One Day At a Time

One Day At a Time
Allen Family: Est. November 16, 2007

Monday, March 14, 2011

Oh, the madness of March!

Oh my, where to begin?  Well, March has certainly flown by so far!  I can't believe it's already half over!  At the first of the month, Carter had his 4 month check up.  He did really well with his shots.  He cried for about 3 seconds and then he was fine once I picked him up.  He is seriously such a trooper and I'm so lucky!  Watch, my next kid is going to be crazy and do nothing but cry day and night...that would be just my luck, right?  ha ha.  Well, I'm glad to report that the chubs finally evened out with his weight.  He weighed 15.8 which is the 55th percentile, so pretty average.  He was in the 68th for his height which doesn't surprise me.  He's pretty long.  At his appointment, the doctor said we could start feeding him solids.  This little gem of a picture is from yesterday's feeding :)  ...PEAS!!!

He absolutely LOVES everything I've given him thus far.  I've only tried peas, peaches, whole grain cereal (his favorite), fresh cantaloupe and fresh avocado.  He's definitely going to be a good eater...no question about that.  He rolls all over the place now.  He can roll from his back to his tummy and vice versa.  When I lay him on the floor, he scoots all over and always ends up in different positions than when I laid him down.  Same when I get him out of bed in the morning...he is NEVER in the same position.  He's usually laying vertically at the top of his crib.  I think it's a security thing?  I dunno but he likes it.  He is a great sleeper.  He sleeps from 9 at night til 7:30 or 8 each morning.  He and I play until I have to go to work and it's so much fun!  I love hanging out with my lil Bunky!  Here's another cute one :)

We call this "Squash Face".  He started doing it about a week ago and it cracks me up.  He bites down on his bottom lip and his cheeks look even huger (yes, that's a word because there's no red squiggly under it) than they already are.  He also pops his lips and makes a fun noise with them :)

On Saturday, one of my very good friends, Kellyn, got married.  Carter came down with me after I worked on the house in the morning.  We had a great time.  It was a beautiful ceremony and I'm so incredibly happy for her and Mark!  

  After the wedding, we went to see my sister, Crystal and her little boy, Riley (Carter's bestie).  They love each other, even if they don't know it yet ;)

Here they are, looking super enthused that we're taking MORE pictures of them :)

He liked it :)

HOUSE UPDATE!
Things are really moving along now!  We started our finish work last Saturday and I'm happy to say that we are almost done!  We just have to put on the base boards, door casings, and caulk all the little holes and we will be ready to paint!  Then the only big things left to do are the floor and the rock!!! I'm so super excited!  Here are some updated pictures.  Enjoy!
Alright, here is my BEAUTIFUL siding!  I'm so in love with it!  I was worried it was going to be too dark, but I'm really happy with how it turned out.  Our shudders aren't on yet, but they will be soon.  They will be black.


Alright, after I uploaded all the pictures, it wouldn't let me type under them and I wasn't about to go back, delete them all, type under them, and re-upload them, so whatev...you get the idea...closets, pantry, hubby working etc.  If you have questions about what is what, just ask.  I'd be happy to answer any questions :)

John is loving his job.  It's been kinda slow lately but as long as he has his audio books, he is a happy camper.  He's probably listened to more audio books since he's worked there, than he's read actual books in his entire life...not even exaggerating.  It's like his new favorite thing but I'm totally not complaining.  He got me the Hunger Games trilogy for Valentines Day and I'm still trying to talk him into listening to those.  He may have already.  I saw that he downloaded them even though he probably didn't want me to know ha ha.  

