Announcement!

Jacob's announcements went out yesterday! I had them done a few weeks ago, but before I did, I shopped around a little. My favorite site was Tinyprints.com, but I did not like their prices at $1.99-$2.50 per announcement! No thanks! So I made my own at Vistaprint.com. I got 60 announcements, including envelopes, for $21! That's 35 cents each! I also took my own pictures. I made quite a few drafts, and here were the top 2 choices (we used Announcement A)...

Announcement A...



Announcement B...

Procrastination.

It's what I do best. I once had better control of it, but lately almost everything has gone by the way side. I'm mostly referring to school. I've been in school for just over a month, and today was the first day I actually did homework, but only because it was due today. I think I have "senioritis." However, I'm not a senior, but in my last class of my last year of grad school. I cannot wait for it to be over. But I really can't complain. A little background info. I graduated from CSUF with a BS in Child and Adolescent Development, I was going to be a teacher but decided being trapped in a classroom was not for me, so I decided to become a children's librarian. I now attend SJSU and will be graduating, hopefully, May of '09. Like I said, I can't complain, this last class is about children's programming in libraries. Basically, I'm coming up with a portfolio of children's storytimes. Today's assignment had to do with redesigning a children's area and writing a proposal. It wasn't half bad and kind of fun, but unrealistic since we had no budget. For our next assignment I have to design a children's website. I can tell this one is going to be fun. *insert eye roll here* Actually, the professor already mentioned it will be easier for those who are more tech savvy. That's nice. So, we'll see how that goes.

Our weekend was really boring. The only half exciting thing we did was make our first trip to the market with Jacob. He slept the whole time. I was glad. We were able to get in and out. Jesse also made his famous ziti. Seriously, his ziti is the best. We also had salad and Texas cheese toast. It was all so yummy.

Jacob has started smiling more. I've tried capturing this elusive behavior with my camera, but you know how that goes. I got somewhat of a smile...


Jacob has also started enjoying his play mat. Yeah right! He lasted only a few minutes before he started freaking out. But here he is before he started crying...



That's pretty much all the excitement I've experienced recently. I can't wait 'til things start picking up around here again.

Neglected.

This is what I have done to my blog. Unfortunately, with being a mom, wife, and student, something has to give, and it's my time spent blogging. I'm sad 'cause I love to blog. It's very therapeutic for me, and I love to share my experiences. My goal now is to, at the very least, blog once a week.

So, it's Tuesday, and I've been trying to blog since last Thursday. I had a chance to give my blog a small face lift, but as soon as I try to write, Jacob comes a calling...or err, crying. Anywho, I got Jacob's pictures! I love them. I thought we would have slim pickings, but the photog got quite a few, and I'm very happy. Now I have to decide which ones I want the photog to develop. Pretty tough, but I think I have an idea. Here are a few of my favorites...







My weekend was pretty uneventful. Friday Jesse and I went to a Dodgers game against the hated Giants. Unfortunately, the Dodgers got killed, and we had to leave early 'cause of Jacob and my horrid allergies. Yup, I get seasonal allergies, and with the changing weather they have been kicking my butt. I hate them. But nonetheless I still had fun at the game. We sat field level right next Manny. And Jesse forgot the camera. I also had my favorite baseball food. A Dodger dog and garlic fries. The hot dog was good, but the fries were fully loaded with so much garlic, I would scare off any vampire. Seriously, they had so much garlic my mouth was on fire. The very last time I will have them 'til next season.

Saturday was spent with the girls...and one boy. The boys went to a Dodgers game (against the Giants - Dodgers won!), and Jacob and I hung out with my sister and my niece. We ordered some food, baked brownies, and watched the movie Bordertown with JLo. It was really good. It's about the many unsolved murders of the women of Juarez, Mexico. Really sad, but the issue is important to get out there. And Sunday, I was sick as a dog with allergies. I vegged at home and did absolutely nothing. I felt horrible, and I still felt horrible on Monday, but today I feel much better. And now Jacob is calling...err crying!

What's new...

We were really busy last weekend. I felt like I was going nonstop. Saturday morning I headed to Target with my sister. I had to pick up some necessities. I also had my first Starbucks coffee since I became pregnant. I had a caramel frappuccino and a cookie. The breakfast of champions. It was might tasty. I'm back on regular coffee, too. After Target, I went home to get ready for our shoot. We had a 2pm appointment to get Jacob's one month pics which happened to fall exactly on the date. So let me say that Jacob is a relatively good baby, but on Saturday he was just plain off. His schedule was kaput. We got to the photogs and he was asleep. Well, a lot of the shots we were going to do were of him pretty much naked. So, I took of his diaper and things went downhill. He was okay for a couple of minutes, but then the flood gates opened, and he would not stop crying. He was so pissed, and cold, that he peed. This was off and on for about 2 hours. I felt so bad that I had done this to my child. Poor Jess was getting stressed, and I tried to keep my cool. At 4 o'clock it was quittin' time. The photog was able to get a couple of shots, but not that many since Jacob was cranky, but here are a few she sent me...





Sunday we celebrated my brother's birthday. The family decided to take him out to Puerto Rican food. We went to this place in Cypress and the food was delicious. Not exactly super authentic Puerto Rican food, but what can I expect in CA?! It was still pretty close. They had all the typical favorites and a lot of fried stuff, which is what they are known for, and a lot of stuff I wouldn't touch. I had a beef turnover (Pastelillo de carne), a beef stuffed potato ball (Relleno de papa), along with fried plantains (Tostones) and rice with pigeon peas (Arroz con gandules). After dinner, we headed back home and had cake and ice cream. My mom made a homemade carrot cake.

