Happy Birthday Sweet Mary Stewart!

About this time a year ago, Mary Stewart had been with us for about 2 hours, we were getting moved to the postpartum wing at Piedmont and finally I was going to be able to eat!!

Oh my, that seems like yesterday, really it does.

Words can't describe the joy of motherhood. For me Mary Stewart has been another example of Christ faithfulness to Matthew and I. With every smile and giggle and Mary Stewart's evolving personality, I am constantly in awe that the Lord would choose to bless me so immensely.

I can only hope that time will slow down so that we can savor every day with this sweet child.

11 months was good to you, here is a glimpse:

-You cut another tooth! You have a total of 6.... this last tooth was a mean one....

-Back to 2 naps. We tried 1. What can I say, your not a great napper.

-You love cow's milk! I am thankful we haven't had any problems transitioning to cow's milk, but then again you will eat or drink anything!

-We are slowly giving up the bottle, and again you have been wonderful! You don't even seem to notice.

-You aren't walking yet but are so close. You will stand and balance at times and are quite confident walking as long as you have 1 hand on something.

- What a daddy's girl you are becoming. It is so sweet to see how you two adore one another.

You will stand at the back door looking out and calling, "da da" all afternoon long!

So how do you celebrate a 1 years old birthday? Well, I have anxiously waited all week for Mary Stewart's birthday. Matthew and I were up early this morning reminiscing this day last year. It was such sweet memories. Mary Stewart's day looked about the same except for a few things.

This morning she opened a present from Matthew and I as she enjoyed her bottle. Then at breakfast she had her birthday balloon on her highchair (this is a birthday tradition in Matthew's family) and sprinkles in her yogurt!!!

She got a new pink special sippy cup for today! Matthew came and met us for lunch and when the owner found out it was Mary Stewart's birthday, he went 2 doors down and got her a pink cupcake!

Mary Stewart LOVED her cupcake. This afternoon she was showered with love and gifts from her Dee Dee, Papa, Uncle Nat and Ya Ya.

What a blessed little girl (and tired too! she was asleep before her head hit the pillow).

I am thankful for such a wonderful day!

We look forward to celebrating Saturday with her official birthday party.

Happy Birthday Mary Stewart! I love you!

A Little of This & That!

Wow! Look what I bought today at CVS for $18!



Notice the diapers & Halloween candy! Out of convience I bought the gallon of milk for $4 (ms organic whole milk). Not bad..,,,



Look at this cute thing that turns 1 this week!!! Could eat her up!



Have a happy day!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

"Ahha Moment"

Today was one of those days where I had what I like to call an "ahhha" moment. This was after calling and emailing my "sleep therapist" Kelley (Kelley lives in Dallas & her sweet mother volunteered her for this position) and after putting my friend Suzanne on the spot. "Suzanne, we are best friends right?" Yeah." "So you will be honest with me?" "Yeah." "Do you think I should do something else with Mary Stewart and her sleeping?".

Mary Stewart doesn't love to nap. She really hasn't napped well since she was about 4 months old. I feel like I have spent the last 6 months trying to turn Mary Stewart into a napper. Most recently I decided to try 1 nap a day because I was over the two 30 minute naps each day. I called Kelley for affirmation and she agreed! We have been at 1 nap for about 2 weeks and it doesn't seem to be helping! Mary Stewart ranges anywhere from 40 minutes to a little over an hour. Whether she takes 1 nap or 2 it makes for a long day. The flip side to this is that Mary Stewart is a wonderful nighttime sleeper!

Yes I have read the books, and I have to say I found Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child (this is my #1 baby book) to be the most helpful. The problem is, I have relentlessly tried all that these books say and still I am seeing no fruit! This is against my personality of do x and y and you will get z. So my "ahhha" moment today was driving after talking to Suzanne and stalking Kelley, I can't control this (Obvious right!). Now I had already resolved that my child just isn't a great napper, after all her daddy wasn't... maybe it's genetic? In many ways I have felt like I have failed my child in not being able to give her the rest she needs and have tried effortlessly to restore that. I can't. As her birthday is around the corner and I think of the future. I know this is just the beginning of many things I won't be able to control in Mary Stewart's life.

It just finally clicked today, It's not about me or what I am doing.

But because I'm what Finn (character from Glee) calls a "controlist" I will still worry over her naps (or lack there of) but I will remind myself as Kelley reminded me, naps aren't the end all be all.....

CAT FIGHT!!!

