This has been a hard week for me and it's only just begun. Last year at this time, things were going pretty well for us so to see where we are now...hurts. Neither Chris nor I thought the unemployment would last this many months. That's not to say that I haven't enjoyed the time we have had just reconnecting as a family. I have treasured every minute of that time, knowing it could -- and would -- end anytime, but I'm also aware of the effects an extended period of unemployment has on our quality of life.
We have had feelings and impressions of which job was the right job and that we just needed to be patient. But when every day that ticks by is another day closer to being completely out of money, it's hard to remember that.
Then, just when you think you're down and out for good, the Lord has a way of reminding us He is still watching and is mindful of our needs.
That was shown to me by someone that I can only call an angel visiting our house tonight. I don't know who this person was. Probably never will. But if that angel is someone who reads this blog, I want to say thank you.
Thank you for giving so generously, especially when you didn't have to. Thank you for thinking of our family. Thank you for giving my family a Christmas. Thank you for helping us survive another month while we wait for Chris to find a new job.
Up until tonight, it has been hard not to doubt that the job is out there. I've spent too much time wondering if Chris needed to start applying to the $12/hour jobs even though that would only pay part of our bills, because at least it would be something. And maybe it's terrible of me to need a plain-as-day representation that we have not been forgotten, but nonetheless, the gift we received tonight has renewed my faith that we will get through this.
Merry Christmas!
Monday, December 20, 2010
Friday, December 3, 2010
Averie - 13 Months
I'm not going to do updates every month like I did the first year but today was Averie's 12-month well baby visit (even though she's 13 months) so I had to post that.
Averie weighs 21 lbs 10 oz (50th %tile) and is 31.5 inches tall (95th %tile)! Her head is still in the 75th %tile, as usual. She loves to dance and clap along to music, and even knows how to show us her bellybutton when we ask where it is! She's not much of a talker yet as far as real words go, but she always has plenty to say :). Her walking has also improved a lot and she's crawling less and walking more (with fewer falls, too).
She got all the big shots today too - MMR, chicken pox and hepatitis - as well as a flu shot. There was much crying at first and looks of "how could you do this to me?", but she calmed down quickly. She's always such a trooper.
Averie also has her first cold. It's always so terrible when your baby is sick -- I just wish I could take her place so she could rest. There were a few times last night that she had just drifted off to sleep and then she coughed herself awake again :(.
Sorry for the overwhelming lack of pictures. I fail at regular camera use lately. Hopefully I'll get my act together and have a picture post soon :).
Averie weighs 21 lbs 10 oz (50th %tile) and is 31.5 inches tall (95th %tile)! Her head is still in the 75th %tile, as usual. She loves to dance and clap along to music, and even knows how to show us her bellybutton when we ask where it is! She's not much of a talker yet as far as real words go, but she always has plenty to say :). Her walking has also improved a lot and she's crawling less and walking more (with fewer falls, too).
She got all the big shots today too - MMR, chicken pox and hepatitis - as well as a flu shot. There was much crying at first and looks of "how could you do this to me?", but she calmed down quickly. She's always such a trooper.
Averie also has her first cold. It's always so terrible when your baby is sick -- I just wish I could take her place so she could rest. There were a few times last night that she had just drifted off to sleep and then she coughed herself awake again :(.
Sorry for the overwhelming lack of pictures. I fail at regular camera use lately. Hopefully I'll get my act together and have a picture post soon :).
Saturday, November 27, 2010
Gratitude & The Holidays
At first glance, it might not seem like we have a lot to be grateful for right now. Chris is still unemployed and money is running out, but I AM grateful for a lot of things right now.
1) All the time Chris has had at home with us. Between working his main job at Convergys, doing a side job with my brother, and school, plus my school, it seemed like we hardly saw each other at all this year. I'm happy for all the time we've had to just spend as a family, without worrying about how we'll fit in cleaning house and grocery shopping.
2) A generous family. Really, couldn't have made it this far without them.
3) The temple. Add that to the list of things we've been able to do more often. It's been a much-needed and often-used source of guidance, direction and comfort.
4) Swagbucks. It may be more trivial than the others, but I'm grateful for it all the same. The rewards I've earned will be providing Christmas for us this year.
As we go into the Christmas season, I'm a little more conscious of how things have changed this year from years previous. I really miss being able to give as generously to others as we have before. Having been married for 5+ years before Averie was born, we accumulated a lot of "stuff" that we might not have afforded once she came along (now that 90% of our discretionary income goes to her and her needs).
As a result, this year, I find myself wanting for very little, and just wishing we could afford to give Christmas to someone who otherwise might not have one. Who knows? Maybe we will still be able to do that. The job we are waiting to hear from has 4 more shopping weeks before Christmas to let us know :).
1) All the time Chris has had at home with us. Between working his main job at Convergys, doing a side job with my brother, and school, plus my school, it seemed like we hardly saw each other at all this year. I'm happy for all the time we've had to just spend as a family, without worrying about how we'll fit in cleaning house and grocery shopping.
2) A generous family. Really, couldn't have made it this far without them.
3) The temple. Add that to the list of things we've been able to do more often. It's been a much-needed and often-used source of guidance, direction and comfort.
4) Swagbucks. It may be more trivial than the others, but I'm grateful for it all the same. The rewards I've earned will be providing Christmas for us this year.
As we go into the Christmas season, I'm a little more conscious of how things have changed this year from years previous. I really miss being able to give as generously to others as we have before. Having been married for 5+ years before Averie was born, we accumulated a lot of "stuff" that we might not have afforded once she came along (now that 90% of our discretionary income goes to her and her needs).
As a result, this year, I find myself wanting for very little, and just wishing we could afford to give Christmas to someone who otherwise might not have one. Who knows? Maybe we will still be able to do that. The job we are waiting to hear from has 4 more shopping weeks before Christmas to let us know :).
Wednesday, November 17, 2010
More Healthy Eating Tips
Eat your calories! This is an important one. Don't skip meals. When you eat too few calories per day, your body goes into starvation mode and hangs onto every calorie that you do eat, which can make it even harder to lose weight. I use MyFitnessPal to calculate how many calories I should eat to maintain or lose weight and to track what I have eaten (they have a HUGE food database!).
Cut the cheese. Haha :P. Seriously though, cheese has a ton of calories compared to the small amount you get to eat (think 100+ calories per ounce) so I'm being a lot more stingy with the cheese, and looking for lower-fat options. And fat-free cheese? I'm sure some people like it or will at least eat it, but to me, it looks and tastes like plastic, so I'd rather have no cheese at all.
Have a drink. Drinking a glass of water before a meal helps me not eat as much during that meal. Plus, being thirsty can also be mistaken as hunger so you may eat a sandwich when what you really need is a drink.
Snack. I do better throughout the day when I have a small snack in between the three big meals. Eating those snacks in between makes it so I'm not starving by dinnertime and I don't inhale twice as much as I would have if I had just a little something in my stomach.
Get a food scale. I think it makes our lives a lot easier. I like that I KNOW that I'm eating only as much as a recipe calls for so I'm not eating "accidental" calories. I even weighed out glasses of milk the first few times -- good thing, too, because at first, what I would have guessed was 8 ounces was actually 12! (and that made a noticeable calorie difference). And sometimes I get to eat more than I thought -- when we weighed the chicken for the pizza, I was surprised at how much 3 ounces of chicken actually was!
SOME EASY, HEALTHY SUBSTITUTIONS:
Sorry, but I can't look at an article that says "eat carrot sticks instead of potato chips for a snack!" and think those two things are equal. These are some painless substitutions we've found so far.
Use "sandwich thins" instead of regular bread. Home Pride white bread is 70 calories per slice. Oroweat Sandwich Thins are 100 calories for TWO slices. For someone like Chris who eats 2 sandwiches for lunch, that saves 80 calories on the bread alone, and he loves them!
Drink Crystal Light instead of juice. For someone who can only take so much "plain" water, I love Crystal Light. It's the only product made with artificial sweeteners that I use so I'm not too concerned about that aspect of it (and the Pure Fitness flavors do not use aspartame at all), and at only 5 calories per serving, I'm not drinking a lot of extra calories. The fruit punch flavor tastes exactly like Kool-Aid, but my favorite is the Strawberry-Orange-Banana.
Cut the cheese. Haha :P. Seriously though, cheese has a ton of calories compared to the small amount you get to eat (think 100+ calories per ounce) so I'm being a lot more stingy with the cheese, and looking for lower-fat options. And fat-free cheese? I'm sure some people like it or will at least eat it, but to me, it looks and tastes like plastic, so I'd rather have no cheese at all.
Have a drink. Drinking a glass of water before a meal helps me not eat as much during that meal. Plus, being thirsty can also be mistaken as hunger so you may eat a sandwich when what you really need is a drink.
Snack. I do better throughout the day when I have a small snack in between the three big meals. Eating those snacks in between makes it so I'm not starving by dinnertime and I don't inhale twice as much as I would have if I had just a little something in my stomach.
