Diapering

When I was pregnant...ok, let's be honest, way before I was pregnant, I decided that I wanted to cloth diaper my future child. I did a ton of research on the subject and even asked a fellow blogger who cloth diapers plenty of questions.

Then, when I got pregnant, I started building my stash. I chose mostly one-size diapers and even made a couple, but decided to purchase the majority of them. I liked that they were convenient and would be able to fit him until he's potty trained! Of course, most of them fit best when your child is about 10 lbs from what I've heard, so I knew I would need at least a few diapers for before that. I decided that for the newborn stage, I would go with one of the cheapest option...prefolds and covers. So, I purchased 30 prefolds,  prefold fitteds, one used all-in-one, one cover, and I sewed 5 more covers. This way, I could do laundry every other day and be good to go!

What I didn't expect was a tiny baby. Sure, most babies are small when they are first born, but my child fit into preemie diapers for the first couple of weeks. In fact, I tried on a prefold and cover and they were too big! They gapped at the waist and were not snug at all. So, I did what was best and sent my husband to buy more newborn diapers.

Now that Matthew is 5 weeks old, we are finally running out of newborn diapers. We have only a couple left in dad's diaper bag and that's it! My father-in-law actually purchased a huge box of size 1 diapers recently and we have some as well. The box says it should fit babies from 8-14 lbs and Matthew should be about in the 8 lb range about now so, they should fit him. I tried one on him and quickly realized that they are not going to work out!

My next thought was that I had two options. Option 1: Send Phil to the store to buy more newborn diapers. Option 2: Try the prefolds and covers again and see if they would fit now. Of course, I chose option number 2 and guess what...they fit! So, I folded up the diaper, put the snappi in place, covered it with the cover I made and handed him to dad to be fed. He promptly messed his diaper so Phil got to try out the diaper sprayer his dad installed and I got to show him how to fold a prefold!

I'm happy that my newborn stash is going to good use and that all of the time and effort I put into making the covers won't be in vain. I still plan on using the disposables we have over time, but I'm so happy that he's able to fit in the prefolds and that we are able to save money! Diapering a baby can definitely get expensive.

Blessed

Lately, I have been feeling so overwhelmed with blessings. I really feel like God has turned my life around so much since I left California in July 2007 and I'm sitting here so thankful for His many blessings.

Today I checked my email and saw so much love from people who have been praying for me and baby. I hope you all know how much that means to me and how incredible you all are. Please know, that I have been praying for all of you as well and that you will, in turn, be blessed.

Once I was finished checking my email, I decided to check our Discover card account. I like to do so every couple of days to make sure the charges are correct and to know how much to budget every month. We like the reward points, but not a revolving balance so we make sure to pay it off monthly. Imagine my surprise when my husband's commuter card that normally costs us $133 per month was charged at a grand total of $13! We knew that a subsidy was in the works and that it would give us a savings, but an extra $120 per month extra is just what we needed to be able to put more aside for the house and upcoming baby costs!

In addition to all of this, both my parents and my husband's parents are now officially excited! We saw a heartbeat which puts us at a lower risk and even though we still have a month to go until we're out of the first trimester, we know that God is good and that He has told us that He is giving us this baby so we are trusting in Him and having faith.

Thank you all for being such a wonderful blessing!

Unsolicited Advice

The past week or so has been a whirlwind of emotions. We were scared and worried about who was coming into our home. We were happy and excited to be able to get out quickly. We were stressed between packing and moving in a week. And now the emotions are being sorted out and we're figuring it all out.

People have their opinions and I need to not let it get to me. People are telling my mother-in-law that I need to work and get a job so we don't have to live here. It's hurtful and rude. But the truth is, I don't need to get a job. We can afford to rent another apartment or a mortgage. We're living here to save up faster and to be able to take time to find a house.

The realtor said that we should start looking in February. Until then and until we find somewhere we like we're just going to save money so that we have a good down payment and money in the bank as a cushion in case it's needed. We're making a smart decision not to waste our money in renting while we have this incredible opportunity.

