Roly Poly

It's been a while...

2009-01-20T10:27:00.001-08:00

Although I have been reading blogs since last April, I haven't posted on my own, and I truly to miss it. Things have really been turned up on their head since last April (for the better!) and I'm looking forward to what 2009 has in share for Jolie & I. I hope to be able to post on a more normal basis, in between working and chasing around a 16 month old! Yes, can you believe Jolie is 16 months old now?? I know I can't! WHERE does the time go!? Hopefully soon I'll have some updates on Jolie, what's been happening in our household and anything else I can think about. Stay tuned!

Hillary

The many faces of RolyPoly

2008-04-15T18:14:00.000-07:00

Ok so maybe not so many faces...do you see a trend? ;)

less than 3 days left

2008-04-12T19:29:00.000-07:00

I'm so glad some of you have tried Revolution Money Exchange! Don't you just LOVE it?! I have no way of knowing which of you signed up so, if you haven't already, go get your free $25 too, while you still can!

Only 3 days left!

Check out what I have to say about it here. It's totally for real.

Walmart makes me happy :)

2008-04-12T19:01:00.000-07:00

(Let me rephrase that title. I actually try to stay away from Walmart but getting things for FREE makes me happy ;)

If you're low on cereal, now is the time to stock the pantry! Walmart has certain flavors of Malt-O-Meal cereal on rollback 2 for $2. **Ours weren't in the regular cereal row, one Walmart had them on an end cap and our other local Walmart had them towards the milk on a big display.**

If you use this coupon for $1.50/1 you'll make .50cents per bag (if your store allows overage) or use this coupon and they'll still be free, just no overage. You can print each coupon twice, just click the back button 2-3x and another coupon should print out for ya and if you have multiple printers like me you can get a whole bunch of free cereal!

I also got the Zantac cool mint using the $5/1 coupon here These are regularly priced at $3.98 for the 8 pack so if your store allows overage thats $1.02 bonus per pack!

Using the $2/1 Honey Bunches of Oats coupons I picked up 2 boxes of the Chocolate Clusters which were $1.98 so they were FREE too! The label said $2.35 so I was happy to pay .35cents a box but when I got to the checkout they rang up $1.98.

I got 2 of the trial size Red Zone Old Spice body washes for free too using the $2/2 coupon from March 16th's paper.

To get the Glade Scented Oil Warmers, I used the $3/1 coupons I had from a Sunday paper(not sure which one) and since they are normally priced at $2.47 they were FREE too!

Now I should have had over $9 in overage but my cashier wouldn't let me have it so my balance was just zero. Not that I was complaining :)

I actually had a few more cereal coupons and I went back and got them and 2 more boxes of Zantac and bought a gallon of milk and using the overage the milk was free. So I guess it all depends on your cashier wether or not you will get the overage!

Can't beat free though, with or without the bonus of overage! :)

Paid to shop at Publix!

2008-04-12T18:33:00.000-07:00

A good week at Publix. My store accepts competitor's coupons so I was able to get everything you see in the picture for a little over $2.00 including tax! Not too shabby! Here's how the deal worked out:

For the Classico Spaghetti Sauce that are on sale this week Buy 1 Get 1 Free, I used 2 of the $1/1 coupon from Target here

and stacked with the $1/2 manufacturer's coupon here

and MADE 31 cents each pair!
YAY!

While you're there pick up some FREE French's mustard and Frank's hot sauce using the coupons here. The coupons are for .50 cents off 1 but when they double that it's $1.00 off and The frank's hot sauce is 99cents regular priced. The french's mustard is .95cents so you'll actually make 5cents! :)

I also used the Food Lion baby coupons for $1 off ANY Gerber baby food and stacked with a manufacturer's coupon available here They were on sale $5/5 so that made these FREE too!

Since I had a little over $3 in overage from the Classico I used it to buy some ice cream sandwiches and eggs and only paid $2 and some change for all that you see! I absolutely looove Publix!

What grocery deals did you find this week? I found this and MANY more at Money Saving Mom.com. Head on over to Money Saving Mom for more ways to save on your grocery bill!

Up, Up, and Away!

2008-04-12T09:36:00.000-07:00

Here are the pictures of the munchkin, as promised, of the first time she pulled herself up to a stand! She's just barely 7 months old! Wow, I'm in for it! :) Time to baby proof the house!
After about 30 seconds of investigating her new toy...

I think I'll try to stand up!

This is hard work!

I did it!

So proud of herself!

I'll be posting my CVS deals this week, there are a TON, so check back later for some more updates! :) Happy Saturday Ya'll!

a good start!

2008-04-11T20:42:00.000-07:00

Lots to write about tomorrow...including a new business venture for me!

but I thought I'd share what we're having for breakfast tomorrow. Breakfast is one of my favorite things to cook. Nothing better than to start the day off with a yummy treat! Enjoy!

Bacon Cheese Pull-Aparts
Ingredients

1 egg
2 tablespoons milk
1 (16.3-oz.) can Pillsbury Grands! Flaky Layers Refrigerated Original Biscuits
6 slices bacon, cut into 1/2-inch pieces, cooked
3 oz. (3/4 cup) shredded Cheddar cheese
1/4 cup finely chopped green onions (4 medium) (I often leave these out.)

DIRECTIONS
1. Heat oven to 350°F. Spray 11x7- or 12x8-inch (2-quart) glass baking dish with cooking spray. In large bowl, beat egg and milk with wire whisk until smooth.

2. Separate dough into 8 biscuits; cut each into quarters. Gently stir biscuit pieces into egg mixture to coat evenly. Fold in bacon, cheese and onions. Spoon mixture into sprayed dish; arrange biscuit pieces in single layer.

3. Bake at 350°F. for 23 to 28 minutes or until golden brown. Cut into squares.

(recipe source - Pillsbury)
Thank you Cynthia at What's for Dinner! for this yummy breakfast idea! If you haven't already, check out her site. She has some easy and tasty recipes that'll make your mouth water!

What are your favorite breakfast recipes? Share your recipe or links to your recipe in the comments section :)

them's the brakes...