Get a food scale. I think it makes our lives a lot easier. I like that I KNOW that I'm eating only as much as a recipe calls for so I'm not eating "accidental" calories. I even weighed out glasses of milk the first few times -- good thing, too, because at first, what I would have guessed was 8 ounces was actually 12! (and that made a noticeable calorie difference). And sometimes I get to eat more than I thought -- when we weighed the chicken for the pizza, I was surprised at how much 3 ounces of chicken actually was!
SOME EASY, HEALTHY SUBSTITUTIONS:
Sorry, but I can't look at an article that says "eat carrot sticks instead of potato chips for a snack!" and think those two things are equal. These are some painless substitutions we've found so far.
Use "sandwich thins" instead of regular bread. Home Pride white bread is 70 calories per slice. Oroweat Sandwich Thins are 100 calories for TWO slices. For someone like Chris who eats 2 sandwiches for lunch, that saves 80 calories on the bread alone, and he loves them!
Drink Crystal Light instead of juice. For someone who can only take so much "plain" water, I love Crystal Light. It's the only product made with artificial sweeteners that I use so I'm not too concerned about that aspect of it (and the Pure Fitness flavors do not use aspartame at all), and at only 5 calories per serving, I'm not drinking a lot of extra calories. The fruit punch flavor tastes exactly like Kool-Aid, but my favorite is the Strawberry-Orange-Banana.
Healthy Recipe - BBQ Chicken Pizza
Yes, you can eat pizza and still be healthy! This is a recipe from the Biggest Loser Cookbook that I found online. My own BL Cookbook should be arriving soon :). The brands we used are specified in parentheses.
BBQ CHICKEN PIZZA
- 1 whole wheat flour, 96% fat free tortilla, 8" diameter (Mission. Note: it's important to not use a low-carb tortilla as it won't crisp up properly)
- 2 tbsp BBQ sauce (Stubbs Original)
- Finely shredded cheddar cheese (Target's brand Market Pantry Pizza Blend, each serving was 1/3 cup and that was plenty)
- 1.5 ounces chopped, grilled chicken breast (Tyson Grilled and Ready fajita chicken strips - all our chicken was frozen, so we used these in a pinch. Note: The original recipe called for 3 ounces of chicken per pizza, but that actually made 2 pizzas for us)
- 1 1/2 tsp chopped fresh cilantro (This is the original recipe measurement - we didn't use that much)
- 1/4 slivered red onion (Optional - we didn't use)
Place the tortilla on a small nonstick baking sheet. Bake for 4 minutes per side, or until crisp. if air bubbles form, poke them with a fork, then press out the air with a spatula or oven mitt. Remove the sheet from the oven. Top the tortilla evenly in layers with the sauce, cheese, chicken, onion, and cilantro. Bake for 2 to 4 minutes, or until the cheese is completely melted. Slice into wedges. Serve immediately.
Getting Healthy
Ever since we started feeding Averie solid foods, we have been committed to making sure she eats better than us so that she gets off on the right (healthy) foot. She got all organic baby food, lots of fruits and veggies and lean meats. It's no secret that Chris and I have more than a few extra pounds and we didn't want Averie to struggle with weight the way we have.
Recently, we've found the motivation to get our weight under control. We've cut back calories and started exercising more. The calorie cutback hasn't been as hard as I would have thought - I was envisioning days of counting the minutes until the next mealtime, but really, I am surprised at how much I get to eat for so few calories!
Just since last week, I've lost 3 pounds and Chris has lost 4. I plan on sharing some of our favorite new, healthy recipes as we go!
Recently, we've found the motivation to get our weight under control. We've cut back calories and started exercising more. The calorie cutback hasn't been as hard as I would have thought - I was envisioning days of counting the minutes until the next mealtime, but really, I am surprised at how much I get to eat for so few calories!
Just since last week, I've lost 3 pounds and Chris has lost 4. I plan on sharing some of our favorite new, healthy recipes as we go!
Sunday, November 7, 2010
Paaaaarty!!
Saturday was Averie's birthday party. Never did I realize how much hosting a 1-year-old's birthday party would wear me out. By the end of the day, Chris and I were both completely exhausted but it was so worth it. We all had a great time and everybody was so generous to our little girl. Our living room looks like Toys R Us threw up :P.
Going into it, I knew we wanted to make her "smash cake" ourselves. I guess we did a good job since several people asked where we ordered it!
Averie was a little unsure at first...
I had to help her get to the cake itself (it was a little hard for her since it had been in the refrigerator) but once she had her first bite, there was no stopping her!
(click to see the collage bigger)
Going into it, I knew we wanted to make her "smash cake" ourselves. I guess we did a good job since several people asked where we ordered it!
Averie was a little unsure at first...
I had to help her get to the cake itself (it was a little hard for her since it had been in the refrigerator) but once she had her first bite, there was no stopping her!
(click to see the collage bigger)The end result:
Wednesday, November 3, 2010
1 Year!!!
We made it! At 1:23 PM today, our sweet baby turns 1 year old!
Averie has been such a joy to have in our lives and I can't believe we were blessed with such a good, happy baby. We dealt with jaundice and acid reflux in the beginning, and are now facing 1-year molars (read: very fussy baby), but all in all, we could not have asked for an easier baby. She has slept through the night since 3 weeks old and at 1 year now, still sleeps for 11-12 hours straight each night and two naps a day. In fact, we feel that we've been so lucky with her that for sure, our next baby will be much more difficult!
Averie is walking and talking! At this point, she's taken up to 10 steps in a row without falling. When she first started walking, we had to coax her to let go of whatever she was hanging onto, but she has gained the confidence to let go on her own and venture out! She says "mama", "dada", "hi" and "ni-ni." She's always adding new sounds to her "vocabulary" and we still love hearing her baby babbling.
After a rough start on solid table foods, Averie is finally reliably eating "real" food. She's been getting 3 solid meals a day and 4 8-ounce sippies of formula (yay, no more bottles!), but that will be going to whole milk now that she's a year! We gave her a taste a couple weeks ago and she loved it so I'm hoping we won't have any problems once she's on it all the way. Her favorite foods are waffles, string cheese, and whatever Chris and I are trying to eat :P.
We'll be moving her into 12 to 18-month clothes soon. She only has one pair of 12-month pants that are long enough for her and that's only because they haven't been washed and dried yet! Of course, the 12 month pants do fit perfectly in the waist so I expect we'll be hiking up her pants more often than not once she moves to the next size :P.
We had to push back her 1-year well baby visit to next month so here's her probably-less-than-precise weight and height that we measured on our own.
She is 22 lbs, 13 oz which puts her right back in the 75th percentile for weight (she was the 50th percentile at her last doctor's visit) and exactly 30 inches long, which is also in the 75th percentile (last time she was almost off the charts so it has really slowed down!).
And now for the pictures! Just a few of our favorites from her "shoot" yesterday.
Happy birthday, Averie!!
Averie has been such a joy to have in our lives and I can't believe we were blessed with such a good, happy baby. We dealt with jaundice and acid reflux in the beginning, and are now facing 1-year molars (read: very fussy baby), but all in all, we could not have asked for an easier baby. She has slept through the night since 3 weeks old and at 1 year now, still sleeps for 11-12 hours straight each night and two naps a day. In fact, we feel that we've been so lucky with her that for sure, our next baby will be much more difficult!
Averie is walking and talking! At this point, she's taken up to 10 steps in a row without falling. When she first started walking, we had to coax her to let go of whatever she was hanging onto, but she has gained the confidence to let go on her own and venture out! She says "mama", "dada", "hi" and "ni-ni." She's always adding new sounds to her "vocabulary" and we still love hearing her baby babbling.
After a rough start on solid table foods, Averie is finally reliably eating "real" food. She's been getting 3 solid meals a day and 4 8-ounce sippies of formula (yay, no more bottles!), but that will be going to whole milk now that she's a year! We gave her a taste a couple weeks ago and she loved it so I'm hoping we won't have any problems once she's on it all the way. Her favorite foods are waffles, string cheese, and whatever Chris and I are trying to eat :P.
We'll be moving her into 12 to 18-month clothes soon. She only has one pair of 12-month pants that are long enough for her and that's only because they haven't been washed and dried yet! Of course, the 12 month pants do fit perfectly in the waist so I expect we'll be hiking up her pants more often than not once she moves to the next size :P.
We had to push back her 1-year well baby visit to next month so here's her probably-less-than-precise weight and height that we measured on our own.
She is 22 lbs, 13 oz which puts her right back in the 75th percentile for weight (she was the 50th percentile at her last doctor's visit) and exactly 30 inches long, which is also in the 75th percentile (last time she was almost off the charts so it has really slowed down!).
And now for the pictures! Just a few of our favorites from her "shoot" yesterday.
Happy birthday, Averie!!Sunday, October 31, 2010
Saturday, October 30, 2010
Trick or Treat!
Averie celebrated her first Halloween today, since she was born just four days after it last year. Of course, she couldn't say trick-or-treat but she did look adorable in her ladybug costume.
Unfortunately, due to her 1-year molars coming in, she wasn't much of a happy ladybug! However, she did enjoy reaching into all the bowls at the Trunk or Treat in our ward and grabbing fistfuls of candy.
