Rice Cereal

Taylor is 4, 1/2 months old and is still, randomly, waking up in the middle of the night. We decided its time to start rice cereal. At her pediatrician appointment, they said to mix 1 tbsp of rice cereal with breast milk or formula and feed it to her through a spoon so she can learn to feed from a spoon. It was really fun. She would open her mouth every time the spoon got close. It will take a little while for her to know what to do with her tongue though. She didn't seem to mind it. But, it was still so watery that we ended up putting the rest of it in a bottle. It was a great night. She slept till 5:45 am. At least she didn't wake up at 2am and 4am.

HURRY!

Walgreens has marked down their formula to 50% off.  I was in the store with Taylor this morning and an employee was marking them down and told me about it...so I grabbed two...I should have gotten more, but we have plenty at the moment.

GREAT DEAL!  Hurry before they are all gone.

The 25 oz cans are $12!!! 

Happy Savings!

This Week's Savings

I'm still new at this coupon clipping thing, but I had to show my savings this week...

I made a few dumb mistakes, but did really good on others. I know it will get easier as I become more familiar with the system.

TARGET

Kelloggs Smart Start (Strawberry oat bites)

2 for $5 (sale price)

FREE with mail in rebate

2 Glade PlugIns Scented Oil Holder & Fragrance

$4.14 (Sale Price)

-$4.00 (manufacturers coupon)

=$0.14

(I had two manuf coupons for two of them...I really had to search for them also...I think I got the last 2 on wednesday...all the crazy shoppers got to them early)

WALGREENS

Bic Soleil Rzr 

$5.99 (reg price)

-$2.00 (walg coupon)

-$3.00 (manuf coupon)

=$0.99 

Bic Soleil Rzr Blades (pk of 4)

$5.99 (reg price)

-$2.00 (walg qp)

-$3.00 (manuf qp)

=$0.99 

Scott Toilet Paper (4 rolls)

$1.99 (walg qp price)

-$0.99 (manu coupon)

=$0.99

Glade scented oil candle/holder

$4.99 (reg price)

-$2.00 (mail in rebate)

-$2.00 (manuf coupon)

=$0.99

3 boxes of Kleenex:

reg price- $2.29 each

walg coupon price-$0.89 each

Bic Grip Pens (2 pkgs of 8)

$1.00 for 2

-$1.00 coupon

=FREE

Jane Makeup Powder Brush

$4.99 (sale price)

-$4.99 (mail-in rebate)

=FREE

Pert Plus Shampoo

$3.79 (sale price)

-$3.79 (mail in rebate)

=FREE

CVS 60 Watt Light Bulb (4 pk)

$1.99 (reg price)

-$1.99 (mail in rebate)

=FREE

BioInfusion Shampoo

$11.98 for 2

-$11.98 (mail in rebate)

=FREE

And these were my 'not-so-good' deals:

1.0 GB SanDisk Memory Card

$9.99 Sale Price

Campbell's Cr. of Mush/Chick Soup (12 oz)

5 for $4 (walg coupon)

M&M's (2, 7 oz bags)

$4.00 for 2

-$1.00 (Easy Saver catalog coupon)

=$3.00 for 2 bags

Dove Choc Bars

$3.00 for 2 (Sale price)

-$1.00 (Easy saver catalog coupon)

=$2.00 for 2 bars

Sinful Nail polish

2 for $1.99

Total Savings:

$40.58

RITE AID

2 Bic Mark It Permanent Markers

$1.00 (sale price)

-$1.00 (manu coup)

=FREE

Rite Aid Brand Pregnancy Test

2 for $4.00 (False Advertising)...WootWoot! :)

(regular price is $12.99 each)

Astroglide Personal Lubricant

$7.99 (reg price)

-$7.99 (mail in rebate)

=FREE

And these were my 'not-so-good' deals:

3 Candy bar pckg's

$0.99 each (sale price)

2 Nabisco Oreo's
$4.79 each (reg price)

+$4.79

-$3.00 ($3 off any 2/Rite Aid Coupon)  I read this wrong...I thought it said 2 for $3.00

-$o.75 (manu qp)

=$5.83 for 2

Total Spent:

$12.88

CVS

Infants Advil Drops

$5.79 (reg price)

-$5.79 (mail in rebate)

=FREE

Free gift for the month of August (first time you use your CVS card in Aug)

CVS toothbrush

$1.99 (reg price)

-$1.99 (free gift)

=FREE

It is really easy to get lazy with the REBATES...so if your good at mailing them in, then it is totally worth the free stuff!

Welcome to Motherhood!

Yesterday was the day from HECK and today I am still 'cleaning up' after it all!  AHHHH!  :)

Taylor had the worst diaper rash, AGAIN!  I had to call the doctors office to find out what to do for her because it was HORRIBLE!  When she poo's her diaper has to be changed within 5 minutes, because sometimes her poop is so acidic that her butt becomes instantly bright red, so I constantly have to check her diaper.

Well, because of this, I was told to get as much air to her bumb as possible and let her air dry, so we set her on her play mat...knowing that she might pee, but didn't think she would....

YIP!  That's right...I had to hose down the mat and wash it twice in our washer...just to make sure :)

Then, when I am changing her diaper after a bath, I lay her on her towel, on our bed, and she rolls over and pee's...so now I have to wash our sheets and the mattress cover.

That evening, we decided to paint our toenails.  I'm a retard and didn't screw the lid on the nail polish, so as we were playing, I knocked it over and 1/2 the bottle spilled onto the carpet.

Then, as I am playing with Taylor, I must have rolled right into the nail polish (which is how it got knocked over in the first place) Yikes!

