Randomness

I was deciding if I was gonna post, because I plan on doing my "what I love Wednesday" early in the morning.
But just a couple of things.
I got a phone that texts and we now have texting! We switched from At&t to Verizon because we were getting too many dropped calls.
The only problem is I never know where my phone is and do not return texts until the person has already given up on me.
If you have my number, feel free to text me and if you don't, hit me up on twitter.

I now love KMART!
I went there today for a pair of shoes for my daughter's graduation and fell in love with everything in the store.
They even had stuff for me and I am picky.
I loved their girls bathing suits and the store had a ton of stuff, a lot, even cheaper than my beloved Walmart.
We used to have a Kmart that I shopped in, but it closed down, so in my ongoing search for shoes, I ventured out to one I forgot existed!
Score.
I will be going back.
Not anytime soon, though.
Do I need to mention the price of gas again?
Or the fact that my daughter was iffy about the shoes- she is so keeping them!

And the little guy pee'd 3 times while we were out! Yay, public rest rooms!
Underwear, here we come.

Quick question.
What do you think about Pee Wee Herman?
The movies/show, not the actual man.
Or can we separate the 2?
I let my kids watch some of one of his movies because I grew up watching his show and saw the movies.
They found it hysterical and asked me if I could find them in the library.
Would you let your kids watch Pee Wee?
HeHe
(that's pee wee's laugh, in case you were wondering)

Happy Memorial Day!

The 3 younger kids with the boys' best friend enjoying ice cream, watching for the parade and trying to block their ears from the color guard rifles.

God bless all of our troops, both past and present, and their families.

Nostaglia

I am not the most sentimental person, but when I walked up to my best friend's house for our yard sale and saw this spice cabinet. It hit me. That looks just like the one my mom had while I was growing up.

And with that my girlfriend told me, "Hey, your mom dropped off some stuff this morning for you to sell".

It was my mom's.

I left it at first, but I felt so strongly that I had to take it.

This is also odd, because although I am a professed pack rat, I don't like a lot of stuff to decorate with and by no means do I like "extras" like this little knick knack cabinet. Although, I liked very much the way my mom had most recently displayed it in her kitchen.

I gave in to the little voice and packed it into the van.

I took it home and told my mom how silly I had been on insisting on keeping that little cabinet.

My mom told me she was glad I did. She said she had a hard time parting with it.

It was the first thing she had bought in the commissary while my father was in the Navy.

She said that my father was great about letting her have what she wanted and they made payments on it.

Can you believe how fast time goes?

Can you believe how times have changed?

That my mother and father thought of this beautiful, but small wooden cabinet as an extra and made payments on it, before taking it home, while today we would just put it on a credit card and purchase a couple other things as well?

That when I started to drive I paid 99 cents a gallon for gas and now it is over $4 a gallon?

I think I just might keep this cabinet forever and pass it down to one of my girls for their kitchen.

Hmmm. Now to change my whole future kitchen remodel to revolve around this cabinet.

Enjoy your Sunday!

Someone's First Time Licking the Bowl

This little guy is too much! The other day we were making a cake for Daddy and I realized he was just standing there in awe as I mixed the cake with the hand mixer. "Want to help?", I asked. He was shocked and excited.... Am I that strict that he thought I wouldn't let him use the mixer?

After the cake was in the oven, I realized, I don't think he knows that you can lick the batter left in the bowl.

I offered him a lick and he gladly had some, and then asked for another lick, and then another and so on.

I looked at the little guy and asked him why he had batter in his hair. He is not the type to go crazy and I wouldn't have thought he would stick his hands in his hair.

And I was right, he didn't.

He STUCK his head. in. the. bowl!

The apple doesn't fall from the tree.

Or rather...

The batter doesn't fall far from the bowl.

Friday Follow With The Chatty Mommy...

