She's got that twinkle in her eyes

One look into her eyes and you can tell she's one happy baby. Despite the reoccurring ear infection she's been fighting, she's still that cheerful baby that always has a smile on her face. I wish I had her strength everyday to be able to plaster a smile on my face even when I'm not feeling that great. I am guilty of getting caught up with the daily stressors of life that I forget how I'm perceived in the eyes of others around me. I feel as if I hustle through the day to get my work done and go through the motion of things without thinking. Its like I'm moving in auto-pilot through time. I really need to change that. I need to get that twinkle back in my eyes. It's that twinkle that can light up the entire room when you enter or bring a smile to someone's face. I need to take a lesson from my baby girl because she's doing it right!

Baby Eden, may you always have that twinkle in your eyes and share it with everyone around you! 

Happy 9 Months!

My darling bambino turn 9 months today. Every month, I catch myself saying the same thing. "Where did the time go?" Time just ticks away. The highlight of this past month was seeing Eden stand on her own for 5 seconds. Eden definitely surprised herself when she realized that she wasn't holding on to anything. I cant wait to see her walking soon.

On another note, we've been practicing our numbers. Everyday I would count in Vietnamese, English, and Spanish. We count rubber ducks during bath time, socks, toys, Cheerios, and teddy bears. Eden would watch my mouth intensely when I count trying to mouth it with me. Lately, I've been mother tiger to my precious offspring but hey, she's going to be one smart baby, that's for sure!

The To-Do List

If you follow me on Facebook, you know that Eden is away with her dad this weekend leaving me all by myself. I wrote about my weekend without Eden here and of course, I'm having the separation anxiety any mother would feel when her baby is away from her. The first time she was away was by far the most difficult. I'm definitely getting used to her being away from me. I've realized that I do need time for myself to do the things that make me happy. It isn't a selfish act on my end but more as time spent to recharge my battery so that I'm a better mother to Eden.

As always, you get a lot done in little time when you don't have to run around with a baby in your arm or when you don't have this cute baby distracting you from work. I wanted to use this weekend to get the things that I've been putting off done. It's those errands that you tell yourself that you have to set time for but never end up doing because you've pushed it off way too many times. For me, those errands consist of cleaning and organizing.

To help me with my errands, I always rely on my nifty and reliable to-do list to keep me honest. If you know me well, you know that I'm absolutely obsessed with to-do list. To-do lists are simple, easy, and an effective way to keep you on track of what you need to complete. I personally like to write out my list on paper because I like the accessibility and mobility of it. I tape my to-do list on my calendar so that it's visible in all the areas of my room forcing me to stare at the daunting list at all times. Plus, to-do list on paper gives me a reason to buy really cool pens! :) I've tried putting my to-do list on my iPhone but it didn't work well for me. I knew I could easily shut off my phone and not have to deal with it since it lives in an app electronically in the cloud somewhere.The fact I don't see it repeatedly puts nothing on my conscious!

 

My closet almost looks like the day I moved in. Take a look at how I arranged the room a few months ago.

Here's one of my closets containing my stockpile. It was such a mess in here. When I get home from a trip to the store, I would never take the time to get the items out of the bags and organize it because I was just too lazy to do so. This weekend, I organized my stockpile by grouping liked items together. Still a work in progress.

Diapers+Sippy Cups Haul

As a mother, I get super excited when a great deal on diapers come up. If you have kids, you know what I'm talking about. Diapers are so expensive and babies just go through them so quick. When I know there's a great diaper deal coming up, I'll buy more, preferably a larger size and stash them in my stockpile.This way, I'll never run out or have to make a quick dash to the store to pick up diapers and sadly pay full price for them.

This week, Rite Aid was calling my name. The Pampers Jumbo Pack and Playtex sippy cups are currently on sale! I don't normally buy Pampers (I stay true to my Huggies Brand) but since they're such a great price, I had to buy a few. I like the Jumbo Pack (roughly 31ct) though because they're a good count and size to carry in your car or luggage when you're traveling with the baby. The topping on the cake was that there were two promotions going on at once. One of them was if you spend $30 in P&G products, you'll receive a $10 +Up Reward and the other is a month-long promotion when if you spend $25, you'll receive a $5 +Up Reward! Sweet!