Is it hard putting 95% of your things into storage and fitting as much as you can into one small bedroom? Heck yes it is! We have less privacy and for a young, married couple...that's hard. But, it's what we signed up for because we're looking at the bigger picture and not focusing on the now.

The Big Move & A New Plan

Yesterday was the big move. We got most of our stuff out of the apartment and into the storage locker or my in-laws basement. We ended up having a lot of help and it went by fairly quickly. We are so blessed to have such great people willing to help us with such short notice.

In a nutshell, we packed and moved in a week's time. There's still a few small things to do at the apartment like cleaning for the final inspection, boxing up under the kitchen and bathroom sinks, and doing a final go-through of the small amount of things that we left behind. Other than that, we're out and have officially moved in with the in-laws.

Of course, with this move came a new plan.

My in-laws are insistent that they want to see us in a house. They do not want us to rent anymore and know we are trying to start a family. So, after discussing things with them we have decided to stay here and save up to buy a house! We are blessed with parents who want what's best for us and have given us minimal expenses while we are here. They would rather see our savings account grow rather than have them get any rent. Of course, we have our own personal bills (my student loan, whatever we spend on our Discover each month, cell phone bill, and some groceries), but other than our own expenses, it is all supposed to go to savings!

We've spoken with a realtor and have been pre-approved for a loan. She told us that we should start looking around February (our two year anniversary!) when people will start to put new houses on the market so we'll have a better selection for our price range.

In regards to us trying to start a family--we've decided to see if the Metformin alone will help my body do what it's supposed to do, but to stop any fertility treatments for a few months if I go in Tuesday and we find out that this cycle didn't work. We will re-evaluate in a few months. It will all depend on what we find with the houses we're looking at and what are the chances of not finding something or being able to close in a decent time frame.

Other than that, we're still busy this week adjusting to figuring out where to put everything and running things back to storage, but that's the update for now!

Saving Money Saturdays

This week I'm going to talk about how to spruce up your couch without spending a lot of money.

If you are crafty at all and can sew a straight ish line, you can make these!

I absolutely love to change the decor in our apartment from season to season. One of the easiest ways to achieve this is by making new pillow covers for our couch. It's super easy and doesn't take much time.

This time I was looking for something with a bright, summery feeling and I came up with these...

Nice and bright. The good news is that it only cost me about $8 to make both of these 18" covers! How's that for saving money and changing the decor?!

It's really easy to make and can be done in a short amount of time!

Saving Money Saturdays-Grocery Edition

I don't know about you, but groceries can be expensive...especially meat. We try to save money in this area in many different ways, but today I'm going to focus on how to save money when buying meat from your local grocer.

My husband and I are meat lovers. We eat a lot of chicken and ground beef mostly, but sometimes we get pork chops or steak when it's on sale as well, but it has to be a really good price.

The way that we save money when buying meat is simple. We buy in bulk. At Wegman's, it's called the Club Pack. Usually this means that you are purchasing six pounds {or more} at a time. It usually comes in a big pack that has all of the meat in it and looks like you are going to have some kind of a party with how much you're buying!

What I like to do is to look for the best price for what we can get. This time, I was able to find 95% lean ground beef on special for $1.99/lb. Yes, that is amazing! It just so happened to be on sale because it needed to be used or frozen by today's date. I purchased two packages that were just under 3 lbs. each. What I did next was to set up my freezer bags and cut the ground beef into approximately 1 lb. increments. Then, I put them into the bags and straight into the freezer. This way, when I need some ground beef {and most recipes call for 1 lb.} I just pull a bag out of the freezer, thaw it, and I'm done! And, I got a great price!

Now chicken is a little bit more of a hassle, but it's worth it. I can buy chicken breast for $1.99/lb. in the Club Pack. It comes with a lot in there so I set up a station and get to work. Again, I use my freezer bags to store them in and I need a knife and cutting surface as well. I take each large chicken breast and start by cutting off all of the extra fat. We like our chicken lean and it's so much easier to do it all at one time and not have to worry about it later. Once the chicken is ready I take my knife and cut it in half. I try to cut it in half width-wise (not top to bottom, but from the side) so that I get two pieces of single-serving sized chicken. So, basically, I'm turning one chicken breast into two! It does take a lot of practice to get it right, but if one isn't cooperating, I just cut it into bite-size pieces for the crock pot or to make sandwiches or a casserole later.

