Long Gone

Right as I was placing Elijah in his car seat on Wednesday, I smelled "it".  Without fail, this child manages to poop every time I'm about to place him in his car seat, thus delaying us getting out the door  by another 5 minutes.  It's not that we needed to get anywhere at a certain time, but it made me realize that long gone are the days where you could just walk right out the door when you decided to go somewhere.

Going anywhere these days requires strategic planning.  Do I need to bring a bottle?  Where are his teething tablets in case his teeth start to bother him?  Don't forget snacks and a water bottle.  I can't even imagine living in a cold weather climate where babies have to wear jackets, hats & mittens.

Some days, it takes half the day just to get out the door.  There's strategy put into timing my shower and getting ready for the day, in between feeding, napping, changing diapers and keeping Elijah content.  I wouldn't change it for the world, but parenting definitely changes how you live your day to day life.

Pantry Organization

I'd been wanting to tackle this project for awhile: the pantry in our hallway.  It's extremely disorganized in this picture, but it seems, no matter how you straighten the food, it always end up looking like this again.

 So, Elijah and I headed to several stores to find some baskets to organize.  I really wanted cute, rectangular wicker baskets, but they were a little out of our price range for now.  We ended up finding some brown cloth baskets to organize everything.  They were about $5 each at Walmart.  So, here's what I did:

I already had the letter stencils at home, but I had to purchase the paint pen to trace the letters.  I also had a bunch of glass jars (from our wedding), so I used those for things like pasta, coffee, flour, sugar etc.  to set on the top self.  Now, everything has it's place!

 
 

Valentine's Day

In years past, Dustin and I have never really celebrated Valentine's Day, but there's something about a child that makes you put a little more effort into holidays.  Dustin is working today, so we got up extra early (had to drag Elijah out of bed) to eat heart shaped chocolate chip pancakes with whipped cream and open a couple small gifts.

Chocolate on my lips, trying to grab the camera!

Elijah was pretty unimpressed with the pancakes, but he did gobble up his oatmeal.  Daddy got a pail full of his favorite candies and a framed picture of Elijah for his office.  Eli worked really hard on his card for Dad:

I put all the markers in front of him and let him choose his colors.  I had to coerce him to scribble on the heart instead of eating the markers!  : ) 

My Very First Baseball Hat!

We got Elijah his first baseball hat.  And of course, we had to send out valentines to our cousins and grandma and grandpas.  Here is what we came up with for this year:

The out-takes from this photo shoot are pretty funny, but of course, the first picture was the best! 

Kisses!

This little studmuffin has learned how to give kisses!  Although, nobody probably believes me because he doesn't do it every time you ask. I have been practicing with him for awhile.  I would say "Mommy gives Eli kisses" and then kiss his cheek, then I say "Eli give Mommy kisses" and force him to kiss my cheek.
Well, yesterday I said "Eli give Mommy kisses" and he turned toward my cheek, opened his mouth and licked my face!  So, I said it again...and he did it AGAIN!  I also got one out of him today!  Talk about melting my heart : )

Stay at Home Mom: How We Make It Work!

This was my first week of staying at home with Elijah; I was completely exhausted by last night (Thursday)!  He's such an easy baby, but it can be really exhausting to change diapers, feed a baby, put them down for naps and carry them from place to place, all while trying to accomplish other things!  But, I'm not complaining, just stating the facts.  I wouldn't trade it for the world!

Sometimes I look back and wonder, how did we go from this:

June 26. 2009

 To this:

Painting our new house!  June 2010

To this:

June 2012

 

All in 3.5 years!  And now, here I am, doing what I've always dreamed of doing, being a stay at home Mom.  Ok, so I do know how this all worked out.  A lot of smart decisions on our part. 

Some people can accomplish all these things quickly because they make a lot of money, that is not the case for us.  For the first 6 months of our marriage, I didn't have a job.  We had no tv or internet at our house.  We lived off of Dustin's paycheck (which was less than he is making now), any money he had in savings (which he had been saving for a motorcycle), and instead of fixing our cars from previous accidents/incidents, we used car claim checks to live.

And yet, 6 months later, we were able to purchase a house.  It was the perfect time to purchase, we only needed a small down payment, and our mortgage ended up being about the same as we were paying for rent at our previous house.  We have never lived beyond our means.  So, here is how we make it work:

