Snapshots of Us

What to wear...

2009-11-24T16:23:00.000-08:00

I have a huge dilemma, I have nothing to wear. I have lost 15 pounds since summer, okay so not a great loss, but my clothes are getting to big. So whoohoo for me!!! Back to my dilemma, clothes from last year are too big as I said, but my prepregnancy clothes are well not my style anymore. Most of my clothes are 3-5 years old and I just don't like them. So you would think a shopping trip would be in order, I do like to shop. But when I go to the store I can't find anything I like. My hubby says I am being too picky, maybe I am. I swear though, the fashions right now, look like the 80's early 90's. I should know I grew up in this era. Now don't get me wrong, I thought I was stylin back then, but at 34 I really don't think the long sweater and stretch pants look is very flattering on me. My other dilemma is that I like junior clothes, but I am 34 and I am not a size 4, see the problem, and the womens clothes, well let's just say I am 34 and not 64. It is so frustrating I could just scream. So what should a 34 year old, not size 4, want to be comfortable, but also trendy, on a budget wear????? I need help......

She's Two....

2009-11-22T15:18:00.000-08:00

It's so hard to believe that my baby is two. I know most parent's say this when their children get older, but it's hard to believe. One minute a baby, the next a little lady, who is now throwing fits. Gotta love the terrible two's. For her 2nd birthday we had an all pink party. I soooo love pink and so does her sister, so hopefully Bitsy girl will love it too.
I don't like to spend alot of money on decoration, why spend money on stuff you are going to throw away. Yes I could keep it for another party, (1) would I remember where I put it (2) would everything be smooshed. Well I lucked out I went to Michaels and they had all their pink princess themed decorations on sale for 90% off. So I got everything even the gift bag treats for under $10. Now that's what I call a great deal. And let me just say that if you don't have a cupcake stand, go get one. I got mine last year and love it. It's a great center piece and who doesn't love cupcakes.

And now the birthday girl.....

Isn't she so cute in her little outfit. It was so cute when she first saw the cupcakes, she pointed at the them and said wow. I know honey, so yummy.

So the day was pretty chaotic, 20 plus people in my house, most of them kids, my house a total wreck, tons of dishes, but it was totally worth it. Happy Birthday my sweet little girl. Mama loves you.

hello are you still here...

2009-11-08T15:50:00.000-08:00

So in the last 3 weeks I have had computer problems, 2 sick kiddos and I caught the cleaning, decorating and organizing bug. I should be back this week. I can't wait to post the outfit I made for Bitsy girls 2nd birthday. So cute!!!!

hugs
*a*

Wordless Wednesday - a special bond

2009-10-07T07:40:00.001-07:00

....she just adores her older brother and he loves it.

The photo wall

2009-10-02T06:51:00.000-07:00

I have always wanted a photo wall, I see them in magazines, websites, and other blogs, and I love them. So after our vacation I ordered a whole bunch of photos all different sizes, this was my first mistake. After I got the pictures back from the printer, I loved them, but since I order them all willy-nilly there was symmatry to my photo wall I hated it. I didn't even get them up on the wall, so behind the couch they went until I came up with a plan. Well a plan I finally came up with and with my wonderful hubby's help, I finally have a photo wall in my family room.

The verdict, I LOVE IT!!!
Since I was putting up a photo wall, I had an old window in the garage, that I saved from our remodel, boy I wish I would have saved more, I added some photos from 2009 of my kids and then I added a some rub-ons directly to the glass and some flowers. All I did to the window was clean the glass, that's it. I think it's a perfect addtion to my family room. Plus I can change the photos out every year.

On the wall opposite my photo wall, I hung a shelf and added more pictures. It looks great. The best part of all of this was the price, both my shelves together were under $10, window frame, free, picture frames all found on clearance, under $40 for everything. Having all my memories on the wall to enjoy, PRICELESS. (I know so cheesy, but I couldn't resist hehe).

hugs,
a

A good day....

2009-09-25T07:49:00.000-07:00

A good thrift store day that is. I love yard sales and thrift store, searching through piles of junk to find a treasure is just so exciting. I don't get to go the thrift store as often as I would like because it's 20 minutes in the wrong direction, there's nothing else there to do in that area. Since the kids are back in school and Bitsy girl and I had some free time, I decided to go and see what they had. I am redoing my bathroom, (hopefully this weekend) and needed to find some stuff to decorate with. I found some great stuff.

All this for under $30. I needed a stand for my living room, and found one for $2, it reminds me of something in my grandmothers basement, but with a little paint it will be fabulous. I got the blue shelf for $2, the towel rack $1 and I have an idea for the glass dish thingy. I think it's a cheese dish, so no there won't be any cheese in my bathroom. I also got a tablecloth, for recovering 2 pillows and a nice sheet. Sheets are an inexpensive peice of fabric, this is a queen sheet, no stains for only 2.99. I also got some shorts for Miss Pie, bogo, and a skirt for Bitsy, 2 pillows and an embroidery hoop (I have a project planned for this). I think that's everything there, and did I mention how much I love to go thrifting.

Stay tuned for some projects coming up in the future.

Happy thrifting,
*a*

Here I am....

2009-09-22T12:41:00.000-07:00

My poor, poor, neglected blog, I just noticed it's been a month since I posted last. Where has the time gone? Since I have been gone so long, I thought I would do a recap of the last month:

1. We went to fair with my mom, 8 people in a 5th wheel good times. Hubby even brought our pop-up down and we stayed in it a few nights in the over-flow. How I love the fair, sorry no pictures, they are on my camera and I'm too lazy to go get it and upload the pictures.

2. The kids went back to school. Everyone was set, new lunchboxes, bookbags, shoes, clothes, school supplies, check, check, check. And then there was 2 at home. I am a routine oriented person, so the summers and all the chaos get to me at times, so I really look forward to the routine of school.

Everyone loves their teacher and so far is having a great couple of weeks. Miss Pie is in the band and loves it. My mother-in-law got her a clarinet at a yard sale for 10 bucks and we bought her book and she been teaching herself all summer how to play, she is actually pretty good. This summer I think I am going to teach her how to play the piano since she'll already have the basics down.

3. We went camping over Labor Day, sorry no pics once again. I really wasn't ready to go on this trip and so I wasn't in the bestest of moods and was just ready to go home.

So that pretty much sums up the past few weeks, not too exciting I know. So you may be wondering what Bitsy Girl has been doing since her siblings are at school most of the day.....
she excited to be sitting a the new bar all by herself eating ravoli's like a big girl.

My kids are home from school, so you know what that means HOMEWORK!!!!

hugs
*a*

I ♥ Faces - Fix it Friday

2009-08-22T17:04:00.000-07:00

.....on Saturday. I know I am a day late, but I had to fix this photo because it's mine.

I know it an awful picture, this is right after I got my camera and had no clue what I was doing. I also didn't realize that my apparel could affect my picture, but it can... See here....

It's not only my red shirt, this picture is severely underexposed and to be completely honest with you if I would take a picture like this now, unless it was really special to me I would just trash it. I wouldn't even mess with editing it.
But since the title of this post is "Fix-it Friday" here's my edit.

Go check out I ♥ Faces and see all the other edits of my picture of Big B.....

out for not...
*a*

One summer day...

2009-08-14T07:46:00.000-07:00

What do you do on a hot summer day? Go to a local amusement park of course. Yesterday we met my mom and had a fun day together riding rides, eating and then going to the water park. Boy was I exhausted when I got home and a little sunburnt. The kids all had a pretty good time, so all my exhaustion was well worth it.

Oh mom, aren't you glad you made a silly face when I was taking pictures.....

have a great day,
*a*

I get too.....

2009-07-28T16:19:00.000-07:00

Do you ever get into the mood of I have to, I have to do the dishes, the 5th load of laundry, clean the floor and so on. Not only saying I have too, but saying it in a grumbling matter. I am so guilty of this, whining and complaining about having to do things. Well today I got a good kick in the butt, a friend of mine from church passed away. 3 months ago she was fine and then got a strep infection which entered her blood stream and affected her heart. She had surgery 2 weeks ago, but things didn't go as plan and she is now in heaven with Jesus. She leaves behind a husband and 3 kids, her youngest is 1 month older than Bitsy Girl. Her death has hit me really hard, I think it's the fact that we are around the same age and that it her illness came on so sudden. Also that I am sit here complaining about things that I HAVE to do, instead I should look at it as things I get to do. I am able to cook for my family, I have 4 healthy children that play hard and get their clothes dirty and they need washed, I am able to stand and wash my floor and so on. Sometimes we can all get caught up in the complaining that this isn't right or I have so much to do, but we should be thankful that we are able to do it and that God has blessed us with another day on this beautiful earth.

I just ask that please keep the P. family in your thoughts and prayers as they are dealing with the untimely death of their wife, mother, sister, daughter and friend.

hugs
*a*

Weigh-in Wednesday

2009-07-22T15:25:00.000-07:00

Today is the last weigh-in day over at Sisterhood of the shrinking Jeans, boy did that 7 weeks fly by. I wanted to post every week on here, but life got in the way and you all know how that is. So anywhoo I lost a total of

Drumroll please.......

8.8 pounds, not what I was hoping for, but I'll take it. Not that I am making excuses, but I did have a vacation in there and a couple camping trips, 4th of July and several birthdays. So all in all not to shabby. I am ready for the next challenge.

I just wanted to give a shout out to my fellow Orange team-mates. You guys and girls did a fabulous job, keep up the weight-loss!!!!

hugs
*a*

I'm still alive....

2009-07-21T15:11:00.000-07:00

I know, I haven't posted in what seems like forever. I don't know who came up with the phrase "lazy days of summer", because they were way off, our summer has been anything but lazy. It has been very enjoyable, I am not a fan of the heat and so far (thank you Lord) this has been one cool, non-humid, rainy (non-drought), breezy summer. I absolutely love it, usually at the end of July I can't wait for August to be over and for fall to be here, for some cool air. This year I don't want the summer to end. So what have we been up to, well I'll tell you.