In other news -- and because I can't wait until her 1-year post to share the news - we have a walker! Averie has taken up to six steps in a row without falling, although sometimes she still needs a little coaxing to let go of whatever she was hanging onto. I hear that running is in our future :-\. Just kidding. We're very excited to have a toddler!
Exactly one week til her birthday party!
Unfortunately, due to her 1-year molars coming in, she wasn't much of a happy ladybug! However, she did enjoy reaching into all the bowls at the Trunk or Treat in our ward and grabbing fistfuls of candy.
In other news -- and because I can't wait until her 1-year post to share the news - we have a walker! Averie has taken up to six steps in a row without falling, although sometimes she still needs a little coaxing to let go of whatever she was hanging onto. I hear that running is in our future :-\. Just kidding. We're very excited to have a toddler!
Exactly one week til her birthday party!
Saturday, October 23, 2010
Words
I've been a slacker and not posting so just for my records, thought I'd update with a bit of Averie news.
After a long hiatus from the time she uttered the first "mama", Averie is now regularly saying "mama" and "dada"! She's also said "hi" a few times. Her newest word is "ni-ni", although sometimes it sounds like "nah-nah." We think she's going for "night-night", which is what we say to her at nap and bedtime, since she usually says it when she is ready to go down. Averie has started hissing at us, too. LOL! She likes to make the "sssssss" sound under her breath and then smile like she's being naughty when we look over at her. Mischievous little thing :P.
Two weeks til her 1-year birthday bash!
And, finally, on an unrelated-to-baby note, Chris found out that he is one of the final two candidates for an awesome beyond all awesome job. We're hoping for good news soon.
After a long hiatus from the time she uttered the first "mama", Averie is now regularly saying "mama" and "dada"! She's also said "hi" a few times. Her newest word is "ni-ni", although sometimes it sounds like "nah-nah." We think she's going for "night-night", which is what we say to her at nap and bedtime, since she usually says it when she is ready to go down. Averie has started hissing at us, too. LOL! She likes to make the "sssssss" sound under her breath and then smile like she's being naughty when we look over at her. Mischievous little thing :P.
Two weeks til her 1-year birthday bash!
And, finally, on an unrelated-to-baby note, Chris found out that he is one of the final two candidates for an awesome beyond all awesome job. We're hoping for good news soon.
Sunday, October 3, 2010
11 Months!
I can't believe how quickly time has passed. Averie is 11 months old today!
Not much has changed on the movement front. Averie is getting SO close to walking. She'll be holding onto the furniture, and reeeeach out like she's going to take a step, but she hasn't yet. She has stood by herself on several occasions for several seconds each time, so we're getting there! Averie is a super fast little crawler though, and loves to be chased.
She did finally start talking. She is saying "mama" regularly and has said "dada" a few times. I don't know if it counts as a word, but if it does, her favorite word is "oh." Eeeeeverything is "oh." It's very cute :).
We are working on transitioning her to more solid table food, but it's slow going. We have started making some of our own "baby food" by coarsely chopping and grinding our own meals in our food processor, because even the jars of stage 3 foods tend to be too runny for her liking.
Averie is still wearing size 3 diapers and we estimate she will be for at least a couple more months (when our size 3 stash runs out; we'll see if we have to buy more or if we can move on to the size 4 stockpile). She is wearing all 12 month clothes because she needs the length. All her 9 month tops were turning into belly shirts, although they fit width-wise. Her weight hasn't caught up with her length so we're constantly hiking up her pants!
Averie's first birthday party is next month! Planning is in full force :).
Not much has changed on the movement front. Averie is getting SO close to walking. She'll be holding onto the furniture, and reeeeach out like she's going to take a step, but she hasn't yet. She has stood by herself on several occasions for several seconds each time, so we're getting there! Averie is a super fast little crawler though, and loves to be chased.
She did finally start talking. She is saying "mama" regularly and has said "dada" a few times. I don't know if it counts as a word, but if it does, her favorite word is "oh." Eeeeeverything is "oh." It's very cute :).
We are working on transitioning her to more solid table food, but it's slow going. We have started making some of our own "baby food" by coarsely chopping and grinding our own meals in our food processor, because even the jars of stage 3 foods tend to be too runny for her liking.
Averie is still wearing size 3 diapers and we estimate she will be for at least a couple more months (when our size 3 stash runs out; we'll see if we have to buy more or if we can move on to the size 4 stockpile). She is wearing all 12 month clothes because she needs the length. All her 9 month tops were turning into belly shirts, although they fit width-wise. Her weight hasn't caught up with her length so we're constantly hiking up her pants!
Averie's first birthday party is next month! Planning is in full force :).
Friday, September 3, 2010
10 Months!
Averie is 10 months old today! Only a bit longer before we start planning her first birthday party (let's hope Chris has a job by then!).
She is wearing 6 to 9 and 6 to 12 month sized clothes and size 3 diapers. Based on her length at her 9-month appointment, I am sure she is over 30 inches long by now!
Not too much new mobility-wise since her 9 month post - Averie is still cruising on the furniture and anything else she can use to move around. She does stand by herself more and more often, and when she is standing on her own, will lower herself to sitting on the floor instead of falling/flopping down. She has turned into a climbing machine - climbing up furniture and people alike!
Thank heavens, Averie is not a picky eater like her mommy (insert guilty face here). She will eat anything and everything, though she still likes most things pureed and will only eat a few completely solid things. We transitioned her to formula a little over a month ago for some personal reasons and although I felt guilty at first for not meeting my goal of nursing until 1 year, she is doing fantastic! We did discover that generic formula doesn't agree with her tummy (always foiling our attempts at saving money!), so she gets Similac Advance.
Averie still has her yellow nose in pictures. She loves her sweet potatoes and carrots (mmmm, Vitamin A!) and it shows! Of course right now, I wish I could find a way to scrub off the yellow, but I'm sure one day, I'll look back and think it's cute :).
She can't be bothered to use one of the many teething rings we have - instead, she gnaws on her pointer finger (doesn't suck on it though!). And she doesn't appear to comprehend how big her head and shoulders are as she will fight tooth and nail to squeeze herself through impossibly small spaces!
Things we are working on with Averie:
Pincer grasp - She will hold puffs and other small snacks in her fingers if we place them there, and even put them in her mouth by herself. However, when picking things up by herself, she uses all her fingers and her palm to pick things up, and then can't get the puff in her mouth because it is closed up in her fist.
Talking - She babbles endlessly (so cute!), but hasn't said any "real" words.
She is wearing 6 to 9 and 6 to 12 month sized clothes and size 3 diapers. Based on her length at her 9-month appointment, I am sure she is over 30 inches long by now!
Not too much new mobility-wise since her 9 month post - Averie is still cruising on the furniture and anything else she can use to move around. She does stand by herself more and more often, and when she is standing on her own, will lower herself to sitting on the floor instead of falling/flopping down. She has turned into a climbing machine - climbing up furniture and people alike!
Thank heavens, Averie is not a picky eater like her mommy (insert guilty face here). She will eat anything and everything, though she still likes most things pureed and will only eat a few completely solid things. We transitioned her to formula a little over a month ago for some personal reasons and although I felt guilty at first for not meeting my goal of nursing until 1 year, she is doing fantastic! We did discover that generic formula doesn't agree with her tummy (always foiling our attempts at saving money!), so she gets Similac Advance.
Averie still has her yellow nose in pictures. She loves her sweet potatoes and carrots (mmmm, Vitamin A!) and it shows! Of course right now, I wish I could find a way to scrub off the yellow, but I'm sure one day, I'll look back and think it's cute :).
She can't be bothered to use one of the many teething rings we have - instead, she gnaws on her pointer finger (doesn't suck on it though!). And she doesn't appear to comprehend how big her head and shoulders are as she will fight tooth and nail to squeeze herself through impossibly small spaces!
Things we are working on with Averie:
Pincer grasp - She will hold puffs and other small snacks in her fingers if we place them there, and even put them in her mouth by herself. However, when picking things up by herself, she uses all her fingers and her palm to pick things up, and then can't get the puff in her mouth because it is closed up in her fist.
Talking - She babbles endlessly (so cute!), but hasn't said any "real" words.
Sunday, August 22, 2010
Pink Slip
Chris was let go from his job at Convergys a couple of weeks ago. Normally, I am the big panicker in the family, but all I felt was peace when he came home and told me. Truthfully, both of us are glad he is gone from there - it was a very hostile work environment for him, complete with micromanaging and politics. I hated that he had to go there day in, day out, but as the sole provider for our family, I was grateful for his hardworking spirit and that he continued to go so I could stay home with Averie.
The only thing either of us miss is the paycheck, but we both know the Lord will provide for our family and an awesome, new job - THE job - is out there for Chris.
For now, Averie and I are enjoying having him home. We have so much more time as a family now - sleeping in (thank heavens for a night-owl baby who likes to sleep late!), walks around the neighborhood with Averie, and just spending time together. And Chris is finally getting around to all the little projects on his "honey-do" list that he never had time for before! :D
The only thing either of us miss is the paycheck, but we both know the Lord will provide for our family and an awesome, new job - THE job - is out there for Chris.