I had a doctor's appointment today. Doc checked me out and everything is a go. I can now exercise, go swimming, and whatever else I want to do. And out of curiosity, I asked the doctor when we could try for #2 and he said in a year. Sounds about right..

Sweet Peace.

Yes, it truly lives up to its name. We purchased the SweetPeace by Graco a few weeks ago and, fortunately for us, Jacob likes it. He likes to swing from side-to-side instead of the usual back and forth. He seems to like the sound effects instead of the lullabies. We have yet to hook up our ipods, but I'm going to download some stuff for him very soon.

Here he is enjoying it...


He really does like it...


Jacob also likes bath time now. However, he hates getting his hair and body washed, but he loves the water on him. He actually squealed a little during the last bath.



We also started tummy time, but he doesn't really love it, yet. He actually is really strong already and can hold his head up for quite awhile. I think we're going to try a play mat next time.



And if these pictures aren't enough, we're going to take the little monkey to have pro pics taken for his one month birthday. We are using the same photog that did my maternity photos because her prices can't be beat, and well, since she knows me, she's giving me a bit of a deal. Yay! We also bought monkey's costume. Tune in after Halloween to find out what he's going to be. I may get pro pics for that, too.

The monkey and I have been, pretty much, on our own since Monday. Jess went back to work, and so far, so good. Yesterday was a little rough, he stood up for a good 6 hour stretch during the day and feeding was a little off, but we made it through the day. I can't imagine what it will be like when he stays up for most of the day.

And my monkey's 4 weeks old today. Time is flying so fast. He'll be a month on Saturday. Ack, whenever I watch A Baby Story, or anything baby related, I get a little teary-eyed. Oh, and the next one keeps coming up. We may try sooner than later, but we have to see how things play out and how I'm healing, and stuff. I should be released next week at my OB appointment to get back to normal. Whatever that is...

Mommy loves bargains.

Yes, I do. And since I love when someone shares a good bargain with me, I like to do the same. Since becoming a mom, I've been introduced to a couple of websites that have excellent bargains and coupons. There are two that I visit on a daily basis. After logging in, the first thing I do is check these two websites. The first is MamaBargains.com. This website sells premium related baby items from maternity belly bands to strollers. I have only made two purchases from this website and the service was decent. My only con about this place is that the items are redundant, but if you missed an item it might just be back and the prices are great. I bought Jacob a couple of pairs of shoes by Me-In-Mind, and they were originally $26 each, but were introduced on the site for $10 a pair. I also bought a Timi and Leslie Backpack originally $150, but I got it for $35.

Shoes...

Backpack...


The second website I visit daily is BabySteals.com. They also have premium baby and kid related stuff available, from maternity items to CDs/DVDs. This place has much cuter stuff than Mama Bargains, however it's difficult to find stuff in stock. They sell out pretty quickly, especially with me being on the west coast, I often don't get to the good stuff.

I also have a few websites I visit a few times a week. BabyCheapskate.com is a blog that posts deals on the web from shoes to baby gadgets. They also post coupons and where to find great deals on formula and diapers. They even have a run down on diaper price comparisons by the cent. I've used a couple of resources on this site to find good deals.

A site for everyone. A Full Cup offers coupons and deals among several stores which are listed on its forums home page. I've found several coupons that I've used, and I often look here for coupons before I hit a store.

And finally, Slickdeals.net has awesome coupon codes that are especially good for online shopping. I've gotten a Victoria's Secret bikini and tote for like $5 including s/h. However, there is a down side. This is a popular website and you have to be lucky enough to get to the deal before it's exploited across the net. For example, Borders had a $5 off coupon, and it was working on each item placed in my cart, but as soon as this code was leaked across the net the Borders site began running super slow and orders started to be canceled. It's to be understood when people were getting 100 books for only $20.

These are just a few of my favorite sites, and I hope I can help someone out there save a buck or two. Happy shopping!

Labor Day Weekend!

It was a nice, long weekend! We did some stuff, but nothing too crazy. Saturday was my little cousin's 3rd birthday. We celebrated with a BBQ and swimming followed by cake and presents. It was super duper hot, and Jacob's first day out. By the end of the day Jacob and I were exhausted.



Sunday was Jesse's birthday. The barbecuing continued. We had cheeseburgers, that were delicious, and more cake and ice cream. The weather was a bit nicer, and Jacob wasn't as cranky. We also made a Babies 'R' Us run earlier in the morning. Our Rainforest playard broke. One of the sides would not stay locked, so I returned it for the original playard that I wanted. I got the Chicco Playard to match our travel system. While we were there we also bought the SweetPeace swing. We have yet to use it, but we will!

Boo to the Rainforest...


Love the Chicco playard...


SweetPeace...


Finally, Monday we had a quiet day. We had burgers again, they were still tasty, and banana splits for dessert. Chema (aka Veronica) came to visit us, too.

And today, I had a doctor's appointment this afternoon. It is now safe to say that my infection is 100% gone. I feel pretty good, but I can't over-do things. Like Saturday, I over did it, and I paid for it that night. I was so tired. Jacob's doing good. His eating schedule is pretty whacked out. During the night he'll eat right on track and then during the day he's all over the place. And he's been a Mr. cranky-pants in the mornings. I dunno if it's colic or what, but it sucks. I dunno what I'm going to do when Jess goes back to work. If I get frazzled I can hand him off, but starting next week this will be limited. But I also look at the positive, it'll pretty much be me and Jacob, and I look forward to that.

My little caterpillar...