It's enchilada night!

Hokay, today has been kinda nutsy.

So this morning, I vaguely wake up to hear hubby coming home, and fall asleep again. I wake up to my alarm later (close to 45 minutes after Jesse should be home) and no hubby next to me. I listened to the monitor to see if maybe he got Andrew up but don't hear anything. So, anyhoo, I get up and hear the door downstairs open.... it's Jesse. He comes in a few minutes later saying he came home, noticed we were out of milk, and went to buy more milk for Andrew (and Cidre for mama!). So sweet :)

After Andrew ate, I unloaded the dishwasher and got the little man dressed, he and I took off for our first EVER grocery run on our own. Usually Jesse gets up a bit early since he gets to sleep at home every other Friday night, but I thought it might be nice to let him sleep/ have a bimonthly "adventure" with my little guy.

We head to Whole Foods, get all of our shopping done rather quickly, check out and take off -- reason #63,287 I love it there: as I am putting the last bag in the car, my anxiety rising about leaving Andrew locked in the car while I return the cart (and double checking I have my keys for the hundredth time), a worker comes out and offers to take it in for me. Score!

Afterwards, we stopped at Payless, they know us there.....is that bad? I had been looking online and found two pairs of sandals I wanted for the little man and they were on BOGO but by the time we stopped in that sale was over. We found a dressy sandal and fun time sandal in the next size up (now all we need are rainboots (kind of a necessity down here, plus he has grown out of his first pair) and water shoes). We go to check-out and the lady gives me a 20% off coupon, double score! So I spent less than I budgeted for, which is great because as per usual, Target hypnotized me into going over budget....ahem. AND the coupon is reusable! Dang, another reason to buy shoes.... ;-P

Obviously, we headed next door to Target next. Spent tons of time there, and ended up getting a few things not on the list. BUT I would just like to say that it was only a $2 bouncy ball and a $12 blow up palm tree pool for our balcony, hehe. P.s. I promise it's kid size.... and I promise I won't treat it as mommy sized lol

So spent more here than planned, but no worries! We got the beer ;)

The nice cashier gave Andrew a sticker to wear, and when we first arrived I got a parking spot near to the front, in the shade of a tree AND bang next to a cart return. Day made.

Once we got home, though, I realized I could carry maybe 1/4 of our bags up with Andrew so I ended up having to wake Jesse anyways. Oh well. He got some cuddle time with munchkin and I fed Andrew lunch while Jesse hauled up bags and ran out to mail our bills because I forgot while we were out. Oops.

After putting everything away, Andrew and Jesse played with the new ball while I folded laundry and then munchkin went down for a nap and hubby and I retreated to the bedroom to watch the season finale of Grey's Anatomy.

Kind of bummed that munchkin has such long naps. It's usually awesome, but there was a potluck meet-and-greet for some of the families going to the baseball game on Sunday that we were hoping to go to. It is currently 5:30pm, and the potluck is already happening. Sigh. Oh well, that means we're making enchiladas tonight and can eat the organic guacamole and chips I bought for the event hahaha....

Here is the VERY simple method we use to make our yummy enchiladas:

Brown 1 lb of hamburger...

Add enchilada sauce, and put some in the bottom of your baking pan

Add meat with sauce and shredded cheese in each tortilla

pour on the rest of the sauce and add cheese. Cover in tin foil and bake 15 min at 400 degrees.

Time for a Cidre break

Aaaaaaaaand stuff your face. ;)

Oh and P.S. I heard about this earlier today-- SO awesome!!! I want one of these knife sets sooooo bad! So. Check out this awesome 50% off Rachel Ray knives sale! No coupon code needed, and free shipping if your order is over $79

Alright, that's all for now. Have a great weekend! TTFN! <3

Seriously though, how does time go so fast?!?

So while we were bumming around Minnesota last month Andrew got 2 upper molars in, and it was pretty much hell. Super clingy, fussy, not sleeping well, not wanting to eat, diarrhea, fever, etc. Well, as I'm brushing his teeth last night I catch a glimpse of something white. Some time in the last two days his first bottom molar pushed through. I had no idea. If that isn't a testament to how much kids value stability and routine I don't know what is. I know, also from that trip, how much it sucks when you're not feeling well away from home and I'm sure that's what was going on with him to a degree. So, yeah, craziness that my little man has 8 front teeth and 3 molars! Heck he could have a fourth coming in by now, who knows?

