{Money Saving Monday} - Exercise Balls

Computer chairs + carpet = broken casters.

My attempt at a "MacGyver" fix didn't quite do the trick.

(never mind the dirty floor - it's been cleaned since this picture was taken)

Solution - Exercise Balls

Our computer chairs just weren't working out.  The back had been broken off mine for quite some time and even though I could manage to put it back on, it kept falling off.  Then the casters started breaking off and I knew it was time to find another solution.  I researched chairs online for a while but knew they would eventually just break again.  I've been curious about using exercise balls as chairs for quite some time so I asked Josh what he thought about it and he said he would try it.  I looked around online a bit but decided that we might as well just buy some at Wal-Mart so we found a day to make a trip and picked up these exercise balls for a mere $17 each - much cheaper than chairs would've been.  Josh loves his and mine has worked out well though I've just used it a few times at my sewing table.  They are comfortable to sit on, encourage good posture and will come in handy helping me through labor as well.  They do lose air so you do have to pump them up from time to time but I think they are a great, cost effective alternative to traditional chairs.  We're thinking about getting another one for Josh to use at work as well.

{Favorite Things Friday} - Game Night

Living in So. Cal. I usually had one social event each evening with several to juggle each night on the weekends. Good times. I was lucky to have several great groups of friends to hang out with. Now I'm lucky if we have one social event a month to go to. Tonight was one of our lucky nights where we were invited to help celebrate a cousin's upcoming b'day. After snacks and socializing we ended up playing catch phrase. It was a lot of fun.

{Thankful Thursday} - Selfless Service

A year ago I was preparing to move and was blessed to receive lots of selfless service from friends helping me pack up. Today I received several hours of selfless service from some dear relatives cleaning and rearranging things around the house and most importantly, organizing the baby items to prepare for his arrival. The house feels completely different. I'd really let my craft supplies get out of control and now they are much more contained. I still have lots to sort through but things seem more manageable now. I feel like a huge burden has been lifted. Getting the baby clothes and other stuff organized on the changing table relieved a lot of stress and anxiety for me. I am so thankful for the help.

{Whatever Wednesday} - Nesting

Everyone keeps asking me if I'm nesting and I have to honestly say that I'm not. I guess mainly since my current space is very limited. What I'm actually doing is somewhat panicking. My dr. seems to think I'll have the baby a bit early so I'm trying to get as much done as I can before the big day arrives (whenever that will be!). We had an opportunity to move but felt like we had to pass it up since I was having so many contractions I didn't think there was any way I could handle it. Lastnight my Valentine's wish was to make room in the bedroom for the bassinet. We put some stuff in the closet and scooted the bed over a few inches so I can squeeze past the bassinet and still get in bed. Tomorrow some helpful angels are coming over to help me organize the baby stuff on the shelves under the changing table which will go next to the bassinet. There's a pile of toys in the tv room and I've stuffed bags of bigger clothes under the bed to save them for later. Somehow it'll all work out till we can get situated in a bigger space.

{Tutorial Tuesday} - cloth diapers

So, I finally made a few cloth diapers a couple of weeks ago and it was really easy. I hope they work out. I searched and searched for a pattern and settled on one that was a "one size fits all". I figured I didn't want to have to keep making more as I went along. Also, I opted not to put snaps or velcro and will use pins. They are pocket diapers. I plan on making some inserts out of old tshirts. Might use prefold diapers for inserts as well. I already had a bunch of flannel on hand and even had some elastic so I really had nothing to lose by making them. I have a lot more cut out but I thought that I might get a better finish using the serger instead of my regular sewing machine so I'm waiting to see if my friend can work her magic on the serger and get the tension just right before I finish the rest up. Here's a picture of one sewn up with an insert inside. (I totally adore this mouse fabric!)

Here is the pattern I used. You can probably tell from the picture I didn't follow the instructions exactly. Instead of sewing and turning and sewing again like the pattern said I opted just to finish the raw edges instead. A different pattern I found was finished like that and I figured that would work. I hope they will hold up. I'll let you know how it goes...

{Money Saving Monday} - Cell Phones from Costco

As far as I can tell the best place to get a cell phone is costco. I finally realized this a couple of years ago and unless someone can convince me otherwise I'll probably never get a cell phone anywhere else. I'm really old fashioned and only use my phone as a cell phone. Crazy I know but I think it's ridiculous to pay for all the fancy features you can use your cell phone for when I'm hardly every away from home or my laptop. If my lifestyle was different maybe it would be worth it but when you live in a small town and hardly ever go anywhere the expense isn't justifiable. Oddly enough when I got my very first cell phone nearly 11 years ago I went with AT&T because they had FREE internet on their phones. Can you imagine? It was great. Even though the screen was tiny it was useful to look things up. I mainly used it for looking up movie times but I was living in L.A. then and life was much different than it is now. I was sorely disappointed when they figured out they could start charging big bucks for cell phone internet access and discontinued it being free. Anyhow, enough rambling. A couple of reasons why I think costco is a great place to get a cell phone is that they don't charge you the $35 activation fee that most places would and they include a accessory pack with their phones that includes a car charger, cell phone case and ear piece. Granted they aren't fancy but are handy to have. Another plus is that you don't have to deal with trying to redeem any sort of rebate. You just get a great deal on the phone right then. Our new phones were $20 each and they are great. If you are up for a new phone no matter who your carrier is I would recommend checking out the deals at costco and see how they compare to your local retailer. I bet you'll be pleasantly surprised at what they have to offer.

{Favorite Things Friday} - Snow Day!

I fell asleep for a bit this afternoon and woke up to this! And it's been snowing since so there's lots more to go with it. I've always loved snow. I guess it was a novelty for me growing up in So. Ca. We usually always went to my grandparents house for Christmas and was always so excited when there was lots of snow to play in.

Luckily since we both work in town within walking distance snow isn't usually much of a problem. I'm glad I don't have to be anywhere out of town until Monday. Hopefully the roads will be good then. It's so nice just to be able to stay home and admire the snowflakes gently falling out the window.