Words of Wisdom

Never eat 2 Choco Tacos in a row. The first one might be so tasty that you just have to have a second. But, don't. Just don't.

It's been a while

Does anyone even come here anymore? :p Things around here have be great since the addition of Abigail Rose in February. To read more about her check out her blog. Adjusting to life as a family of 3 has definitely been interesting. There's no way you can fully prepare yourself for it. You don't know what to expect, no matter how many books you read or how much research you do. It's definitely been a fun adventure, though.

Being parents is a whole new world of interesting. I never knew there were so many things people could judge you for. You're baby is so small. Do you feed her? You should feed her more. How long does she sleep? You should wake her up. Never wake a sleeping baby. She needs to be around other kids. She should be kept inside all day long. Don't take her out yet, she's not ready. Don't give her rice cereal. Don't give her pureed foods. Use cloth diapers. Formula is poison. Don't vaccinate. Don't let her sleep on her tummy. Put her on a schedule. Feed on demand. Let her stick her finger in the electrical socket. Okay, that last one I haven't heard yet. But it's definitely interesting to see how many things there are that people can judge you for when all your kid does is eat, sleep, and poop. In my opinion, as long as my baby is happy and healthy, we're doing everything right. She eats when she's hungry. She sleeps when she's tired. And every second that she's awake, we tell her how much we love her. The amount of big gummy smiles she gives us reassures me that we're doing okay here. No judgement necessary. I know, we can't avoid it. Everyone has to put in their 2 cents. But, every baby is different. And every parent is different. That's just how it is.

It's getting CRAZY around here...

Tis the season for long days/nights, minimal contact with the outside world (outside of work that is), and minimal contact with each other. I sometimes wonder how we were able to conceive a child this time last year... I leave work as EP is getting there. It's hectic, but it makes the time go buy quickly. With only 11 weeks until our bundle arrives (unless she's early), and the holidays lasting another 7, it's going to fly! We have been working on getting the house in order. The baby's room is pretty much ready for a baby (they don't need much, right?). The rest of the house is getting organized and clean. We're maybe going to have time to put up decorations soon. I love the holidays. I love how hectic everything is. I love the stress associated with trying to get family together. Happy Holidays!

$19.05

Tonight's trip to Fry's was even better, in my opinion, than the last one! Here's a breakdown of what I got

3 pouches of Idahoan potatoes (free)
1 Crest Toothpaste (free)
1 Dial hand soap (free)
2 Martha White Muffin mixes ($.20 each)
3 Healthy Choice frozen meals ($.47 each)
2 Suave deodorants ($.49 each)
3 Totinos Pizzas ($.66 each)
3 Birds Eye Veggie Steamer bags ($1.16 each)
3 Jose Ole Taquitos ($1.49 each)
1 Honey Bunches of Oats ($1.99)
1 Gortons Grilled fish ($1.99)

Total savings of $40.40! The only thing I didn't have a coupon for was the cereal. I was also hoping to get a free Dawn dish detergent, but they were out (go figure).

$11.10

Tonight's grocery total. Here's what I got

6- 3 liter bottles of Arrowhead water ($.49/ea)
5- packages of Philadelphia Cream Cheese (free)
4- Velveeta Cups ($.49/ea)
3- Packages of Tollhouse Cookie Dough ($.99/ea)
2- Bottles of Juicy Juice ($1.49/ea)

Total savings of $31.56

I love Fry's!

I love saving money

Every time I go to the grocery store and I see the savings at the end of the receipt I get this sense of satisfaction. It's great! Last night, Eric and I had one of our best trips yet and it can only get better from here! We went to Fry's, thanks to the buy 10 save $5 promotion. A lot of the stuff on the list I happened to have coupons for! My favorite thing about Fry's is their coupon policy. All coupons are worth $1. They also accept competitor coupons (So those Fresh N Easy coupons you have, you can use them at Fry's). We might not have done the best, and someone reading this might think we suck at the coupon game, but I was satisfied. We saved $61.59 and spent $42.86! We got a whole bunch of household items too (which is what usually drives our grocery bill way through the roof). We were able to get four different types of cleaners for the house for about $1.50 each. We also got a great deal on some toothbrushes and toothpaste! Sure, I had to deal with Eric saying "we won't need to buy these for a while now..." But we got 5 toothbrushes and 2 tubes of toothpaste (Colegate) for $4.40. So while we won't have to buy them for a while, we also won't have to shell out $2 or so when the time comes to replace ours (not that $2 is a lot, it's just more than what we spent). Even though the household items were still a big portion of our bill, we got a lot of really tasty food for the remaining $30.
Eric's excited because that's more money in savings for his chair.

Formula is NOT poison

I swear, if I hear one more person complain about how hard it is to give their baby lowly formula, I'm going to rip out my hair. All of it. I did not have a drop of breast milk. My mom was still an amazing mother. And you know what? I don't have a low IQ, I excelled on standardized tests, and I hardly ever got/get sick. The same goes for my two sisters who were also FORMULA FED. I know, you're probably shocked by this. Good grief. Why do people think it's so awful to formula feed? I know breastfeeding is a good thing, and I don't have anything against it. But I just don't understand why people make it seem like the end of the world to give your baby formula. The only important thing is that the kid gets fed. The end.