This past week was so busy with work that all weekend we relaxed and got stuff done around the house.
Friday night we relaxed and enjoyed cocktails and dinner in. Saturday we got up and hung out, went to the gym, and watched college football.
We went out to dinner with a Groupon at a little Italian place in Alexandria. The food was good, but the portions were not big. So... while watching the Gamecocks win we enjoyed some ice cream.
Today, Ben and Elizabeth went to Church while I got a lot of work done around the house. I needed a few hours to get housework, work work, and some mental recharging done. Ben was so wonderful and even went to the grocery store.
Week 2 is behind us in our new budgeting. We were successful again in staying within budget and even had some money left at the end of the week.
I am going to stick with weekly budgeting and weekly meal planning for now. The short term planning is just easier for us at this time.
Hope you have a great week!
Sunday, September 30, 2012
Sunday, September 23, 2012
Weekend Review
This weekend Adam and Brigette came up for a visit. They arrived Saturday morning and we enjoyed chocolate chip muffins and mimosas. After relaxing for awhile we went to World Market for Octoberfest where we enjoyed a beer and wine tasting. They don't have World Market in Pennsylvania so Brigette and Adam enjoyed seeing everything. After World Market we stopped by Total Wine on the way home. We all picked up something good and sampled a couple more wines (beers for the boys).
When we got back, we made popcorn and brownies and watched The Gamecocks! and the Pitt Panthers. It was hard to go back and forth between the two games, but Elizabeth and I knew who we were cheering for (Gamecock!).
After the games were over (we both won!) we grilled out with Pari, Quin, Brigette, and Adam. We enjoyed a great dinner outside and then played some Hand and Foot.
Sunday... we had a wonderful, lazy morning with eggs, bacon, and more muffins. Then we went on a nice 2-mile walk and relaxed a bit. We had tacos for lunch and then watched football (a lot).
***Update***
Last week I wrote about our new weekly budget and using cash only. Well, it was mostly a success. Meaning, yesterday I forgot to take the cash with me when I went to pick up a couple of things (so I had to use my debit card). We stayed within our weekly budget and we used cash for everything (when I didn't forget it). We are going to try it again this week and I think we will be successful again.
We have also been planning our meals on a weekly basis. We have talked about doing it on a monthly basis and we may do that for October, but right now I'm leaning towards the weekly meal planning because we budget on a weekly basis.
What does your family do? Plan meals? Weekly? Monthly? Do you have a budget?
When we got back, we made popcorn and brownies and watched The Gamecocks! and the Pitt Panthers. It was hard to go back and forth between the two games, but Elizabeth and I knew who we were cheering for (Gamecock!).
After the games were over (we both won!) we grilled out with Pari, Quin, Brigette, and Adam. We enjoyed a great dinner outside and then played some Hand and Foot.
Sunday... we had a wonderful, lazy morning with eggs, bacon, and more muffins. Then we went on a nice 2-mile walk and relaxed a bit. We had tacos for lunch and then watched football (a lot).
***Update***
Last week I wrote about our new weekly budget and using cash only. Well, it was mostly a success. Meaning, yesterday I forgot to take the cash with me when I went to pick up a couple of things (so I had to use my debit card). We stayed within our weekly budget and we used cash for everything (when I didn't forget it). We are going to try it again this week and I think we will be successful again.
We have also been planning our meals on a weekly basis. We have talked about doing it on a monthly basis and we may do that for October, but right now I'm leaning towards the weekly meal planning because we budget on a weekly basis.
What does your family do? Plan meals? Weekly? Monthly? Do you have a budget?
Tuesday, September 18, 2012
Seven months old!
Dear Elizabeth,
You are seven months old today! Your dad and I cannot believe how fast you are growing and how much you have changed in one month.
You have gotten your first tooth, had your first cold (last night/today you got it), you sit up by yourself, and you have traveled on a plane to Texas (again!).
You now eat phase 2 baby food at lunch and dinner. You still get four bottles (7:30am, 11:30am, 3:30pm and about 7pm). You don't like to go 4 hours between your snack and dinner for some reason...
You still take two really good naps each day. Usually one in the morning about 2 hours after you wake up and one in the afternoon about an hour after your lunch.
You have started drinking water and love to sip it out of a real cup. We have not found any sippy cup yet that you like so we just take the lid off and let you sip out of the cup.
You still wear a size 2 diaper (although you are almost too long) and you wear 6-9 month clothes and 9 month onsies and sleepers.
