Snow Day

Well, Caleb had his first snow day where school was cancelled! We got out a little early on Thursday and had all of Friday off. When I found out Brenau would be closed, I immediatly began envisioning showing Caleb how to make a snow angel and making a little snow man for Caleb, since he loves snow men! Only, our "snow day" was not like that. In fact, we hardly had any snow! We mainly got ice. Caleb did love the snow this year. We went out and played in it a little before it started to stick. By Friday morning, the ground was white, but had ice over it and we had single digit wind chills all day long with heavy winds. Not much fun to play in. Instead, we made a big pot of Chili, which Caleb is a fan of, and watched lots of TV, played inside and stayed warm. It was nice to have a long weekend after we had so much time off at Christmas...it helped break us in the the whole working and school thing a little easier.

Looks like this will be a full week of work...BUT...another perk of working for a University is that I have next Monday off for MLK day!

I'm baaaccckkk!

I am a horrible blogger! Before I started my blog, I would randomly think of great blog posts and tell myself to start a blog. Now that I have one...I have bloggers block!

Here is a recap of the past 3 weeks....
Caleb's last week of school and my last week of work were spent at home. Poor little man had a minor case of pneumonia, wheezing, a double ear infection and a high fever. The doctors tested him for the flu, which came back negative, but they treated him for it just in case. Lots of medicines and breathing treatments later, he is much better and was healthy in time for Christmas.

Speaking of Christmas...we had a wonderful one. It was so fun this year with Caleb. He had an Elf visit us every night starting on Thanksgiving. We named him Buddy. Every morning Caleb would look around for Buddy...I think Caleb's favorite spot that Buddy hid was around his soap bottle in the bathroom. Santa was very good to Caleb this year. He brought him a train table and wooden train set! http://www.facebook.com/TamiWLee?v=app_2392950137&ref=nf#/video/video.php?v=513337142475 try this link...it may not work.
This was Caleb's reaction to seeing his train table for the first time. I would say he was a tad bit excited!

Caleb also decided that 2010 would be the year for the Big Boy Bed! We converted his crib on New Year's Eve and haven't looked back. He really amazes me at how he adapts to change. He did great without a paci and hasnt once cried, gotten out of bed when he wasn't supposed to or fallen out of the bed! (Ok, so the last one is sure to happen at some point...what kid DOESN'T fall out of bed?) I am so very proud of him for being such a big boy. I guess we will tackle potty training before too long, but I will said that I haven't had to change a dirty diaper in over three weeks because he has only gone #2 on the potty!! YAY for Caleb!

I started back to work yesterday after three weeks off. I was thankful to not be too far behind and back in a routine...but I missed being home something terrible! I missed being able to straighten up the house a little each day so I dont have a messy house...and have to spend this weekend cleaning. Boo for that! We also STILL have to take Christmas down...which we will tackle slowly this week and finish this weekend...I hope!

I hope that you will all have a Happy 2010!! I will TRY to be a little better about blogging....but, don't hold me to it! :)

Farewell, Da!

The beginning of a beautiful baby and paci relationship...

Last picture of Caleb and his "Da!"

5 easy steps for a toddler to give up the paci...

Step One: Go to build-a-bear and pick out a teddy bear. Give mom a thumbs up that he is ready to become a big boy!

Step Two: Step on peddle to stuff bear.

Step Three: Gently place paci inside...

Step Four: Take bear to the tub for his first bath. This is serious work...all bears must pass strict inspection before going home!

Step Five: Give bear his first nice brushing...make sure not to leave out a single strand of teddy bear fur!

ALL DONE! Mission complete.

We took Caleb to make his "Da Bear" last Friday, December 4. He hasn't looked back since. Every now and then, I will catch Caleb out of the corner of my eye squeezing his bear's tummy just to make sure that his paci is still inside! This transition has been so much easier than I anticipated. I am so proud of my big boy! He amazes me every day! Congratulations on being such a big boy now, Mr. Caleb!

Thanksgiving Recap

Well, it was a quick, but WONDERFUL Thanksgiving break. We started out on Wednesday in Big Canoe with my mom, Dale, Aunt, Uncle, Stephen's Dad and my Grandparents. LOTS of yummy food, good memories and even some Christmas Cheer! We always celebrate Thanksgiving, my Grandfathers birthday and Christmas all at once so that we can celebrate these occasions together. We always have so much to be thankful for...especially when we all get to gather together for such a beautiful Holiday!

I have discovered a blog that I absolutely LOVE!! (http://www.foodallergymama.com/) All of her recipes are Caleb-safe since they are made without milk, eggs and nuts! I made chocolate cranberry cookies that I found on her site for Caleb's daycare Thanksgiving feast. It made a lot, so we had plenty left over to bring to Big Canoe. They were very yummy and everyone raved over them! I love being able to make something that tastes GOOD and is safe for Caleb to eat. I also tried her cranberry raisin pie on Sunday and it was yummy, too. In fact, it may just be a new favorite pie for this time of year! (and we all know how much this mama loves pumpkin pie!)

Thanksgiving day was spent watching the parade, eating left overs and relaxing. I love being able to relax on actual Thanksgiving day instead of having to scramble around in the kitchen. We have all the great food waiting for us in the refrigerator to warm up! :)

I actually went out on Black Friday this year and had a fun time! Stephen and Caleb stayed at home and I spent all my Christmas money and gift cards from my family! I love to be able to shop and not feel bad about it! Gift cards are the most perfect gift for me! (for anyone who needs any ideas!) ;)

Saturday and Sunday were spent decorating and just having some nice family time together. We are always so rushed during the week that a few days off spent at home just fill my heart! It was tough getting out of bed this morning, that is for sure! Now we are back to the grind at work and daycare. Stephen and I both have some time off before Christmas, and I am sure that we will enjoy it! This is my favorite time of the year!

