Ways to save and "shave" on your monthly budget

We all love to save money. I get so excited to know how much money I saved on my receipt monthly. I think of it as a present to my household; to me. I came across Dollar Shave Club a razor subscription company that prides itself on shaving time and money for its members by sending quality razors to their door for as little as $1 a month. This got me so excited to know how much money I saved on my receipt monthly. Not only do I like to save money but what I do have, I like to recycle the things that I often use. There are plenty of ways to recycle the things you use daily. When you are out at the local grocery store, make sure to remember to grab a few more plastic bags for kitty litter. Cleaning your felines litter daily helps keep the house smelling better. I realize it can be a PITA sometimes when you forget or have other things to do. But you have to think about your furry baby; he/she can't flush like we can and their own special

territory does need to be cleaned so they can have room. Think about the close proximity of their genitals to the litter. It is a much more safer and cleaner way for them. No one wants their furry babies to get an infection due to lack of hygiene of the feline kind. Speaking of hygiene, children and babies often have accidents in their clothes that you can not foresee. Bring a few bags (just in case) in their diaper bag or in the car. We even use those trash bags to pick up the accumulation of trash during those long drives. They are easy to obtain and easy to dispose of. Another way those bags can be recycled into good use is if you forget your umbrella at home but there is a downpour outside, use one of these as a temporary umbrella so you don't get wet and eventually sick. Come to think of it, using and recycling these plastic bags can save you money in the long run. And what of those cloth bags that you can buy for $.99 at the store? I have a million of them stuffed in my closet somewhere. Then one day as I was looking at Victoria's play corner, I thought to myself “She will never play with all these toys”. So I have decided to kill two birds with one stone (in the long run). I watched to see what toys she likes to play with on a constant basis. Then that night I put the toys in one of those cloth bags and kept it next to her toy box. When she plays on the living room floor (she is currently trying her hand at crawling) she 'discovers' what toys are in the bag. Then, when floor time is over, I sit with her and the bag. We both grab toys littered on the living room floor back in the back. I am trying to teach her to clean up. I like to do most things ahead of time. It saves my time to do the things I like to do so I can play with my grand daughter or hang out and watch a movie with my daughter. Doing things early can save time and money. My daughter likes to prepare the 'next-day' bottles for Victoria each night after she gets home from work. She makes 24 to 30 ounces-worth instead of one by one. It is easier for her because she knows that if she has to get up in the middle of the night (yes that does happen once in a while), she doesn't have to pinpoint how many scoops to mix with where the water level is in the bottle. She doesn't have to make a bottle with one eye open; being so sleepy. Everyone is happy (especially me because I am sleeping!) This makes it easier to just grab a bottle before she wakes, warm it up, and it will be welcoming when she is alert. Simple.

I have never been good about keeping up with the house. But I do know that you can only eat an elephant a bite at a time. So while I clean the house, I pick my domestic battles. Monday I choose to clean the living room and hallway closets plus do my dishes. Tuesday I prefer the kitchen and bathroom probably because they are easier to put together with the mopping and same basic cleaning supplies. I also do my dishes that day as well. On Wednesday I tend to drop it a few notches by cleaning my bedroom and the balcony as well as doing the day's dishes. Thursday its off to a fun-filled day down at the laundry mat. Finally it is Friday and I decide to clean up in the living room some more and finish the never-ending pile of dishes. Weekends everyone picks up after themselves! I'm done!!!

A Wonderful Day at Shriner's Circus

The alarm blared next to my bed as I struggled to find my glasses on my nightstand. The sun had already broke through the clouds and the sky became clear. As I lay in bed, I hear commotion in the kitchen with Victoria sitting in her high chair and her mother feeding her oatmeal with fruit. She has been 'finding her voice' for days now and shrieks (screaming out loud) to hear her own voice. Two wonderful faces to wake up to. (And my black cat Shaddow as well!) Today was the day we are going to the Shriner's Circus with Victoria. I kinda had the feeling that she would do well with crowds but with the loud noise I wasn't sure about. Today was also the day that she was promoted from her carrier to a 'big girl' car seat. Not the 'big, big girl' kind of car seat but the kind that toddlers are in. She is a husky 21 lbs. But she is also over 27 inches long. Big girl! But I bet when she starts crawling (which she is showing signs) that weight will melt off

