Wow! I can't believe how long it has been since I blogged! Where do I begin? Christmas came and went and it lived up to all my expectations. We baked and decorated Christmas cookies, well I baked and decorated cookies and Evie ate the sprinkles. She did, however get the concept of opening presents and wanted to open all of them at once-whether they were hers to open or not! One of her favorite presents was knitted hat that looks like an owl face from aunt Erica. As soon as she opened it she put it on her curly head and exclaimed "hat! hat!" as she walked around the room and showed it off-it was so cute! Christmas Eve we got some snow and Evie played in it for the first time. She loved it at first but it did not last long since she refused to wear her gloves. She was happily throwing snow off her slide when all of a sudden she got a horrified look on her face and looked down at her cold red hands and burst into tears. We quickly went inside and snuggled until her little hands warmed up. Maybe next time she will listen to me and put on gloves, but probably not.
After Christmas, came New Years which was spent at home, low key, which was much needed after running everywhere to see family over Christmas. And after New Years came...That's right-My 30th, yes 30th birthday. I was expecting to be depressed and have all of these horrible thoughts about how old I am but really, I still feel pretty much the same as I did at age 29. And when I think back to when I was age 20 and picturing where I would be in 10 years I am exactly where I thought I would be-married to a wonderful man with an adorable child, working as a nurse and living our own home. So really, I have nothing to complain about-I feel very blessed! The Friday after my birthday I took the day off work, shuttled Evie in to daycare and had a "me" day! I got a mani/pedi and eyebrow wax, went shopping, ate lunch out. I enjoyed myself very much but, around lunchtime I found myself missing my girl and wanting to pick her up, but I pushed passed that thought, and finished shopping before picking her up. I think every mama needs to do this once in a while-I am fortunate to get a day off work every year for my birthday and this is the one day a year I allow myself to be a little selfish and have time to myself, and I come back relaxed and renewed.
Entering my 30's is not the only new thing for me. I also have learned the art of couponing. You may laugh at my coupon binder ( yes, I have a binder, with labels and sections) and think I am lame when I get excited while looking through ads but you won't be laughing when you see my store receipt that says that I spent $35.42 and saved $239.96! I have learned a whole new way to shop-by stocking up on items when they are on sale and combing the sale with a coupon instead of just making a list and buying what I need for the week. Saving money is so exciting to me. We can use that money saved on household items and groceries to buy things we want and put money in saving for Evie. And by couponing I can use extra items in my stockpile to donate to the needy-I have an exciting opportunity coming up where my stockpile items can be used to help others-more on that later!
So coupons I love, but snow on the other hand, I could do without. Yes it looks pretty enough as it falls quietly from the sky. But it is cold, it causes roads to be a mess and looks dingy and gross just days later! Today I declared a snow day for myself. Evie has a nasty cold anyway and had been congested and coughing throughout the night so I already considered staying home with her and when I woke up to 10 inches of snow I made that decision pretty quickly. I think Evie and I both needed some snuggle time. She woke up very congested and cranky even after sleeping in. But after I built a tent out of blankets and chairs and filled it with pillows, blankets, books and snacks she quickly got over her crankiness. And after a 3 hour nap this afternoon she seemed to be feeling a bit better. During her nap I decided to become Betty Crocker and get my baking on. I made banana bread and apple cobbler-Yum! There is just something about cold, snowy weather that makes me want to bake. The warmth and the sweet smells coming from the oven are enough to make any house cozy. And speaking of cobbler I think it is time for me to stop typing and start eating!
