E-Mealz

Today I signed up for simple meal planning services @ e-mealz.com (Thank you Mandie!) Just last night I was making up my dreaded two week grocery list and noticed the usual trend...lots of grilled chicken and veggies, soft tacos or some variation at least once, sausage and potatoes, pizza...so boring. I've also found that buying that much food two weeks at a time is a)dreadful with a 19 mos in tow even if she is perfect :) b) still overwhelming to me c) frustrating when we let things go unused and wasted.

I went with the family meal plan (for 4-6 people, 7 meals) so we can eat leftovers for lunches. I think I'll cut out a meal or too for things we don't like and leftover nights since it's quite a bit of food for us. Our new menu for the week...

Apple Butter Chicken/Green Beans
Easy Tuna Casserole/Strawberry Salad
Cheddar Broccoli Quiche/Berry and Melon Salad
Taco Burgers
Southwest Chicken Salad

The best part is the shopping list for the store that you choose. Coded by number for each meal. How easy is that!

I didn't think it was possible to love my girl anymore, but after her and Aaron being gone for 7, yes, s-e-v-e-n! days...I think I do! I missed them sooo much. Sure it was nice to not have any one but me to worry about for a few days and relax, but it was lonely too. Now that they are back, everything seems much better.

Now that Spring is here and it's absolutely gorgeous here in OK, I am making it my aim not to stay inside and waste all these beautiful days. We're trying to go to the park, play outside, walk to the library or something every day after work/daycare. Monday we made a trip to the library where I returned my book that was 366 days past due. Obviously there isn't alot of demand for Isabelle Allende books here because they didn't seem to miss it much. Thankfully the sweet librarian only charged me $1 :)

Marli and I spent some time checking out the books. She loved the tables and chairs that were just her size and somehow managed to find a puppy in EVERY book that she picked up. No joke, this girl is obsessed with dogs.

Speaking of puppies, some of you may have heard me say that I believe Aaron and Marli have joined forces to weaken my resistance to the idea of ever having another dog. Case in point, Sunday night while we were rocking and getting ready for bed she kept saying..."Please" and rubbing her chest (the sign for please). I asked her what she needed and she continued saying "please" and making the sign on my chest. Finally between her whimpers and pleases and me asking what she needed she said "puppy". I think I said something like "Oh baby, we don't have a puppy..." what followed was the most pitiful wail I've ever heard...sad enough I thought for a split second about telling Aaron she really might need a puppy. I really think she's being coached by someone in our house.

18 Reasons...

Marli is 18 mos old today!

Here are 18 things I love about the best girl I know, in no particular order :)

1. the way her little feet sound when she runs down the hall in the morning when she wakes up

2. her precious little voice saying please and thank you

3. when she just can't seem to give enough kisses

4. the way she holds my face when she sleeps/naps with me

5. that she loves to help clean up

6. that she's confident

7. her pretty little curls

8. singing before we fall asleep

9. the way she acts shy when she finally gets someones attention when we're out

10. her excitement when we get home and daddy's already there

11. the noise she makes when she hugs you

12. that she gives us pats on the back, like she's letting us know we're doing a good job

13. her sweet dance moves

14. to watch her learn

15. to watch her play

16. when she just sits with me

17. her many, many expressions

18. that nothing compares to the wonderful feeling it is to be her mommy!

Spring!!!

Yesterday was a beautiful spring day so we decided to take Marli to the playground for some afternoon fun. I thought the slides might be a little big for her, but oh no...she was not daunted.



The wavy slide scared me a little...even as her poor litte elbows hit every bump on the way down, she was smiling!



Ready to do it again...



She rode this chipmunk/squirrel/pony thing so hard too




While Lolly and Drew were here for Spring Break we had some sing star time. Speaking of songs, some of our favorites include...Itsy Bitsy Spider, Wheels on the Bus, Twinkle Twinkle, & If Your Happy and You Know It...

We're off to bath and bed time now...Goodnight!

Two things happened this weekend of note...

One, Marli went pee-pee in the big potty!!! So exciting. I know, I know, she's barely 18 mos and we're not pushing real hard...but she did it! For a couple weeks she's been sitting on her seat on the big potty. When I ask if she needs to pee-pee, we'd strip her down and she'd climb up and sit. I give her a little square of TP (which she proceeds to blow her nose with); she climbs down and puts her little toilet ring away and flushes. It hadn't been productive and I really didn't expect it to, but she seemed happy with this little routine and I figured getting acclimated to the big potty couldn't hurt. Well, after a Sunday afternoon full of taking her diaper on and off, I decided to let her run free. While I was washing my face last night I didn't even notice that she had climbed up for a sit. Then I heard it...TINKLE!!! I got so excited I hope I didn't scare her. Aaron rushed in and was upset I hadn't told him to come quicker. I think we recovered her moment of fright to one of excitement and she was very proud of herself too!

The second, was not so exciting...I laid down for a quick nap on Friday after work while we were waiting on Ben to get here. I woke up and had some strange horrible pain in my abdomen. I stood up and it basically doubled me over and then I felt the most horrific pain I have known to this day in my right shoulder. I couldn't even muster the strength to yell for Aaron, but he finally came to my aid. This lasted for about twenty minutes during which I made my way to the living room, let my mom console me and writhed on the floor in pain. Marli thought that maybe jumping on my belly would help as I lay there...it did not :) While my bout continued, I had Aaron quickly use his resources to diagnose me. Gallblader attack maybe? Yikes, what ever it was, it was AWFUL.

Deals, Steals, and Thrills!

We recently took two GIANT leaps towards becoming debt free...Wahoo!!!!

It's this euphoric accomplishment that has us, well mainly me, consumed with penny-pinching and bargain hunting. We're back on the cash envelope system. I found this great coupon organizer turned cash budget system at Michaels that I love.

This one's cute, but mine is red with lemons one it. Not very fashion forward but sure beats paying more for something more stylish. When an old lady checks me out the store, it's all the rave. Younger clerks tend to look at me like I'm ridiculous for taking the time with it when I could just swipe my card and be on my way. Either way, every time I use it I feel like I'm accomplishing my goal of sticking to a budget.

I don't clip coupons...yet :) but I have recently been introduced to some bargain websites. I haven't really bought anything yet as I'm waiting for just the right moment when bargain and desire meet. My favorite is woot.com...one deal, one day until it's sold out. They also have a kids woot of the day, which I confess is much more tempting everyday. Bargain toys and games for deep discounts, when birthday and Christmas roll around, I won't be able to resist.

Do you love a bargain? What are some ways you save dough?

My girl is almost 18 months old! How did that happen so quickly? Every time I look at her I see a little more "big girl" and not just my baby anymore. I recently changed jobs and Marli started daycare here in town. She LOVES it! She's done so well with the new routine and loves her friends and teachers. She's becoming quite independent too. This morning when I got her out of the car to carry her into "school" she said, "Walk!". So she slowly, but confidently walked herself right in, took off her coat and waved good-bye to Mommy.

Here's some new pictures from our last few weeks...

We took a trip to Jenks to the Oklahoma Aquarium last weekend and even got to touch some horseshoe crabs. Marli liked sticking her fingers in the touch pools but wasn't big on touching anything other than these guys.



She loved the turtles...



Posing with the sharks...



A spot of tea before bed...




And she always enjoys snack time :)