We do not have your statics but I am guessing you weight almost 16 pounds and are probably 27 inches long. You don't go back to the doctor until 9 months so we won't have an accurate number until then (we just know you are really, really tall).
Summer is over and I have gone back to work. You go to Laura's house everyday and play with Sam and Alice. I know you love going there because you are always so happy to see your friends and such a happy little girl when I see you in the afternoons.
You still love to take froggy everywhere and I make sure you have it everyday when you go play with Sam and Alice.
You got to watch your first football games this month and you love to cheer for the Gamecocks! Sometimes I let you cheer for Pitt and the Steelers too.
Here are some pictures from your adventures this past month:
You are seven months old today! Your dad and I cannot believe how fast you are growing and how much you have changed in one month.
You are seven months old!
You have gotten your first tooth, had your first cold (last night/today you got it), you sit up by yourself, and you have traveled on a plane to Texas (again!).
You now eat phase 2 baby food at lunch and dinner. You still get four bottles (7:30am, 11:30am, 3:30pm and about 7pm). You don't like to go 4 hours between your snack and dinner for some reason...
You still take two really good naps each day. Usually one in the morning about 2 hours after you wake up and one in the afternoon about an hour after your lunch.
You have started drinking water and love to sip it out of a real cup. We have not found any sippy cup yet that you like so we just take the lid off and let you sip out of the cup.
You still wear a size 2 diaper (although you are almost too long) and you wear 6-9 month clothes and 9 month onsies and sleepers.
We do not have your statics but I am guessing you weight almost 16 pounds and are probably 27 inches long. You don't go back to the doctor until 9 months so we won't have an accurate number until then (we just know you are really, really tall).
Summer is over and I have gone back to work. You go to Laura's house everyday and play with Sam and Alice. I know you love going there because you are always so happy to see your friends and such a happy little girl when I see you in the afternoons.
You still love to take froggy everywhere and I make sure you have it everyday when you go play with Sam and Alice.
You got to watch your first football games this month and you love to cheer for the Gamecocks! Sometimes I let you cheer for Pitt and the Steelers too.
Here are some pictures from your adventures this past month:
(someone did not sit still for her 7 month photo op)
Monday, September 17, 2012
Super Doubles!
Today I picked up some items at Harris Teeter for their super doubles coupons. I didn't know yesterday when I went to Giant that super doubles were going on, otherwise Teeter would have gotten all my business. :)
So... today we got:
Eggs: 97 cents
Bacon: $1.97
CPK Pizza: $1.33
Kraft Fresh Take topping: 50 cents
(2) boxes of Cheerios: 79 cents
Ken's Teriayki marinade FREE
Pete's Hot sauce FREE
4 pack refrigerated jello snacks FREE
Total = $5.56
I''m not sure of the total saved or total before savings because as I paid, the power went out. So...my receipt was only partially printed. I know that my before coupons total was around $22 so we will just go with that number ($22) and I saved $16.44!!!
If you read my blog from yesterday you know we are trying a new budget technique this week. I still have money left over from today to get any last minute essentials for the weekend. Yay!
So... today we got:
Eggs: 97 cents
Bacon: $1.97
CPK Pizza: $1.33
Kraft Fresh Take topping: 50 cents
(2) boxes of Cheerios: 79 cents
Ken's Teriayki marinade FREE
Pete's Hot sauce FREE
4 pack refrigerated jello snacks FREE
Total = $5.56
I''m not sure of the total saved or total before savings because as I paid, the power went out. So...my receipt was only partially printed. I know that my before coupons total was around $22 so we will just go with that number ($22) and I saved $16.44!!!
If you read my blog from yesterday you know we are trying a new budget technique this week. I still have money left over from today to get any last minute essentials for the weekend. Yay!
Sunday, September 16, 2012
Catching up and a challenge!
I don't know what it is, but since school got out in June I have not felt like blogging much. I thought maybe it was the summer "chill-out" and I was focused on hanging out with Elizabeth and relaxing.
Well school is back in and the "chill-out" has not worn off. So, now I feel like I am forcing myself to write again, but maybe if I force myself I will start to enjoy it again.??. Kinda like going to the gym... (maybe?)
I also do not care for my new laptop. I know that sounds really bad tosay write, but I just miss the old one (I hate change). The keys are soft, it doesn't have the numbers on the right side of the key board, and it I feel like the wrist rest (is that what it's called?) doesn't feel totally comfortable. I know, I'm still adjusting.