Parent Teacher Conference

Well, Caleb had his first parent teacher conference today. I guess I should say that Stephen and I had our first parent teacher conference today! Caleb, along with his classmates, slept right through it on their little cots!

All in all, it was a good report! For the information section they wrote: "Caleb is a very sweet, loving child. He enjoys everything that we do! He has excellent listening ears and always does what is asked of him." They also said that "Caleb does well when transitioning from one activity to another. For the part where they had to write their concerns, they wrote "Caleb is very cautious and weary to try new things. However, he often warms up to the new activity and enjoys it! Sometimes his speech is difficult to understand, but we have already noticed improvement."

Isn't he a good boy!? There were just over four pages of developmental guidelines that he should be doing and only two weren't checked. One was " Uses words or gestures indicating a need to go to the bathroom." Both teachers laughed and said, well, he didn't do that until Tuesday and he started to do that out of the blue! Stephen and I also noticed this at home on Tuesday because he asked me to go sit on the potty and then went #1 and #2! The other blank that wasn't checked was "pulls at another person to show them some action or object. They agreed with us that rather than taking us to the object, he will usually bring it to them instead...which isn't too bad. The teachers did say that SOMETIMES he will not play with two or more peers at the same time, but that really just comes with his age. The younger twos are all doing the same thing and sometimes prefer one on one play with another child.

We are proud that we got a good report on our little man! Maybe he will keep up with his "Cautious manner" into his teen years and will stay out of trouble!

THE Coupon Mama!

So, a few of you have been asking about my couponing experiences the past month or so, and I am FINALLY sitting down to blog about it. I am far from an expert (there are some people who feed large families for under a dollar a week!!!) but I will give you the tips that I have on how I have saved so much money. I owe all of this to my friend Lauren who started posting pictures of her groceries and receipts on facebook. She was spending next to nothing for a lot of yummy looking food!

So. How do I do it? Well, my main source is http://www.southernsavers.com/. This is a fantastic website that lists many of the stores (in the South!) and what their weekly specials are, and what coupons are out there that can be matched up with the deals. The key is to start a stockpile of coupons from the Sunday paper. I also get a special Thursday paper that also has coupons inside. Publix has weekly B1G1 (buy one get one) deals. You do not have to buy both products to get the savings. They actually ring up at half price. For these B1G1 deals, you can also use TWO coupons (one for each product) Publix is a fantastic store to use your coupons. They will double coupons (unless specified not to) up to 50 cents. They also accept competitor store coupons and you can use these store coupons WITH a manufacturers coupon. For instance, last night I had a 50 cents off one bag of chex mix coupon from target. This coupon was doubled to $1 off. I also had a manufacturers coupon for 50 cents off (not to be doubled, per the coupon). They had their bag of chex mix on sale for (around) $1.67. So I paid 17 cents for a bag of chex mix!

I do find that Kroger usually has the better price on meats. If I am buying a lot of meat (and milk...they usually have great milk prices!) then I will make two trips. I live one mile from Publix and less than a mile from Kroger, so this is economical for me and still save money, rather than spending gas money to get from one to the other! That may not work for everyone!

I now try to only buy things I have a coupon for and, unless I have coupons that add up to make a product free, I won't buy something JUST because I have a coupon for it. I will also still comparison shop. For instance, I had a 60 cent off coupon for mayo last night, but that still made the name brand more expensive than store brand so I bought the Publix mayo instead.

Publix does have a Sunday and Monday special every week. It is their mystery coupon and most stores do not require you to have the actual coupon...check with your local store to see if you need it. Last night, I got a pack of hotdogs for 1 penny! The week before was a container of oatmeal. I have also gotten four rolls of toilet paper for only 1 cent.

The website I mentioned saves YOU from having to go through each weekly ad and comparing what coupons you have, etc. AND, it also gives you links to printable coupons. She will only write out the best deals of each weekly and will list what items you can walk away with for FREE! Last night, I got two packages of gravy mix, a container of softsoap, some zantac, and a box of cereal for free. I also paid next to nothing for the hotdogs, chex mix, BATTERIES!!, juicy juice and produce, to name a few.

Going to the store is actually quite fun for me now! I love hearing the total, then handing over my coupons and just watching the savings add up. I spent $34 last night for a weeks worth of groceries (plus some!) and spent $43! So nice!

Like I said, I am far from an expert....but these are the tips that I use. I do still have to be loyal to some name brands because of Caleb's allergies. In fact, I have emailed some of those companies complimenting their products and they have sent coupons in the mail! let me know if you have any questions, and I will be happy to try and help you save as much as I have!!

Shake Shake Shake

I am not quite sure what song Caleb decided to sing last night, but he was very into it. They must have learned a new song at school because I took Caleb to his room to get him ready for bed last night and he busted out in a song and dance! It was adorable. I think he sang something along the lines of "Shake Shake Shake" (and he pounded his fists together with each "shake" and then said something like "Shhhh--oooo--oooooo!" And rolled his arms around each other. He repeated this over and over and also added a clapping section in there. I wish I had the video camera upstairs when he was doing it! Such a silly boy! I will have to ask his teachers if they have recently learned a new song!