Fun With Poppy!

Thomas has preferred Josh's dad over anyone else (including us) since he was tiny. There was something about Poppy that made him giggle at 4 months old when we didn't even know he could laugh yet! And Thomas' love for Poppy has only grown. As soon as he sees him, he just lights up and gets all excited.

Poor Grandma feels left out when Poppy is around. I think Grandma likes to come see Thomas when Poppy doesn't come, because she gets Thomas' undivided attention. However, don't feel too sorry for Grandma; she has always been the favored grandparent by the oldest grandchild. Josh thinks it is good that Poppy gets all of Thomas' attention, because Poppy has always been the one left out.

Now that Thomas is mimicking everything we do, you can imagine how much he mimics everything that Poppy does! Josh took some great pictures the other night of Thomas and his favorite person. What sweet memories!

Cake Decorating

For a while now, I have been interested in learning how to decorate cakes. It is such a useful skill for birthdays and other special occasions. I looked online a couple of months ago to see if any classes were offered in the area. There was one class offered about 45 minutes away and it was $40. I was willing to pay the money, because I wanted to learn so desperately, and emailed some ladies in my church to find out who else might be interested. One of the ladies at church, Lisa, called me and told me she had an even better idea. She knew a lady who had been doing cake decorating for years and wanted to teach other people because of arthritis in her hands. The best past? We would only have to pay $10 and we could do it locally!

Last Saturday, a group of 4 of us gathered at Lisa's house to learn some basics. A couple of the other ladies already knew the tricks to icing a cake and using tips for decorating. I definitely was the novice, but I had plenty of people to help me! It was such a fun experience and I walked away wanting to know more. The supplies aren't cheap, but I'm going to start slow and build my collection. Josh's birthday is next month and I hope to bake and decorate a cake for him. One of the ladies at the class gave me her pound cake recipe last week and it is so yummy! I almost baked a boxed cake to take to the class because that pound cake was delicious without any icing.

Here are some pictures of the cake and everyone enjoying it!

26 Weeks

I thought it was about time to post a new pregnancy picture since I'm definitely growing! However, it isn't the best picture, because I realized taking a picture of yourself is easier said than done. Here I am...

Yes, that is our unmade bed behind me. I did vacuum and mop today, but didn't make it to making the bed - well, except for a short nap!

I'm starting to "see" and feel baby move. Last night around 10pm he was VERY active. This is the part of pregnancy that I love because you finally have evidence that baby is there and you were sick for a great reason! Now I'm looking forward to holding him in my arms. I'm also very curious to know how much he will look like Thomas, especially when Thomas was a newborn. Will he have a head full of dark hair? Will he have his daddy's hairline like Thomas? Will he have blue eyes at birth? Oh the things I can't wait to find out!

Just for fun - A couple of weeks ago Josh put a large semi-circle stacking cup under Thomas' shirt to look like me and it was too cute! Thomas thought it was funny. Here are a couple of pictures -

Couponing

On Sunday afternoon, I went to a couponing class. A lady from http://upstatecouponers.com/ came and taught us how to coupon beyond the basics. I have cut coupons for a while now and I actually take them with me to the store and use them. However, I knew there was much more to learn. Here are some things that I took away from the class:

1. Store policies on coupons. Each store has a different policy in our area and she has done all the research. I thought most stores would only double a coupon worth $.50 or less, but that is not true. One grocery store in my area will double $.60 or less, and another grocery store doesn't double, but they triple coupons up to $.99 once a month! That means that if I have a coupon for $.99, I could say $2.97 on one item! Also, K-Mart doubles coupons once a month for $2.00 or less -wow! This will certainly remind me to save up my coupons over $.60 for the big sales where I can save more money. If you don't live in the upstate of SC, I would encourage you to find out the store policies in your area. The website has some of the policies for stores in the Southeast.

2. Buying in bulk. It is not necessarily cheaper to buy in bulk. For instance, I usually buy big boxes of diapers. However, she says to use multiple coupons for multiple small items and you can get a better deal. I haven't tried this out yet, but I'm planning on it. I'm hoping K-Mart is going to have their double coupon sale soon and I can try this theory out with diapers.