2008-04-10T15:46:00.000-07:00

FIGURE A.
The end of last month we went on vacation and because we were traveling with the munchkin, that meant we had to bring the car seat and stroller. Well I knew we would have to gate check the carseat and the stroller because I didn't want to have to pay an extra $250 for a 3rd checked bag and $325 for a 4th, (ridiculous I know)so we got to the gate, we took our seats on the plane and I mentioned to the flight attendant that unless someone knew how to release the brake (which is NOT that hard, see figure A above), seperate the top part of the stroller and collapse the chassis, to please come and get me and I'd be more than happy to do it for them. (The stroller doubles/triples/quadruples to a playseat, highchair, etc etc so it seems complicated if you've never used it before) Well anyhow...back to the story. The flight attendant said Okay, we'll come get you if we have any problems" and right before we were set to depart she came by and said "oh, we had no trouble with the stroller" so I figured all was well... Well, all was not well.
Once we arrived in Orlando I waited for the stroller and here it came. All in one piece. Not separated, not collapsed. Hmm I thought, I guess this is why she said they had no problems with it, beacuse they didn't collapse it. I put the brake on and instead of staying put so I could load Jolie in, it went cruising down the ramp at what seemed like 25mph. Apparently, their version of collapsing it meant not figuring out how to release the brake and just kept pushing it till it broke. GAH!
Well I called the airline and they said unless I could prove it wasn't broke before the flight there was nothing they could do! WHAT?!@ You just ruined a $900 stroller! There's nothing you can do?! Well I decided to give Bugaboo a call and see what they could do and they said they would send me a whole new chassis for FREE! They said they don't bother trying to replace the brakes anymore and that it should be here within a week. Well I am so happy to say that the chassis came yesterday and that I can't say enough how good of a company Bugaboo is. Allegiant Air, not so much. I guess you get what you pay for.
So there's 2 morals to this story. One is, Bugaboo is an awesome company and I cannot recommend them enough! and two, apparently you need to video tape your strollers, and any other belongings that you think might get damaged, as you are boarding one of Allegiant's flights because, then and ONLY then will you have "proof" that the brakes, or whatever it is they could possible screw up, worked before hand. Yes, I am still a tiny bit upset.

Walk n' Roll!!

2008-04-09T10:39:00.001-07:00

Yesterday was a great day for baby deals! Since I saved all that money on diapers, I decided to head to our local children's clothing resale shop that I had a $10 off a $50 purchase coupon for on a hunt to get a walker for Jolie and to see what other bargains I could find. (Consignment or resale shops are a GOLDMINE when it comes to buying baby equipment! I wish I would have known about them sooner!) As soon as I walked in I found an almost brand new Winnie The Pooh walker(it actually probably was brand new because the wheels had no dirt on them at all!) and it was $26! Way better than the $49 I had seen it for at Walmart! I was thrilled! Then to add to my enjoyment I looked up on a shelf and and low and behold there was the Fisher Price Sit to Stand Giraffe gazing down at me that I had been debating about buying for only $9! What a steal! I looked around at what else I could find to bring my total to $50 so I could use my coupon, and I found a cute Baby Gap hat and shorts set, a Children's Place swimsuit, some new white leather Keds, and a few other little things. I paid $40 for everything I got! I was so excited to get home and have Jolie test out her new toys.

Well, she LOVES her walker. She can only go backwards for now but she you can tell she likes being in control of where she rolls! Yeah, so I guess I should let her master crawling first but I can't help myself. I'm a sucker for baby stuff. Then there was the Sit to Stand Giraffe. Well my friends, whoever named that thing was right on. As soon as Jolie sat in front of it she pulled up on the ears and after a little bit of a struggle, she pulled herself up to a stand! What?! She's only 7 months old! She's not supposed to grow up this fast!!! I was amazed that she was even attempting this, since she had never before, so I quick ran and grabbed the disposable camera that I'll be taking to Walgreens later today to have developed for FREE! and snapped a few photos of the process. They should prove to be rather amusing. She was making some interesting faces. I'll post them later.

Another note.... Jolie has had her 2 bottom teeth for a while now, and now her 4 top teeth are coming in. I've tried to get some pictures of her new pearly whites but Jolie turns into Fort Knox and refuses to open her mouth. One day I'll get a picture of those elusive things. I know they're in there.
Well here's my problem..only one of her top teeth has broke though so far, which has made for a few sleepless nights around here. I've been using Hylands Teething Tablets and gel, frozen bananas in her mesh bag feeder, teething rings, you name it, to try to help with any discomfort, and I'll give her some Tylenol at bedtime but it doesn't seem to really be helping. What do you do for your teething baby to help ease their pain? I'm not a huge fan of Tylenol/Motrin so if you have any homeopathic remedies to share, please do!

Who wants FREE ECBs?!!

2008-04-09T09:59:00.000-07:00

Everyone knows I love CVS. That's no secret. What was a secret to me though was that there's a GREAT new way you can earn ECBs and you don't even have to spend a dime or leave your home!

CVS has a program called CVS Advisor Panel and when you join and complete your profile, they will send you up to 4 surveys per year requesting your feedback about certain products, services, etc. For each survey you complete you can earn $5, $10, or even $15! Not bad at all! I signed up today. You should too!

I had to laugh though when one of the questions on the sign up survey was "how many times a month do you visit CVS" ...hmmmm? I don't know... maybe 4, 5, or 15 times? Wow, I need help! :)

Are you interested in signing up? Grab your Extra Care card number and go here: CVS Advisor Panel. They'll send you an e-mail to confirm and then just sit back and wait for the surveys to earn your free ECBs! Neat huh?

Thanks to Wendy at More Than Enough for the heads up on this one!

If you buy Pampers...

2008-04-08T09:39:00.000-07:00

I've been a loyal Pampers customer from day 1 and I was thrilled to find out that I can earn free stuff just for buying them! So I wanted to pass this on to any other mommy's or mommy's-to-be that use Pampers.I wish I had found out about this sooner!

It's called Gifts to Grow and you find the labels on the inside of the package of diapers. It takes just a few minutes to register then you go and scour the trash for all the diaper packages that you just threw away if you're like me, and enter the codes! I'm already up to 19.5 points! Another 1/2 point and I'll be able to get a free book for Jolie! They have other things you can get too, like free movie passes etc. For more detailed instructions and info visit Kendra at Handprints On The Wallor Pampers.com

Free $25 ends in 7 days!

2008-04-08T08:44:00.001-07:00

I just realized that the free $25 I posted about the other day is only good til APRIL 15th, not May! :( So if you want a few extra dollars in your pocket, take 5 minutes and sign up today! Only 7 Days left!

Free Mocha Iced Latté Wednesday 4/9 @ Sonic!

2008-04-08T05:36:00.000-07:00

Head to Sonic this Wednesday, from 5pm to 9pm, to get one free 10-ounce Mocha Iced Latté. All you have to do is ask! It doesn't say a limit to the number of free lattés per vehicle, so load up the car and get a free treat! :) Thanks to iMommies for this link!

.98 cent huggies diapers!!