1. We use a zero-based budgeting approach: This just means that every single dollar that comes into this house is accounted for.  We budget out our money on a spreadsheet and every penny goes somewhere.  If we need to purchase something, we know exactly where that money is coming from.  Do we slip sometimes and spend when we're not supposed to?  Of course!  But, we fix it by spending less in other categories.
2. We only buy things that we have money for: Would I like to replace the $50 kitchen table that I bought right out of college?  YES!  Do we have the cash for it right now?  No.  It's not a necessity, so we will wait until we have the money.  I also like to hold out on purchasing things that I REALLY want.  So instead of buying a "cheap", but better kitchen table; I'm holding out and waiting until we save money for that one at World Market that I would really like.  There are a lot of things that we don't have, but it is far better to save for them than to put them on a credit card.
3. We have an emergency fund: We have an emergency fund that we don't touch unless there is an emergency.  What is an emergency?  Large car repairs, expensive dental costs, a fridge going out, etc.  It always makes me sad when we have to spend that money (most has been on car repairs), but I must remind myself that that's what it's there for.  I can also breathe a huge sigh of relief when something comes up and we don't have to worry where the money is going to come from.
4. We don't have credit card debt: Ok, I lie.  We were thisclose to paying it all off, until we had a little baby in the nicu.  In that instance, we chose not to empty our emergency fund.  But, come back to me in a few months, and this statement will be true.  Guess what we're using our tax refund for?  Yep, paying off credit card debt.  We're fun people, aren't we?
5. We price match, cut coupons and take a calculator grocery shopping: Every week, I look through all the grocery ads and write down the best prices on groceries that we would like to purchase.  This sounds like a lot of work, but it only takes about 15-20 minutes.  It's amazing how much money you can save on produce and meats when you do this!  We also take a calculator grocery shopping.  As we put things in the cart, we put them into the calculator.  It takes the guess work out of meeting your "grocery budget".  Then, when you go to check out, you can be assured that you're not going to go over budget!
6. I've started an etsy account: Our budget is based off of my husband's income, which means anything I make on the side can go towards all those fun things like vacations, new furniture, house renovations...whatever we choose!  Find something you enjoy doing and go for it!

I'm sure we do more than those six items because it's a lifestyle that we live.  I'm happy to say that Dustin and I are both on the same page when it comes to money.  We just have different strengths.  He is GREAT at writing out a budget, I am great at sticking to it.  We occasionally sit down together and rewrite our budget; it's something we enjoy doing.

As I sit here on a Friday morning, writing this blog and listening to Elijah play in his jumper, I'm SO happy that I'm able to do just this.  We are capable of all of this because of choices that we make, not because we make a ton of money! 

A Few of Our Favorite Things!

A few weeks ago, my Mom called me, wondering what might be a good baby shower gift for a party she was attending.  I got to thinking about some of our favorite products, so I put together this list:

BABY FAVORITES:

1.Aden and Anais Sleep Sacks : I think we started putting Elijah in these when he was about 3 months old.  They are super soft and lightweight.  They are absolutely perfect for Arizona!  He also LOVES to stuff them in his mouth as he's going to sleep.  He's never taken a pacifier or sucked his thumb, so this satisfies those urges.  They also make other products and I would love to buy Eli some of their security blankets!

2. Fisher Price Kick & Play Piano Gym: We got this for Elijah when he was about 2 months old.  As first, he just sat there, not sure what he should be doing.  It took about a month for him to really love it and he still uses it!  We hang a ton of toys from that bar.  The piano flips up and now that he has the ability to sit up, he loves to smack the keys with his hands!  He's been using this play mat for over 5 months and I'm sure he'll use it until he's crawling!

3. Boon Lawn Drying Rack: I initially bought this because it was so cute, but I quickly learned how useful it is!  It holds so many drying bottles and accessories!  They also sell trees and flowers that can be stuck into the drying rack; they can hold extra things like bottle nipples and such.  So Cute!

4. Fisher Price Animal Krackers Jumperoo: Once Elijah started showing interest in pushing up with his legs, we got him this jumper.  I knew I didn't want a jumper that stuck to the door frame; I wanted a play center with toys all around.  So, we actually tested out several of them at Babies R' Us...yes, we took them off the shelf and put Elijah in them.  I didn't want to spend the money on something that he wouldn't use.  So, we settled on this one!  It cost a little more than I wanted to spend, but he uses it every day, so it was worth the money!

5. The Mommy Hook: Somebody had given this to us as a gift and I questioned how often I would use it.  Turns out, I use it ALL the time.  It's currently attached to his stroller.  I use it for his diaper bag, my purse and water bottles (for when I take him for a walk).

6. Bright Starts Lots of Links: This was another product that I wasn't so sure about why we needed them, but we use them all the time!  We use them to hang extra toys from everything!  My mother-in-law started clipping them onto toys and then clipping it to the buckle of his chair so his toys couldn't be thrown or dropped onto the ground ( and have to be picked up and given to him repeatedly).

7. Graco swing/bouncer: We only used the swing for the first couple months after Eli was born.  It really came in handy for those times that he wouldn't nap in his crib!  Now, we've detached the seat and carry it around to various places in the house.  That way, Eli can sit and watch us do other things.  We also take it outside with us, so Eli has a place to sit!

8. Chicco Travel System:  This was our first big purchase before Elijah was born.  We got the entire travel system on clearance for $150!  They still sell it at Target for $300, so we got pretty lucky.  We had debated whether or not we wanted to get a travel system and I'm so happy we did because we use it all the time!

9. Hyland's Teething Tablets: These have worked so well for us over the past couple of months!!!

I'm sure I've missed a couple of things, but these were the first that popped into my head.  : )  Are there any baby products that your little one uses or did use all the time?  Let me know; I would love to hear about them!