Right after school we went on vaction... I need to post more pictures of our vacation, I promise soon. I finally got through about 700 pictures, ditched some and then edited the rest and printed a photo book and did some prints to hang up, plus friends of our went with us and I took their picture and had to edit them, my first session with non-family members, I loved it. Though I have alot to learn about photography and editing. Here's our family picture...

After vacation my mom took the 3 older kids for a few days, my mom is such a saint, she still has 4 kids at home and then add my 3 to that. Calgon is all I have to say. They had a good time at gram's and look forward to it every year.
I only had Bitsy girl at home and we just enjoyed being outside smelling the flowers...

Bible school was next and during Bible School Big B broke his collar bone. You may be wondering what kind of church we attend, let me assure you it's a down to earth Baptist church. The teens however were having extreme nights and he loved it up until Thursday night, the boys were playing football, tackle football and he got tackled and well you can guess the rest. I get a phone call, mom can you come get me I think I broke my collar bone, a late night trip to the ER and yes they confirmed it was broke. So his summer hasn't been the best, no riding dirt bike, bike, running, lifting weights for football, horsing around, the only thing he can do is swim and well it hasn't been the hottest around here, but we are not going to complain about that one bit.

We also had a birthday, well several, July is a busy month for birthdays. Miss Pie turned 11, she is growing up so fast I can't believe it. For her birthday she got to decide what she wanted to eat for all three meals, and no helping around the house and then a little party in the evening. Nothing big, but she had a great day...
Daddy also had a birthday, so did Pap B and Meemaw F. Happy Birthday everyone.....

We have gone to the park...
You think Bitsy girl would have loved the slide, yeah not so much....

I am so glad they humor me and smile when I have my camera, unlike this little lady....

But look she is sitting, we went down by the creek (but in this neck of the woods we call it a crick) and she wouldn't got near the water so she sat and she sat still. Now why didn't I come here before. Hehee!! Anywhoo I got some great shots of her actually in focus.
and a picture of my 2 beautiful girls.

We also went to an amusement park, had lunch with friends, some fun days with cousins, camping trip to a state park and another camping trip planned this weekend. Plus to top it off we are siding our house and doing a small kitchen remodel. (whoohoo) We are just down right busy and lovin it.

hugs
*a*

I ♥ Faces - Let's hear it for the Boys

2009-06-23T07:40:00.000-07:00

Here is a picture of all three of my boys on vacation.

Click on the I ♥ Faces button at the top to check out all the other great picutes.

Weigh-in Wednesday

2009-06-17T14:26:00.001-07:00

Today is weigh-in #3, last week I didn't weigh-in due to vacation. I was really afraid to weigh-in, I was active during my vacation and tried to eat good, but you know how those things go. I was shocked when I stepped on the scale, I lost and then I really watched what I ate during this week, so I am down a total of 4.6 pounds. Whoohoo, I am really happy, atleast the scale is going in the right direction.

Last week I really struggled with my snacking, I love those 100 calorie packs, but the goal is only to eat 1, not 5. So I really have to work on healthier snacks, I went to grocery store and bought some fruit, so hopefully that will help ward off the munchies. I also have problems getting in enough water, I can't stand the taste.

My goals for this week is to get into a regular exercise routine, drink enough water, or just more and stay on target with my points.

By the way Orange Team, you rocked this week!!!!

Here's to getting fit one day at a time
*a*

I ♥ Faces - Sephia Toned

2009-06-16T04:23:00.000-07:00

This week at I ♥ Faces the theme is sephia toned photos, now to be honest I don't use sephia tone very much, well really not at all. My favorite is chocolate black and white or just plain old black and white. I decided to give it a try and you know what I liked it, I really liked it(I sound like the old Life commercial). Here ya go, a picture from our vacation last week of my oldest and youngest....

What a sweet moment, not really, I think she was trying to bite his shoulder, oh well, I love this photo, loving moment between siblings or not....

Make sure you go check out all the other great photos at I ♥ Faces .

hugs
*a*

We're home

2009-06-16T03:59:00.000-07:00

Ahhhh, home sweet home, I do however miss the beach. We had a fantastic time, the weather was perfect, the waves were great for boogie boarding, the water was a tad cold, but that's what you get in the beginning of June, the food was yummy, and the company was awesome. Sounds like a good time, doesn't it. I am still in the middle of editing and going through 700 pictures so hopefully by Thursday I will give you all a run down of our wonderful, awesome, fantastic vacation.

Now you don't think I would leave you hanging with nothing I do have a couple that I have edited, here you go.....

That's all I have for now, I know not much, but friends of ours went to the beach with us and I did a family photo shoot with them and have been editing theirs first. Hopefully tonight I will be done with their shoot and then I can edit some more of mine.

hugs
*a*

It's my Birthday and I'll cry if I want too....

2009-06-03T09:49:00.001-07:00

The reason I am crying is because today is weigh-in day over at The Sisterhood of the Shrinking Pants. So I had to weigh-in Yippee, not.

Starting weight - 185 this is not good folks and I really hate typing this number in, but I need to be honest with myself.
Goal for this challenge is to lose 10 pounds, I would be happy with more but I don't want to set an unreasonable goal. Plus I am leaving for vacation on Friday. ((Yikes))

This morning I Shredded, boy that Jillian can kick my butt.

Here's to a fit and fabulous life and a happy birthday to me!!!
*a*

I ♥ Faces - Pets

2009-06-02T10:32:00.000-07:00

This week at I ♥ Faces they want to see pictures of your pet. So here is our Otto: Just being himself, taking a nap out in the yard, now that's a good life.

Don't forget to go check out all the other cute animals over at I heart faces.

*a*

A chubby mama.....

2009-05-30T05:34:00.000-07:00

Lately I have been so discouraged about my weight, it just seems that I can't lose anything or I try for a little and then eat ice cream (do you know how much I love ice cream) My birthday is coming up in a few short days and once again I am hating how I look and feel. So I am going to do something about it I joined The Sisterhood of the Shrinking Pants challenge. My goal is for my 35th birthday next year, to be the happy about me, to have energy to run and play with my kids, to not have a muffin top when I wear jeans, to not have my favorite pair of pants be yoga pants (though they are so comfortable)and not to dread vacation and my bathing suit. I need to take time out for me, I only get one life and hating how I look and feel is not a way to live.

So please join me on this journey, I need all the encouragement I can get. Since I am a photographer-wannabe I will include pictures throughout my journey to a fit and healthy me. Wednesdays are weigh-in days, so on Wednesday, I will blog about my week, trials and accomplishments, and weight loss. Maybe even some healthy recipes I stumble upon.

here's to getting fit one day at time,
hugs *a*

I ♥ Faces - Fix it Friday

2009-05-29T10:46:00.000-07:00

Here is the original picture posted up at I ♥ Faces
Isn't she just a doll...

Here's my edit, I working in PS.

My Steps....
I ran it through Noiseware
defog
curves
adjusted the levels
and then converted it to BW and adjust the contrast and brightness, till I liked it.

If you want to see more fix-it's on this photo go check out I ♥ Faces.

*a*

Rain, Rain....

2009-05-29T10:33:00.000-07:00

You know the song, but there is something about spring rains that I love, maybe that everything is green and after a rain the outdoors just seem so refreshing. Or the sound of the rain hitting the roof, peaceful. Last evening we had a thunder storm, after the storm past it was just so beautiful outside I couldn't resist taking a few pictures.

See what I mean, refreshing, there is no other word to describe it.

Maybe a little singing in the rain too, she was dancing around alittle, but of course I didn't have my camera ready. This was all taken in front our house. We decided to go out back and this is what we saw....
Breath-taking!!!! It's so wonderful to see God's beauty right out your back door!!!

hugs
*a*

I ♥ Faces - Silhouettes

2009-05-26T13:42:00.000-07:00

This week at I ♥ Faces the focus is silhouettes. I have tried for the last week to get a decent shot, but I haven't had much luck. My problem is that we live in the mountains, and it's really hard to get on the same plain as the sun. Today I was going to try to one with a window, but it rained, now I am not going to complain about the rain because we really need it. So here is my shoot, not the greatest of silhouettes, but it will have to do.

In two weeks we are headed to the beach so hopefully I will get some good silhouette shoots of my family. Make sure you go check out I ♥ Faces for some awesome shoots.

out for now
*a*

A camping we did go...

2009-05-26T10:33:00.000-07:00

Our first trip of the season, and it went pretty well. Last year we only went on one trip, because camping was not Bitsy girl's thing. This year, though, she did pretty well, so I do believe more trips will be in our future this summer, which everyone is really excited about.

Our Memorial Day tradition is to go camping with my parents, it is really nice to spend a few days with them and the kids had a blast.

We took the bikes, so they had fun riding all around...

and then they played a little whiffle ball

But it wasn't all fun and games, daddy had to do a little studying

and no camping trip would be complete, without playing in the dirt with your bestest buddy in the whole wide world

then after a full day of playing and getting filthy, a basin bath was in order

it was also really nice to cuddle with meemaw
Bitsy girl was just eating up all the attention, but I am pretty sure Meemaw was lovin it too.

Now if you think I wasn't there, you are sadly mistaken, no I have no actual pictures of myself due to fact that I am the official picture taker, but I did manage to get in one picture.
Look closely in my dad's glasses, see that shilloutte, yep that's me. I was on a family camping trip after all.

After all that fun, food, and family it was time to pack up and go home. Can't wait till next year....

hugs
*a*

Week 19 - "Favorite Photo Ever!"

2009-05-18T14:38:00.000-07:00

This week at I ♥ Faces it's more of a contest. We are supposed to pick our favorite pictures. Well I have only had my camera for a little over 2 months and the whole month of March I was sick so I don't have much to choose from. While I was purusing my photos I found this one of Big B that I love, it's so him.

