Babies are expensive!  It’s one of those things that people always tell you but you just don’t understand until you have your own children- all of the things that a baby needs to have really add up and cost you a lot of money.

I had always wanted to breastfeed when I had a baby.  And when we decided that I would be leaving my job to stay home with Hailey I knew that I had to breastfeed to save on the cost of formula.  And honestly- those first few weeks it was sooooo hard and Hailey was having a hard time latching on.  If not for the cost of formula I probably would have given up.  But it was just so expensive that I stuck with the breastfeeding and am so glad that I did.

But I know that breastfeeding does not work out for everyone.  There are many reasons that breastfeeding may not be successful for everyone and those people should not have to pay a fortune to buy formula for their baby.  That’s where the baby formula savings calculator comes in handy.  You can compare the cost of Parent’s Choice, store brand formula to the more expensive name brands. I used the Savings Calculator provided to see how much I would have saved by using Parents Choice baby formula instead of Similac Advance infant formulas.  The savings was over $500 for the first year.  Imagine what I could do with that $500!  Use it towards a vacation, for sure!!

Since all baby formula has to comply with the same regulations it only makes sense to buy the cheaper formula.  If you’re not sure what kind of formula to use there is a Formula Finder that will help you decide what is best for your baby.  For me that would be the older infant formula.

Skinny me… you’d think I would have looked a little happier to be so skinny.  Anyhoo- this is my before pregnant picture.

And in this picture you will notice that I am quite pregnant.  About 35 weeks to be exact.

And this is me now- last week on our 10th anniversary trip to Disney World.

So clearly, if I want to get back to my before picture (and I still have those jeans, just in case!) I need to get my butt in gear!  I haven’t exactly figured out my plan, but I will post about it soon.

Times have changed in my house with our TV watching habits.  Since Hailey is now old enough to have particular shows that she wants to watch pretty much most of our TV watching revolves around her interests.  It would be really nice to have On Demand so that if there isn’t anything on that she likes we could just choose an On Demand show and pick whatever she wants.  I went to Charter’s On Demand home page and checked to see what she could watch right now- there were choices like Dora and Spongebob- some of her favorites.

Plus we miss a lot of shows that we like because when Hailey is awake we are usually playing with her or watching something that is interesting to her.  When she goes to bed I could find some of the Last Comic Standing episodes that I have missed and get caught up and they are playing right now!

You can’t go wrong with On Demand, there is always something on somewhere that you will like.  You don’t have to be home by a certain time to watch a show or remember to tape a show (do people still do that!?!?) You will ‘Like’ their Facebook page as well

So if you’re considering some changes in your TV choices, be sure to consider On Demand.

But I thought something was still missing…  I thought it would be nice to have the storage space underneath without having to worry about people seeing the messiness.  So I convinced Rich to make the bottom into a shed.  Then we added some landscaping and whaaalaaa:

The finished deck.  I think it looks great!!

So it’s summer.  It’s hot and humid and sticky and uncomfortable outside.  I’m assuming that since that is how the weather is pretty much everywhere that it’s the same way where you live.  So if you were going to go shopping for some cool and comfy summer clothes- what kind of material would you look for in your clothes?

Would you look for wool?  I probably wouldn’t- it seems like it would be heavy and itchy and hot- like a sweater that you were forced to wear and hated it.

But- you would be wrong, just like I was.  Ramblers Way Farm uses a special technology to make their wool clothing feel soft and be light weight.  So, now you can have high quality and comfortable clothes.  Since the clothes at Ramblers Way are made with the finest wool and don’t have any dyes, chemicals or stabilizers I’m pretty sure you’re going to want to shop at Ramblers Way.  At first glance the prices might seem a little bit expensive but once you read about the quality of their products you’ll know it’s money well spent.  Check out their story and even meet their sheep on their website.

This is the before picture- notice the unsafe railing on the deck- a small child could easily fall through there.  Some of the wood wasn’t in great shape and I hated the color- so they replaced the wood.

Here it is several days into the project….

Stay tuned for the finished new deck!

Do you have elderly loved ones who you worry about?  I’m sure that most of us have some relatives who are older or who have a hard time getting around.  You may worry that something could happen to your loved one and they wouldn’t have any way to call for help.  If there isn’t anyone frequently checking in on your loved one then a simple fall could go unknown for days before anyone realizes that he or she needs help.

That is what Medical Guardian is for.  It can provide you with some peace of mind about your loved one.  Your loved one wears a device that can go on their wrist, neck or belt.  There is a button that gets pushed when help is needed.  A signal gets sent out to their Emergency Monitoring Station over an existing phone line.  Then someone will communicate with your loved one and see if they are okay.  If emergency care is needed they will send call EMS to assist.

Your loved one one will not have to move into an assisted living center for you to know that he or she is safe and they can continue to feel independent. You won’t have to worry as much about your loved one and you can have some peace of mind knowing that they are being monitored 24 hours a day.