A weekend of blessings

First thing this weekend, my dad's cat had 4 kittens! I had never seen baby animals before so I was pretty excited...and its weird to me since dad just got this cat as a kitten herself last fall!

Ry was loving holding them! How fun it will be to watch them grow into bouncy little kittens.


Also this weekend, I had the privilege of hosting a baby shower for a dear friend of mine. She has been such a support to me the last couple years. (we met when we were both pregnant with our first and now this is her second baby) She was the one who taught me to pray about every little thing that concerns me. And now I find that I get to minister that same message to her during this time in her life.
I did a 'little lady' lady bug theme...

The invitations: (Obviously I don't have a good camera, sorry)

Beautiful name: Elizabeth Kate

Diaper Cake:

Lady Bug Cake:

The main purpose of the shower was to make the momma feel so loved and BLESSED! I wanted to pour out blessings upon this new baby girl and her family. I made a "Blessing Blanket" (My first time ever trying to make something like this so it's not perfect).
Blessing Blanket and matching burp cloth:

 I made a Velcro opening so that we could fill the bottom section with 'blessings'...this is what makes it a 'blessing' blanket...I had scraps of fabric and had everyone write blessings on them.  The momma read them all out loud then we had the author place their blessing inside the blanket. Elizabeth can snuggle up with her blessing blanket and know that so many people loved her and took the time to pray blessings into her life and the life of her family. When she gets older, she can pull the blessings out and read what people wrote to her while she was in the womb. Of course, I started crying while explaining the blessing craft to everyone. :)

We also read traditional blessings from other cultures; Jewish, Irish, Apache, etc. I so enjoyed reading them and speaking them over Elizabeth.
After the blessing, we prayed over the momma and spoke more blessings into her life and the approaching delivery...again, more tears. :)

I had the best time ever and am so glad I got to do this for her. The response from the guests were incredible and I was almost shocked to hear how God was moving in people's hearts through this little shower. He really can use anything and anyone! Thank you God for loving us, loving through us, and always providing!

Diaper Wars!

If you know me, you know I am the queen of research...I will spend hours looking stuff up online in order to find a coupon code or a good deal before I go to the store. Diapers are expensive aren't they! But if you're like me and cringe at the thought of cloth diapers, they are a necessary evil and a blessing at the same time. With my first baby, I bought one of every kind/brand of diapers that Walmart sold. I ended up choosing Pampers above all others and now use them again with this second baby. I now have a 5 month old and have yet to buy any diapers since I stocked up while I was pregnant. And I won't have to buy wipes for at least a year...

So what kind of deals are available online for diapers?

Well, I tried Diapers.com and used a first-time user coupon code for a discount. After that, it was much cheaper to continue buying them from Walmart with the paper coupons I had for like $1.50- $3.00 off.

Then I discovered AMAZON MOMS (a section of Amazon Prime).

The online prices are unbeatable and the system is marvelous! Here are a few facts:

You get the discounted price by signing up for "Subscribe and Save" (This means you select to receive this product every X months- you pick at what interval.) Don't worry! You can CHANGE or CANCEL your order at anytime! (I always make sure there is a way out from any automatic orders before signing up)

So to compare the two, here is a short example:

I shall compare buying Pampers Swaddlers Sensitive, 156 count, Size 3 at both places:

                                       
Amazon Moms:                                                Diapers.com:
3 months of free shipping at sign up,                    free shipping on orders of $49
1-2 day shipping                                                1-2 day shipping
(For every single order of $25 or more               (You can sign up for a loyalty program
more of baby items, you earn an                         and save $5 on every case of diapers
additional month of free shipping,                        you buy
up to 1 years worth)                                          *you can use online coupons provided
*no minimum to use free ship on                         by Diapers.com
next orders
Final price:
     $30.73                                                          $40.48 ($43.99 + 2.99 shipping
                                                                                       -$5 loyalty program
                                                                                       -$1.50 temporary online coupon)

(The price of diapers fluctuates...when I bought these diapers from Amazon last time they cost 27.29)
*I will mention that I have not looked up prices on any other brand of diapers on either site
.
The kicker for me was that you can buy all kinds of household goods through Amazon Mom!
I also signed up to have Pampers Thick Care wipes, 504 count on auto order for 6 months from now. Costs $9.79.... Diapers.com doesn't have that count size, but they do have it in 360 count for $16.99, Ouch! (And shipping would not be free yet again, b/c it is less than $49)

Oh yeah, I also signed up to have my Charmin toilet paper mailed to me every 3 months...its cheaper than buying from Walmart, costs nothing to ship with my current 8 months of free shipping I have, and I get a kick out of the mailman handing me my box of toilet paper...   :)

I'm not saying this online system is right for everyone, and some people know how to get great deals in stores...Side note, If you are one of those people, would you please email me and let me know how you do it?! I've told a couple moms about Amazon Moms and they've used it and loved it. Let me know if you check it out and find that it saves you money! And I always want to hear your tips on how to save money...
So what's your method for buying diapers? (Or any baby essentials!)

Nothing says 'Welcome to our home!' like a...

Bowflex in the front room!

Sigh...
This does not mean I lost the battle for the front room, but merely that I love the husband....a lot! He knows I plan on finding some way to conceal it eventually.

One project I'm so excited about this month is a lady bug baby shower I'm hosting! Here's a pic of the invites in the works:

The past week has been crazy busy but I did get caught up on my card bundling. Did you know cards are kinda my thing? Well, they are! I just LOVE getting cards...and sending them. I save almost every card  I get. Random ones go in my shoe box (every member of the fam has their own shoebox for special things) but occasion cards get bundled together:
Birthday cards: First they get displayed for a week or two on 'the' shelf...

Then they get sorted by height, hole-punched, and strung with ribbon. Add a tag stating the occasion and they're done!

For graduation cards, I also included my announcement and thank you card I sent everyone. (I decided to put them here rather than scrapbook them)

First time I ever did this was with our wedding cards...I still love going through them and remembering who was there.