A Pinteresting August - Follow Up

Once again, I seriously overestimated the time that I would have to work on these projects! Two month olds take a good chunk of your day! But it's the best use of a day!

I did make my own coffee creamer and granola bars. I did not get around to the lamp shade, the snack bags or the baked oatmeal.

First, let's talk coffee creamer. It was simple to make and I loved being able to adjust the flavor however I wanted. But it wasn't any cheaper than getting the store-bought version, especially if you have a coupon or hit a sale. The only advantage would be that you know what's in it...no preservatives or other junk. Just cream, milk and your spices/flavorings. We don't drink enough creamer to justify making it! But if you want to get away from packaged foods, this is an easy step!

Next, the granola bars. I didn't make the original ones I'd pinned, but found a different recipe. SO GOOD!!
Hubby isn't totally sold on them...he says they're good, but missing something. So I'll be tweaking the recipe next time.

This one will for sure save you money! The oats cost less than a dollar, the flax seed is less than a dollar and the other ingredients are less than a few dollars also. I'd estimate this recipe costs between $3-$4 to make and you get 18 thick bars! You'd pay that for 5 or 6 small granola bars at the grocery store!

Foregoing sleep

I'm sure anyone who's spouse works shift work can relate...
The baby goes to bed around 9pm. The husband is schedules to be off at 11pm. So I try to take advantage of that little piece of time to see how much I can get done.
Sewing patterns organized.
Fabric sorted.
Knit baby gift worked on.
Shower taken.

Of course, just as I settle down with my book to wait for him, I get find out he's been extended. It happens more often than not. But I keep waiting up, thinking he'll be home any minute.

Next thing I know, it's 2am and I'm getting up from my little nap to spend some time with my man. After he eats and we catch up, he's goes to shower. This is just about the time that the baby is awake to eat.

Hmm... Look at that...3:26am. About five hours before I'm planning on leaving for church. I really should get some sleep. Or I could squeeze in a couple more online surveys... I'm so close to my next gift card.

Ah, a day in the life! Who can relate?

A Pinteresting August...

My first week as a stay-at-home mama is complete! And, to be honest, I don't know where the time went! It's hard work trying to find your new routine, period, but with a little one, it's quite a challenge!

Tomorrow is Monday and a fresh start. We're trying a new nap routine with the little guy and a new cleaning routine for mama. (We'll get back to the cleaning routine later. Promise.)

As I was browsing Pinterest earlier (as we all do, at some point during the day), it dawned on me that now is my chance to try all the hundreds of pins I've been hoarding for years! Whether it makes my life easier, makes my hubby's belly happy or save us some money, I'm all for it.

So I started a new board just for the projects I want to try before the end of the month. This gives me 20 days and I pinned five ideas.

Two are kind of the same...baked oatmeal bites and breakfast bars. But I love my granola/oat bars and would love to find a way to make them myself.
Reusable snack bags...because I feel like buying the little zipper bags is a necessary evil. If I can make it unnecessary, I will be thrilled.
Recovering lampshades...because we have a really wonderful lamp made from an old wood stove, but the shade is horrifying.
Homemade coffee creamer...I don't use too much creamer, but we've been on an iced coffee kick in our house and you can't have iced coffee black. But again, I hate paying so much for the flavored stuff.

So stay tuned...it's going to be a Pinteresting August in this trooper home!

She's back and ready to face the world head-on!

I didn't realize, but it's been almost three months since I've posted!
I'll fully admit that the first month I was absent was because I was 9 months pregnant and pretty cranky, more often than not. Nobody wants to read what I would have been writing! And the next two months have been spent wrapped up in sweet baby snuggles!

So let's catch up...
Our sweet guy, Levi, made his arrival on June 3rd, weighing in a 7lb 15oz and absolutely perfect! He's been eating and sleeping like a champ and I can't wait for his next trip to the doctor to see what he weighs now! He's getting pretty chunky these days!

Since then, I took my standard six weeks off of work (note: six weeks is nowhere near enough time to be with a new little one!) and came back last week. It wasn't much surprise, but I only made it through two days at work before we decided that I needed to be home with our guy. The paycheck wouldn't be worth much after gas and childcare and frankly, not worth nearly enough to be away from him every day. So I'm now a stay-at-home mama! It's absolutely precious to watch him discovering the whole world for the first time!