Old Navy Bachelor shirt (out of stock) eBay listing here

He has his 15 month appointment the day before he is 16 months, haha, dropped the ball on that one. I'm really interested to see how much he weighs/ how tall he is now. I swear just the other day if he was on tip toe his eyes barely cleared the table and now his chin easily clears it. How does this happen so fast?!? I'm so not prepared for this growing up thing. Can it stop now?

Andrew is still an avid book reader. I'd say at least 35% of his awake/ play time is taken up by his examining books or being read to. He has become a great knocker on doors, can practically turn doorknobs now and his favorite things ever are "Lift-the-Flap" books.

Also, I am loving how well he is understanding things. He is pretty consistent about saying "mama" and "dada" though he doesn't often use them as in sort of 'calling' for us or anything like that. His most consistent work is "Lo". But he understands when we say "Use your spoon" at the table, and does, when I ask if he wants help with the last bits of oatmeal, applesauce or yogurt in his bowl he will hand me his spoon, and he understands when we ask if he wants to read (he will go grab a book and come sit on your lap), and "Bring that here" which he USUALLY does, haha.

This week has been pretty low key. I had my last doctor appointment (a skin check) and all is well so after my follow-up cleaning at the dentist, I am done with doctors for a few months! Otherwise, we have been hanging out indoors a lot (I didn't want to go to the dermatologist with a sunburn, haha). 

My PCP's creepy exam rooms......

We did go view 4 different gated communities for our new place this winter. We're torn between two places. One is a bit easier to get to both Jesse's grad school and work but is small and no security gates or anything. The other is our current community. With new management they updated 4 one bedrooms and one downstairs two bedroom apartment to see if they were responded to well. So far only one of them has been leased but if all five are leased they may update more, and we are hoping for an upstairs 2 bedroom to be renovated so we can lease that for at least the next two years.

Today is a very gray day. It was storming pretty bad earlier and we have severe flooding warnings all around our area. A few miles away on a major street a car is stuck and water is up the bottom of the windows! Yikes. Hoping it clears up over the next several hours so we can check out a new salsa dancing place this evening.

Well, I suppose that's all for now. Here are a few links to my facebook and instagram accounts as well as a few coupons, etc in case anyone is still looking for that perfect Mother's Day gift. Only 9 days away! TTFN <3

Here is my FACEBOOK page

Here is my INSTAGRAM account

Here is my TWITTER account

And last but not least, my PINTEREST.

EBATES is having a double cash back sale now for Mother's Day. If you haven't already signed up DO IT. Even if you don't shop online often, if you just go to the site through Ebates (and they have a ton) you get cash back any time you do! Even on travel!!!!! Plus you get cash if a friend joins so help a gal out ;) It's really easy, safe, and I have already gotten over $50 back from only a few online purchases. It's awesome!

Here is 5% off at HerbsPro with Code: HM0514

20% off everything from Sunday Afternoons at Campmor with Code: SPF50

And save up t0 70% off Columbia Sportswear at Campmor no code required :)

Tis the season to be jolly!

I don't know about all of you, but Christmas shopping literally makes me giddy. Especially now with hubby and baby in the mix. It's fun getting some stuff I've been eyeing for a while but I absolutely adore finding gifts for family!

We aren't the wealthiest people around so when I find deals or anything on gifts I know they would love I get so excited! And I totally taunt hubby all month cuz I can't wait for him to open his gifts.... that poor guy, he puts up with a lot.

At the risk of him looking at this blog for what may be the first time ever, I won't post his gifts, but here's some of the little man's haul so far:

One: Plaid Shirt, Two: Babybjorn Soft Bib, Three: Bachelor Shirt- (currently out of stock), Four: Fisher Price Music Parade Ride-On, Five: First Bead Maze

Is it sad that I'm already planning his gifts for next year? Wait..... yes it is. Haha I just can't help myself.

We bought a bunch of Christmassy stuff this year, a new tree (with hanging pine sent because hubby wouldn't let me get a real tree), a few books for Andrew, and holiday movies galore! Oh and window cling snowflakes. Yup, I'm obsessed with holidays. All I can think about is a few years from now, maybe in a house, maybe in the same city as our best friends, throwing holiday parties with our kids turning the house upside down.... doesn't that sound totally perfect?? Haha, it sure does to me :)

Well, that's really it.... with all the Christmas packages coming in/ cards going out, I needed to share some of my excitement hehe!

