Madness

This week has been madness. So much has gone on at our house and we have been to chaos and back again!

Monday was a good day and pretty relaxing. Peyton and I went with my mom to the Heights area and Westheimer/Montrose area to go shopping and had a nice lunch at Empire Cafe where Peyton was very interested in cups. Every time you drink something around her she reaches out and make noises for you to bring it to her. So...this time we decided to let her try it. She knew exactly what to do but didn't like drinking something so cold. Since then she has been even more excited about glasses and the other day when we were in Target, I had some Starbucks and whenever I would bring it to my lips she would go, "ugh, ugh." Funny girl!

Tuesday we had a Mardi Gras themed play date with a new mom's group that I ended up joining. They have all kinds of get togethers so I am excited about attending more and getting to know all of the other moms better. Our next play date that we will be going to is in a couple of weeks. I am excited about forming relationships outside of all of the "couples" relationships that John and I have here. I have missed hanging out with girls! When I got home a couple hours later our floors were delivered!

Wednesday started off with me taking Peyton to the doctor because she sounded a little chesty and I wanted to make sure it wasn't anything and especially to make sure she didn't have an infection. Turns out it is just her body trying to get rid of everything and it might even be a little bit of allergies. Since it is not really the end of cold/flu season we need to make sure that isn't what it is and monitor her. Getting rid of the carpet will help and also we put in better air filters and I will be making sure to stay better on top of the dog hair etc. Hopefully she isn't allergic to Titus and it is too early to determine anything but it is something to start monitoring for sure.

We then got home and our floors were getting well on the way! It only took them about four or five hours to get the majority of the floors installed. It was a mess though! And for me the neat freak it was stressful! There was dust everywhere and our furniture was everywhere and nothing was organzied. Also, they disconnected the Internet which is why there was no blogging. After two days of chaos and dirt I finally got my house put back together and was able to enjoy how beautiful they look. It feels so much cleaner and bigger! Titus isn't too fond of them and the first night walked around crying because he couldn't sleep in his normal spots. I went out the next day and bought him a dog bed (which he loves) and a rug for the dining room window which is his favorite spot. He is much happier now!

So...here are some pictures of our new floors minus our master bedroom which I will post once I finish the headboard.....

A whole NEW room

It is amazing how much your paint color can change the feel of a room!

My goal this weekend was to repaint the master bedroom by Sunday...well, I got it all done on Saturday! And I LOVE it! I was able to prime it during one of Peyton's naps in the morning and then I picked a color and headed over to Home Depot and finished painting that night. It is called Raffia Cream by Behr and it makes the room so bright, calming and big! Here is a quick before and after painting! I will be working on finishing things up and will have a final before and after probably next week.

Before

After

Other things we did this weekend were buy a new fan for the master bedroom (the current one will be moved to Peyton's room) and also decided to move forward on the new floors! I did all the researching/estimating etc last week and then on Saturday we headed down to the store to discuss the estimate and John "hunted" for me and they are probably coming tomorrow to start. We will be putting a handscrapped laminate flooring (real hardwood would be destroyed by a 60 lb lab) in the dining room, living room and master bedroom. I will make sure to post before and after pictures! So..since I knew I was getting new floors I wasn't too careful with painting and there might be a couple drops on the carpet in the master...nothing too bad when you look at the nasty amounts of dog hair. Good riddance carpet!

So a busy and tiring weekend but lots of fun. I am so excited to see how the master bedroom continues to turn out and for the floors to come!

The Drums

I picked up this Fisher Price drum toy thing at Babies 'R US during their President's Day sale (buy one get one free). Since this was geared towards 6 months (the other toy, a lawnmower thing will have to wait several more months) I decided to see what she would do with it. Peyton LOVED it! She quickly picked up that she needed to hit the top to make the music and she had a blast. She even protested when we took it away which is not good behavoir but it showed how much she liked it.

Another thing she is liking...the puppy. Her interest in him grows daily and they are such good friends. Whenever he is near her (not even paying attention to her but in her area) she smiles and opens her arms wide to invite him towards her and then she tries to constantly pet him. Pretty cute!

Is it already Friday?

This week has flown by! I haven't been incredibly busy or anything....therefore no real excuse on why I haven't blogged...well, maybe it is because nothing too exciting has been happening. Either way...this week has flown by somehow!