3. Ordering more coupons or buying extra papers. There are many websites you can visit now and order the coupon inserts or just extra coupons that you use. Also, you can buy more Sunday papers to get the extra inserts. She has found that Walgreen's has the cheapest Sunday paper for $.88.

4. Stock up. Most stores run their sales every 3 to 4 months, so stock up on what you need (toilet paper, paper towels, laundry detergent, etc.) enough for 3 to 4 months. If you stock up then you never have to pay full price for something - I like that idea!

5. Buy meat once a month. She only buys meat once a month and she tries to buy it at the mark down price. You get the mark down price by going to the store early in the morning when they are trying to get rid of the meat that expires that day. This will be more difficult for me since I have a toddler and in 3 months I'll have a newborn. However, I do try to always buy meat on sale - especially chicken breasts because we eat a lot of chicken.

I'm hoping these tips and others will help me be a better steward of the money God has given us. We pray the Lord blesses us with a big family and feeding a big family can get expensive. The lady told us if we follow her tips that we will save 50% off of our grocery bill. I'm going to try it and I'll let you know!

I Love My Job!

By the title of my post you may be thinking, "Do you have a job I don't know about?" or "When did you get a job?" My job is the same as it has been the past 18 months: a stay-at-home mom! Yesterday, I realized anew how thankful and blessed I am to stay home with Thomas.

Twice a year I volunteer and shop at consignment sales for children. I usually am able to buy all of Thomas' clothes for the next season, shoes, dvds, books, toys, etc. Yesterday, I volunteered in the morning and shopped in the afternoon. Since the sale was about 45 mins away, I was gone from 8am to 4pm and it was hard. Why? Because I missed Thomas so much! A very sweet lady from our church kept Thomas and I knew he was in great hands, but I don't like being away from him all day.

Staying home with Thomas is such a blessing and a privilege. Yes, some days are very hard and I do need a break sometimes. However, I wouldn't trade all the money or possessions in the world to be home with him. I know there are moms who work who would love to be at home and financially they cannot. I'm just very thankful that the Lord more than meets our needs through Josh's salary.

Psalm 127:3 says, "Behold, children are a hertiage from the LORD, the fruit of the womb a reward." I can heartily say Amen!

18 Months

Tomorrow, Thomas will be 18 months! It is amazing to look at this little person and see how he has grown and changed so much in a year and a half. Sometimes I have hard time remembering him as a little baby, because he has changed so much. It is sure to be a shock when Josiah arrives and I hold a tiny baby again.

The newest change in Thomas is his desire to "talk" ALL the time. Talking usually consists of babbling, although he does have around 20 words in his vocabulary, and he babbles about everything. We were at a Mexican restaurant the other night and when the server came to the table, Thomas started talking non-stop to her. Often times he just walks around the house talking about who knows what - well, he does!

We have also discovered that he loves ketchup. If we will let him, he will just eat ketchup by the spoonful - yuck! Right now he is somewhat of a picky eater, but he will usually eat any type of meat if he has ketchup. I have even tried it with the vegetables, but he knows better!

He is slowly getting his first year molars. We see a new tooth every week and thus far, it hasn't been too painful. There was only one day that he was whiny and clingy, but most days he doesn't seem to care - I'm so thankful!

The other morning he was sitting in a rocking chair and had the cutest little expression that we had to take some pictures. Here is our big boy and soon to be big brother!

If You Like Food..

Then you are going to love this new blog that I found! If you are like me, you browse many different blogs and you aren't even sure how you got to most of them. Well, I found Bakerella's blog and it was worth adding as a favorite. She has incredible ideas and recipes for baked goods. The best part? She shows you pictures of the process and the final product. Her newest creation was a 14 layer cake - yes, 14 layers! And if I had the time or desire or a big family, I would make it, but I would rather just eat some of what she made - yummy! Did I mention her photography is amazing?

Go check it out - maybe some of you will be inspired or at least hungry!