'm so over it.

Today I puked three times. Before I even got to work. I've got snot, a cough, a headache and now puke. I couldn't even drink my coffee on the way to work, which made things 100x worse.

So I broke down and went to the doctor. I begged her for the miraculous shot. The steroid shot in the butt. She agreed.

Ahhh. I'm feeling better already. I don't know if it is psychological, but I swear it is already working. And my blue bell cone helped too.

I'm going to bed early. I can't wait to wake up in the morning feeling better.

Elijah

Welcome to the world Mr. Elijah Braun! We are so glad you are here! Congratulations Stephanie and Jeyson...we are SOOOO happy for you!!! What a cutie! I can't wait to squeeze him!

Mississippi Fall

Fall is here and I LOVE IT! :) The humidity is (slowly) going down, the windows are open and the fresh air is blowing! This has been such a pretty fall...red, orange and yellow leaves!!! The little man has been enjoying stroller walks and swinging in his outdoor swing.

They say in Mississippi, we go from air conditioning to heat in the same day...and it is so true. He had to turn the upstairs heat on for Noah at night to keep him, and my electric blanket is up and running.

I love fall, and fall in Mississippi is especially nice! We got news this past week that we will most likely get to spend another fall here...so that means another garden, and another pool opening, and one more season of grass mowing here!

We are enjoying every minute!

Park Pictures

We had a pretty relaxing weekend. We took the little man to the park for the first time. We helped him climb trees, ride the frog see-saw thing, go down the slide, and of course an little pine needle eating. He was very serious, looking around, taking it all in. We took Beagle too, and he rolled in poop, which was totally not cool. Noah spent the rest of the weekend bouncing in his little jumper thing...I guess he finally figured out how to work it, and he fell in love!

Back to work tomorrow...so glad we could spend a fun weekend together!

(see the poop on Aileron's face? gag)

Cheeks

A cute photo, a great way to end a Saturday. A cute picture of my wonderful hubs and my baby boy, both of whom I adore more than words can express.

Is it just me, or does anyone else just want to squeeze those rosy cheeks? :)

Happy Saturday!

Another Successful Price Match

Can't wait to share a great deal I got yesterday. :)

Toys R Us had saveral games on super clearance. Operation was only $1!!! Guess Who Extra was $10, and Cootie was $5 (as well as several others, but I thought I could use these three games the most, especially with some of my patients at work).

Side note, sisters...do you remember the hours and hours and hours that we spent playing Guess Who??? This game brings back tons of fun memories. Did you know that the "extra" is 5 more sheets of characters and other things to "guess who"? It even takes batteries now. We played at work today. So fun.

So on to the real story.

We don't have a Toys R Us, so I thought I would attempt a price match at Walmart. :) I should have just left well enough alone, but I can't seem to learn that lesson.

After a long time at the check out (and 3 managers coming to approve my deal), I got the prices! (I saved over $30!!!). The cashiers weren't sure they could price match it because "that is a lot of money"...me thinking to myself, "thats the whole point", but in the end, even the manager pulled a Operation game aside for himself!!!

Love price matching!!!

Laser Hair Confession

Confession: I'm a little addicted to laser hair removal. I love it. I suppose it is a little like tattooing, (although I have never had a tattoo), how people never stop after just one.

Disclaimer: That picture is not me, or anyone I know. I just thought it was funny. ;)

I might have been embarrassed to talk about this before, but getting laser hair removal as really opened me up. I love it. And I love to talk about loving it. Imagine never having to shave again! It is that great, and then some.

I got my armpits lasered.

I also got my lip lasered.

I would really like to laser my legs too, but it is too expensive in this small town. Maybe when we move to a bigger town I can buy a groupon, I will do it then (wouldn't that be fabulous!!!).

It doesn't really hurt. Everyone should have a baby three weeks before they start laser hair removal. No one would complain.

There is no real point to this blog...just to say that if you are thinking about it...totally do it!!! It is so awesome. I don't know what I am going to laser when all my hair is gone!!! :)

And that is my confession for today! :)

Nothing to Brag About

Normally I like to blog about the awesome couponing score that I got at one of various stores I shop at. I love to use coupons, save money, and "beat" the store.

Today was not one of those days.

A quick look in the fridge yesterday revealed that we were out of everything. No eggs, no butter, no creamer, no pasta, no cream cheese, no "cereal thats not nasty" (per Jeremy) and worst of all...no blue bell.