Monday we did a couple of errands. First we went to CVS and got some amazing deals. So far this month I have saved a total of 35% of my total grocery bill by using coupons at CVS and Krogers and trying to start the stock piling process. It has been great saving money but my freezer is packed...seriously, you can't fit anything in there at all. We no longer use our ice maker because stuff is stored in that bucket. We are needing to look into a freezer but we are struggling with where that would fit in our house. I will probably tackle that project/researching next month.

Following our trip to CVS we went over to Babies R' US because they were having a Presidents Day sale on Fisher Price toys. The deal was...buy one toy for $19.99 or more and get one $19.99 or less for free. I also had a $10 off Fisher Price coupon and a 15% BRU coupon so...I got two toys for $9.31. One of them (the crawling drums) she can use when she starts crawling and then the Learning Mower is for later. She still has toys in their boxes in her closet but this was a great way to get some toys for later on.

Tuesday we didn't do much but we did make a trip to a flooring store with my mom to look at some hardwood/laminate floors. When we built our house, we wanted to have wood floors in the living and dining room. The builder wanted to charge an outrageous price so we decided to put in basic carpet with the idea that we would replace within a year. Well, April will be two years and the carpet is looking pretty shabby. I went and got some more samples and prices on Wednesday and have settled on one and they are coming out today to do an estimate on the living room, dining room and possibly master bedroom. After we get the estimate we will make a decision if this is a now project or later...I really hope it is a now project but we will see!

Then yesterday we returned floor samples, made it to the mall to look for shoes for me for a dress that I got last week and then we happened to stop by Old Navy and they were having a great baby sale! Not actual babies but clothes! I was able to get some good deals for some summer clothes for Peyton (including two adorable swimsuits...can it get hot already) and it helped that I had a 15% off coupon in my wallet! I was also able to find some cute stuff for me but most of it is fun Spring skirts and a dress. I love Spring...please hurry!

Whew...so kind of a busy week but a good one! This weekend is going to be pretty busy...tonight I need to go to my mom's and watch the Grey's Anatomy/Private Practice crossover finale because we went out for dinner last night and we don't have DVR and they do. Then I have made it my goal to prime and then paint the master bedroom by Sunday so we can finish up that project by the middle of next week!

I don't know why I like this picture...but Peyton's face just makes me laugh. It is like one of those trying to smile when you are mad faces!

Speaking of Peyton...she has a temper! She is starting to throw temper tantrums! I didn't think that was possible at 5 months. She will scream at you and just fuss when she doesn't get her way. I am working on ignoring it when we are at home but she tends to do them more in public which normally means mommy responds. What a turkey!

Weekend Update

So we finished our guest bathroom Valentine's Day project and I really like it!

Here is the before....

And here is the after....
Also, I decided to go and get my hair cut yesterday. I let it grow long while I was pregnant because all the hormones made my hair grow like mad and since then I have just kept it long. Well I called yesterday out of frustration as I was tired of my long and annoying hair (a five month old permanently attached to your hair didn't help) and I made the mistake of going to a different stylist than I normally do becauase I didn't want to wait another four days to get it cut. She did a really good job overall but I did ask for it to be just above my shoulders and I guess your chin is your new shoulder but it is just hair and it is kind of growing on me (no pun intended)! I am liking it more this morning so that is good!

Not sure what we are going to do today. I am waiting for Peyton to wake up from her nap and then we will discuss!

Happy Valentines Day

What a wonderful Valentines Day! I am so blessed to not only have one Valentine but TWO and I think thatt they both are pretty adorable.

The morning started off with Peyton sleeping in an extra hour! Then when she did wake up I made John go and get her out of bed since she had a surprise for him in her crib....a Valentine's Card that she picked out all herself (with some help). She really did pick it out herself. I showed her the three options and this was the only one that got a reaction.

Then John surprised me with a Carmel Latte (Extra Hot) from Starbucks in bed and my present....a Cuisinart Waffle Maker (and then he made me some waffles) and some flowers. Peyton then got her Valentines card from Daddy which she promptly tried to eat.

After Peyton's morning nap she put on her Valentines Day attire and looked adorable as always. She was very exicted about her outfit! Also, she is starting to sit unassisted for brief seconds! You have to stay very close because she topples but she is holding her own for a couple seconds here and there!

