August Grocery "Budget"

I say "budget" because I don't really have a set number that I strive to be under. I just spend the least amount possible and trust that it will be good enough! :)

This includes groceries, toiletries, diapers, etc. Anyways, here's how August went...

I spent a total of $212.74 this month. Higher than last month, but this included shopping for Ashley's bridal shower and 5 weeks worth of shopping, whereas July only had 4 weeks of shopping.

My total before savings (including store promotions and coupons) was $515.60.

That brings my total savings for the month to $302.86. So even though I spent more this month than I would have liked, still not too shabby.

Meal Plan Monday

Monday
Tacos
Refried Beans
Chips & Salsa

Tuesday
Slow-Cooker BBQ Pork Sandwiches
Roasted Red Potatoes

Wednesday
Hot Dogs
French Fries

Thursday
Quattro Formaggi Agnolotti - fancy name for filled pasta I got on clearance, haha!

Friday
Baked Potatoes w/ Chili

Saturday
Chicken Salad Sandwiches

19 Month Update

Well, it's been 2 weeks since Bailey had her 18 month checkup with Dr. Bob (she was actually 19 months at the time of the visit), but I still wanted to share her stats and what is going on with her these days.

She weighed 27 pounds, which is between the 75th and 90th percentile. She was 25 pounds at 12 months, so she's gained less than 2 pounds in the past 7 months so I was glad to hear that our little chunk has slowed down a little bit. :) I'm sure that has a lot to do with being so active and also cutting way back on nusing as well.

She was 31 3/4 inches tall, which is almost to the 50th percentile. I'm still waiting on her to shoot up because Anthony is definitely tall and I'm above average for height, so where did this short little girl come from??? :)

Luckily, she didn't have to get any shots at this visit, since she got "loaded up" last time. Probably a good thing since she started to cry a little bit as we were walking back towards the exam room... I'm thinking she must have remembered being there and getting shots last time. So hopefully, since this checkup was a good experience, she won't be sad next time we got there.

Dr. Bob said she looks great and he was really happy with her stats and her development!

I swear, this girl just amazes me every single day. Just a couple of weeks ago, on a Wednesday night, we were getting ready to leave church. Bailey came outside with my mom and saw me, but Anthony wasn't around and she said "Where Daddy go?" and it just kind of blew me away... my 19 month old making a 3 word sentence! And her new thing now is to answer the question herself... "Where Daddy go? I don't know". Haha!

Our persistence at using "please" and "thank you" is paying off big time, as she is VERY polite and all the time saying those words as well as "bless you" when someone sneezes. It just melts my heart to hear her say "Thank you Mommy", which is how she always says it to me.

She is usually very well behaved and we don't have to punish her very often. I am working on teaching her about "obeying", and doing so right away. It's so funny to hear her say "obey". I'll say "You need to obey Mommy" or "You obeyed Mommy, good job!" and she echoes back "obey?" like she is processing what that means... so cute.

Recently Zoe taught her how to "scoot" down the stairs at Mom's house (we don't have stairs in our house) so that is her new thing, and is she ever fast at it! Though I'm just waiting for the tumble to come sooner or later. She LOVES Zoe and wants to do anything and everything that Zoe does.

I am finding that I absolutely LOVE this age. She is old enough to really play with and take her to do fun things but she is so sweet and definitely still has some "baby" in her so I feel like I am getting the best of both worlds right now. I cannot begin to tell you how extremely blessed I feel to have Bailey as my daughter. And to think, before time began, this was God's plan... really, there just are no words to describe it.

Meal Plan Monday

I don't know what happened last week, I really can't remember, but my plans got all changed up and we didn't have 3 of the meals we were supposed to have. I do know we didn't go out to eat any last week, so that is good! Anyways, here's this week's plan, which was pretty easy since I just pulled from last week a lot!


Monday
Corned Beef (found this on Manager's Special at Kroger!)
Potatoes, Carrots, Cabbage

Tuesday
Spaghetti w/ Sausage (didn't have this last week)

Wednesday
Makeover Nacho Beef Bake (didn't have this last week)
Chips & Salsa

Thursday
Hot Dogs

Friday
Chicken Spaghetti (once again, didn't have this last week)

Saturday
Hamburger Helper or Chicken Salad (from yesterday's leftover chicken)

Ashley's Bridal Shower

This past Sunday, I (along with LOTS of help from friends) threw Ashley a bridal shower after church. We did it right after church, so we had a sandwich bar for lunch, as well as pasta salads, potato salads, chips, cupcakes, and dump cake. It turned out really well and was a lot of fun. Wanted to share some pics from the afternoon. Didn't really get any action shots, which I am sad about, but at least I can remember the spread. :)

Wordless Wednesday - "Hug Ernie"

Last Day of Summer

The last Friday before Anthony had to be back at school, we went to Gypsy Hill Park in Staunton and then to eat at Chili's for our "last sha-bang" (how do you spell that?) of the summer. I LOVE that park and really wish the Staunton and Waynesboro parks were switched so we were closer to this one. :)

Got some really cute pics of Bailey while we were there and wanted to share them.


"Cheese!"



























































When I see this picture, it reminds me of a "senior picture" type picture. Bailey, you are only one! You are too young to be posing for senior pictures!