This past week my Uncle Pat passed away (my Grandmother's brother-in-law, for about 65 years) and we flew to Texas to attend the funeral and see family.
It was really good to see a lot of family that we have not seen in a long time. We had not seen several people since our wedding and Ben and Elizabeth even got to meet my other Grandmother on this trip. The trip to Tahoka was long and sad, but I am really glad we went to support Bryan and Sharon. After we drove back to the DFW area from Tahoka we got to see my sister and my other Grandmother. We stayed with my mom and Grandmother until Saturday and then flew back to DC.
Today we just relaxed, I tried Zumba for the first time and went to the grocery store.
We also started a new way of doing our weekly budget this week. I got the idea from a few different places and we shall see how it goes.
I have taken our weekly budget and gotten the cash out of an ATM. I then divided up the cash into envelopes for the alloted amounts for the week.
The categories are: My gas, Ben's gas, groceries, baby food/diapers/wipes, and misc.
I will let you know next week if we were able to stay in the budget. I still have $19 from the grocery budget after the grocery store today, so I can spend it later in the week or add it to another budget. Adam and Brigette are coming to visit this weekend, so I'm guessing I will be going back to the grocery store to get some goodies. :)
Has anyone ever tried to budget this way? Only using the cash in your pocket (or envelope?). I'm interested to see how we do. We usually use our debit cards for everything and never have cash. So...this is going to be a challenge. Wish us luck!
Well school is back in and the "chill-out" has not worn off. So, now I feel like I am forcing myself to write again, but maybe if I force myself I will start to enjoy it again.??. Kinda like going to the gym... (maybe?)
I also do not care for my new laptop. I know that sounds really bad to
This past week my Uncle Pat passed away (my Grandmother's brother-in-law, for about 65 years) and we flew to Texas to attend the funeral and see family.
I took this picture on the way to Texas. I love them snuggling together and napping. So cute!
Today we just relaxed, I tried Zumba for the first time and went to the grocery store.
We also started a new way of doing our weekly budget this week. I got the idea from a few different places and we shall see how it goes.
I have taken our weekly budget and gotten the cash out of an ATM. I then divided up the cash into envelopes for the alloted amounts for the week.
The categories are: My gas, Ben's gas, groceries, baby food/diapers/wipes, and misc.
I will let you know next week if we were able to stay in the budget. I still have $19 from the grocery budget after the grocery store today, so I can spend it later in the week or add it to another budget. Adam and Brigette are coming to visit this weekend, so I'm guessing I will be going back to the grocery store to get some goodies. :)
Has anyone ever tried to budget this way? Only using the cash in your pocket (or envelope?). I'm interested to see how we do. We usually use our debit cards for everything and never have cash. So...this is going to be a challenge. Wish us luck!
Saturday, September 1, 2012
Six months old
Dear Elizabeth,
You are six months old! We are so excited you have reached this milestone... you can now wear sunscreen, eat baby food twice a day, safely sleep on your stomach (although I still don't like it and I don't let you), and you are getting bigger and smarter everyday!
We can hardly believe that 6 months ago (ok, 6 1/2 months) you were born and changed our lives forever. It's funny, but we hardly remember what life was like before you. I do recall a little more sleep, and a little less worrying. :)
This month you weigh 15.3 pounds (30th percentile) and are 26.5 inches (80th percentile). The doctor says you look great and developmentally you are advanced.
You wear a size 2 diaper but we may switch you to size 3 soon because you are so long/tall. You take 4 bottles a day (between 6-8 ounces each) and you now eat a veggie or fruit a lunch and dinner. You eat about half of the container each time.
You love to take your froggy pacifier with you every where you go. You love to grab you at Dad's face (especially his glasses) and you love to rub his beard. You love, love, love to grab our fingers and eat them. Sometimes you enjoy eating your fingers, but for some reason, ours taste better.
You wake up happy every day and lay in bed and talk to yourself until we come to get you. You wake up between 6:30-6:45am and like to play until breakfast which is anywhere from 7-7:30am.
You go to bed between 7-7:30pm most nights and sleep through the night. Occasionally you will wake up because either a) you have a wet diaper or b) you have rolled onto your stomach and don't feel like rolling back and cry because you want us to roll you back over. You do love to sleep on your side, curled up. It is super cute!
You have done a lot of traveling in your 6 months. This month you went to a few new places. We went to Philadelphia for Dad's birthday and to get there we drove through Delaware. While we were in Philly, we drove over to New Jersey and took you to the Aquarium. You really loved all of the colorful fish. Your mom and dad liked touching the stingrays and sharks. While in Philly, we visited with Dad's friend Dan. Dan really enjoyed meeting you and showing you around Philly. Dan said you are a great baby, and a very good traveller.