Go check out all the other fabulous entries over at I ♥ Faces .

I am submitting this photo into the www.iheartfaces.com Blurb book photo contest. If chosen, I grant I ♥ Faces permission to use my photo in a printed version of a book for commercial use and possibly advertising of a photo book on both the Blurb and I ♥ Faces web sites.

I do think it's impossible...

2009-05-13T18:19:00.001-07:00

I have been trying since December to get a good shot of my 4 kids together. I want to make a photo wall in my family room. I've seen a few ideas I like, but we'll talk about the photo wall at a later date, right now the problem at hand, my lovely children. They will not cooperate, it's not so much the older ones, it's the itty bitty one, that girl runs when she sees a camera. When she is by herself, I can usually get some shots, by calling her name, asking her to show me her teeth, or making silly noises. Usually half the shots are out of focus, but I can get 3 or 4 decent ones.

Here's take 1:

I think Miss Pie is going to pull Bitsy arms right out and yes that big blur is my darling 18 month old, she wanted to run.

Now take 2:

Does she look happy??? Also everything is horrible, their skin is blown, no one looks happy. Arghhhhh!!!!!!!

I am not throwing in the towel, I will keep trying until I have the perfect shot. I'll keep ya all updated.

Oh by the way, my crafty self must have read my letter, because she showed up this weekend and we have been busy, we redecorated and painted my kitchen, altered an old picture from the thrift store, and made Bitsy a quilt and it's only Wednesday. I'll upload pictures tomorrow.

hugs
*a*

P.S. Please be praying for the The Freeman family their little baby Kayliegh passed away on May 11 and they need all the love and support right now. I encourage you to go read their story, it is very touching.

I ♥ Faces - Laughter

2009-05-11T08:23:00.000-07:00

This week at I ♥ Faces the photo challenge is Laughter. As I was looking through my pictures I found one of Bitsy girl that I took last week, she was blowing on a ball and making silly noises and thought this was the most hilarous thing ever. Oh to be 18 months and be so easily entertained.

Make sure you go and check out all the other fabulous photos of people laughing.

hugs
*a*

Contructive Feedback

2009-05-08T09:51:00.001-07:00

Today at I ♥ Faces is Contructive Feedback Friday, I have been debating if I wanted to upload a problem photo, well as you can see I decided to go for it. I am never going to get any better if I don't know what I am doing wrong and hopefully be able to do better shots in camera instead of spending more time in photoshop. Though I do love my photoshop.

This is a picture I took of Big B yesterday.

Nikon D60, 1/100, F5.6, ISO Auto (I have no clue why I had this on auto because I was shooting in manual), 55mm

I know this shot is really under-exposed and red. I had a red shirt on, so I don't know if it's a color cast from my shirt.

My Fix

I did curves adjustment, a levels adjustment, selective color, and sharpening but now I think it's a tad yellow, I do love his eyes though.

Okay guys let me have it, I would love to know your thoughts. Thank you in advance!!! By the way I am using PS7 to do my editing. (I know very old school)

Looking to get better,
*a*

I LOVE Spring!!!!

2009-05-08T07:28:00.000-07:00

There is just something about spring that I love so much. It might be the fact that we can finally go outside after months of being cooped up in the house and my kids driving me bonkers, or it might be all the beautiful blossoms on the trees
and our yard coming to life after a long white winter. Me and Bitsy girl did a yard walk the other day and looked at all the pretty flowers and of course I couldn't resist taking some pictures.

We saw this....

and got a close-up (I think I need a macro lens)

We thought these were pretty too...

then we couldn't resist smelling them.....

So go outside and take some pictures.....

hugs
*a*

A Letter to my Crafty Self

2009-05-06T06:20:00.000-07:00

Dear Crafty Self,

We had a such a good relationship before Christmas, we whipped up all sorts of projects from scrapbooking, sewing to jewelery making. We laughed and cried when some of our projects didn't quite work out. But all in all we had a good time and made some cute stuff. As the holiday's rolled around we departed ways and promised as soon as things settled down we would get together and craft. Here it is May, and you haven't come back, all my crafty stuff sits idle as I wait for your return. Please come back soon, I have a ton of material and some great tutorials just screaming for us to make something cute.

Your lonely friend,
Alesha

Hats and My Girl

2009-05-05T16:04:00.000-07:00

I just found this great website I ♥ Faces , and since I love photography it's right up my alley. This week their photo challenge is hats, so I decided to participate. Here's my girl wearing a hat.

Go here check out all the other entries, they are really fabulous.

hugs
*a*

chicks, new do, trophy and Easter... Oh my......

2009-04-15T06:06:00.000-07:00

Chicks
Bitsy calls them Chickieees. Yes, we got chickens, I have to admit they are pretty stickin cute and the kids just love them. Actually I like them better than the cats, because they are contained and don't shed all over my house. Here's a picture of our octuplets.
Aren't they cute....

New Do
I have been having such a hair dilemma lately, I really hated my style. You know when you want to grow your hair out but you end up hating it or the process. Well that is me, so I decided to get it chopped and changed the color. Sorry I don't have a before picture, but I had a bob cut and light brown hair and here is the new me.

Tophy
A few weekends ago, the boys had their wrestling banquet, this is where they each have their moment to shine. Big Buddies got a trophy and he was so excited, it was his bestest dream come true. He hasn't gotten a trophy yet and is always admiring Big B's so this is one of his very own.

In Junior High wrestling they give out 2 big trophies, one for "Rookie of the Year" and the other one for "Outstanding Wrestler" and Big B got Rookie of the year. We are so proud and he was pretty shocked. It's huge, Bitsy stood next to it and the trophy is taller than her.

Easter
We had a wonderful Easter, the kids got up and searched for their Easter basket, they had fun seeing their goodies and even snuck in some chocolate before breakfast. We then got dressed in our Easter outfits and headed off to church, when we got home it was picture time. Except nobody was cooperating.

Does she look happy to have her picture taken, NO!!! She looked so adorable in her little dress, and I got zero pictures of her. Arghhh!!!!! I have heard of people taping cherios to the floor, so little ones will sit, well I need to actually tape the little one to the floor. (just kidding I would never do that, but I have considered it :-P) It just wasn't Bitsy who didn't want pictures taken my Father-in-Law was ready to go the second he got here, Big Buddies wouldn't smile, and I need to hire a photographer to take pictures of our whole family because well lets just say my mother in law is not a photographer, I love her to death, but cameras are not her thing. So a retake will be in order when it gets a little nicer outside. Here's a picture I was able to salvage of all 4 kiddos.

I'm not even going to post our family picture, it's just horrible.

hugs
*a*

SHE.......

2009-04-08T11:50:00.000-07:00

- is 10 1/2
- is nicknamed Miss Pie
- loves cats and horses
- is sometimes bossy

- favorite food is chicken and corn
- is a great helper
- loves her little sister so very much
- hates when her older brother picks on her

- is very sloppy
- loves the color pink
- is a fish in the summer
- looks like her dad

....is my girly and couldn't imagine life without her. Love ya Miss Pie!!!!

hugs
*a*

HE........

2009-04-01T08:21:00.001-07:00

- is 6
- nicknamed Big Buddies
- is a mama's boy, until daddy comes home and then he is daddy's sidekick
- loves to be outside

- is ready for school to be out
- loves gym class
- favorite meal is sloppy joes
- is really bull-headed

- hates soup
- can't wait until we can go camping again
- best friend is Angel, two-peas in a pod
- loves to wear boots

....and is my little man. Love this little, goof-ball, kid.

hugs
*a*

SHE......

2009-03-31T12:46:00.000-07:00

- will be 17 months old tomorrow
- nicknamed Bitsy, because she was small when she was born, just a bitsy little girl
- has mastered climbing up and down the steps, scares her mama to death
- can turn a room upside down in a matter of minutes

- loves her dolly
- will eat anything
- still likes to drink out of a bottle, I know I'm working on this
- loves to terrorize our cat

- gets into everything
- adores her older brother and sister
- laugh at Big Buddies all the time, she thinks he is just hilarous
- won't look at me when I have my camera out
- hates to sit in the cart at the store
- loves cheesies

....and I love her to the moon and back.

hugs
*a*

Prayers for Stellan

2009-03-25T11:30:00.000-07:00

You may be asking who Stellan is, well my simple answer, I don't know. But today as I was purusing my favorite blogs during lunch I came to Life is Sweet and she was talking about a little baby named Stellan, who has SVT. This little boy has been a miracle since birth and right now needs a miracle. So please pray for this baby and his family.

Just click on the picture to go to My Charming Kids to read about Stellan.

hugs
*a*

Waving the White Flag

2009-03-25T07:28:00.000-07:00

I give up, I just can't take it anymore. Yup we are sick again. I don't know what to to do, I have sanitized, disinfected, and cleaned so many times, I don't know how any type of germ can survive. It's not like everyone is sick all the time, but when you have 6 people and each person gets sick 3 times, that's 18 bouts of something that mom has to take care of. To top it off I have been sick most of March. I am never sick. I am just ready for all this sickness to be done and to be healthy again. I want to sit and mess with my new camera that I really haven't done much with because I am too sick to take any pictures. Okay so I just need a little pity party. 1.2.3 ahhhh

So sorry for the little rant, next post will be happy with pictures, I promise.

hugs
*a*

Days gone by.....

2009-03-12T13:17:00.000-07:00

13 years ago, today, I became a mom. I still remember that sweet, little face staring up me. I was so happy and scared at the same time. I had no clue what to do and to think they were going to send this precious little baby boy home with me. Fast forward 13 years, that baby is now a teenager and today is his birthday. I can't believe how fast time flies and how my life has changed since this boy came into my life, all for the better, because I couldn't imagine not being a mom. So his birthday is very special to me, his birth and my journey into motherhood. Happy birthday Big B!!!!!!

Then:

Today:

hugs
*a*

2nd Place Baby.....