I have spent countless hours trying to scrub out this stain with all kinds of product, but nothing will work...it is hopeless.

This is the best I could do...Oh well.

At least her toes look cute :)  Ha Ha

Just before bedtime, I fed Taylor and for some reason, it didn't sit right, so she spit it up in bed.  So we changed her clothes and took the sheets off to wash.

WHAT A DAY!!!  

But it is all worth it when she looks at me and smiles...

The saying on this onesie couldn't be anything less than TRUE! :)

My Recipes are Famous :) J/K

I am famous! This week I am being featured as a guest chef on Tasty Sensations!

Check out my top 5 recipes and my favorite recipe blog.

Let me know what you think!

Happy Eating!

Daddy Daughter Time

Taylor loves to watch her daddy play Call of Duty 4...its surprising that she stays so calm and enjoys it...whatever floats her boat :)

Taylor's First Fall

Taylor had her first FALL!!!  I just about had a heart attack!  

On Wednesday, I put her in her pink bouncer chair and set her in the kitchen because I was going to do some cooking.  She gets really fussy if nobody is around and she thinks she is alone...this way I could get my cooking done and she is happy.  Well, I turned around and ran into the family room to get a play mat for more entertainment for when she got sick of the bouncer...it was less than 3 seconds and as I grabbed the mat and headed towards the kitchen I heard a LOUD THUMP!!!  I KNEW what had happened!  I knew she didn't drop a toy... she had flipped herself out of the bouncer onto the concrete floor.  There was only a quick silent moment before she let out a HUGE WHOPPIN YELL and the crying began.  I started to ball as I held her thinking it was my fault and I could have prevented it.  Taylor is flipping over like crazy onto her stomach wherever she is at... so now we have to belt her in from now on.  She is alright of course and Tyson says it must have just scared her more than hurt her because she probably hadn't really felt pain before.  Although, hitting the concrete floor on your head would hurt. But, I'm sure she will get hurt much worse down the road... lets just hope its never anything permanently damaging.

Picking Peaches

I always look forward to this time of the year when there is just a short window for GOOD peaches... I LOVE PEACHES... Tyson and I went with Mandi and Jeff to Huber Farms to pick some fresh peaches.  We decided to bottle a bunch so we could have them all year round...however, I don't think they will last very long.  We canned about 20 bottles.

Video Clips of Taylor

Officially a thumb sucker

Kicking like Crazy

Giggly Girl

Mirror Reflections

To Swaddle or Not to Swaddle...That is the Question

So, I was thinking... maybe it is time to stop swaddling Taylor.  Maybe she is growing out of it, so one night I tried it, and 1 hour later, this is what I found:

Our little girl fussing and fussing because she rolled over and can't get back

Then she see's mommy and knows she is okay.

So, it is back to swaddling...

Good Night

When in the heck do you stop swaddling?  Taylor turns over on her stomach like crazy, but she still has a hard time turning back around...so she fusses and fusses and fusses until we come "save" her and turn her onto her back.  Should I wait till she can do that on her own?

Losing the Weight...and I'm SERIOUS!

NOBODY better tempt me by bringing over cookies or inviting me to go get a Blizzard, etc... BECAUSE THAT'S IT! I am SERIOUS! I have gone about 10 weeks without losing a pound, and even gaining a few. I thought this would be so much easier, but I am fooling myself. No more ice cream at night, peanut butter banana sandwiches or trips to Wendy's... I am getting down to business. I have yo-yo'd plenty and I decided that I can't do this on my own...I tried, but I don't have the will power. SO, I have hit the gym again and even got a physical trainer 1x/week. He helps me to stay motivated and is really teaching me a lot!
I am letting everyone know this, so you don't tempt me and also for some accountability :) It has only been one week and I AM DYING! I am going to have a cheat day 1x/week so I can keep my sanity though. This is so much harder than I thought it would be. I have gone 1 whole year with NOT working out, nor caring what I ate. I had the WORST habits, so this is going to be hard to break...but worth it.
Sadly, I am EXACTLY 20 lbs heavier than I was pre pregnancy, so my goal is to lose those 20 lbs in 4 months. I don't even want to know how heavy a 20 lb bag of potatoes weighs! AHHHH! That is A LOT! But, I want to be back in shape, healthy and I want the gym to just be apart of my weekly routine. So, when you see me in December, you'll see a new ME! :)
Thanks for all your support!

Morning Walks

Taylor and her 'best friend' Mia go on morning walks a few times a week. They are fun to get out of the house, but I sure can't wait for this humidity to calm down...it is HOT! Mia is just 2 weeks younger then Taylor, so it is nice to chat with someone going through the same things...like not sleeping through the night, trying to lose this baby weight, and wanting to strangle your hubby sometimes, etc... :-)

Mia and Taylor

Walking our babies to sleep :-)

The Best Babysitters!

I am so lucky to have some family in town! I have been back to work now, but only on the weekends (Friday's and Saturday's). Mandi, my sister in law, is going to nursing school, but watches Taylor on Friday's because she doesn't have school that day. Tyson, tends Taylor on Saturday's of course. I know she is well taken care of and I am so blessed to work just 2 days and have the rest of the week to be home with her. I just can't get enough of her and I get nothing done, because we just play all day.
The first weekend I worked, Mandi sent me a text saying, "Tay say's Hi" with these pictures attached!

It totally made my day, because I just missed her so much. She even wrote down what they did that day and what time she woke up and ate, had a walk, etc... it was awesome. She is the best! Thanks Mandi for being so great...even when Tay has her 'moments' :)