Black Friday!

I love shopping! I always have & always will, especially for toys. So having my daughter makes it that much more fun, but unfortunately toys are expensive & I am not rich. So last year for my daughters 2nd Christmas I decided to give out black friday at toys r us a try. I didnt want to go into this blindsided so I developed a few rules to follow.


My five black friday rules:
1. Have a budget, and do not go over.
2. Check on the deals & make a plan.
3. Do not buy anything that is not on sale.
4. Sleep until a reasonable hour & go out shopping at a normal time(I dont leave my house until 10:30am, Toys r us sales are all day!)
5. Leave an extra $20-$30 for that "I didnt plan on this, but it would be perfect" sale item.

With that said, my budget this year was $130. I ended up spending $102, and that was for $230 worth of toys!  I followed all my rules & due to my research & plans I ended up purchasing some things that rang it at big discounts(50% off) that were not labeled as Black Friday sales at the store! It took a total of 2 hours in the store, but it was totally worth it. At the end of the day, I came home with 2 animal planet toy buckets, 2 Disney story collections books, a pretend cleaning set, 10 2-pack squiggies, a stuffed animal, 2 total dress up princess outfits, a movie, a 25 piece crayola arts & crafts kit, and a Disney princess castle with all the princesses(this was my not planned on item). And since I came in under budget I still have money to spare for other great sales that might come up! Overall, my Black Friday advice: Plan, Plan, Plan. I budget for months ahead of time to make sure I have the money I need on Black Friday, if it weren't for the sales, my daughter wouldn't get half the amount of presents she gets!

Please & Thank You

We teach children to say their Please and Thank You's if they want something. My daughter has caught on to this concept amazingly. She tries saying Please to get anything she wants, from wanting to help cook the fried chicken, to wanting more Halloween candy. But either way, I know when she uses her manners she means what shes saying. Last night she was scheduled to have a sleepover with her Nanny, which she usually loves. But as I was packing her bag & getting her ready I said "Do you want to go have a sleepover with Nanny tonight?" her response "No thank you mommy" It broke my heart. So I reasoned with her(tootsie rolls are the best bribery) and got her in the car, promising that if she didn't want to stay once we got there I would bring her home. Luckily she was happy as could be once we got there, and didn't care one bit when I decided to leave. However Ive learned a new lesson of parenting. Don't ask them if they want to do something if they really don't have a say in the answer. It just leads to a bad situation!

Names

When you start going through the process of naming your child before they are born you come up with tons on names. Some you hate, some you love, some are just in the middle. But with each name you think "nope can't name them joe because I will always think of that annoying kid from school" or "can't name him justin, because everyone will think he's named after timberlake" so in the end you narrow the name down & pick. My daughter is Dawn Elizabeth. Dawn was directly from my aunt, Lynne Dawne. But Elizabeth was different. It fit well & worked, not named directlyl after anyone. What does that say about everyone who's influenced my life named Elizabeth? It means that they are people I respect, people I think highly of, and people that I wouldn't mind my daughter growing up & being like. So although she's not named after all the elizabeths I know..... I wouldn't be upset if she acted a little bit like each one of them.

Quiet time....

Everyone needs their "me" time. I know people who sit at the bar alone to get away. Some people sit at the beach, some enjoy reading in bed, or using a computer, or watching tv. Everyone has it though.... that sacred "don't talk to me, don't bother me, just leave me alone in quiet with my thoughts to do what I want to do" My spot is much less conventional, and definatly earlier in the morning than others. I find my quiet me time in the bathroom, with the door locked and cold water running in the shower as a noise silencer, before I start my day. Not every day do I have the time, but its been something I've done since a teen. No one dares walk in on a teen girl in the shower, I realized young that if I wanted to be left alone... go take "one of Staceys hour long showers." It led to lots of fights about the water bill and lots of "what the hell are you doing in there all that time." My husband still doesn't know(shhhh its my lil secret.) He still thinks my showers take forever, and often questions why there's any left over hot water when I'm done. Due to the increase of technology & smart phones, its now even my time to quietly check my emails & my facebook. And dare I say, its where I sit... writing this post.

I now pronounce you

I now pronounce you.... Mrs. B.

And so I begin the world as both Mommy & Wife. Our family is officially complete since I married Dawn's daddy & the love of my life! Our wedding was beautiful & perfect. Our honeymoon was amazing! Now I'm finishing a week of vacation before I start my new job, with my new name, and in a way my new life. I'm determined not to lose me though. I'm going to stay true to myself, true to my husband, and true to our daughter.