2009-03-11T11:32:00.000-07:00

Bryce is sooo happy, last night was J.O.'s (JO's is a wrestling tournament, something like districts in high school, but this is for elementary and junior high kids). Well he got 2nd place and now he moves on to Saturday. His goal is to make it to Erie next Saturday, this is similar to States in High School. If you aren't familiar with wrestling, then you have no clue what I am talking about. :-)

It was a good evening. Bitsy was even good, Aunt L showed up and had her bag full of goodies and it kept Bitsy entertained pretty much all night. So all I can say is thank you L, I really appreciated it.

hugs
*a*

Calgon Take Me Away....

2009-03-06T07:53:00.000-08:00

Do you remember this commercial? Okay so I am probably dating myself, but that's what I feel like right now. I keep singing my theme song in my head "I need a vacation from my life", not that my life isn't blessed or anything like that. I am so sick of the icky sicky. Can we have a break???? Monday night Bitsy Boo got sick, I thought she was better yesterday so took her to the church, I clean on Thursday with a friend of mine. It's also my way of having a little adult conversation during the week. Anywhoo, Bitsy started crying and then threw-up, thank goodness she didn't have alot to eat, but still I felt so awful. My friends little boy was there and I am just praying they don't get sick. So I had to scratch my plans to into town, just to say I haven't been out of the house since Sunday, going a little stir crazy. When I got home, hubby didn't look so hot and said he felt sick, GREAT!!! So I spent the whole afternoon, santizing my house, the good news is I already have a jumpstart on my spring cleaning. About 3:00 p.m. we got a call from the school saying Big Buddies threw-up in the library, and you know all I could think is, well atleast I don't have to clean it up. I mean my little man is sick and that's the first thing that popped into my head. Geesh what's wrong with me. Needless to say Big Buddies is home from school today, it's a sick day, but on a happy note, my little lady is feeling better. So the question is who will get sick next?

So I can never end a blog post without pictures, here are a few pictures of my girlies from last weekend.

hugs
*a*

I think he's a keeper....

2009-03-03T06:40:00.000-08:00

I have been wanting a dslr for awhile now but they are pretty pricey. So since the fall I have been saving money for one and I thought that by my birthday, in June, I would have enough money to purchase one. Well my hubby last weekend said lets just go to Ritz's and get it. They were having a pretty good sale and I got 2 lenses with it. I ended up getting a Nikon D60, it's a entry level dslr and so far I love it.
Right now I am figuring out how to use it and take better pictures. Here are a couple I have taken of my kiddos. They thought I loved to take pictures when I had my Kodak, they haven't seen nothing yet.

So what do you think? I think they are pretty good and they can only get better from here as I learn to use this baby. In 15 weeks we are going to the beach so I better get practicing and reading. So I do believe that my hubby is a definite keeper. Love ya babe and thanks so much....

hugs
*a*

A week in review

2009-02-18T13:13:00.000-08:00

I am sitting here today wishing for warmer weather, sunny skies, and some green scenery. Not to rush time or anything, but I am ready for spring. Right now we are getting freezing rain for the 10th time this year. Last week was absolutely gorgeous here. Last Monday was almost 60 the sun was shining, I think God gives us those days to say, "hey hang in there, warm weather is just around the corner you can make it a few more months". So I will sit here waiting patiently in my my sweat-pants and fuzzy socks, just wishing for another sunny day.

Since not to much is going on in my life, no crafty things, no frugal ideas, no money-saving tips I thought I would just share my week with yall.

my week last week:
Monday - went to Giant
Tuesday - Bryce had his last wrestling match and won
Wednesday - cleaned the house
Thursday - Cleaned the church and got flowers from my hubby for valentines. so pretty.
Friday - nada
Saturday - Family day
Sunday - felt awful, went to church and then went to look at new cameras
Monday - woke up with strep throat, yay had to go to the doctors.
Tuesday - Bryce woke up with the stomach flu, hopefully nobody else gets sick since the rest of us had it in December.

See the week started out just like any other week, but ended pretty crappy. On a good note, I am feeling much better, I can finally eat and Bryce is much better also.

My valentine's gift, not the rings, just the flowers. I put my wedding rings in the flower because i thought it looked neat.

hugs
*a*

Cherish these days....

2009-02-03T07:36:00.000-08:00

Do you ever have a whoo is me day? I do, I hate it when I get negative about things in my life - my body, my hair, my messy house, my kids always fighting, feeling whatever I do doesn't matter and the list goes on. I hate my whoo is me days, God has blessed my life so much and there is no reason to feel like this. Sometimes though I need a kick in the butt to make me realize how blessed I truly am. Lately I have been reading this blog this a women who has gone through so much, she is so brave and strong and I truly look up to her. All she wants is to be the wife and mother she once was. I love that. Also a good friend of mine just recently made me realize how important our families are. I know my family is important, but sometimes I take them forgranted. I get irrated when I have to pick up cat food for the tenth time that day because a little girl thinks it fun to spill it all over the floor, or when my kids seem to fight with each other constantly and I start yelling at them. I need to sit back and remember that these days won't last forever and to cherish them. There will be a time when my house looks like a magazine and it's quiet, and then I will wish for all this chaos.

My blessings......

remember to give hugs
*a*

Make it Monday - Recipe

2009-02-02T13:18:00.000-08:00

My poor, poor, neglected blog. I have really been a blog slacker, but it was nice to have a little break. But now I am back and ready to go.

My New Years Resolution this year is to get healthy, start an exercise routine and eat better. So far so good, I'll tell you more about my favorite type of exercise tomorrow. Cooking healthy meals that my family will like is sometimes a challenge. I am not a short-order chef, so therefore whatever I make everyone is to eat, but I try to cook things they like just to save all the whining and complaining. This makes for a more enjoyable meal time. One of my favorite meals to make in the wintertime is soup, but my hubby is not to fond of it. I, however, found a soup that even he likes and my kids like and it's healthy, now it just can't get any better than that.

Meatball Soup

Doesn't it just look so yummy.

Meatballs: Just make meatballs anyway you like, I use ground turkey to make it healthier. I make half the mixture into meatballs, and then brown the other half.

Soup:

Chicken Broth - 1 carton (now I make a huge batch so I add 3 cups water to this and then add some chicken boillion to that)
1 large can diced tomatoes

If you want you can add potatoes, it just makes it more like a stew.

Cook to a boil or until your potatoes are soft and then a chopped up cabbage ( if you want to make this easy just use a half a bag of coleslaw mix, found by the salads in your local supermarket)

add meatballs and ground hamburg and a can of navy beans

simmer until cabbage is tender

put into bowls and add some shredded cheese and serve with quesidillas or whole wheat biscuits. Easy peasy supper. Plus leftovers are very yummy.

This supper is also really budget friendly, the cost is less than $5.00 for the entire meal.

enjoy!!!
*a*

Hello are you still here????

2009-01-17T11:57:00.000-08:00

I know what a bad blogger I have been. It's the new year and I wanted to start off by blogging more, uploading projects, and recipes and what have I done... Absolutely nothing, not a thing, zero, zip and nadda. Do you want me to continue :-P With all this crazy weather we have been having, freezing rain, snow, and now extreme cold, my time has been limited because of no school. Four kiddos in the house and sometimes hubby is enough to make a person go mad.

Right now it's really quiet and I finally have a moment to myself, B and hubby went to the a wrestling meet, Pie and Big Buddies are at their gram's house (all I have to say is praise the Lord for Grandmothers) and Bitsy is taking a nap. Peace and quiet, - Love it....

hugs
*a*

I'll be back shortly

Merry Christmas

2008-12-27T07:04:00.000-08:00

I hope everyone had a blessed and joyful Christmas, I know we did even though hubby was sick with the stomach flu. Luckily he got sick on Christmas Eve and was feeling somewhat better on Christmas. The kids enjoyed all their new toys from Santa, they were especially happy with their new Wii. Let me tell you we have some Wii hogs in this house. Mom even got a Wii fit, so hopefully this will motivate me to get in shape.

I have major cleaning to do, all my kiddos are gone for the day except Bitsy and she's sleeping so I have some time to get my house looking half-ways decent. I'll be back next week to share some photos and crafty things I made for Christmas gifts.

Hugs
*a*

Day 17

2008-12-17T07:42:00.001-08:00

How many more days until Christmas????

Stain Fighting

2008-12-17T07:28:00.001-08:00

With 4 kids, we are not without stains in our house. Even I am notorious for spilling mustard on my new white shirt. I have tried all those stain fighters, and yes alot of them work but I still have that stubborn stain that doesn't want to come out. My solution,a bar of Ivory soap, it really works. Earlier in the week my hubby was working on his jeep and got black mud all over his good coat. This mud is horrible, it never comes out. So I took his coat and got it wet and scrubbed it with a bar of ivory soap and washed and waalaa all the mud came out. I wish I would have taken pictures but I didn't.

Ivory soap as a stain treater, it just works for me. For more ideas go to Rocks in my Dryer, I am telling you these ladies have some good ideas.

Day 16

2008-12-16T16:05:00.000-08:00

We got our real tree, last year we just stuck with the fake tree. Fake trees are nice, they don't lose their needles, no watering and you can just put it away with the lights on, but you don't have that real tree smell. And I like the idea of having 2 trees. I wanted to get a picture of us picking it out and hubby cutting it down, but you know things don't always go as planned. We had an ice storm over the weekend so we couldn't get the tree when the kids were home from school. So it was just him and I and it was raining, so we had a pick a tree fast. Tonight we are going to decorate it. Fun times!!!!

Day 15

2008-12-16T16:02:00.000-08:00

My little lady....

Day 14

2008-12-16T15:58:00.001-08:00

First place, baby!!!!!!

Day 13

2008-12-16T15:53:00.001-08:00

It's beginning to look alot like Christmas.....

Day 12

2008-12-16T15:49:00.001-08:00

Does something look wrong with our tree??? It's called a 13 month old terror....