2008-04-07T20:39:00.000-07:00

This is what I got yesterday at CVS. I actually have 5 excedrin's but one was put away.
This deal only worked for me yesterday because the CVS coupons expired 4/6 BUT if you're store lets you use expired coupons then try it. I actually went again today and it worked :)
I did this 3 times.
Bought:
1 Huggies Supreme 35pack diapers $8.99
2 Nature's RX Essentials Vitamins $14.99/2 (On sale for B1G1)

Total before coupons: $23.98

Used:
1 $4/$20 CVS Welcome Coupon
1 $2 CVS Huggies Coupon
1 $2 Huggies Manufacturer's Coupon
1 $5 CVS RX Essentials Coupon
2 $5/1 RX Essentials Manuf. Coupons

for .98cents AND I received $10 in ECB's for spending $25 in baby items (part of the weekly deal buy $25 worth of select baby products get $10ECBS) Now, I only had 1 $2/1 manuf. coupons for the Huggies, but I had 3 other $1.50/1 that I got from a Huggies Mailer & Sunday papers. So the other transactions I paid about $1.48 for. So I got $116.91 worth of goodies for $3.94+tax!! If THAT'S not a deal, I don't know what is!!
Thanks to Jenny at Mommin' it Up for this great idea!!

In a seperate transaction I also bought:
5 Excedrins at $1.99 each,(Limit 5)
Used $2/1 from here, here, and here
These were FREE after coupons and I actually MADE money because I got $5 ECBs back as part of the deal Buy 1 Excedrin 24ct at $1.99, Get $1 ECBs (Limit of 5)
Making money is so much fun!

I've done some more deals today and am going back tomorrow to hopefully pick up some Softsoaps that they were out of.

Just a note, it pays to talk to the CVS clerks. I asked them if they had any more soft soaps and the cashier offered to write me a rain check for 5 free! WOOHOO!! She also told me her truck came in today and that they might have some out by tomorrow! We shall see!

What did you get at CVS this week? I'd love to hear what other deals are out there.

Prayer

2008-04-07T18:33:00.000-07:00

This story touched my heart and I wanted to share it with you. Please pray for their family's comfort and to be able to find peace in this sad situation. As a mother, I cannot even fathom the pain they must be feeling.

Free Film Processing at Walgreens this Wednesday!

2008-04-07T17:52:00.000-07:00

This Wednesday only, use this coupon to get a FREE set of 4x6 prints at Walgreens! Also, since the coupon is only for actual film not digital prints, why not use this coupon to have your photos put on a CD! Perfect for uploadin' & emailin'! :) Now go and find one of your old disposable cameras laying around and get 'em developed!

I also plan on picking up some D batteries for .99cents using that same page of coupons! Lately Jolie has been loving on her swing and that sucker takes 4 D batteries, so I'm loading up! :)

Thanks to Denise at The "Cents"ible Sawyer for the link to the coupons! Go check her out!

I saved $107.44 at Walgreens this week!!

2008-04-07T09:44:00.000-07:00

This is the first week I've tried my hand at the Walgreens deals. I've gotten pretty good at CVSing and the deals this week at Walgreens were pretty easy, not to mention FREE!! Thanks to Money Saving Mom for some of these deal ideas!!

Here's what I got:

My original total was $123.63 but I only spent $16.19 OOP (Out of pocket)!!!

This is how I did it
I bought
7 boxes of Honey Bunches of Oats. On Sale for $2, so use this $2/1 coupon here, here,here and last but not least, here. You can print one at each! Makes them FREE!
8 Aquafresh Advanced Toothpaste on sale for $2. Use this $2/1 coupon here and they are FREE too!
4 Airwick Freshmatic Minis on sale for Buy1Get1 Free (9.99 for 2)and use this $4/1 coupon or the $4/1 coupons from 4/6 SmartSource insert. (From Sunday's paper)
3 Oust Candle Holders on sale for $3.59 from $7.99. I had 3 $2/1 coupons from a recent Sunday paper)
3 Renuzit cone airfreshners on sale with in ad coupon for $1. I had 3 $.55/1 coupons that I used making these .45cents each!
1 Reynolds Wrap Aluminum Foil on sale for 4/$3. I bought one, used the coupon and used a $.55cent off coupon I had.
2 Sunday papers for the coupons of course! at .88cents each. No coupons for these :(
1 Color Ink Cartridge Refill- FREE with last weeks coupon! (Didn't add this into my total since it was part of last weeks deal, just never had time to pick it up!)

so my total savings were:
$2.24 saved with Walgreens Coupons
$54.10 saved with Walgreens Advertised Deals
$51.10 saved with Manufacturer's Coupons!!
Thats 107.44 saved!! Not too shabby for my first trip to Walgreens! What about you? Have you found any other great deals at Walgreens?

PS. I'll post my CVS deals I got last night later on!

Coupon crazy

2008-04-07T08:33:00.000-07:00

I believe one key to saving money is organizing your finances. One way I try to do this is keeping my coupons organized. I never thought I'd be "that" woman in the store with loads of coupons but my, how much things change when you have a baby!! Lately though everytime I go into a store, someone stops me and asks about my coupon book. I've even had 2 men ask me to teach their wives how I "coupon". So I figured this would make a great post, in case any of you out there are also looking for a way to save money and be organized!

I decided to go with the coupon binder method. It's a little bit of time/work up front but to me it's so much easier than trying to sift through the coupons in a plain ol' accordian file. So here's a picture of my binder:

I found this pink one (of course) at KMART and I'm actually already starting to outgrow it! I can hardly believe it. It's a 2inch binder I think? I'd recommend starting with a 3 inch so you don't run into the space problem I'm having. Believe me, it's easier to do than you think!

Here's how I have all the coupon's organized. I used clear baseball card pages that are available anywhere (K-Mart, Walmart, etc) and 3 packs of tabbed dividers from Office Depot. These were great because they had printable inserts. Saved me a lot of time instead of having to hand write each tab!
These are the categories I used:

Baby
Bags
Baking (I also use this category for refrig. cookies, brownie/cake mixes, cooking oils, etc)
Batteries
Beverages (Coffee, Crystal light, sodas)
Bread
Candy
Canned
Cereal
Cleaner
-Airfreshners, Candles **I had to make a second category because once I started with coupons I began noticing that just about every company out there wants your house to smell good and it was taking up too much of the actual "Cleaner category" so I made one all its own!**
Condiments
Dairy
Frozen
Health food
Hygiene
Jelly/Peanut Butter
Laundry
Meat
Medication
Paper products
Pasta
Pet
Rice (I use this category for boxed items too, like betty crocker potatoes, hamburger helper, etc) If you can think of a better tab for them let me know! :)
Salad dressing
Shampoo/Shaving
Snacks
Seasonings/Spices
Toothpaste

The last tab I keep is for restaraunt coupons. There always seems to be one or two in every weeks paper so I just stick them back there so I always have them handy if I'm out and want to grab something quick for lunch or dinner.