We also had brunch with Greg, Charlene, Rosie, and Atticus in Washington, DC (surprisingly, her first trip to DC). One weekend we met our friends Jen, Debbie, Cathy, and Jill for lunch. Jen and Jill were super happy you meet you. And, Debbie and Cathy were happy to hang out with you.
In July, we went to Greensburg for Shelley and Adam's wedding. You stayed with Nana and Pap Pap overnight by yourself while Dad and I went to the wedding and stayed at a hotel. You were so good and had such a nice time with your grandparents.
You also watched your first Olympics this past month. You loved cheering with us every night for the USA! You dressed in very patriotic outfits and yelled at the US to win!
Just to recap all of the places you have been in your six months:
Virginia, North Carolina, Texas, Pennsylvania, Delaware, New Jersey, and DC.
We are so happy that you love to travel (just like you parents) and we enjoy showing you new places!
Here are some pictures of your adventures from this month:
Elizabeth- we love you so very much and have enjoyed every minute of the last six months. We can hardly wait to see how you change over the next six months (just not too quickly).
We love you,
Mom & Dad
Six months!
You are six months old! We are so excited you have reached this milestone... you can now wear sunscreen, eat baby food twice a day, safely sleep on your stomach (although I still don't like it and I don't let you), and you are getting bigger and smarter everyday!
We can hardly believe that 6 months ago (ok, 6 1/2 months) you were born and changed our lives forever. It's funny, but we hardly remember what life was like before you. I do recall a little more sleep, and a little less worrying. :)
This month you weigh 15.3 pounds (30th percentile) and are 26.5 inches (80th percentile). The doctor says you look great and developmentally you are advanced.
You wear a size 2 diaper but we may switch you to size 3 soon because you are so long/tall. You take 4 bottles a day (between 6-8 ounces each) and you now eat a veggie or fruit a lunch and dinner. You eat about half of the container each time.
You love to take your froggy pacifier with you every where you go. You love to grab you at Dad's face (especially his glasses) and you love to rub his beard. You love, love, love to grab our fingers and eat them. Sometimes you enjoy eating your fingers, but for some reason, ours taste better.
You wake up happy every day and lay in bed and talk to yourself until we come to get you. You wake up between 6:30-6:45am and like to play until breakfast which is anywhere from 7-7:30am.
You go to bed between 7-7:30pm most nights and sleep through the night. Occasionally you will wake up because either a) you have a wet diaper or b) you have rolled onto your stomach and don't feel like rolling back and cry because you want us to roll you back over. You do love to sleep on your side, curled up. It is super cute!
You have done a lot of traveling in your 6 months. This month you went to a few new places. We went to Philadelphia for Dad's birthday and to get there we drove through Delaware. While we were in Philly, we drove over to New Jersey and took you to the Aquarium. You really loved all of the colorful fish. Your mom and dad liked touching the stingrays and sharks. While in Philly, we visited with Dad's friend Dan. Dan really enjoyed meeting you and showing you around Philly. Dan said you are a great baby, and a very good traveller.
We also had brunch with Greg, Charlene, Rosie, and Atticus in Washington, DC (surprisingly, her first trip to DC). One weekend we met our friends Jen, Debbie, Cathy, and Jill for lunch. Jen and Jill were super happy you meet you. And, Debbie and Cathy were happy to hang out with you.
In July, we went to Greensburg for Shelley and Adam's wedding. You stayed with Nana and Pap Pap overnight by yourself while Dad and I went to the wedding and stayed at a hotel. You were so good and had such a nice time with your grandparents.
You also watched your first Olympics this past month. You loved cheering with us every night for the USA! You dressed in very patriotic outfits and yelled at the US to win!
Just to recap all of the places you have been in your six months:
Virginia, North Carolina, Texas, Pennsylvania, Delaware, New Jersey, and DC.
We are so happy that you love to travel (just like you parents) and we enjoy showing you new places!
Here are some pictures of your adventures from this month:
Hanging out with Dad
Six months!
Before Church
Playing with my favorite toy
Eating green beans
Go USA!!!
Walking around Philly
(notice froggy)
Having a lazy day on the couch
Elizabeth- we love you so very much and have enjoyed every minute of the last six months. We can hardly wait to see how you change over the next six months (just not too quickly).
We love you,
Mom & Dad
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