her. Fat babies are cute babies! As we were walking into the Thomson-Boling Arena in Knoxville, TN there were people with children everywhere. I was kind of nervous, myself being in large crowds. And I had my grand daughter in my arms so I had to make sure I kept a straight face and took care of the task at hand. We searched for our seats in the dark in the nose-bleed section. Yes it was packed with children screaming from excitement everywhere! My daughter found seats for us and I handed Victoria to her so I could take pictures of her first experience with the circus. There were tigers balancing on beams jumping through fiery hoops and elephants dancing. There were trained dogs balancing on the backs of their trainer wowing the crowds. Victoria did enjoy it but the loud acoustics and flashing lights bothered her. After a few attempts to get her to look, we decided to retreat to the corridor of the arena so Victoria will feel a bit easier with all the hoopla that was before her. Finally we were standing in the corridor looking at the action that was happening inside the arena. I noticed a stand that sold wands that light-up. I decided to buy Victoria a big pink light-up wand. She was mesmerized by the flashing lights. It was great! She seemed so excited to see her new present come to life with just a push of a button. Fortunately that diverted her attention from the flashing lights and the loud noises coming from inside the arena. Then an announcement came on the speakers saying that there will be an intermission and a display of pony rides and elephant rides were presented to the little children. My daughter was so excited that she grabbed Victoria and announced that she will go down to see if she is old enough to ride a pony. I told her that she was probably too young and the clowns will probably scare the crap out of her. Like always, she paid no attention to me and walked down to the bottom of the arena where the pony rides were. I stayed up in the corridor searching for them to just get a glimpse of my baby and her baby within the crowds of other parents. I noticed that my daughter was next to a crowd of people strapping on harnesses for Victoria to ride a pony. I honestly couldn't believe it! She is only 7 months old and she is enjoying what other kids way-older than her- are enjoying. My daughter and a helper walked in a circular-motion following a circle of ponies attached to one another. Victoria enjoyed every minute! Soon the ride was over and she had to leave her pony. I was hoping that she would come back up to where I was standing but they were

surrounded by a bunch of clowns that took pictures with my grand daughter. If she was scared she never let it show. Then my daughter took her to get her face painted in the form of a cat. Yes she was young but I am so glad that my daughter introduced her to that type of social action. She didn't cry or become irritated. She just smiled and was very attentive. Basically she people-watched. As I sit here trying to find the words to put into this blog, I smile to the fact that my daughter had shown me what a true parent does. Its never too early to make memories with your babies.

I am proud of the mommy that she is becoming.

The Baby Shower

Looking out the window, I see the sun has finally shown its face after a month and a half of cold bitter days. Many times I had promised never to venture out of my apartment in the snow and today was no different. Rewinding the clock back to the night before, I again watched the snow fall to the ground hoping that this would not ruin my daughter's baby shower. We had to go to the next town over where my sister lives to celebrate. We had everything prepared for this day. As my daughter and I stared helplessly at the newly-fallen snow, we were both crossing our fingers in hopes that tomorrow will indeed be a day for us to remember. As a rule, I never leave the house without cleaning up. I don't want to come back home to a mess before I create a new mess. Both my daughter and I rush around back and forth throughout the house looking for last minute messes to clean, getting our outfits together or fixing our hair and make-up. As we run to catch our ride, I quickly feed our cat and grab the house key. She is already down in the car as I make sure my jacket is on zipping up the front. Looking around the ground, I can already see the snow melting which is actually making me smile.

We arrived at my sister's house to see her and her best friend decorating the living/dining room with splashes of light pink and dark pink streamers. Both women always seemed to have the best attitude and the brightest smile on their faces....and it was only 9 a.m. Actually, the house seemed to radiate good feelings. I was with family and friends and it was going to be a great day. Everyone finally came who was originally invited. Family meeting friends for the first time was very entertaining. The guests played many games hosted by my sister. "How well do you know mommy" and "baby animal names" were just a fraction of the games that they all played. I was in the kitchen helping with preparation to set out the food on the tables. Finally it was time to open up the baby shower gifts. Everyone sat around encircling my daughter who sat in the dead-center of the living room. Opening up the cards and carefully ripping the wrapping paper, I tried to take as many pictures as I could. Finally I had run out of space on my camera phone. Luckily my friend made sure she picked up where I left off. Everyone enjoyed cake and chattered back and forth with each other. It was a good time and a very successful baby shower. As the guests take their leave from my sister's house, my best friend asks me if she can take me home to bring the vast

amounts of presents for Victoria. I agreed that I would love to catch a ride back to town while my daughter stayed behind with my sister and my mother to finish cleaning the house. As we brought up all the gifts and compiled them into the baby's room, we look at all the presents that were bought for Victoria and breathed a sigh of relief. Now we have everything we need to welcome the baby.

The Adult Sibling

What a beautiful story!!!!

http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/oct/17/53-year-old-mother-baby-pregnant-maternal