On coupons...

Now, to clarify, I would never be so bold as to say that I am a "couponer." I mean, I've used coupons, yes. But today for some reason it just clicked.

I know everyone has seen the whole Extreme Couponing and personally I think it's a tad bit on the pathetic side. Do you really need 500 boxes of tampons that you are never going to use? Or 150 vitamin waters? Or what about the Pork 'N Beans that are going to expire  before you can even think to touch them. Unless you are donating these items, which some people do (kudos to them) then seriously you do not impress me.

I get the "stockpiling" with certain items, but to have an entire room or even your garage dedicated to your own personal store I kind of don't get. But regardless of my feelings towards it I am all about saving some money.

Today, while the baby was asleep I went through my paper from Sunday and got all the coupons cut out of the stuff we actually use. That's key, in my opinion. Then, I randomly went through our "junk" that we get in the mail and saw the ad from Family Dollar. "Hot Sales" on certain items it claimed so of course it struck my curiosity. Um, hello...there were items in here on sale and I had a coupon for them. It clicked...I could get deoderant for both me and Ryan (the kind we use--we may or may not be brand-loyal on some things) for a buck twenty-five. I could get 2 12 packs of Dr. Pepper and Diet Dr. Pepper for $5 when at Wal-Mart they are over $5 for one. Insanity.

We spent $28.56 tonight, and my savings? $15.20. I most definitely call that a success. I love that I got all this name brand stuff for way less than what I thought I would. And, the way I see it...28.56 divided by 13 items is 2.20 a piece. In my book, that's not bad at all..

Even the lady who checked us out noticed...she rang up my total...took my coupons...and then saw my savings and said, "Your savings today?...You saved a lot!" Yes, kudos to me. I know to some $15 isn't much, but to me and the hubs...that's almost a container of Enfamil. Ha!

We'll see how our next shopping trip goes!

11 weeks

Jammies kind of day...

Weekend Re-cap: Baby Shower & Baby Dedication

Saturday afternoon Wyatt and I attended a baby shower for my friend Lakin. Her and her husband are adopting a little girl in the next few weeks. Tinley Marie is going to be here so soon and I cannot wait until we get to meet her. I brought my camera and had full intentions of taking pictures, but without my second set of hands it was not near as easy. Lakin's sister took a group picture of us girls and I can't wait to see it. I'm hoping she posts it on her blog. It's amazing that 2 of us have babies, 1 is adopting in the next few weeeks, and 2 are pregnant. Babies everywhere!! It will be so much fun once they are all here and we can have a big play date!

Today we dedicated Wyatt at church. It was so special and I am glad that we got to share it with all of our parents. Wyatt didn't do bad at all either. Our little guy puts himself to sleep for naps and bedtime and it's great. The only bad part is when it is actually nap time and we can't just lay him down it's almost a nightmare to get him a sleep...it takes a lot of shushing, swaying, and bouncing. I got him back to sleep and all was well in the world again.

We are so proud that we dedicated Wyatt and it is definitely a special day for us.

Cupcakes

I finally made it to The Cake Place here in town today to try some of the desserts. I will confess that while I was excited to try them I was setting myself up for disappointment because really, how great can a cupcake be?

I bought 3 thinking I needed at least a little variety. From left to right they are Black & White, Strawberry, and Salted Caramel Chocolate.

 Now, the two chocolate cupcakes are good, but there is nothing spectacular about them to be honest..just very, very chocolatey. The strawberry was down-right delicous. I actually wish that I hadn't told Ryan I would save half of them for him. I could have gobbled it up in a second, but decided to be nice. I believe they change the flavors everyday and so far Thursday's Strawberry is my fave. I will definitely try the others though. I stopped by Ryan's work after I bought these and in conversation he asked, "How much were those?"... "$8.10"..."Why don't you not go out buying that stuff and use your gym membership instead?"..."Shut up." End of conversation. We are so in love can't you see? Haha, I'm glad he approves of my $15 pie, $8 cupcakes, and the 2 pieces of pie I bought Monday night. He's probably right...I should use my gym membership a little more than what I do. Let me confesss (embarrasingly enough) what not having a period in a year will do to you: you will completely forget what PMS symptoms feel like. You're not "getting fat" and instantly decide to join a gym....no dear, you are actually just bloating and when Aunt Flo does show up, you will no longer be that chubby girl you feel like, but instead slender again. Who would have thought? Also, I cry a lot easier now...I am a straight-up nightmare to be around when I get in my "moods" and while this moods are crappy they will last for a short while. 12 months without these symptons and annoyances were great...but, it's back to the real world now. Gag.