For now, Averie and I are enjoying having him home. We have so much more time as a family now - sleeping in (thank heavens for a night-owl baby who likes to sleep late!), walks around the neighborhood with Averie, and just spending time together. And Chris is finally getting around to all the little projects on his "honey-do" list that he never had time for before! :D
Wednesday, August 4, 2010
9 Months!
Time flies! It is time for another monthly post about Averie!
Averie is crawling like a pro now and wreaking all kinds of havoc around the house. Nothing is safe here anymore! She likes to be chased and will crawl faster if you pretend you're coming after her, or if she's trying to get to something that she knows she's not allowed to have.
She pulls herself up to stand on EVERYthing. She is an equal opportunity climber and will use the furniture, her toys, the baby gates, people, and one time, even the vacuum!
She is cruising on the furniture and will take slow steps if we hold her hands. At a recent visit to my parents' house, she stood up using the coffee table and then let go and stood fully unsupported by herself for 5 seconds! We all gasped a little in pride, and as soon she saw us staring at her, she promptly fell on her butt. But she can do it! Go Averie!
Averie will reeeeach to get to things on the couch that are just out of her grasp, and give a sad little pout when she can't get to it that says, "Mommy, won't you pleeease let me have those scissors?" *bat eyelashes*. Obviously she can't have scissors, but she sure does make it hard to resist her cute face.
Averie loves to give "kisses." I put that in quotes because her "kisses" involve coming at us with a wide open mouth and pushing that slobbery mouth against a cheek, a forehead, a neck, anything she can get to! We can't help but laugh, which only encourages it more! She loves to grab faces too and we're working on teaching her "gentle touch."
She is wearing size 3 diapers and 6 to 9 month clothes. Some of the 6 to 12 month sized things are still too big on her, mostly around the neck and shoulders area (and these aren't shirts with big, droopy necklines!), although 6 to 12 month pants fit great lengthwise.
Averie is crawling like a pro now and wreaking all kinds of havoc around the house. Nothing is safe here anymore! She likes to be chased and will crawl faster if you pretend you're coming after her, or if she's trying to get to something that she knows she's not allowed to have.
She pulls herself up to stand on EVERYthing. She is an equal opportunity climber and will use the furniture, her toys, the baby gates, people, and one time, even the vacuum!
She is cruising on the furniture and will take slow steps if we hold her hands. At a recent visit to my parents' house, she stood up using the coffee table and then let go and stood fully unsupported by herself for 5 seconds! We all gasped a little in pride, and as soon she saw us staring at her, she promptly fell on her butt. But she can do it! Go Averie! Averie will reeeeach to get to things on the couch that are just out of her grasp, and give a sad little pout when she can't get to it that says, "Mommy, won't you pleeease let me have those scissors?" *bat eyelashes*. Obviously she can't have scissors, but she sure does make it hard to resist her cute face.
Averie loves to give "kisses." I put that in quotes because her "kisses" involve coming at us with a wide open mouth and pushing that slobbery mouth against a cheek, a forehead, a neck, anything she can get to! We can't help but laugh, which only encourages it more! She loves to grab faces too and we're working on teaching her "gentle touch."
She is wearing size 3 diapers and 6 to 9 month clothes. Some of the 6 to 12 month sized things are still too big on her, mostly around the neck and shoulders area (and these aren't shirts with big, droopy necklines!), although 6 to 12 month pants fit great lengthwise.
STATS
Weight - 19 lbs 3 oz (50th percentile)
Length - 29-3/4" long (100th percentile)
Head - 44.5 cm (75th percentile)
Length - 29-3/4" long (100th percentile)
Head - 44.5 cm (75th percentile)
Monday, July 26, 2010
I Love Target
I have made no secret of my undying love for Target. I will cry the day we move away from my beloved Target and I can't jet on over to pick up some deals on the fly (OK, I wouldn't.... I might...).
They just put out a whole host of coupons yesterday (I'm not sure if they are still there - the hot ones tend to go fast, but you can check here). And since you can use one Target coupon and one manufacturer coupon on every item...cha-CHING! Check Totally Target's posts here and here for some sweet match-ups.
Anyways, here is my shopping trip from today:
I spent $5.92 and saved $33.54 (85% savings)!! When I can buy expensive things like Benadryl, light bulbs or the oh-so-tasty Wonka chocolate (which alone would have cost over $9) for pennies, it's a good day.
Amazon and I are also best buds. Especially since they recently offered an entire YEAR of Amazon Prime for free (can we say FREE two-day shipping, no minimum order?) for students. You have to have a .edu email address that you can access to verify your student account, but you can sign up here).
Amazon and Parents/Parenting Magazine got together to offer a fantabulous deal on diapers. Amazon's Subscribe and Save program (which is easily canceled after the first order) regularly offers 15% off diapers when you sign up. For a limited time, they are offering 30% off! In each of the Parents/Parenting magazines (August issues, which are on newsstands now), there are 20% off coupon codes that you can stack to save an additional 40%! Free shipping, too!
Even taking into account the cost of the magazines, you are saving double what you spent! Example - $3 magazine nets $6 savings (20% of a $30 case) - so you spend $3 to save $6. Where else can you get a 100% return in this economy?
To stack the codes, you will need to find a code that starts with the letter "A" (found in Parents magazine) and a code that starts with the letter "X" (found in Parenting: The Early Years magazine). You CANNOT use two "A" codes or two "X" codes.
And CHECK the magazine before you buy! I flipped through a couple issues and someone had torn out the code. In Parents' magazine, it's a postcard around page 96. In Parenting: The Early Years, it's around page 40.
So here's my scenario:
Case of 124 Size 3 Huggies Little Movers - $32.75 (I'm pretty sure this is closer to $40 in stores so you're already saving a bundle)
Where else on this earth can you get a CASE of diapers for less than $10? Delivered to your front door, no less!
The 20% off codes are good until the end of August but there's no known expiration date for the 30% off deal at Amazon so I'd jump on it fast. Once you place the Amazon order and "sign up" for the Subscribe and Save, you can just go into your account and cancel the subscription so you won't receive any more orders (I always wait until my order actually ships though, just to be safe).
They just put out a whole host of coupons yesterday (I'm not sure if they are still there - the hot ones tend to go fast, but you can check here). And since you can use one Target coupon and one manufacturer coupon on every item...cha-CHING! Check Totally Target's posts here and here for some sweet match-ups.
Anyways, here is my shopping trip from today:
I spent $5.92 and saved $33.54 (85% savings)!! When I can buy expensive things like Benadryl, light bulbs or the oh-so-tasty Wonka chocolate (which alone would have cost over $9) for pennies, it's a good day.Amazon and I are also best buds. Especially since they recently offered an entire YEAR of Amazon Prime for free (can we say FREE two-day shipping, no minimum order?) for students. You have to have a .edu email address that you can access to verify your student account, but you can sign up here).
Amazon and Parents/Parenting Magazine got together to offer a fantabulous deal on diapers. Amazon's Subscribe and Save program (which is easily canceled after the first order) regularly offers 15% off diapers when you sign up. For a limited time, they are offering 30% off! In each of the Parents/Parenting magazines (August issues, which are on newsstands now), there are 20% off coupon codes that you can stack to save an additional 40%! Free shipping, too!
Even taking into account the cost of the magazines, you are saving double what you spent! Example - $3 magazine nets $6 savings (20% of a $30 case) - so you spend $3 to save $6. Where else can you get a 100% return in this economy?
To stack the codes, you will need to find a code that starts with the letter "A" (found in Parents magazine) and a code that starts with the letter "X" (found in Parenting: The Early Years magazine). You CANNOT use two "A" codes or two "X" codes.
And CHECK the magazine before you buy! I flipped through a couple issues and someone had torn out the code. In Parents' magazine, it's a postcard around page 96. In Parenting: The Early Years, it's around page 40.
So here's my scenario:
Case of 124 Size 3 Huggies Little Movers - $32.75 (I'm pretty sure this is closer to $40 in stores so you're already saving a bundle)
Where else on this earth can you get a CASE of diapers for less than $10? Delivered to your front door, no less!The 20% off codes are good until the end of August but there's no known expiration date for the 30% off deal at Amazon so I'd jump on it fast. Once you place the Amazon order and "sign up" for the Subscribe and Save, you can just go into your account and cancel the subscription so you won't receive any more orders (I always wait until my order actually ships though, just to be safe).
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
Pictures!
It's been awhile since I had just a picture post and there are so many I want to share. Here goes!
These are the rest of our favorites of her 8-month pictures done by our niece, Cassie Kendall.
That's all for now!
These are the rest of our favorites of her 8-month pictures done by our niece, Cassie Kendall.
The much-loved "bully face"
First time standing all the way up on her own
Safari Baby
Just a cute smile
First time in the "big" bathtub
"You can't keep anything from me now!"
Cruising
"I'm going to pull aaaaall these toys out!"
Her latest "thing" is squinting for pictures
That's all for now!
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
Standing up (live action)!
So, we know Averie has pulled herself up but this is the first time we got a VIDEO of her doing it! Yippee! Check it out. There are two separate "instances" of her pulling herself up with a short transition between the two so you can tell them apart. Enjoy!
