Wyze Cam

I haven't done a product review on here before, but we've come across something that I wanted to share. Its called a Wyze Cam and it is amazing! Here's the description from Amazon:

• 1080p full HD live stream direct to your smartphone. Works with 2.4GHz Wi-Fi networks (does not support 5GHz Wi-Fi)


• Motion Tagging technology detects and outlines motion in both live stream and playback video modes. Power Cable Length-6 feet


• Night vision up to 30 feet away - even in total darkness


• Motion and sound detection with free rolling 14-day cloud storage. Use the Wyze App (iOS and Android) to manage and share multiple cameras


• Magnetic base and included adhesive metal plate let you mount your Wyze Cam anywhere - no screws required

The video and night vision are unbelievably clear! It can be used as a security camera, baby monitor or just to spy on your family while you're at work😉.  Just in case you skimmed through the specs (like I would) you set the camera up where every you want it (its a wide angle lens) and can view/listen/speak from the app.  

You can record to your phone, but if you want continuous or event recording you just need a MicroSD card. Wyze recommends 32GB MicroSD card to record a continuous feed for days and will rewrite over old video when the card fills up. 

The following are some screenshots from the camera that sells itself!

This is the view from our refrigerator. 

This is the night vision in our laundry room, completely dark. We were using it to try and catch a mouse.

These are a couple of screenshots from the app. The first is the notification screen and the second shows all the options while you are watching.

A couple of things to note, it does need to be plugged in so wherever you decide to put it you need somewhat close access to an outlet.  Also to record you need a sim card inserted into the camera.

And I saved the best for last, the price....its a mere $25 on Amazon and its a Prime product.  I'm putting a link down below if you're interested. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases with no extra cost to you. And this is not a sponsored post just wanted to share a product we love!

Westley's 6 month update!

Has  it really already been half a year?!

Sleeping Patterns:  Not really sure if this kid has a pattern or if he's every going to sleep through the night.  He's been sick for about the last 10 days with a lot of congestion which makes sleeping rougher.  The last 3 nights though he's actually slept really well until about 4:30 in the morning when he wants to be awake for awhile.  His naps are pretty much the same and he will still nap on the go if we're out.  We recently got a king size bed so we all have a lot more space at night which helps a lot.

Eating:  Still breastfeeding, since he's been sick I've been giving him about a 1/2 oz of milk with this antibiotic in a bottle and he is terrible with a bottle!  It takes him forever to drink that small amount unlike when he nurses and gets a full feeding in less than 10 minutes.  I was doing oatmeal off and on this month and also had him try sweet potatoes.  Now that he's 6 months I really need to be getting more consistent with the solids and try to find a sippy cup that he'll take.

Accomplishments:  He finally rolled from back to belly all by himself!  He can sit unassisted for a good amount of time although I still try to put the boppy pillow behind him in case he loses balance after a while.  He found his feet.  He sits in the laundry basket in the bathtub with big sister.  He jumps and turns the seat around in his new jumperoo toy.  He likes to swing at the park.  Sam is really good at getting him to laugh.  He loves watching daddy play the guitar. 

Places we went:  We went to the strawberry festival, the clay county fair, the emergency room, Chick-Fil-A (always lol), the mall, and an Easter egg hunt.  He's getting much easier to take places its just a matter of working it around his naps.

Westley is already 21 pounds!  I'm still squeezing him into size 3 diapers because I bought a box and I'm determined to use it.  Most clothes I buy for him are 12 months so that he can wear them for a while.   I've probably said this in every update but he is still such a happy, content baby.  Even with being sick he was still smiling.  

One of our weekly trips to Chick-Fil-A.

Swinging at the park.

New toy!

Easter egg hunt at church.

Sitting up like a big boy.

Lunch time

Such big smiles

Bath time

Special delivery, he actually enjoyed being in the box lol

Sleeping in the ER, he didn't have pneumonia thankfully!

DEBT FREE!

If I could shout this from the rooftops I would! But there's a sleeping baby in the other room so sharing it with the internet will have to do;)  For those of you who have been reading my blog for the last year or so might remember my financial posts:

My student loan story
Financial Advice
How To Grow Your Savings

We have steadily been paying off debt for the past 6 years that we have been married.  We have paid off 2 cars, 1 motorcycle, $18,000 in student loans, $6,000 in medical bills, and around $5,000 in credit card debt.  I've already gone in depth of how we paid a lot of that off in the above-mentioned posts.  The Lord has definitely been providing for us this past year as usual.  I received significant raises at work and Howie started a new job that pays more as well.  With Howie going to school full-time he also received more grant money this year.  We tend to live beneath our means as much as possible but still do fun things.  Using Dave Ramsey's snowball method kickstarted our debt payoff and to see it through to the end feels great!  