And here's what I left the dear husband... It's all about sharing...Like how I really "shared" the Strawberry?? (Told you it was good.)



Who knew?

I knew that having a baby would be fun, but I'm not sure I knew exactly how much fun.

Today, I decided to set up the little pool that we had bought Wyatt a few weeks back. I fed the little guy, set him up to play, and then went on about my business getting everything set up for him.

I put down towels on the deck, blew up the pool, filled the pool, got the cameras ready, the bumbo nearby, baby sunscreened up, swimming trunks on, sunglasses in position...okay, okay...I took a little advantage of the outdoor time and slipped on a bathing suit myself. What can I say? I'm desperate for sun.

All of this took approximately 20 minutes, while the actual fun in the pool last all of maybe 15. But, did I care? Absolutely not. Those 15 fun minutes were all we both needed.

I love everything about having a child. I think we have a perfect baby, but who doesn't?

10 weeks

Ohhh-emmm-geeee!

My thoughts too baby...Sweet baby boy is 10 weeks old today!

*Wear size 2 diapers

*Eat 7 oz every 3-4 hours

*3 month clothes and some 0-3 but very little

*You are still rolling over belly to back
*Love your fist..it's getting pretty hard to get a good picture without your hands clasped together at your chest or next to your month
*Bibs are our best friend because you are quite the drooler
*You love talking and you are thisclose to laughing
*You find your rainforest mobile thing in your crib to be the most hilarious thing you've encountered
*You just smile and smile at us and we adore it
*Don't really care for your paci

*Bedtime is between 9-10:30 and you get up about 8

Mommy only has two more weeks left at home with you. I cry every night. It is going to be horrible!!

I just love that big ole belly!

Father's Day 2011

I'm one of those lucky kids...I'll be the first to admit it. I was blessed with a wonderful father. At 25 years old I am still referred to as "baby girl." I am my daddy's princess and am treated like one. (Truth be told, Ryan probably hates it.) My dad worked very hard to provide everything that me and my brother needed and wanted. We are so, so lucky to call him dad.

Like myself, Wyatt is so lucky to have a father that cares so much for him. Ryan is an exceptional daddy. He does anything and just about everything (when mommy isn't a hog) for Wyatt. I knew the moment I found out I was pregnant with Wyatt that he would be a great one. He has proven that time and time again.

 First time to hold him. I love how nervous he looks.

Wyatt and Daddy before church this morning.

We love you so, so much!

Sweets

Here's the deal...

I have a horrible obession with sweets. Yes, sweets...as in desserts.

I was lucky that during my pregnancy sweets actually grossed me out up until the last month or so. It could have been very, very bad.

Every night I have to have some sort of dessert. Whether it is a bowl of ice cream, brownies, cookies, anything.

I'm honestly not sure how my 5 foot 3 inch frame isn't morbidly obese.

Last week, I texted Ryan saying how badly I was craving a slice of Possum Pie. He said to go get me a piece so of course I did as he suggested. (Next time, he needs to tell me that it's a bad idea.) I got to the drive-thru window and asked if they had an entire pie to sell. (Go big or go home.) Of course they did so I spent $15.18 on an entire pie. I'm pathetic, right?

Wrong...what makes me pathetic is I single-handedly ate the entire thing in 3 days. What. The. Crap. Who does that? Pie for breakfast, yes please. Pie for lunch? You know it. Pie for dinner. Of course. Pie for dessert? Without a doubt.

I'm ashamed that I have this terrible, sick problem.

Today, since I am making stuffed pasta shells for dinner I decided the only fitting thing to have with Italian is cheesecake. So, I made some...about two hours ago...I have already dug into the stupid thing:

Now, again with being pathetic...I didn't even bother cutting a slice and putting it on a plate. (Those jagged edges are in fact fork marks.) No way...that's just one extra plate to wash. I instead ate directly from the pan. I'm allowed to do this. Why you may ask? Because I'm the only one in my household that will be eating it. Ryan's definition of "dessert" is his nightly Chips Ahoy and milk. Not much for excitement, huh?

