Well, I don't think 2 people without jobs could be any happier than Andrew and I are. Don't get me wrong, financially we took a big hit, but when we decided I'd be staying home, we buckled down. We almost never eat out anymore; the occasional fast food dollar menu purchases do occur, but for the most part I've been buying fresh, making tons of stuff homemade, stretching my grocery bill, consuming leftovers and saving money! I've tried to coupon and it was a waste of my time and efforts. What I can do is purchase wisely and use what I have. We've been doing great at not letting food expire (happened all the time before) and using what we have. I can buy a whole little chicken for about $6 and pull 3 meals, plus leftovers, from it. I've been buying ground pork instead of ground beef for certain recipes and we buy the store brand on almost everything! Anyway, I didn't mean to make this post about shopping and groceries (how boring), but about the fact that we've been doing pretty good. Andrew and I are both actively looking for work at this time. But in the meantime, we are finding some really awesome cheap or free things to do around our area. Just because we don't have a lot of money doesn't mean we have to be bored!
We take full advantage of our Netflix ($7/month) subscription. We have family movie nights very often. We also have been checking out the free movie of the month at a local church theater. Tonight, we're taking everybody (this means Hadley) to see Dolphin Tale. $1 popcorn and sodas, plus a free movie, can't beat it! Last summer, Andrew got us a Magic House membership. At the end of this month, we'll be checking out Dr. Seuss's birthday party there and in April we're going to check out the Easter activities they have - can't wait for the egg roll. And if this wonderful weather continues to stick around, I feel some zoo and science center visits coming on. Maybe a picnic in Forest Park, followed by a chocolate malt at Crown Candy? Mmmm, this girl is ready for summer!
I'm constantly on the internet, trying to find out what we can do around here or in St. Louis for free or cheap that would be great for the kids. That Magic House membership was an awesome idea - I sense a Christmas present idea for next year. We've went several times already and it's Avery's favorite place to go. And thank goodness my parents have a pool for this summer - I can't wait to relax in the waters and get Avery some professional swimming lessons.
We still pay a very small fee monthly for her ballet and tap lessons. It's so cheap I know we can come up with the money from somewhere. And she loves it. We have a recital coming up the first weekend in June. I cannot wait to see the little kids - they crack me up! Avery is very serious about it and genuinely enjoys ballet and tap.
I hope we can keep finding cheap and free things for the kids to do - I want her to experience so much, and Hadley is almost at the age where she's going to start really noticing things. :)
Friday, February 3, 2012
Tuesday, January 24, 2012
6 month check-up
Let's pretend the date says somewhere right around January 9th, since that was the date of Hadley's 6 month check-up. ;)
Hadley weights 15lb2oz (25th percentile), which is quite a bit down from last month's 50th percentile range. In fact, she only gained a few ounces between her 4 month and 6 month check-ups. I was very surprised when I saw this, as she was a little heavier in December when she went after being sick. However, between her cold and the stomach flu, the doctor said it was to be expected, especially when babies at 6 months start being more active and steadying out on their weight. Another surprising fact: Avery weight 15lb11oz at her 6 month appointment - that's so crazy to me!
She was also 26 1/2 inches (75th percentile), so she's going to be tall (tall and skinny like Daddy?). She's in 6-9 month clothes and slowly getting too long for her 6 month clothes and heading into 9 month. She's also fitting really well into her 6-12 month clothes.
And as I write this, the girl is rolling all over the floor. She will just go and go and go until she crashes from wearing herself out. She's also trying to figure out a scoot - she ducks her head and gets her legs going. I doubt it will be too long before she's moving around that way too.
As for solids, she's on a good schedule with that. She loves the Mum-Mum biscuit things (she's definitely teething), apples, bananas, sweet potatoes, prunes and apple juice (which she gets daily due to still being a little constipated; things definitely move with that stuff!). She doesn't like carrots and her cereal plain. However, mix both with apples and she's good to go! Next on our list of stuff to try: squash, pears, mangos and peas!
Hadley weights 15lb2oz (25th percentile), which is quite a bit down from last month's 50th percentile range. In fact, she only gained a few ounces between her 4 month and 6 month check-ups. I was very surprised when I saw this, as she was a little heavier in December when she went after being sick. However, between her cold and the stomach flu, the doctor said it was to be expected, especially when babies at 6 months start being more active and steadying out on their weight. Another surprising fact: Avery weight 15lb11oz at her 6 month appointment - that's so crazy to me!
She was also 26 1/2 inches (75th percentile), so she's going to be tall (tall and skinny like Daddy?). She's in 6-9 month clothes and slowly getting too long for her 6 month clothes and heading into 9 month. She's also fitting really well into her 6-12 month clothes.
