Fred-n-Sara

Finally, I have fixed the photo album page on our site.  It now contains working links to our new photo page at Shutterfly.

Our photo page doesn’t contain all the pictures that our original photo site at Flikr did, but it does have recent pictures on it, including all the Calvin pictures I have taken (or at least the good ones).  I’m still working on getting all the other pictures up there too.  I try to update it with new pictures as I take them, so check it often to see new pictures of the cutest baby ever!

Speaking of cutest baby ever, here’s two 5 month pictures for you:

Cal is starting to sit up on his own, he still falls over after a few minutes, but he’s working on staying up!

Please ignore the drool spots…he’s drooling like a mad man all the time now!

Last year, around this time, I decided that I was going to try and be more eco-aware and reduce my household footprint by reducing, reusing, and recycling things when I could.  I’m still going strong on this, and I’ve gotten Fred on the green wagon with me; he’s now running the Science club at his school, where the first task they completed was getting the school to recycle their paper products.

This year, while there are still some eco-friendly ideas I want to put into place, I have another goal: Savy Grocery Shopping.  My goal is to cut our grocery budget significantly.  Currently, we, well, I really, go grocery shopping once a week.  I plan the week’s meals (with Fred’s help, of course ), make a list, and use what coupons I can find in the paper.  I’ve noticed that while I’m not buying more than before, my grocery bills keep going up!  So, I’m implementing some new tactics to save money:

1. Online coupon sites; there are a few good sites, which I posted links to under “Sara’s Links” on the right side of this page.  I know that one of (out of 3 nearby) my local grocery store accepts printed coupons, so I check for new coupons weekly, but I think that most sites come out with new deals each month.
2. Planning meals around sales at the store.  I read about this in the Akron Beacon Journal’s Mad Clipper column that has been running for a while now, and it makes sense; buy what’s on special and skip what’s full price.  I mean, that’s how I buy clothes, why not groceries too?
3. Buy the store brand.  I do this with many things already, but there’s always room for improvement.
4. Shop in bulk.  Fred and I joined Sam’s Club right before Cal was born and I really believe it was a good decision.  We get many staple things there, like meat and chicken, paper products, and wipes for Cal, at much lower costs than we would at the grocery store.  I’m all for warehouse clubs, but I think I’d like Sam’s more if they took coupons…I think BJ’s does, so when our membership is up, we may switch.  But for now, we make a monthly Sam’s trip for essentials.
5. Shop around.  This goes with buying things on sale; I need to start watching ads for more than just the one store I’ve been shopping at and start searching for deals at the other stores around me.  This is going to be rough, I like one-stop shopping.

In addition to saving money, I want to start eating better.  Fred and I are pretty healthy, we are active and we stay away from junk food and pop most of the time, but I know that our diet is not as balanced as it should be.  And with Cal on his way to eating solid foods, I want to set a better example for him.  So, this year, I want to spend less but eat better.  If you have any additional tips, feel free to leave comments!

What a holiday season it’s been!  Fred and I both had 2 weeks off to relax, but it feels like we didn’t get to do much of that.  I’m not complaining though, because we were able to spend time with family and friends and catch up on some errands.  Still, I was almost glad to go back to work this week to get a break from all the chaos.

I haven’t posted anything about Christmas, and I’m sure everyone is just dying to know how Cal’s first Christmas went. So here’s a little recap:

Christmas Eve we spent most of the day with Fred’s side of the family.  We had a great dinner and Cal got so many presents!  He really liked the wrapping paper:

He also enjoyed spending time with his grandparents:

Then on Christmas day we spent the morning at home:

I think Cal is more interested in tasting his new toys rather than playing with them!

Later that day we went to my grandmother’s to spend Christmas with my side of the family:

I think Cal’s Uncle Vince was more excited about Cal’s gifts than Cal was.

Cal spent time with all his aunts and uncles and other family members.

Later in the week we went to visit Fred’s grandfather, who we didn’t get to see earlier because he was sick:

It was a busy time, but I know that Cal, Fred, and I wouldn’t have had it any other way.  Thank you to everyone who helped make it special for Calvin and for us!

To see all the pictures we took of Cal’s Christmas, go to our photopage.