Sunday, July 11, 2010
Sneak Preview
As I mentioned in Averie's 8-month blog post, my niece Cassie took some pictures of Averie for us. We just got a sneak preview and if this picture is anything like the rest of them, I am going to be on pins and needles waiting to see the others!
Our angel
Our angelSaturday, July 10, 2010
Standing up!
This afternoon, Averie was napping and then we heard her crying over the baby monitor. We decided to just leave her because she had only been asleep for a short time and we knew she needed to sleep longer, and if we just let her fuss for a little bit, she almost always goes back to sleep. Well, after 15 minutes, she was still crying so we went in and found her like this!
Standing up all by herself! Good thing we lowered the crib mattress a notch a few days ago!
And to give you some perspective, the blue bib in her hand was on top of that pile on the other side of the crib, and she had tossed aside the cardboard hanger it was originally on (how did she get that off?!)....
We were feeling a little guilty that she had been standing up and crying that whole time -- presumably because she couldn't figure out how to sit back down (a common problem when babies first learn to stand on their own) -- but then we were just so proud of her!
I wonder when will she take her first steps unassisted. I doubt it's very far off.
Standing up all by herself! Good thing we lowered the crib mattress a notch a few days ago!And to give you some perspective, the blue bib in her hand was on top of that pile on the other side of the crib, and she had tossed aside the cardboard hanger it was originally on (how did she get that off?!)....
We were feeling a little guilty that she had been standing up and crying that whole time -- presumably because she couldn't figure out how to sit back down (a common problem when babies first learn to stand on their own) -- but then we were just so proud of her!I wonder when will she take her first steps unassisted. I doubt it's very far off.
Sunday, July 4, 2010
8 Months!
Averie turned 8 months old yesterday! Our niece Cassie took some great pictures of her that I can't wait to share. In the meantime, Averie has made some BIG accomplishments in the last month.
First of all, she has started getting up on all fours in "crawling position." She doesn't crawl forward on her hands and knees yet but she does rock back and forth (like she's raring to go!).
She's a fast little army crawler though and there's been more than one time that I have set her down on the floor to play, turned around for a minute, turned back and found her all the way across the room, getting into trouble! :)
Averie is a pro at sitting now too and very rarely tips over anymore (and when she does, she can usually catch herself before she face plants). She also just learned how to sit up on her own from laying down (on her stomach).
And last, but certainly not least - Averie has started pulling herself up to stand! Today she made the most progress she has ever had. Started with this...
First of all, she has started getting up on all fours in "crawling position." She doesn't crawl forward on her hands and knees yet but she does rock back and forth (like she's raring to go!).
She's a fast little army crawler though and there's been more than one time that I have set her down on the floor to play, turned around for a minute, turned back and found her all the way across the room, getting into trouble! :)Averie is a pro at sitting now too and very rarely tips over anymore (and when she does, she can usually catch herself before she face plants). She also just learned how to sit up on her own from laying down (on her stomach).
Pushing up, then sitting up straight
And last, but certainly not least - Averie has started pulling herself up to stand! Today she made the most progress she has ever had. Started with this...
Then to this!
Now, I freely admit that this last picture, we gave her a little nudge to get onto her feet from her knees...
But from there, she supported herself entirely with her own arms and legs for a good 7 seconds!! So proud of our baby girl! And with that, it's baby-proofing time!
Other "fun facts" about Averie:
Favorite food - Sweet potatoes. Boy am I glad that one of her favorite foods is a veggie. She loves her pureed sweet potatoes and also the sweet potato flavored Gerber puffs that she gets as a treat and to learn how to chew.
Diapers - She is in size 2-3 Pampers right now, but we only have a few left and will probably be moving to size 3 Huggies in the next couple days. We'll play it by ear though - the 2-3s are still pretty roomy on her so we might need more of those before moving into full-blown size 3.
Clothes - Averie has FINALLY moved into 6 to 9 month clothes! Most of the 6-12 month sized things are still too big, but the 6-9s fit well.
I can't believe how fast she is growing and how much she has changed just in the past couple weeks.
Now, I freely admit that this last picture, we gave her a little nudge to get onto her feet from her knees...
But from there, she supported herself entirely with her own arms and legs for a good 7 seconds!! So proud of our baby girl! And with that, it's baby-proofing time!Other "fun facts" about Averie:
Favorite food - Sweet potatoes. Boy am I glad that one of her favorite foods is a veggie. She loves her pureed sweet potatoes and also the sweet potato flavored Gerber puffs that she gets as a treat and to learn how to chew.
Diapers - She is in size 2-3 Pampers right now, but we only have a few left and will probably be moving to size 3 Huggies in the next couple days. We'll play it by ear though - the 2-3s are still pretty roomy on her so we might need more of those before moving into full-blown size 3.
Clothes - Averie has FINALLY moved into 6 to 9 month clothes! Most of the 6-12 month sized things are still too big, but the 6-9s fit well.
I can't believe how fast she is growing and how much she has changed just in the past couple weeks.
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
Smith's Double Coupon Days
It's been awhile since my last coupon post and I definitely wanted to share this one.
Smith's is making all coupons $1.00 again! So a $0.20 coupon is now a $1, $0.50 is now a $1 and so on. Last time they did this, it made for some super cheap ketchup and mustard, and I bought a few more to add to my stockpile (who can turn down 25 cent ketchup?)! Here's my haul from today:
I spent $22.55 and saved $54 (71% savings!).
Items I'm most proud of (besides the aforementioned ketchup) - three 5-pound bags of sugar plus 30 packets of Kool-Aid for $6! Two bags of sugar alone would have cost more than that! Also, relish was free and two boxes of Trix were $0.44 each.
I also scored a sweet $3.50 catalina to use on my next purchase (for buying 5 or more boxes of the fruit snacks) and a second catalina for $1.50 off 3 boxes of General Mills (probably from the Trix?).
I was also pleased to see that it looks like Smith's was a little bit more on top of keeping the shelves stocked than last time. This time, I only missed out on one item. The double coupon days go through June 29 so you still have some time, but who knows how long the stock will last!
Smith's is making all coupons $1.00 again! So a $0.20 coupon is now a $1, $0.50 is now a $1 and so on. Last time they did this, it made for some super cheap ketchup and mustard, and I bought a few more to add to my stockpile (who can turn down 25 cent ketchup?)! Here's my haul from today:
I spent $22.55 and saved $54 (71% savings!).Items I'm most proud of (besides the aforementioned ketchup) - three 5-pound bags of sugar plus 30 packets of Kool-Aid for $6! Two bags of sugar alone would have cost more than that! Also, relish was free and two boxes of Trix were $0.44 each.
I also scored a sweet $3.50 catalina to use on my next purchase (for buying 5 or more boxes of the fruit snacks) and a second catalina for $1.50 off 3 boxes of General Mills (probably from the Trix?).
I was also pleased to see that it looks like Smith's was a little bit more on top of keeping the shelves stocked than last time. This time, I only missed out on one item. The double coupon days go through June 29 so you still have some time, but who knows how long the stock will last!
Friday, June 18, 2010
Sprinklers
Remember setting up the sprinkler in the backyard as a kid and running and jumping through it and playing and everyone having a great time?
Yeah. Not my daughter.
In her defense, it was very close to nap time when we went out to play in the water with our neighbor Morgan and her boy Ethan. Hopefully next time will be a better experience :).
Yeah. Not my daughter.
In her defense, it was very close to nap time when we went out to play in the water with our neighbor Morgan and her boy Ethan. Hopefully next time will be a better experience :).
Monday, June 7, 2010
Crash!
On Saturday morning, we were on our way to a family function in Salt Lake. As we turned off of our road onto Center Street to head to the freeway, another driver turned left out in front of us. There was definitely not enough time to stop and...
Ours is the white car. Chris and Averie were unharmed, thank goodness. Even though I was wearing my seat belt, I slid forward on the leather and banged my knee on the glove box. I also got my first ride in an ambulance that day (obviously nothing life threatening but had no other way to get to the hospital).
It's very swollen and very bruised but otherwise okay.
We have to throw out Averie's infant carrier seat (not safe to use after it's been in a crash) but the insurance will pay for a new one so I guess the silver lining is we'll have a shiny new car seat for our next baby!
It's inconvenient to be without our second car - neither of us likes Averie and me being here without any transportation - but hopefully the repairs don't take long and we'll have our other car back in no time.
Ours is the white car. Chris and Averie were unharmed, thank goodness. Even though I was wearing my seat belt, I slid forward on the leather and banged my knee on the glove box. I also got my first ride in an ambulance that day (obviously nothing life threatening but had no other way to get to the hospital).
It's very swollen and very bruised but otherwise okay.We have to throw out Averie's infant carrier seat (not safe to use after it's been in a crash) but the insurance will pay for a new one so I guess the silver lining is we'll have a shiny new car seat for our next baby!
It's inconvenient to be without our second car - neither of us likes Averie and me being here without any transportation - but hopefully the repairs don't take long and we'll have our other car back in no time.