Here's a breakdown of my haul:

Rite Aid

Buy 3 Pampers Jumbo Pack Diapers $9.99, On Sale thru 3/10
Spend $30.00, Receive $10.00 +Up Reward , thru 3/10
Spend $25.00, Receive $5.00 +Up Reward, thru 3/6Use 3 $1.50/1 – Pampers Cruisers or Baby Dry Diapers, excluding trial/travel sizes – (coupons.com)
Or 3 $1.50/1 – Pampers Swaddlers or Swaddlers Sensitive Diapers, excluding trial/travel sizes – (coupons.com) 
Pay $ 25.47, Receive $10.00 +Up Reward and $5.00 +Up Reward
Final Price: $3.49 each when you buy 3


Bought 2 Softlips $3.99, Regular Price
Buy 2, Receive $3.00 +Up Reward, thru 3/6
Use 2 $3.00/1 in ad coupon, starting 3/4
Pay $1.98, Receive $3.00 +Up Reward
Final Price: $1.02 Moneymaker when you buy 2


Bought 1 Playtex Sippy Cups @ $6.29
Use 2 $4.00 off in-ad coupon, Starting 3/4
And use 2 $2.00/1 – Playtex Infant Product – (playtexbaby.com)
Final Price: $0.29 each


Bought 2 Playtex Baby Bottle/1st Sippy Cup @ $5.99
Use 2 $4.00 off in-ad coupon, Starting 3/4
And use 2 $2.00/1 – Playtex Infant Product – (playtexbaby.com)
Final Price: FREE

Bought 1 Playtex Princess Sippy Cups @ $6.99
Use $4.00 off in-ad coupon, Starting 3/4
And use $2.00/1 – Playtex Infant Product – (playtexbaby.com)
Final Price: $0.99 each

I paid $29.02 plus tax out of pocket and received a $10.00 +Up Reward, $5.00 +Up Reward, $3.00 +Up Reward. So technically I paid $11.02 plus tax for  about $63.00 worth of products. That's an 83% savings!

CVS

Oreo Convenience Pack, 5.25-6 oz $1.50
Use Free – Oreo Convenience Pack coupon – from the Magic Coupon Machine
Final Price: FREE

Bought 2 Crest 3D White or Pro-Health Rinse, 16 oz or Pro-Health, 1 liter $4.99
Buy 1, Receive $2.00 Extra Bucks, Limit 2
Pay $9.98, Receive $4.00 Extra Bucks
Final Price: $2.99 each

Gold Emblem Jelly Beans, 7 oz $0.99
Buy 1, Receive $0.99 Extra Bucks, Limit 1
 Pay $0.99, Receive $0.99 Extra Bucks
 Final Price: FREE

Total: $10.97.  I used a $3.00 off $10 purchase of healthcare items coupon from the Magic Coupon Machine so new total is $7.97. I then used a $7.00 Extra Bucks from a previous transaction so my OOP is $0.97. I received a $4.00 Extra Bucks and a $0.99 Extra Bucks from this transaction.

Check out TheKrazyCouponLady. I use this website obsessively to find all my deals for the week.

Chuck E. Cheese...Where A Kid Can Be A Kid

I'm all for pizza, arcade games, and a talking mouse to entertain me for a few hours.  Having said that, I was so ecstatic when one of my good friends, Jessica invited Eden and I to her daughter's birthday party at Chuck E. Cheese. We got to celebrate Kaylani's 2nd birthday today! Kaylani and Eden had a blast dancing to the music, watching the light show, and meeting the famous mouse himself. Chuck E. Cheese was a bit intimidating to Eden but for some reason, she had her eyes glued on him at all times. It was hilarious when I nudged her to give him a high five, Eden blankly just stared at him. All the kids had fun running around like crazy and being able to let loose. This was Eden's first birthday party she attended this year and she had a great time.

I absolutely love the Minnie Mouse theme Jessica did for her daughter. It was so cute and I could tell she put a lot of thought into it. From the customized birthday cake to the party decor, everything was just so adorable. She even had Kaylani in Minnie ears and dress! I just wanted to melt because Kaylani looked so cute! 

Eden enjoyed the jungle gym and rides at Chuck E. Cheese. Who knew a little steering wheel ride that moved back and forth for 10 seconds could bring a smile to her face? Eden was amazed and she was soaking it all up. She really likes the Barney and Bob the Builder ride. It was so cute to watch her put her tiny hands on the steering wheel pretending to drive. I made sure she went on the Chuck E. Cheese ride that took a picture of you at the end of the ride. When the photo developed, Eden wasn't looking at the camera and all you see is her eyes and hair. Eden played Skee Ball with me and made sure to tear the tickets when it dispensed. Then she ate it. I tried teaching her to roll the ball but she wasn't interested. She rather wait for the tickets to come out. By the end of the party, Eden was pretty exhausted. She had way too much fun for one day and it was enough to get her to fall asleep when we got home.