And as I write this, the girl is rolling all over the floor. She will just go and go and go until she crashes from wearing herself out. She's also trying to figure out a scoot - she ducks her head and gets her legs going. I doubt it will be too long before she's moving around that way too.
As for solids, she's on a good schedule with that. She loves the Mum-Mum biscuit things (she's definitely teething), apples, bananas, sweet potatoes, prunes and apple juice (which she gets daily due to still being a little constipated; things definitely move with that stuff!). She doesn't like carrots and her cereal plain. However, mix both with apples and she's good to go! Next on our list of stuff to try: squash, pears, mangos and peas!
Sunday, January 8, 2012
6 months!
Hadley is 6 months - I cannot believe that 2011 is over and that already a half of a year has passed since Hadley's birth. Last year was a great year for us, what with Hadley finally joining our family. It took 2 years to get that adorable little bundle into our house, and I couldn't love her more than I do. She's awesome.
But we are starting to have some issues... constipation and teething have left her wanting to be held and bounced non-stop - even in sleep. :( That's hard for us... Andrew and I are 2 people that love our sleep. Thankfully, he really does help me out, so I can still get some rest in between the crying jags. I hope this is a stage that passes quickly. She's starting to actually throw fits, so I hope she isn't getting too spoiled. (Actually, I don't even care if she is... I love spoiling babies.)
Tomorrow we go to the doctor for her 6 month check up, which is exciting to see how much she's grown, but it's also sad because that means 6 month shots. She hasn't really had too much of a reaction to them, so I hope that rings true tomorrow as well.
I know the next 6 months are going to go by really fast too, so I've already started planning Hadley's first birthday (as well as Avery's fourth). I can't wait! I love planning parties. :)
But we are starting to have some issues... constipation and teething have left her wanting to be held and bounced non-stop - even in sleep. :( That's hard for us... Andrew and I are 2 people that love our sleep. Thankfully, he really does help me out, so I can still get some rest in between the crying jags. I hope this is a stage that passes quickly. She's starting to actually throw fits, so I hope she isn't getting too spoiled. (Actually, I don't even care if she is... I love spoiling babies.)
Tomorrow we go to the doctor for her 6 month check up, which is exciting to see how much she's grown, but it's also sad because that means 6 month shots. She hasn't really had too much of a reaction to them, so I hope that rings true tomorrow as well.
I know the next 6 months are going to go by really fast too, so I've already started planning Hadley's first birthday (as well as Avery's fourth). I can't wait! I love planning parties. :)
Wednesday, January 4, 2012
Christmas 2011
Wow, what an exciting and full Christmas holiday we had! Daddy was on vacation, so it was nice to have him home with us... unfortunately, we all ended up sick (thankfully in between Christmas and New Year's).
Christmas Eve we went to our church's Christmas Eve service (I enjoyed it by teaching the preschoolers - what an awesome bunch of kids showed up that night!) and then we finally got to see Andrew's brother, sister-in-law and our nieces, Addy and Zoey. Avery was super excited Addy showed up in her class that night - they would not stop hugging and kissing each other.
When we got home, we spent a little time with his family, but we also gave our gifts to the girls: new sets of pjs for each girl, Chicka Chicka Boom Boom books for Hadley and Llama Llama books for Avery, as well as an ornament each (Belle for Avery, Baby's First Christmas for Hadley). Avery surprisingly understood she needed to go right to sleep and bedtime was fairly easy. She sad goodbye for the year to Horton our Elf (who left her presents and some books before he left).
The next morning, I woke up about 7:30 am (I am usually the first up). Neither Avery or Andrew wanted to get up to open presents, but since my family was coming at 9:00 am, they finally consented.
Avery was SO excited for all she got from Santa! And Hadley really liked the presents she got too. She tore right in to the wrapping paper! :)
We had breakfast with my family and then opened more presents. Avery got way too much - you can tell when she's tired of opening them.
After that, we headed to Andrew's parents' for the rest of the night - where we also received way too many gifts! Our families are so good to us, and to our girls.
Monday night/Tuesday morning I ended up with the stomach flu. A few days later, both girls woke up puking. And Andrew suffered from an ear infection. It was a week of laying around the house! Thankfully, we were good to go by New Year's and spent the New Year with some family and some of our great friends.
