Locked Up

Recently, the door handle on our bathroom window has been acting up. By that, I mean that it would sometimes get stuck and not open. Around 8:30 this morning I entered the bathroom to get ready for church while Paul left to go prepare for church. Around 9, I tried to get out of the bathroom. And by tried, I mean that I couldn't because I was locked in. No matter how hard I twisted the handle it wouldn't budge. Then, to make matters worse all my jiggling of the handle must have woken Parker who was taking a nap. I felt so helpless. I could hear my baby crying and I couldn't get to him. By then I was starting to panic. There is no window in this bathroom so the door was my only way out. I looked around for anything that I could use to loosen the screws to take the door handle off. I tried pulling out the pins. I knew around 10 o'clock Paul would come looking for me since he would expect me to be at church by then. I just kept waiting to hear those church bells ring. I was very close to trying to break down the door. Then suddenly, I thought about how some criminals use credit cards to break into places. I looked around for something thin but strong. I had some beauty scissors (that's what I call them at least) and I tried to pry back the little tongue thingy part (not sure the technical name). Finally, I got it back far enough to free myself. At least I had a good excuse for why I was late this morning.

How'd He Do That?

I left Parker in the middle of the living room floor with his toys for him to play. When I returned I found him like this. Someone please tell me how he managed to get that book on his back?

Saving with The Grocery Game!

I recently started using The Grocery Game to help save money on groceries. After doing some grocery shopping today, I am excited to share about my savings. I got $108.80 worth of groceries and other things for $41.36 (not including tax), plus I earned $0.05 off per gallon at Shell and $2 in Extra Care Bucks plus a Extra Care Coupon for $5 off a $15 purchase at CVS. Here's how I did it. I joined thegrocerygame.com with a FREE four week trial. Every week they send me a list from the stores I selected (Bi-lo, Food Lion, and CVS). The list gives you all the sales, not just the advertised sales, coordinated with the coupons. It color coordinates: green-free items, blue-items to stockpile because they are at rock bottom prices, and black-items that are a good deal but only buy if you need them. I go through the list and print off only the things I'm going to get that week. Then, I go through my coupon binder and pull out the coupons that I need that week. (Yes, I organized a coupon binder.) Then, Monday or Tuesday, I go shopping. The list helps me go through the store quickly, which is such a help with a 6 month old in tow. I love The Grocery Game for so many reasons. Of course because it saves me money, but not only that, it saves me time. They (the people behind the website) do all the dirty work. They find out all the sales, they study the sales trends and know when the item is at its lowest cost, and they coordinate the items with the coupons for extra savings. After my free trial, I will be paying $15 every 8 weeks for 2 store lists (I'm going to get Bi-lo and CVS). That isn't alot of money considering all I will be saving, both time and money. Also, Bi-lo has Fuel Perks which gives you 5 cents off per gallon at any Shell station for every $50 you spend , and that just keeps adding up. The other day I was able to get 15 cents off per gallon. If you use reuseable grocery bags, you get an extra 5 cents off your grocery bill per bag. At CVS, you can earn Extra Care Bucks which you can use toward purchases. I will continue to shop at Aldi once a month because there are some items you just can't beat their price on. I've included a picture of my purchases from this week. It's hard to see what is in the picture so I'll tell you what I got. For $41.36, I got Pine Sol, 3 boxes of Puffs tissues, Crest Pro Health mouthwash, Almay Intense I-Color trio, 6 5 oz cans of Bumble Bee Tuna, 4 cans of Progresso soup, 12 pack Angel Soft double rolls, 2 packs of Pampers Cruisers, Marcal tissues, Smart Balance Sour Cream, dozen eggs, value pack of split chicken breasts, Land O'Lakes sandwich meat, cucumber, 2 Uncle Ben's rice mixes, 2 lbs of grapes, and 6 reusable shopping bags. If this excites you and you want to try or you just want more information, go to thegrocerygame.com or you can email me at kelliepcamp@yahoo.com. If you decide to join, please use me as a referral by entering my email address. This helps me earn free weeks of The Grocery Game. Then, share with your friends and have them use you as a referral.

Update

Parker had his 6 month checkup today. Going in, I was sure the doctor would want Parker in a helmet since his head still is misshapen. Thankfully, that is not the case. Dr. Mitchner feels that his head shape is improving, and I agree. He explained that perfectly round is not what he is looking for but as long as it continues to improve then he won't put him in the helmet. So we will continue to pray for the next 3 months that his head will continue to move in the right direction, and we ask that you join us in prayer on this matter. I was reminded today that the Lord does answer prayer but not necessarily in the way you might imagine. Oh, by the way, Parker weighs 20 lbs 6 oz and is 29 in long, which is above the 90th percentile for weight and 97th percentile for height.

Snow!!!

Finally, it snowed in Pinewood! Last year we only got to see it fall from the sky a little bit, but this year we got a snow "storm." We had somewhere around 6 inches of snow. I felt like a little kid. Although Parker won't remember it, he got to experience his first snow.

5 Months Recap

As Parker creeps close to the half year mark, I decided I would blog about Parker's development during his fifth month. I will try to keep this going to subsequent months, mainly so I can remeber what all happened. So here is a recap of Parker's fifth month.

1. Parker tried his first solid food. He didn't seemed too enthused over his rice cereal but I can't really blame him. After getting all the exciting flavors from breastmilk, I'm sure bland rice cereal is a step back.

2. He also tried his first vegetable, green beans, and his first fruit, bananas.

3. As big as Parker is you would think he would be super interested in eating solids, however, he hasn't shown much interest in eating. Although in the past few days he seems to be enjoying eating solids a little more.

4. Parker got his first two sicknesses this month. The first was a virus that caused him to run fever for one day. The second was a bacterial infection that caused him to be puny for a few days.

5. Parker now weighs over 20 lbs! 20 lbs. 4 oz to be exact well as of last weigh in.

6. Over a 9 day span (between the 2 sicknesses) Parker gained 7 oz. I don't think I have to worry about him getting enough milk.

7. Parker is now rolling over like crazy! He can roll himself all around to get to whatever catches his attention. 8. Speaking of catching his attention, our cat, Isaac seems to be his biggest thrill. Anytime Isaac gets close enough Parker does his best to get a piece of him. Most of the time it's Isaac's tail.

9. Parker's continues to gain strength and muscle control. He can sit up well on his own, although he still takes a tumble over sometimes.

10. He loves to look at the world upside down.

11. Parker has learned some new noises, including the squeal. Sometimes he even sounds like he is saying "MaMa."

12. Parker continues to be a very happy baby. It doesn't take much to get a smile or a giggle out of him. Besides all the "he's so big" comments, I also get a lot of "he's such a happy baby."

13. He showed the first signs of separation anxiety this month. During one of his physical therapy sessions, the therapist had him with his back turned toward me. He started making a scared face and looked around until he saw me.

14. Parker continues to go to physical therapy. He recently started tilting his head again. The therapist thinks he has the range of motion, but he is just favoring that one side.

15. Parker is my little studier. He is very observant and likes to check out new places. He also likes to make eye contact with people and will stare at someone until they look at him.

16. This month we had to move up to size 4 diapers. I can't believe I have a five month old in size 4 diapers! He's also in size 6-9 month cloths, although soon we will be moving to the next size.

I think that pretty much covers the month. Here are some more 5 month old pictures. (The pictures aren't 5 months old, just Parker.)

Ready for the snow... still waitin'