It's Friday! Woo Hoo!
Last night's game was awesome- another shutout- 8-0!
Next time, I will take pictures!
Kids have to get shots today for school next year and
we are having a yard sale at my girlfriend's house.
Hope you have a great day!

On to the follow:

rules:

1. You must follow TCM.

2. Link your blog with the linky.

3. Put the follow button somewhere in your post.

4. Visit as many blogs and follow as many as you can.

5. Family friendly only and HAVE FUN!

What I Love Wednesday {wilw}

My Top Ten Loves (for right now)

1. When the kids get fresh air.

2. Knowing that summer vacation is only weeks away.

3. We are having a yard sale this weekend at my girlfriend's house.

4. Softball- I finally learned how to hit (let's see if I can do it in a game)

5. Wearing no jacket.

6. Someone is interested in potty training.

7. Soft serve pistachio ice cream from Carvel

8. Riding my bike with the little guy in the trailer.

9. Pretty soon, I can throw out my daughter's ripped up Barbie backpack.

And

10. Grilling outside and overcooking things, so my husband comes out to "help" and winds up grilling it himself (he is hip to it- don't worry)

Tests this Week and a *special request*

The kids have tests this week. Ya know, the kind you fill the little bubble in with a #2 pencil?
I received a letter telling me so a couple of weeks ago, but last week my son came home and told me all about these special tests he has to take. He said he would have to go to bed early, eat eggs for breakfast and that the teacher taught him to fill in the best answer if he couldn't figure out the problem.
Since this is his first time taking the test, he is a little nervous.


He said he is worried about the clocks. His teacher had assured him there wouldn't be a lot of them. When his sisters packed their sharpened #2 pencils, I packed him some too. The kind shaped like a triangle to help his little hands with his grip. He was too cute, but I felt bad for him.
He went to bed at 7:20pm last night in preparation and woke early to tell me today was test day.

He had an egg and sausage toast sandwich and was all set.
Please pray he has a good day.
He is so great to have a good attitude.
I hope it is not as hard as he thinks.
Do your kids have tests this week and when are they done with school?

Special Request
Check out this blog and read a touching story of a little girl named Albina who needs our help.

Charles Builds An Altar

This morning in service, our Pastor was talking about Abram building an altar and giving everything up, and all I could think about was my favorite episode of Little House on the Prairie.
My all time favorite things on TV are Little House and Anne of Green Gables.

The episode was called "He was Only 12" and it was a 2 parter.
Charles and Caroline's adopted son, James is shot and dying.
Everyone says he has no hope, even the doctor and all the family believes he is dying.
But Charles feels the Lord telling him something different.
So, against the advice of everyone else, he packs up his son and makes a journey deep into the woods.

He builds an altar unto the Lord.
You can see that part here.

And then miraculously this happens.

I just love that episode.
I always think of Charles and his faith.
As much as it is only a TV show and I am sure Michael Landon himself was no Charles, I always appreciated the faith portrayed by the Ingalls family.

What about you? Are you a Little House fan?

Field Day/ Walk-a-thon

The kids had their field day and walk-a-thon yesterday! They had a blast and the rain held out. It was actually really sunny.
It was a lot of fun.
A little bittersweet because this might be the last year the kids attend their small private school (more about that at another time).
The husband was able to go which thrilled the kids. I love watching them do crazy stunts and I bring little flags to cheer them on much to the chagrin of my attention avoiding husband and my tween, who I live to embarrass!
Here are a couple pics from the day- ya know I have a thousand more, if anyone is interested!

Don't you limbo at your field day?

The change your clothes and run race.

The Pastor let the person who earned the most money for the school hit him in the face with a "pie". The kids went wild and loved it.

What a good sport!

Sack race, anyone?

Friday Follow With The Chatty Mommy...