Thursday, June 3, 2010
7 Months!
Averie is another month older! I can't believe we're more than halfway to a year now. She is still wearing size 2 diapers and her 3 to 6 month sized clothes. If it it were still long pants weather, I think we would have moved onto 6 to 12 clothes already - her 3 to 6 month pants are perfect in the waist but are now too short! Luckily, it's getting into warmer weather (yay, shorts!) so pant length isn't as critical.
New accomplishments and "tricks":
Standing - She does not pull herself up yet but will stand for extended periods of time holding onto the furniture if we put her there. Still no real interest in crawling, but if she's anything like I was as a baby, she will skip right past crawling for the most part and go straight to walking.
Gargling - This is a funny one :).
High-pitched screaming - A not so funny one. There is no rhyme or reason to the screaming but we just hope she outgrows this very soon.
Wiggling her nose like a rabbit
Making kissy noises
Favorite toys (in order of preference):
Any paper that can be crumpled, torn to shreds or eaten (receipts and newspaper ads are preferred, LOL)
Fan remote
Empty water bottle
The ones we actually spent money on :)
We co-slept with Averie in our bed shortly after she started teething - it was just easier on all of us. At about 6 1/2 months, we decided it was time for her to move back to her crib. We hadn't planned to do so but we ended up going with the "cry it out" (CIO) method. The first night was definitely the hardest (total 30 minutes of crying) but it's been smooth sailing since. She is back to sleeping 11 hours straight through in her crib, and Chris and I are very happy to have her out of our bed!
Averie is a Daddy's girl through and through - her entire face just lights up as soon as she hears the key in the door that means Daddy is home!
New accomplishments and "tricks":
Standing - She does not pull herself up yet but will stand for extended periods of time holding onto the furniture if we put her there. Still no real interest in crawling, but if she's anything like I was as a baby, she will skip right past crawling for the most part and go straight to walking.
Gargling - This is a funny one :).
High-pitched screaming - A not so funny one. There is no rhyme or reason to the screaming but we just hope she outgrows this very soon.
Wiggling her nose like a rabbit
Making kissy noises
Favorite toys (in order of preference):
Any paper that can be crumpled, torn to shreds or eaten (receipts and newspaper ads are preferred, LOL)
Fan remote
Empty water bottle
The ones we actually spent money on :)
We co-slept with Averie in our bed shortly after she started teething - it was just easier on all of us. At about 6 1/2 months, we decided it was time for her to move back to her crib. We hadn't planned to do so but we ended up going with the "cry it out" (CIO) method. The first night was definitely the hardest (total 30 minutes of crying) but it's been smooth sailing since. She is back to sleeping 11 hours straight through in her crib, and Chris and I are very happy to have her out of our bed!
Averie is a Daddy's girl through and through - her entire face just lights up as soon as she hears the key in the door that means Daddy is home!
Happy Birthday, Chris!
Chris turned 27 last Thursday but sadly, he had to work. We did make up for it with a a wonderful celebration that weekend though! My parents offered to babysit for us - a real sacrifice for them, I know ;-) - and Chris and I went to Rodizio Grill for lunch and then saw IronMan 2 in the theater. Both the lunch and the movie were fabulous.
On Sunday, we went to my parents' house for dinner, cake and presents. My dad made dinner (delicious, as always) and I made this cake. The cake was a huge hit! After dinner and cake, Chris opened his gifts:
My parents gave him a new game for our Wii and a movie theater gift card (hmmm...ulterior motive to get to babysit Averie more often? We think so :-D). I gave him some new headphones for his iPod and a crepe maker.
I am just so blessed to have Chris in my life. He is a fantastic husband and an even more wonderful father. Love you!
On Sunday, we went to my parents' house for dinner, cake and presents. My dad made dinner (delicious, as always) and I made this cake. The cake was a huge hit! After dinner and cake, Chris opened his gifts:
My parents gave him a new game for our Wii and a movie theater gift card (hmmm...ulterior motive to get to babysit Averie more often? We think so :-D). I gave him some new headphones for his iPod and a crepe maker. I am just so blessed to have Chris in my life. He is a fantastic husband and an even more wonderful father. Love you!
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
Couponing 101
Since I became a stay-at-home mom after Averie's birth, we have been living on a tighter budget. Thankfully, having made stretching a dollar as far as I can my new "job", we've been able to almost maintain our previous standard of living even though our income decreased a good bit.
One of my friends asked how I find all my deals and I figured this could be useful information for others so here goes :).
Warning - this is going to be long :).
First of all, the coupon sites for printable coupons:
Coupons.com
RedPlum.com
SmartSource.com
The only thing I pay for to get my deals is I get two copies of the Sunday paper (and thus, two copies of each coupon insert). I find that that's usually plenty for our little family of three. Occasionally, if there is a really high value coupon (like a recent $4 Nivea body wash coupon) or a coupon for a favorite product (like a recent California Pizza Kitchen frozen pizza coupon), I'm bummed and like "man! I wish I had 10 of these coupons!" but that's pretty rare.
Next off, I really can take very little credit for the deals I get. I am not near organized or creative enough to come up with all these deals on my own. I am a loyal follower of a few coupon blogs but my top two are This Beautiful Frugal Life and Freebies 2 Deals. This Beautiful Frugal Life is great at coupon match-ups with national stores and has links on the sidebars to sort if you only want to look at one store - Albertson's, for example, which we no longer have in my area. Boooo :(.
Freebies 2 Deals is good for everything else - little random coupons here and there (like her most recent post has one for Scotch tape) or deals at other stores (this paper deal came from F2D) and she always provides links to the coupons when she can so she does a lot of the legwork for you.
I've also recently found a new favorite - Totally Target. Confession time - I am a Target addict. We live right across the street from a Super Target and I think we go there AT LEAST twice a week. Anyways, I love Totally Target - she is great at coupon match-ups also, and lays out the details in black and white of how to get the best deals and make the most money.
Last but not least, for baby items, I love Baby Cheapskate. She posts deals throughout the week about coupons for clothes, baby gear (strollers and the like), toys, etc. There are occasional articles too about, say, the best reviewed car seats. My favorite post of hers is on Sunday and it is the Top Diaper and Formula Deals of the Week. She posts which stores are having which diapers or formula on sale and which coupons to use (with occasional links to coupons) to get the best deals.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
OK, now a store-by-store rundown for my most frequent haunts.
TARGET
I'm really surprised they don't know me by name here. I go to Target for groceries, toiletries, cleaning, you name it (see aforementioned Target addiction :D). Totally Target is like my handbook for shopping there. They run gift card deals occasionally where you buy X and Y and you get a $5 Target gift card. Combine with coupons and think of the gift card like cash back and you can usually get stuff for close to free, completely free or you might even make money!
Target also has their own coupons - here - you can use a Target coupon and a manufacturer's coupon on an item.
Example from the other day:
Dove deodorant - $3.49
$2 manufacturer's coupon
$1 Target coupon on a Dove personal care item
Paid $0.49!
Sometimes the coupons that are on Target's website are actually manufacturer's coupons (I seriously don't know why) so you won't be able to combine those with another manufacturer coupon (like from the newspaper or Coupons.com). An actual Target coupon says "Target Coupon" on it so there's no confusion :).
~~~
RITE AID (Beautiful Frugal Life is best for match-ups)
I love Rite Aid for diapers. Once upon a time, we were loyal Pampers customers but since the release of their new Dry Max product and all the complaints, we've switched to Huggies. Which is not a bad thing - Huggies is way more generous with the coupons and sales. I wait for them to go on sale and combine with a good coupon (like the $3 off Huggies that have been out recently) and then I go and stock up.
Rite Aid also comes out with $5 off a $25 purchase coupons (found online at Red Plum or Rite Aid's site) and they have a Video Values program where you can watch short videos - you earn credits and when you've got 20 credits, you earn a $5 off $20 coupon. You also get a coupon for whatever video you watched (so if you watched, say, an Icy Hot video, you get a coupon for Icy Hot) but I'm usually only in it for the $5 off $20. You can print more than one so I usually print a couple and then do multiple transactions so I can use multiples of those coupons.
Example: Buy 3 packages of Huggies at $8.99 each = $26.97
Hand over the $5 off $20 (or $25) first
Then (3) $3 off coupons
= $12.97 or $4.32 per package
Rite Aid also has a great Single Check Rebate program, which is just what it sounds like. You buy something (and you can use coupons on it, too) and then submit your receipts online and they send you back a rebate. These are listed in the weekly ad.
I Heart Rite Aid is also a great resource. I don't know how but she gets the weekly ad scans awhile before the actual ad is released so you can start planning it out. Careful though - in my particular area, our ad is usually just the "short ad" that she mentions so sometimes there's a deal in the "national" ad that I don't get. More than once, I've gone to the store to buy what I thought was also a sale in my area only to find out it ISN'T in my area, so just make sure you check the weekly ad for your area in your newspaper or online at the actual Rite Aid site.
~~~
WALGREEN'S
Not a fan of Walgreen's honestly. I've been given grief there more than once about coupons (even though I was doing it the right way) so I just avoid them in general.
Plus, their "reward" system - Register Rewards - is coupons that spit out of the machine at the end of the transaction that you can use on a future transaction. Those don't really feel like cash to me, because when I'm there, it's usually for just a couple specific things that are a super awesome deal (because I don't like going there) and I don't foresee using the RR. I prefer the cash back with Rite Aid's Single Check Rebate program.
