New Favorites

Princess is changing every day.  She is starting to string words together, but it is still a major guessing game to figure out what these phrases actually mean.  She says something that sounds like "what it is" a lot, and I think I have heard her say "no not yet" on occasion.  She is so much fun.

She has some new favorite activities.  First:  Getting inside her blocks box, covering herself with blocks, and then chucking them over her shoulders.  Note:  It is best to stay in front of her during this activity.  :)

Another favorite:  She is able to climb onto the seat by the window, and she will play for an hour at a time, lining up her "beep beeps" and moving them around.

And my personal favorite:  The Toys R Us ad.  This has been her best buddy for quite a few days now.  She likes to carry it around and turn to the Power Wheels page and point out all the "beep beeps".  I dread the day when she realizes all the toys in there are for sale.  :)



Football, AWANA, and Tot School

Football season is upon us.  This week, the "real" season of Monday Night Football began.  My husband had an idea to invite the men of the church to join him to watch the Monday night games.  There were ten men gathered in our livingroom this week, and I thoroughly enjoyed sitting in my room, watching reruns of Grey's Anatomy on Hulu, while listening to the sounds of male bonding coming from the livingroom.  Princess slept through it all, so everyone was happy!

Our first night of AWANA was Sunday night, and I am looking forward to working with the girls this year.  I have two co-leaders that I look forward to getting to know better throughout the AWANA year as well.

I have been doing a little bit of Tot School with the Princess this week.  We bought a toy at a garage sale - one of those that you push the letter or number and it says the name of it.  We have been using that toy to work on numbers.  So far everything is "E" to Princess, but she's enjoying the toy.  :)

Just a few pictures to wrap up my post:

Zoo and Baby "Belt"

I have lots of photos for you today!

First:  I am attempting to make our blog more stalker-proof.  We have never had an issue that we are aware of, but I realize I have not been taking as much precaution as I probably should be.  For that reason, you will notice the change of names on the blog.  I will be referring to our daughter as Princess (because she rules the house), and my husband and I...well we'll see what names come up!  :)

Princess and I went to the zoo this week with a friend of mine and her two little ones.  My husband and I had never taken her to the zoo before, because she still seems so little to us, and we didn't know if she would enjoy it.  Well, Wednesday was a cool day, and kids were back in school, so it was a perfect day for a zoo trip.  Princess loved it!  So did the other two kids.

Here are a few pictures:

Sharing graham crackers with a monkey:

Bless the person who thought to put a wooden train in the zoo for kids to play on.  They LOVED it!

They also loved these drums.  :)

Smiley Princess:

Baby "Belt":  One of my nephews has the same issue as Princess - a tiny waist.  Okay, more than one nephew has that issue, but I am thinking of one in particular.  My sister-in-law bought him a Dapper Snapper, which acts as a belt while taking safety and potty training into consideration.  I saw the price of these and was a little disappointed.  But I liked the idea, so I tried making one.  Success!  Mine is not stretchy like the original, nor is it as attractive.  But it is functional, adjustable, and affordable (about $2.00 to make 2).

AWANA starts this week!  I am looking forward to working with the 5th-6th grade girls at our church.  I have never worked with this age group before, but I am sure we will have good times.  :)  I am so thankful for various ladies of the church who have volunteered to work in the nursery to make this possible.  So excited. 

Walgreens 100 Dollar Challenge: Weeks 11-12

I apologize for not being on the ball with posting lately.  Here are my transactions for the past two weeks.

Week 11:

I did 2 transactions this week.

(2) Kelloggs Rice Krispies

Price:  $2.50 each

MFG Coupon:  $1.00

Total Price:  $4.00

RR Received:  $2.00

(3) Nivea Body Wash (2 Women's, 1 Men's)

Price:  (2)$5.99, (1) Free

MFG Coupon:  (1) B2G1 free, $4 off 2

WAG Deal:  B1G1 Free

Total Price:  $1.99

Crest Toothpaste

Price:  $3.00

MFG Coupon:  $1.00

Total Price:  $2.00

(2) Oral-B Toothbrushes

Price:  $3.00 each

Total Price:  $6.00

RR Earned from Toothpaste and Toothbrushes:  $4.00

RR Used:  $2.00 Head and Shoulders, (2) $1.00 Herbal Essence

Subtotal Before Coupons:  $25.98

Subtotal After Coupons:  $7.99

Sales Tax:  $1.26

Savings Percentage:  70%

*(Note: Savings percentages are calculated prior to tax. Since there’s no way for me to decrease my tax amount, it is simply not factored in.)