Now, if you're part of a law enforcement family, you know that making it on his salary alone is a challenge. It's the very definition of "leap of faith". But my being with our little guy is so important to both of us. Obviously, this is causing some stress and a whole lot of sacrifice, but we're stepping out in faith and trusting the God will see us through, one day at a time. Obviously, I'd love to find a way to supplement some income, while still being with Levi, but each opportunity has fallen through. Again...we're having faith that God will provide what we need every day.

So things are getting creative in this trooper family and I hope that our journey can inspire someone else!

Fresh delivery from Fabric.com!!

Getting mail (that isn't bills) is always exciting.
Getting packages is even more exciting than evelopes.
And when the package is a new shipment of fabric, well, I don't think it gets more exciting than that!

First, let me explain why this particular shipment is so exciting.
Anyone in a law enforcement family knows that we've gotta get creative and stretch those paychecks further than most. So I've spent most of my pregnancy trying to come up with ways to cut costs on baby costs. Of course, one HUGE expense when it comes to babies is diapers. So I decided to use cloth diapers in an attempt to save money. My rough math is telling me that diapers for one child will cost about $800 EACH YEAR. If we are to have another baby before baby #1 is potty trained, we'd be DOUBLING THAT. (I'm no math or diapering expert, but that's the calculations I came up with...don't hold me to that!) As a state employee family, that's ridiculous.

But when I started looking into cloth diapers, I was shocked at the cost there also! At a rate of $15-$20 per diaper, I'd have to come up with about $400 upfront to buy my "stash". Obviously, this is still a more economical option and we'd be coming out ahead in less than a year, but we didn't have $400 to spend at once. So I came up with this crazy idea to make my own. I have a sewing machine and what I would call "moderate" skill...how hard could it be?

(Note: It's not hard at all!! Be looking for another post later with how I made my diapers)

I spent the next few months listening to most everyone I know tell me that I'd never actually make my own diapers and even if I did, I wouldn't actually use them. Well, that only sparked that competitive sickness that lives in my brain and forces me to win/be right ALL THE TIME. So now I had to do it, if only to prove everyone wrong.

So I did some research and found what I needed to make this happen and started sourcing out my materials. That's when I stumbled upon www.fabric.com. WOW. It's like the promised land of all things fabric and yard and craft supplies. And great prices!! I went nuts and placed one big order...flannel and PUL (waterproof fabric) for diapers, cotton for crib sheets and curtains and all the "extras" like elastic and snaps.

This is when my love affair with Fabric.com began. You can buy fabric by the 1/2 yard or full yard, but you always get 37" in each yard. It doesn't sound like that extra inch would be a lot, but it's an awesome gesture. Delivery times vary depending on how close you live to their warehouse (which is in Georgia). For me here in Virginia, it's usually 4 days. Can't beat that!

That first order was enough to get me started on my diapers, but since then, we found out that baby is a boy and settled on a nursery theme of woodland animals. So once I needed the next round of fabric, I veered away from the solid colors and ordered some fun patterns...which have just arrived!! There's nothing like coming home to that fabulous box!!

Yay!!

Anticipation...

Look at the sweet little animal print!!

Back to the sewing board!!!

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"The Words I Would Say" - for my sweet baby boy that I can't wait to meet!

Even before I was pregnant, I have been praying for this and any other children we may have. Since I've been pregnant, I've kept on praying and talking to my sweet boy. Some may think it sounds silly, but there's already so much I wish I could tell him!

The other day, on my way to work, a song came on that immediately sent me into tears (sweet song + pregnancy hormones = I cry for sometimes unexplainable reasons). This song is by Sidewalk Prophets and is called "The Words I Would Say". The chorus seemed to perfectly sum up what I'd been praying for my boy since before I even knew that he was on his way.

Be strong in the Lord and never give up hope.
You're gonna do great things, I already know.
God's got his hand on you so don't live life in fear.
Forgive and forget, but don't forget why you're here
Take your time and pray.
These are the words I would say.

I've prayed these words over my sweet boy more times than you can imagine since I first heard them. I've journaled them for him to read later on. It's so humbling to think about what God may do through our boy. I don't know what the next 10, 20 or 50 years will hold for us or for him, but God sees us and He has great plans for us, as idividuals and as a family!