Craftiness

It's getting warmer here in Tennessee, so it's time to bust out the tank tops and sundresses! A lot of my summer clothes from last summer, are in much need of alterations. This time last year, I was six months pregnant. I didn't want to spend money on a lot of maternity clothes because when we have another child, it may not be during the same time of year. So the maternity clothes may never be worn again. I thought the best thing to do was buy empire waist dresses and tops, stretchy skirts and loose fitting rompers so I could wear them the next year. I honestly thought my hips would never go back, I'd always have a little more weight on me, etc. Well.....not so much the case! I lost more weight than what I gained with pregnancy and I can't seem to get some weight back on. [I know you want to smack me, right?] If you've ever seen me take Ryne out to eat dinner, you would understand why. So I've decided that since Ryne's wardrobe is cutting into my wardrobe budget, I need to get crafty with some of the clothes I already have.
I recently came across a blog called New Dress A Day where this girl buys dresses muu muus from yard sales, and such, and she alters them into cute dress and shirts. She has a $365 budget for 365 dresses, hence, a new dress a day! I decided to take some of her ideas and put them to go use. I had a white chiffon dress that I bought to wear at our wedding reception (almost 5 years ago!). I never changed out of my wedding gown, so the dress was never really worn. With David and Sarah's wedding coming up, I wanted to wear the dress, but I can't wear a white dress, when it's not my wedding! So, in the words of celeb fashion coordinator, Rachel Zoe, "I dye!" I dyed the dress a pretty, canary yellow!

I have never dyed anything before so I figured if it didn't work, I could try to redye it black, or throw it away! It actually turned out pretty well!

Now, I just need to learn to sew so I can start altering other dresses and clothes!

Before: plain white dress

Dye Job

After: very yellow and wrinkly!

9 months!

CAUTION: Bragadocious Mother Ahead!

Ryne turned 9 months old yesterday! Wow, he didn't even last that long in the womb! At least now I know I can carry him nine months! Ryne has really busted a move in the past month! Ryne has gone from crawling to standing on his own and walking with his push-behind truck (with no assistance from Mommy anymore)! I'm really pushing walking. I know most people think I'm crazy, but my insanity might be paying off! Ryne went for his 9 month well check today and the pediatrician gave the okay for Ryne to start tapering off his reflux meds! Hallelujah!

We have avoided having our little guy "put through the wringer" at the pediatric GI's. This is a major victory for me personally! Sooo many mothers told me to take Ryne to the pediatric GI, yadda, yadda, yadda.... Adam and I decided to follow the advice of the pediatrician and let him do what he could for Ryne's reflux without bringing in the GIs. Yes that meant having Ryne on Zantac and Prilosec twice a day, but it also meant that Ryne would NOT be put to sleep and have a bunch of invasive procedures done just to find out he needed to be on Zantac and Prilosec! The pediatrician said Ryne's reflux would get better as he started to crawl and walk and he was right!

Ryne has started talking more. He now sporadically calls me "mom" not momma, but mom. He started saying "dadda," but not really towards Adam. Adam is still "bubba!" Ryne also says "hey dare" which is think is supposed to be "hey there." Adam and I say "hey there..." a lot!

Ryne sorta waves bye bye. Well, he doesn't really wave, he just raises his hand above his head like his hailing a cab! He also hands a book to me that he wants me to read! Ryne has recently decided he doesn't want to be spoon-fed anymore! So, now we will be trying more finger food, which means he will be gagging more! Poor little guy, he just wants to grow up so fast!

The pediatrician said that Adam and I need to be mindful of everything Ryne does because he is "SMART," and he is going to figure out a way to get anything he wants and get into anything he wants! The pediatrician also said Ryne is one of the cutest babies he's ever seen! What mother doesn't love to hear that? Smart and Cute - there are some things that I will never tire of hearing!

[End of Bragging Zone]

8 Months Update

Wow! It is hard to believe that Ryne is 8 months old today, especially since he's only supposed to be 7 months old today! I feel like time is flying by so fast! Ryne has really blossomed (for lack of a more masculine term!) so much this month. He is now truly crawling - no more army crawling. He crawls everywhere. He follows me around the house and has a new obsession for my purses and shoes! Hmmm....

He started pulling up this month. He started pulling up and standing in his crib, so we had to drop the crib down another level and remove all the bumper pads. He also stands by himself if he is holding onto the table, couch or exersaucer. The pediatrician thinks he will walk by 9 or 10 months, but we will have to wait and see!

Ryne also cut his second tooth, and maybe working on a third one! He says "bubba, " which seems to be a term of endearment for Adam and me! So much for "momma" and "dadda, " we are just "bubba." Ryne eats solids like a champ, but so far, it does not like meat. He is still trying to perfect self-feeding and so far his lap catches most of the food!

He's still a little guy. He weighs just a little under 17lbs, but he makes up for his lack of weight in personality!

We are so excited to see what the next month brings!

Inmate Baby!

Look Mom, No Hands!

