Monday, May 23, 2011

Latest Deals

I just had to share the latest deal on Huggies Little Swimmers Diapers:


One package of these costs $9.99 ... crazy expensive when you only get 12 diapers in a package! Well I knew we would be needing these for our beach trip (2.5 weeks away!) so I've been keeping my eyes open for a sale on them. Last week, Babies R Us had them marked down to $6.99 and I had several $2.00 off coupons. They only had 2 packages left in Wyatt's size so I got both of them for $4.99 each. Basically half off, and I thought I got a really good deal! Well, then the Walgreens ad came out yesterday and they had them on sale for $6.99 also, but also had a $2.00 off Walgreens coupon, bringing it down to $4.99, which I could also stack my manufacturer's coupon on top of that... bringing it down to $2.99 !!! So I got 2 more packages at $2.99 each! Woo Hoo! If only I had waited a little longer, I could have gotten all 4 of them at Walgreens.

We got groceries on Saturday and I was pleased as punch to see that I had saved $31.50 in coupons on our grocery bill and my total savings was $44.00 ! Here is a picture of everything that we got FREE!


3 (HEB brand) "Gatorade", 10 Barbeque Sauces, Chipotle Mayo, Rach Dressing, 32 oz. Ketchup, Corn Nuts, 2 Mac N Cheese (1 big, 1 small), Croutons, and Bread... We don't eat white bread though, still not sure what I'm going to do with it. Any ideas? lol

As for the BBQ Sauce.... it was on sale for $1 and the Smart Source ad from last Sunday had $1 OFF coupons! FREE! I got 10 of them! I had 5 more coupons in the car for so I need to go back this week and get 5 more :) If you are able to.. try and get multiple sunday newspapes, for when a deal like this comes around! Mr. was doing some work for a guy last week who had tons of newspapers for packing material so he went through and got all the coupons for me :) What a guy ;)

Make sure you check out the latest Wyatt posts below if you haven't yet <3


Saturday, May 21, 2011

Tooth, Scooting, and Sitting Up

Here's the best picture I've been able to get of Wyatt's new tooth :) If you can see past the drool, it's in there!

This next picture was taken yesterday... He was on his tummy facing that book and all those toys on his blanket. I went to go swap the laundry and when I came back, this is where he was!

I'm going to have to try and get some video of how he's making his way around these days.

And here's a video of him from today working on sitting up :)



Friday, May 20, 2011

Happy 5 Months!


Wyatt...

  • Weighs right at/a little over 16 lbs (per at home measurement), not sure how long he is
  • Wears size 2 and size 3 diapers. We are finishing off the last case of size 2 diapers, and he wears size 3 at night.
  • Is just barely still fitting into his 6 month clothes. He'll be moving into 6-9 month clothes within a couple weeks. *sigh* I was right in last month's post.
  • Sleeps in his crib in his own room now! We moved him out of our room right after he turned 4 months, it was the easiest transition ever. There was nothing to it and he sleeps a whole lot more sound without us coming and going to interrupt him.
  • Has bathtime around 6:30 and goes down between 7:00-7:30, he is slowly stretching it later :) Most nights he has 1 feeding, but here lately he's been sleeping all the way til 5:30. I think he is starting to transition out of needing a night feeding! When he does eat at 5:30 he goes back down for a little bit longer.
  • I am so happy to say that naps are getting much better! In "Healthy Sleep Habits, Healthy Child," Dr. Weissbluth explains that a true morning nap does not develop until 4 months. Sure enough right after he turned 4 months, Wyatt finally started sleeping 1 hour - 1.5 hours for his first nap of the day. This book has been right on for us on everything! Highly recommend it! Then he has a couple more short naps (30-45 minutes), but a long afternoon nap should start developing within a month or 2.
  • Rolls over both ways!
  • Pulls his feet up towards him and plays with them all day.
  • Sits up in his infant play seat all by himself.
  • Stands up in and LOVES his jumparoo!
  • "Tripods" - sits up with his hands out in front of him to hold him up.
  • Has 1 tooth! His bottom, middle, left one... and the right one seems to be working on its way up too! No fun =(
  • Eats baby cereal with his morning bottle! Seems to like it ok, I think we're going to start bananas next week.
  • Loves to reach up and touch our faces, put his hands in our mouth.
  • Holds his bottle.
  • I can't say that he "crawls" but he sure has a way of getting himself around, can't even describe it, lol, but he gets moving.
  • Loves to scoot on his tummy for toys and books that are just out of his reach :)
  • And no one can get that baby laughing like his Daddy can. He loves to play "rough" (both of them, lol), fly around, get thrown around, roll around and "wrestle"... I have a feeling it's only going to get worse :)