Even with paying extra on debt, I've still been contributing to my 401(k) at work and been increasing my contribution with raises, I'm excited seeing how much its grown in just 2 years.  We've also been able to keep our emergency account healthy.  

The main new debt we had was medical bills.  First off our insurance was terrible, I had a $3,000 deductible and $6,000 max out-of-pocket.  Having a baby can be expensive with crappy insurance.  I had to prepay my Dr's office $2,000 before I delivered.  Hospital bill was over $3,000 and then the miscellaneous bills that came as well.  We just paid off the hospital bill and when I called to pay it off I asked if they offer a discount for paying in full versus payments.  Thankfully the hospital I had Westley at offers a 10% discount for paying in full.  If I had paid it earlier they could have done 20% but I was waiting on my $1,000 refund from the Dr's office.  It still helped save almost $200 on the remaining balance! 

We had about a year left on our car loan but decided with our tax return to pay it off.  It didn't save us a ton on interest but its less money going out each month.  This was especially important because this fall Howie might be in a program at school that wouldn't leave him time to work.  Currently working on trusting the Lord to work all of that out because we will still have living expenses. 

I write all this not to brag, although I am quite proud, but to show it is possible to be debt-free even while being considered "low-income".  We do live very much below our means and sometimes it feels like a sacrifice but for this time in our life it works.  

Our next financial goal is to live just on Howie's income and save mine.  I only work 1-2 days a week but it should still add up quickly. I would also like to make a little bit of side money with this blog, if anybody has tips on making that happen let me know!

If I have inspired or helped you on your debt-free journey I would love to know your story and please feel free to share any posts!

Westley's 5 month update

I cannot believe Westley is already 5 months old!  I love writing these monthly updates to look back on some day:)

Sleeping Patterns:  Westley is all over the place with his sleeping.  A couple of nights this month he slept a solid 6-7 hour chunk which was awesome.  Of course Sam woke up both of those nights so I still didn't get to sleep a whole night.  I'm really not sure why he's waking up so much at night, maybe he's gassy, hungry, hot, I have no idea.  He's basically in our bed the whole night because I nurse him back to sleep whenever he wakes up.  Its the easiest and fastest way to get him back to sleep.  On a positive note he's getting into a really good daytime routine.  He wakes up around 730-8, naps around 10 until 11:45-12 then goes back down around 2 until 4:30-5.  Because he wakes up pretty late from his 2nd nap we haven't been doing a 3rd nap unless we're not going to be home for him to be in bed at 7.  Sometimes I nurse him to sleep for his naps and sometimes I just lay him down and he goes to sleep pretty easily.

Eating:  We have made it to 5 months exclusively breastfeeding, the only little issues have been him not wanting to take a bottle as well recently.  One night I was at work form 3-9 and Howie was only able to get him to take one 4 oz bottle and that was broken up.  Normally he would take 2 bottles in that time frame.  It does take a little pressure off of me for making sure I pump enough.  Maybe he's eating just enough to take off the edge until he can nurse?  I just bought some baby cereal (oatmeal) to start trying in the evening, hoping it might help him sleep better although I really don't think it's because he's hungry.  I'm getting desperate though!  Still planning to wait a couple of weeks before starting other foods.  

  

Accomplishments:  He's not screaming as much in the car seat.  He's able to sit up unassisted for about 20-30 seconds before toppling over.  Still not rolling back to belly.  Able to grab toys and put them in his mouth to chew on.  Loves his kick and play piano.  Has to be buckled into his swing/bouncer or he shimmies himself right down.  He thinks peek-a-boo is hilarious.

Places we went:  Disney World when he was about 4 1/2 months old and he did amazing!  He napped on the go and rarely fussed.  Also got to go on some of the rides.  He slept pretty good those 2 nights we stayed because he was so worn out.  We also went to the zoo and the strawberry festival, he's really such a good baby when we're out.

