A Photo a Month for a Year!

I did it! My baby boy is a year old and I did a photo every month on the 4th :)

 And for fun, I did a few newborn photo recreations :)

I can't believe my baby boy isn't really a baby anymore!

Curly Hair Problems in Pictures

I drew this last week, while agonizing over what to do with my hair. There will probably be future installments.

Girly Clothes...

... are fun to make!!! Here are some things I've been working on lately. The dress is a pattern I bought from GingerBabyPatterns, the bonnet is from Cottage Home Blog, and the ruffle bottom bloomers are from this Bella Bama tutorial.

Either I need to have a little girl next, or start finding cute patterns for boy clothes!

Paint Eaters Unite

We've been having so much fun this summer with edible sensory activities. Most of them I found online (and a few on Pinterest) but a few I made up!! Here are some pictures of what we did, along with brief descriptions of how we made them:

Frozen Cool Whip + Jello Balls

Vanilla Yogurt + Duncan Hines Frosting Creations powder mix

Cooked Spaghetti + Gel Food Coloring + Vegetable Oil

Sand: 4 C. Whole Wheat Flour + 1/2 C. Vegetable Oil

(sorry, never got any good pics of the sand)

In Case You Were Wondering...

... I didn't fall off the wagon. We've still been sticking to our budget and doing meal planning to save money. I just got overwhelmed with posting!! :)

So far we've saved around 600 dollars! I'm excited to look at the budget in a few weeks and see how much closer we are to our new home.

How many weeks until something is a habit? We are at 6 weeks so far!!!!!!

Week Three... Hanging in There

Last week's shopping trip was right around the $100 mark. I threw in a bottle of wine, and thank goodness. I needed it! (SOMEBODY learned how to crawl and has given me a run for my money.)
Here's what we ate:

Monday: Turkey and Peppers over Rice

One of my favorite easy meals.

Tuesday: Sloppy Joes from a can

The ground beef was real. I have been too lazy to make my own sauce lately.

Wednesday: Ham and Potato Soup

Left over ham in the freezer with purchased potatoes

Thursday: Left Overs

CJ worked late and had dinner out. I had soup.

Friday: Slow Cooked Chicken in Nachos

Thanks to Briana Mills for this one! Had it again it was so good.

Saturday: Homemade Garlic Chicken Pizza

Haven't gotten around to this one yet. Supposed to have it a few days ago but ran out of time. Now the chicken I'd saved for it has gone bad... so I will pick up more at the store today. And in case you were wondering, the crust is store bought and I'm just going to throw some toppings on it!

Sunday: Picnic Dinner

Haven't decided what this will be yet, as this is technically next week! Picking up groceries today. Ideas? Something good for eating in the wilderness and doesn't make you look gross while eating it?

CJ's Lunches: White Chicken Chili with Chips and Green Salsa

CJ's Breakfasts: Breakfast Burritos (at his request)

Valerie and Jim lunches:

Pita and Hummus

Cottage cheese and Fruit

Left over burritos from Week 1

Chicken Quesadillas

Left over soup 

Nightly Deserts: Three Ingredient Brownies with homemade buttercream frosting

I over cooked them. They were dry and hard. However, we microwaved them with the buttercream on them. The frosting melted and turned to chocolate sauce and made it very yummy.

Next week, I start a new term at work. This weekend is very full and busy and I really don't' feel like making ahead anything. Since Jim has been sleeping through the night this week, I am going to be getting up with CJ in the mornings and making him eggs and sandwiches each day. I will also be planning meals that are quick and easy that do not require make-aheads. I'm sure it will still be cheap since I'm planning ahead, even if I'm not cooking ahead.

We Survived (Thrived?) in a Second Week

So I was very lazy about taking pictures this week... so instead of food pictures, here is a picture of a baby licking his tray.

Anyway, the second week went well. Here is what we ate this past week:

Monday: Grilled Cheese and Roasted Red Pepper and Tomato Soup

Easy food (canned soup) since this day I had doctor appointments

Tuesday: Turkey Chili and Cornbread

Also easy and made in the morning since I worked that night.

Wednesday: Left overs

CJ worked late and ate at work.

Thursday: Chicken Nachos

Put chicken thighs + 1 cup salsa in crock pot on low for 6 hours

Friday: Left overs 

Again... CJ got home around 10:30pm

Saturday: Chicken and Veggies over Wild Rice

All the random left over veggies I could find in the fridge I steamed and heated up old chicken thighs I'd cooked earlier in the week and served them over Wild Rice with butter. YUMMY.

I also planned some lunch ideas for myself and Jim which included:

Cheese & Crackers with steamed Green Beans

Hummus with Pita or Rice Cakes and Steamed Zucchini

Apricots, Cottage Cheese, Peas

Quinoa and Steamed Sweet Potatoes

Peanut Butter on Rice Cakes, Peaches, Peas

Cheese, Chicken, and Bell Pepper Quesadillas

CJ had refried beans, frozen bell pepper&onion medley, cheese, and scrambled egg Breakfast Burritos that I made ahead on Sunday.

I also made Gyros for the weeks lunches for him on Sunday. I used this recipe and prepared them all in little "kits" so nothing would get soggy. The meat, sauce, veggies, and pita were all packed separately, then put in old plastic grocery bags and stored in the fridge door so he could grab one and go.

And I bought a $1.99 brownie mix and divided the cooked brownies into 5 portions for each week night. This really helped our cravings for ice cream after dinner and prevented us eating a whole batch of cookies or brownies on a whim. And it easily saved us 10+ dollars in ice cream alone! 

This entire week cost us 106.52 at Winco (including baby wipes, paper towels, etc.)

I didn't feel quite as much like I lived in the kitchen, mostly because I used almost all old "go-to" recipes instead of being too creative. This current week in progress is even easier -and cheaper- than this one!

So far we've saved $200! (That's approximately 2 full nights of work for me!)

Wish me luck as we continue with Week 3 :)