I am pretty sure Mary Stewart and I had our first cat fight this past week.
For those of you that know Matthew and I well, the fact that our child is so
strong willed or determined should I say, doesn't surprise you!
Let me try to recap for you.
Typical morning in the Donald house. Mary Stewart and I are playing in the living room, she is on the floor with her toys and I remember an email I have to get out. I sit on the couch with the laptop and get going. Mary Stewart crawls over and is standing wanting me to pick her up so she can play on the computer, "Mary Stewart, mommy can't pick you up right now I have to get this email out, it will only take a minute." Mary Stewart let's out a squeal. "Mary Stewart be sweet." Then it happens..... she looks at me glaring and BITES my leg. "Mary Stewart no bite, that hurts mommy." Mary Stewart BITES me AGAIN. "Mary Stewart no bite (much sterner) that hurts." A THIRD time she bites me!! I pop her and say "No Bite." At this point she is mad and I am just in shock so I realize we need to be distracted. So I pick her up and sit her among her toys and turn on her piggy bank pig, one of her favorites (she likes to take the money out, but not put any in, like her mother!). She seems content so I go back to my email. About 30 seconds later she comes crawling around the couch, stands up like before, squeals at me, and then BITES again! At this point I am totally bewildered and thinking holy cow Mary Stewart and all of a sudden I start fast forwarding to what it will be like when she is a teenager. At this point I grab my baseball cap and head outside. I think we both need some fresh air.

Maybe it was the pink cheetah print (thanks Ms. Adelaide) that enticed Mary Stewart into feeling sassy. I can say she gets it naturally. Even after being bit 4 times, I wouldn't trade this sweetheart!

Taking It To The Next Level!

When I was a kid we would play a game sitting around the dinner table or in a restaurant called "taking it to the next level." It was a trivia type game and someone would ask a question like "How many parishes are in Louisisana?" Someone would answer, "64", then someone would replay, "Ok take it to the next level, name 30 of the parishes." I remember this exact conversation when I was probably about 12 with my dad and I'm pretty sure he named all 64 parishes!

All that to say, I am taking it to the next level, with coupons! Today I went to Southern Savers coupon class with my friends Katie & Chris (Chris is the one who got me into coupons in the first place and this is the couple who makes GREAT cakes! Check out there blog and anticipate Mary Stewart's birthday cakes (yes cakes is plural) in about 2 weeks!!).
Wow!!! As some of you know I have been couponing for a few months and have loved it for a few different reasons:

1. I no longer have to shop at Walmart. I really really dislike Walmart but always felt I was in bondage to Walmart because they had the "lowest" prices. Oh how I was disillusioned.
2. I get to shop a Publix. Publix is the mecca of grocery stores and they live up to their slogan, "Where Shopping is a Pleasure."
3. My pantry is stocked!!!
4. There is nothing like the high you get from watching your total decrease at check out!

If you are new to couponing or are thinking about getting started, visit the Southern Savers website for video tutorials and a wealth of information.
Here are some things I walked away with today.........
1. Walmart isn't cheaper. It is cheaper to take advantage of buy 1 get 1 free deals with coupons than going to Walmart; however Walmart will price match (this was sweet affirmation to my ears).
2. I will continue to stick to Publix and CVS for most of my shopping, taking advantage of Kroger during there mega sales events, but at the end of the day Publix is the better bet. If you have a shopper card, have it scanned at the very end, after giving the cashier your coupons.
3. At times I would get confused using coupons with B1G1 deals, but you can use 2 coupons on these sales and you can stack store coupons and manufacturers coupons.
4. In the Sunday paper sometimes the grocery stores will issue coupons, but how do you really know if they are a store or manufacturer coupon? The bar codes. If the bar code on the coupon starts with a 9 or 5 it is a manufacturer coupon so you can stack it with a store one!
5. Also ask for a duplicate receipt so that you will have extras for rebates.
6. Some great features of the Southern Savers website I didn't know:
* Coupon database: you can type in a product you need to buy but don't have a coupon for & the database will tell you where to find one if there is one to be found.
* The items they list each week under the specific grocery store, isn't the list of everything on sale that week, but the items that are lowest price they will be in the 6 week sale cycle.

Today during class they reaffirmed that you need to pick 1 or 2 grocery stores and probably 1 drug store to focus on. When it comes to drug stores I totally recommend CVS.

So what is my personal application? How will I take it to the next level?
Well I want to do a better job of mapping out the meals I fix each week based on whats on sale with my coupons & what I have in my pantry. I want to stock up each week on the items that are at the rock bottom low price and then the essentials (milk, eggs, bread, etc).
I want to become more hardcore when it comes to CVS and the extra care bucks. I am going to try to only buy the items that come with the ECB's that I need.