By the time I'm done, I have six pounds of ground beef {in 1 lb. packages} and about 8 servings of chicken for two (plus an extra one in each bag so there will be enough for leftovers).

 So there you have it, super simple and by buying in bulk and cutting it into serving sizes rather than using the whole piece as one, you are saving even more!



Saving Money Saturdays

Around here we really like saving money. We also really like for our apartment to be clean. Even if it has some clutter to it which never happens I am very particular that it must be "clean." I have no desire to turn into a hoarder and feel like I'm constantly picking up around the house.

One product that I absolutely love to use when cleaning is a carpet powder. I love that it makes my carpet smell clean and gives the apartment a fresh smell.

Carpet powder is relatively inexpensive, but I found out that by using the main ingredient baking soda you can save tons of money!

Baking soda will neutralize the odors and is super cheap. It is easy to find and works well for so much more than keeping your fridge clean!

To use baking soda as a carpet powder, lightly sprinkle your carpet with the baking soda, let it sit for 5 minutes, and vacuum. It's that easy and works so well!





Saving Money Saturdays #1



Saving Money Saturdays (via)

 Since I love saving money, I figured that I should try to do a weekly post on ways to save money!

This week I'm going to talk laundry. We know that I make my own

 laundry soap and love the fact that I can customize it depending on what scents we like and how scented we like our clothes. But, this post isn't about washing our clothes, it's about drying our clothes!

My husband and I grew up on different coasts. I was born and raised in California and he was born and raised in Maryland. To say that the way we grew up was a bit different would be an understatement. At my house, we always used a washer and dryer for our clothes. At his house, they used a washer and line dried their clothes in the laundry room.

I have to admit, I was taken back at first. I mean, who does that? I really thought that was for people who lived on a farm or the Amish. No, really I did. So when they let me do laundry at their house for free I had to change from using the dryer to line drying my clothes.

Line drying worked well there. Of course we use the dryer for towels and unmentionables, but other than that we hung them up on the line.

Once my husband and I got married, our laundry privileges were taken away and we started doing laundry at our apartment complex. The washers are small and it costs about $2.95 per load to wash and dry and we do about three loads of laundry a week. That comes to $460.20 per year just for the facility cost! Ouch.

Since we live in an apartment and don't have a good spot to hang an actual line, my husband found drying rack at Joann Fabrics while I was looking at fabric. It was compact and with a 40% off coupon it came to $18. It was easy to assemble and fits perfectly in our living room off to the side.

As you can see, it holds a good amount of clothes (30 pieces) and can be out of the way so the clothes can dry.

Right now we have a fan on it to get it started for a couple of hours, but when the weather is nice tomorrow we will keep the windows open so it will dry faster.

We are hoping to do this with all of our clothes throughout the week by spacing out our loads since it will take 2-3 days to dry before we can put the clothes away. If this works out, we can save $140.40 per year! {Based on drying only one load per week in the dryer for towels and personal items}

Line drying might not be for everyone, but it's defintely worth trying out!

Big Decisions

After much thought, prayer, and consideration my husband and I decided that it would be  best for me to stay at home and not to return to work in the fall as we had originally planned. I'm sure there are many questions regarding our decision, but please know that it is a good thing for us.

One thing I've learned is that I absolutely LOVE being at home. I love serving my husband by taking care of the house and freeing up more of his time. I also love that I can put on my favorite show(s) and multi-task with organizing, cleaning, or sewing. I love that I can focus on getting our apartment to where I want it to be and have much more time to expand my business. I also really love to save money!

I know it might sound crazy to some, but saving money has been a lot of fun for me. I love to try new things and have found a lot of DIY projects to do.

