Silly Baby Recalls!

It is my personal opinion that most recalls on baby products are quite silly, and how they go about fixing the recalls is even sillier. For example, there have been a few suffocations due to drop down rails on cribs, which (from what I can tell) were all caused because the parents did not assemble the bed correctly. I personally own a drop down sided crib, and though I never really use the drop down function, it seems to be virtually impossible to suffocate or have the issues with it that are being claimed unless it was not assembled correctly. I have heard rumor that they are trying to now outlaw drop down cribs as a result of this mess. Secondly, when they do a recall they tell you to "put your child in a safe place" until you get the new parts to turn the crib into a non drop side crib. I'm sorry, but if my child has slept in this crib for two years with no issue and the previous owner for five years, why all of a sudden is my child in imminent danger waiting for the parts to arrive in the mail?? Exactly! I have a few friends that have had similar issues and they worry and put their children in a pack and play or whatever while the await the parts, but I'm thinking with all of the stuff they are going to do, in ten years all current cribs will be on the no-no recall list for one thing or another. Babies in the near future will need to go to bed with a helmet on, strapped to the bed so they can't move, and all for the cause of "saftey". Yes, I think we are taking this all to the extreme and I know it's unfortunate that some children have died from different things, but we will all die someday and we need to LIVE and stop worrying about every little detail. If you heard some of the stories my husband told about life on the farm when he was a child you would see it's a miracle that he's even alive. This is when they didn't use car seats in cars, let alone seat belts, children at age 10 drove tractors and heavy farm equipment, and bouncers were routinely placed in precarious positions on tables...he turned out fine, has a few battle wounds to show for it and some stories, but the moral of the story is that although it is fine to be cautious we shouldn't go overboard with it!

Garage Sale Breakdown

I just thought it would be a fun experiment to look up the values of my recent garage sale purchases, had I bought them new and compare them to what I paid...

PBK Giraffes (small and large) - pd $3, retails for $36
3 Hooded towels & two wash cloths - pd $3, retails for $30
Little people tractor set - pd $3, retails for $20
2 swaddle wraps - pd $2, retails for $20
Ball pit with balls - pd $3, retails for $30
Fisher price piggy bank - pd $2, retails for $17
Baby Einstein playmat - pd $5, retails for $50 (though missing 4 toys so subtract $20)
6 footie pjs - pd $6, retails for $50
2 pairs of ministar shoes - pd $2.50, retails for $26
Frog baby outfit - pd $1, retails for $17
Let it snow sign - pd 75 cents, retails for $7
Lamaze toy - pd 75 cents, retails for $7
Misc little people animals - pd $1, retails for $10
Purple bunny lovey - pd 25 cents, retails for $20
3T shirt and oshkosh adjustable pants - pd $1.50, retails for $20
TCP pink shoes - pd $2, retails for $13
Triple stacking set - pd $3, retails for $17
Hose reel cart (not pictured) - pd $5, retails for $35
Manhattan Toy Skwish (not pictured) - pd $1, retails for $15

Total spent - $45.75, total retail - $420...so total savings is: $374.25, or roughly 89% off!!

It's a Wonderful Life!

I was just thinking today how blessed I am! I have a wonderful husband who works and takes care of us, and is a joy to be around...a beautiful baby boy who is growing and learning so quickly...and a baby on the way! It is so amazing how quickly life goes. In six months I'll have a new child, and a year from now I will have as strong a bond with the new baby as I have with Seth. What a wonderful life!

My 12 week appointment was today and the baby was doing great, with a 156 heart rate. I discussed my concerns with the doctor regarding episiotomies, delayed cord clamping, etc. and was satisfied with her answers.

Milestones this week - Seth was officially weaned yesterday! He also has been taking a few steps since April 15th. He usually will walk until he realizes what he's doing and then he'll sit down. He took four or five steps today in the doctors office. I felt the new baby kick for the first time yesterday, which is a few weeks earlier then with Seth. Again today I felt the baby after meals and also when I leaned on a counter (which I remember Seth doing as well). It's really cool to have more signs of life aside from an expanding waistline and morning sickness. I also was able to stop my progesterone this week which is always a highlight as well.

On a side note, I did the first garage saleing of the year, and boy did I find some bargains! I got a Coach purse/diaper bag for $1 (the insides need to be replaced, hence the price, but the exterior was great!), a NIB johnny jump up for $5, tons of Robeez knockoff shoes for $1 or less, hooded towels for 75 cents, and a jj cole bundle me for $10. I think I officially have garage sale fever!!

Yummy scones!

I just had to share this recipe from a friend of mine..she made the most delicious scones to bring to Bible study today. It is a recipe from allrecipes that she tweaked to her tastes..and boy is it yummy!

