Month: February 2017

DIY Valentine’s Day Printables

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J and I’s first Valentine’s Day was so special. We had already been dating close to a year at that point and had just gotten engaged a few weeks before. So we wanted to do something that would mean a lot, but also something that was very much ‘us.’

J knows my love of sushi and took me to one of my all-time favorite restaurants. Of course it was packed full of these lovey-dovey couples. We ordered too much food, had a few drinks and we talked for hours. It was amazing. We talked about our future and the dreams we had.

Now fast forward to our 5th Valentine’s Day together. Things have changed. No more expensive sushi dinners. It’s a night for dinner in, a sweet card, and spending time together.  It’s crazy to think about what we talked about that first Valentine’s Day.  We had no idea what our future would hold, and now here we are celebrating our little guy’s first Valentine’s Day. I know he won’t remember this holiday, but I will and that means something.

While growing up my Dad always sent my sister and I our own Valentine. When we were younger he would have our gift sent to ours school for a special delivery. It was amazing having big balloons delivered where everyone saw. I felt so much pride carrying that balloon home on the bus and walking down our street with it. I know I had a huge smile on my face.  I felt so special!

Then as my sister and I got older our Dad would have packages delivered at our sorority house, our apartments and our work. It was nice knowing that my first Valentine was my Dad. He never forgot.

Now that I have a little boy I want to do the same for him. I want to teach him what it means to love someone. That it’s important to remember those that you care about.

Being his first Valentine’s Day means I have to start off a new tradition. I don’t have to go overboard and blow my budget, but I have to take time to do something that’s just for us.

This year, I’m making a sweet picture of him on his first Valentine’s Day.  I plan on hanging it up in my office as a sweet reminder.  

Okay, Okay, I know this isn’t really a gift for him….. but it’s a memory I can give to him when he’s older.

However, I wanted him to have something to give out so I created two DIY Valentine’s Day printables.  

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If you’re little one is older or goes to daycare then this little gift will be great!  Our little guy goes to a sitter during the day.  He has made fast friends with the other kids she watches, so we wanted to do something nice for them.  I’m having a little card printed and will pair it with some candy.  It doesn’t have to be much, but it’s the thought that counts.  I got a little card-making-frenzy and made a second card to hand out to friends and family.  I’m telling you these DIY Valentine’s Day printables took me less than 10 minutes to make then I emailed them to my local print shop.  I didn’t need a lot and since they are not very big they were able to print more than one on a page.  You can have the print shop cut them or if you want to save a little bit of money, you can cut them yourselves.  I think cutting is around $1 for this few pieces.

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You can download the bee printable here.

I also created a second card to pass out to family.  I used canva to create both cards and it took no time at all.  I wanted to keep some space at the bottom to tape a little baggie of candy to.

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Download the puppy printable here.

When Your Little One Gets Sick

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There is nothing worse then when your sweet, smiling little one gets sick. You would do anything to take away their pain and sickness. I know I would gladly take their fever or their earache so he wouldn’t have to feel the pain.

Last week our little man ended up with a cold that led to a double ear infection. Mix in some teething and we were in for an amazing week! Can you detect my sarcasm? I am so fortunate that my job is flexible. I can stay home with him if needed or I can take him to work with me on the days I need to be in the office. I’m lucky. Not every Mom or Dad gets to do that.

tips for when baby gets sick, mom tips

dog lounging, motherhood 

But when you’re not used to staying home day after day then by the end of the week you feel like you got punched in the gut a few times. I was exhausted. I had tried hard to keep the house clean, the dogs were getting too spoiled with having me home all day – meaning they wanted outside every 20 minutes to sniff around and bark into thin air. Not to mention there is only so many times you can hear Daniel Tiger’s theme song before you want to scream fast first into a pillow!