Following our morning nap we decided to head out for some running around and we decided to do some rainy day fund spending on the very rainy day. We went to Lowes and picked out a new light fixture for our guest bathroom and then to Hobby Lobby where I picked up a new mirror for the guest bathroom and these very fun wall accessories for the kitchen....

Yes that is a giant fork and spoon on the wall in my kitchen. How fun are those?! We finally made it home and started on our project only to find that the builder makes very large and unecessary holes when installing things....

So, we need to head to Home Depot to get some stuff to cover the holes and then I can get the paint out and cover it all up and finish the project. I will post some before and after pictures once we get it all done. Hopefully tomorrow!

One project that did get done today though was hanging a valance in our master bathroom. Here is what it looked like before....boring!

And now after a wooden box made by John and some fabric from our outing at High Fashion...now I just need some fun accessories and my bath time has a whole new look!

One last fun update and kind of an early Valentines gift was the arrival of my curtains last night! FINALLY!
I LOVE DECORATING! Happy Valentines Day everyone!

Rice Cereal Attempt #2

So, we have not tried feeding Peyton rice cereal since our last experience a couple of weeks ago due to her being so sick and the doctor saying that we should just hold off until she is feeling better especially since we are really only at the experimental phase and it isn't imperative that she gets the extra calories. If you remember last time she was pretty receptive of the cereal...however, this time....not so interested. She would take some only if it was on my finger and then make a face at me. Since I quickly realized I was not getting much success, I decided to have some fun together and poured cereal on her tray and let her just play in it. I figured she might put some in her mouth with her fingers and letting her play with the spoon and cereal was fun times for everyone.

Now that we are all healthy again we will experiment more with trying rice cereal so she can get ready for the fun stuff next month!

Jumping Bean

Peyton is napping and is pretty worn out because this morning she experienced her jumper thingy for the first time. She has been in it a couple of times before but only for a moment because she wasn't big enough so today was the first full play time in the bouncer and she was impressed. She couldn't get over the fact that there are toys all around her and it was very exciting. There are more pictures here.

Whoa...what am I supposed to be doing?

This looks interesting

Hello Mr Frog...

Time for me to eat you...

More fun things to try and eat

The Grocery Game

In an attempt to save my family more money and maximize the work I put into cutting and storing coupons I decided to turn to the Grocery Game for some help. I have heard good things from a couple of people now so it was time to try it out.

Pretty much the Grocery Game is advertised as the following:

What is The Grocery Game? The Grocery Game is a website that can save you hundreds of dollars on your grocery bill each month. Log in, spend a few minutes with a pair of scissors, and you're off to win The Grocery Game! When you play, you'll get a weekly list (called Teri's List) of the lowest-priced products at your supermarket matched with manufacturers' coupons and weekly specials -- advertised and unadvertised. The Grocery Game does all the hard work and research, and presents it to you in a straightforward format.

What do the colors on Teri's List mean? Teri's List is color-coded. Black items are a good price. Buy these if you need the item now. Blue items are for stockpiling. We do not expect this item to go lower so stock up while the price is at rock bottom. Green items are free. These are not "Buy one get one free" but are actually free after sale and coupon. All you pay is sales tax!

So...it is $1 for a four week trial to as many stores or lists as you want and then it is $10 every 8 weeks for one list (each additional list is $5). After looking at last weeks published list there were some really good deals that I was not even aware of. In order to start truly seeing savings you need to gain a 12 week stockpile of goods so I will be starting on that and will evaluate how we are doing in 12 weeks to see if it worth continuing. Not bad for $21!

You can check out the Grocery Game by clicking here. Also, if you decide to register, make sure to put my email in the referral part so I can get some free weeks!

Snotty Ladies

No we didn't run into any mean ladies...Peyton and I are both sick. Peyton is almost over her congestion, cough and ear infection and decided to share her germs with mommy who now has a sore throat and runny nose. Gross. We are staying in our PJs today and being lazy girls.