So today I loaded up Noah, and we headed out the the local (and very expensive) grocery store. No coupons, not even one. I was lucky to find my keys, let alone get any coupons ready.

So I got it all, tortillas, butter, eggs, creamer, sauce, pasta, etc (stuff I need for cooking this week). And of course, ice cream. My grand total: $65. $65!!!! What on earth did I buy for $65! That is so outrageous. I can't even believe I spent that much, but I did...sad to say.

On the positive side, at least now I have something in my fridge, and I would hate to go another night without blue bell. Bad for my morale.

Better couponing next time.

Randomness

Friday was Spouse Appreciation Day at Jeremy's squadron. They do a lot of fun activities that show how much they appreciate their wonderful wives. ;) I was unable to go to it on Friday, so I have turned Spouse Appreciation Day (at the squadron) into Spouse Appreciation Week at home (SO much better!!!). So far I was appreciated with a pancake breakfast and spending a rediculus amount of my Saturday in bed. I was totally disoriented when I woke up this morning (especially because of the time change) if that says anything. It was wonderful (and we are only 2 days in!!!!).

My hubs discovered my secret Halloween candy stash (peanut butter snickers!!!!). Boo. Now I guess I will have to share. I was hoping to hoard all of those unnecessary calories to myself.

Noah is now sleeping un-swaddled (or really un-woombied). We bought the convertible woombie, and now he sleeps with both arms out. It has been somewhat of a rough transition, but it is for his own safety because he is beginning to roll, and we don't want him to roll face down and get stuck. He will get the hang of it though. He must have gotten his daddy's sleeping genes, because he would rather scream through his naps then actually close his eyes for any amount of time. I have a feeling we have a little party animal on our hands.

The dogs are driving me nuts. In, out, food, water, petting, sitting on the furniture, medications, begging, in, out, in...you get the point. They constantly need something (and there are 3 of them!!!) It is really frustrating to me. I really don't know if they were always that annoying and I just didn't notice, or if it has gotten worse. Jeremy thinks it is just the transition from animals-are-our-priority to baby-is-priority. I wish they could be a little more self-sufficient, but since that isn't going to happen, I better come to terms with it! :)

We are on the countdown to welcome another nephew into the world!! My sister Stephanie is expecting a baby boy any day, and we are SO EXCITED!!! Can't wait to see what the little man looks like and to watch my sister become a mother!

Today concludes the 30-day-shred. Level 3 was no joke!!! It has really been a great workout program for me. It fits my lifestyle perfectly and has really increased my strength and endurance. I will probably keep it up, rotating between the levels because I really do enjoy it. I don't have any amazing before and after pictures, but I can really tell a difference.

Confession: I've scaled back my couponing. I have SO much STUFF! :) I've really gotten cheap, and now I don't even want to pay tax on free things (that I don't need), so I'm trying to stick to things I need/use on a regular basis (diapers, wipes, water, food items, medication, things like that). Hopefully I can make some Christmas shoeboxes with all of the "stuff" that I have. :) After all, there is only so much shampoo one person needs- especially since I am the only one here with hair! Knowing how to use coupons really does make you think about paying full price for anything though!

And because November is the month of thankfulness, I want to make sure that I say how thankful I am for my wonderful husband and baby boy. I am so blessed with such a wonderful little family. Mercy is perfect the word to describe it...despite all of my flaws and short-comings, God has blessed me with SO much more than I deserve.

Happy Sunday!

Bedroom Make-Over

My bedroom is sad. It may not look sad in this picture, but it is.

My down comforter is flat. And saggy.

The down comforter doesn't stay in the duvet cover.

It smells like dog. x3

All of our pictures of us are old.

When we were young and skinny and well rested.

We never had king size pillows to fit our pillow covers.

I was painting my nails in bed, and the nail polish went flying. All over the wall.

And we lost the remote control for our light.

So we have to get out of bed to turn off the lights. That stinks.

So I am working on a bedroom make-over.

I bought a new down comforter.

And clips to hold it up.

I bought king size pillows.

I'm going to print some new update pictures.

That include the extra baby pounds and our stylish bag-under-the-eye look. :)

I repainted the nail polish wall.

I might even buy an air freshener.

Or give the dogs a bath. But the air freshener is easier. :)

I will keep you updated. It might be a big project.