Always smiling!

Pay it Forward!

I've been blog stalking a great new blog recently. Isn't it amazing how you can stalk a friend's blog and click on a link to one of the blogs they stalk and all of a sudden you come across an amazing blog! Then you start stalking that blog and it's like you're BFF with this person that you don't know!

So anywho, this is like a feel-good, feel-God blog. There's a lot of junk on the internet, but this is a wholesome, down-to-earth blog. No phony bologna! She shares a lot of personal life experiences. It's nice to know that other people go through some of the same things! Plus she's a new Mom and she adds a quote from the Bible in almost all her posts.

One of the more recent post was called "Thoughtful Thursday." She challenges herself to do something thoughtful for someone each week, and last week, it was to pay it forward!

I decided to take the challenge. A few months ago, the Enfamil coupon fairy left me some amazing coupons at Kroger. I was SOOOO grateful! Baby formula and baby food are so expensive compared to real people food. Recently, I started getting some Enfamil catalina coupons at Kroger, but for the wrong type of formula. Ryne uses the regular Enfamil and the coupons I get are for babies with a milk protein allergy. Nutramigen (the Enfamil for protein allergies) is a lot more expensive than any other type of formula - it cost twice as much! So Sunday, I left my Nutramigen coupons on top of one of the cans at Kroger. I went back today and they were gone. So hopefully someone else got a wonderful surprise and hopefully they will pay it forward.

Check out Say Grace and Pay it Forward!

Wipe Out...

...for CVS that is! As you all have probably figured out by now, I love a good deal! I especially love good deals on baby items! Let's face it - babies are expensive!

I heard through the couponing grapevine that CVS had a hidden deal on Huggies 184 count baby wipes. Normally they retail for $7.99. Right now CVS has the Huggies 72 count tubs of wipes on sale for 2 for $5. Apparently, someone at CVS (assuming CVS corporate) made a boo boo and the 184 count refill bags are ringing up 2 for $5 as well! Woohoo! I drove to 3 stores before I finally found a store that had any left in stock, and they only had 2 left. So I bought those two. Then I drove to another CVS and bought 4 more.

You may think I'm crazy for driving to 5 CVS stores to get 6 packs of wipes, but lets compare: for $2.50 I could have bought 72 wipes, but got 184 instead. I can also justify my driving time and gas because I have a few friends having babies soon, so a nice bag of wipes will be perfect to throw in with their gift!

Now here's the even crazier part. There was a lady that reported buying 24 packs of the 184 count wipes. She had manufacturer coupons and CVS store coupons for Huggies wipes, ECBs (which are like CVS money), some other CVS coupons and a CVS gift card. She spent $0.30 out of pocket for 24 packs of wipes. That's basically getting $191.76 (retail value) worth of wipes for 30 cents! She must really need some wipes!

Check out Southern Savers for more great deals!

Big Chopper and Boogie Cakes

I completely forgot to mention this in Ryne's 7-month update. He is cutting his first tooth and we call it Big Chopper! He started cutting it a few weeks ago, and Big Chopper has wasted no time. Ryne likes to bite my finger whenever I brush his teeth, and Big Chopper is sharp! I've been trying to get a picture of Big Chopper for weeks with no such luck. If I can get Ryne to open his mouth, he usually sticks his tongue out! I managed to get one picture with no tongue in it, but there was a terrible glare - probably from all the drool!

Also, Ryne frequently has what we call boogie cakes! I thought Adam came up with the name but apparently I did! Anyway, since Ryne is eating solid food now, he tends to get it all over his face, especially around his mouth and nose. I always wipe his face with a wet cloth or baby wipe, but it never fails that I miss a few spots around his nose. When oatmeal, applesauce, peas, or whatever he eats dries around his nose, it looks like...well, a boogie cake!

Stay tuned for a picture of the elusive Big Chopper!

Wrestling an Alligator!

Ryne will be 7 months old on Sunday! It's hard to believe! He has recently reached a few more milestones. He is sitting up on his own - even though he does fall over some. He is not crawling yet, but he is mobile. He gets up on all fours and rocks, so we know crawling is right around the corner. However, right now he pushes himself backwards. It's amazing how he can get anywhere he wants to go!

Ryne's favorite place to hang out is next to the TV, Wii and Play Station! Adam and I decided we needed to baby-proof the TV area, with the rest of the house soon to follow. Our TV sits on the floor with the speakers on the bottom, and the Wii and PS3 have always been on either side of the TV on the floor as well. I suggested buying some kind of media console to store the Wii and PS3, but Adam decided to buy a new TV, and we are still searching for a console! Boys and their toys!

Anywho, with Ryne's new-found mobility, he has become more difficult to control while changing diapers! He can flip over in record time, so that makes it difficult to put a diaper on when he is doing a Downward Facing Dog yoga move! As soon as I put a new clean diaper under him, he rolls over. If I roll him back onto his back, he rolls over again, just as I reach to pull the diaper up! It's like trying to wrestle an alligator!