We had a busy weekend so it is nice to just be lazy together. On Saturday the ladies of the house along with Grandma went downtown to an art gallery where a former co-worker displays some of her work along with 30 other artists in a co-op gallery setting called Archway Gallery. Peyton really enjoyed the paintings and a silly flamingo sculpture thing and was so well behaved. After that I decided that Peyton should further her interest in Pottery Barn and we made a trip over there along with Restoration Hardware and Crate and Barrel. Peyton has visited all these places before but I feel like she was too young to truly understand what we were doing and now that she has seen the catalogues...it was a whole new experience. But really, it is so great that she is more alert and awake when we go places. It is fun to show her things and interact with her outside of the house. Daddy stayed home Saturday and did so much around the house for us which was great! Then Sunday we had small group and spent the rest of the afternoon relaxing and cutting coupons. A great weekend!

So, all in all, my first week on the new job went well. It hit me on Wednesday what has happened but I know that this is where I need to be and I am so happy with our decision. This week my goals are to try not to be so busy with housework and look for opportunities to get out of the house and do things. So, tomorrow my mom and I are heading out to High Fashion (a huge fabric store) downtown and I will also be starting more on my master bedroom decorating by hopefully picking a paint color so I can start painting this weekend. One other item on my to-do list is to look into some play date opportunities for me and Peyton. She really needs to continue to be around other kids and I need to meet some new mommies so we will be following up on some things I have found...but for now....NAP TIME!

I love Pottery Barn too...

Today our master bedroom sheets came and the new catalogue came as well. It appears that just like her mother Peyton likes Pottery Barn. She was a little schocked that I have kept this great place from her and she was very excited about her new discovery and the new design possibilities! These are some pictures that I captured of her...funny thing is that these are really in the order I took them.

Five Months Old

Peyton turned five months old yesterday and we celebrated with some antibiotics. Peyton has an ear infection:( I noticed her acting grumpy on Tuesday and then that night she woke up a couple of times so I knew something was off and sure enough the doctor said that her left ear is infected. She is also still battling with congestion and getting all of that out of her so she has a pretty awful cough. But for being a sick little girl she is pretty cheerful and full of smiles for her mommy and puppy.

As for her new skills....Peyton rolled over yesterday! I can not verify that this is true however because she did it while I went and got the camera. Peyton and Titus were on the floor together being all cute and she was on her tummy. I ran to get the camera and when I turned back around she was on her back looking mighty pleased with herself. I praised her and she thought that was the greatest thing but has not repeated her feat. I am pretty sure Titus didn't help her so I will mark it down as her first roll over.

Peyton is continuing to grow and besides her recent sickness is a healthy little girl which is all we could ask for. She is over 15 pounds now! Everyday she is more and more adorable and we are so thankful that we are able to be parents. I still am in disbelief how much our lives have changed (and for the better) in this past year.

Peyton's Puppy Dog

Here are some pictures of Peyton and Titus interacting today. She thinks he is pretty awesome and well....he tolerates her.

Staying at Home Update

So, the first two days at my new job have gone well! It has been such a joy to be around Peyton all day long and I have missed our times together.

Yesterday was a busy day. We were up and at Target at 9:00 AM. I am so used to getting up early and getting going that I didn't realize how early it was until I noticed that there were hardly any cars there. Prior to going to Target I was able to get laundry going, pick up the kitchen, do some dishes and just start getting our house back in order. I picked up some cleaning supplies and some clothes for Peyton at Target (I got an outfit for $2.50 regular $10). We then headed home and spent the afternoon playing. We went for a short walk to get the mail to test out the jogging stroller. It hit me how much she has grown when she was sitting up and looking so big in there compared to the last time in October/November when she was so small. She loved the stroller and was squeeling with excitment. We then went over to Grandma's for a little bit and I went to CVS to score some deals. I got back and we headed home to make dinner and had a nice evening with Daddy. At one point, I looked at my watch and realized that it was 6:30 PM and we had already had dinner and were relaxing as a family...I used to get home at 6:30 PM! It was so nice!

Today, we hit up the grocery store and then spent the afternoon at home. Peyton is still congested and her cough sounds worse today so she was grumpy and needed to relax. I did some cleaning during one of her naps but then she woke up and as soon as I held her she fell right asleep but didn't want to sleep in her bed so I did my favorite thing, I put her on JOhn's side of the bed and put a pillow as barrier so she wouldn't wiggle off and we napped together. At one point she woke up, looked at me, smiled and then went right back to sleep. Melted my heart!