As you can see, it's super easy to just flip through the pages and find the coupon you're looking for. It also makes it easy to see when they expire so you can just pull those out when they do if you don't get to use them before hand.

I keep a pair of scissors, a small calculator for working up deals on the spot, a pen, and usually I have that weeks CVS ad too! (I'm am addict)

This method has saved me SO much money! Just yesterday I was in Walgreens getting my free cereal and toothpaste and I saw they were clearancing the Oust candles from $7.99 to $3.47. I thought I had a coupon for them and sure enough, I tabbed over to "airfreshner/candle" and there they were. 3 $2.00 off each Oust candle! I got 3 of them for much less than the price of 1 at full price! See, it pays to be organized!
If you have any questions or tips on how you coupon, please leave me a comment! I'd love to hear your ideas!

Free Money Fridays!

2008-04-04T07:45:00.000-07:00

I've recently been trying to find ways to earn a little bit of extra money as well starting a good savings for Christmas from home while Jolie naps. It's been great.
I am always happy to share things I find to be helpful in earning extra money. I came across a few sites that work for me and wanted to pass them on to you!

The first is called Revolution Money Exchange.

It's basically the new paypalbut no fees. For signing up I recieved a $25 bonus in my account and all I had to do was sign up! There's no gimmicks or anything. I was a bit leary when it said I could transfer the money into my bank account so I decided to have them take the $2.50 out of my free $25 and have them mail me a check, and boy am I glad I did! My check came in the mail 4 days later! I also referred my mom, dad, and brother so I received $10 for each of those. Here's a copy of my checks:

This is my check for $52.50!!! ($55.00-$2.50 for mailing the check)

This is the check my mom received for $22.50 ($25.00-$2.50 for mailing the check)

Simple as that! It only takes a couple of minutes to sign up! Then you confirm your account through an email they will send you. After that, your bonus will be added to your Revolution Money Exchange account!
Not too bad for less than 5 minutes of my time! Now to some of you an extra $25 or so isn't going to make a huge difference but it sure will buy a case of diapers for us and that to me is wonderful! Here's the link if you're interested in signing up too!

The free $25 is only good til APRIL 15th! :)

I also recently started doing a program called Cash Crate.

Now Cash Crate isn't going to send you $25 for free, and it's not going to take less than 5 minutes but it is fairly quick and easy and you can make a few extra dollars to pay for a treat for yourself, or in my case my daughter, or even a bill or two. It pays to be organized too!!
To earn money on Cash Crate you can do a few different things. There's the surveys that you can fill out that are completely free and usually only take about 10 minutes to complete. There are also daily surveys that you can complete (up to 2 per day) that pay $1.75 each!
You can also complete offers that give you a higher payout than the surveys. These usually involve free trial offers that you sign up either for free or a dollar or two but have a HUGE return on. For instance this month you can sign up for a one month trial of Blockbuster for $9.95 and earn $20.50!
Netflix also has a completely FREE trial that pays out $13.50! (Who doens't like free movies delivered to your door?!)
Thats $24 alone! WOohoo!

I have a notebook that I use to write down what offers I signed up for, when I need to cancel by so I don't get charged after the free trial, and how much they pay out. This is where it pays to be organized!

The first month I did cash crate (this is my 3rd month) I received a check for $15.
The first month, I didn't want to spend too much time doing surveys & offers, if I wasn't going to get paid. Then my check came and WOW! It really worked! That motivated me to complete more offers so the second month I recieved a check for almost $50!!! They usually send your checks out the 20th of the following month So, if you earn $100 in April, you'll get paid in mid-May.

This month I decided to do Stamps.com If you sign-up for a free 1 month trial you'll earn $8.00.
They also give you $5 worth of free postage that you can print from home! I used it to send a small package to my grandparents! :)
I also have completed a few surveys and other completely free offers so I'm due to receive a check for almost $75!!

Cash Crate also has a referral program so if you sign up and then refer someone you'll get a $3 bonus! You can make money without referrals but every little penny helps! If you want to sign up, please click the banner below:

Hope you decide to give one of these a try! If you have any questions, leave a comment and I'll answer it. I would love to hear how you are doing and any other great deals you've found. Drop me a line!

I am an avid coupon shopper now and thanks to Money Saving Mom & The "Censt"ible Sawyer, I'm absolutely addicted to CVSing

PS. Try using a program called Roboform which will automatically fill out forms, like the surveys, free sample requests,etc. I downloaded it and it's such a time saver! One click fills in my name, address, email address, and birth date!
Typing in your information over and over again, especially when completing surveys takes time, so I'd definitely recommend downloading Roboform.

Nothing like the FL sunshine!

2008-04-03T08:56:00.000-07:00

I decided I'd rather break up the last months recap into a few different posts that way it'll be easier to read. Well we got back from vacation down in Orlando earlier this week. What an awesome time we had!! I was a little worried about flying with Jolie for the first time, especially since she had a little bit of a stuffy nose but she did great! She didn't fuss for even a second! Well, the weather was beautiful. They don't call FL the sunshine stay for nothin'! It was definitely a shock coming back to a brisk 43 degrees! Which didn't help the fact that I caught whatever sickness Jolie & Joe had. :( Anyhow, our first day there we were able to catch the last Braves spring training game. Jolie was there in her pink baseball striped Braves outfit that my mom and I found when I was 3 months pregnant. I figured she could wear it to a game while her daddy was pitching but since his shoulder surgery we settled for just going to the game WITH daddy. One of Joe's friends from Rome actually pitched in the game so that was fun to watch. He did really good too! Hopefully one day when Joe's shoulder heals, Jolie will be able to see her daddy pitch too. While we were there we took Jolie to Cocoa Beach (about an hours drive) and she LOVED it! She would squeal everytime the waves came up to her toes then when the waves would retreat she would protest until they came back again. She loved the sand too. I think I'm still cleaning out sand from all her little rolls but it was worth it! We also were able to enjoy the hotel pool while we were there too. Yet another thing Jolie absolutely loved. She is definitely a water baby. I had a feeling she would love it just based on how excited she gets when its bath time so I can already hardly wait for it to get warm enough here to take her to the pool again! Overall our trip was great, Joe's mom flew down on Friday so that was nice. I'm glad she was able to spend some time with Jolie. She even watched Jolie so Joe and I could go out to eat one night on our own. Later in the week we ventured to Celebration, FL. It's right outside of Orlando and it is picture perfect. It almost seemed like a Disney town. Too perfect to be real but it was. While in Celebration we had a bite to eat and strolled around. Joe had found this neat bookstore while he was there a few months ago and suggested we go inside. I'm glad we did because I found a book called "Rocket Rolie Polie" based on the Disney TV series Rolie Polie Olie. I was so excited to find a book that had rolie polie in it since Jolie's nick name "roly poly Jolie!" I didn't even know there was a TV show. I guess I'm a little out of the loop. Anyhow here's a few pictures from our trip.