Week 12:

I did two transactions this week.

(2) Carmex Lip Balm

Price:  $2.00 each

Coupons:  None

Total Price:  $4.00 total

RR Earned:  (2) $2.00

Walgreens Feminine Hygiene Product

Price:  $1.99

Coupons:  None

Total Price:  $1.99

RR Earned:  $2.00

Breathe Right Nasal Strips

Price:  $4.00

Coupons:  None

Total Price:  $4.00

RR Earned:  $4.00

Cherry Coke Zero (All that shopping made me thirsty.  Thirst made me spend money unwisely.)

Price:  $1.59

Bottle Deposit:  $.10

Coupons:  None

Total Price:  $1.69

RR Used:  (2) $4.00, $2.00 Kelloggs

Subtotal Before Coupons:  $11.68

Subtotal After Coupons:  $1.68

Sales Tax:  $.60

Savings Percentage:  85%

*(Note: Savings percentages are calculated prior to tax. Since there’s no way for me to decrease my tax amount, it is simply not factored in.)

Yearly Totals

Amount Spent:  $29.28

Amount Saved:  $268.10

$3.00 rebate pending from Crayola - will adjust totals once received

Wearable Blanket

I completed a new project today.  This is something I had been wanting to do for awhile, and plans have been forming in my head as to how.  Had I known this would be so easy, I would have made this project months ago!

My baby wears a wearable blanket to bed every night.  It is so nice, because I do not have to worry about her kicking the covers off and fussing.  One feature I love about the blankets she has is that the zipper is inverted.  It zips down rather than up, so she does not play with the zipper in the middle of the night, and it does not scratch her neck.  This feature was extremely nice when she was a newborn, because it allowed for quick midnight diaper changes.  Therefore, I incorporated that idea into the blanket I made.

Here is my first homemade wearable blanket.  I made this from a fleece blanket we no longer use, so the total cost was that of the zipper:  $2.50.  Not bad for something that retails around $20.00!  Also, the entire project took 1 hour from start to finish.  This is a newborn size, and the only adjustment I would make is the size of the neck hole.  I think that's a little small for a baby.

Perhaps this is something I could make more of and sell?  What do you think?

                 Front View:                                                                  Back View:

Tot School

You may remember me posting quite awhile ago about Tot School that I had been working on with Princess.  Basically, it is playing with a purpose.  The concept is to use playtime as a time to also teach Princess, and also as a time for the two of us to spend quality time together.

I had given up on Tot School for awhile because I did not have many resources, and I did not want to put forth the effort to come up with things to do.  After Princess' doctor's appointment last week, I was encouraged to get back into it.  The doctor had said that Princess' receptive language was great and that she was a smart little girl.  She told me to work on shapes, animal sounds, colors, numbers, and move right into her ABC's.  I'll be honest - I never really thought of working on those things with her.  I guess I thought they would come naturally? 

This week, I took some cookie cutters that we got for a wedding gift and cut out foam shapes in various colors.  I highly recommend cookie cutters for Tot School.  They're very versatile, and I have a feeling you will be hearing about many more cookie cutter projects in the future.

Then I asked Princess to pick up certain shapes.  For example:  "Where is the purple doggie?"  She got most of those right.

Since she was getting the shapes right, I decided to work on colors.  I cut out hearts in various colors and asked her to bring me the blue heart.  At that point, Tot School was over for the day.  She lost interest and ran off to another activity.  We'll try again another day.  :)

Through some recent conversations with friends, I have really been challenged about my work ethic.  I am currently a stay-at-home mom, and I do view that as my job.  But I am much lazier at home than I would be in a work environment.  I have been challenged to work hard at my job as a wife/mom/homemaker, because it is the job God has given me to do right now. 

These past two days, I have gotten more accomplished than I did in the previous two weeks!  I guess that is another motivation behind getting back into Tot School, and I look forward to more projects in the days ahead.  :)