 One of the best tips I found online was a way to track our Baby Boy’s medications.  You think once in the morning and once in the evening would be easy to remember, but it’s not.  Especially when you have two adults trying to help and a dog that is on daily medications as well.  Some days J has time in the mornings and sometimes he doesn’t.  Instead of just having to rely on one another or call each other with “did you give the dog his meds?  what about the baby? did you feed the dogs?”  It’s too much.  I quickly grabbed a Sharpie and drew two sections – AM and PM.   Then drew lines going across so there would be one box for each day.  Now if you give him the medicine, just mark it off. Problem solved!  I love Pinterest!

tips for when baby gets sick, mom tips

I also found a few baby-friendly activities that we did together.  First, we played with our Tupperware.  We pounded it together, we threw it around and it was the best!  When that fun wore off I jumped onto the next activity.  Mess free painting.  Again, that was another win but it didn’t last long.  Why can’t this boy of mine have a longer attention span!?  Finally, I discovered his love of the dogs’ water bowl.  He’d race to it as fast as he could and I would jump up and tell him no.  We would go back and forth until I finally barricaded him in using the excersaucer and bouncer.  He wasn’t happy and tried to climb through the walker to get to it.  

There is nothing worse then when your little one gets sick.  Am I right?

By Saturday morning our little guy was feeling so much better. But of course J and I woke up feeling awful. Great! You know, I said I would take his sickness from him? Well that didn’t mean when he was finally getting over it. I didn’t want him to suffer at all. Now I have (an almost) well kid that wants to play and two parents who feel like crap.

Awesome!

Let’s hope these meds kick in fast because I can hear him in the kitchen knocking over the trash can with his walker as I type this. Cheers to the weekend!

2017 February’s Focus on Finances

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Last year my Focus on Finances was a huge hit in February so I decided to bring it back.

I love alliteration – February’s Focus on Finances. It’s hard not to bring something back that just sounds good. So here we are. New year, same focus on a much needed area.  During last year’s focus my sights were a lot less than last year, but since I achieved my goal I figured I needed to make it harder.

Last year I was pregnant and had no idea our little guy would only be staying in 11 more weeks. I was so happy that I took time to really focus on our money to help prepare for the baby. I actually share how we were financially preparing for baby awhile back. But all of the focus really helped us with his early arrival.

I know, I know this picture doesn’t really have anything to do with focusing on your finances.  But you just have to love a boy on his brand new trike.  Look at that face!  I want to give our kid so much more than I ever had.. and I had it pretty darn good!  So by buckling down and working on our money situation now then J and I will be able to do so much for our son.  So maybe this picture does have something to do about getting your money right… maybe it was my secret plan to tie a seemingly unrelated photo back to the topic… or maybe I just wanted to include a picture of our son and somehow managed to connect it all.  Who knows…

This year there is no baby coming, but we do have a quite a bit of fun we’re planning for. My biggest is our little guy’s first birthday in April, a trip across the state to visit one of my best friends, a work-trip to Vegas (bummer I know!) and so much more.

One of my main goals for this year was to not stress over money. I know it’s easier said than done… but I am making a sincere effort. The main goal of February’s Focus on Finances is to pick a few money areas that need work.

This year it’s about our emergency fund. I want to build it up a bit more. It’s nice to start with $1,000 as a minimum, but once you hit that and have some debt paid off it’s time to build it more. So now my goal is to have enough for each of our medical insurance deductibles, which would be $3,000.

I started the 52 week savings challenge in January and it has been a big help on keeping me from impulse shopping. A dollar here and a few dollars there can really add up. This month I’m going to be adding an additional savings challenge so we can build our emergency fund. I don’t know if I’ll hit my goal of $3,000 but I’m sure going to try!

What part of focus on finances are you going to work on? There are some many money areas to pick from. And honestly you can pick more than one. Just don’t spread yourself too thin and get overwhelmed. Remember you control your money, it doesn’t control you!

You can set a debt pay off goal
You can reach towards that $1,000 in your emergency fund
Start saving for next year’s real and personal property taxes
Begin retirement planning

Whatever you choose, stick with it. February is a short month and it will be over before you know it!

Want more money tips? Check them out!