Sorry, we are up a little late. Meant to put up the follow last night, but I had a softball game and we won our first game ever!!! It was a shutout- 8-0!
The kids have field day today and they are super excited! Hopefully the rain will hold out because it has rained everyday for the last week!
We are getting ready for a huge yard sale at my girlfriend's house- I need to get rid of a lot of stuff!
What are you doing this weekend?
On to the follow:

rules:

1. You must follow TCM.

2. Link your blog with the linky.

3. Put the follow button somewhere in your post.

4. Visit as many blogs and follow as many as you can.

5. Family friendly only and HAVE FUN!

What I Love Wednesday {wilw}- BATHROOMS

Hi Gussy Sews Readers! I posted this awhile back, but when Gussy said the prompt was bathrooms, I knew I needed to link to this post. Hope you like my ideas!

We have 2 small bathrooms in our house and both of them need to be re-done not for cosmetic purposes, but for structural problems. One needs to definitely be done before the other. My problem is I don't know when they will be done, but when the husband is ready to do them, I better be ready with what I would like in them. (Not much of a problem, is it?)

So, I have been combing through google images to find things I like. (I tried Pinterest and weheartit, but I am not quite sold on those sites yet)

photo credit

I love black and white and I love how this sink is off the ground, but probably not too practical because I need to dump a lot of stuff underneath my sink- blow dryer, extra soap, extra shampoo, conditioner, make-up, the box of q-tips- I am sure you get the idea! What about black and white polka dots- my fav- is that too modern for a not so modern house?

photo credit

I always say I want to do a fun bathroom for the kids and this one is cute, but will I get bored of it?

photo credit

This is the size of one of my bathrooms, and I love the green and the shower curtain and the white, but still need the cabinet under the sink!

photo credit
And I love the tile in this one. I would love to tile the whole bathroom, floor to ceiling - with a drain in the floor and whenever I had to clean the bathroom, I would just hose it down! This one is pretty and even though I love the sunburst, I don't think it would quite cut it, in a house with kids.

Which one is your favorite? Do you love your bathroom?
What does it look like?

12 years!

It's that time again!
Our Anniversary!
Thought I would share this adorable picture of the husband when he was little.
I can' t believe it has already been 12 years!
We have been through so much together and it is truly the grace of God that we are still together and that it just gets greater every year! I am so thankful for my husband!

Oh yeah- The winner for the wreath giveaway is Crystal!!! Congratulations Crystal! Email me so I can get your address to get this beautiful wreath mailed out to you. Thanks so much, Mellissa Rose!

A Just Because Giveaway....

Since blogger has been down for a long time, no Friday follow today, but I will resume next Friday.
One of the things I featured on my wilw post was this wreath from Mellissa Rose. Well, Mellissa Rose is closing her shop for a long vacation and she wants to give a TCM reader this beautiful wreath!

The wreath is about 15" across and Melissa had this to say about the wreath:
"I started with fabric swatches from a vintage swatch book. The fabric is from the 50's - 70's. I cut the fabric in long strips and then tied them around a willow wreath base. I selected ivory & white fabrics for this wreath. Some were striped, some sheer, others patterned with Fleur-de-lis or flowers. Yet others were lace. The fabric already had a decorative zig zag edge and it adds charm to the wreath.

I put a hook on the wreath so it is ready to hang. Or use it with a flameless candle as a centerpiece. It would also be beautiful hung at a wedding."

To Enter:

You must be a follower of TCM and leave me a comment about anything. (Mandatory)
You can blog/tweet/facebook about it for extra entries. (1 entry each)

I will pick the winner Tuesday morning and need to be able to get your address super fast so the wreath can be shipped out asap, before Mellissa Rose goes away!

What I Love Wednesday {wilw}

I really had to cut down on my "loves" this week!
There is just so many fun things out there with summer around the corner.

Without further ado, my "loves":

1. This vintage rag wreath from Mellissa Rose is beautiful and I love the fabric.

2. Scrunchies are back ladies!! My eldest asked for a couple for Easter because they come in all colors and are so much stronger than typical hair ties. Now will the "banana clip" be back around as well?