(He would much rather feed himself, little Mr. Independent)



hehe

I know I am probably going to say this as he continues to grow, but this is my favorite age so far! We are having so much fun with him <3





Tuesday, May 17, 2011

Jackpot

I hit the JACKPOT at Walgreens this week and just had to share!!


For everything pictured above I paid $14.51 !!!
My total savings was $44.23 !!!

The best deal was the razor. See the razor on the far left. It's the Gillette Fusion Proglide originally priced at $12.99. It is on sale right now for $9.89 and they also give you $5.00 back when you purchase it, bringing it down to $4.89. Well then I had a $4.00 coupon so I ended up getting it for $0.89!!

Not every week is this amazing, especially since I don't buy something just because it's a good deal... I only buy it if it's something we really do use. I'm slowly getting my coupon stash back up so I'm starting to really get back into the game :)

Friday, May 13, 2011

Carrots Are For Rabbits.. and Wyatt!

I had to buy a bag of carrots for a casserole I made, so I figured I'd test out my new Beaba Babycook for the first time and make a batch of carrots! I first read about making babyfood homemade when I was pregnant and reading everything baby related I could get my hands on :) My friend I graduated high school with, Jamie (at The Policastros), had a baby girl shortly before I found out I was pregnant. She made Karlie's baby food using the Beaba and convinced me I had to have one for this endeavor! I also have another good friend, Erin, who is expecting her 3rd in November! She was asking me about the babycook so I figured I'd do a post on my first run with it :)

OK, so first you chop up the fruit/veggie/whatever and toss it in! I did 3 or 4 carrots, can't remember, because I didn't want to overfill it but I definitely could have done even more! And you pour some water into that compartment on the left.





Then, you turn it on to steam it! Here they are steaming...




10-15 minutes later you have steamed carrots, all nice and soft...


Next, you pour them out of that little steaming basket they are in, directly into the bowl and you puree them!




And, VIOLA! You have baby food!




Fresh carrots with no preservatives, fillers, or additives... Homemade baby food has more vitamins and nutrients because it does not undergo the high pressure/heating process the jarred baby food does.



So next, you want to freeze it! Here I am spooning it into freeze containers I got at Babies R Us awhile back when I saw them on sale....




(Yes, I am wearing sweats... in May... in Texas. We got a cold front the weekend I did this.. crazy! And please don't mind my lovely bald spot. I am pleased to say that my hair finally stopped falling out, haha)




You're left with your dirty dishes which can all be tossed in the dishwasher!




You label them and into the freezer they go! Preferably no more than 3 months :) You can thaw out the servings in the fridge the day before you plan on feeding them to baby or right before the feeding just run it under water and warm in the microwave. To thin out the consistency just add formula (or water).




I had so much fun doing this the first time. I'm sure the excitement of it will wear off :) But it's so easy and I am glad I invested in this nifty machine.


And here's my little man being silly in his high chair.... we got this high chair at one of my baby showers, I love it. Right now it is reclined, but it also sits straight up and of course has a tray too. Then you can take the "infant" seat off the base and the bottom is a booster seat for when he is older. We haven't started baby food YET, planning on starting next week at 5 months old. And in case you didn't hear.... he cut his first tooth yesterday!! I tried getting a picture but it's been impossible, lol. As soon as I can photograph it, you'll see it :)



Tuesday, May 10, 2011

On Saving Money And Such....

I do realize that all of my posts are about Wyatt. With eyelashes like these, how can I resist?