Westley is around 19-20 pounds and 25 inches long.  He started what sounds like growling a week ago.  I think he was just overtired but it was pretty funny to watch.  Other than that he is a really quiet, content baby, sometimes I worry that he doesn't babble very much but try to remember every baby is different and he is a boy (they tend to babble less?).

Here are some of my favorite pictures from his 5th month!

Happy baby at Disney World.

Daddy and Westley at Animal Kingdom.

He was only terrified because Rafiki touched his arm.

Grandma and grandpa came for a quick visit!

Sleeping babies melt my heart:)

Giant smile!

Sitting like a big boy at Chick-Fil-A.

Fun at the Strawberry Festival.

Playtime with daddy

He wasn't sure what to think about sitting in the shopping cart!

Disney World Tips With Kids!

Having just come back from our first trip to Disney World I wanted to jot down a few tips, in case anyone is interested.  Leading up to our trip I was reading tons of blog posts with tips, I like to be prepared;)  This trip was made with an almost 4 year old and a 4 month old.  We were there from Tuesday late afternoon to Thursday late afternoon.  On Tuesday we went to Hollywood Studios, on Wednesday to Magic Kingdom, and Thursday to Animal Kingdom.

Tip #1:  Stay on property.  All the perks of staying on property outweighs any cons.  We stayed at a value resort (All-Star Music) for $122/night.  Didn't have to pay for parking, shuttles are every 20 minutes starting quite early in the morning, extra magic hours, magic bands included, earlier access to fast pass reservations, and there's probably more I've forgotten or didn't know about.  The rooms were small and basic, didn't have a coffee pot (we brought our own!) but did have a refrigerator.  Next time I will try to find a good deal on a moderate hotel just to have a little more space.  Credit to my sister-in-law for really pushing me to stay at a Disney resort!

Our coffeepot from home:)

Tip #2:  With young kids, take a break in the middle of the day!!  There was extra magic hours on Wednesday night for Magic Kingdom and my thought was, we'll take a break in the middle of the day and then stay later.  Um no!  I was done by 8:45 pm.  We did start early though, we were on the bus by 7:15 since we had an 8:20 breakfast reservation at Be Our Guest Restaurant.  Which brings me to...

Just hanging out while brother napped.

Tip #3:  Keep checking fast pass reservations and restaurant reservations in the days leading up to your trip.  I was determined to get a reservation at Be Our Guest but that's not easy to come by, I checked every morning and night to see if one would pop up.  The day before we were leaving I found a lunch one, but pushed a wrong button and it was gone that fast.  Found a dinner one (ended up cancelling) and got that but the next day on our way to Orlando I found the 8:20 breakfast one!  I had read that getting a breakfast reservation before the park actually opens for the day is a great way to beat the crowds, and that was very true!  I was also constantly checking Animal Kingdom fast passes for one of the Avatar rides, more because I thought Howie would enjoy it and managed to get one for the river ride that we could all go on.  In retrospect, I don't really understand what would make people wait 2 hours for that ride, thankfully we only waited about 10 minutes.

Breakfast at Be Our Guest

Tip #4:  Use fast passes for what your kid is actually going to enjoy the most.  For Sam that was meeting the princess.  I used all 3 at Magic Kingdom for meeting Rapunzel, Ariel, and Belle.  We got there early enough to wait in line to meet Cinderella.  Once those were gone in the evening, I started getting fast passes for rides. even though the wait for It's a small world was only 25 minutes there was a fast pass time available so we literally walked right on to a boat (no wait) and that's what I did the rest of the evening, as soon as we checked into one ride I would find the next one.  So we rarely waited in line. In a span of about 3 hours we rode probably 7 rides with little to no wait and had dinner.  

Meeting Rapunzel

Dancing with Belle

Tip #5:  Share meals and mobile order.  Sam is not a huge eater and the kids meals come with a decent amount of food so I shared quite a bit with her and would eat a bit of Howie's as well.  We tended to be ready to eat at the same time as everyone else so if I saw the line was long I just ordered on the Disney app and I would get a notification when it was ready, super easy.

Tip #6:  When looking at the different crowd calendars, know that "light" days still mean a massive amount of people.  I wasn't expecting that.  I will never go when "heavy" days are expected (at least not with young kids).

Tip #7:  Say "yes" to your kid a little more often than you normally would:)

Bonus tip: Just because your kid meets the height requirements doesn't mean they should ride!

Rode the Little Mermaid ride twice!

Bought her a light up wand, one of the times we said yes when we normally wouldn't have:) 

Westley's 4 month update!