Taking a jumping break to pose

After sitting in the steamy bathroom to try to relieve some of her congestion and we ended up with a mohawk! :)

Here comes Jolie cottontail

2008-04-03T07:58:00.000-07:00

Easter this year was great! Lots of family time, good food, and of course candy! Everyone came to my mom's house for Easter so that was nice. Joe was still in Orlando so he wasn't there but we left to go down there 3 days later so we celebrated our Easter together down there. The day before Easter my best friend Anna and her husband Chad came down to visit us! They had gotten Jolie the sweetest white whicker Easter basket with a hot pink polka dot liner filled with all sorts of treats for Jolie! I can honestly say I have the most amazing friends ever! Anna always finds the cutest things for Jolie. In her basket she had a few board books for Jolie, and easter egg shaped plate, a super soft stuffed pink hippo, a pink tank top with a sweet sunflower jacket and pink socks! What a lucky girl I have! Anna and Chad are so good to us! They both are going to make a wonderful parents one day! Joe's mom had also sent a really nice Easter basket package for Jolie too! It was loaded with books, videos, candy, stuffed animals, swimsuits, bathrobes, 2 really nice dresses, and a little summer outfit too! WHEW! What a blessing! Here are a few pictures from Easter... Jolie also saw the Easter bunny too but I can't find the picture CD from that just yet, but hopefully soon I'll locate that and be able to post it on here!

Jolie's casual outfit for her first Easter!!

Jolie's Easter dress that my mom got her before she was even born!

What a sweetheart...giving CPR to Lampchop!

Grammy, Papa, & Jolie

My mom, brother & I

She's the happiest with no clothes on! ;)

quick update til tomorrow

2008-03-19T19:05:00.000-07:00

I can't believe it's been so long since my last post! It's been a busy week, but tomorrow more updates & pictures will be coming... especially my CVS deals (I came home with over $200 worth of goodies AND $98 in Extra Bucks!!) WooHoo!! :)

I also found this amazing recipe at one of my favorite sites Full Bellies, Happy Kids! and she posted a recipe for Breakfast Delights. If these don't make your mouth water, I don't know what will!! I can't wait to make them for breakfast in the morning!!

Here's the recipe:

BREAKFAST DELIGHTS

2 8-oz. pkgs. cream cheese, softened
2 c. sugar, divided
1 egg yolk
1 t. vanilla extract
24-oz. loaf sliced bread, crusts trimmed
cinnamon to taste
1 c. butter, melted

Mix together cream cheese, 1/2 cup sugar, egg yolk and vanilla. Spread one tablespoon mixture on each slice of bread. Roll slice from one corner to the other.

Mix cinnamon and remaining sugar together in a shallow bowl. Dip rolled bread in melted butter, then roll in cinnamon-sugar mixture. Place rolls on ungreased baking sheets.

Freeze rolls for at least 20 minutes. Bake at 350º for 8 to 10 minutes until hot and bubbly. Makes about 2 dozen.

Swinging Saturdays & Strolling Sundays

2008-03-08T11:10:00.000-08:00

It has been a beautiful week here in SC. Last Saturday the sun was shining so I decided it was perfect weather to take a trip to the local park and take Jolie for a swing/stroll. I had planned to go to Heritage Park in Simpsonville, and I thought I knew where it was but due to me being directionally challeneged, after I was there I realized it was the old park in, but either way there was a walking path so no loss. First we took a walk around the baseball fields where there were a few little league games going on. Then we tried the swings. This was Jolie's first time in an outdoor swing and she LOVED it. She was giggling like crazy. She definitely didn't want to leave but it was almost lunch time so after 30 or so minutes of swinging we packed up and headed home.

Ready for a walk!

Yay for swings!

Weee!

After we got home I wanted to continue the fun at home so we had some lunch then headed out to Toy's R Us to get our very own swing for the backyard. I thought about buying a swingset but after taking a look at the prices for a nice wooden set ($2,000!) I decided to opt for just the baby swing and look for a better "deal" on the swingsets.

Our very own swing

While I was at Toys R Us I also picked up a swim school (it's a float that helps get babies aquainted with water and has a few blow up toys to keep them occupied too) I figured this would be perfect for our upcoming trip to Orlando. I have a feeling she is going to love the pool if bathtime is any indication of her feelings toward water! :o)

Sunday was yet another incredibly beautiful day outside. I was talking to my brother on the phone and he mentioned that him and Celeste and her 2 boys were going to go to Cleveland and Falls Park downtown so I asked if he minded if Jolie & I tagged along and of course Uncle Timmy said sure! I had been wanting to check out the park there but I had never been there and I didn't want to venture out there on my own so this was the perfect opportunity! I hadn't been downtown in such a long time that I had NO idea how beautiful it is down there now! They have really done an amazing job of re-doing the downtown area. I had been to the baseball stadium when Joe had a game there last year but never explored any further. Well once we arrived at Cleveland Park we got Jolie in her stroller and headed on one of the many paths. I think everyone in Greenville had the same idea as we did because the park was packed! Strollers, rollerbladers, walkers, joggers, bikers, you name it. It was such a gorgeous day though so I can't blame everyone for wanting to enjoy the fresh air. It was at least 70 degrees out but for some reason I decided to wear a sweater. Not one of the smartest things I've done but anyhow.

Once we started walking, we decided just to continue on to downtown Falls Park which is just a little over a mile walk between the two. It was really nice being able to spend time with my brother and Celeste. He's usually working during the week so we don't get to spend as much time as we used to. Here's a few pictures of our trip.

After all that park hopping, Tuesday came about and I had asked Granny Betty (my step dad Paul's mom) to show me how to make her southern banana pudding. I had a taste of some at Michelle's baby shower and have been craving it ever since! Granny Betty doesn't have a written down recipe though. She's been making it so long that she can eyeball it and say "a little of this a little of that" so that proved a little tough but I just went behind her and measured everything the best I could. It turned out so yummy! Since I was so impressed with my new baking skill I decided to try it out for my grandparents, dad, and brother over at my grandparents house the next day. It didn't turn out quite as good as the day before, but Granny Betty assured me each time I make it that I would get better. It still tasted great, just didn't look as good but no one complained! I've been trying to get more organized so hopefully next week I won't have to jam pack the whole week into one post but until then hope you don't mind reading my blog "book" :)

The thrill of a good bargain!