So I should be ashamed right? Eating cheesecake directly out of the pan I made it in and before I've even started cooking dinner? Eek.

What's worse...I've discovered The CakePlace here in town that opened yesterday...gourmet cupcakes? Don't mind if I do!

We will be tring this very, very soon...probably tomorrow. I'll keep you update. This could get ugly. My dear husband, our bank account, and my hips may despise me months from now...

I. Need. An. Intervention.

Thank goodness for my gym membership and ultra-high metabolism.

9 weeks

2 month check up

Wyatt is now two months old (as of yesterday). This morning he had his shots.

Here are his stats at 2 months:

12.8 lbs
23.5 in long
head circumference is 40

His weight and height are in the 75 percentile.

The shots were so heartbreaking. He cried, but not for long. Being wrapped up in mommy's arms made it better. He has ate and went right back to sleep today. He's been snoozin' on my chest (which he never does to me) or on the couch next to me. Poor little guy, I know he feels yucky. I hope tomorrow is a good day for him and he forgives and forgets! At least he has big brother to nap and watch over him.

5th Annual Trout Fishing Trip

Every year we go trout fishing with my family on the White River...this was the first camping trip that we threw a baby in the mix and let me just say that he did awesome. We are blessed with such a wonderful baby. I was painfully nervous about how he was going to do...camping, heat, sun, and a new place to sleep could potentially equal a disaster, right? Well not with our perfect baby! We arrived early Friday afternoon and set up camp. Luckily, we had our own camper so it was a lot easier. It was downright ridiculous how much we brought for Wyatt. This was his first overnight trip (a two night on top of that) and so we seriously packed up the entire house it felt like. However, the only thing we felt like we forgot was the stroller. Not bad for the first time parents! He didn't nap for anything unless you were holding him, which of course was not a problem with his Mimi around! He slept his normal 8 hours during the night without so much as a peep. We are so thankful he did well and that we had a fun (successful) trout fishing trip!

Loaded up and ready to go!

 His first sleep away from home in his little bed.

Mommy and Daddy:

 I got him up from a short nap and apparently gave him his first booboo. I, being the dork that I am, documented it. I felt and kissed it plenty of times telling him I was sorry. I assume my ring scratched him, but today it doesn't look near as bad and he didn't even seem to be phased by it in the least.

 Wyatt's first trip to the White River!

 Love my little family!

 Normally my dad gets three guided boats. One for us, one for my brother and guest, and one for my parents. We start fishing at 7 in the morning, meet for lunch, and then finish up fishing that afternoon about 3:30 or so. It is a full day of fishing and we love it. This year though, Ryan and I started out in the morning fishing with my dad and Mimi watched Wyatt. We came in for lunch and mom went out with dad while we stayed with Wyatt. While we only got to fish half a day it was still a lot of fun and sadly I got out-fished. This will never happen again. Ever. Here is one of the fish Ryan caught.

 Us with our boys!...They obviously don't care about looking at a camera.

2 years ago, on this same trip, Ryan asked my dad for permission to marry me...look where we are now!

While the rest of the family was fishing we took Wyatt to see the peacocks at Gastons...he was snoozin' so we actually enjoyed it. Unbeknownst to me, I speak peacock was was able to get this little guy to puff up. Glad I did!

 Before we left his morning we took pictures of "all the kids."

Here's the "Boys Club" as they dubbed themselves! Very cute!

I can't wait for next year's fishing trip! Wyatt will definitely be keeping us on our toes!



Our little guy is 2 months old! Ah! Two month shots are tomorrow- wish us luck!

8 weeks

I feel like I have such a big boy on my hands...

-Eating 6 oz every 3 hours

-Size 1 diaper

-0-3 month clothes
-Discovered your fists and decided they are mighty tasty
-Just talk, talk, talk and it is soo cute
-Smiling all the time
-Bedtime is anywhere between 10-10:30 and you wake up between 7-8

-Rolling over

-Liking tummy time and your play mat

-Really like your bouncer, but not your swing

-Like your paci, but aren't in love with it

I have an 8 week old already and while I would never wish away the weeks, I must admit that each week is more and more fun. It is just so exciting when he recognizes us and starts smiling when we talk to him. He is just so much fun and boy do we love him.