The most recent money saving projects I have done are:

1. Making homemade laundry soap. It was super easy, smells great, and works like a charm.
2. Making homemade baby wipes. No, I'm not pregnant, but we use baby wipes for a variety of things. I like knowing what goes in the products I use and it works well.
3. Making homemade dishwashing detergent. Yep, I've got my first load going as we speak! It's super easy and so cheap!

In addition to all of these things, I don't eat McDonalds everyday, have stopped drinking soda, and try to only go out to eat when invited (sometimes I invite people over so that I can make something here at the house instead). I've learned that I can make a steak that my husband and I like even more than the restaurant and two steaks for dinner is still cheaper than one out!

Overall, I am really looking forward to this new chapter in our lives. We are trusting God to continue to provide so that I am able to stay home and enjoying life at the moment.

DIY Homemade Laundry Soap (Review)

I saw a great tutorial found here on how to make your own powder laundry soap. It's supposed to be great for babies, stain removal, and those with sensitive skin. Eventhough we have so much laundry detergent from buying it on sale, I decided to give it a go. I mean, who doesn't like to make things at home and save money?

The first thing that you need is a few ingredients.

(found on the tutorial listed above)

Now, I couldn't find Zote soap, but I was able to purchase FelsNaptha bar soap. I made a half-batch of what is shown above.

I was able to find all of the products easily in my laundry section at my local Walmart. It cost less than $30 and I still have a lot of leftovers for next time!

The great thing about it is that you can use this on your colors and whites and it comes out smelling great! And the best part?

 You only need to use 1-2 Tablespoons per load!!!

That makes it super affordable, right?!

Of course, there are other tutorials out there if you only want a basic blend with three ingredients, but I really love the look, texture, and smell of this laundry soap.

I would definitely recommend giving it a try and would love to hear how it works for you!

P.S. This laundry soap works well in a High Effeciency Washer as it is has very low suds

Saving Money

It's no surprise that my new role of being a stay-at-home wife was a little unexpected. It kind of just came out of nowhere and happened suddenly. Despite these things, we both feel that it is a huge blessing for me to be able to stay at home.

The most difficult challenge from me working to not is definitely changing our spending habits. Going from two incomes to one is a bit of a change. Of course, we have done our budget and should be able to make it work, but there are some things that we are changing to make things more comfortable.

•  Couponing. I had started this a couple of months before leaving my job and it has really paid off! I'm not  a crazy-couponer (yet), but I do love to get a good deal and save some money.
• Driving. I make sure limit my driving when I run errands. I make sure that if there are places that I need to go and they are further away, I wait and get them done while I am in that area so I don't waste gas.
• Dining out. Has been cut back majorly. We invite people over, if possible, instead of going out to eat.
• Clothes shopping. Everyone needs new clothes at some point or another. I was able to score some name brand clothes (gap, american eagle, etc.) at the Goodwill for less than $5 per piece! I know many people frown upon this, but there is a really nice, clean, and kept up store that I only shop at!

These are just some of the ways that I am able to save money to make things easier on our budget. I will be going into more detail about these things and if you have any questions, please let me know!

It's Official!

I am a stay-at-home wife! At least I will be for the next six months!

I know many of you have questions on why I left teaching, but please know that it was the best decision for myself and for my marriage.

Yes, I am ok with our decision. In fact, I am thrilled to be able to take this time and focus on myself, my husband, my business, and our apartment. I love being at home and taking care of everything and having the energy to do so. I am considering this to be a blessing from God!

I do have a job lined up for late summer/early fall that I am really looking forward to. In the meantime, we will be making a lot of changes financially to be able to afford me being home so if we can't go out as much right now, that's ok. I hope you all understand.

Phil and I are really excited about this new opportunity and are looking forward to this change.

Welcolme 2012!

2011 was good to me. I finished my first year of teaching, got MARRIED, went to Jamaica for our honeymoon, and began my second year of teaching. I also started my own business sewing purses and learned that through dietary changes and exercises, I don't have to be in pain all the time.

I am looking forward to this new year. I don't have any specific resolutions, per say, but one overall...

I want to make better choices.

