Something Special...

Jack with Daddy's ring!

We just can't get enough of this little booger!

Weeeeee!

Mr. and Mrs. Smalley

You know, some things are for life!!

How blessed we are...

Pictures!!!

Here are some recent shots of my little man!!

We are ready for our walk!

Jack sitting in style!

And eating his hand!

Watching T.V.

He is just too much fun!

One, Two, Three

First of all - BIG, BIG News today - Folks, Jack slept in HIS crib, in HIS room last night for the first time!! Ahhhh, my baby is already such a big boy!! After many nights of flipping a quarter with Brian to see if he would sleep with us or in his bed and a lot of convincing, I put him down for bed in his crib. He looked so peaceful! Of course, I was up every hour checking on him...trying to see if he was still breathing or if he was comfortable or if he was too warm/cool! We made it though! Jack slept until 6:30 this morning!

Secondly - Jack will be THREE MONTHS tomorrow! I can not believe it has been 12 weeks already! He is such a great baby, too! I know that I have said this before, but he really is! He is talking...well, oohing and ahhing so well. Jack loves to eat his fingers! Any opportunity that he can to get his hands into his mouth, he will! The best part is that he will practice making sounds with his hand shoved in his mouth! It's adorable! It is almost as if the hand helps him to talk! Oh, and he is sooo strong! At the end of three months a baby should be able to keep his or her head level when pulled to a sitting position and Jack has already accomplished this! Well, not every time but he sure is good at holding his head steady! I'm so proud of him!

Thirdly - I made it to Publix today for my first adventure in the world of trying to save money! Here are a few conclusions I have made:

1. If you are new to finding good deals at the market place, make sure you have PLENTY of time to thoroughly comb through each isle! I, unfortunately, was VERY pressed for time. I had my parents watch Jack while I went to the grocery store and then to get my hair cut. (I would have taken Jack, but I wanted to be able to focus all of my attention on my coupons and such!) Anyhow, by the time they made it over and I left for the store, I only had 45 minutes to shop, check out, return home, unload groceries, and leave for the hair salon. Not good. I managed though and made it to the salon on time. The biggest downfall was that I had to knock off a few things from my grocery list! I couldn't use all of the coupons I had hope to and I felt very confused about if I was truly getting my money worth!
2. It is seriously important to get to Publix as soon as they release their newest sale items and BOGO (buy one get one) deals. I couldn't even get the free dog bones I had wanted to because they were out of stock! I know that I could have gotten IOU from the store, but I didn't know how and didn't have the time! NOR did I get the BREATHE RIGHT STRIPS!!! AHHHH I just remembered that!! I gave them my coupon and I didn't even get the PRODUCT! oh my goodness. what a mess. I can't believe I just remembered that I forgot that! Ok, so this is disappointing.
3. (just added) Make sure you know what your buying and PULL the coupon out of the pile to give to the cashier if you did not use it! man... this just supports conclusion #1.
4. I don't know if this is a conclusion or something I should just work on...but how in the world can I figure up if I saved or not. I know that my receipt prints it, but without being so product oriented...how in the world can you tell??
5. Stock piling REALLY is important. I can just imagine the money I WOULD HAVE saved if I didn't need sooo much!
6. PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE! I'm not giving up just yet!!! And I have big dreams, people! Once I get this down...I'm moving to CVSing!! You just wait!!!

OK, so what was my total savings???? $60.11!! not bad right??
I'm pretty sure my total before the coupons was around $200.00 and after it was $147.83!!
I know that this is not the savings a pro would make...but I'll take it for now.

Until next time....

Grocery Shopping and Coupons

Jack is asleep right now and I have taken a seat at the computer to try and put together some kind of new post. I really really wish that I could just post pictures of Jack for everyone to see...but, as you can guess, I still have not bought batteries for the camera! I have got to get it together!
There is hope though and let me tell you why... I have made a monster grocery list for tomorrow and batteries, diapers, and cokes are all on the list! I am hoping that even though the list is long, I might save some money. Unlike ordinary bulk shopping trips, this time I will be taking full advantage of this weeks deals at Publix. I have been trying my best to get involved in the world of couponing. I have been studying every frugal blog, reading every coupon game rule, and trying my best to figure out how to save big at the grocery store. I am pretty sure that this trip to the grocery store will not bring in the savings since we need so much, but I am thinking that each trip will get better and better. Supposedly, if you are able to match coupons to sale items and BOGO deals then you are able to decrease the amount of money you are going to pay out of pocket! I am pretty sure that I am buying every sale item and BOGO item this trip. I am even going to get a few things for next to nothing! Dale will have two boxes of dog treats for free AND we'll have cream for our coffee that will only cost $.16!! How wonderful is that! I am also excited that this week Publix has Breathe Right Nasal Strips as a B1G1 deal and I have a coupon for them! Brian loves these things and would live in them if he didn't look like such a weirdo with them on! They are normally $5.29 per box, but with the BOGO deal and a coupon, I will be getting two boxes for only $4.29!!! You can't beat that!! I am still learning, though and I know that my savings this trip will not be what I would hope it to be. Because we are so low on groceries, I probably will not see a lot of savings for a couple of months or so...but I am going to press on and keep collecting my coupons. On a side note...and this made me very disappointed, but the Sunday paper did not have my coupon packs in there! I was outraged! Normally, you would want to buy two or three Sunday papers to clip the most coupons...I guess it's a good thing I only bought one this Sunday! Total bummer! I will keep you posted about my savings!!