I start back to work 4 weeks from today. I'm devasted that I will be leaving my baby, but I am so relieved that he will be watched by both grandmas at our house. This will make mornings a whole lot easier and the fact that I will be home everyday at lunch. I'm so OCD that I am already trying to figure out a schedule so that I can have the first feeding with him, or at least start it. I know that working 8 hours a day and getting home around 5:15 will leave precious few awake hours with my little guy. I joined a gym yesterday, so factoring that in as well should be a challenge. I am by no means a morning worker-outer so it will be challenging for me to get home, get dinner cooked, get baby fed, and a workout in. I'm thankful I have a husband who will help with whatever needs to be done at the house (laundry, dishes, cleaning) so that I can leave for an hour (already planned: it will be during his early evening nap). I'm extremely nervous about returning to work and juggling everything- my marriage, mommyhood, work, etc. But, I pray every night for the strength to make it work and to know what my family needs. Weekends with Wyatt are going to become that much more important to us.

I would love, love, love to be a stay at home mom. Actually, I would even settle for being a part-time stay at home mom. I think it's my duty to contibrute to my household financially, even if it is a little. I think it's healthy for Wyatt to have plenty of interaction with other people (read: grandmas) and be able to depend on not just his mother, but other people as well. Also, for my sanity, I think I would need to be out of the house a few hours out of the week. Ryan and I have talked extensively of making our wish come true about me being a part-time stay at home mom. In fact, I just want to be one until our kids start school. Financially we aren't quite to that point where I will be staying at home. We know that we want to start building our house in Dardanelle next year if we sell ours. It will be work for us to sell our house, start building a new one, all the while figuring and rearranging budgets so that I won't be working full-time. We can only hope and pray that He will provide for us. So hopefully, the plan is at the end of the year I will become a part-time stay at home mom...that is if I don't enjoy being back at work and juggling everything in my life so that nothing is neglected. Just pray for us and that we can figure it all out. We're not too worried about it, because we know it will all work out the way it is supposed to.

Baby news!

Chill out, it's not ours...yet.

I am so, so excited that my best friend is having a baby in January!! Our kids will be right at 9 months apart and I know that Wyatt will have a bff because they are definitely having a boy! Okay, okay...maybe I am just hoping for a boy. But either way I pray every night that it is healthy. I cannot wait to have play dates. I know that us and the Townsends are going to be spending even more time together!

Haley was my nurse when I had Wyatt. I know she will make a wonderful mommy! Yay!

Weekend full of firsts

First time in my Bumbo:

 First time to meet my great-great-aunts...also my first road-trip!

 First time to watch Sunday morning cartoons:

 First time to ride a horse...in fact I rode two today:

 First time to swim:

Life with a baby is so, so, so much more fun! You absolutely cannot deny that!

RIP Hobuk

Today, our family said goodbye to this little guy:

He randomly appeared in our lives months ago when he was stuck in a tree at my parent's house. Seriously, stuck in a tree...like for 3 days I believe until my brother climbed up it with a deer stand to retrieve him. He immediately warmed our hearts. They called around and asked neighbors if anyone was missing a cat because he was well taken care of and even fixed already. Surely someone didn't dump him. Either way, mom took him to the pound and over the weekend told them if someone hadn't adopted him (or reunited) him that she'd be back for him. Few days later he had a name, Hobuk, and was an official member of the Milam family. Even living the good life of an inside cat until he started being rotten and bugging Callie. We all adored him and Marley did as well. They took walks together down the road when Marley stayed with Mimi and Pawpaw. Over the weekend, Buck became sick and Tuesday he went to the vet where they diagnosed him with Bobcat Fever. A disease that is carried by ticks, only after they have bitten a bobcat, and fatal only to cats. In fact, it doesn't affect any other animal. He was a little fighter for nearly a week, but today had to be put down due to his nervous system getting attacked. We all hoped and prayed that he would be an execption to the deadly disease, but he is now in kitty heaven being the ornery little toot that he was. He was never in pain, which makes us all feel better. He quickly came into our lives and left just as fast, but we will always remember the little kitty who liked sleeping in the flower pots.

Our must have baby items (so far)

I've been a mommy now for 7 weeks.

I feel like I've kind of got this thing down.