~~~
BABIES R US
On a rare occasion, I like BRU for diapers. Their diaper prices normally are NOT good, but combine with manufacturer coupons and a store sale/coupon and you can get a good deal. The big boxes of Huggies in the picture in my last post were from there.
As an example, here's how that purchase went. Usually when we're in there, at the end of our transaction, they'll give us coupons to use on our next purchase. On one such occasion, we got a coupon for $7 off when you bought the big box of Huggies diapers and the big box of Huggies wipes (also in the picture). One thing I like about BRU also is they will take an unlimited number of coupons per item, as long as all the coupons are different. Well, at the time, I had a $3 coupon, a $2.50 one, a $2 one and a $1.50 one and I was able to use all of them on one box of diapers. I had a couple different denominations for the wipes too (a $0.75 one and a $0.50 one) and then combined with the $7 BRU coupon I had received earlier made for a good deal.
BRU is also good for baby food. I'd gone into this with hopes of making my own baby food, but alas, laziness won out, LOL. I've only given Averie organic baby food though - which is of course more expensive than non-organic - but I paid less than 50 cents a jar by combining sales (Earth's Best brand in particular has been on sale on and off lately - 10 jars for $5) with coupons. Again, it's all about stocking up when there's a good sale so that your stash lasts until the next sale time.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Alright, that's it! If you made it through this entire post, you deserve an award. I hope that helps some and that it wasn't too confusing. Feel free to comment with questions or whatever you want :).
One of my friends asked how I find all my deals and I figured this could be useful information for others so here goes :).
Warning - this is going to be long :).
First of all, the coupon sites for printable coupons:
Coupons.com
RedPlum.com
SmartSource.com
The only thing I pay for to get my deals is I get two copies of the Sunday paper (and thus, two copies of each coupon insert). I find that that's usually plenty for our little family of three. Occasionally, if there is a really high value coupon (like a recent $4 Nivea body wash coupon) or a coupon for a favorite product (like a recent California Pizza Kitchen frozen pizza coupon), I'm bummed and like "man! I wish I had 10 of these coupons!" but that's pretty rare.
Next off, I really can take very little credit for the deals I get. I am not near organized or creative enough to come up with all these deals on my own. I am a loyal follower of a few coupon blogs but my top two are This Beautiful Frugal Life and Freebies 2 Deals. This Beautiful Frugal Life is great at coupon match-ups with national stores and has links on the sidebars to sort if you only want to look at one store - Albertson's, for example, which we no longer have in my area. Boooo :(.
Freebies 2 Deals is good for everything else - little random coupons here and there (like her most recent post has one for Scotch tape) or deals at other stores (this paper deal came from F2D) and she always provides links to the coupons when she can so she does a lot of the legwork for you.
I've also recently found a new favorite - Totally Target. Confession time - I am a Target addict. We live right across the street from a Super Target and I think we go there AT LEAST twice a week. Anyways, I love Totally Target - she is great at coupon match-ups also, and lays out the details in black and white of how to get the best deals and make the most money.
Last but not least, for baby items, I love Baby Cheapskate. She posts deals throughout the week about coupons for clothes, baby gear (strollers and the like), toys, etc. There are occasional articles too about, say, the best reviewed car seats. My favorite post of hers is on Sunday and it is the Top Diaper and Formula Deals of the Week. She posts which stores are having which diapers or formula on sale and which coupons to use (with occasional links to coupons) to get the best deals.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
OK, now a store-by-store rundown for my most frequent haunts.
TARGET
I'm really surprised they don't know me by name here. I go to Target for groceries, toiletries, cleaning, you name it (see aforementioned Target addiction :D). Totally Target is like my handbook for shopping there. They run gift card deals occasionally where you buy X and Y and you get a $5 Target gift card. Combine with coupons and think of the gift card like cash back and you can usually get stuff for close to free, completely free or you might even make money!
Target also has their own coupons - here - you can use a Target coupon and a manufacturer's coupon on an item.
Example from the other day:
Dove deodorant - $3.49
$2 manufacturer's coupon
$1 Target coupon on a Dove personal care item
Paid $0.49!
Sometimes the coupons that are on Target's website are actually manufacturer's coupons (I seriously don't know why) so you won't be able to combine those with another manufacturer coupon (like from the newspaper or Coupons.com). An actual Target coupon says "Target Coupon" on it so there's no confusion :).
~~~
RITE AID (Beautiful Frugal Life is best for match-ups)
I love Rite Aid for diapers. Once upon a time, we were loyal Pampers customers but since the release of their new Dry Max product and all the complaints, we've switched to Huggies. Which is not a bad thing - Huggies is way more generous with the coupons and sales. I wait for them to go on sale and combine with a good coupon (like the $3 off Huggies that have been out recently) and then I go and stock up.
Rite Aid also comes out with $5 off a $25 purchase coupons (found online at Red Plum or Rite Aid's site) and they have a Video Values program where you can watch short videos - you earn credits and when you've got 20 credits, you earn a $5 off $20 coupon. You also get a coupon for whatever video you watched (so if you watched, say, an Icy Hot video, you get a coupon for Icy Hot) but I'm usually only in it for the $5 off $20. You can print more than one so I usually print a couple and then do multiple transactions so I can use multiples of those coupons.
Example: Buy 3 packages of Huggies at $8.99 each = $26.97
Hand over the $5 off $20 (or $25) first
Then (3) $3 off coupons
= $12.97 or $4.32 per package
Rite Aid also has a great Single Check Rebate program, which is just what it sounds like. You buy something (and you can use coupons on it, too) and then submit your receipts online and they send you back a rebate. These are listed in the weekly ad.
I Heart Rite Aid is also a great resource. I don't know how but she gets the weekly ad scans awhile before the actual ad is released so you can start planning it out. Careful though - in my particular area, our ad is usually just the "short ad" that she mentions so sometimes there's a deal in the "national" ad that I don't get. More than once, I've gone to the store to buy what I thought was also a sale in my area only to find out it ISN'T in my area, so just make sure you check the weekly ad for your area in your newspaper or online at the actual Rite Aid site.
~~~
WALGREEN'S
Not a fan of Walgreen's honestly. I've been given grief there more than once about coupons (even though I was doing it the right way) so I just avoid them in general.
Plus, their "reward" system - Register Rewards - is coupons that spit out of the machine at the end of the transaction that you can use on a future transaction. Those don't really feel like cash to me, because when I'm there, it's usually for just a couple specific things that are a super awesome deal (because I don't like going there) and I don't foresee using the RR. I prefer the cash back with Rite Aid's Single Check Rebate program.
~~~
BABIES R US
On a rare occasion, I like BRU for diapers. Their diaper prices normally are NOT good, but combine with manufacturer coupons and a store sale/coupon and you can get a good deal. The big boxes of Huggies in the picture in my last post were from there.
As an example, here's how that purchase went. Usually when we're in there, at the end of our transaction, they'll give us coupons to use on our next purchase. On one such occasion, we got a coupon for $7 off when you bought the big box of Huggies diapers and the big box of Huggies wipes (also in the picture). One thing I like about BRU also is they will take an unlimited number of coupons per item, as long as all the coupons are different. Well, at the time, I had a $3 coupon, a $2.50 one, a $2 one and a $1.50 one and I was able to use all of them on one box of diapers. I had a couple different denominations for the wipes too (a $0.75 one and a $0.50 one) and then combined with the $7 BRU coupon I had received earlier made for a good deal.
BRU is also good for baby food. I'd gone into this with hopes of making my own baby food, but alas, laziness won out, LOL. I've only given Averie organic baby food though - which is of course more expensive than non-organic - but I paid less than 50 cents a jar by combining sales (Earth's Best brand in particular has been on sale on and off lately - 10 jars for $5) with coupons. Again, it's all about stocking up when there's a good sale so that your stash lasts until the next sale time.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Alright, that's it! If you made it through this entire post, you deserve an award. I hope that helps some and that it wasn't too confusing. Feel free to comment with questions or whatever you want :).
Saturday, May 22, 2010
First word!
Averie has been babbling a lot lately but so far, no defined words. Until today, that is.
Averie said "mama" this morning! Made my day!
Averie said "mama" this morning! Made my day!
Monday, May 17, 2010
Shopping deals
Between all the Huggies coupons out there (coupon roundup here) the last few days, we have seriously stocked up on wipes (diapers, too - we shouldn't need to buy more diapers until Averie's 1st birthday!). Here's the result of a Target run:
I don't have my receipt in front of me but it was all less than $25! I used the $2 off Huggies coupons (I had 4 coupons left since I had used a couple of them at Babies R Us but it was enough to get 2 refills and 6 tubs). I used B1G1 coupons and a B3G1 Target coupon on the Nabisco 100 calorie packs so I got 4 boxes for the price of one! Also used a B3G1 Target coupon and 2 $1 manufacturer's coupons on the crackers to score a great deal on those. And then a lone stick of deodorant for $0.49 after coupons :).