Hehe (had to throw a picture of him in here)
Anyways, as you all know Mr. is getting out of the military on June 2nd. I guess you could say he already is out and has been since March 18th. He has been using his "terminal leave" a.k.a. Not working but still getting paid his full paychecks, medical coverage for all of us, base access, Ect. This is definitely a once in a lifetime experience. The 3 of us are together all day, everyday with no financial worries. We are having an amazing time and soaking it all in.

However, it is quickly coming to an end. We are down to only 2 more paychecks. Mr. starts his flight program in August and we will be receiving some of the benefits that are still offered to us through the military, but the reality is that our income is decreasing drastically (and has been for several months now). We went from a 3 job household (for just the 2 of us) to 2 jobs (I quit one of my jobs during my 3rd trimester) and then to 1 job after I had Wyatt. And very soon, neither of us will technically have a "job."

We feel very strongly that it is important that I stay home with Wyatt. (and if you're familiar with daycare prices, you know sometimes it isn't even reasonable to work outside the home just for all that money to get paid to the daycare).

Since I am not working outside the home, I feel that something I can do to help us is SAVE money! I've gotten back into couponing and just wanted to share a little bit about ways I've been saving.

Walgreens is an awesome place to save! The idea behind (extreme) couponing is to match current sales with coupons to maximize your savings. For example, this week at Walgreens, they have all Covergirl cosmetics B1G1 50% off. And there is coupon out right now that is $2.50 off 2 Covergirl products. I shopped Walgreens deals today and ended up spending $11.67 and my SAVINGS totaled $12.22. So I saved more than I spent. (Everything I bought was on sale AND I had a coupon for it. I got 2 things of Lysol toilet bowl cleaner, Colgate toothpaste, Colgate toothbrush, Covergirl mascara, and Covergirl eyeshadow)

I get my coupons mostly from the Sunday newspaper. But there are also several websites online that you can print coupons from. The main one being http://www.coupons.com/. And then I also recently discovered the magazine All You. This month's issue has $85 worth in coupons! And it also has tons of recipes for meals on a budget, freebies and giveaways, ect.

I know I mentioned a few posts ago that I started meal planning again and grocery shopping only to the list. This helps tremendously in cutting down on the grocery bill. Last week we only spent $30 for groceries. (This is not the norm, we just happened to have several things in the panrty and freezer that could be made into meals and planned the week's meals based off what we already had.) But I will be working hard to get our grocery bill as low as I can.

I have tons more to share on this topic but for the sake of putting an end to this post, it'll have to wait until next time! (including sharing about our debt... or lack there-of :) )
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Saturday, May 7, 2011

Mother's Day

My very first Mother’s Day… with a baby in my arms that is.
I originally was going to write a sweet, short letter to Wyatt telling him how much I love him and what he means to me. I didn’t want it to be too “mushy” as I’m more of an introvert, especially when it comes to expressing feelings :) But as I started to write.. I found that this original plan just wasn’t possible…. So here comes the mushiness!
________________________________________________________________________________

Wyatt,

December 19, 2010 at 2:25 pm changed my life forever, in the best possible way I could have ever imagined. I’ve dreamed of being a mommy my whole life. I grew up playing house with my dolls and knew that someday I’d have a baby of my own, a real one ;) I especially knew I wanted to be a mom when I met your Daddy and knew he would be the one I would marry and be with forever.

I thought I had the perfect time picked out to start making my dream a reality. But just like I’ll teach you one day.. it’s not about our timing or our plans.. it’s up to the One who created you! And let me tell you, His ways are perfect. So I began to wait for you… and the months came and went, and then the months turned into years. Some days I was so sad, wondering if I would ever get to meet you. But I always knew you would come… I just had to wait. I prayed for you every day.

And, even though it’s already been over a year since we found out that you were on your way to us, I can still recall every detail as if it were yesterday. Wyatt, you gave us the biggest surprise of our lives! You are so sneaky ;) Watching you grow from within (and boy, did we grow!) was one of the most exciting times in my life.

But there has never been anything better than the moment we met you. Your Daddy and I have never been more proud or thankful or happy (or scared!) as we were on that day =) And even your birth day did not go as we had imagined or planned, but God wrote your story many, many years ago and you were finally ours to bring home on December 26th, 2010… just as healthy and wonderful as you could be!