Avery's favorite gifts:
Pink CD player with microphone
Play kitchen
Ariel salon
Baby Alive doll
Disney princess "Barbie" dolls
Portable DVD player
Cinderella Cat (thanks to some Build-A-Bear giftcards)
Cinderella alarm clock
Books - the girl can't get enough
Hadley's favorite gifts:
Violet
VTech jungle toy
Crawl ball
Ball popper
(At least, I think so - these are the ones that have captured her attention the most)
So thankful for the time we got to spend with family this past week and a half. We are both very close to our families and we enjoy spending time with them, and I know Avery absolutely loves it; especially the time she got to spend with her cousin, Addy.
Christmas Eve we went to our church's Christmas Eve service (I enjoyed it by teaching the preschoolers - what an awesome bunch of kids showed up that night!) and then we finally got to see Andrew's brother, sister-in-law and our nieces, Addy and Zoey. Avery was super excited Addy showed up in her class that night - they would not stop hugging and kissing each other.
When we got home, we spent a little time with his family, but we also gave our gifts to the girls: new sets of pjs for each girl, Chicka Chicka Boom Boom books for Hadley and Llama Llama books for Avery, as well as an ornament each (Belle for Avery, Baby's First Christmas for Hadley). Avery surprisingly understood she needed to go right to sleep and bedtime was fairly easy. She sad goodbye for the year to Horton our Elf (who left her presents and some books before he left).
The next morning, I woke up about 7:30 am (I am usually the first up). Neither Avery or Andrew wanted to get up to open presents, but since my family was coming at 9:00 am, they finally consented.
Avery was SO excited for all she got from Santa! And Hadley really liked the presents she got too. She tore right in to the wrapping paper! :)
We had breakfast with my family and then opened more presents. Avery got way too much - you can tell when she's tired of opening them.
After that, we headed to Andrew's parents' for the rest of the night - where we also received way too many gifts! Our families are so good to us, and to our girls.
Monday night/Tuesday morning I ended up with the stomach flu. A few days later, both girls woke up puking. And Andrew suffered from an ear infection. It was a week of laying around the house! Thankfully, we were good to go by New Year's and spent the New Year with some family and some of our great friends.
Avery's favorite gifts:
Pink CD player with microphone
Play kitchen
Ariel salon
Baby Alive doll
Disney princess "Barbie" dolls
Portable DVD player
Cinderella Cat (thanks to some Build-A-Bear giftcards)
Cinderella alarm clock
Books - the girl can't get enough
Hadley's favorite gifts:
Violet
VTech jungle toy
Crawl ball
Ball popper
(At least, I think so - these are the ones that have captured her attention the most)
So thankful for the time we got to spend with family this past week and a half. We are both very close to our families and we enjoy spending time with them, and I know Avery absolutely loves it; especially the time she got to spend with her cousin, Addy.
Thursday, December 22, 2011
Santa Claus
Until I married Andrew, I didn't give much thought to how other families do their Christmas, and whether or not Santa visits their house and what he usually does when he gets there.
Once Andrew and I were getting ready to start a family, we discussed these things.
For us, Santa was a big deal. I remember on Christmas Eve all 4 of us girls would be in our room (and even when we split up 2 and 2, a lot of times we'd end up in one room). We'd push our beds together and try to stay up. We'd giggle and talk and I vividly remember the one time I swore I heard Santa up on the roof. We'd eventually fall asleep, but we'd wake up around 3 or 4 and wake up each other. We'd sneak into the living room and our tree would be bursting with gifts. We were never allowed to wake mom and dad up any earlier than 5:00, I think (it may even have been earlier!). We would go through each gift and make piles and anxiously wait until it was time. We'd rush upstairs and wake up my parents and we'd spend all morning opening gifts. Santa was awesome. And the Easter Bunny was pretty cool too - he always hid our baskets so we'd have to go searching for them. He also always got into stuff, like flour or sugar, and would leave a trail all around the kitchen.
So, once Andrew and I were starting our family, I figured we could talk about how we would do it - I imagined the same way, but I wanted to know his family traditions.
"Oh," he said, "we didn't really believe in Santa or the Easter Bunny." And he didn't - like ever! I didn't realize that other families may do it differently. I talked to friends and Santa would get them like 1 or 2 big gifts. Some Santas didn't wrap the presents from them.
Since Andrew had nothing to compare it to, we're going my family's way. :)
On Christmas Eve night we exchange our gifts to each other and Avery (and now Hadley) get a few presents - an ornament to put on the tree, new pjs to wear that night and maybe a small toy (books this year). Christmas morning is totally all about Santa. He is bringing quite a bit this year. I'm SO excited to see Avery's face. We're going to put together a few of the bigger gifts and just cover them up, because last year she was very impatient while Andrew had to put them together. This way, she can play with them right away. I figured, maybe that could be a little tradition - 1 big toy for each kid already put together and ready to be played with - at least, until they get to the age where I remember getting up hours early to check out presents. The one year we got hamsters was pretty exciting because they weren't wrapped and we already started playing with them and had names picked out before my parents even got up.
