James

James has been busy these days getting into anything and everything. I never knew how quickly a house could be destroyed until he came along. Ha! This week we have been busy getting into the kitchen cabinets. Let's just say the crockpot didn't make it...

He also loves climbing! However, he hasn't figured out the getting down process.  I thought it was pretty clever of him to open his train table drawer and use it has a foot step!

We have been practicing our shapes and colors this week too! He thinks every shape is "OOOh-val" and the color "BU-oo" but hey I'm just happy he can put the pieces back where they go. :)

A BIG thanks to our friend Jennifer who got this Thomas the Train tent for him. He loves climbing inside, knocking it over, and basically sitting on it. Ha!

I love that in every picture he's in mismatched outfits. Clothes never last long with toddlers (his or mine). One of those things you give up on at this stage.  I love my little red headed boy!!! He's at such a fun stage right now. He keeps me on my toes but I wouldn't trade it for anything. :)

Our Weekend

We had another low key weekend here in Cape.  We received a couple inches of ice Friday night/Saturday morning so we stayed in until Sunday.  When is spring again!? :)

Me and my boy Sunday morning before church. My good friend Anna Grace sent James the cutest penguin overalls for his birthday.  We got lots of compliments on them.  

We've been working hard learning how to hold and use our utensils.  He's got the fork down pretty good but the spoon is another story.  I just go in knowing he's going to have more on his clothes than in his tummy.  I swear I spend 75% of my day in the kitchen (prepping, cooking, and cleaning).  

I've been trying to make some semi healthy meals for my picky eater.  He LOVES hot dogs (what kid doesn't?) but I do buy him the all beef fat free hot dogs by Hebrew National.  I decided to make some mini corn dogs that would be baby and Weight Watcher friendly for mommy.  I swapped eggs with egg whites, yogurt for oil, and milk for almond milk since James can't do regular milk.  Here's the recipe...

Ingredients:

2/3 cup flour

1/2 cup yellow cornmeal

3 Tbsp. sugar

1 Tbsp. baking powder

1/4 tsp. salt

4 hot dogs (cut each into 6 equal pieces)

1 egg white

1/3 cup almond milk

2 Tbsp. plain yogurt

Directions:

Mix all your dry ingredients. Then, add in your wet ingredients.  Use a cookie scoop and scoop into 24 mini muffin cups.  Lastly, insert hot dogs.  Bake at 400 for 7-9 minutes or until golden brown on top.

Servings: 24 mini corn dogs 

WW Points Plus: 1

These were a hit with my little boy! I feel better giving him these rather than frozen store bought alternatives.  Plus, this was a great recipe for me and staying on track with my points.  

I am surprised how well it has been to stay on track using Weight Watchers.  I don't feel deprived of anything because you can basically have anything but within moderation.  This Sunday will mark 4 weeks since I've started and I have lost ALMOST 20 pounds.  I am really trying hard to stay on track and workout this week to hit that 20 pound goal for the month.  

Chocolate Peanut Butter Frozen Cups

Ingredients:

1 tub fat free cool whip

2 Tbsp. PB2 

2 Tbsp. Lite Chocolate Syrup

Directions:

Thaw cool whip. Mix together cool whip and PB2 (prepared according to package). Scoop into 6 muffin tins. Drizzle with chocolate syrup. Freeze.

Servings: 6

WW Points Plus: 2 

I usually need one sweet treat for the week when I'm feeling a moment of weakness. I normally buy those Weight Watcher Smart Ones in Peanut Butter Sundae. Well let me to you...these are just as good (if not better)!!! I saw these on Pinterest and tweaked the recipe slightly. 

It's been a while...

Why is it that every time I commit to blog weekly I then disappear for months? 

I am going to blame having an almost 13 month old that keeps me busy 24/7.

Last post I mentioned I had a new website. AND I do. But I am not as computer savvy as I thought. I am just going to keep blogging on here for the time being.

Anyways, a lot has happened since OCTOBER. Holidays, James 1st birthday, and many other great things to share. We have a big year in store for us and I can't wait to share all the details with our family and friends.  I have been taking a little (or maybe long) social media break and I think I'm going to continue. I cannot tell you how uplifting, encouraging, and convicting it has been to not log onto facebook and instagram first thing every morning and last thing every night.  It has caused quite a stir with lots of questions and grumbling.  The best answer I can tell everyone is that I needed a break. A break from mean words, jealousy, envy, daily comparison, and bragging. I love keeping up with family and friends but if it's going to cause me to stumble in my personal relationship with God then it's just not worth it.  SO I will use my blog to post updates, pictures of James, and the events going on in our life. 

This week has been uneventful to say the least.  We received maybe 15 inches of snow in our town Sunday night and Monday morning.  James and I are ready to play outside.

We've discovered his love of popcorn this week...

Daddy stayed home Monday and Tuesday and was able to play with us for FOUR days straight (I think he was ready to go back to work yesterday ha!)...

Someone really wants to go out and check out that white stuff...

 Hoping this will be the last snow for the year.

 Me and my boy this past Sunday before church...

In other news, I'm doing Weight Watchers (again). I'll probably post some recipes and tips in the upcoming days.  I also log everything onto myfitnesspal if anyone wants to follow me my username is MrsArnold609.  It always keep me accountable by logging my food and my friends being able to see what I eat (the good, bad, and ugly haha).