This doesn't just pertain to any one thing, but to many things. Diet, exercise, overall health, and budgeting are just some of the things that I am looking forward to working on.

What are you working on this year?

Going out to Eat

Going out to eat is one of the major things that Phil and I often disagree on. You see, I like to go out to eat and he prefers to stay at home and eat. It's a difficult thing, really.

I like going out to eat because it means that I don't have to rack my brain to figure out what's for dinner and there are no dishes to clean up. My husband, on the other hand, was brought up that going out to eat is a rare and special treat (so was I, but that clearly didn't stick).

When I was young, working three jobs, and living on my own, I often didn't have time to cook and clean up the dishes. My life was very much "on the go" and I found myself picking up something to eat for pretty much every meal. Of course, this would explain the weight gain, but I learned the dollar menus well and used that to my advantage.

Being married is a whole different ball game. Once we got married, I knew that I needed to have dinner ready for him when he came home. I could no longer just go through the drive-thru whenever I wanted. Feeding my husband became a priority.

Over the past four months we have tried different things, but there are too many times where we find ourselves going out to eat and that needs to stop.

A week ago I found myself nannying in Mexico. I ate off of the room service menu and from the groceries that the parents purchased and really missed eating at home. Last week, we were in Virginia and that always presents us with many opportunities to pick up food as well.

We have been back home for a few days now and (except for our date the night we came back) I am proud to say that we have been eating at home for every meal!

There is something nice about going grocery shopping and making the food that you know you like at home. Plus, it saves a lot of money.

I just printed out my weekly meal plan and grocery list and am excited to have some new recipes and ideas to try at home. I have a binder set up where I can store it all and have it set up for one of my husband's favorite grocery stores....

This store makes him so happy because of their low prices. We try to shop there as often as we can to get the best deals.

I am hoping that with this new plan and desire to eat at home more often that we will be able to save more money and make better choices overall. Plus, there's always the making my husband happy thing that's a benefit as well!



Grocery Shopping

aka...the greatest grocery store ever (according to Philip)

Phil was able to come over this afternoon and help me get back into my apartment after the flea incident last week. We had to bring all of my clean clothes back in, wash my sheets and comforter, make the bed up with clean sheets, and run to the grocery store.

I decided to take Phil to Aldi's since he loves saving money and groceries get expensive. Aldi's can be significantly less expensive and their food is pretty good. The one downside...it's way smaller than most grocery stores so it doesn't offer everything at a larger store, but it does carry most of the things we need.

Let's just say that I've never seen Phil so happy and excited in a grocery store EVER. Usually, when we go grocery shopping, he's groaning at the cost of the ever growing list, but this time he was shocked when he saw the prices! He had no problem picking out what we needed and was scouring the aisles for great deals. When we left, he even said that we would have to do this again because he loves saving money and he loves that I picked Aldi's to go to and he loves when I save money! It was pretty awesome.

Free Dates

My boyfriend and I have been spending a lot of money lately--especially with the California trip. We have decided to cut back for a while just to make sure that we are putting everything in perspective. We tend to do pretty well most of the time mainly because my boyfriend does not like to spend money unless absolutely necessary we want to make sure that we are able to both save and have the things we really need. One of the areas that we can usually agree on is the difference between a want and a need. I must admit that there are times where I might be a little over-dramatic about what I really need, but all he has to do is give me "the look" and I know that it's really just something that I want and put it on my "list" for a later date.

Because we like to save money I've been thinking of some dates that are free (no cover fee) and would only have minimal costs (like gas) to get there.

Here's what I've come up with so far:
1. Hiking- we are going to do this soon. It will be a great way to get some exercise in and we can pack water and a lunch.
2. Gym dates- we both have a pre-paid membership so it won't be an additional cost and we both like to make sure that we're healthy and in shape (mine is waaaay rounder than Phil's, but I'm working on it).
3. Picnics- there's a community pond by us if the weather is good and it's really nice.
4. Movies at home- I like to go to the library and rent movies for free and we can watch it on the weekends.

I'm still thinking of more, but this is what I have for now. Does anyone have any other suggestions?