3 of my Favorite Thrifty Pins This Week

Here is a list of 3 of my Favorite Thrifty Pins This Week:

Mini Ham and Bacon Cheddar Cups - These look great!  I love anything with bacon and cheese.

5 Secret Ways to Find Kindle Books - Since I got a Kindle for my birthday this will come in handy.

Vacation Scrapbooks - Using photo albums to make these.  Very cute!

THRIFTY "DAYCATION" ON GOOD FRIDAY

The weather was suppose to be beautiful and we all had Spring Fever. I wanted to spend the day doing something extra fun for Payton, Matt and I both had the day off. I thought of going on a picnic but I really wanted to go somewhere with something enjoyable for Payton to do. Matt had a friend at work to tell him about Dan Nicholas Park. We had never heard of it even though its only an hour or so away. After visiting their website, our plans were made. The prices were great and I knew we would have a wonderful time.

We had a picnic when we arrived and then we set out to enjoy the park. I was very impressed with the beauty of the park. Everything was so neat and clean. The park was very well maintained. We spent the day riding the carousel, riding the train, visiting the petting zoo and feeding the animals, visiting the wildlife animals, playing at the playgrounds, walking through the water misters to cool off and riding the paddleboats (which was my favorite).

We spent a total of $17 for the whole day (does not include gas for travel). The total for riding and visiting all of the exhibits was $13 and we spent $4 in drinks.

The $17 was well worth it. It is definitely a place we plan to visit again.

What thrifty activities or local attractions do you and your family like to do in the summertime??

PAYTON'S EASTER

Easter this year was so different than any other. With Payton being 3.5 years old, she was really into the holiday. Not only was she interested in the what the holiday is really about but she also enjoyed the kids activities which will be a tradition in our house every year. This was one of the best Easter's ever.

For grandparents and aunts and uncles she made sun catchers for their Easter gift. I found them at the Dollar Tree - a pack of 4 for $1 including paint.

She also enjoyed dying eggs. We did this last year but she really wasn't into it like she was this year. I even got her daddy to dye eggs with us.

Here she is Easter morning. She was so excited that the Easter bunny had left her a basket frull of goodies. Her favorite thing was the purple hat that I found at the Dollar Tree for $1 to match her Easter dress.

Here we are Easter Sunday all dressed up!!

Not only do I love teaching her what the true meaning of each holiday is but I also the traditions that we are starting to do each year. I look forward to so many more.

PREGNANCY UPDATE - 29 WEEKS

I am 29 weeks pregnant!! I have approximately 12 weeks left and I am already counting down. I just went for my 3rd ultrasound last week and my baby boy is doing great. I have gained a total of 7 lbs. so far.


This pregnancy has been very different from the first one. I have had morning sickness, tenderness and soreness, and lots of cravings. I really didn't experience a lot of this with Payton. Maybe that's the difference between a boy and a girl ??


With Payton, the only thing I craved was orange juice. In the past couple of months, I have craved fruit almost every day. I have eaten so much fruit that I have even made a meal out of it a few times....grapes, apples, oranges, grapefruit, pineapple, strawberries.


I made me a special treat one evening and dipped my strawberries in white chocolate. It so hit the spot. Just typing about it, I really would love to have one now.

Don't they look good!!! MMmmmmmmmm!!

I still haven't picked out a name and don't have a clue. I haven't fixed the nursery, I haven't fixed Payton's new room, nor have I really prepared my house for a new baby. I am really starting to panic but hopefully I will get everything done in time. By the time I work all day, and then do my daily routine when I get home I am ready for bed by 8:00. I am completely drained with no energy left.

PAYTON'S FIRST SNOW CREAM

We received another 8 inches of snow this weekend. I am so ready for it to melt away already. Payton and I have been at home since Friday evening and we are getting ready to venture out this morning.


Since it was the 2nd snow, I decided to make snow cream Saturday afternoon. It was Payton's first and she loved it.


Snow Cream
-Snow
-Milk
-Vanilla Flavoring
-Sugar
-1 Egg (optional)
-Red Sprinkles (optional)

PREGNANCY NEWS.........

I went to the doctor yesterday for my 2nd sonogram and found out that IT'S A BOY! Matt and Payton was able to go with me. Payton has said the whole time that she wants a sister but yesterday she seemed to be ok with getting a brother. She did get a little upset when we left. After we got to the car, she couldn't understand why they didn't take it out???

NEW YEAR'S ANNOUNCEMENT ....

I'M PREGNANT!!!

I am 18 weeks pregnant with my 2nd child. I have known for 2 months but I waited until after my 1st trimester to share the news. I told my family and friends Christmas.

We are very excited but it was a little bit of a shock. I tried for 4 years to get pregnant with Payton and I ended up having to take medication due to having PCOS.