Let's see...I've been doing really really well!  Since the first of the year, I have given up soda and sugar, joined Gold's Gym, taken spinning classes and have lost a total of 35 pounds!  I'm going strong!  My goal is 40 more so we'll see how long it takes me!  I've never been this consistent with getting healthy.  I usually try it for a month or so and then give up but this is for real.  I don't even really miss sugar anymore (although I do miss Cadbury Eggs and Girl Scout cookies lol).  I've been drinking green smoothies every day and that really helps with the sugar cravings.  I've noticed a change in myself that I've never felt before.  I have more energy, I am able to stay on the elliptical for 30 minutes and I feel like I can go longer and I'm not going to die.  Yesterday, we went on a walk because it was such a beautiful day and John kept having to tell me to slow down because he was having a hard time keeping up with me and it's usually the other way around.  All in all, I just feel GREAT!  I feel like it's been a long time coming and I'm finally getting healthy without starving myself, taking pills or drops or the dreaded calorie counting.  I'm just eating right and exercising...losing weight the way God intended it :D  Maybe I will post before and NOW pictures.  (I'm not going to say "after" because I'm not to my goal yet)

As always, thanks for reading ♥

Thursday, March 3, 2011

Yes, I'm one of THOSE people

Alright...I always used to make fun of those ladies at the grocery store with 900 coupons, but I must admit...I am now one of THOSE people!!! Coupons rock my world!  I've recently developed a very serious relationship with  them...no joke!  Ever since I had Carter, I've realized just how expensive being a mom is.  Most of you that read my blog are moms and you know that once you get pregnant, you start getting a million coupons in the mail for diapers, formula, baby food, etc.  I never thought I'd use any of them but then I decided, "Seriously, if I can save even 2 dollars on a 20 dollar box of diapers, that's something, right?"  So I started using coupons on diapers and milk storage bags (one comes in every box of nursing pads).  That turned into me using them on wipes, food, produce and anything else I could get my hands on.  Then, I found something that made my entire life...
 It's a group on Facebook that I'd never heard of before but I guess the person that runs it is from Utah.  There are always AMAZING deals on here daily.  The first week I followed their page, I got a free 8x10 collage from Wallgreens, 2 free 8x10 photos from RitzPics, a free baby kit from Beech Nut, a giant book filled with manufacture's coupons, and a coupon book that is supposed to help you decorate your home.  I think there was more but I honestly can't even remember.  I followed their page for a few weeks and then I discovered...
The Krazy Coupon Lady.  Another Facebook group.  Sometimes, they post the same things as Freebies 2 Deals, but I'm totally OK with that.  What one misses, the other catches so it's great.  Both sites post sales that stores are having and how you can get things for free.  Honestly, if I can be one of those crazy ladies with 900 coupons at the grocery store but only pay like 3 dollars for 50 dollars worth of stuff, I'll freaking do it!  Since I've been one of these crazy ladies, on top of the fore mentioned items, I've also gotten 3 Redbox rentals for a dollar, 2 adult movie tickets for 9 dollars, a free month's subscription to Netflix and more stuff I can't think of at the moment.  I also tried getting a free bottle of Baby Magic from Walgreens but they were all sold out when I got there...go figure.  They also had an awesome deal where you could get a Jumbo pack of Huggies for 5 bucks but they were all sold out too :(
OK, I've saved the best for last...
I'm seriously obsessed with this website!!!  It's a legit website where you use their search engine (powered by Google, so you know it's good), fill out super easy and short surveys, play games, take daily poll's etc, and get "Swag Bucks".  Once you earn more and more, you can trade your "bucks" in for prizes!  I'm going to try and save up for an iPod Touch.  The "price" for one is almost 23,000 Swag Bucks.  I've been doing it for 4 days and already have close to 1,800 bucks.  At this rate, I'll have my iPod Touch in no time at all :)  And in all actuality, it is completely FREE to me!  You can get all sorts of other awesome stuff like gift cards to Amazon, Lowe's, Expedia, PayPal, Microsoft (points for XBOX), Target, clothes, jewelry, electronics, kids items, posters...seriously, the sky is the limit on stuff you can get from them and it's all FREE!!!  Basically, all you are investing is your time.  Since I'm not in school right now, I have a bit of extra free time and I figure it's a worthy cause.  John thinks I break everything (I honestly have no idea why he thinks this ;)) so he won't buy me an iPod because he thinks I will break it so I'm going to get it myself :D  If you think this is a cool idea, I have a widget over there ---------->
or you can click on this link: http://www.swagbucks.com/refer/jess776 and sign up and start earning your own Swag Bucks!  If anyone has any other cool sites that help save them money, feel free to share!  I'm open to anything, no joke!