Once Andrew and I were getting ready to start a family, we discussed these things.
For us, Santa was a big deal. I remember on Christmas Eve all 4 of us girls would be in our room (and even when we split up 2 and 2, a lot of times we'd end up in one room). We'd push our beds together and try to stay up. We'd giggle and talk and I vividly remember the one time I swore I heard Santa up on the roof. We'd eventually fall asleep, but we'd wake up around 3 or 4 and wake up each other. We'd sneak into the living room and our tree would be bursting with gifts. We were never allowed to wake mom and dad up any earlier than 5:00, I think (it may even have been earlier!). We would go through each gift and make piles and anxiously wait until it was time. We'd rush upstairs and wake up my parents and we'd spend all morning opening gifts. Santa was awesome. And the Easter Bunny was pretty cool too - he always hid our baskets so we'd have to go searching for them. He also always got into stuff, like flour or sugar, and would leave a trail all around the kitchen.
So, once Andrew and I were starting our family, I figured we could talk about how we would do it - I imagined the same way, but I wanted to know his family traditions.
"Oh," he said, "we didn't really believe in Santa or the Easter Bunny." And he didn't - like ever! I didn't realize that other families may do it differently. I talked to friends and Santa would get them like 1 or 2 big gifts. Some Santas didn't wrap the presents from them.
Since Andrew had nothing to compare it to, we're going my family's way. :)
On Christmas Eve night we exchange our gifts to each other and Avery (and now Hadley) get a few presents - an ornament to put on the tree, new pjs to wear that night and maybe a small toy (books this year). Christmas morning is totally all about Santa. He is bringing quite a bit this year. I'm SO excited to see Avery's face. We're going to put together a few of the bigger gifts and just cover them up, because last year she was very impatient while Andrew had to put them together. This way, she can play with them right away. I figured, maybe that could be a little tradition - 1 big toy for each kid already put together and ready to be played with - at least, until they get to the age where I remember getting up hours early to check out presents. The one year we got hamsters was pretty exciting because they weren't wrapped and we already started playing with them and had names picked out before my parents even got up.
Friday, December 16, 2011
Black Friday Shopping... what a scam.
Before I post regarding my title, I'll actually do a small update on the girls... since this blog is about them, and only partially about their wonderful mom. ;)
Staying at home has been absolutely the best thing I could be doing right now. I don't think that sentence is grammatically correct, but that's exactly how I was thinking it, so... anyway. Best thing ever. Monday I get to go help Avery's class for their Christmas party. And Tuesday I get to go listen to their short Christmas sing-a-long program, which is during the school day, so that's definitely not something I would easily have been able to attend if I were still working full time.
Hadley has been pushing herself up to a sitting position. If she has any sort of leverage or if she's laying at an incline, she will struggle on her elbows until she gets herself pushed up. She's very nosy. She likes seeing what's going on all around her. And every time she sits up, she has a huge smile on her face. She's been pushing up a lot on her arms too, so I don't think it will be too long before she's crawling and sitting up on her own.
On to the Black Friday scam of shopping:
So, we went to Walmart at about 8pm on Thanksgiving Day. I always get a thrill about going in huge crowds, even though I absolutely hate big crowds and I end up agitated by the end of the night. I went with my family, and they had tons of stuff to get, but there were only a few things I saw in the ad I wanted to get. The most important was the Ariel Magical Talking Salon. It's the "biggest" (read: most expensive) present on Avery's list and listed at $80, it was only $50 on Black Friday! I also picked her up a table and chairs set that was on sale for $20 (usually $30). I was super excited since we got both. Until I went to Walmart Wednesday night. They had tons of the table and chairs sets, still marked at $20. But then.... then I noticed the Ariel Salon..... marked down to $35.00. !!!!!!!!!!!!!
I checked with the front desk and they will only give you the difference on your receipt if you made the purchase within the last week. (Dumb.) Well, so what did I do? I went home and got my receipt and my Ariel Salon, went right back to Walmart, returned the salon, got my money back, went out to Lawn & Garden and grabbed the $35.00 Salon (same thing) and checked out with two extra gifts from the extra money.
Then I told Andrew that next year when I say we HAVE to go shopping Black Friday to remind me of this so I will realize it's much more fun to go shopping the week before Christmas when there are NO lines and the sales are better.
