DIY and decor

Man, I need to become a more consistent poster!!!  I'll get better at this...

Just wanted to share some recent crafts and things around the house I've done lately.  I have been meaning to share some crafts I have done but have not gotten around to it.  I generally like to make wreaths for my doors and the occasional decorative item.  This time I have made initials for my baby's nursery.  The theme of her nursery was neutral with orange and turquoise accents.  Since I did not know what I was having when I was pregnant, I thought this was gender neutral enough.  I had made some framed photos and a pennant banner in the colors of her room so I wanted her letter initials to be in the same fashion. Thankfully, I still had the scrapbook paper I used from the banner and I was able to glue it on to the wooden letters.  I was pleased with the results!!!  Here they are:

In other house news, we finally (actually I finally) bit the bullet and bought an area rug for our living room!!  From Ikea of all places!  Only $69 so I'm pleased as punch!!!  It's comfy, classy and just the right size.  Great for sitting on!  Here's a pic:

Just another step in getting our house ready for Maria's baptism party!!  Next up is getting our outside ready!!  Once I take some pictures, I will also share my diy decor items for her baptism as well!!

Until next time....

~SJ

Syracuse

So my fam took a mini vacation up to Syracuse this past weekend.  It was baby's first road trip and vacation and she did beautifully!  Slept well and coped well to all the changes and new people.  I officially lucked out in the baby department, y'all!! ::knocks on wood::

Syracuse isn't much if a vacation spot but it was nice seeing the husband's fam and getting away.  Still waiting for a real vacation with a hotel and beach experience though. 😒 

Next on my agenda is prepping for my Hon's baptism and getting the house in order.  Need to get a new area rug for our living room!  Every time I look, everything seems so expensive!  Anybody have a clue where I can find a reasonably priced rug?? 

Anyway I am blogging from the car so I better end it here so I won't become nauseous by looking down.  😖

 Leaving you with a picture!!

Catching up

So here it is, July already and I haven't posted much !! All I can say is: I have a 4 month old, what's your excuse?! 😄  Anyway my current project of the moment is planning my daughters baptism party!  She will be baptized on August 4th and a reception will follow at our house.  I am very excited for this because one : we have never had a party at our house, two: I get to plan and do a bit of some DIY projects with this party, three: of course I am excited for my daughter to be baptized!   Today I am sending out the invites and making sure to keep one for her baby book.  👶  Next I will be making center pieces, banners and possibly floral arrangements for the party.  I also need to buy my precious girl her baptismal gown!!! I may even have her ears pierced before the event!  But we'll see about that!!! 

Anyway this is nice because it not only gives me something to do, but it gives me an excuse to exercise my creativity which I haven't done since my wedding!!!  <sigh>

So yeah I'm excited! :).

Ok gotta finish breastfeeding my girl and then off to make breakfast!🍓🍳☕

Exercise!

So I've officially started exercising in an attempt to lose the last if my baby weight!! I've been putting it off mainly because with a baby, who has the time?? I could exercise when she naps but she averages 20 mins per nap.  Today for some reason she took a 2 + hour nap!  So I took advantage and did some Latin dancing (some workout DVD I got).  It felt good man!!!! Hopefully exercising as much as I can and eating a little better than I have will get me the results I want!! I gained nearly 40 lbs with this baby and lost a little over 30 in a few weeks due to breastfeeding I guess.  Those last 7 or so pounds are pesky!!!!  I'm hoping Maria will regularly nap for 2 hours now!!! 😄

Rough baby week

So look at me, I haven't posted in a while, lol. It's hard maintaining a blog, lets be real! This week especially... Baby has been having awful sleeping patterns throughout the night and waking up sometimes hourly!! This sucks especially since for nearly 2 weeks we were at the point of sleeping till at least 5 or 6 which is great with me!!! I thought I could officially say she sleeps through the night! 😥 But alas, no.  Last night alone she was up already twice before 10pm!  Unacceptable!  This is worse than the newborn days!  Since she is a little over 3 months at this point I can only assume this is the 4 month sleep regression I keep hearing about! A little early but has all the signs.  If that then I can only grin and care it as long as it lasts.  <sigh>

Anyone have any solutions to get back on track?  I might even turn to the rice cereal theory at this point!! 😳

Breakfast!