Craisin White Chocolate Scones

Ingredients

2 cups all-purpose flour
1/3 cup sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
8 tablespoons unsalted butter, frozen
1/2 cup craisins
1/2 cup white chocolate chips
1/2 cup sour cream
1 large egg

Directions

1) Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2) In a medium bowl, mix flour, 1/3 cup sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Grate butter into flour mixture on the large holes of a box grater; use your fingers to work in butter (mixture should resemble coarse meal), then stir in craisins and white chocolate chips.
3) In a small bowl, whisk sour cream and egg until smooth.
4) Using a fork, stir sour cream mixture into flour mixture until large dough clumps form. Use your hands to press the dough against the bowl into a ball. (The dough will be sticky in places, and there may not seem to be enough liquid at first, but as you press, the dough will come together.)
5) Place on a lightly floured surface and pat into a 7- to 8-inch circle about 3/4-inch thick. Sprinkle with remaining 1 tsp. of sugar. Use a sharp knife to cut into 8 triangles; place on a cookie sheet (preferably lined with parchment paper), about 1 inch apart. Bake until golden, about 15 to 17 minutes. Cool for 5 minutes and serve warm or at room temperature.

Ultrasound for the newest in the Erickson family!

Baby #3 had a strong heartbeat, we are so excited that we have a healthy baby on board!

Meal Plan for March

Sorry this is late, but with the pregnancy and being SOOO tired I have not had much time to go online. These are the meals that I'm planning for the month of March:

- Crockpot Jambalaya
- Chipotle Chicken Burrito
- Veggie Pizza
- Chicken Picnic Patties with homemade Boursin
- Antipasto Wraps
- Classic club sandwhiches
- TGI Friday's Black Bean Soup
- Marinated chicken with greek potatoes
- Big Thicket Chicken & Dumplings
- Southwest stuffed bell peppers
- Best Beef Stroganoff
- Sloppy/pizza Joes

For desserts/snacks, I'll be making:
- Shamrock toasties (to celebrate St Patty's day)
- Auntie Annies Pretzels

For Breakfast I have planned:
- Lemon Apple Braid
- Water Bagles w/homemade honey walnut cream cheese spread


Of the above I have made the lemon apple braid (I would rate 3 of 5 stars, it was a little too lemony) and the antipasto wraps (3 out of 5 stars again). The ingredients were a little weird (sun dried tomato wraps with artichoke hearts, roasted red peppers, ham, lettuce, cream cheese w/basil, and salami), but I did learn that I really love roasted red peppers! I'll be trying to incorporate them into future meals. I already went shopping for the month and my grocery bill was about $60. I will try and save the receipt for next month to give an exact savings breakdown!

You know you are pregnant when...

you get a craving for an ice cream sundae with homemade hot fudge, you stop by the store to get ice cream and by the time you get home you are too tired to make it! Then, as the baby is eating and you are checking facebook you see that Byerly's is having "free food" to celebrate their grand opening. So, all of a sudden you get your second wind and truck out to Byerly's. After circling the parking lot three times and finally finding a spot you go in to see that the "samples" are barely enough to be considered "free food". Then you trek home to be in the same spot you were in an hour ago, but even more tired. Bed time!

More Babies in Bunnyland!

Shifting Gears

Hi, everyone. I decided to reclaim this blog...meaning I will not be dedicating this blog just to Seth updates (though I will give updates on him at times), but I will be posting my thoughts and ideas that I have found helpful in my life...that I sincerely hope will help you!

This year we decided to really get back on track with our budget. When I crunched the numbers I was surprised at how meager our income really was in relation to expenses. That means big changes ahead! I figured out that we had $200 per month to live on, that includes gas, food and everything else. Since Luke has a large commute and I go to various playdates throughout the week I figured that half of that was gone right away in gas money. So...how to live off of $100, that is a great question! At the time I was working out these figures we were spending about $75 per week just on groceries...and I really don't want to live off of credit cards. Starting in January (so this is the end of month two), this is really what has helped me stay within the $100 guideline for living expenses:

1) We rarely, if ever go out to eat. We have gone out a few times, but that was only when someone else was paying (which we try not to take advantage of), using gift cards, or using BOGO coupons and stretching it over at least 2-4 meals. I found that some people are willing to exchange gift cards for services. Case in point - I did my mom's taxes for her and she gave me a $50 gift card to a local restaurant. She would have paid $100+ to have a professional do it, or she could have done them herself but she saved herself time and money by letting me do this. I was a financial advisor/loan officer, before being a SAHM so it wasn't like I was totally unqualified to do this.

2) I coupon - like crazy! To start off, I buy an Entertainment book every year, and then I go on craigslist and coupon swap. What this means, is I get the maximum amount out of the book. I usually only use 15 or so restaurants and when I do the coupon swapping, that means I have 10-15 coupons per restaurant! This is really helpful for if we ever end up treating people when we go out to eat (Luke and I would share a meal, and buy the other person the free one) as well as just saving money. If we were to eat normally, we might spend $10 on an entree, but if you have a BOGO coupon, you save half the money and are able to stretch it over a few meals if you only eat half a meal at a time (eat half now, get half to go for a later meal). This means you can get $20 worth of food, and still be at $5 per meal. Secondly, I also coupon when grocery shopping. I now shop, almost exclusively at Rainbow due to their doubling policy. On Wednesdays (and some Saturdays) they will double up to 5 coupons, up to $1 each if you spend at least $25. Also, you can find many things for free using this method - perfect example was last week, Wheat Thins were on sale for $1.99 and I had a $1 off coupon. This doubled and it became free!