Day 11

2008-12-16T15:44:00.001-08:00

Hunting season was last week and my hubby bagged a buck....

December Daily (continued)

2008-12-16T15:39:00.000-08:00

Day 10

Me and my girlies....

Day 9

2008-12-09T07:21:00.001-08:00

it's not Chrismasy nor fun, but it's a job that has to be done.....

Day 8

2008-12-09T06:52:00.000-08:00

a little Christmas craftiness, this ornament is made from an old CD and I whipped it together in about 10 minutes, so easy and really cute. So don't throw away all those old CD's, alter them.

For more photos go here....

Day 7

2008-12-09T06:49:00.000-08:00

Lazy Sunday afternoon, I got a picture of my hubby sleeping but I didn't think he would be too happy if I posted it on my blog. I really wanted to take a nap too, but there were coupons to cut and file, so no nap for me.

Day 6

2008-12-09T06:44:00.001-08:00

Baking cookies, oh so yummy.....

I know I am behind with my December Daily, but on the positive side I am still taking pictures everyday, just not uploading them.

It's time for dessert!!!

2008-12-05T18:47:00.000-08:00

I made a very yummy, simple, frugal, and low-fat dessert tonight, and it was thumbs up all around the table.

Don't they look oh so yummy!!! Okay for the simple, yummy and low-fat part.
These are carrot-pumpkin muffins and to make them it's 3 ingredients. I told you they were simple to make.

carrot cake mix
1 can pumpkin
1/2 cup water

mix together and then pour into a cake pan or muffin tin. That's it.

I came upon this recipe over the summer and used whip cream for the topping, but then Christy from the Southern Plate sent out an email that added a struesel topping. Okay it was fabulous, yes the whip cream was tasty, but the struesel even better. You definitely need to try this. They are so moist and since your don't use any oil it is healthy too.

Now for the frugal part, right now there is a coupon for $1 off decandent carrot cake, my store sells this for 2.09 and also doubles coupons up to and including a 1 so I get it for .09 and before Thanksgiving they had pumpkin on sale for .98 and the water is free. I also had everything to make the struesel topping in my cupboards. So for 1.05, I got 27 muffins and everyone loved it.

happy cooking
*a*

Day 5

2008-12-05T18:43:00.001-08:00

First Christmas card this season (it's from my little sister, thanks girl)

Day 4

2008-12-05T18:38:00.001-08:00

I love nativities and this one is my favorite, because my mom made it. Thanks mom!!!!

Another Mini - I love this idea

2008-12-04T10:17:00.000-08:00

I don't scrap Christmas pictures, it's not that I don't like Christmas supplies. I love them, so many great papers out there and embellishments and don't get me started on the kits. Way too many awesome Christmas kits. So no matter how many Christmas papers, embellies and kits I have, I still hate to scrap Christmas pictures. I don't know if it's the 30 pictures of the kids opening presents, what do you journal about. So when I saw Ali Edwards blog and her post about a mini album just for the Christmas season. I knew this was the project for me. I don't have to make several layouts about Christmas, it's all in one book. I love it!!!! I made my book in advanced and just gathered up old supplies, I didn't buy a thing. So it saves me time, it makes me happy because I don't have all those Christmas pics to scrap and it's frugal, what more could you ask for.
Here's the cover:

On the inside cover, I made a calendar so I can write down everything we did and on the first, ironically enough, my christmas cards came, so I added one to the album.

Day 1 pictures and journaling

Pretty cool, huh. Now I just need to stick with it and get it finished.

Stay crafty
*a*

Day 3

2008-12-04T10:14:00.000-08:00

Getting ready for a baking weekend.....

Being Thankful New Tradition - WFMW

2008-12-03T05:53:00.001-08:00

Every year for Thanksgiving we all say what we are thankful for, well I wanted to take it one step further and make a mini album. So a new family tradition was born. Everyone will write down what they are thankful for that year, plus there would be pictures. Alot of the men groaned and complained about this, but in the end wrote down what they were thankful for. My grandmother was there and wrote was she was thankful for during the year and I couldn't help but think what she would have wrote down at my age. Now my grandkids and kids will know what I was thankful for at age 33, when they look at these albums.
I even went to the thrift store and found a small suitcase that I am going to alter and this will be where I will keep all my thankful albums.

I don't have any pictures in it yet, I ran out ink yesterday, so a trip to store is in order.
Thankful mini albums as a new tradition -- it just works for me.

For me WFMW go here.

Day 2

2008-12-02T18:10:00.000-08:00

I love personalized ornaments, every year I either buy or make my kids a new one. But this teddy bear is my favorite, he is just so cute, plus I made him myself.

If you want to see more photos go here.

Hello December

2008-12-02T06:33:00.000-08:00

Yes folks it's December, hard to believe, but in a little more that 3 weeks Christmas is here. Here's what I have done so far:
Christmas Gifts bought - check
House decorated - check
Gifts Wrapped - Half done
cookies made - not yet, but I did make my shopping list and I will go get the ingredients tomorrow and will make cookies this weekend.
Christmas dinner menu made - check

So far so good and I am on my way to enjoying this Christmas season with my family. I already feel alot more stress-free. I just need to remember to breath and if everything isn't perfect it's no big deal. You know nobody is going to notice anyway.

These past few months I have been a crafting fool, making Christmas gifts and ornaments. Now I can't show you my Christmas gifts until after I give them out but I can show you everything else I have been working on.

Okay so i love this... It's an advent calendar, I have seen these the past couple of years and thought they were awesome. So this year I decided to make my own. I think it turned out pretty good. Now I don't have it hanging yet. I didn't have enough circle magnets, so I used the strip magnets. Okay I will never buy the strip magnets again, they don't hold. So off to Wally World tomorrow to get some more circle magnets and then I can hang this up. Here is some close-ups of the calendar.

With all the magnets off.

I did mine in a Christmas theme, but you could make one to match your decor and change it for the different months. I think this would be cool. I'll be checking the thrift store for some old cookie sheets.

Keep checking back all this week, because I have been crafty.

Hugs
*a*

P.S. It's good to be back

December Photo Project

2008-12-02T06:24:00.000-08:00

Sounds like fun doesn't it, if you want to sign up go here. I am also participating in Ali Edwards December Daily. Both of these challenges fit together perfectly. Just document your December through pictures. That simple. I also made an album to hold all my pictures, which I will share shortly.

Here's my picture for yesterday....

We put up our tree last night and did a little photo shot.

Blogging Break

2008-11-25T10:56:00.000-08:00

I am taking a break from blogging until after Thanksgiving. Only 1 month until Christmas and I have projects to finish up, gifts to wrap, you all know the drill. And remember my goal is to be finished by the end of this month. I can't wait to show you what I have been working on. Some fun stuff....

I hope everyone has a great Thanksgiving and remember to write down what you are thankful for, it is really neat to look back at. I did a little mini album for our Thanksgiving, I'll share it after the holidays.

Be Thankful,
*a*

Making your Home a Haven

2008-11-11T06:01:00.000-08:00

Monica over at The Homespun Heart is doing a series on Making your Home a Haven, today is cleaning. I missed yesterday, due to Christmas shopping, so I am jumping in a day late. I think this is such a great idea. My goal for my home is to have a happy and loving environment for my family based on God's word.

I really encourage you to participate in this challenge, our home life is so very important....

Today's Plan
Clean upstairs, dust, and vaccum
Work on the laundry room
clean the kid's room
declutter toys
dust, mop and sweep the entire downstairs
Take Christmas gifts out of our car and hide
Spend time in God's word

This is alot to do in one day, but I think I can get it accomplished. I'll be back later to upload pictures of my progress.

Giving Thanks
I am so thankful for my home, it's not big and fancy, but it's just right for us...

Holidays by Hand (papercrafting)

2008-11-09T12:23:00.000-08:00

This is the second week of holidays by hand and it's papercrafting, my favorite type of craft.

My project is a Dates to Remember mini album. I have to admit, I am horrible when it comes to remembering birthdays, so this book is perfect for people like me or if you just want a book to keep all those important dates in. Since there is no year on this book you can use it year after year, plus there are pictures in it. It just can't get any better than this.

Now for the mini album:

Front and back cover were make from a cracker box, this is a really inexpensive and green way to make a chipboard album cover. I just cover the inside with paper and painted the outside, after it was dry I embelleshed it.

inside

Each page is a different month and on that month I attached pictures of the people that are celebrating birthdays that month. Now I just did birthdays, but you can include anniverisaries or any other important date that you want to remember. On each page I attached a pocket, this is for my cards. I just stapled mine, but you can sew or even glue them on.

On the last page I included a pocket, I just cut up a page protector and stapled it on, this is for my stamps. Now there is no excuse not to send those cards out.
I bound my mini album with rings, you can buy these at Wal-mart and they are pretty inexpensive.

This album came together pretty quickly, after I had all my pictures printed out, it only took about 2 hours to complete.

For more ideas on papercrafting, go to Small Notebook.

Giving Thanks
I am thankful for the rain.....Last night we got some rain, our creeks are really low so we really needed this rain. Plus I just love the sound of rain hitting the roof, so relaxing.

Happy papercrafting,
*a*

Toys (continued)

2008-11-07T06:26:00.000-08:00

Wednesday, I talked about the toys that standed the test of time in our house and how I hated buying toys that my kids just played with for a day and then were finished with it. Well I wanted to show you Bisty Boo's favorite toy at the moment... If you have a 12 month old you need to have this "toy", now there is probably no need to go out and buy this, because you probably already have this in your home -

See, kids can entertain themselves with the things you already have, there is no need to go out and buy expensive toys, just let them clean out your cupboards.

Since Thanksgiving is less than 3 weeks away I have decided to add a "What I am Thankful For" at the end of all my post. I encourage you to do the same. Sometimes we get pre-occupied with our day to day activities and we forget to be thankful for the things God has given us.