So since I just had breakfast I thought it would be good to talk about some of my favorite breakfast meals! Lately since I've been trying to be "healthy" I've been eating oatmeal every morning.  I always make it with milk... I guess water would be healthier but who wants a tasteless meal! Anyway I add cinnamon and always add some sort of fruit (usually strawberry.) it's actually a quite yummy breakfast. And oatmeal also helps in producing breast milk so that's always a plus!!!  This morning I made a breakfast burrito with eggs, pepper strips and sausage!  It was real good.  I'm trying to veer away from my usual waffle and pancake breakfasts I love! :(. I guess those will be a once a week treat.  <sigh>

Anyway in terms of a fattier breakfast, I make an amazing stuffed French toast with cream cheese and strawberries!!!  But yeah that is not an everyday thing.  

So that's it in terms of breakfast talk.  In other news my baby and I are just hanging watching the ol' boob tube.  She's sucking her hand.  She'll suck her hand but not a pacifier.  :(((. 

This was a boring post brought to you by

SJ😩

Tips and Tricks

So in starting this blog, I wanted to include helpful tips, tricks, recipes, crafts, house ideas and anything else helpful I come across in life.  Since I'm a new mother, I don't have too many tricks up my sleeve in that department (but I'm building on that!) but I do have some in other housewife departments!  Case in point:
~a great way to clean the microwave is to put a bowl of water with a bit of vinegar in it and microwave for about 4 minutes.  Wipe clean and voila!!!  That may be an oldie but a goodie in terms of tips and tricks but it works!

Another aspect of my life I'd like to share is bargain shopping.  A lot of people like to pride themselves in bargain shopping but I think I achieve it way better than most people.  People think buying a top for $20 is a good deal.  WTF that's like buying the top full price.  Not a good deal, guys.  I never buy things full price and I would never pay $20 for a shirt.  I usually don't pay $20 for anything I wear!!  Oddly enough, I do get compliments (a lot from the students I used to teach, I admit) on my outfits.  People ask "wow, where did you get that? etc." My response would never be the same.  Why?  I shop anywhere and everywhere.  I'm not above buying clothes anywhere.  Wal-mart, Kmart, Target, local Goodwill, local consignment store, Forever 21, Burlington Coat Factory, Kohls, etc. etc... you get the picture.  There can be amazingly fashionable things everywhere you look!  I also love using coupons.   I actually need to get into coupons more since the main store I use them in is Kohls.   Holla if you have coupon tips!

Anyway in shopping news, I went to the mall near me today to exchange something my husband got me for Mother's Day.  He had gotten me this cute messenger bag from the store Fossil which I sort've like but sort've didn't.  I didn't really like the messenger style of it so I went to exchange it.  I had about $54 store credit so I opted for a bag that was (what I thought) $79.99.  When I went to exchange it, I ended up only paying a $5 difference!!! So it was cheaper than I thought and got a way prettier bag! I'm thinking of actually making it into a diaper bag. I mean, that is all I carry so why not.    Here's a pic of the bag:

cute huh??????????

Well that's it for now.  I unfortunately have to do a little thing called ~pumping.  You know...pumping my breast milk.  UGH I hate pumping!

- SJ

~First Post~

Howdy.  I am a new stay at home mom to a beautiful little girl born in February.  I decided to write a blog to capture my special moments and experiences watching my daughter grow and also since I have some spare time here and there (when the baby is sleeping of course!)  So where do I start?  I have been married for nearly 2 years to my wonderful cop husband and I used to be a Spanish teacher at a Catholic school.  I love teaching but it is such an intense job.  There is so much outside of the job work with teaching that it would be impossible for me to feel like I could be a devoted mother.  Some people can do it, I am one that could not. I am lucky my husband can support us and work overtime when needed.  Thank the good Lord above!!!

So that's me in nutshell.  I am loving being a stay at home mom and even though I know it cannot last forever, I am enjoying every minute of it!  My girl gives me so many smiles throughout the day!!!

So now to end the post with a picture.  I will start writing juicier posts in the coming days!

 my 2 loves

love,

SJ