Lots of Excitement

On Saturday his first tooth came in!  This is more exciting for Mama than anyone!!  This is one of the many moments I wish I could pick up the phone and call my Mama!  I've heard all these horror stories about teething, but we've had it easy!!  James woke up 1 night at 1:30--gave him a little oragel and some rocking for about 20 minutes and he was back to sleep!  Other than that he's been sleeping from about 7:30-6 every night!  We have the best little guy there is...this means # 2 will be a terror!!  :-(

James had his first overnight stay on Saturday!!  We went to Matthew's work party and James stayed with his Papaw and Cici for the night.  Aunt Makayla rocked it out taking care of James and even asked if he could sleep in her room!  James was a great little boy and slept all night in his new to us Pack N' Play from Grandpa and Mimi. 

A few weeks ago we had to say good-bye to his pacifier...poor guy got it stuck backwards in his mouth while playing with it and cried the most painful cry I've ever heard from him!  Turns out...he hasn't missed it at all! 

James hanging out in his new pack n play

Someone is going to be crawling very soon!!!

<----A cold strawberry is just what this little guy needed for his new tooth!



James is more interested in gnawing on his spoon than eating his food! ---->




This little guy is 2 days away from his 1/2 Birthday!!!!  We have a doctor appointment in the morning!!

What special things can we do to celebrate?? 

How does a workin Mama get out the door in the morning?!?

In the past 12 days I have been very blessed to only work 2 of these days.  I wish and am praying for a way that this could be my new normal someday.  I would love to work part-time, but this is not where our family is right now.  So tonight as I’m preparing to head back to work in the morning I thought about the many working Mama’s out there and soon to be Mama’s that will have to return to work after their little ones are born.  I have developed a system for getting James and I out of the house ON TIME in the morning!  Matthew is anything but a morning person so I get James ready in the morning and take him to daycare before heading to work myself.

What is the key to my success?!?  Preparation, preparation, preparation and all the night before and most after James goes to bed.  

•   I always run the dishwasher immediately after dinner.  This includes James’ bottles for the next day.  (I’m lazy (remember I’m a full-time employee and a Mama…I can slack in this area…plus I feel they are cleaner with the steaming hot water).  Don’t judge!  All I have to do in the morning is grab the bottles, fill them, assemble them, and put them in the diaper bag.
• I stock James’ diaper bag!  This includes: wipes, 7-10 diapers, 2 spare outfits, a burp cloth, and spare bib-he’s a messy boy!)
• At daycare James wears a pacifier clip so I go ahead put a pacifier on it and it’s clipped on him once we are at daycare.  I feel a pacifier clip is important so the wonderful staff at his daycare don’t have to search for it when he wants it and/or they don’t have to leave the room to wash it off when he spits it out…this is his new thing..how fun!!  Learn how I made my own pacifier clip for $1.25 here! 
• I place the diaper bag, car seat, James’ jacket, blanket, my purse, keys, coat, and shoes on our couch in the living room so it is all together and ready to go.
• I take my showers at night.  Nightly showers help me to relax and save me valuable sleep time in the morning!
• I take my lunch to work everyday to save money (stay tuned for my money saving tactics!) so I make my lunch and place all my chilled items in one location in the fridge so I only have to grab them in the morning.
• And every Mama needs her morning cup of coffee!!  I can program my coffee maker so I get it all ready and have it to go off 50 min before I leave.  This lets me decide if I want my coffee at home or on the ride to work.  Just in case I prepare my travel mug with my sugar already in it so all I have to do is add the creamer and coffee!!  I usually end up taking it with me for the ride!
•  Fortunately I wear scrubs to work so I don’t have to think about my wardrobe in the morning.  Even better is since my boss purchases our scrubs for us (he likes us to match) we wear the same scrub set every Monday, the same one every Tuesday, and so on.  All I have to do in the morning is remember which day it is!  But if you are a Mama who decides your own outfit for the day then I highly suggest deciding the night before and laying it all out.
• Speaking of wardrobes…James’ clothes are decided the night before.  I lay them out downstairs where we hang out most and with a fresh diaper and wipes.

Our morning routine looks something like this…of course babies are unpredictable and ever changing so we adjust were needed (Most of the time this means I don’t eat breakfast or have to get ready in 5-10 minutes!)

5:00-5:20 James awakes and VERY hungry so he eats!

5:20-6:00 we play, talk, and watch the morning news. At this time I change his diaper and get him dressed for the day.

6:00 James goes back to sleep until we leave for daycare.

6:10 I eat breakfast and get ready.

6:35 I assemble, fill, and put James’ bottles in his diaper bag.  I assemble my lunch and morning coffee to go.  Then I load everything in the car, but James and his car seat.

6:45 I get James from his crib and put him in the car seat.

6:50 James and I are out the door to daycare.

7:00 we arrive at daycare.

7:10 I’m on my way to work!

7:45 I arrive at work!

Our living room the night before I work!

James' outfit for the day with fresh diaper and wipes

Morning coffee!

This is usually how we leave the house (October 2012)

And of course some recent pictures of our little guy!

Sitting like a big boy during a fun trip to the store with Mama

He has started to roll over and sleep on his tummy.

DIY: Pacifier Clip

We started off with 2 pacifier clips I received from my baby shower…5 months later and we lost one and one broke.  When we are at home we don’t use the clips, but when James goes to daycare or when we are out and about I like him to have it on.  At daycare I know it makes it much easier on them to have it attached to him and I don’t even want to think about what disease he can get off the floor at the grocery store!  So back to not having a pacifier clip, I priced a new one….$6.50 for an ugly one…ARE YOU SERIOUS?!?!?  I feel like if I’m going to spend $6.50 I better be in LOVE with it!!!  So what’s this frugal mama to do?!?!  Go directly to Pinterest.com.  Do not pass go.  Do not collect $200….ok I’ll take the $200!!

Thank you Gretchen F!  Find her tutorial here! (I never claim to be original!) 

What you will need:

* 10” Ribbon ($2.99 for 15 feet!! WOW!!)
(Gretchen suggest 8”, but I wanted mine a little longer)

* 1 fastener (hobby lobby $1.99 for 2)

* 3/8” Velcro (I had some already)

* Needle & thread (had this too!)

* Scissors (I hope you have these!)

* A pacifier (for guidance)

* And I highly suggest an adult beverage…have fun while you're being crafty!

I love this because you get to make it unique, It’s cheap, and It’s so easy you don’t need to know much about sewing!

1. Start by making two small hems (1 on each end)

2. On end #1 sew one strip of the Velcro to the back side of the ribbon (consider a double sided ribbon if you can find one—otherwise it’s white!)

 3. On the same end # 1 and the same back side of the ribbon sew the second strip of Velcro about 1 ½” down.

Steps 1-3 shown here

 4. On the other end #2 insert the fastener and fold over the fabric back side together.  Sew these together. (This is where the pacifier comes in handy…make sure you like the way the ribbon will lay.  I liked the design to show when James had the pacifier in his mouth…when it’s not in his mouth it’s going to twist and who knows which way it will show.)  If you look at my clip the front of the fastener and the front of the ribbon are visible at the same time.

step 4

step 4

THE FINAL PRODUCT....

This took about 15 minutes to make.  I wanted it to have cleaner edges so I made the hems…this is not necessary if you would like to omit it you can; it just won’t look as clean.

My final cost for 1 pacifier clip…. $1.25!   

Since I already had everything but the ribbon and fasteners my cost was low.  If you need to buy other items it will be higher and depending on which ribbon you purchase you cost could be more!

And if you want me to make it....I will...for $6.50.....after you buy the ribbon!!  lol!