I am Thankful for my family. I have 4 healthy children and a wonderful hubby, that God has blessed me with and I know sometimes I take them granted but I am so very thankful for them. Luv you guys to no end......

With a Grateful Heart
*a*

Works for me Wednesday....

2008-11-05T05:50:00.000-08:00

Toys worth buying....is there such a thing??? I know I get so upset when my kids don't play with the things that they have gotten for Christmas. It is so discouraging when I fill up a bag for Good Will with practically new toys that they only played with a few times. With money a little tighter and with 4 children this year we are cutting back no more, the more the better thought at Christmas. With having 4 kids, I have found some toys that are worth buying and that can be passed down from child to child.

Lincoln Logs - my mom bought my oldest (12) these when he was 3, he played with them, my daughter now 10 played with them, and now my 5 year old builds an entire town in his room with them. I am hoping Bitsy will love them also. They are still in wonderful shape.

Legos - Once again these were bought for my oldest and he just loved them, now my 5 year is using his imagination and building cars, planes, and whatever else he little mind comes up with.

Bead Kit - This will keep my 10 year old daughter busy for hours and even her little brother enjoys stringing beads and making necklaces and braclets.

Craft kit - there is no need to go out and buy a fancy-smancy kit, I just fill a tool box or bag with crayons (from back to school sale at Wal-mart), markers, paint, paper and some stamps. This kit will keep them busy for hours.

There are alot more toys that I think are definitely worth buying, but this list is my favorites and have been standed the test of time in our house. If you want more ideas on toys go check out Rocks in my Dryers, I know I will be spending a lot of time here today checking out all the ideas, because Christmas is coming fast folks....

here's to spending wisely this Christmas,
*a*

New Look

2008-11-01T16:46:00.000-07:00

I decided to change the look of my blog, what do you think? The best part it was free, go here and check it out....

One year ago....

2008-11-01T10:45:00.000-07:00

my 4th child was born. Bitsy Boo was tiny and beautiful and we were so happy that she was healthy. Miss Pie was so excited she finally had a baby sister, she told us she was moving out if this baby was a boy. I guess sandwiched in between two brothers isn't the funniest. Bitsy fit into our family perfectly and now she is 1, I know everyone says that they can't believe it when their baby turns 1, but it is so true, because this past year just seemed to fly by. From a tiny baby, to smiling, cooing, crawling, and walking she is no longer a baby but a little girl.

November 1, 2007 1:30

November 1, 2008 1:30

Happy First Birthday little Miss Aly!!!!!!!

Not blogging.....

2008-10-31T12:18:00.000-07:00

I have decided to stop blogging over at my frugal blog (I live a frugal life), I don't know if you remember this post here, but by having two blogs I'm just not using my time wisely, plus there are so many awesome blogs dedicated to saving money that I just don't know what to blog about without sounding redundant. I have decided that this blog will feature everything, money saving tips, crafts, my family and whatever else strikes my fancy....

Here's to a simplier life
*a*

Another crafty week, oh my!!!!

2008-10-31T11:43:00.000-07:00

Hey all, I know I have been such a bad blogger. My goal each week is to post atleast 3 or 4 times, but sometimes life gets in the way. Even though I have been such a horrible blogger, I have been crafty, I haven't gotten alot accomplished but I have been busy. Can you believe Christmas is less than 2 months away? I sure can't, and my goal is to have all my gifts made, bought and wrapped by the end of November. I better get my butt in gear if I am going to make this goal. I recently found this site and they have some really great ideas. I love the idea of a Christmas Planner, I have never done this before, but this year I am. It will be great to have everything all in one book, plus mine is going to be in a 3-ring binder so I can use it year after year. When I am finished with it I will post pictures. I am also taking a class here, like I don't have enough to do this month, I decided to add a class into the mix. So far I am pretty impressed with the class, they have downloads for my Christmas planner and the 2 projects that they have down I love and will definitely be doing. So if you have some time and want to take a class I would definitely recommend this class.

Okay enough of that, so you ask what have I been working on, well I'll tell you and show you.

Here is what you can make out of wooden circles, an old dictionary, stamps, and some bling.

I think it turned out great, I just added a bail and a chain and waa-laa you have a necklace. I made several of these, which I am not sharing because they are Christmas presents. Miss Pie loved them so much that she claimed one for herself and I even claimed one.

I love the name of this bag, a booty bag, just makes me chuckle. I still have 2 more of these to make and even though jeans are pretty sturdy I did line this it just makes it a lot prettier inside.I'm outa jeans so I think a trip to the thrift store is in order.

I found a tutorial for this bag holder here and it was so simple to make, I think it took me about an hour to sew this, but I am a true beginner at sewing. For someone who sews alot you could finish this in about 30 minutes. I really like it and have put this on the list to make myself plus 2 or 3 more for gifts.

With all my Chirstmas crafting my dining room is being taken over....
Okay so right now it doesn't look that bad, I'll have to take a picture of it when I'm in the middle of a project.

Have a great day, I'm off to finish my Christmas planner.

Happy crafty and hugs
*a*

Crafty Momma

2008-10-22T05:34:00.001-07:00

It has been one crafty week and I love it. I forgot how much I love to create and make stuff. My goal this year for Christmas is to make 50% of my gifts, I really want to cut down on our Christmas expenses. Truly the gifts is not what this holiday is about and I really want my kids to know that Jesus is the Reason, not all the stuff.

Last week I got this:
Isn't' this fabric absolutely fabulous. I love it. I started sewing, now I really haven't sewn since 7th grade home-ec, unless you count sewing on my scrapbooking projects. But I recently got an itch to start. My granny was an awesome quilter and seamtress, I got some of her stuff, so I am hoping that some of her genius wears off on me. For my first project, I wanted to make a bag of some sort, so here is the first one I made.
For my first purse it turned out cute, I even lined it. I had to rip it apart only once, so I was pretty happy about that. Caitlynn loved it. Here's the second one I made. I am still in the learning process of bag making, but I think I am addicted to it. I will have a closet full of bags, one for every season, occasion, etc... This bag is my own pattern, with the first bag I did use a pattern but the directions were awful and I had to alter it to work. (added note: it might not have been the directions, chances are it was the reader of the directions and her inability to follow them properly.)
Here's the inside view of the bag, I love all the pockets, it really keeps all my stuff organized. It is a little small and I wasn't so thrilled with the outside of the bag, I have also realized that I need to add some interfacing. I used canvas for the outside but the bag doesn't have enough structure. Like I said I am still in the learning process of this new craft. I'll post the next one I make.

Now for some scrapbooking projects, I told you I have been a busy, crafting fool. Sadly none of this stuff is for me, so I am hoping the people that receive this stuff loves it as much as I do.
My daughter wants one of these too, so I am thinking stocking gift for her. These are mini-albums I made, I am definately making the dates to remember for myself because it turned out great and the All Mine mini is an idea I got from here, I absolutely love her kits and she has some really great ideas for mini-albums.

My projects this week includes, old paper, wooden circles and stamps, oh my (what could it be, make sure you come back to see).... and some booty bags.... (I love that name, it just makes me smile.)

Big hugs and stay crafty
*a*

Wordless Wednesday....

2008-10-15T15:23:00.000-07:00

Yummo sand.....

Look they are touching each other, a wonderful moment.... (this is not the norm, LOL)

Just like mommy, Say Cheese......

hugs
*a*

Rested up....

2008-10-12T12:03:00.000-07:00

We are back from our mini-vacation, well actually we got back last Sunday and I just found some time to post. We had a great time, the ocean was a little cold, but the kids didn't mind and it was nice to spend some time with my parents. I even got my dad to put on a white shirt for a photo shoot, they turned out awesome. The pictures are even better because I recently got photoshop (love it) and if you go here you can download some free actions. Now who doesn't love free..... I thought I needed a new camera, but now I don't think so, I just need more actions. So my new loves this week are photoshop and actions.
These two are best buds.....
As my hubby would say "the whole clang"......

This week I did a photo shot with my brother-in-law and his two kids, the pictures turned out great, I love this whole taking pictures thing. Maybe someday I could make a career out it. So add to my loves photography.....

On a sad note, my most favorite kit club is shutting their doors. I am so sad. My kits and Pieces did their last kit this month, and I will really miss getting this scrappy goodness in my mailbox every month. Right now Linda, the owner, is offering 25% off almost everything in the store so if you are in need of scrappy supplies go check it out, plus Linda has top-notch customer service.

Out for now gotta get ready for a football game.....
Hugs,
*a*

Yes I scrapbooked!!!

2008-09-29T10:12:00.000-07:00

I so missed scrapbooking, but over the summer months I just don't have the time or energy. With the kids home, housework, entertaining all 4 of them, and all my other responsibilities, I just can't seem to find the time, but now with school back in session and set bedtimes, I can scrapbook. YAY!!!!! I love the look of altered canvas', so I tried my hand at it. I think it turned out pretty good.

I have also been making some mini-albums, at the end of this week we are going on a mini-vacation to the ocean, so I wanted an album to highlight that trip. I made my mom one too, I was going to give it to her for Christmas, but I think I am going to take it with me and just surprise her with it. They turned out really cute I can't wait to add some pictures.

I have something new, I am starting a new blog called Frugal $ents. I originally started "Snapshots of Us" to showcase my scrapbooking and talk about my family, and my new frugal ways and couponing have been slowly taking over, so I decided to start another blog totally dedicated to money saving. My hopes are to post everyday and help others save money, I am still in the learning process of this myself. I am really excited about this new blog so please go check it out, I only have one post, but after I get back from our mini-vacation I'll be posting more. Since it is a new blog I may also some fun give-aways, so stay tuned.

My little one is sleeping and I really need to get my house in order and finish up packing. Have a great week and I'll be back next Monday.

Hugs
*a*

Wordless Wednesday.....