3) I primarily cook from home, and I meal plan once per month. I was always envious of those "practically perfect" housewives that had a meal plan. I thought - wow, they are so organized - I wish I could do that! What I didn't realize was how much time and money you save when you do meal plan. It takes me about half an hour, once per month, and saves me three or more trips to the grocery store, as well as LOADS of money. January I spend $65 the entire month on groceries, and this month it is about $85 (and I'm including some non grocery items in the total, such as cleaning products and paper products!) Plus, the flexibility of shopping once per month is great since I can cook any one of the meals that I chose (12 per month) depending on my mood for the day...and I always know that I have everything on hand! No more having a craving for something and having to eat a frozen pizza or having to run to the store for that missing item!

4) Take advantage of freezer space! I don't mean that you have to go out and buy a deep freezer (as I honestly think most of the food would go bad, or be reduced quality if you bought in that much bulk), but it is really handy to freeze things for later use. A loaf of bread will keep, almost perfectly fresh, for a week or more in the freezer. Cheese will keep several months, and meats will also keep for several months. So, when Rainbow has a sale on beef or chicken for $1.99 per lb, I stock up, and then freeze them in 1 pound increments. That way, if I know I'll be making something that calls for hamburger, I can just take out the amount I need the night before or the morning of and it will be ready to go by supper. Also, if you chop up fruit (such as bananas) and veggies (like bell peppers), you can freeze them in baggies and just grab and cook and not worry about spoilage and wasting.

5) Control shopping/spending habits. If you don't go to the store, you tend not to spend money. I know that is not a surprising concept, but for a recovering shopaholic, it is an epiphany! I now keep a small stash of coupons (you know the 20-30% off coupons that drag you into the store and get you to buy lots of things?) in my purse. I do not, however, use the coupons to justify a trip to the shop (except for the rare occasion that I find a Kohl's 30% off coupon). I keep them on hand, for emergencies only. What would be an emergency? An unexpected birthday invitation, running out of an item that you use frequently (for example, I scrapbook and an absolute necessity is tape, without it, I can't do anything!), or something of that nature. The goal, however, is to go in, and go out, only buying what was on your list. The Kohl's coupon I use to buy clothes (which is especially nice when you find an item on 70% off clearance, then can take an additional 30% off, they are practically giving it to you!) or gifts. If you are lucky you can use the coupon on a Kohl's cash weekend and that really is like free money! Since they only give these out once or twice per year to charge card holders, I don't find myself going there frequently enough to get myself into trouble.

6) Tithe. I know this may sound weird to those that are not accustomed to tithing (and if you are not a Christian, this tip will not help you), but it really does work! On more than one occasion we have tithed not knowing where money would come from for a necessity..and then God shows up and provides it! He has always been faithful in this, and as my friend Leslie said "we can't afford NOT to tithe!" God grants us our daily bread, or our needs for the day, even if we feel we are just getting by. Other times he blesses us abundantly! On another note, pray that God would grant you favor in your finances. That does not mean begging Him to make you a millionaire, but just seeking Him for help with controlling your budget. This is not a prayer I have often prayed, but God has surprised me the times I have. I prayed for my in-laws recently because it appeared they would have a major, unexpected, expense and I prayed that God would show them favor. A week later we get a call that my mother-in-law got a $4 raise! That is in a small town where that sort of thing never happens! Praise God! I also prayed this over my husband, and his workplace, and this week he was given a promotion and raise! So, now when we were concerned that we'd be struggling to live off of $100 for food and necessities, we now have over $200 for that. So, thanks be to God for His provision!

Well, I do have more tips, but will have to save those for later as it's time to feed Seth lunch and go about my daily business. I hope some of this helped you!

Recent picts

Happy New Year!

Hi, to all my faithful blog readers who did not abandon the blog due to inactivity. Hopefully this post will be a pleasant surprise! Well, Seth just turned 10 months and is growing like a weed. He is now pulling up on everything, and crawling around. One of his favorite things to do is to open and close doors repeatedly as well as take all of the toys and books off of the shelves. I'm trying to teach him to put them back on, but to no avail...I did have him "help" me clean his room before bed today and it made me feel really good. I'm starting a better routine with him now - up at 7am, nap at 10-12 (or 1), then another attempt at a nap at 2ish (though I haven't been successful the past few days) and down to bed at 6:30. This gives me an hour to clean, cook, facebook, etc before the hubby comes home. I hope you are all having a great new year!