SMITH'S
Smith's is having double coupon days through tomorrow where every coupon is a $1 (coupons over $1 are taken at face value). It was a great way for me to use up those pesky 30-40 cent coupons that hardly seem worth it. The best deals I got were mustard for 25 cents and ketchup for 50 cents, a boatload of free candy and snacks, and almost free Sunny D (I don't think we've bought this since we got married but for nearly free, I'll take it!).
I also took advantage of a deal they were doing on Huggies and got a pack of diapers and a pack of swim diapers (which are not cheap!) for less than $9! If you are going to do that one, make sure you bring the Smith's page from the coupon insert - it wasn't ringing up correctly and they had to manually correct it.
All in all, my total would have been almost $100 - and I only spent $34 (including diapers)!
And now I better stop buying diapers and wipes - I don't think Averie's closet will hold any more!
Just in case you're wondering - that's over 900 diapers and over 2,000 wipes in one whole side of a walk-in closet.
...
Oh, just found 2 more refill bags - make that 2,500 wipes!
I don't have my receipt in front of me but it was all less than $25! I used the $2 off Huggies coupons (I had 4 coupons left since I had used a couple of them at Babies R Us but it was enough to get 2 refills and 6 tubs). I used B1G1 coupons and a B3G1 Target coupon on the Nabisco 100 calorie packs so I got 4 boxes for the price of one! Also used a B3G1 Target coupon and 2 $1 manufacturer's coupons on the crackers to score a great deal on those. And then a lone stick of deodorant for $0.49 after coupons :).SMITH'S
Smith's is having double coupon days through tomorrow where every coupon is a $1 (coupons over $1 are taken at face value). It was a great way for me to use up those pesky 30-40 cent coupons that hardly seem worth it. The best deals I got were mustard for 25 cents and ketchup for 50 cents, a boatload of free candy and snacks, and almost free Sunny D (I don't think we've bought this since we got married but for nearly free, I'll take it!).
I also took advantage of a deal they were doing on Huggies and got a pack of diapers and a pack of swim diapers (which are not cheap!) for less than $9! If you are going to do that one, make sure you bring the Smith's page from the coupon insert - it wasn't ringing up correctly and they had to manually correct it.
All in all, my total would have been almost $100 - and I only spent $34 (including diapers)!
And now I better stop buying diapers and wipes - I don't think Averie's closet will hold any more!
Just in case you're wondering - that's over 900 diapers and over 2,000 wipes in one whole side of a walk-in closet....
Oh, just found 2 more refill bags - make that 2,500 wipes!
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
A "real" Mother's Day post
I'd been holding onto this post while I waited for a picture I wanted to put up with it. So here goes :).
Sunday was my first "real" Mother's Day. I was pregnant last year on the holiday and Chris did give me a card and a gift but this was the first year that I was an "official" mother. I woke up to Chris cooking French toast and bacon for breakfast! Mmm, it was good. He also gave me some flowers and a small box of chocolate (as if I need more chocolate, haha). But my best present came on Monday:
A beautiful new jogging stroller! I'd been wanting one for a little while so I could start exercising with Averie once I realized that our travel system stroller wasn't cutting it on the apparently rather uneven sidewalks around the neighborhood. Chris, Averie and I are planning on enjoying some long walks in the very near future :).
Later that day, we visited my parents' house and were able to talk to my sister, Susan, on the phone who is on her mission in New York. We're able to e-mail with her but it was still nice to talk to her again. Dad made homemade chicken cordon bleu with strawberry shortcake for dessert - he is such a great cook!
Grams (my mom's mom) is 93 and I had been wanting to get a picture of the four of us while I still could, and what better day for such a picture than Mother's Day!
Four generations of women
Sunday was my first "real" Mother's Day. I was pregnant last year on the holiday and Chris did give me a card and a gift but this was the first year that I was an "official" mother. I woke up to Chris cooking French toast and bacon for breakfast! Mmm, it was good. He also gave me some flowers and a small box of chocolate (as if I need more chocolate, haha). But my best present came on Monday:
A beautiful new jogging stroller! I'd been wanting one for a little while so I could start exercising with Averie once I realized that our travel system stroller wasn't cutting it on the apparently rather uneven sidewalks around the neighborhood. Chris, Averie and I are planning on enjoying some long walks in the very near future :).Later that day, we visited my parents' house and were able to talk to my sister, Susan, on the phone who is on her mission in New York. We're able to e-mail with her but it was still nice to talk to her again. Dad made homemade chicken cordon bleu with strawberry shortcake for dessert - he is such a great cook!
Grams (my mom's mom) is 93 and I had been wanting to get a picture of the four of us while I still could, and what better day for such a picture than Mother's Day!
Four generations of womenOverall, it was a wonderful day and I'm looking forward to celebrating many more Mother's Days with my husband and children (present and future)!
Monday, May 10, 2010
Averie's Birth Story
In honor of Mother's Day and because I started our blog after Averie was born, I decided to post Averie's birth story! It's not gross or gory (in my opinion) but feel free to skip this if you don't want to read!
When I hit 40 weeks without any signs of going into labor, I started getting desperate and trying everything to get labor going (including castor oil, which I would not recommend!). None of it worked. I had a doctor's appointment at 40 weeks 5 days and when I arrived, my blood pressure was 150/90. They gave me a few minutes to see if it would go down after relaxing with some deep breaths but it was still 140/90, so they ordered me straight to the hospital for induction. We rushed home to do some last-minute packing and got to the hospital around 5 PM. They took my blood pressure when I got there and it was back to normal - 110/70. I was so upset, I thought they were going to send me home because my doctor's policy was to induce at 41 weeks and I was a couple days "early." Luckily, they decided to keep me and induce me!
I was 2 cm, 80% effaced to start. At 7 PM, they gave me prostin gel. At 1 AM, I still hadn't made a lot of progress even though I'd been having some regular contractions. At 4 AM, they broke my water and I got an epidural. At 7 AM, I hadn't dilated any further so they give me Pitocin. At 9 AM, I had dilated up to 4 cm and was convinced I was going to be in labor FOREVER since I had only progressed 2 cm in about 14 hours. I worried I would end up with a C-section, which I'm not opposed to, but I was concerned about the longer recovery time and wanted to avoid that. I fell asleep a little bit after that - at that point, I'd been awake for over 24 hours.
I woke up a little before noon with an urgent need to push. Chris got the nurse and I was finally 10 cm! I started pushing and about 1 PM, Dr. Broberg came in. I was having trouble getting her head out so they asked if they could use the vacuum, which I was fine with. Immediately after that, I remember dreading the pushing even more because that meant shoulders were next. However, after he got her head out with the vacuum, I pushed one more time and her shoulders were out, then one more push and I was done! It all happened very quickly. I remember I was rather hysterical - probably a combination of relief, excitement and temporary insanity :D - and screaming that it was over and my baby girl was here!
In total, I was in labor for 17 hours and pushed for almost 1 1/2 hours. Averie was born at 1:23 PM on November 3, 2009. She was 8 lbs 3 oz and they said 19 inches long at first, but we thought she looked longer and re-measured her later that day at 22 inches.
Averie, 1 day old
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
When I hit 40 weeks without any signs of going into labor, I started getting desperate and trying everything to get labor going (including castor oil, which I would not recommend!). None of it worked. I had a doctor's appointment at 40 weeks 5 days and when I arrived, my blood pressure was 150/90. They gave me a few minutes to see if it would go down after relaxing with some deep breaths but it was still 140/90, so they ordered me straight to the hospital for induction. We rushed home to do some last-minute packing and got to the hospital around 5 PM. They took my blood pressure when I got there and it was back to normal - 110/70. I was so upset, I thought they were going to send me home because my doctor's policy was to induce at 41 weeks and I was a couple days "early." Luckily, they decided to keep me and induce me!
I was 2 cm, 80% effaced to start. At 7 PM, they gave me prostin gel. At 1 AM, I still hadn't made a lot of progress even though I'd been having some regular contractions. At 4 AM, they broke my water and I got an epidural. At 7 AM, I hadn't dilated any further so they give me Pitocin. At 9 AM, I had dilated up to 4 cm and was convinced I was going to be in labor FOREVER since I had only progressed 2 cm in about 14 hours. I worried I would end up with a C-section, which I'm not opposed to, but I was concerned about the longer recovery time and wanted to avoid that. I fell asleep a little bit after that - at that point, I'd been awake for over 24 hours.
I woke up a little before noon with an urgent need to push. Chris got the nurse and I was finally 10 cm! I started pushing and about 1 PM, Dr. Broberg came in. I was having trouble getting her head out so they asked if they could use the vacuum, which I was fine with. Immediately after that, I remember dreading the pushing even more because that meant shoulders were next. However, after he got her head out with the vacuum, I pushed one more time and her shoulders were out, then one more push and I was done! It all happened very quickly. I remember I was rather hysterical - probably a combination of relief, excitement and temporary insanity :D - and screaming that it was over and my baby girl was here!
In total, I was in labor for 17 hours and pushed for almost 1 1/2 hours. Averie was born at 1:23 PM on November 3, 2009. She was 8 lbs 3 oz and they said 19 inches long at first, but we thought she looked longer and re-measured her later that day at 22 inches.
Averie, 1 day old
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