2008-09-24T06:35:00.000-07:00

hugs
*a*

1 Chicken = 3 meals

2008-09-24T05:57:00.000-07:00

I love budget-friendly meals, something that will feed all of us and still have left-overs is even better. BB 12 (bloomboy 12) is very picky and really hates all types of meats, but I have found that he loves a whole chicken cooked in the crockpot. I usually put it in the crock pot in the morning with a lemon pepper seasoning or Mrs. Dash for chicken and then cook all day. The meat is really tender and oh so yummy. So this is meal #1 add a potato and a vegetable and you have dinner. Even with a family of 5 and big hearty eaters I have some leftover, so with this I make a cassorole or fajitas, meal #2. Now don't throw away the bones put them back in your crock-pot and add some onions, celery, seasonings and 6 cups of water, put your crock-pot on low and cook for 10 hours and you have your own, no preservatives added, chicken stock to make soup. So there you have it I get a chicken at Wal-mart for under $4 and get 3 meals from it. Pretty budget-friendly if I do say so myself.

Crazy Week

2008-09-20T13:42:00.000-07:00

Hey all, I know I haven't been around this week, but it's been a crazy week. First of all Hurricane Ike came through on Sunday and we lost our power. Can I just tell you it was really scary... I know the folks down south had a lot stronger winds and rain than we did, but the wind we had was awful, it shook our house. The kids we really afraid, but after a few prayers we went to sleep and everything was fine. Praise the Lord we had no damage, other than our electricity, which was out for 2 days. After we finally had our power back, our computer was acting all wonky, we realized we had a virus, so that took a while to deal with. To top if off all my photos were lost, but hubby bless his heart, spent 4 days trying to restore them. He was successful, thank goodness, we need to come up with a better back-up system for our pictures so this doesn't happen again. So after all this craziness I'm finally back online!!

I'll be back on Monday with our menu, which I am working on, and pictures from Bryce's football game. Also I need to upload a picture of my baby, she is walking. I can't believe it, she is just getting so big. Also I have been scrapbooking, I am working on a school album for Nate and it's turning out great, so I'll try to upload some pictures of that. Out for now.....

Hugs
*a*

Weight Watchers

2008-09-14T11:13:00.000-07:00

Every since I have had my baby I have needed to lose weight. Sometimes I get so discouraged about my weight it's not even funny. I know one program that works, because I have done it after my second child and lost a lot of weight, is weight watchers. It's a great program, I just need to get in gear and do it, not just talk about it. If you have ever wanted to try Weight Watchers but thought, boy that's just to expensive for me, right now Mel @ a boxes of chocolate is giving away 2 free online memberships. What a great give-away!!!!! So get over there and leave her a comment for your chance to win this.

Thursday's Thoughts

2008-09-11T15:02:00.001-07:00

Last week I talked about wanting to prioritize my time better, and I think to some extent I did really good this week. Hense the no posting this week, I was on the computer some this week checking out my favorite sites, but I limited it to 1/2 hour during the day and I got so much done. The kid's rooms are now all declutter and so is the bathroom and laundry/mud room, I organized my frig and all my cupboards and my room got a good cleaning. I canned some tomato sauce and made some salsa (very yummy) and cooked every night except tonight, two of my kids went to their grams to eat and we had some left-overs in the frig, so we ate that. So hopefully next week I can fit blogging into that schedule.

Lately I have been thinking about Christmas (I know this is a completely different subject but the title to this post is Thursday's Thought), I don't want to spend a ton of money on things people don't need and I want to be finished with all shopping and wrapping by Thanksgiving. I really want to enjoy Christmas, making cookies with the kids, decorating and just having family time. I know this sounds ambitious, but I know we can have a frugal Christmas, be done early, and have fun too. If you have any frugal ideas for Christmas I would love to hear them.

So you know I couldn't end a post without adding a picture, and I hate blog posts that don't have pictures, so here is one of Nate. Daddy hasn't trimmed around the house for a while so Nate decided he would with scissors. You know it really kept him busy.

That's all for now,
hugs *a*

Prioritizing my Time

2008-09-03T16:25:00.000-07:00

Lately I have been thinking about what is really important to me. With the kids going back to school, and only have one at home, I need to schedule my days so that in the evening I am here for them. I have to admit I love the internet, I love searching out the best deals and reading all the blogs, but on the down side the internet is very time consuming, before I know it I have been on here for an hour or longer. So I have to set limits and not just with internet, I need to lose weight also. After having my fourth child the weight does not want to come off and I am not happy at all about the way I look, so I need to make time to exercise and really make it a point to eat better.

This weekend I am going to sit down and make a schedule for my day, when I have one down I'll share it. I'm hoping by scheduling things I can feel better about myself and have more time for the people and things I love.

hugs
*a*

Menu Planning Monday on Wednesday

2008-09-03T16:05:00.000-07:00

I know I am really late with this, butI have been sick since Sunday and then our internet wasn't working all the time. So today I am finally feeling better and the internet is working, it's a great day!!!!

Wednesday
Breakfast - Cream of Wheat
Supper - Meatloaf, cucumber salad, baked potato and bread sticks

Thursday
Breakfast - Toaster Strudels
Supper - Sausage in crockpot, salad and pudding

Friday
Breakfast - eggs and toast
Supper - Turkey wraps and broccoli, cauliflower salad, chips

Saturday
Breakfast - french toast
Supper - quiche w/swiss charde and cheddar cheese, with baked biscuits

Sunday
Breakfast - Cereal
Lunch - yogurt and veges
Supper - at Gram's

For more menu ideas check out Org. Junkie.

Ready for some deals....

2008-08-29T10:20:00.001-07:00

No menu-planning this past week, no CVS, no shopping at all. The only time Bertha saw the light of day was when I did some cleaning out and coupon organizing. Starting Monday I'll be back doing all this stuff again, I'm ready to find some good deals.

hugs
*a*

School Time....

2008-08-29T10:01:00.000-07:00

My kids started school on Wednesday, boy did the summer go fast. Bryce went to high school this year and is changing classes, dealing with a locker and locks and figuring out his schedule. On the first day he lost his back-pack, how he did this I'll probably never know, good thing I didn't get him a new one this year.

My baby boy, not so much a baby anymore, went to kindergarten, this is so hard to believe. He looked so little getting on the bus with his big boy back-pack. He had a great time, he did ask me this morning when he was going to have a break from school. He misses sleeping in and playing. Poor kid.

Miss Pie, is in 5th, not a big change for her but they did start changing classes. Poor girl she got sick the first day of school and threw up on her way to the bus, at least she was coming home.

So it's just me and Aly at home during the day, it's so quiet. During her naps I want to clean the house, declutter bedrooms, and start scrapbooking again. I really miss being creative. So be on the lookout for new layouts coming soon and maybe some mini-albums too.

hugs
*a*

Honey I'm Home!!!!

2008-08-29T09:51:00.000-07:00

I'm back, we had a great time at the Grange Fair, it was a nice end to our summer. Me and mom did survive, there were some times we wanted to pull our hair out and scream "Calgon take me away", but all in all we had a great time with 8 kids in a 5th wheel. Aly did pretty good, a couple of nights she had a hard time sleeping. She did love going for walks and all the attention she got. Here's a picture of our brood.

I'll upload some more pictures later next week.

glad to be home and
hugs to everyone
*a*

Menu Planning Monday

2008-08-18T13:55:00.000-07:00

It's another Monday, so another menu.... last week I didn't stick to my menu as well as I did the week before, things came up and I had to substitute easier meals. This week is going to be an easy week, I am leaving on Wednesday and won't be home until next Tuesday. It's the infamous GRANGE FAIR...my kids are so excited. They have been earning money all summer for the fair and Bryce and Caitlynn both have paper routes at the fair. Please pray for me and my mom, it's going to be me and her with 8, yes 8 kids in a 5th wheel for 6 days. Hopefully I am sane when I get home.

Here's my menu:

Monday - Sloppy Joes (I made this earlier in the summer and froze some), tater tots and ice cream

Tuesday - Chicken and Rice (didn't make this last week, vege and salad

Wednesday (at fair) - chili and corn bread muffins

Thursday - Keilbosa and sauerkraut, cut up veges and fruit

Friday - Chicken salad

Saturday - my mom cooks

Sunday - my mom cooks ( I love these two days)

For more menu's check out Org. Junkie.

Since I will be out of town there will be no blogging from me, so everyone have a great week and I'll be back next Tuesday. I'll post pictures on Wednesday, the kids start back to school, Bryce is going to high school and Nate is going to Kindergarten, where does the time go. I am both happy and sad that they are growing up.

Okay so I realize this picture has nothing to do with menu-planning.... The other day I lost Aly, we couldn't find her. Nate and I were searching everywhere, then Nate came yelling, I found her:

It's almost like she is saying "Here I am" -- I know I am a little bias, but she is just so stinkin cute!!!

hugs
*a*

I HEART CVS!!!!