Sleeping Patterns:  This kid's night sleeping is killing me!  He's been waking up 3-4 times a night😪.  We generally put him down around 7, then he wakes up between 10-11, between 1-2, and again around 5 then sleeps until 7 or 8.  It feels like having a newborn again, I've been trying to keep him in the pack n play instead of our bed but I'm about ready to give that up just to get some sleep!  He's in a pretty good routine with taking 3 naps a day, an hour in the morning, a 2-3 hour one in the afternoon then a 30-45 minute one in the late afternoon.  Westley is a much better napper than Sam was but she was definitely a better night sleeper.

Eating Habits: Still exclusively nursing around 8 times a day and 4 oz bottles while I'm at work.  We're holding off on solids until probably 5 1/2 months for a couple of reasons.  I don't want to have to worry about constipation, or adding another thing to mealtime, or the diaper changes that come with introducing solids!  Since the recommendation is introducing anytime between 4-6 months I don't mind waiting until closer to 6 months.  

Accomplishments:  He has started grabbing toys and putting them in his mouth.  Still trying to roll from back to belly but hasn't quite figured it out.  Likes to take the pacifier out of his mouth and hold it.  Started giving him a bath in the big bathtub with Sam, he loves to splash with his feet.  He's started "talking" mainly when he wakes up at 5 in the morning and is just chilling in his bed.

Places we went:  Does going to Green Cove to get his birth certificate count as going somewhere??  I take them both to the library, chick fil a, the store, the park etc but I don't really venture out further than that yet.  We are going to Disney World at the end of the month which I am super excited about, we'll see how he does there though!

He's around 18 pounds now and 24 inches long, he has a long torso but short, stubby legs.  I finally had to move him up to size 3 diapers, I was being cheap since you get more diapers in the smaller sizes.  I use both cloth and disposable depending on how I'm feeling that day and if we're going somewhere.  He can fit in some 3 month stuff still but really moving up to 6-9 month.  He is a hot box, constantly has sweaty feet and hands!  With the exception of his night sleeping and hating his carseat he is still such a good baby, even when he is overtired he doesn't melt down.  He was up for 4 hours straight one evening and was fine unfortunately that didn't help him sleep better that night either.  

Here are some of my favorite pics from his fourth month:)

Westley's 3 month update!

Sleeping patterns:  He has slept through the night a handful of times but he's had a lot of congestion since Thanksgiving off and on and hasn't slept well with that.  He takes around 3-4 naps a day depending on what time he wakes up in the morning.  I've gotten into the habit of nursing him to sleep which might backfire later on but for now it's what works for us.  He does catnap a lot but I've also got some good 2-3 hour naps out of him which are amazing!

Pictures at JC Penney

Eating habits:  We are still exclusively breastfeeding, he tends to "snack" a lot versus taking full feeds.  He's gotten a bottle a few times with me being back at work and Howie says it takes him a long time to take a full (3-4 oz) bottle.  Howie does a great job pace feeding Westley which helps him not develop a bottle preference.  The couple of times I've pumped at work so far I've gotten about 4 oz on each side which is perfect.  I have about 70 oz in the freezer right now that we'll rotate through.  I definitely don't have the oversupply that I had with Sam which is a good thing (much less time spent pumping!)

Accomplishments:  He's able to self soothe pretty well with his thumb, other times he uses a pacifier.  It looks like he might have a bottom tooth poking though soon.  Sam didn't get her first teeth until she was 18 months old and that's what I was hoping for again but it's not looking like it:(  He's drooling a ton!  I ordered some really cute bandana bibs off of Amazon to help with the drooling.  He's already trying to sit up, if I have him against me he wants to sit up.

Places we went:  We went to North Carolina to visit some of Howie's family.  We went to the zoo a couple of times.  Being honest I do sometimes miss how easy it had gotten with just Sam and we would go and do a lot.  I'm trying to be patient because I know it will get easier and we can be on the go again:)

I'm guessing (based on our regular home scale) he weighs between 15-16 lbs, he's wearing mostly 3-6 month clothes and size 2 diapers.

Westley is such a good baby!  Even when he is tired he doesn't usually get cranky.  He likes giving big smiles.  He loves bathtime and getting his diaper changed!  He likes watching big sister play.  I've started putting him on the floor in her room while she plays so he can watch.

JC Penney Portraits

Trying so hard to roll from back to belly.