Budgeting and crafting

Well folks, after nearly two months on the waiting list, we have a house!!! Yahooo. I am excited not only because we are so ready to be out of this house, but because once we get on base and have no bill that fluctuate, I'll really be able to budget better. It's so hard to budget when you have electricty, etc. that fluctuates every month! Our biggest budget issue is eating out. We really love to eat out. This could also be a getting healthy issue. Eeeekkk. So when we move on base, we will really be eating out a lot less because there really isn't much to choose from on base! We are thankful for that for sure! It will help our waistline and our bank account, and those are two things that could always use improving. The house we're moving into is smaller than the one we live in now. It's only a 2 bedroom, but really and truly, we don't have visitors anyway being all the way out here, so we the 2 bedrooms works. The living room is spacious, and the dining area is large enough for half to be dedicated to the kitchen table and half to be dedicated to either the computer or my crafts. I think Aaron and I are going to have a war over that half. heheheh. :) The laundry room is large which is where I could do crafts, but I don't want to be toooooo crowded in there. We'll see once we move in. The kitchen is tiny, bummer, but that does mean less to clean! The bedrooms are decent as well and both upstairs! So here is a picture for your viewing.

Speaking of crafting, I was at the Airman's Attic earlier this week where I found a shirt that said Fight Cruelty, Not Dogs. Well, you know me! I had to have it except it was a size XS, and we all know I am no XS! Even if i was in super good shape, my body build would NEVER allow me to wear an XS, so I turned it into a dress for Emma instead. I cut it up, made it a little smaller and shorter and added some straps and a ruffle from some fabric I had lying around. I am super happy with how it came out. Check it:

Obviously Emma loves it. :) hehe. Next week I hope to have another dress made and possibly a diaper also. I will share whatever it is, of course!

Serious about blogging

Okay, so I want to get serious about blogging! I know. I've said I'm going to do better about blogging several times, and here it is two months since my last post! I mean it this time!

So, in 5 days, we are saying happy four months to Emma! Yahoo! A lot has changed since I last posted. We are going to Mississippi for a last minute trip next week to visit Aaron's family, and mine will be coming down for the weekend to stay and visit with us. Then we will hopefully still be going back in September to visit one week with my family and one week with his! Even if he can't go because you know issues arise with the military (last minute deployments, etc.), then I will probably go alone. Emma was not as hard to deal with as I had imagined she will be when I traveled home in March. It was my first time on a plane, and I will admit, I was TERRIFIED! It was easy peasy really, besides the fact that my plane from Jackson to Houston was delayed, and I almost missed my connection back to Sacramento! If you've never been to the Houston Airport, it's huge! And it wasn't easy lugging myself, a 2.5 month old, and two diaper bags across the airport in less than 15 minutes! I loved being home and definitely wish we lived closer, so I could go more like once a month!

Anyway, Emma is doing lots of new things since I last posted (DUH! It's been two months). She started to roll over from her tummy to her back at about 2.5 months ish. She recently, like a week starting rolling from back to tummy, and it makes her so proud! She does it every time I put her down now, so she's actually spending a good bit of time on her tummy without getting mad! She also started eating solids about 2.5 weeks ago, and she LOVES them! She's eaten carrots, bananas, apples, and green beans so far. So far, she love the apples the best, and surprisingly really doesn't like bananas. Oh well! Oh, my favorite thing is her laughing out loud! She's been doing this for a while now, but I still get excited every time she does it. My least favorite thing is this sleep regression phase she's going through. BOOOOOO! She's been waking up several times a night, and I'm about to go crazy! She was such a good sleeper for the longest time that I got spoiled.

Another new thing is: CLOTH DIAPERS! Okay, I looovveee them! We originally switched because of the massive amount of leaks that we were having with disposables. But a huge plus is the lack of money we are going to spend! Now that I have pretty much got everything I need, we are going to be saving a good bit of money not buying diapers every week or two. We are also using cloth wipes which is money saving too. :) Doing the cloth diapers has inspired me to do other things, like going back to menu planning and saving lots of money on groceries! That means only eating on Saturday, and every other day, we will be eating at home. It's been way too hard with a new baby and going to school and such to cook every night, but now that the semester is almost over and Emma is getting bigger, it will be much easier!

One last thing for this post, and I'll stop talking your ears off! I seriously want to start selling things that I make! Now that I have a sewing machine, I have learned to make leg warmers, skirts, shirts with sewn on designs, fleece diaper covers, curtains, a dress, and I plan on making a cloth diaper here soon. Plus I still make bows, bow holders, tutus, paintings, etc. I really want to do it because I have so much fun sewing and doing crafty things, but I also would like the little extra money it would provide. I just don't know how to go about getting all of that started. I know lots of boutiques have Facebook pages and Etsy stores, but how does one get so many freaking fans? IDK. I am going to continue to make a few more things and then I will see about starting something up. I think it would be ultra fun!