What I've been up to

Sunday, November 16, 2008

Lately I've been really into couponing. It's my new hobby. I feel very blessed to be able to stay home with Lydia, but it isn't easy monetarily, so I've been looking for different ways I can help cut back expenses. I discovered that there is this entire online world of people who research coupons and sales and let you know how to get things for a fraction of the price. I've really enjoyed looking into these things and have found a few really awesome sources. My favorite is probably www.moneysavingmom.com. She posts deals and links to printable coupons that she can find and also that her readers lets her know about. The other is www.freebies4mom.com. This one is more for fun, because it lets me know about free samples that are available to sign up for. I've decided to keep track of how much I save every week. A few weeks ago, I actually made a little bit of money with a purchase worth $12. This week, I saved 6.50 when I went grocery shopping. When I figure that up, I don't figure the face value of the coupons, I figure up how much I would have spent on a similar product. For example, I bought ziploc bags because I had a great coupon. Usually I buy the store brand. So I didn't save $1.50, I actually only saves 24 cents, because with the coupon, they cost 25 cents less than the store brand.

Anyways, I know this is totally nerdy, but I've really, really enjoyed doing it lately and just wanted to share.

A Candid Moment with Dad

Sunday, November 9, 2008

We were just sitting around this afternoon and I was playing with the camera. I decided to take some video without Tyler knowing. Here is the result. It's shaking a bit at the end because I was giggling.



Yes, he did just call me a harpy.

Exact transcript:

"Feet games...sitting up...
Feet games...feet games while sitting up!

...are you video-taping? Woman, stop the video tape, ya harpy."

Halloween

Friday, October 31, 2008

Tonight was Halloween and it was pretty fun. We planned on having a small party with just a few friends, but one of those friends got sick, so we postponed it until tomorrow. As a result, we decided to go to a few Halloween parties that were going on. The only problem was that we didn't have any costumes because our party wasn't going to involve them. About an hour before the first party was going to start, I made this costume for Lyddie out of an old laundry bag and a ribbon I had laying around. I made up the pattern and glued the whole thing together. Over all, I was pretty pleased with myself.



Tyler and I didn't dress up, but we had fun anyways. Here's Lyddie after a few hours of partying. Our friend Brittany is holding her. Some of you may recognize the shirt she's wearing as part of her costume. As you can see, Lydia was very excited for Halloween.



(Oh, and for those of you who haven't emailed me yet, I'm closing down the blog to the public on Sunday, so let me know if you want to have permission to read it!)

Security

Sunday, October 26, 2008

I'm about to make our blog available to only limited readers. Pretty much anyone we know is OK, we just don't want any freaks kidnapping the baby. If you want to be allowed, just let me know and I'll add you, assuming we know who you are. I will leave the blog open for another week, and then I'm changing the security features. Thanks guys, sorry for the inconvenience.

I'm Happy

Friday, October 17, 2008

I've really enjoyed the last few months since Lydia came. Not just because I love being a mom and get a lot of joy out of that, but also because I've had time to do things that I want. When I was working at Verizon, I had very little flexibility. It was very difficult to get off work for a weekend or a Saturday. It also took up a lot of my time. Ever since I've been home with Lydia, I've been able to go on a trip and visit with people, when I never would have been able to otherwise. I feel very free. I get to help my husband with things, like studying for a test or making a rock club poster (which turned out freaking awesome, by the way. I also get to do things for my daughter. Yesterday I spent about 4 or 5 hours making Lydia a book of her family, so she could know them even though she doesn't live near them. It turned out pretty cute and I'm very happy with it.

Tonight is Friday Night Live at BYU, which is basically an even where every BYU club sets up a booth and people come and check them out. There's live music and stuff too. Anyways, I'm excited for it because I get to go help Tyler and I get to dress Lydia up in a cute outfit and show her off. Tomorrow is the Mountain Goats concert in SLC. I'm a little nervous about it because I've never left Lydia for more than an hour or two, but tomorrow we're leaving her with a sitter. I know she'll be fine, but I'm surprised at how much I worry about her when I'm not with her. I'm glad that she's a happier baby, though, because I'd be more worried if she was sad the whole time. I wouldn't be able to go to either of these things if I was still working, and I'm very grateful that we are somehow managing for me to be able to be home with Lydia. It's a joy to take care of her, she's such a sweet baby, if she is a little stubborn. It's been some of the happiest days of my life so far. Even if I have to go back to work eventually, I'm still glad that I get to have this experience.

Lydia's Weight Problems, Cont.

Monday, October 13, 2008

Well, we went to the doctor to make sure that she's still gaining weight like she should, and she isn't. It's been exactly two weeks since her last appointment and she was supposed to have gained 10 oz. Unfortunately, she's only gained 5. That puts her in the 5th percentile still, despite my supplemental efforts. As a result, the doctor has asked that I give her a higher concentration of formula and some blood tests. We're pretty worried about our little girl and hope to find out what's wrong soon.

Lydia's Personality

Saturday, October 11, 2008

Lydia is a stubborn little girl who knows exactly what she wants. Recently, she's started whining a lot. Not crying, exactly, but almost a sort of moaning cry. She doesn't like it when things happen to her that just aren't fair, like those mean hiccups. Whenever she's happy and I leave her sight for more than two or three minutes, she'll begin to cry. She has to have attention or she's not a happy camper. She's also recently started being very very picky about the temperature of her bottle. She's never had problems switching between breastfeeding and the bottle, so I thought we were in the safe zone, but now if her bottle gets even slightly cool, she refuses it. The problem is, physics won't allow it to stay within her acceptable temperature range. About 2 ounces into her bottle, she'll stop drinking it and I have to reheat it before she'll take anymore. My instincts tell me to not reheat it, because I don't want her to learn that she can be that picky. Because of her weight problems, though, I have to cater to this little whim. It's no fun being slave to a 2 month old, but she's so darn cute, I guess I'll make it through.

Here's a video I took a few days back. She's recently started to try rolling over. She's succeeded a few times from tummy to back, but I think it was accidental because she was throwing a tantrum at the time. Back to tummy is a little bit more tricky though. I think this video also has a good example of her whiny cry.