Yesterday, Peyton started to reach out at Titus and try to pet him. He is being a good sport and was tolerating it until she leaned in to try and put his nose in her mouth and then he just backed off and looked at me. She loves him so much and it is great to see her smile at him and reach for him!

Also, in my shoping adventures this week so far, I have decided that by staying at home I would work a little harder on using coupons and looking for deals. Well, I am just in the early stages and have a lot to learn but I have already saved $106.14 this week during my regular grocery shopping and visiting CVS to stock up on some makeup etc (and I got $5 extra care bucks)! I still have some work to do and have learned tricks this week already but it is fun to save my family money!

I am still trying to figure out what our new routine will look like but it has been nice to be able to pick up the house, cook dinner and most importantly play and talk with Peyton all day long!

Master Bedroom Decorating Update

I got my gift cards to Pottery Barn yesterday evening and I decided to go ahead and purchase the duvet cover and Euro shams. They were still a little more than I would normally spend on sheets but I figured the two year long search warranted an exception. I love Pottery Barn but until this morning have only purchased two things there (my living room now master bedroom curtains and my dining room curtains). I can not wait until the duvet and shams come in so I go look for paint samples, search for some deals on sheets and start having fun! I am also wanting to find some pictures for above the nightstands and might just need to commission my personal artist....mom, are you up for the challenge?

Here is what I got....

My Own HGTV Moment...Master Bedroom Redo

We moved into our house almost two years ago (April 2007). When we moved in I made a major decorating mistake and painted our master bedroom a color that I love without having any sheets to really match. So, since then it has always been a pain in my side and a frustration. I have spent these past two years looking and looking for sheets to match the paint and after a fruitless search, I ahve decided to repaint. I finally found some sheets that I love and have decided to paint to match them and do some redecorating! Also, when John and I decided I was going to stay home, one thing I brought up to him is that we would need to make sure we are setting aside some money each month for "rainy day" stuff. Mainly little projects or things I could do to continue to express my creativity. I worked in a highly creative environment and knew that I needed to still have outlets to express creativity in decorating, cooking or photography.

So, my first creative undertaking is our master bedroom! So, stay tuned in the next month for our master bedroom transformation. Here is what we are starting with (we have added a dresser and mirror since these have been taken but I don't have a more recent picture)....

Step One in our master bedroom update is purchasing curtains for the living room. I thought you were redecorating the master...why are you buying living room curtains? Because the current curtains in the living room fit perfectly with my paint plans and sheets and why not use what you currently have and be able to update two rooms at once. After much searching (and a promotional coupon for free shipping and a discount off my total purchase) I finally decided to purchase thesese from http://www.halfpricedrapes.com/. I can't wait until they come!

Step Two, is waiting for my Pottery Barn gift card to come in the mail from us redeeming our Wells Fargo Rewards points! I found a duvet cover and shams at Pottery Barn that I LOVE and refuse to pay full price for them. However, a gift card helps justify the cost. Once I get the cover and shams I will search other discount stores for the rest of the sheets etc and then start putting things together and painting!

I am super excited about my new project (and the other ones to come in the future)...stay posted for more sneak peaks and the after shot!

Yummy...Rice Cereal

So, yesterday John and I were hanging out around the house and decided that Peyton seemed to be in a pleasant and experimental mood so why not attempt some rice cereal. The peditrician said at our last visit that she doesn't need to start solids until six months but in the meantime if she seems interested and we were adventorous to go ahead and try some rice cereal now and then and see what happens.


Peyton immeditaly grabbed at my hand and the spoon and directed me towards her mouth which made us very excited. Once it arrived at her mouth however the looks of glee turned into a little bit of confusion. She let it sit on her lips and front of her mouth for awhile and then finally swallowed. Overall she was very interested and a willing participant...even opening her mouth big and wide now and then. We only played around for five minutes or so becuase I didn't want to ruin a good thing. We will continue to experiment in the coming weeks.



Which means that this month I will be purchasing my supplies for making my own baby food (new food processor and some ice cube trays with lids for freezing). I have done a tremendous amount of research (http://www.wholesomebabyfood.com/ is an AMAZING site) and am very confident and excited about doing this for Peyton. Not only will it limit the amount of preservatives she will be getting but it will save us a bundle of money! She won't start on the fun veggies etc until late next month but I wanted to look around for deals on food processors and be ready for when she is ready!