So I wasn’t out of the coupon game for long and decided to give Target another shot (albeit a different store). I would like to report that I have redeemed myself. I was able to proceed with my transaction, though it was still quite the battle. This time, however, I won… and really that’s what’s important. lol.
I paid $12.35 for over $30 worth of stuff. And the Puffs ($9.49) I got for free.
Ajax’s first Easter basket, courtesy of Aunt Terri.
Today at Baby Group there was an Easter Party! My Aunt Terri said that Ajax did wonderful! He really is a happy little dude and enjoyed playing with the other kids as well as playing solo. It’s also been transitioning into a beautiful week. Today was almost 60 and sunny. The weather report says that it will be in the 70s by Friday (perfect birthday weather). I would just like to point out that this time last year it was cold, gray and hovering in the 40s. I remember when Dave drove me to the hospital at 6 am it was cold with bitter rain and two days after Ajax was born we were hit with a snow storm. Love Michigan weather.
You may have noticed that I haven’t had many coupon posts lately. I’ve been a little busy lately and honestly a little turned off of coupons. I went to Target and got into a disagreement with not one, not two, not three, but FOUR, yes four store managers.
Now, does anyone remember my previous coupon lesson where I instructed that what a coupon says, what is actually printed on the coupon, trumps what may or may not be pictured on a coupon. Some coupons don’t even have pictures so there you go. To keep it short all four managers disagreed on what was PICTURED in the coupon and they decided that the appropriate way to use a coupon was to guess what was pictured on the coupon and try to match it to what I was trying to purchase. The fourth manager, I’ll call him Mr. Manager, was the final player in this charade and when he stormed over I could tell that the situation wouldn’t end in my favor.
Mr. Manager acted swiftly, made a decision and it didn’t matter what I said. He acted much to busy and important to hear one customers coupon complaint and yes, he confirmed what that the other three suspected, what was pictured on the coupon is clearly how a coupon should be used. In this instance the coupon was for a free Puffs. The picture is nondescript, it could be a single pack of Puffs in cube or oblong, it could have been a three pack. No one could decide. In the end I told him that he was wrong and that I would bring my business elsewhere, he shrugged and basically told me tough.
This has actually turned my stomach from Target and couponing for a while. You know what’s funny? I had actually used the same coupon twice previously in the same transaction at the same store with no problem.
Tonight for a 1/2 hour Ajax played a game. A game he made up all on his own. I had the laundry basket filled with clean folded clothes on the couch. Ajax had four hard cover books and kept picking up one book at a time and pushing it into the basket. Then he would pull the books out, one by one, throw them back on the couch and push them around before picking them each up and tossing them back into the basket. He kept singing to himself as well which of course added to the cuteness.
Another game Ajax has developed is throwing things off the step into the back room. Ok this isn’t the more creative game in the world, but it’s still pretty funny. He throws everything off the step- shoes, books, baskets, really anything he can get a hold of. He also love shoving things under the refrigerator. I have several toys and a cutting board under there that I keep nagging Dave to get.
Ajax has to be going through a growth spurt; he is eating a ton! For example, at breakfast he had oatmeal with apple sauce and 1/2 an English muffin and 1/4 of an apple with a cup of milk. For lunch he ate peas, meat, and rice over my grandpa Naders (my favorite grandpa meal ever) with a cup of milk. For his afternoon snack he ate a whole cheese stick and 1/2 an apple with a cup of milk. For dinner he ate a little pulled pork and steamed veggies with a small slice of bread with 1/4 of an apple, with a cup of milk. He is a growing boy! He’s also starting to like meat a bit more, he likes ham, chicken, and today was the first day he ate beef willingly.
He’s also pretty close to walking, I think it’s going to be this week, but we’ll see. He’ll actually let go of the couch and walk to you. It’s darn cool. On a down note, I don’t think we’re going to be down to 2 bottles by his birthday. I have come to realize that a gradual weaning off the bottle is not going to work with this nino and we’re going to have to switch cold turkey. I am however waiting till after his birthday for this transition (kind of like how you don’t go on a diet right before the holidays).
Although I’m not a “crunchy” momma by any means, I still feel it necessary to buy organic foods for Ajax. Organic baby purees, organic yogurt, organic smoothies… and Ajax seems to be allergic to all of it. Whenever he has any of these organic products he breaks out in this terrible rash and hives. I have no idea why. Organic stuff is supposed to be the best, right? Well Ajax’s body doesn’t think so.
Dave and I are coffee drinkers; it’s certainly a necessity before starting my day. For Ajax his daily starter is his morning bottle. It’s his coffee. For a while we had been tapering the amount of his morning bottle and really he was only drinking about 2 – 4 oz, but we’d all gotten into the habit of giving him a bottle first thing when he got up. Since we decided to start weaning off the bottle we thought that starter bottle should be the first to go. Ajax, however, is having a hard time of it. I’ve given him a sippy cup in lieu of the bottle first thing in the morning, but he is unconvinced that that is how he should start his day. It definitely going to take a while for him to let go of his bottle.
On another developmental note, Ajax can totally walk, he just chooses not to. Dave and I sat on either side of the living room, spaced about 10 ft apart and Ajax was perfectly capable of walking back and forth between us. He even at one point started to lose his balance, stopped, corrected himself and then continued walking. It was hilarious.
While we were out and about today we let Ajax play on some mechanical rides. I just emptied my wallet of change, but Ajax didn’t seem to mind that the rides weren’t moving. He sat there and played with the steering wheel and just laughed and yelled. He’s going to be a great driver, just like me.
On Wednesday I was talking with Kristy and she asked when we were going to switch Ajax over to whole milk and sippy cups. For some reason I thought Ajax would intuitively give up bottles on his own once he reached a certain age. I cannot tell you why I believed this, but there you go. Honestly, I hadn’t even realized that he was at the age where we should be working on switching him over. So, I did some research and we now have a plan! We’re hoping to have him down to two bottles by his birthday with a sippy cup at each meal with whole milk. Well, that’s our goal anyways, I’ll keep you posted!
The weather was so lovely this evening that Dave, Ajax and I hit up the park! This was really the first time that we’ve been able to take Ajax to the park. We headed up to the elementary school in our neighborhood, which is maybe a 15 minute walk from our home, and let Ajax play on the jungle gym and slide. Goodness did he love the slide! I’d sit at the top and Dave would be at the bottom to catch him, he had a blast. Then he’d turn around and try to scramble right back up again. He also liked to crawl up and down the steps on the play-scape since he is now a pro at stairs.
Ajax has also decided that he sometimes needs to be a monster. Apparently it’s just something that needs to be done. He’ll crawl around the house, scrunch up his nose, and growl. It’s the oddest thing, but really it’s like he’s channeling some sort of monster, we’re not really sure what else to call it. lol.