New things all around!

So things have been pretty exciting around here...I will start by saying that Jack has been experiencing his first cold. Yes, that's right, the one thing I often feared would happen did...Jack has a cold. And it really doesn't surprise me that he caught something considering everyone has been sick lately! Luckily he is a lot bigger now and it really has only been a little congestion and a cough. I took him to the doctor Friday and I was told that it was nothing more than "drainage." I was extremely happy that it wasn't anything more than that. Jack weighs 12 pounds now!! He is such a big boy! Oh, and did you catch that...Jack and I went to the doctor! Yup, I made the trip alone and it went so well. I was feeling even more confidant after the trip to the doctor that I even made it to the grocery store!!! It was a HUGE day for us!! I was so proud of myself! To make it even better, the weather was wonderful...I am pretty sure that is one of the factors that helped get me out there! It was great!
On a different note...Brian and I are getting married...Finally!!! And it couldn't come at a better time! We are going to wed on the 20th of this month! I know that it's pretty soon, but we are sooo excited! I can not stop thinking about it!! I feel like a little school girl again and just the thought of it makes me giddy! The ceremony will be very simple!! I'm sure that we will do something more extravagant down the road, but the important thing right now is to just get hitched!!! We are thrilled!!

A little note...

New Post! Things have been slowly busy around here. I know this may seem like an oxymoron, but seriously, I feel like I am slowly busy. Most of my time centers around when Jack needs to eat or sleep and I can get really busy to try and finish things before bottle time or even bath time arrives...and then once he is asleep, fed, and clean things just slow down. We have spent a lot of time with my parents over the last couple of days. My parents, Jack's Moo and Bull, love to have us come over, and not so much for our company, but for Jack's! It doesn't bother us too much because I can get a break from the 24/7 momma thing and there is ALWAYS plenty of yummy food to eat! Now that I have all of the rooms organized and clean, there is really not too much to do around her except for maintain things. This is a lot easier than having to completely clean up a room that has undergone a major disaster! (The disaster being the mess that can evolve from not cleaning) I am super happy that things are in their necessary place, and I love how much more room we have now that things are clean, but I catch myself thinking of projects to do when the super slow times begin to creep in. Brian is going to come home one day and I am going to literally be drawing on the walls!! Now don't get me wrong, I LOVE being able to stay home with Jack...it has been an absolute blessing and would not trade it for the world...but sometimes there are only so many times you can search the Internet, wipe off a counter top, or scan through the channels on the TV!!! I have starting collecting coupons...but explaing this project will have to wait for another post!!
On a different note, Jack is getting so big. Y'all, all of the clothes that I never thought he would fit into...he has almost out grown! He is the cutest thing. He has now starting sucking on his fingers. He will literally try and get every finger into his mouth...I had to stop him today because while he was eating his hand, he was utilizing his recent knowledge of his voice, and began to gag himself!!! One thing at a time, Jack! He is adorable and I wish that I had some pictures to post...but they will have to wait. The batteries on our camera are dead and I keep forgetting to buy some new ones! In due time...ok, time for another bottle!!!

Ta-da!

I must be kicking some postpartum tail or someone has lit a match under mine because the last couple of days I have been in over drive! I have seriously managed to organize my bedroom and Jacks! Yes, that's right TWO bedrooms are now in order. I started with my room...this took a while...but I managed to organize all pregnancy, summer, and winter clothes/shoes in my closet, PLUS organize Brian's closet as well! Before Jack was born, his room was spotless, however, that all changed since he came home from the hospital. But, if you were to walk into his room now you would find a nice and clean baby room. I am very excited over my progress. I hope to now continue to move this cleanliness train into the bathroom (mainly organizing what is under the cabinets and in the closets) and then into the kitchen. When we moved in, I really just put things places and did not try too hard to make functional. I really did a "it will do for now" job. I did nest like crazy, but I was not too organized in my nesting methods! So, this has really been an ongoing process and now that I am feeling more up to speed with life, things are really starting to come together.
Jack has been a little fussy today. I am pretty sure his last two bottles have given him some rotten gas! We are out of the house today, though! I called my mom and told her to get ready because we were on our way over! Plus, they are doing some painting on the hallways and apartments in my building and the painters are loving their radio! It is seriously like a fiesta...I needed to get out of there...and I didn't want to call and complain because it would have been my third time to call the main office and complain. So, I'll let them have their fun and Jack and I will enjoy an afternoon at Moo and Bull's house.