First List of the Week

Oh how I love lists!  To do lists, favorites lists, etc. etc. etc.!  They are constantly running through my head about various topics.  So maybe I'll start a list of the week.  But, given my blogging track record, I will probably say it will be every week, and this may be the only one.  We shall see.  Here we go!

This list has been in my head today.  Over the last couple of years, as we have moved into a home and had a baby, we've (happily) had to prioritize and make some adjustments.  Sometimes I wish I could go back and make these changes earlier and put all the money we would have saved into a big jar!  :)

Things I Used to Splurge On (And How it is Today):

1. Then: Veritas, complete with appetizers, bottle of wine, and dessert
- Now: If we really wanna live it up - Dominos Pizza and Cinnastix

2. Then: Mach 3 Turbo razor blades
- Now: Schick Extreme3 Disposable Razor Blades - 8 for around $10 instead of $24.  They work just as well, but you do have to be more careful to avoid nicks and cuts.

3. Then: Monthly pedicures
- Now: Salon pedicures every other month or so in the Spring and Summer (a girl's gotta live a little!), home self-pedicures in between and during Fall and Winter

4. Then: Weekly bottles of wine, and only the best (well, up to $30 and an accidental $50 purchase on our honeymoon)
- Now: Maybe every other week, and $10 max.  Probably even less than that, mainly because I'm so tired these days after the babygirl goes to bed, and I don't want to make myself even more drowsy!

5. Then: Anthropologie home decor
- Now: Clearing out all that home decor to simplify.  Speaking of, Ranger showed me this helpful blog this morning.

6. Then: Technology convenience items (av and electric adapters for car, extra phone chargers, wireless internet...)
- Now: Nope.

7. Then: Anything medical or dental that was recommended
- Now: Only if it's life or death, or covered 100% by insurance... or I guess if a tooth were to fall out, but I probably wouldn't pay for the temporary fix.  I could be snaggletooth for a few weeks while waiting for the real thing.  :) However, Claire is an exception - whatever is recommended for our little biddle.

8. Then: Almost daily Starbucks drinks and oatmeal
- Now: This and this.

9. Then: Bimonthly massages
- Now: "Scree" (as in Ranger "screes" my back at night or I "scree" his head when we watch TV).

10. Then: Prescriptives or Lancome Mascara
- Now: CoverGirl Lash Blast Fusion

What are some creative ways you have cut back?  Any recommendations for other quality, yet inexpensive items or services that you have used to replace former "splurges"?

Happy 1/2 Birthday Claire!

I can't believe our little biddle is six months old!  Time really does fly.  Everyone tells us that, and we have seen that it's so true.  It feels like only yesterday that we were taking her home from the hospital, trying to figure out how to change a diaper!

Here are some pics taken by an awesome photographer in McAllen.  Look at other posts on her blog - she's fabulous!

Also, she had her six month check-up today.  She's in the 5th percentile for height and weight.  She was in the 10th, but the doctor said she looks great and healthy, and that it's not uncommon for breastfed babies to drop down a little in percentile at this age.  Time for solid foods!  She's tried a few and loves rice cereal, carrots, sweet potatoes, and butternut squash.  Those are all orange foods though so we have to watch out because if we feed her too much, she'll turn orange.  :)  She hates pears, bananas, and prunes.  So weird because I love sweets and ate them all the time when I was pregnant.

Speaking of foods, since I've been home and need to feel productive while she's napping, I've been making her food.  A friend gave me a great cookbook that gives simple recipes that involve steaming or baking veggies and fruits and pureeing them.  Oxo makes great baby food freezer trays.  Just freeze the puree and pop them out of the ice trays and store in containers or freezer baggies.

And finally, Ranger and I are getting to sleep at night!  She is now on a schedule.  It was impossible before because she was somewhere different every other day during the school year.  Now, she takes two to three naps a day and sleeps 12 hours at night.  And in her own room!  So Ranger and I are sleeping in the guest room upstairs so we can be next to her.  More for us than her!  :)

I'll leave you with a few pics from our visit to McAllen last week.  She went swimming for the first time and LOVED it!  Can't wait for more fun in the sun with her.