Our Valentine's Day

We had a lovely Valentine's Day. It was a long busy day but I tried to make meals just a little more special!

Note: We did not eat low-carb/low-grain on this day. We had some treats which we do every now and again. I used what I had on hand.

Early in the morning, I was in the mood to bake some muffins so I decided on Cranberry Pineapple muffins. Yum! I also pulled homemade yogurt from the fridge and some already cooked sausage links from the freezer.

For dinner, I made beef tips and gravy using my mom's instructions. I'm still tweaking the "recipe" to get it just right but Andy loved it. It's one of his favorite meals and a great way to stretch a small package of steaks, which I often find for $3-4 on markdown. I had a pan of mashed potatoes still in the freezer which we had made to use up a big bag of potatoes the day we went to meet Baby Girl for the first time!

I had thought of making some cute little cheesecakes but then I didn't get the ingredients so I made a pan of brownies which are always a hit! I swapped out the vanilla for a tiny bit of peppermint extract and that was a yummy change.

Baby Girl has been busy crafting. She made these valentines last week to mail to her grandparents. Those tiny feet! The cards were well received, of course.

We don't typically give big gifts for Valentines Day but do like to celebrate in small ways! Andy worked for a florist many years ago and I haven't received flowers on Valentines Day since. It ruined him. LOL And I don't mind.

This year I had a hair appointment in the afternoon. Andy was running late from work so he met me there so we could do the baby and car swap. He took Baby Girl home so I could get my hair cut and it was a wonderful gift!

How was your Valentines Day? 

January/February Goals

Time for new goals! But first, let's recap January goals...


1. Create some simple homemaking routines.  This has gone well. Little by little I'm gaining footing in this area. I've focused on slowly establishing new habits and that has been beneficial. This will be a continual goal of mine as I work on getting my home back under control. I'll be writing some blog posts in the future about these homemaking habits.

 

2. Do a Pantry Challenge this month. The pantry challenge went great! We used up a LOT of food. That said, spending $100 may have been a bit unrealistic for this season of our lives. I ended up buying a few more easy foods some weeks just to keep going and that's ok. I also got a bunch of marked down meats which we're still using.

3. Sew for my baby! My goal was to make a hat with some fleece leftover from her Christmas stocking. My sister sent her a box of goodies which included a hat that fits her with some room to grow. So I crossed this goal off my list!

4. Get back to eating a mostly low-carb diet. Not perfect but definitely moving in the right direction! Low-carb doesn't always jive with a moderate grocery budget but I am doing what I can and learning as I go. This will be a continuous goal too.


Now on to February!

1. Set up Baby Girl's nursery. This is a big project and likely will run into March but I'm working on turning our former guest room into a nursery. Lots of moving furniture around and decluttering will be happening in there for sure! I'm excited to get her moved in to her new room.

2. Make several freezer meals. I want to get back in the habit of keeping a better stocked freezer so I'm starting small this month. We're expecting guests in a few weeks and a couple freezer meals will help. Just tonight I packaged up a container of Turkey Taco Meat (made with shredded Thanksgiving turkey) and 4 containers of cooked brown rice for the freezer. Already working towards my goal!

3. Continue to work on being a good steward of my grocery budget. We recently trimmed our grocery budget to allow for buying baby formula. I'm tightening my frugal belt and am determined to eat well on a smaller budget! So far so good...but it'll take some time to get it fine-tuned.

4. Continue to implement good homemaking habits. As I mentioned above, I'm definitely making strides in this area and developing a good routine.

What are your goals for February? 

I hear Baby Girl waking up so signing off for today. Have a blessed day, everyone! 

Baby Gets A New Hat

The Story of The Three Hats
As told by Baby Girl

 Once upon a time, Mommy thought I needed a hat. I had a hand knitted hat from when I was first born.

But this hat was too small. 

My Grammy bought me a hat.

But this hat was too big!

My mommy decided to make me a hat and printed off this pattern. But before she could sew it up, my Auntie sent me a package all the way from Washington State. In it was a pink hat.

And this hat was just right! 

And quite beautiful too, I might add. 


Mommy was happy and crossed making a hat off her monthly to-do list. And now my head is warm when we go out in the cold weather.

Thank you, Auntie!

The end.  

P.S.- My Auntie did not make this hat. She got it from the thrift store but it looks brand-new! My mommy loves thrifted items and apparently, I do too now!