Monster Trucks and Belly Laughs

Last Thursday, as I was getting things ready for bath time, Caleb entertained Sarah in the bathtub (without water, of course).

Sarah had a very dirty diaper that had leaked through onto her clothes.  I set Sarah in the tub until I could round up post-bath clothes for her and Caleb. Caleb quickly joined her by stripping down and taking his monster trucks to the tub.

As I was getting things ready, I heard great big belly laughs coming from the bathroom.  Nope, they weren't Caleb's, but they were Sarah's.  And this time I caught her in the act. Well, I had Caleb put his underwear back on so I could get a video without exposing more than what was appropriate.

Without further ado...Sarah laughing at her big brother, Caleb, and his creative play!

Bathroom Progress

We've run into a few snags along the way, but here's what we've accomplished:

• Vanity tops are installed.
• One faucet with piping has been successfully replaced.

Wow.  That was a short list.
We are currently annoyed at Caleb's bathroom piping.  From what we've seen at Home Depot and discussed with the various plumbing experts there, most sink piping is 1.25" (for bathrooms) or 1.5" (for kitchens).  Apparently, the piping under the sink in Caleb's bathroom is 2".  Where the heck did that come from?  And every pipe connection in glued.  I'm hoping Jadie can get some sound advice from somewhere, because I surely do NOT want to hire a plumber to fix that piping!

Woo-Hoo, Taxes Done

That's all...just that I got another monkey off our back.  The taxes are filed and our refund is set to be direct deposited in under 2 weeks!  Yippee!

Bathroom Reno Progress

Betcha didn't know that we're renovating our bathrooms! Or maybe you did...I actually posted about it a while back ago.

We take our home improvements as we can fit them in financially, and the bathrooms got moved to the top of the list for health reasons. Let's just say that the linoleum is peeling up around the toilet in Caleb's bathroom. With a boy who doesn't always hit the mark, this is getting to be a health hazard.

Here's what we're doing to Caleb's bathroom:

• Painting the cabinets white.
• Taking down the huge mirror and replacing it with a smaller framed mirror.
• Replacing the linoleum floors with tile.
• Replacing the vanity countertops.
• Replacing the chrome fixtures with updated satin nickel fixtures.
• Ripping out and replacing the hideously large wood frame and florescent lighting.
• Peeling off the wallpaper and (hopefully) texturing the walls. I say hopefully, because we haven't called the texturing guy yet.

And our bathroom:

• Painting the cabinets white.
• Taking down the huge mirror and replacing it with two smaller framed mirrors.
• Replacing the vanity countertops.
• Replacing the chrome fixtures with updated satin nickel fixtures.
• Ripping out and replacing the hideously large wood frame and florescent lighting.
• Texturing the walls.

So, Jadie really went to town tonight with our friend, Robby.  Here is what they've accomplished!

Caleb's Bathroom Before
I didn't get a good shot of the wood frame covering the florescent lights.  Bummer.

Caleb's Bathroom Tonight

Our Bathroom Tonight

Sarah's 6 Month Check Up

Here are the stats: 6 months old!!!
1 oral vaccine
3 shots
14lbs/1 lb 4 oz gained (20th percentile)
24.75 in long/1 inch growth (20th percentile)
16.75 in head circumference/0.75 inch growth (55th percentile)

Praying for:
A second case of Mastitis for me
My blood pressure, currently running about 120/80 (still)
Sarah's continued health and weight gain
Peace, love, and self-control as I parent Caleb

6 Months

Our sweet Sarah is 6 months already! My how time has flown!
Stats from tomorrow's doctor's appointment coming soon!

For Your Listening Pleasure

I say this is for your listening pleasure because I realize that the video quality is terrible. I did not have her in a spot with good lighting, but I knew that I may not be able to recreate the situation if I moved her.

We frequently sit Sarah in the Bumbo on the dining table when we are eating meals. We usually surround her with various toys to play with. Yesterday at lunch, Caleb was encouraging her to play with this adorable rolling cheetah. As you can tell, she got a real kick out of him rolling it to her!

Get Over It

The statement is directed at myself.

You may know that I've been really trying to stretch our grocery budget by using coupons and only buying items when they are on sale.  I gave in to convenience this week.  I did not want to make a trip to the grocery store for only a few items when I could just have Jadie stop at the Brookshire Brother's on the highway on his way home from work.  So he graciously agreed to stop for me to pick up 4 items.

I know the prices are higher there than at HEB or Wal-Mart, but this is literally highway robbery (and the store is actually located on I-35).  Here are the totals from the receipt with my notes for typical sale prices.  I will NOT be buying anything from Brookshire Brothers again unless it's for something with an incredible sale price and a coupon.

Milk $3.79 ($2.49 at Target the last 2 weeks in a row)
Blue Bell Ice Cream $5.79 ($4.00 on sale at IGA this week)
Imperial Sugar $1.99 ($1.49 at HEB on a regular basis)
Sweet Potatoes $0.99/lb ($0.44/lb at HEB on a regular basis)

He bought 1 gallon of milk, 2 ice creams, 2 sugars, and almost 4 lbs of sweet potatoes and the total was $23.15.   This is why it's hard not to want to shop the sales and use the coupons...just knowing how over-priced some stores can be is maddening!

But I will choose to let it go and be more determined next time!