Remember it takes about 6 weeks for you to get into the coupon cycle and for you to start making a difference in your budget. It is like a game, and can be addicting, but don't be scared to take it to the next level!



** Baton Rouge couponers: Winn Dixie won't accept competitors but will let you stack store & competitor coupons. When they offer the B1G1, you do have to buy both items, but be sure to use 2 coupons. Louisiana Winn Dixie won't double coupons.

Happy Birthday Dee Dee

September is full of birthday's in our family, We had Anna Mae's on the 10th, Paw Paw's 80th on the 13th, Dee Dee's is today the 15th, and Sweet Mary Stewart on the 30th!

Most of you know Dee Dee but for those who don't, here is a little bio!

Dee Dee is Matthew's mom and Mary Stewart's grandmother and Papa's wife of 31 years. Dee Dee loves all things that sparkle & bling (shoes, jewlery, etc) and her phone is never very far (as a mother of 4 and a full blooded Italian, she always has something to say!). She is wonderful in the kitchen and continually amazes us with meals from the Big Green Egg (the best bbq pit EVER). Oh and we can't forget, Dee Dee is a shopper (but we don't mind, especially Mary Stewart who seems to benefit from her Dee Dee's love of a good deal).

Today as we celebrate Dee Dee, we are thankful for her love for our family. When most people think of their mother in law, they roll there eyes. I am thankful I have a mother in love. One of her dear friends Ms. Karen put it best when she said Dee Dee always brings you back to truth. That is what she does for me. Not matter the circumstance or what I want to hear, Dee Dee brings me back to the truth of scripture. She does that for all her children. It is probably why they love her so dear and get so frustrated with her too.

Thank you Dee Dee for your love for us and for always bringing us to the truth.

And as Dee Dee says, "Lord Will" he will bring us many more birthdays to come!

We wish we were in Baton Rouge to celebrate with you.

Good Samaritan's & Chickfila's

Today we are thankful for good Samaritan's and Chickfila's. Let me explain. Mary Stewart and I were on our way out of Kroger today, almost to the door and she screamed (not the I want my way scream, but the something is wrong scream). It took me a minute as I was looking her over to figure out that she had gotten her fat little leg between to of the itty bitty bars of the grocery cart (how she did that I have no idea). So as I feel about a hundred eyeballs on me, I try to wiggle her leg out. It will not budge! Panic is setting in (do you call 911 for this?). Meanwhile the Chickfila manager (there is a Chickfila in our Kroger) ask if I need butter, oil or ice? Now I am really panicking. Then there was the Good Samaritan, precious as can be. She looked about 75 years old and simply told me what to do. I assume she had been through this before. I held Mary Stewart up while this sweet little lady wiggled her leg out. I am still not sure how she did it! Meanwhile the sweet Chickfila manager is trying to distract Mary Stewart. Then I turned around and the manager had a delicious bowl of ice cream for Mary Stewart. Nothing makes things better than ice cream!

So today I especially thankful for the sweet little old lady and the Chickfila Manager!

I wish I would have taken a picture after our incident, but this will do!

the big sixty!

Sixty years ago today, this man......

married this woman.....

There is so much to say about this oh so precious couple I don't even know where to start. Over the past year I have been in Baton Rouge several times and have had the joy to stay under the same roof as Anna Mae and Paw Paw. There is always something delicious being cooked and some kind of pie in the fridge! My laundry is done every day and the floors are so clean I would eat off of them! Then there is the humor! It's exactly what you think about when you think large Italian family. Have you ever seen "Everybody Loves Raymond"? There are definitely some similarities. But at the end of the day I am always in awe of what a sweet blessing they are to so many.

I have never met another couple who is so generous! They would give you anything you need and not ever think twice about it. I have seen it displayed countless times! My favorite of course is when we have been blessed with an ice chest full of the BEST cooking you can find!

When I am in Baton Rouge my bedroom is next to theirs. I love to lay in bed and hear them say their prayers together (no not eavesdropping, just such a sweet memory I hold). I can't help but to think that those such prayers may have something to do with the fact they are celebrating their 60th wedding anniversary. I do think their strong faith is in direct correlation with their strong marriage! Thank you Anna Mae & Paw Paw for being such an example and blessing to us and for establish such a legacy!

We LOVE You!!!

When I asked Anna Mae what the secret is she said, " Jesus, keep him in heart at all times, pray a lot , the older I get I pray more & take the good with the bad and sometimes there will be lots of bad."

Mary Stewart wearing Anna Mae's Wedding Gown!!

Paw Paw & Mary Stewart

How could you not love this sweet Anna Mae?