Easter Sunday

Here are the two kids playing together yesterday. Justin and Nellie rec'd Easter bags with goodies...both were in love with their dogs......



What is inside?


Nellie was a good spirit and most of the time let Justin play with her dog too...he wanted whatever she had all day long.


See...I got both of them.


Surprise....later last night we got a visit from Uncle Sam.....Justin took to him very quickly....he found a new friend to play with. He was showing him how the hammer works and showing him all his books too...

a day at the park

Today I met up with a friend at the park...here are two photo's to share.

Frugal Friday - Week 3

cloth bags....I have about 6 of them and one from Costco...they are great...

1. you can put more groceries in a cloth bag than plastic - thus less trips from car to house
2. Some stores offer a bag credit if you bring your own....my store is 9 cents per bag...I average about 5 bags...that is 45 cents per week times 52 weeks and I save $23.40 per year.....pretty good.
3. you are saving the environment

Sometimes I forget my item, so if I am not buying too much, I ask to not get a bag. Yesterday I was at the local store and just picking up tylenol and motrin for Justin (teething)....and I asked to put them in my purse.....it worked great...between carrying a 23 pound child, bags of stuff, Iand a purse, it was easier to put the items in my purse.

Here we are walking

Molars

So, for the past few days we have been working on 2 more teeth. I though they were the "fang' teeth, but after looking online I think they are going to be his first set of molars.....Great! So far we have had a runny nose...mostly clear..only had to wipe this AM once...hoping it doesn't get worse, as I would like to go see Mom & Dad next week.

Fun with Justin

I have been a slacker at taking pictures....my camera has been full and so finally today I am clearing it off...here are some from the past few weeks.

Hanging out with Mom...


Here we are trying to get Justin to walk to us....we have tried to video it, but he then is more interested in the camera.


Justin rec'd a new plate, bowl, and cup set from a friend this past weekend...we have been having fun "playing" with it. We pretend we are eating from the bowl and drinking from the cup..he even shares with us :)

Frugal Friday - Week 2

I don't have a lot for the week...but here are a few thoughts.

Sometimes I have coupons that I don't end up using and after a while I know I won't use them, so when I am at the store, I will leave the coupon by the item that the coupon is for. I figure maybe someone will use it before it expires.

I haven't instituted this yet, but Justin's playgroup is only about 10 blocks away...I figure as long as the weather is nice, I should put him in the stroller and walk there....next week I hope to do this.

I had more, but I can't remember them right now....

Anybody have any GAS saving advice? I have heard only fill your car 1/2 full, and as I read recently in Reader's Digest to empty all unnecessary items out of your car...I don't see the article online, but if I find it I will add to post.....it is about this guy who gets his car to get 150 MPG...driving slow, windows up, no a/c, no stopping at the stop signs, etc....

Frugal Friday

Hi all,

I have been thinking of making my Friday a frugal thoughts day. I am always looking for ways save money and use what we have. Here are two things I have done this week:

1. I started looking in the pantry and the refrigerator to see what was on the verge of going in the round container and included that in our meal plan for the day.

2. I am in love with Bath and Body hand soap, so much that I use it in every bathroom. Not that this is bad, but I have 3 huge containers of bulk soap in the laundry room (paid $3.00 for them) and I have had them for about 3 years. Just plain antibacterial. So, I decided that when my B&B containers went low, I would refill with the stuff I already have...hoping I will still feel good about the soap usage....B&B smells so good.

Steps

Justin is starting to do a few steps, just today..I think he took 2...I figure that counts. he is now standing for longer periods of time and has a lot of fun with that. You will see in the pics below that he is standing up in one and about to fall down...really cute.

One Year Photo Session

We took Justin to get his one year pics yesterday. Since we were sick and gone this past month, it didn't happen on time. So, we are really 13 months, but we will call it 12 :)

He wasn't the happiest for pics, but here are the best ones.

