I am really trying to develop my sewing skills, so I am trying to set aside one afternoon a week to make some things. I have really enjoyed doing this – it is pretty relaxing. I also love seeing the finished product and being pleased with how it turned out.
This week I decided to my this hanging crib toy bag. I am pretty pleased with how mine turned out! Hopefully it will buy me a little time when Gavin wakes up from his nap, too. ;)
I got a very welcome call this morning. The doctor at the urgent care center called and said that the radiologist read the xray and didn't see a fracture. So I was able to take that splint of off Gavin this morning. He was so happy! I had put a sock over the splint to keep him from pulling it off, and he really didn't like being unable to use that hand. He had several moments of frustration. His poor little finger is still very bruised and swollen, but he d0esn't seem to notice. Yay!!!
Last night, Gavin’s right ring finger got caught in the hinge side of a closing door. When Jeremy picked him up and I looked at his finger, there was an indentation at the end of his finger. Then it started swelling and bruising almost immediately. Gavin was very upset and wouldn’t use or move that finger. I decided to take him to the pediatric urgent care to have it looked at. They did an x-ray and the doctor thought that she saw a fracture to the end of the finger. So my poor little boy gets to wear a splint on his hand for the next three weeks.
I am still crossing my fingers that when the radiologist does the follow-up read, that they will decide that there is no fracture there. I’m trying to figure out how to let a little boy play outside and not get his splint dirty. I also want to know how to get that little boy that loves to play outside clean, since I can’t get his splint wet.
I was determined to take that bottle away this week when we used up the last of the liners that go in the bottle, but I think we will be waiting a couple more weeks. I can’t bring myself to take away his greatest love when he has that poor thing on his hand.
The nurse put a smiley face on the splint after she finished, in hopes of cheering him up – it didn’t work.
Mikayla’s last day of school was this past Wednesday. They had a Recognition Program and then her class had a party afterwards. The kids had a lot of fun. Mikayla was pretty emotional about the whole day. She doesn’t do very well with change and she was pretty sad about the idea of not seeing her friends and teacher for the rest of the summer.
She did enjoy these ice cream cone cupcakes. They were pretty cute! She was really surprised when she bit into the ice cream and got a mouthful of cake.
This is a picture of Mikayla and Mrs. Tamie. Mikayla was not in the mood to smile, but that’s okay. She had a great year and will really miss her teacher.
Today, Mikayla’s Preschool hosted a tea for the children and their moms. We had a lovely brunch in Mikayla’s classroom with all of her friends and their mother’s. We were also given some very nice gifts that the kids made. Mikayla has been so excited about this day. She has been asking everyday before school for about two weeks if today is the Mother’s lunch. She was very excited when she saw me at school this morning. 
This is a plate that Mikayla made for me. The grass is made with her fingers and the flowers and bugs are made with her fingerprints. I can’t wait to get a stand for it so I can display it.
Last week, Mikayla started asking if we could get a bird as a pet. She was pretty persistent. Thankfully, I was able to redirect her into wanting some fish instead. So, last Thursday, we all went to WalMart and picked out three little fish. Mikayla has named them Mommy, Daddy and Nathan. She was SO excited when she got them. We called both grandmas on the way home. She was so happy, that she could hardly speak. She kept stuttering and tripping over her words. She is very good about remembering to feed them and she likes to sit in front of the tank and talk with her pets. She also gave them some stuffed animals to sleep with their first night in her room. She picked out some sea animals to put next to their tank so they wouldn’t be afraid or lonely. Such a thoughtful little girl!
The very proud new fish owner.
Can you believe that this little boy is already 18 months old? I can’t believe how fast time is rushing by. Gavin is such a fun little boy. He doesn’t say a lot of words yet. His vocabulary is limited to ma-ma, da-da, bye-bye, night-night, ball, go and whoa. He is however, a big babbler. He will look at you and spout of a rather long sentence of babble. He is very serious and I believe that he knows what he is saying. It will be nice when the rest of us do, too! He loves to play outside, especially in his sandbox. I think he would stay out there all day if I let him.
Gavin also hit another milestone by turning 18 months old. At our church, they can’t enter the nursery until they are eighteen months. Gavin’s first day was this past Sunday. He did so good! He ran right in and started playing with the toys. The nursery leader said that at one point, he cried for about a minute and then found another toy and moved on. I am so happy he likes it. I will actually be able to get something out of church now, too.
My sister Laura and her husband Chris were in town last week. We had such a wonderful time with them. Last Friday, me and the kids went with them to the Atlanta Zoo. It is a great zoo with wonderful exhibits. The weather was a little warm, but there was plenty of natural shade around the entire zoo. We had a great afternoon together.
They have a new exhibit where you enter an area that has hundreds of parakeets. You can get very close to them. We purchased a little seed stick and Mikayla was able to feed one of them.
Mikayla LOVES getting in these photo stand things and posing for a pic. Isn’t she a ferocious lion?
Gavin did great at the zoo. He had the seat of leisure and was pushed around from exhibit to exhibit. I would have liked to have gotten him out more, but Jeremy wasn’t with me and I wasn’t up for carrying him through the entire zoo. Gavin is good when you first get him in the stroller, but if you get him out after that there is no going back in (without a major meltdown at least). In any case, he seemed to enjoy himself and liked looking at the animals.
This was my favorite part. Our zoo has a relatively new baby panda, Xi Lan. He was born last August and has been out in the exhibit since February. Mikayla (and everyone else) thought he was very cute. We even came home with our very own stuffed version of the baby panda.
At the end of the zoo, there is a petting zoo for the kids. Mikayla had a lot of fun going around and brushing all of the animals. I was amazed at how easy going these animals were.
Gavin enjoyed petting the animals, too. The petting zoo was a little nerve-wracking for me. Gavin kept running up the animals and giving them rather heavy pats. I was so worried he was going to hurt one of them, or vice-versa. Thankfully, I think these animals are used to wild and crazy children.
Last week, we had some afternoon plans and I desperately needed Gavin to take a good morning nap. So, I let him go to bed with his bottle, in hopes that he would fall asleep quickly. Well, it worked and when I went in to wake him up this is what I saw. He is cuddled up in bed with his ba-ba in his mouth. He was actually still lightly sucking on it too. So sweet!
So have been trying the whole spend less/ save more thing that I think every0ne in America is trying to do right now. We are doing great, but I have felt this urgency to get a good emergency fund in our savings account, just in case. Best to be prepared!
One way that I have been able to free up more money is in our grocery shopping. I have started cutting coupons and shopping the sales. I have been able to really build up our food storage for very little money. I use this website to help me out – this lady matches up the sales and coupons for you so that you can see where you can really maximize your savings. Usually, I am able to save about 40 % on my bill, but today I did awesome! It was pretty exciting to see how much I was able to get for so little.
Total before sales and coupons: $70.13
Total after sales and coupons: $32.95 ( I saved $38.08 – that’s 54%!)
I was pretty impressed with this total since I had some non-sale items in there as well (lettuce, bread and produce).
Next, I went to Kroger:
Total before sales and coupons: $25.18
Total after sales and coupons: $8.12 (I saved $17.06 or 68%!!)
These were on sale for $8.99. I had a coupons for $2 off the Overnite diapers (A must at our house, unless I want to be awakened at 6am). I can also get a rebate through Rite Aid for $3. So after all is said and done, I will only have to pay$3.99 for a pack of diapers!
That makes for a good day of saving in my book!