2008-08-14T15:39:00.000-07:00

This is my favorite store, it doesn't rank as high as Giant, but it's right up there with it. I love to go here and spend my pocket change and walk out with a few bags worth of goodies. This week I decided to do several transactions, I have been reluctant to do this, I didn't want to make the cashiers mad or the other customers behind me mad. I can see their faces when I pull out coupons, let alone doing several different transactions. But this week I didn't want to spend that much money, and I didn't have very many ECB's only 9 and I knew all the stuff I wanted to get was going to cost me a lot OOP if I didn't break it up. Sorry no picture, I put everything away. I know what was I thinking, putting stuff away and not taking a picture of all my loot first, hey I am only human. Okay here's what I got:

Transaction 1

1 CVS hand soap - 1.69
Physians Formula Mascara - 7.99
Lamisilk lotion - 8.29
Lamisil Cream - 10.49

Total - 28.49

Coupons -
2/10
Rain check for the mascara - free
-2 cvs skincare
-3 lamisilk
-4 lamisil
used 9 ecbs, spent .50 oop, earned 10 ecb

Transaction 2
2 Dove chocolate - 6.00
2 children advil - 11.58

total - 17.58

Coupons -
2/10
2 -1 advil
Dove BOGO -3
used 10 ecbs, spent .58 OOP, earned 11.58 ecb

Transaction 3
Dove - 3.00
Airhead mini - 2.00
Energizer Batteries - 2.99
Alavert - 5.99
Stayfree - 2.79
Stayfree - 2.79
CVS after sun .49
Skin effects - 6.99
Reese pieces - .79 (filler) me and Caitlynn were hungry
Whatchamacalit - .79 (filler)

Total - 28.62

Coupons
2/10
-4 Alavert
-1 Energizer
-1 Stayfree
Stayfree BOGO -2.79
-1 CVS suncare
-2 Skin effects
-3 I didn't have anymore coupons, so I don't know what this is for.

used 11.58 in ECB's, paid .25 oop, earned 13 ecb's.

my total bill would have been $74.69 but I spent a total of 1.33. Pretty good day, I think. I do need to go back and finish up the battery deal and then the diaper deal. A little bit of time earlier in week really paid off. I have to thank The Centsible Sawyer, I love the CVS superstars and that really helped me this week. So once again thank you ladies, you really helped me out and you didn't even know it.

Happy saving...
hugs
*a*

Introducing Bertha!!!!

2008-08-13T13:09:00.001-07:00

I just started couponing in June, after I clipped my first set of circulars I went and got one of those coupon holders, they look like envelopes. Mine was pink... After using this for a couple of weeks and collecting more coupons, I new this was not going to work, I couldn't find anything. So I searched the internet for some ideas and decided to try the envelope system. I saved envelopes from the mail and by the end of the week I had enough to start my system, well this wasn't for me either. So back to the internet I went searching for something else and found the binder system, I loved how you could take your entire coupon collection with you to the store and could see everything. I already had a nice binder I had bought for scrapbooking, but it didn't work for what I wanted it for, so all I had to purchase was the baseball card holders and this is how Bertha was born. My kids and I decided to name my binder since it had a pink stripe down the center of it and it went everywhere with us. So Bertha Binder is her name. It's funny to hear my kids say "hey mom, do you want me to bring Bertha in the house". Maybe you have to be here, but believe me it is funny.
Here's Bertha, I love that she has a zipper so nothing falls out and the mesh pocket in the front is a great place to put my coupons that I am going to use.

These pockets are great to hold my circulars, envelopes for certain stores, and coupons that haven't been filed yet.

I love that you can see all my coupons, I have everything sectioned off, dairy, boxed food, frozen, etc. Some coupons I do have to fold, but I don't mind, I just make sure that I can see the picture of the product. In the front, I did get photo protector sheets and have my Store cards with the coupons that go to each store and in the back I have all my rebate sheets.

If you want to see more ideas of how to store and organize your coupons go to Keeping the Kingdom First, Alyssa is having a Binder show and tell until Friday, August 15th.

Hugs
*a*

Menu Planning Monday

2008-08-11T14:15:00.000-07:00

I really like planning a menu. Last week was my first time actually sitting down and writing one up. The verdict - I stuck to it. It was great, when the kids asked "what's for dinner mom" I would just say look at the menu. There was no dilemma at 4:30 wondering what I am going to make. That right there is worth the extra few minutes it took to figure out what I was going to make earlier in the week. So without further ado here is my menu for this week. For other ideas check out Organizing Junkie for a list of menu's. I really like looking through the list and getting ideas for my meals.

Breakfast - cereal, baked oatmeal, poptarts, egg sandwich, bagels and smoothies

Lunch - Tuna sandwich, soup, leftovers, chicken salad, mac and cheese

Suppers
Monday - Burgers, zucchini patties, cucumber salad and onion rings (all veges are from our garden)
Tuesday - Quiche, salad, pudding pie
Wednesday - Vege Stir-fry, rice and jello
Thursday - Flat bread wraps, potato salad
Friday - Chicken and Rice cass, cheesy broccoli and dessert
Saturday - homemade pizza and salad
Sunday - eat at Gram's...I love this day!!!

P.S. we tried the canned relish and everyone LOVED it, so I am definitely going to make some more.

Hugs
*a*

Photo Contest

2008-08-09T13:58:00.000-07:00

Here's my entry for Summer Fun Contest at 5 Minutes for Mom.

You reap what you sow

2008-08-06T18:31:00.001-07:00

I was so excited when we moved to our house 9 years ago, we have a lot of land and I wanted a garden. We have done a garden every year since then and love it. This is a family affair, the kids help plant the seeds and small plants, they even help weed (they are not so thrilled about this part) and they help pick. Caitlynn loves to go out and search for new vegetables that can be picked, usually she comes in with a big bowl full of stuff. It is so nice to eat what we have grown and not have to buy it. It's also nice to know that there are no chemicals on our veges or anything else, who knows what you are getting in the stores these days.

I even started canning and freezing this year, we planted alot more plants this year and I have already froze sugar snap peas, green beans and onions. Tonight I made my first attempt at canning. I made relish, I'll let you know in a few weeks how this turned out, it looks like relish and all the jars sealed. So far so good, now just the taste test. I think this weekend I am going to can some zucchini pickles and blueberry jam. I am actually having fun and this fits in with my new frugal lifestyle.

These cucumbers are so yummy....
My little taste-tester!!!

hugs
*a*

All You - Go and get one!!!!!

2008-08-05T06:18:00.000-07:00

Why do I love the All You magazine? Yes the articles are good and some good recipes...but they also have coupons and this month is especially good. I clipped 34 coupons and there were some I didn't clip because I knew I wouldn't use them. So in totally there were at least 40 coupons. This month there were a lot of food items, here's a small list of what's in this magazine:

Tyson chicken 1/1
Jiff to go .75/1 (great coupon especially if your store doubles)
Rimmel eyeshadow BOGO
Kotex 1/1 (any it's any so you can get the pantyliners at Wal-mart for free)
Ban 1/1
Trident .75/1 dnd (combine this with the BOGO coupon from a recent insert and get two packs of really cheap gum)
Nerds BOGO
Peter Pan peanut butter 1/1
Dole Fruit bowls .75/1 (once again if your store doubles this product will be really cheap)
Plus the free kraft when you buy 3 (coupons includes cheese, dressing, crystal light, hot dogs and crackers), you don't have to buy something expensive just buy 3 packs of kool-aid, Wal-mart has them 5/1.00 and then you get free cheese or buy 3 mac and cheese for .50 a box. And the best thing these coupons don't expire until 9/30/08 so you have awhile to use them.
Plus many more...

Tonight I think I am going to go to Wal-mart and pick up a couple more magazines.

hugs
*a*

Menu Planning Monday

2008-08-04T11:23:00.001-07:00

This is my first time participating in menu-planning Monday over at I'm an organizing Junkie, I absolutely love her site, since I love to have an organized house. I do tend to go over-board when it comes to basket and bins to put everything, but I least I know where everything is (most of the time). She does have challenges and as soon as the kids are back in school, I am definitely going to participate, I need to get this house in tip-top shape. Okay well enough about organizing, here is my menu for the week.

Breakfast - cereal, eggs and toast, oatmeal, poptarts, pancakes and smoothies(the kids love these)

Lunches - Ramen noodles, tuna salad sandwich, mac&cheese, hotdogs, pb&J, cut-up veges and fruit.

Supper
Monday - taco salad, pudding pie
Tuesday - Chicken salad sandwiches and homemade mac and cheese (getting my hair done at 5 so dinner has to be easy)
Wednesday - mini meatloafs, twice-baked potato, and vege
Thursday - Pork and veges in crockpot, potato salad and jello
Friday - Cook-out on the fire - hotdogs, mountain pies, mac salad and cut-up veges and smores
Saturday - homemade hoagies

Now i just have to stick to it.... Have a great day..
Hugs
*a*

Wordless Wednesday

2008-07-30T12:40:00.001-07:00

I found a great site called picnik, I have always wanted photoshop, but it's pricey, this site has alot of altering tools and my photos turned out great and the best part is it's FREE...see my frugalness is making its way into my scrapbooking life.

hugs
*a*

Cheap or even Free

2008-07-23T15:55:00.000-07:00

Maybe you all have been wondering where my layouts have been, no I haven't stopped scrapbooking. Scrapbooking is my passion and hobby and I love it, but during the summer I just can't seem to find the time. My kids stay up much later and by the time I get everyone in bed I am beat and usually go to bed myself. I have been keeping busy with couponing, I love it. I really like making a game out of going to the store these days. How little can I actually spend? On a recent trip to CVS my bill was 125.00 and I spent out of pocket $22.00 and today I just realize they charged for 9 shampoos and I only got 8 so it would have only been 18.00. Here is a picture:
okay so I got:
8 loreal pro vive shampoo - $40
3 12 pk pepsi (only 2 are shown)- 9
1 12 pk siera mist -3
2 packs of diapers -12
1 wipe -2
1 baby shampoo -2
6 trident gum - 9
2 dasani water -3
4 all small and mighty - 26
2 lysol spray -7
2 dove chocolate -7
1 loreal pro vive shampoo- 5 (that they charged me for but I didn't buy)

Can you believe that all this only cost 22.00? All the shampoo (expect the 9th bottle they charged me for) and the gum were free, because I had a BOGO coupon and the store was having a bogo (buy one get one free) sale. So that means free to me!!!! I just can't believe that all these years I have been buying this stuff and generic to boot, when you could get it free or for pennies. My kids are so excited to be eating name brand cereal and let me tell you we have a lot of cereal. Enough about my deals this week, next week I'll be back to let you know how I did at Giant and see if I am any closer to my goal of spending 100 a week for groceries. This is my short term goal, my next goal is to get it down to 60 a week for a family of 6. It can be done my friends. Okay I'm off to find a little girl who has just disappeared, crawling is so over-rated, nothing is safe in this house anymore. :-)

hugs
*a*