P.s. don't forget to follow me for blog updates, pictures and pins!

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P.p.s. here's a list of some great deals goin' fast! :)

• Hot deals and free shipping over $19.99
• Up to 70% off entire site!
• Cheap PJs and up tp 50% off IN STORE
• Up to 50% off and 12 cent shipping on 12/13
• 40-50% off cards, books, calendars, etc!

And now that I've gone on and on about the materialistic side of Christmas, I'll also share a book we got for Andrew- quickly becoming a favorite! Find it here

TTFN <3

Thanksgiving is almost here!!

Wow, can you believe that the Holidays are already upon us?!? It seems like only yesterday that we were still enjoying summer!

We have been listening to Christmas music in the car once in a while for the past two weeks or so but I can't wait until Friday so we can decorate and truly start listening to the Christmas music I love so much he hehe :)

I figured I'd just do a quick post and then share some fun holiday stuff today.

So to start, Andrew is going through a phase where his schedule is beginning to shift and it is throwing me for a loop. There was a point where it seemed like he was going to move to one nap a day, then he reverted to two or three two hour naps, and now we're operating on two two - to - three hour naps. It's proving challenging but I think I'm finally starting to get inthe groove. One thing iI've learned is that though snack time never worked out before,  it needs to work now or the naps are was any too short. So we now get up, eat, play for a few hours, snack and then nap. It's VERY recent but seems to be working great!,

Okay that's about all for now. So here's some holiday fun!

Doesn't this look delicious???? And so simple!

And then ya just gotta have the Black Friday deals , right? I don't plan on going out but it's always nice to know what's out there :)
Oh and p.s. THIS

Wishing y'all a wonderful, stress - free holiday. And safe travels!!

TTFN <3

New things I'm loving~

The last 39 hours have been c-r-a-z-y. Seriously. I picked up a transcription job for the evening and wasn't feeling it even before I started. I had been tired all day so I decided to drink a "Natural" energy drink. Bad idea. I mean it was delicious and really genuinely woke me up but what I did not anticipate was how proactive I would want to be. I ended up contacting several companies about affiliation and found a few new sites but took me a few hours to settle enough to really delve into the tape.

7am rolls around and I am finally done, my eyes starting to feel like they are coated in velvet they are so tired. Well, I laid down just past 7, slept for around 30 minutes, woke up around 8 to Andrew fussing, fell asleep again after hubby got home for about 20 minutes and then Andrew was up for the day. And I swear I tried to nap when he did but I think I was past the point of exhaustion -- you know that feeling? When you are so tired you can't fall asleep? Yeah it sucks. So here we are 39 since my last decent sleep and I am somehow still going. 

This evening we even got our crap together, and went shopping! We hit up Michaels (Pssst they have a great sale on this week! AND I got three glitter pumpkins half off plus a candle half off (they have 3 large candles for $10) and spent less than $10!) Seriously if there are any other autumn obsessed persons out there, CHECK THIS OUT. It is like my crack. I have more coupons from this last visit burning a hole in my purse :-S

Stopped by our beloved Whole Foods Market for some broccoli/ spinach to make baby food, plus some other essentials to get us through the week. I am determined to try some Autumn- inspired beer there next week!

We definitely stopped by the liquor store for some Vodka beer for the beach this weekend... sure felt classy holding a 1.75 in one hand and my eight month old in the other. Hey we're from Minnesota, we got this. ;-P

And of course what trip is complete without Target? Earlier today I decided to use this awesome website Ebates to look into buying some diapers for the little man... turns out they were on sale! So I used my RedCard (I highly recommend-- even if it's just the debit card like ours is... I shudder to think how in debt we would be if we had credit there) and got an additional 5% off PLUS free shipping. AND I got some cash back through Ebates as well. Score, score, double score.

Also, have you heard about the Cartwheel thing at Target? I just was introduced to it today so I don't know much about it but it looks interesting. Check it out and see what you think!

Zulily - I have heard of and seen this before but never cared enough to get through the initial "sign-up" at the beginning but oh. my. goodness. They have such cute stuff! I am going to be styling the little man like a total prep and they had the cutest three piece set (Jeans, button up and puffy vest) for less than $20!

