Mallory's 2 year Update

My tiny peanut turned two last week!

At her checkup a few days after her birthday she was 23lbs (8%) and 31 inches (2%).  Shes in a mix of 12-18 month clothes currently. 

Her favorite foods are corn, macaroni, chicken nuggets, popcorn, and bananas. 

She loves to watch Blippi (her second birthday party theme) and Paw Patrol.

Coloring is a favorite activity.  It doesn't matter if it's with markers, chalk, a pen, or crayons.  She loves to scribble.  Also enjoys stickers. 

We weaned a few weeks before her birthday.  I was sad, but ready.  She asked for milk for the first week and a half but has been pretty good since. 

She is sleeping better.  Weaning seemed to be a turning point. She was in my bed every single night basically but since weaning it's only been a few times.  She will usually wake up and cry once or twice but it's brief and she puts herself back to sleep. 

She's very expressive and talks in big sentences and phrases (or what I think is big for a 2 year old).  She also has great receptive skills and sometimes I think she listens better than Eleanor. haha.

She's still a mama's girl, but I'm not really complaining about that.

The first Swago: Shopping Edition of 2018!

Still recovering from all of your holiday shopping? The online rewards site Swagbucks has a smart and fun way for you to earn and save when you spend. 

Swagbucks is hosting another round of Shopping Swago! What is SWAGO you ask? It's a bingo-inspired promotion run by Swagbucks, a website that rewards you with points (called SB) for completing everyday online activities. You can redeem those SB for free gift cards. If you've never used Swagbucks, participating in SWAGO is a great introduction to the site and an easy way to earn a good amount of points quickly.  

Click here to get started! 

Here’s what you need to know to get your 300 SB Bonus (and don’t worry, you don’t have to make a purchase to complete a pattern):

• Go to the Swag page and make sure you hit “Join” otherwise you won’t get credit for completing the action items. Each square on your Swago Board will contain an action item to complete.
• Once you complete the action item in a particular square the square will change color signifying the action item is complete.
• You have a limited amount of time to mark off as many squares as possible so use your time wisely.
• Be mindful of the patterns and their corresponding bonuses located on the right of your Swago Board. The patterns will vary in difficulty and bonus value - up to 300 SB - enough for your first $3 gift card.
• Once you’ve achieved a pattern the corresponding “Submit” button will light up. You can have multiple patterns available for submission, however, you can only submit ONE pattern so choose wisely.
• The game ends Friday, January 26th at 12pm PDT/3pm EDT. So make sure to hit “Submit” on the pattern you wish to submit. If you don’t hit “Submit” before the game ends you won’t receive your SB bonus.
  
  Also, if you sign up through me this month, you'll get a $10 rebate when you make your first purchase via Swagbucks Shopping! You can activate it in the "Swag Ups" area of "My Account"

Top Ten of 2017

In no paticular order here are some of my favorite moments of 2017

1) Mallorys birthday was a fun time celebrating my baby turning one.

2) Mallory seeing Lake Michigan and enjoying it.

3) Taking the girls to the beach in September and having it almost to ourselves

4) Every time Mallory wakes up from naps and gives Eleanor a big hug I just melt. 

5) In February I went to Nashville to meet up with some of my mom friends from around the country.  I'd been chatting with these women for 4 years at that point so it was great to finally meet.

5) Our 6th anniversary.  We tried a new restaurant and I wanted to take a walk down by the river but it was so windy we kept getting belted with sand and dirt ruining that plan.

7) Great Wolf Lodge.  We ended up going twice and Eleanor loved it so much she still talks about it. 

 

8) Eleanor starting school

9) In April I took the girls to a baseball game by myself.  I missed most of the few innings we made it through, but Eleanor got choosen to go out on the field and say 'play ball'. 

10) This isn't a good moment necessarily but it stands out.  Around Halloween both girls got sick.  Eleanor had croup first, then Mallory got it and on Halloween she had temps of almost 104, and it lingered for nearly a week. It wasn't a fun time, and I didn't sleep much, but they recovered.

~ My 2018 Goals ~

A new year and new goals.  Here are mine.

*Read more books for me.                                                                                                                        

*Dates with Rob once a month.   We had two last year.  Two.  And one was to Eleanor's conference lol               
                                                                                                                       
*Cut back on sweets                                                                                                                                 
*Try one new recipe a month. 

                                                                                                                                                                                                        
*Pay off at least one credit card.  We only have two that have a balance but one has a much higher balance.                                                                                                                               

*Read through the bible in the year.  I realized today that the Holy Bible app has a voice feature which makes it so much easier to listen to it while cooking etc...                                                       

*Purge at least one box/bag of clothes/toys/whatever I need to get rid of every other month.

January Swago with Spin & Win

The digital rewards site Swagbucks is offering big payouts during their January "Swago" promotion starting Monday, January 8th at 9am PT and running until Monday, January 15th! Swago is just like bingo, but in this case you're filling out squares as you earn points on their site for doing things you already do online. If you're thinking of trying Swagbucks, this is a great chance to learn all about how the site works and earn bonus points while doing it, meaning you can get more gift cards faster. Here are a few tips: 

• Each square on your Swago Board will contain an action item to complete. They can be anything from getting a search win, completing a survey, or just visiting one of our popular stores!
   
• Once you complete the action item in a particular square the square will change color signifying the action item is complete.
   
• You have until 12pm PT/3pm ET on Monday, January 15th to mark off as many squares as possible so use your time wisely.
   
• Be mindful of the patterns and their corresponding bonuses located on the right of your Swago Board. The patterns will vary in difficulty and bonus value. Once you’ve achieved a pattern, the corresponding “Submit” button will light up. You can have multiple patterns available for submission, however, you can only submit ONE pattern so choose wisely.
• Each activity you successfully complete on your Swago Board will give you anywhere from 1-20 spins on the Spin & Win Wheel. PLUS, when you submit your board for a bonus you'll get additional spins. The number of spins will depend on the pattern you complete. The wheel has all sorts of great prizes that you can win, and each spin is a winner!

The Spin & Win Wheel will be available all throughout Swago and you have until 11:59pm PT on Monday, January 15th to use all your spins. 

Fill up your board and then submit your pattern to get even more points - if you can fill in the whole board, you get a 500 SB bonus, which is enough for a $5 gift card from the retailer of your choice.  

Click here right now and click "Join" to get started! If you don't already have a Swagbucks account, you'll be able to quickly sign up; PLUS, if you earn 300 SB before the first of January, you'll get a bonus 300 SB!