Jinxed

Yep, I jinxed it. Or, it's just November 30th and only one day of snow in October wasn't enough for cold Minnesota.

Today
Nov 30 Few Snow Showers 39°/27°

Awesome huh? At least I'm not out waiting for a bus this time of year. That was fun while it lasted.

But wait, lets look at Thursday!

Thu
Dec 03 Flurries 28°/21°

(Twenty WHAT?!)

I guess I gotta break out the "light" winter gear. I save the "heavy" winter gear for days zero and below. ZERO! and BELOW! Can you believe people STILL live here?

(Oh, Minnesota, don't worry, I still love you. I'm not leaving anytime soon. Unless it's a trip to Hawaii in March when it's 18 below.)

It Has Begun

Mark this date, November 24th, I listened to my Barenaked Ladies Christmas album.

I liked it.

My sister has her tree up already.

Stores have been leaking their Black Friday ads for a week now. (trivia: Does anyone know what "Black Friday" means? Answer at the end of this post.)

So it's not just me getting into the season. Actually, it's really hard to get into it right now in Minnesota. It's been in the 50's! It snowed the first of October, everyone was pissed and now, everyone is so happy it's still warm! (I just jinxed it, didn't I?)

Anyway, with the season, comes deals. Lots of deals. And you just gotta know how to find them and make them work for you. Yes, you can get a toaster for $3 at Target. Is it really worth hauling your butt outta bed at 4:30am, stand in a loooooong line, 30 degrees out, rush in and find the toasters are gone? To me, no. My time is valuable.

Online shopping is the way to go. Here are some tips on how to get the most out of your money this holiday season.

Never pay for shipping. Amazon always has free shipping and many other sites are offering free shipping on orders over X dollars. Visit retailmenot.com for coupon codes and free shipping codes to popular retail sites.

Speaking of Amazon, they are taking Black Friday to a new level. It's Black Friday all week this week! I think I see a bread machine I want (looks like it's gonna be cheap too!).

Wanna earn free Amazon gift cards to purchase gifts? Have you heard of Swagbucks? Basically, you earn Swagbucks periodically as you search (they combine the best of Google and Ask.com). You can earn between 1 and 100 Swagbucks each time you search. You cash in Swagbucks for a variety of things like gift cards, clothing, electronics and more. I just cashed in 180 Swagbucks for a $20 gift certificate to Amazon. All I did was search like I normally do!

You can also earn Swagbucks by searching for Swagcodes, promoting, downloading widgets and more. So you don't have to just search.

(45 Swagbucks can get you a $5 Amazon gift card so it's easy to get started!)

Another way to make your dollars stretch even further is ShopatHome.com. If you're gonna shop online, why not get cash back? Search through thousands of online retailers, click and go directly to their site, shop, complete your transaction and receive a cash rebate of up to 30% of the purchase price, discounts, coupons and/or free shipping promotions.

I shopped Old Navy and The Body Shop and received 10% back from both stores. Once you hit $20, they send you a check. You can also use online coupons (provided by them), so not only are you getting a discount with coupons, you get cash back! (Just some of their top 10 stores are Target, Wal-Mart, Dell, Victoria Secret, and Kohl's)

Right now, get $5 just to sign up!
Click here------->

(Like that shameless promotion? Hey, who doesn't want free money?)

Think outside the box. While you may not need to get your baby a train set up this year because he's only 6 months old at Christmas (*cough* JUSTIN *cough*), something like that may go on sale the day after Christmas. Pick it up when stores are clearing out merchandise.

So don't go blowing your budget this year. And don't say I didn't get you anything.

(Trivia answer: Going from being in the red (no profit) to being in the black (making a profit), which usually is because of this day, the busiest shopping day of the year.)

Train

Saturday was the grand opening of sorts of the new Northstar Rail in Minnesota. A big deal here people. Justin is so enthralled with trains that we stood in line for 45 minutes for free tickets to ride downtown. While I wasn't really interested, it turned out to be fun.

Best of all, Jules liked it.




"Yea! I like trains! We go THIS fast!"



The 20 minute ride took us to the new Target field and back. If I worked in Minneapolis, I'd probably take the train.

5 Months

Oh Jules, please slow down. You're growing up too fast!



You prefer to be on your back, although you do tolerate tummy time when the boppy and tpt is involved. You can *almost* sit up but you're not quite there yet. And your legs are getting stronger each day. You can stand for a second or two!

You babble, saying "mamamamama" all the time. I'm gonna go ahead and say that's your first word.

While it seems you hardly smile in photos, you're actually quite the smiler and you love to laugh.

But it's tough to catch on camera.



(I think there's a smile behind dad's yo-yo. And your clothes are getting too tight.)

You reach for anything I have in my hand: the newspaper, cup, fork or spoon. We tried to give you mashed potatoes the other night. And while you did manage to open your mouth, mashed potatoes aren't your thing; oh how they disgusted you. You're not ready and that's ok!

Your new thing is to rotate in your crib. This morning, I found you with your feet on the wall, totally perpendicular in the crib. You must like to kick. You still like to be swaddled, cuddled, carried, swinging; you always want to be moving.



When I get home from work, you see me and light up right away. Like "Huur-RAY! I like her!" It's so sweet. You sleep through the night like a champ but have a few bumps if we don't get you to bed on time. You're leary of new people and that's because you and dad don't get out of the house much. But after a while, you're good.

Scully, your BFF, lets me know if you're crying in your crib. She'll sit next to you, lick your feet or any spit up you may have, well, spit up (NOT all the time peeps, just when I don't get to him in time). She's your pal and you love to look at her.



Happy 5 months baby boy.

Babylegs Tutorial

While Justin thinks they are silly, he doesn't take them off Jules. I like babylegs because they are cute, easy to pull on and off, and can leave them on for diaper changes. They'll fit him through toddler-hood and can double as arm warmers on cool fall nights. Plus, they are SUPER easy to make. Here's what you'll need:

Socks - knee high (I got these in the woman's section at Target-2 for $3)
Scissors
pins
Sewing Machine
or
needle and thread



Cut off the heel and toe of the socks.

Don't these remind you of the socks your 70's dad would wear?


Take the foot part of the sock (minus the heel and toe) and fold it into itself so the right sides are facing out. This will be the new cuff.



Slide the new cuff over the cut end of the sock - right sides together. (You'll actually match the edges, I just went further so you can see.)



Match the edges and pin.



Using a med. zig-zag stitch (for stretch), sew about 1/4" from the edge or as close as you want making sure to catch all 3 layers. If you have a serger, use the knife for a trimmed edge.



Well done! You just saved yourself $10!


For some reason, I don't have pics of Jules wearing this pair, but here he is wearing another pair. Quite the outfit, eh?

D'Oh!

Soooo, I can't find my camera cord. And you'll want to see pictures to help you understand what I'm yapping about when it comes to making these babylegs.

So until I can find the cord - here's Jules all dressed up as a Chef for Halloween.



There, the cuteness should tide you over. (I made that hat thank you very much.)

Doing the Dance

He's a maniac MANIAC on the floor...



And he's dancing like he's never danced before.

You too can make cute little babylegs for your little one. Stay tuned, babylegs tutorial tomorrow!