Okay and last but not least, I am very, VERY excited to say I am advertising Amazon.com! You will probably have noticed the extra ads around for them... haha. But seriously. I shop on Amazon probably once a week at the least. It is a strange week that goes by without me at least putting something in my cart and then occasionally talking myself out of it. We have been very slowly collecting all the seasons of FRIENDS (just ordered Season 9 of 10 this week) and we literally have it budgeted into  our 'Entertainment' fund.

SO....

Shop at Amazon.com!

:)

P.s. for those of you with Netflix, try a free trial of Amazon Prime! I used to looooove Netflix but started getting annoyed with it and then they raised the prices.... Prime is one lump payment per year but cheaper than Netflix if you use it a decent amount. I really loved it and hope to get it again one of these days when we have some extra moolah laying around :)

ALSO.... Halloween is just around the corner!! I am beyond words excited!!! Last year we had a few trick-or-treaters and WAY too much candy (we split the candy up into sandwich bags and smuggled it into the movie theater hehe). This year since I am not pregnant I am wondering about dressing up.... don't know what to do/ be but it'd be fun to go out with the hubby that weekend too-- the first year we were together on Halloween he wasn't 21 yet so we didn't get to do much. The second year we went and had a blast, third year we went on the wrong day and it was booooring and last year we stayed in due to the uncomfortable preggo lady.

Andrew will be....*drumroll please* a MONKEY! I am sooooo excited to see his little face in that suit. Don't worry you will get ridiculous amounts of pictures plastered all over here and FB :)

Alright well that's it for now I think. I'm going to go attempt to pass out for a few hours. Happy weekend!

OH and p.s. if you are on facebook, you should go "like" my page... :)

TTFN <3

Our weekend in pictures!

We had a fairly busy weekend! Jesse had to work so on Saturday, my mother and I decided to go shopping!

We hit up Target (where I snagged my first Pumpkin Spice Latte of the season), Old Navy, Michael's and Macy's.

I got two tops at Old Navy... this and

Please ignore the messy bathroom haha

I got a coupon the last time we shopped there so even though my purchase was over $30, I spent less than $20- yay! The tops are super cozy and they actually have jeans long enough for my legs (I have a 36 inch inseam)!

Got a few more decor items at Michaels... they have 50% off autumn garlands, muahaha. Got some yummy smelling candles too!

That being said, immediately upon returning home (before hubby woke up) I went-a decorating! I think we're done until October when the Halloween stuff comes out- yay! Halloween is my favorite holiday EVER!

Coffee Table

Andrew's Room

Our bedroom door

Dining table

Our little ledge

The one little window in the living room

Half wall

Halloween lights

Pumpkin Spice, Apple Cider and Autumn Walk candles-- YUM

Our "Mantle"

Macy's is having an awesome 40% off sale PLUS 25% off most baby items. I got two adorable outfits for Andrew as Christmas presents and my mom got him a whole bunch of onesies.

We left the house at 9:45am, got back home at about 3pm. Andrew had maybe slept about 30 minutes total and was two hours overdue for a bottle. But the whole time we were out he made one fussy noise that lasted about a second. He is an amazing little man and we are soooo lucky it's ridiculous!

The rest of the evening we just were couch potatoes. Andrew has officially conquered the getting-the-pacifier-back-into-his-mouth thing. So much so I had to take his paci out of his crib cuz he just automatically reaches for it.

Sorry it is sideways :-S

Sunday morning was rough for the little guy but we managed to cuddle a bunch, he calmed down long enough to watch America's Next Top Model with me (haha) and while he was fussing playing in his walker, I created a play area. You know how TeePees are all the rage for kids right now? Well we don't have much space, but I noticed we had left the swing up in the corner (Andrew doesn't like it too much anymore and anyways probably already is too heavy for it) and thought "hmmmmm". I used some packaging tape, a cozy blanket from Target, a few extra blankets for padding and the base of the swing. Voila! 

He likes it!!! :-D

Later that day we woke daddy up so we could go to the ZOO!!!

And then after arriving home I totally failed at making pizza rolls. I used a dough mix I've never used before which was wayyyyy too liquidy to roll up and then I put toppings on right away rather than baking the crust first. We ended up having pancakes and eating the toppings off the pizza haha....

Now the weekend transcription is done, the house is clean....ish and it is time for a few Zs before the little man wakes me up.

TTFN! <3