2008-03-03T20:04:00.000-08:00

I've heard about people getting really good deals at CVS, Walgreens, Target etc so I wanted to give it a shot. I've been learning the ropes for 2 weeks now and have been getting some good deals but today I think takes the cake. Here's how our day started. First I went to Target. Here's what I got:

30 Individual String Cheese
2 Bottles Sunsilk Super Straight Shampoo
1 Bottle Excedrin Migraine
1 Bottle Excedrin Extra Strength
2 Johnson & Johnsons Buddies Soap
4 Glade Wisp Flameless Candles

my total BEFORE coupons: $58.14

and my total AFTER coupons:
$4.37!!!! The Flameless Candles alone are $9.99 regularly priced. I was in awe of the savings so I decided to continue on the bargain hunt...So I headed to CVS.

Now at CVS they have these things called Extra Care Bucks or ECB's which you can use for your next purchases. They work just like cash. You get them when you buy certain items. Say for instance this week, Colgate Toothpaste is $2.99 but you get $2.99 in ECB's for each box. So its like getting them for FREE! So here's what I was able to get at CVS today:

2 Febreze Noticables
2 Oral B Crossaction Toothbrushes
1 Lypsl Lypmoisturizer
1 Crest Pro Health Night Rinse
1 Crest Pro Health Rinse
5 tubes of Colgate Total Advanced Whitening
2 Gillette Mach 3 Razors
1 Swiffer Extendable Handle Duster
1 Swiffer Duster Refill
2 bottles of Downy Fabric Softener
1 Pampers Baby Dry 40 ct
1 Infant Motrin Drops
1 Infant Tylenol Drops
3 Johnson & Johnson Buddies Soap

Now granted I did this at 3 different CVS in 5 different transactions but I added up all my receipts and....

my total was $107.68

but after using some of my ECB's and coupons, my final out of pocket cost was:

$8.73!!!! AND I still have a $10 ECB from the Mach 3 Razors that I didn't realize was on the bottom of one of my receipts so in reality I could have gotten all of that for FREE!! I can hardly believe it myself! All that planning was DEFINITELY worth it. And all of my friends who laughed at me for clipping coupons are probably jealous now haha (love you still!) I was just so excited I had to write about it. I learned exactly how to do all this and with a little working in of my own from Money Saving Mom and The Censtible Sawyer. Two FABULOUS sites. I'm heading back tomorrow to work on some more deals too and to use my $10 ECBs I have still! WooHoo! Well thats all for now. I hope this inspires you to get out and bargain shop. I'll post a pic tomorrow of my stash! Good night! :)

It's my party and I'll eat cupcakes if I want to

2008-03-01T15:03:00.000-08:00

Yesterday Jolie turned the big 1/2 a year! So, naturally we decided to celebrate. Hey, you only turn 6 months old once! And since it is leap year she won't have an exact 1/2 year birthday on the 29th for 4 more years so why not! Earlier in the day we headed up to Pickens for a consignment sale called Weecylced Wear. I had never been to anything like this but a friend of mine suggested I check it out. I'm so glad I did! They had everything from clothes to furniture. I found quite a few super cute Gymboree outfits for spring & summer! I can't wait til she wears them... Then we stopped by Soby's to visit Uncle Timmy at work for a bite to eat and to pick up some cupcakes for later. Once we got home and had dinner a little bit later the "party" begun. Here's how it started...

Hey, I'm 6 months old!

"WHAT? No cupcakes for me?!"

Before the destruction...

Hmm, this looks interesting

Contemplating...

Squishing cupcakes is so much fun!

But eating them is SO much better!

Milk, please!

I'm fully aware that you aren't supposed to give babies sugar for at least a year but I figure a tad won't hurt. And today she's just as happy as ever so no worries! :)

Crawling for cookies

2008-02-28T08:47:00.000-08:00

Since my bebe has mastered sitting up for the most part, apparently she feels like rolling around aimlessly isn't fun anymore so she's attempting to crawl. Time for babyproofing the house, yikes! She only can make herself go backwards for now, which she finds entertaining in itself. She's pretty infatuated with her singing/light up cookie jar that we got her for Christmas, which I put in front of her to try to get her moving, as you can see in the pics. I can't blame her, I love cookies too :)

Hi guys!

Trying so hard!

give me those cookies!

On Monday Jolie and I headed down to Columbia to visit with Joe's mom, Courtney, & Patrick and then to see Joe's Aunt Trina and her son Ben and Ingrid before they moved to Oregon the next day. Aunt Trina had never met Jolie before so this was a treat... Since Ben & Ingrid had a little bit more packing to do before they headed out in the morning we headed over there for a spaghetti dinner (yummy!) We ate on the floor but it was actually fun & of course Jolie just hung out in the playseat part of her stroller. Seriously, that stroller is THE BEST. They don't call it the cameleon for nothin'. After dinner we headed back to Patrick's but lil roly fell asleep on the way so I decided to just head back home for the night.

Courtney, Jolie & I before dinner

Jolie & Joe's Aunt Trina

Joe's mom, Courtney, Me, Ingrid

longest blog in history....

2008-02-27T08:42:00.000-08:00

Photo recap of last week:

Valentine's Day!

Daddy's Visit!

Prunes...or chocolate? haha

First sippy cup w/ apple juice!

The first time she sat up(I had another picture but somehow the camera "corrupted" the file. bummer.