I mean, hands down, I am super-mom. 98% of the time I know exactly what my child needs and I take great pride in that.

Over the 7 weeks I have found  the "stuff" that we love and stuff we could leave. Let me share... I'm sure there are expectant mommies somewhere that will benefit.

1. Cloud B Sleep Sheep

Wyatt is already the "water-baby" I hoped him to be. This little sheep that has 4 different sounds (heartbeat in womb, whales (awkward), rain, and ocean waves. It has a velcro strap to attach to the crib. When we put Wyatt down for naps and for bed we always "turn on his water" aka the ocean waves. I think he loves it because we've used it since the first week he was home.

2. Diaper Genie II

I heard mixed emotions about these- so people love and some people hate. For us? We will never go without. Yes it stinks buying a $6 refill, but to us it's worth it. It seriously keeps the smell of dirty diapers contained. Before Wyatt was even born I made the  decision to only change him on his changing table in his room. He has never been changed in the living room, bedroom, etc. only in his room on his table. I am very happy we decided to do this because a. I don't want diapers laying around because I'm too lazy to dispose immediately b. He needs privacy c. He hopefully correlates that area with positive feelings.

3. Swaddle Me

Oh my goodness... I like to think this is the reason we get anywhere from 6-8 (even almost 10 at times) hours of sleep. This is honestly the only way he stays asleep. During the day at nap time I swaddle with a blanket and once he has broke free he is awake. Could be after 10 minutes or an hour, either way it's guaranteed. I don't mind re-swaddling him during the day, but at night this is our life saver. They come in fleece and cotton. Love them!

4. Johnsons Bedtime Bath Lotion

We use this every night and swear by it. Even if he didn't get a bath that night you better believe we are slathering this on the little guy. It. Works.

5. Bouncy seat

He loves his "vibrator" as we've dubbed it. We sit in it and entertain ourselves, enjoy it while mommy cooks, potties, showers, etc. Very, very handy.

6. Cheap bibs
Yes, there are tons of "cute" bibs that are in one of his drawers, but the ones that get used? The "cheap"ones that have corny sayings and are made of cloth. Why? Because they do their intended job: absorb. The pretty ones are just that- pretty. They just let formula and drool roll right off. Not cool.

7. Cloth diapers

The thin cloth diapers, not the thick ones that everyone gets monogrammed with a cute "W" or his name to be used as burp clothes, they also (for us) are a waste. We like the thin ugly ones. Confession: I do use my pretty burp clothes in public for my own satisfaction, but at home we have a drawer full.

8. Zippered Jammies

Wal-Mart has then for $5. We had probably a dozen newborn one and probably half a dozen 0-3 months. They are the best thing ever. Don't waste money on PJs that snap. Do you really want to waste time (and energy) snapping 542 buttons in the middle of those precious 2 hours of sleep you are trying to get in those first couple of weeks? Um no. Most aren't very cute, but for $5 you can't have it all. Stock up now.

9. Receiving blankets
Chances are you will get a ton of these as gifts. My advice? You can never have enough. From the beginning we have used them for everything. Swaddling...rolling them up and using as head support in the bouncy when he had zero head control...burp clothes when we had projectile vomit and learned he couldn't tolerate the newborn enfamil formula but instead the normal infant kind...drool rags while we have tummy time...thin blankets when a heavy one is too much...a shield as I'll call them. Wyatt's crib currently has 4 sheets on them. From the bottom up it goes like this: mattress pad, RB, sheet, RB, sheet, RB, sheet, RB, sheet, RB, and small blanket. Why? We learned the hard way that changing sheets at 2 in the morning is not fun. I may or may not have cut the 2 straps off the back of his bumper in a haste to get sheets changed. Now if he has a major spit up I can just pull the first sheet off and the receiving blanket if it leaked through. They are also our boppy cover's cover.  You will be surprised where drool and spit up can end up.

10. Bottles and drying rack

We use Nuk and this isn't to say these are great blah blah blah...what it is meant to say, is have enough bottles to get through an entire day's feeding. I wash bottles and nipples once a day...by hand...because it's quicker and I love this Munchkin drying rack.

11. Mylicon

Daddy has dubbed these "dessert." If he has ate, burped, been changed, swaddled, and it isn't during his "fussy time" these are our first go-to item. 9 times out of 10 it does the trick.