If you have noticed, I have not been posting as much on my blog in the past month. I stay so sleepy and my energy is completely gone by the time I get off work everyday. I really have to push myself in the evenings just to get Payton dinner and a bath. I feel like I am sleeping my life away on the weekends. Hopefully, this will pass soon.

My due date is June 11. I have 22 +/- weeks to go!!

CHRISTMAS DECORATING - SHARE YOUR DECORATIONS WITH ME

We spent most of Sunday decorating. For some reason, I just couldn't get in the holiday spirit but I knew it had to be done. Once I got started I couldn't stop. I ended up putting up 3 Christmas trees (1 large, 2 small). Below is a few of our decorations.


Family Room Tree










Dining Room Table










Wreaths on my Windows










Small Christmas Tree in My Room










Payton's Christmas Tree










Want to share your decorations? Line up below!!

OUR HALLOWEEN PUMPKINS

We spent Sunday afternoon painting and carving pumpkins.

I think they turned out great.

Payton's Pumpkin

My Pumpkin

Matt's Pumpkin

(He got tired of cleaning the inside out...hehe)

GREAT BIRTHDAY PARTY AT CHUCK E. CHEESE'S

As I mentioned Friday, we had Payton's birthday party at Chuck E. Cheese this weekend. We had so much fun. Payton is a child that has to observe, check things out before she joins in. When it was time to leave, I didn't think I was ever going to her out of there. She had a blast. I do recommend having your party there. Now it can get a little pricey but birthday parties are an occasion that I don't mind splurging on. They do everything for you and it is definitely a win win situation with the kids.

FALL/WINTER ACTIVITIES PLANNED FOR PAYTON

Fall is here and winter is right around the corner. I want to keep Payton active and entertained with enjoyable things to do this winter. At the beginning of the summer, I made a list of things I wanted to share with Payton during the summer. I managed to get everything accomplished except for 1 thing.

As a person who likes to stay organized, I am a list person. I have lists for everything. This list helps me prepare and plan ahead.

Most of the items on my list cost very little or nothing. I will be sharing with you our fun filled days.

- Chuck E. Cheese

- Disney on Ice

- Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus

- Build-A-Bear

- Go to Nephew's Baseball Game

- Continue Movie Night

- Camp Out in the Living Room - Move the furniture and pitch the tents

- Ride a Pony - Payton ask to do this everytime she sees a horse.

- Visit the Pumpkin Patch

- Paint a pumpkin

- Trick-or-Treating

- Visit Santa

- Christmas Lights @ Tanglewood

- Snow Sledding - This depends on the weather of course, we haven't had a lot of snow in the past few years.

Do you also make a list?

Do you have any other ideas for me?

Let me know!

WONDERFUL SUMMER MEMORIES WERE MADE

Summer is my favorite season now more than ever. I love sharing moments with Payton of things she has never experienced before. Her smile and laughter makes everything we do so enjoyable.

At the beginning of the summer, I made a list of things I wanted to do before the summer slipped away. We had so much fun and made so many great memories. These are somE of things I got to mark off my list.

She caught her 1st first fish and was determined to reel it in by herself.

We had a wonderful week at the beach. She loves to play in the and look for seashells.

We spent the day at the Lazy 5 Ranch. An incredible day with the animals.

Spending the afternoon at home playing in the pool was a favorite thing to do. This was one of the best investments we have made. I feel like the pool paid for itself this summer. Payton is like a fish in water.





Going to the ice cream parlor was a treat for Payton. Strawberry is her favorite.

Payton and I planted a very small garden in the spring. She loved to watch the plants and pick the ripe vegetables.

Hopefully, we will have a very mild winter so we can enjoy sometime outside. I have already started planning my list of things to do next year.

I am going to miss you summer.

Hurry Back!!

A DAY AT THE RANCH

Here is a few pictures from our wonderful trip to the Lazy 5 Ranch. If are live in NC or ever visit you definitely need to go. You can choose to do the wagon ride through the ranch or you can ride in your vehicle.

We had a wonderful time!

VACATION PICTURES

This is where we stayed. I loved our condo this year. This is the view from the beach. I would love to stay there again.















I took this picture from our deck. If you look closely, you can see my husband, my nephew, and my baby girl. The pier was right beside of our condo.
















My nephew and baby girl playing in the pool.
































Again, my nephew and Payton on the beach. This was as close as she would get to the ocean the first couple of days. But once she finally got in she loved it.














Payton eating ice cream after playing putt-putt. Strawberry is her favorite (she always asks for pink ice cream).






















She finally gets in the water for the first time with her sundress on as we were taking a walk one evening.













Great trip!! I would love to again this summer.