Random Friday

      Today I am unveiling a new weekly blog post: Random Friday. The day of the week where I will talk about random things going on in our lives. Information that I don't want to do an entire post about. Things that happened in the past week. Things we did over the previous weekend. Thoughts on my mind. Random pictures and Owen updates.  Whatever comes to mind while I'm working on the blog. It will most likely take the place of Pinspiring Friday because I am taking a break from doing a lot of crafts because of our budget. Though I still want to eventually get around to making Owen's first Christmas scrapbook.
     I got the idea for this blog post from the blogger over at From Mrs. to Mama. She has a really great blog about marriage, mommyhood, and more. So without further ado, here is my version.

1. Washer and dryer. This is our new washer and dryer. After coming back from Christmas vacation to find our washer had flooded our laundry room, we had to buy a new washer. We went ahead and bought the dryer at the same time so we could have the matching pair. They are fantastic and the novelty of having a new washer and dryer still hasn't worn off. I do at least one load of laundry every day to keep on top of things and I'm finding that I actual enjoy doing it. Well, not folding and putting it away. But with a happy little tune every time it's finished, it's almost like me and the washer and dryer could be friends.

2. Superbowl commercials. Was it just me, or did the Superbowl commercials this year stink? The majority of them weren't that funny in my opinion. My favorite was the M & M commercial where they introduced "Ms. Brown" and the red M & M rips his shell/clothes off and dances to LMFAO. Not the most high-brow of commercials, but it definitely makes me giggle.

3. Frame wall. I have been obsessed with this frame wall that I found on Pinterest for a least a month or two now. And I am finally getting around to collecting all the necessary pieces to put one together at my house. I have bought four frames and think I will need two or three more and then some other embellishments. I'm so excited. I will post pics once I complete ours. 

4. Owen sleeping unswaddled. Owen has been sleeping unswaddled for about a week and a half now. It is a miracle. We were beginning to think that we would have to teach his college roommate how to wrap him up before bedtime. Now we just wrap him in a snuggly blanket and rock him a little before putting him in his crib on his tummy, and he generally falls asleep on his own. He has also ditched his pacifier. Yay for not being the parent of the five-year-old walking around in public with a binky!

5. Organization. I've been on a roll with these Organized Home Challenges up until the past two weeks. The recent challenges have been pretty ho-hum, so instead I decided to pick something else to organize: our main bathroom drawer. It is a huge combination of whatever can fit in there. So I trashed a bunch of stuff, put our medicine in another place and then organized everything that we left in some more of those awesome clear plastic trays from Target. 

6. Valentine's Day surprise for Tim. I am nearly finished with Tim's Valentine's Day surprise. I just have to wrap one last thing and then I'll be done. I can't wait until Tuesday. I have never really done anything this time intensive for Tim before. I have done creative things for Tim like Valentine's Day coupon books, but this idea is way more exciting and special than that. I am beyond excited. Really, I could care less what he gets me. I am more excited about seeing his face when I finally reveal his surprise. Here's a tiny sneak peek. 

7. Puppy love. That's the theme for Owen's first Valentine's Day present. We got him the book "Snuggle Puppy" by Sanda Boynton, a Jelly Cat Cordy Roy puppy stuffed animal, and a new onesie from Gymboree's new Stylish Puppy line. So cute! I know I'm probably going overboard and he is a baby and he won't remember his first Valentine's Day, but I will remember his first Valentine's Day and I had fun picking out his gifts. So there. 

8. Organized Home Challenge. I have not been completing the challenges for the last two weeks and I'm pretty sure that trend will continue for a few more weeks. Mainly because I don't need to organize things like my recipes and my trash and recycling. And next week is couponing and I don't really coupon other than to occasionally use coupons for baby stuff if I happen to get them in the mail. I have tried couponing in the past, but I found myself buying stuff I don't normally use just so I could use the coupon. Then comes meal planning and addresses and bill paying and receipts and stuff like that, all of which I already have organized. So.... I'll jump back on the bandwagon sometime in the next few months. Stay tuned. 

9. Owen snacks. I made Owen homemade goldfish crackers last weekend. They were awesome and tasted a bit like tiny Cheddar Bay biscuits from Red Lobster. Anyway, kiddo (and Daddy) are both big fans. Here's the link if you're interested in making your own. 

9. Making my own dish detergent. To save a little money around here, I made my own dishwasher detergent after my friend Katie posted a how-to on her blog. It was super simple and so far, if we thoroughly rinse our dishes before putting them in the dishwasher, they come out nice and clean. And running a load of dishes costs just pennies now. I stored it in a pretty glass container that I found at Target for about $7. Here's the quick directions for how to make your own if you want. Just combine the following ingredients and then put one tablespoon in the detergent holder in the dishwasher and one in the pre-wash holder.

1 1/2 c. Borax

1 1/2 c. baking soda

1/2 c. kosher salt

1/2 c. Lemishine

10. Freebies. I have been signing up for freebies on the Internet for about a month now and my goodies are now starting to arrive in my mailbox. I check out a couple "Deals" blogs a couple times a day and sign up using my first initials and a special e-mail address that I set up on Gmail specifically for this so I don't get a lot of junk e-mail in my real inbox. So far, I have gotten 10 free greeting cards, a razor, and three Atkins energy bars. If you're interested in signing up for your own freebies, check out Budget Saavy Diva and Mama's Spot. They are my two favorite blogs for finding out about cool deals for free stuff.

11. Revenge. If you are not watching this show, then you are really missing out. It is my favorite show on TV and the best new show this season. Wednesday's episode was amazing! Every episode has some sort of surprise twist that I never see coming and the cliffhangers are the best. The show began with an engagement party where one of the main characters was shot. Then the show rewound to the beginning of the summer so you can see exactly what happened leading up to that moment. It is addictive and awesome. Do yourself a favor and check it out. It's like a soap opera, only with better acting and no coming-back-from-the-dead evil twin storylines. LOVE!