Why I <3 the Hubs.....

This morning, after he dropped me off at work, Hubs went to do the grocery shopping with the baby. A few minutes ago he sent me a text with this picture :



Not only did he drop me off at work and do the grocery shopping but he got the ice cream I asked for.....a week ago.

I'm one lucky lady...I've got a great guy, and that half gallon of ice cream waiting for me at home!

Extreme Couponing Diapers

Hubs and I started buying the paper and using coupons a few months ago. I've used coupons on and off for years, but never as many as we are using now.

We started our couponing trips basically cause hubs was bored. Of course we had watched the TLC show a few times and he was intrigued He found a bunch of coupon blogs online and decided to give it a shot. He's very detail oriented and took to it right away. At first we only couponed at the grocery store. We have since added CVS to our couponing routine (if u can call it that). I really like the CVS trip. I'm a sucker for drugstore products.

Last week, we headed over to CVS for our weekly trip. We had all our coupons and extra bucks ready. I had received some coupons from Huggies in the mail so we brought those too. The baby needed diapers (basically the baby always needs diapers...babies poop a lot). When we got there I went straight to the baby aisle to check out the goods. What I saw was a sale so incredible that I filled my arms and ran to get Hubs. The Pure and Natural diapers that I like were 75% off in newborn and 50% off in size 1.




Not only were the newborn diapers on sale for 2.74 (why I have no idea) but I had a coupon for $2 off!!!

We bought everything on the shelf....4 packages of newborn, 2 of size 1. What we didn't realize then is that CVS has a buy six Huggies get one free program going. We ended up getting a free bag of diapers for buying all these heavily discounted ones! Bonus!!

Each package was supposed to be 10.49, meaning that all together we should have paid near to $66 dollars for what we got. We paid about $19 for them all.

Hubs and I were psyched about our find. We checked a few more stores to see if we could cash in more. But they were only 25% off there. I have no idea why they were so cheap at the first CVS we went to, but I don't care. Olivia's butt is covered, with organic cotton, and I didn't have to give up my morning coffee to do it.



There she is...enjoying her organic cotton diapers with her puppy.  She loves how thrifty we are :)

Baby Hats and my next project

Over my maternity leave I promised my friend Julie that I would make something for a silent auction they were having for her sister. Julie's sister has had a run of bad luck medically in the last few years. She's been really sick and needed a double lung transplant. The silent auction was to help raise funds for the transplant.
Julie and I actually went to both high school and college together. I've known her for a long time. Her sister was quite a bit younger than me, but I knew her, as everyone in a small country town know each other. I had seen a few pictures of her that were taken recently and the vibrant younger sister of my friend had become so skinny. I felt awful and wanted to do something, so I took out my crochet hooks.

I had made a cloche from this pattern I found on Aesthetic Nest for Olivia before she was born. It fit pretty good on her little head and just looked so cute I thought I would make it again. Isn't she just adorable?

This time I made the hat in a cream whit color. I whipped up a pair of booties to go with it. The silver ribbon ties were added because I couldn't find silk cording, and of course had finished the set just hours before it needed to be sent.

I do think it came out really cute though. I need to make a few more sets for some baby girls i know that were born this summer. I am at the age where EVERYONE I know is having babies (and I love it).
Before my crochet hooks come back out I need to do some sewing (yay!!). Hubs is watching the baby when he doesn't have court or meetings and he refuses to carry my Vera Bradley diaper bag. One day he brought the baby into work to see me without bringing a diaper bag with him at all. Miss Olivia taught him an important lesson when she pooped through her diaper and onesie. He had to go up to labor and delivery and beg for some diapers, and to the giftshop to buy a new onesie.




It is a very cute onesie I might add.

Long story short, Hubs needs a diaper bag. I'm going to try to make him one from this tutorial. Fabric is bought and washed. It just needs to be cut now. I'll keep you posted.

If you are reading this thanks so much for sticking with me. I know the updates have been sparse lately, but that will be changing :)

Blogging.... with a Baby

Before I had Olivia I thought it would be easier to get my blog articles written. I saw my eight weeks of maternity leave as a great expanse of free time I could get lots of crafting done in. Oh how naive I was.

I went back to work on Tuesday July 5th (thank God for the Monday holiday) and I have blogged once since the baby was born. I've crocheted twice and sewed once (and it was such a disaster it ended up in the trash).

What have I been doing?Well, I've become friends with this contraption:




I've desperately been clinging to breastfeeding as it's the only thing I planned for Olivia that I've been able to stick to....kinda. She never really took to nursing and after the second mastitis, I gave up and cozied up to my pump. We spend 15 minutes together every four hours. I find it absolutely exhausting but am trying to keep at it.

I've spent a lot of time just gazing at this beautiful face:





It's hard for me to accept sometimes that this beautiful little baby is mine. I remember carrying her for eight months but it's still completely surreal. I spent most of my maternity leave absolutely awestruck at the beauty of how life is created and that I'd actually made a human being. I'm still awestruck. Shes's just a beautiful absolutely wonderful miracle. I can't get over it.

I've changed dozens and dozens of tiny diapers, folded tiny clothes and filled bottles. I've learned how to get good burps and how it it not a good idea to feed her cold milk (even if she's crying hysterically).

Of all the things I've been doing my absolute favorite is sleeping with the baby on my chest, like my sister in law is doing in this picture:




There's really nothing better than having tiny baby snuggles. I'm completely addicted.

So, to sum up a long story, I'll get back to crafting soon. For now I am just too preoccupied with my little baby to pick up my crochet hook or pull out my sewing machine :)

Post Baby Milestone #1

Finally I'm able to put my engagement ring and wedding band back on!! I've had my wedding band on for a couple weeks, but hadn't been able to get the engagement ring over my knuckle. Today, I forced it on over that knuckle and headed off to work. Who knows if I'm going to be able to get it off, but it's on there, and after only 2 months and 7 days. :)

Now for getting back into my pre - pregnancy clothes (this will undoubtedly take much longer).