Blah Blah Blah

This week has been horrible as far as eating healthy goes.  It's just one of those weeks you want to binge eat, put your hair in a messy bun and watch Netflix all day.  Anyone else have those?  I've lost 49.1 pounds so far and I just can't seem to push myself past that (it's a mental block not a physical one).  Tomorrow's a new day...praise Jesus!

 

I've made my menu for next week and I'm hoping some comfort foods I've tweaked to become clean/healthy will help me ease back into getting on the right track.  I'll be posting at least 2 new recipes next week!!!

 

I've been contemplating whether or not to get a polar watch.  It seems like everyone and their dogs have them these days.  I'm wondering how well they work and if they're worth the money (meaning will I wear it longer than a week).  Of course that would mean I would have to start working out again...ha!  I used to run but now I'm too embarrassed to be seen running.  :)

 

A few months back the hubby and I bought some kettle bells and a gym mat to start a home gym but those things have sat downstairs since the day we got them and haven't moved.  I really just need to quit making excuses and get my butt into gear.  Sigh...

 

In other news, I bought my own website today.  Which means I'll have a new and improved blog coming very soon.  It may take me a few days (or a week) to get it up and running.  I'm hoping to have a better lay out and links to my etsy site and various other things.  With having James now and working on my weight loss journey I would really like to document everything.  I will keep you posted on that soon!



Common Misconceptions About Budget

 

One of the biggest misconceptions of being a stay at home mom and one income family is..."Your husband must make a lot of money for you to stay home!"

 

Umm No. Wrong. False.

 

Actually, for most families, it is a HUGE sacrifice.  You do without a lot of luxuries, frivolous spending, and mindless shopping.  That means we'll have less expensive cars,  a smaller house, and buy a lot of things second hand.  But, nothing compares to seeing that little precious baby day in and day out!!! :)

 

I've learned a lot in the last few years of marriage.  Mainly, money doesn't grow on trees and we have to be wise with the money God has given us.  Spending money wisely shows God we are thankful for what we've been given. 

 

One of the biggest areas for me that I try to work on is food budgeting.  I'm the shopper.  The cook.  The mom.  :) 

 

Here are some tips I've found helpful for our family to stick to a food budget of $300 a month:

 

Buy store brands

Did you know store brands are 20-50% less than name brands? I read in an article not that long ago that store brands were taste tested against name brands and they found that they tasted almost always identical. 

***BUT, always look at the price because when the name brand items go on sale they sometimes end up being less than the store brands.

 

Stock up when things go on sale

If I notice an item I use weekly going on sale I'll buy a few more that week (don't go crazy stockpiling).  I also like to keep an eye out for meat sales because you can really save green in this area (if its less than $2 a pound I'm going to stock up).

 

Don't buy snack foods

Talk about eating up your food budget.  Snack foods are just crazy expensive.  Plus your waistline will thank you.  ;)

 

Have a price list

This might sound extreme but keep track of items in a spreadsheet.  I like to make my grocery list and then check to see which stores have it cheaper and shop accordingly.  Saving .50 cents for an item might not be worth going to another store for you but I promise you that when you're saving .50 cents or more on every product by doing this it REALLY can add up. 

 

Check out clearance aisles

This past week I went to Walmart and found organic baby food and oatmeal marked 50% off or more.  You just never know what you might find. 

 

Coupons

I don't cut coupons.  I would like to get better at this.  However, really expensive items like baby yogurt and things I'll go online and get $1 off coupons.  Most of our food is fresh and not packaged so you can't really use coupons for those items.

 

Stick to a grocery list

I would never go to the grocery store without a list in hand.  I would put a lot more in the shopping cart than we actually needed that week.

 

Make a weekly/monthly meal plan

By planning out every meal you and not buying more than you need it can really help cut down your budget.

 

Don't spend money on drinks

Don't drink your calories.  Soda is crazy expensive.  Juice is just ridiculous.  Those things are full of calories, artificial sweeteners, and tons of sugar.

 

Eat before you shop

Sounds silly BUT the grocery store is full of temptations. 

 

8 Months Old

 

Weight:

Almost 18 pounds last we checked. 

 

Clothing:

He's still wearing mostly 6 month clothes but has a few 3-6 month outfits that he can wear.

 

Diet:

Still nursing 4-5 times a day.  Typically, he wakes up and nurses at 7am, breakfast at 8 (oatmeal & apples), nurses at 11, lunch at 12:30 (yogurt & banana), nurses at 3, dinner at 6 (whatever we're eating), and final nursing right before bed at 7:30.

 

Sleep:

 He only takes two naps a day now.  Usually takes a nap at 10am and 2pm.  Goes to bed at 7:30pm and sleeps till 7am.  As from my previous post most of you know how thankful I am he's sleeping so well now in his OWN room in his OWN bed.  Praise Jesus! :)

 

Milestones:

James can crawl, sit, stand, and walk as long as he's holding onto furniture.

 

Teeth:

He has his two bottom teeth.

 

Likes:

Eating (he comes by it honestly...ha), bath time, momma's makeup bag, looking out the window, shopping, walks in his stroller, and going to the park to swing!!!

 

Dislikes:

Diaper changes, naps, when meal time is over, and initially when he's put in his car seat (once he's buckled in he's fine).

 

I can't believe he's already 8 months old.  He is the light of our life and I don't know how we ever lived without him.  I thank God EVERY day for a healthy boy and having another day to spend with him.  He loves his daddy more than anything and I know he's going to be a daddy's boy for sure!