The Bath Time Circus

Giving my kids baths has always been a fun experience when they are babies. They love to splash and kick, the warm water soothes them, and my babies have all loved bath time. But, recently my little guy has become Trouble with a capital “T” at bath time. It is driving me a little crazy. Gone are the days when he would just lay in the water, kick his legs and smile up at me happily. Now, he is a crazy man all over the place. He wants toys to entertain him (understandable since he sees his older siblings with them) … Continue reading →

A Day in the Life of Your Baby

Sometimes, I look at my baby and wonder what he is thinking. After all, I have so much control over his day to day life, and he has hardly any, and I wonder if he is ever puzzled by what is going on around him. In fact, I don’t really need to wonder, because I know he is. But, if you look at it from his perspective, it has to be kind of strange. He is pulled out of bed and gets to crawl around on the floor for a bit. We hop in the car to take Daddy somewhere, … Continue reading →

Baby Loves

I am a very lovey dovey kind of Mom. I hug and kiss on my kids (especially when they’re babies) all the time! So, one of my favorite things is when they start to “give loves” back to you. It is the best. Well, I first noticed my baby giving loves to a stuffed animal the other day when my niece was visiting. She gave him a stuffed animal, and he put it up next to his face and snuggled it between his head and his shoulder. It was adorable. One of the best feelings is when they can wrap … Continue reading →

One Year Came and Went

Sometimes I think the first birthday comes in the blink of an eye. Other times, I think it takes forever to get there. That’s what having a baby is all about. Time is either dragging slowly or speeding by so fast you want to cry. When my baby turned 1 last month, I felt like crying. I think it’s because he has been such a little love. So sweet. And, he is my last baby. My last baby is one. That breaks my heart. But, at the same time, it makes me so happy. I look forward to all the … Continue reading →

Christmas Morning Part II

While I was cooking and baking Christmas breakfast, our son was insistent that we help him find a pair of his “toy” drum sticks. I insisted that he should check under the tree and see if Santa left a long and narrow gift. I told him that if Santa was going to go through all the trouble of getting him a drum, that it would be pretty silly of Santa to not bring him some drum sticks too. Our son searched under the tree but thought that every gift was long and narrow! After I pointed him to the right … Continue reading →

Christmas Morning Part I

After all our frugal preparations for Christmas, I was particularly excited for Christmas morning this year. Our son was really excited about Santa Claus bring presents to put under the tree. Our daughter, who had just turned one, was far more interested in opening presents and listening to Christmas music this year than last year. We were excited and interested to see how she would react to the lit tree with presents beneath. I went to bed on Christmas Eve excited for the morning. Little did I know that it would come sooner than I expected. At four thirty on … Continue reading →

A Very Frugal Christmas Part IV

Once the layers of chocolate were set but before they were hard snap set, I cut the big slab of peppermint into two by two inch pieces. Gathering up all the candy tins that I had saved or found on clearance over the last year, I started filling the tins with both peanut brittle and peppermint bark to give as gifts to brothers, sisters, and our parents (the grandparents). Two hand crocheted cotton washcloths accompanied each tin of candy and the parents (grandparents) also received an updated family photo that my husband and I took ourselves to save money … Continue reading →

A Very Frugal Christmas Part III

As a way of being more frugal this Christmas, I set out to make as many gifts as I could starting with my immediate family. First I knitted gloves for my husband, a glove ornament for my son, and a garter knit hat for my daughter. After folding over one hundred paper airplanes using holiday themed catalogs (we get so many in the mail), I turned my attention to making edible gifts not only for my family but for our extended family members as well. One of the things that my husband absolutely loves are homemade honey roasted peanuts. I … Continue reading →

A Very Frugal Christmas Part II

While making wool gloves for my husband, I was inspired to make a pair of matching wool gloves for my son. When the first miniature glove was complete, I tried it on my sleeping son only to discover that it is quite impossible to effectively put gloves on a sleeping toddler. The next morning I had my son try on the glove and he did not like it. I guess I should have made mittens for him instead, but with one day left until Christmas morning, I decided to save that task for next year (whereby I would have more … Continue reading →

A Very Frugal Christmas Part I

While I try really hard not to get too caught up in the commercialism of Christmas gifting, I absolutely love the magic of Christmas morning with stuffed stockings and a good number of beautifully wrapped presents under the Christmas tree. In years past, I have purchased moderately expensive gifts for my family and thought nothing of it. However, the current economic downturn combined with graduate student loans and a car payment, has changed my ability to buy whatever I deemed to be perfect gifts for my family. This year we are doing something very different. Unlike previous years, we set … Continue reading →