I could not be more thankful that I get to spend every moment of my day taking care of you. Playing with you, changing your diapers, feeding you, rocking you to sleep, staring at you… there just isn’t anything better. I tear up just about daily just looking at you… watching your big bright eyes looking around the room, those perfect little feet just kick and kick, and those sweet little giggles that melt my heart every. single. time. These moments are fleeting, they are already going by so very quickly. I am doing my best to slow down and soak them in.


You have made my heart so full! You smile every single time I tell you “I love you” …. It’s like you just know what I’m saying. And I can see your eyes saying the same thing back to me. <3 I know in the days to come you are going to bring me your share of trouble (especially looking at your Daddy’s track record ;)) But with all the love and joy you’ve brought me, it’ll be worth it. You are already almost 5 months old and while I wish you could stay little in my arms forever, the best thing about being your mommy is watching you learn and grow!



Wyatt, you are a special, special miracle sent from above. I may not always be the perfect mom, but I promise you I will give you the very best of me. I will teach you, and guide you and protect you, and love you… knowing you are really His child that He just entrusted to me for a short time.

I love you forever and always,

Mommy

Friday, May 6, 2011

Tripoding!




Two days after rolling over from his back, Wyatt decides that he can start sitting up... with a little help from his hands :) It is just amazing how one day they can't do something and the very next day they can do it! At his 4 month appointment, his Dr. said she expects to see him "tripoding" at his 6 month check-up... well here he is at 4.5 months tripoding....





Here he is again later that night in his jammies!




I've got a list of things to work on in the baby book... it sure is filling up fast! So excited for my very first Mother's Day weekend :) We aren't doing anything to exciting, but I'm just so thankful to be celebrating my little man and spending time with my boys. :)

P.S. Diaper changes are looking more like this....



Gone are the days of laying still....

Wednesday, May 4, 2011

Camping in the Big Bend Natl Park!

BIG BEND NATIONAL PARK

If you've never been to the Big Bend in West Texas then you're just flat missing out! Here are a few photos of a three day camping trip I went on last weekend with my Uncle Kirby.

 Sunrise

 Homer Wilson Ranch


Javelina Wash

This Photo is Taken From Inside a Cave I Climbed Into



Santa Elena Canyon

 Burro Mesa Pouroff
 Me and Uncle Kirby
 Looking down at Kirby from a cave I climbed into


 Fresh bear tracks found 100 yds from our campsite
 We camped at the base of Nugent Mtn
Uncle Kirby (2nd from left) and his lifelong friends Buck, David, and John. (L-R)

Me climbing into another cave

Kirby and Me in front of Santa Elena Canyon

 Ahmed Kirby... lol 
Kirby and his dog Bandit walking through a graveyard

Obelisk Grave in the middle of the desert all by itself

Camp Kirby!

Hot Spring on the Rio Grande 
(fresh water flowing at 250k gallons a day with a temp of 105 deg)

Me, Kirby, and Bandit chillin in the Rio Grande

Big Bend has it all, including tunnels

Ruins along the Rio

Another shot of the ruins

Me and Kirby in a dried up creek canal.
Yes that is thick overgrown bamboo!

Abandoned Mariscal Mine on the desert floor

Me and Kirby sitting on the remains of an old Chevy truck outside the mine

Mariscal Mine

Kirby standing in front of a mining shaft

As you can see, Big Bend Natl Park has it all! These photos don't even cover the main attraction, the Chisos Mtn Basin. The Chisos Basin is extremely beautiful but a little crowded with tourist so we explored the roads less traveled. If you really want to see some beautiful country you need to take the time to go to Big Bend National Park.

Thanks again Kirby for inviting me on this trip, you make one heck of a Trail Boss! I'll ride with you any time.

- Mr. 

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About Me

Hi, I'm Jenna! Wife of 9 years to my high school sweetheart, Tyler, and stay-at-home mama to our 3 year old, Wyatt, and 1 year old foster daughter. I blog about our extra-ordinary days to keep family updated and because I enjoy journaling and documenting the things that bring me joy... faith, family, and friends!

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