At Mom & Dad's

We came to Mom & Dad's on Friday. Justin did fabulous on the trip. We were traveling solo, so I wasn't sure how he would do. We left home at 7am and he slept for the first 2.5 hours and then played the next 2 hours till we met up with Aunt Elaine for lunch. We had a great lunch and visit with Auntie....then we got back in the car and Justin slept another 1.5 or so hours (till I stopped for Cofee and he woke up)..then he played till we got home...about another 2.5 hours....no screaming and yelling...when he got a bit fussy, I put in some new kids music CD's that Justin got for his bday and we sang songs (old mcdonald, etc)....he did great!!!

1 year checkup

Yesterday Justin had his 1 year checkup. He is doing great!

He weighs in at 22.06 pounds (50th percentile) and is 31 1/4 inches tall (90th Percentile)

He is sure growing up quickly. He is moving all around the furniture, stacking his toys, eating more variety of food, and just every day seems to be growing more.

Finally, a hair cut

Well, here we are earlier today...I actually trimmed Justin's hair out of his eyes about a week ago....still shaggy boy early today.


Another pic so you can see the side.


So, today we all three went to get our hair cut by Auntie Meghan. She did a fantastic job....Justin is getting better at getting his hair cut - but still doesn't LOVE it. :) Daddy and Justin with their new do's.


A close up...Aunt Meghan couldn't resist spiking it.


Even Mommy got a trim. I love how she did my hair, but I know I will never be able to give it the fluff that she gets...She did cut about 3 inches off.....and did layers...I love it.

First Quad Ride

On Sunday we drove over to see Grammy and Grandpa....Justin got his first ride on the Quad. He and Daddy had a lot of fun. When Todd would stop, he would reach his hand out to get it moving again, he knew Daddy twisted that handle up there, and he would take a try at it. When I asked him if he was done, he would shake his head "no"...

Just Born Justin

Happy Day Video and Pics

I am so funny!



Justin hanging out with his favorite Dog.



Happy Birthday to Justin (Mommy's singing isn't the greatest)

Justin's First Birthday

Wow,

it is so hard to believe that it has been 1 year today. In 6 minutes Justin will be exactly 1 year old. He was born at 10:46am. I look back at the blog and see how much has changed in just a short amount of time. And, just how much you can love someone. It is really amazing. We won't be having any big party today since some of the house is still under the weather, but will plan something later this month.

pic to come soon

Stayin' Home Blog

My sister-in-law, Dana, and I have started another blog. Check it out it is Stayin' Home. It is for moms to communicate about the ins and outs of staying at home with the kids. We hope that we can share money saving tips, child rearing advice, funny antidotes, and emotional support when the going gets tough. All are welcome to comment and be contributors even though the emphasis is on staying at home.

If you'd like to be a contributor please just comment on this blog, Dana's blog, or the new Stayin' Home blog.

Cell Phone

Hi all,

well, my cell phone seems to be dead. I talked on it for about an hour yesterday, the battery was depleating, so I plugged it in and it auto turned off......so, last night I went to turn it back on and there is no screen. It looks like it turns on, but no screen. Will have to go get a new one I suppose..we pay for the insurance every month....so, if you call, you might get V/M for a few days.

Update - turns out it works, but the screen doesn't work, so I can use the speaker to get to contacts and make a call...and I can rec've a call, I just won't automatically know who you are.

Day 6

I finally called the doctor today. I feel like I am taking two steps forward, one step back. I actually just called to check about OTC meds while nursing....when the nurse talked to me and heard how bad my voice was, then that I was also caring for a little one (she thought I was a saint for going 6 days)...and so she talked to the doc. They wrote me a prescription over the phone to our local drugstore...so I didn't have to drive to town and back, it was so very nice of them. No co-pay either. Now, if I had known they were going to prescribe me something, I would have gotten some for Todd too, but didn't think of that till after the fact, so since he isn't nursing, I got him some Zicam...the Mucinex just isn't working for him.

hoping to feel really good tomorrow.