The Bargain I've Been Waiting For

   I've enjoyed my first week at home. It's been relaxing, but I feel like I have so much to do and I think I try to do too much in one day. Tuesday afternoon I visited my friend and her new baby girl, Jasmin. Hopefully she will be Tamale's playmate soon. Wednesday I ran too many errands and then made a headboard when I got home. (More on that in a minute). My body was so tired and my knees, ankles, and hips were not happy with me. Thursday morning I got much-needed highlights and a trim. I was looking forward to this appointment because last time I got to sit in the massage chair and soak my feet in the pedicure tub while the color set in. It wasn't offered to me this time, so I asked and I don't feel bad one bit. Then I gladly spent the rest of the day on the couch watching the Women's College World Series. I had a minor fit when I was ready for the first game at 11:00 and the Spelling Bee was still on. As a teacher, I support academics whole-heartedly, but not on ESPN. These children and their incessant questions, "Can I have the language of origin?" "Are there any alternate pronunciations?" I was about to lose my mind! I've watched it before, and I know how it works. I just didn't have any patience for it interrupting my games. On a positive note, I did notice that when the kids were eliminated they didn't go directly to their parents. They were led to a small section of roped-off seats. I bet it's a safety holding tank so their parents can cool off and not beat them for blowing a chance at $30,000. Anyways, the rest was good for me because I felt much better on Friday. I met with a pediatrician who was recommended to me Friday morning and I really like her. I had a few questions, but mainly I was just going to get a vibe from her and see if she seemed like a good fit.    

   So I set out to make a headboard for our guest bed. I've seen decorating shows where they cover a piece of plywood with fabric, but then I saw one where they covered art canvases and said it was much easier to hang because it's lighter. I found a curtain panel on sale at Target that goes perfectly with the comforter. I browsed the Hobby Lobby flyer and canvases are 30% off this week. Hot dog! I also needed batting and a staple gun. That's it! I'm happy to report that it was a really easy project. I didn't take enough pictures to offer a good tutorial, but here's how I did it. Cover the canvas in batting and staple around the edges. The corners don't  have to be super neat at this stage. Then cover with the fabric and make sure to pull the fabric tight. Covering the corners is kind of like wrapping the ends of a present. Experiment with the folding and tucking so that you have clean corners without excess fabric sticking out in a point. 

   Saturday was another lazy day for me. We woke up at 9 something and Ryan said, "This new sleeping schedule is gonna hit us like a ton of bricks." So true! He pulled weeds and trimmed in the backyard, but wouldn't let me help. He's been taking good care of me! Sadly, I had to stay inside and watch more softball. Sunday morning Ryan made pancakes and bacon while I was ordered to put my feet up and watch softball. I haven't had much swelling, but I have noticed a little this past week if I'm up too long. I have a doctor's appointment Wednesday morning. The baby should be about 6 pounds by now. She gets the hiccups almost everyday, especially at night when I'm in bed. Ryan put her Pack 'n Play (baby jail) together this week. A beautiful thing happened Sunday... I've been watching the Target ads for the Medela breast pump to go on sale. I know it does occasionally because it was $30 off several months ago. We still have enough left on our gift cards to pay for all of it and I've been itching to get it, although I'm not sure why. It's not a toy I should be playing with yet. I check the ads every Sunday, but no luck so far. Then my mom called Sunday morning to tell me it was on sale for $249. I have a $20 off coupon for it that was in my "thanks for registering" swag. AND last week I got a coupon in the mail for 10% off everything left on the registry. The 10% off coupon says it cannot be combined with any other offers, but of course I'm going to try. I'll admit that I spotted the young male cashier who looked like he wouldn't care what the coupons said. Dishonest... I don't think so. It's a strategy and it worked... and it's worked before. With no discounts and including tax it would have been $298, and I got it for the final price of $218. Thank you, gift card givers! It was a good day.