so happy to see Uncle Timmy

Thursday I loaded up the car and headed down to Atlanta. Joe had to have a 2nd (and hopefully the last) surgery on his shoulder to clean out the scar tissue that formed from the 1st surgery. So Jolie and I headed on our way. Joe's surgery wasn't scheduled til Friday so we had originally planned to go to the Georgia Aquarium but because I have no concept of time these days we didn't arrive in Atlanta til 3 and the aquarium closes at 5. Oh well, next time! We spent the night in the hotel right next to Turner Field so that was nice. We had to get Joe to the hospital at 530am. WOW, was that early. I orginally was going to have him take a taxi but then I realized if it were me, I'd want someone to be there with me too. So we somehow managed to get out the door by 515 and make it to the hospital on time. How? I have NO idea. So we get situated and Joe all prepped and ready so Jolie and I head to the waiting area (where we were for *5* hours) ouch. Well we're just minding our own business and all of a sudden there's a tornado watch so they make everyone get away from the windows. Seems like an easy task, until you try to get the bebe, the stroller,the hundreds of toys I brought because 2 just wouldn't have been enough, the 449603846 bags we had to bring to the hospital, the stack of magazines I bought at the hospital to keep myself from becoming bored to death, and the snacks all away from the convenient corner spot we had in the waiting room. So after that ordeal I was talking with the nurse when this guy approached me while he's making himself a cup of coffee courtesy of Peidmont Hospital and asks me for 2 singles for the Marta. To which I idiotically replied, "sorry I only have a $20." Which, was true, but not the thing you want to say to someone who is "trying" to tell you how poor they are. I put trying in quotations because later I would find out he is not poor at all. So his reply after previously hearing that I was going to head to the cafeteria during this tornado watch was well can I catch you down at the food court when you get some change, I just shrug my shoulders and promptly stroll on outta there. Now, don't get all angry like omg I can't believe she wouldn't help this "poor" guy out. Well you see, this poor guy was dressed in all Sean John,(I'm not a purchaser of Sean John, I however know that this is not your Walmart brand clothing either.) So in any other case I would have offered to buy him a meal or something rather than give him the money but this time I didn't feel bad. Well after all this we make it down to the cafeteria and there he is trying his scheme on some other lady. A nurse later told me he comes in all the time trying to get money for "his kids, the marta, food" etc but he's not in need at all. Gah, I hate people who take advantage of other people's kindness. I guess all you can do is pray for them. Anyhow Jolie and I are just minding our own business at our 2 person table when all of a sudden this mexican guy comes and sits down at the table with us and just stares. No, the place isn't crowded. Yes, there are other tables available but he picks our table. WHY. ME. I don't understand. I'm just trying to have a bite of what looks like eggs, and a sip of OJ but I can't even do that. So to make a long story somewhat short, we headed back upstairs to wait until Joe was out of surgery. Thankfully the Dr. quickly thereafter came to talk to me and tell me everything went great and he should be in a room soon. This was 930. Well normally, I'd be able to go back to recovery to wait with him but since I had Jolie with me that was a no no and rightfully so because I wouldn't want to bring her back there anyhow. So 1pm rolls around and finally his room is ready. I'm quite pleased to say that Jolie was a perfect baby that day. No crying or fussing what so ever. Lucky, I know. :) So we head up to Joe and he's looking, well, like he just got out of surgery. Here's a pic:

Pitiful :(

Well that night we just stayed at the hospital til 8ish or so then Jolie & I headed back to the hotel. On the way we get stuck in a little bit of traffic and happen across a bum trying to smash open a broken down car on the side of 85. Yes, where everyone could see. Scared? Yes, I was. Atlanta is definitely NOT my favorite place.

The next day we head back around 11 to pick Joe up and then head back to the airport.

In much better shape today!

Fascinated by daddy's sling

On our way back from the hospital though we (I) got lost trying to get back on the interstate but luckily for us it worked out because we somehow landed up in the middle of the Ga Tech campus and noticed a baseball game had just started. Perfect! Much better than aimlessly walking around the mall for a few hours. It was kind of chilly but we just bundled up and headed in. I never thought Jolie's "first" baseball game wouldn't be at her dad's but hey, I guess we won't count it since we only stayed for a few innings haha

Yes. I have more happenings to write about but miss priss just woke up from a nap, so I must go see what potty presents she has waiting for me. Ciao!

Guestbook...

2008-02-19T20:09:00.001-08:00

So it was brought to my attention that in order to leave a comment on here, you had to havea blogger account so I made a guestbook instead that anyone can sign :) The link should be to the right near the "about me" section. I'm still getting the hang of this blog thing but I hope you all will leave your thoughts and let me know you stopped by! Good night!

If you like lemon slices...

2008-02-19T09:01:00.000-08:00

Ok, so I'm not a total germaphobe but this is pretty disturbing. I know I'll definitely think twice about having that lemon slice with my water or tea next time I'm at a restaraunt. What about you?

Daddy's visit & sitting up!

2008-02-18T14:02:00.001-08:00

Well this past weekend Joe was able to visit from Orlando! For those of you who don't know, Joe had to have shoulder surgery to repair a partially torn rotator cuff in his right shoulder and since he is a pitcher, the Braves send all their guys to Orlando for rehab/physical therapy. Joe had to go back Jan 6 so we haven't been able to see him until this past weekend. His visit was great, Jolie was showing off all her new "tricks" of course. Joe's mom and brother were able to come up Sunday too to have lunch with us at Cracker Barrell before Joe's return flight. What a quick trip! Luckily we are going to go down for 5 days the end of March and I cannot wait! Joe said it was 92 degrees there yesterday when he got back so I can hardly wait to get out our swimsuits and hit the pool! Before Jolie was even born my mom and I had found some super cute swimsuits (pink of course!) so she is all set! My mom even found her a pair of pink sunglasses that are going to come in handy too! Joe's mom is going to be able to come down to Orlando too so that will be nice and a huge help! I couldn't imagine going down there by myself. I was hoping Joe's brother and Courtney would be able to come down too but I think Patrick said they are going to the mountains... we'll see!

Today though I have fantastic news! Jolie can sit up! She has been doing the "tripod" thing for a week or two but never able to balance sitting up without holding onto something but today we were playing her piano and I sat her up and she just stayed sitting upright for about 30 seconds! I was so excited! I had to call Joe right away! I tried to snap a picture but our camera battery is dead :( but I was able to record it on DVD though so that made me happy! I can hardly believe it. She's growing up too fast!

First words!!

2008-02-16T09:53:00.000-08:00

So I thought I'd be able to post more often but lately things have just been crazy once again! Here's a quick recap! Well, Jolie has started saying Ma! Ma! I don't think there is any other words I'd rather hear :) Although I'm sure Joe wanted to hear DaDa, I am soo excited she's finally using her big girl words! She's really on the move now, you can't take your eyes off her for a second while she's on the ground because she has mastered rolling to get around. She's acting like she wants to crawl but I think that is going to be a little ways off but you never know with her! She has been eating great too! We have tried every veggie and fruit there is for Stage 1 foods and we had no problems as far as allergies go. Although, I did notice that carrots didn't sit well with her so we have decided to leave those off the menu, for now at least. I have to say I think her absolute favorites are green beans and bananas by far. She'll gobble those up faster than you can get the spoon reloaded. Sometimes she starts throwing her arms up and screeching if you don't feed her fast enough. Such a little piggy! :) I can't wait to see how much she weighs in 2 weeks when we take her for her 6 month well check and to get the next round of shots. I know she's going to do great though!

Roly Poly!

Happy Girl!

I really enjoyed the past 2 weeks though. Joe sent me some roses for being a good mom so that is always nice. I was also able to Michelle's baby shower. I had a really good time there too! I made a diaper cake to bring and I think it turned out quite nice actually! I was really proud of it and I hope she enjoyed it as much as I enjoyed making it. I know we always needed diapers so I thought that would be the perfect gift that is practical, yet cute. I was also able to go out one night with my friend Kevin! He is soo much fun to be around! I had a fabulous time with him and Kendra as well. It's always nice to have some "grown up" time. And now to top all of that off, Joe is on his way here today for the weekend to spend some time with Jolie & I. We are also planning a trip to Orlando next month too, so that should be a fun little family vacation!

