My new baby

After months of prayer and saving up, I finally caved and bought a brand new Nikon D7000 camera. As a journalist, I've long wanted to pursue photography, but at the same time, it's an expensive hobby. Also, with my husband gone almost around the clock and me functioning practically as a single mom, it's rare that I find any time for hobbies. But photography is a passion I can pursue with Paige. I'm so excited to get started. It will be great having my new camera for our upcoming trip to PA & DC.

I have SO much to learn, but I'll be sharing photos as they come!

Too Much Fun @ Mealtime!

I shot an adorable video of my little gal eating dinner. I was a bit disappointed in the video, as she was extremely goofy until I picked the video camera up. But the video is cute nonetheless. My favorite part is when she cries out after I mention missing daddy. She also tries to imitate me waving bye, or at least it seems that way. Enjoy!

Creative Couponing

I've been working on my own personal Happiness Project, thanks to the bestselling book by Gretchen Rubin. One of my many happiness resolutions has been to get more creative with coupons. I've always been amazed by moms who can get products ridiculously cheap or even free! There's a learning curve with it, but I think I'm finally beginning to master it.

For example, I bought everything in this photo for just $8.57!

The regular price for all of this would have been $30.13, meaning I saved $21.56!

Here's how I did it:

Target:
Purex Crystals: $2.99 (reg.) - $2 mfr. coupon - $1 Target coupon = FREE
Soft Scrub: $2.49 (sale) - $0.50 mfr. coupon - $1 Target coupon = $0.99
Shampoo: $2.84 (sale) - BOGO FREE mfr. coupon - $1 Target coupon =  $0.92/each
One-A-Day Vitamins: $6 (sale) - $2 mfr. coupon - $1 Target coupon = $3
Pacifiers: $4.80 (sale) - $1.50 mfr. coupon - $1 Target coupon = $2.30

CVS:
Shave Gel: $0.99 (sale) - $0.55 mfr. coupon = $0.44

Basically, the gist of getting these great deals is by "stacking" your coupons. Target allows you to combine their store coupons with manufacturer's coupons to get great deals. I clipped coupons from our Sunday paper as well as online (Target.com, RedPlum.com, SmartSource.com, Coupons.com). The idea is to only use the coupons for items that are on sale. I scoured the ads for sales and planned out my shopping trip accordingly.

I'm also learning that the best deals are not always at the commissary. The commissary charges you a 5 percent surcharge before coupons are deducted to pay for things like staff and maintenance. It's like paying a 5 percent tax on groceries!

Anyway, part of my happiness project is not only to shop smarter using coupons, but also to put the savings generated from those coupons into a special account. After a few months, I'll assess how much I've saved and put that money into some new investments for our family, whether it's retirement savings or college savings for Paige. I'm proud to say Geoff and I have started up quite a retirement nest egg over the past few years, so it only makes sense to supplement that good work, especially now that we have a daughter in the mix!

Clipping coupons is time-consuming, but I'm beginning to learn that it's more than worth it. It's also fun, now that I've discovered that I can get products needed for the family for cheap or even free. It really does feel like you're robbing the bank :)

So, does couponing bring happiness? You bet!

Blowing Raspberries

Paige changes every day. One of our favorite changes came just last week: she started imitating us blowing raspberries. I've been blowing raspberries at her for months, but just last week, she finally caught on that she also can do them back at me! I couldn't help but share this cute video of her the day she figured this out. Enjoy!

Baby Bow-tique

I've fallen in love with making headbands for Paige. The ones in the store and online are ridiculously expensive, so I figured out how to make even cuter ones on my own that I can coordinate with her outfits. They also make great gifts. Here's a set I made a couple of weeks ago for my friend Jenny's beautiful little girl Olivia:

I made the headbands using womens' nylons. You can find them in standard colors (black, ivory, navy, brown & tan) for $0.33 at Walmart. You simply cut off the ends and hand-stitch the ends together. I covered up the stitching by hot gluing coordinating ribbon on top. Then, you can hot glue a cute flower embellishment on top. I often make my own flower embellishments, but I'm also a big fan of Prima's fabric flowers.

You can also buy silk flowers at your local craft store. Cut off the stem, hot glue the different layers together, and then hot glue the flower to the top of your ribbon. I made this headband for Paige's Christmas photos using a black nylon, black ribbon and a silk flower for $0.99 at Michael's.

Isn't she pretty?!

Happy headband making!

New Milestone: Sitting Up

Paige's half birthday brought with it a new milestone -- sitting up on her own. This is now her preferred position. If I lay her down to play, she gets mad. She's also starting to crawl backwards; I have a feeling the forward crawling is in the very near future! Anyway, here's a few photos of my big, beautiful girl sitting up on her own! Could she be any cuter?!

Rozzi got in on the fun.

She loves her learn & crawl ball.

Too cute.

Playtime with Daddy

I love this video of Paige rough-housing with her daddy. Geoff is such an amazing father. Paige and I could not ask for more!