Couponing Comeback!

So since Chris lost his job, I just haven't been feelin' the couponing. It was always a fun thing for me, but I just lost interest and my newspapers would pile up for weeks. I only clipped the ones for things I knew we absolutely needed to buy, and left the rest, often missing out on some good deals. Since I wasn't clipping all the coupons, I couldn't get in on most of the good deals anyway, even if I really wanted to. Until today :D. Freebies 2 Deals posted a scenario at Smith's that I could do with just printable coupons!

I saved $51.69, spent $39.58, but then I got $12 back in catalinas, so essentially I only spent $27. Considering that's less than I would have spent on just the bags (15 boxes worth), I think things went well - and this should keep us in ziploc bags for awhile :D.

While it's snowing and blowing and otherwise ugly outside this week, I think I'll sit down and organize my coupon file, catch up on my newspapers and get my crazy couponing self back in the game :).

It's been awhile!

I have been a very terrible blogger, but sadly there hasn't been too much to report.

Chris remains unemployed, but we'll hang on for a bit longer thanks to a much larger tax refund than we expected. And once again, the Lord proves He knows better than I do -- I've been having some medical problems lately that would have made taking care of Averie on my own very difficult, so having Chris home all this time has actually been a wonderful blessing. We both have the feeling that once my problems are resolved, that that will be the time for Chris to get an offer of employment.

In happier news, I will be (finally) graduating this year! It's been a long time coming seeing as I started college in 2003. I owe the past eight years of school to multiple major changes and only attending classes part-time (while I worked full-time) for several semesters. It is a good feeling to be done. Now we can focus on expanding our family (once Chris is employed again) and getting Chris finished with his own degree.

Now for some Averie updates...

As of a couple weeks ago, Averie weighs 22 pounds 10 ounces. She's wearing 12 to 18 month clothes (which are quickly becoming too short, though they fit perfectly everywhere else) and size 4 diapers. She has tiny feet though -- she wears a size 3 with room to grow, when the "normal" size for her age would be a size 5!

Averie started walking shortly before her first birthday, but last week, she started running! The look on her face when she realized she could move faster was priceless. More fun for us, I suppose!

She is still not talking much and though I am concerned, full-blown mommy worrying has not kicked in yet. We read to her on a daily basis and narrate our activities to her so I know we are doing everything we can be doing right now to encourage her. And in my own reading and research, I found there is typically a big language explosion around 18 months so she still has some time.

Averie does understand a lot of words, so that makes communicating with her much easier. She knows "no" and "stop" (thank goodness! We use those a lot :P), "milk", "lunch", "cup", "keys", "diaper", "cheese", "book", "toys", "bath" (her favorite time of the day!) and a handful of others I can't remember. She waves when we say "bye-bye" and responds to "clap" and "dance" by doing so, or whenever she hears any music (even TV commercials, LOL). Body parts she knows are bellybutton, nose, mouth and hair.

She takes after Chris and I when it comes to being independent, too. Averie loves to do things on her own, especially feeding herself. Makes for some fun (albeit messy) mealtimes. She tries (mostly unsuccessfully) to put on her own hat and shoes and is a pro at taking them off :P. She even helps put away her toys at the end of each day by throwing them (literally, LOL) into her toy bins.

Averie LOVES cheese, playing peek-a-boo, Silly Songs with Larry (Veggie Tales), and her Uncle Tyler because he can throw her up in the air higher than anyone else :).

Thank you

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!

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 :).

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 :).

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.

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)

Preheat the oven to 400 F.

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.

If you use the same brands we did, the entire "pizza" is only 335 calories, and VERY filling!

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!

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)

The end result:

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!!