Seriously. I'm so over Black Friday. I'm even labeling this post so that next year when I say, "Black Friday is so worth it!" I can search my blog for Black Friday and find this post, which totally proves Black Friday is NOT worth it. Random Wednesday was a much better experience. :)
Staying at home has been absolutely the best thing I could be doing right now. I don't think that sentence is grammatically correct, but that's exactly how I was thinking it, so... anyway. Best thing ever. Monday I get to go help Avery's class for their Christmas party. And Tuesday I get to go listen to their short Christmas sing-a-long program, which is during the school day, so that's definitely not something I would easily have been able to attend if I were still working full time.
Hadley has been pushing herself up to a sitting position. If she has any sort of leverage or if she's laying at an incline, she will struggle on her elbows until she gets herself pushed up. She's very nosy. She likes seeing what's going on all around her. And every time she sits up, she has a huge smile on her face. She's been pushing up a lot on her arms too, so I don't think it will be too long before she's crawling and sitting up on her own.
On to the Black Friday scam of shopping:
So, we went to Walmart at about 8pm on Thanksgiving Day. I always get a thrill about going in huge crowds, even though I absolutely hate big crowds and I end up agitated by the end of the night. I went with my family, and they had tons of stuff to get, but there were only a few things I saw in the ad I wanted to get. The most important was the Ariel Magical Talking Salon. It's the "biggest" (read: most expensive) present on Avery's list and listed at $80, it was only $50 on Black Friday! I also picked her up a table and chairs set that was on sale for $20 (usually $30). I was super excited since we got both. Until I went to Walmart Wednesday night. They had tons of the table and chairs sets, still marked at $20. But then.... then I noticed the Ariel Salon..... marked down to $35.00. !!!!!!!!!!!!!
I checked with the front desk and they will only give you the difference on your receipt if you made the purchase within the last week. (Dumb.) Well, so what did I do? I went home and got my receipt and my Ariel Salon, went right back to Walmart, returned the salon, got my money back, went out to Lawn & Garden and grabbed the $35.00 Salon (same thing) and checked out with two extra gifts from the extra money.
Then I told Andrew that next year when I say we HAVE to go shopping Black Friday to remind me of this so I will realize it's much more fun to go shopping the week before Christmas when there are NO lines and the sales are better.
Seriously. I'm so over Black Friday. I'm even labeling this post so that next year when I say, "Black Friday is so worth it!" I can search my blog for Black Friday and find this post, which totally proves Black Friday is NOT worth it. Random Wednesday was a much better experience. :)
Sunday, December 11, 2011
Horton the Elf
Our elf Horton has been super busy this year! As I posted earlier, he showed up with a full breakfast for everyone, straight from the North Pole! And he brought a little stuffed toy for both girls.
He's also been hiding in some silly spots this year! Unfortunately, I am bad and haven't taken pictures of every single day, and I uploaded some on my phone or Andrew's phone (like his ride in the car with Cinderella one day), but here are a few pictures from Horton's Adventures:
Horton left a pile of presents one night- our book tradition. He also likes to play in Mommy's flour and steal my dry erase marker to draw on our family pictures!
I didn't get a picture of his marshmallow and cookie bath or when he hid in the bathroom and turned the toilet water green. This elf is so silly, but Avery is loving it! I told her as long as Horton cleans up his messes every night, then Mommy wouldn't get mad. And so far, he's been very good at that. Loving this year's Christmas with both girls: Avery is really getting into Santa and the elf, but she also has been asking a million questions about Baby Jesus. And Hadley is getting so alert and is now rolling over and scootching herself around, so I know Christmas morning is going to be so fun! Just a few more weeks!
He's also been hiding in some silly spots this year! Unfortunately, I am bad and haven't taken pictures of every single day, and I uploaded some on my phone or Andrew's phone (like his ride in the car with Cinderella one day), but here are a few pictures from Horton's Adventures:
Horton left a pile of presents one night- our book tradition. He also likes to play in Mommy's flour and steal my dry erase marker to draw on our family pictures!
I didn't get a picture of his marshmallow and cookie bath or when he hid in the bathroom and turned the toilet water green. This elf is so silly, but Avery is loving it! I told her as long as Horton cleans up his messes every night, then Mommy wouldn't get mad. And so far, he's been very good at that. Loving this year's Christmas with both girls: Avery is really getting into Santa and the elf, but she also has been asking a million questions about Baby Jesus. And Hadley is getting so alert and is now rolling over and scootching herself around, so I know Christmas morning is going to be so fun! Just a few more weeks!
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