The roses Joe sent me

Diaper cake for Michelle

Daisy is also doing great. Last Sunday she started taking her first steps. She looked a little "drunk" but my family and I were so very happy! It just reaffirmed that we made the right decision to have the surgery. It has been a long 4 weeks since her surgery but it was all worth it. We took Daisy in yesterday for her re-check and the Dr. said everything looked great. We don't have to go back for another month now! Thank you all who sent your well wishes and prayers! I am a firm believer that the Lord and all of your love and support helped with a speedy recovery!

On another note, please pray for my grandmother (Grammy). She broke her hip 2 days ago while my grandfather and nurse were moving her out of bed. She has been in a wheelchair/bed ridden for almost 10 years now since having a brain injury. God really has blessed us with 5 really good years with her since the accident but slowly each year her health declines little by little. She is going to be having surgery tomorrow to repair her hip but the doctors have told us there is a large percentage that she may not make it through the surgery. My family and I know that her heart is dedicated to the Lord and we know God has a plan. We all know that Grammy is a very strong woman. She's battled breast cancer 3 times. Had over 20 back surgeries since being hit by a drunk driver 30 years ago, and then 10 years ago fell and hit her head and have to have emergency brain surgery which left her confined to a wheelchair. My grandfather has been taking care of her since and I know this is very hard on him and all of us. We have a very small family but a close-knit one at that. I just ask for your prayers once again for my Grammy.

What a week it has been!

2008-01-30T10:41:00.000-08:00

Gosh, this past week has been strenuous to say the very least. It started off on Sunday the 20th with Daisy, my miniature dachshund, becoming paralyzed in her back legs. So after an emergency trip to the vet, she had to have surgery to remove the ruptured disk from her back. So since then it has been an uphill battle. We took her home that Wednesday only to bring her back 4 times for various reasons, but thankfully now she is doing much much better! She is still not walking but she can stand on her own for a few seconds at a time so that is a huge improvement! Each day we have to take her out to do her exercises to make sure her leg muscles stay strong for when she actually can walk. The doctors say it could be a month or so before she's up and walking, so we've got a long road ahead but she's worth it!

Here's daisy the day we brought her home from surgery.

On a much happier note, Jolie turned 5 months old yesterday! I can hardly believe it. The time has literally flown by. We're back on a more "normal" schedule now too. For a while there she wasn't waking up til late in the morning and going to bed late at night but we seem to have worked through it all and she's doing a lot better with sleeping through the night. She's also teething (or so we think)! Everything goes in her mouth now, fingers, toes, my glasses, hair. Anything she can find she instantly puts them to her mouth. Lately though she's started to fuss at night and the only thing that seems to soothe her is a little dab of baby orajel and then her vibrating gum massager/toothbrush that I got for her for Christmas (hey, what did you expect, I'm a dental hygienist! :] ) Anyhow she actually loves "brushing her teeth" she'll even take the toothbrush from my hand and do it all by herself. It truly is amazing, I even have it on video! I'm hoping those little teeth will sprout through sooner than later because it kills me to hear her cry. Talking has also become one of her favorite things to do. She has this amazingly high pitched screech that I call her teradactyl noise. She's happy when she makes the noises so we just let her carry on. My mom and & were out to dinner earlier this month and she was just screaching away. People started looking at her but you could see she had a huge smile on her face so I didn't want to shush her so we just let her carry on. :) Jolie has also been laughing a lot. Sometimes she makes this laughing/crying noise but she's figuring it all out. Now she can actually make the noises she wants to, when she wants to, so it really is amazing to hear and see her in action. I thought for sure I would want Jolie to stay a "baby" forever. Each day though as she's able to do more and more things it's so rewarding that I almost can't wait to see what she'll do next. She'll raise her arms up when she wants to be picked up. I say she gives hugs and kisses too when you do pick her up, but that could just be me, haha Here are a few pictures to recap the last couple of months!
Eating cereal like a big girl!

Bath time!

Her fancy new bath robe!

Tim, Jolie, & I on Thanksgiving

In her stroller about to have her picture taken with Santa

Grammy & Jolie all bundled up!

Happy New Year!

Praying mom will take this hat off my head!

Our first blog!

2008-01-19T14:05:00.000-08:00

Well I've decided to make a blog to keep our family and friends updated on our little family's progress and activities throughout the year! I hope I'll be able to post at least once a week with updates on Jolie! I hope everyone enjoys hearing about how Jolie's growing as much as we love watching her get bigger by the day!

Let's see. Where do I begin? Two days after Christmas, Joe and I took Jolie for her 4 month well check up. We knew she was getting big but we had no idea she'd be 15lbs 1oz and 25 1/2 inches long! Such a long way from her 7.1lb 20inch start she had when she was born! Jolie had to have 4 shots and 1 oral medication that day. After the shock of the first pinch wore off she was in full-on crying mode. Luckily the nurse was super fast and it was all over with and bandaids on within 15seconds. It breaks my heart hearing her cry though. Everyone is right when they say you can tell the difference between the hungry cries and the hurting cries. No parent wants to hear their baby hurting so I was so relieved when Jolie calmed down after a minute or two. After her shots at 2 months I learned a few tricks to help calm her back down and they seemed to work for the most part!
Since that day, Jolie started out on "solid foods". I have been exclusively breastfeeding Jolie so this was a big step! We started out with rice cereal. I think when I have told people she's eating cereal now they get the picture that I'm feeding her cheerios or something but it's really just mush. Anyhow, Jolie really loves her cereal. Her first feeding it seemed like she couldn't get enough! We've since incorporated sweet potatoes, carrots, squash, and bananas (not all at once, of course) into her cereal and so far no problems/allergies! I did get a face-full of carrots when she decided to blow bubbles in the middle of her feeding but other than that she has really been doing great.
Each day it seems like she can do more and more things. I am so glad my parents gave us a DVD camcorder for Christmas so we can record all her "firsts", especially since she seems to be doing something new everyday! Jolie has been able to roll over from her tummy to her back for a while now and in the last month she's mastered rolling from her back to her tummy! I think the first time she did it she shocked herself! She had this look on her face like oh my! what just happened?! You can almost hear the wheels turning in her head as she discovers new things or realizes what she's capable of. I'm positive that she's going to be up and moving sooner than later too! She absolutely hates laying down now. As soon as you lay her down she is lifitng up her head doing what looks like mini crunches to try to sit herself up. A couple of times she has actually managed to sit herself straight up in her bouncer seat, which surprised not only herself but us as well!
I truly thank God everyday that He has blessed us with such a healthy, beautiful little girl. Every morning when I wake up I love looking over at her and seeing her smiling face. It truly melts my heart each and every time. Well the snow is starting to fall & I'm going to get out the camcorder and record Jolie's first snowfall! I'll post some more pictures later as soon as I figure this whole blog thing out!