3. This is something I really want for the summer. A Wonder Wheels! I can load up all our gear and cruise onto the beach without carrying everything and my kids complaining their little hands can't carry anymore.
I thought about asking for one for my birthday, but since that is the middle of the summer, I plan on doing online surveys for opinion outpost and using swagbucks to earn enough amazon.com giftcards to buy one myself.
I can't see asking the husband for it when he is the one working all summer while the kids and I are soaking up the rays on the beach.

Interested in opinion outpost or swagbucks? Click here.

4. A professional coupon binder! Woo Hoo - this is what the big guns use! But $26.99? How is that conducive to me saving money?
My coupon binder won't be as nice, but I will share it some time next week.
And keep checking Gigi as she will be sharing hers this week and has committed to trying extreme couponing!

Happy Wednesday!

Today

No time to blog today..
It is just one of those days!
One kid not feeling well, one of those things when you don't know if they are still contagious and when the other kids are gonna catch it!

And if one more kid spills water today - I might lose it!
Only half kidding.

I can't get on top of this laundry.
I think the kids should just start wearing things dirty.

I am sure Laura Ingalls Wilder wore some stuff with stains on it.
I mean you can only wash so many things in a creek at a time, ya know?

I am a little cranky.
I have no tee shirts to wear.
Can someone explain why tee shirts now have spandex in them?
Not flattering- nuff said.
All that is left is a tee shirt with mario brothers or a snarky comment on it from Walmart.
Really?

I have been really unorganized in the food shopping area because I am so fixed on the coupon thing.
I finally found inserts for my coupon binder at Dollar Tree last weekend- but they are from dollar tree so they are cheap and flimsy- I'll let you know how that works out.
So, I am a that crazy point where I don't know what to cook and I am not sure if I even know how anymore!

And don't suggest meatloaf, because I tried.

No one commented on my mother's day post, which is ok, but I still keep checking it like someone might.
LOL
I know Get a life, TCM.
I hear ya.

I do have some ideas for posts, and I am not in a rut like this rambling chat suggests.
I guess I am lazy.

I want to change some things on my blog.
I took off blogfrog to change up my blog and added my etsy shoppe.
But, I really miss seeing who has been visiting, so I might need to add it back.

Do you have any good blogs to suggest?
I need some new good ones to stalk.

Hope you are having a great day- I have to go and wash a load of towels from cleaning up all the water people are spilling.

Do I need to mention that we pay for water?
I told you I was cranky.

P.S.- today I gave my daughter who is allergic to nuts, cookies with walnuts in them- smart, right?
She is fine, she is really not allergic to walnuts in particular, but is not supposed to have tree nuts.
I'm batting a thousand people. (Not in softball- I still stink at batting there) :)

Happy Mother's Day!

Who else could love these "mudpie" hands but a mother?

My aunt sent me this card and I thought it was just so true some days and loved it.

My husband is "BBQuing" for me today. My Pastor told a great joke one day about when the husband bbqs. Basically, I prepare the night before defrosting meat, marinating, making salads, doing dishes, cleaning the BBQ and having everything ready. I hand him the meat the day of the bbq- he puts it on and I proceed to set the table, wash kids hands, get everything ready and then let him know it is time to take the meat off of the grill.

This might be true for me today and it is pretty funny. But, I am thankful to have my husband because basically, today I would not be celebrating Mother's day without him.

Happy Mother's Day and may your day be blessed no matter what you do (or don't do)!

Look What I Sold On Ebay!

When I was preparing to go to my brother's wedding, I bought 3 dresses from Dress Barn. I figured I would return 2 after getting some opinions of which was best from my mom, my kids, my best friend, some other friends and possible the mailman (just kidding).

I, of course, being my organized self, lost the receipt.

So, what was I going to do with a merchandise credit for $127.79?

Sell it on ebay of course.

Now, I obviously didn't make what it was worth, but I have $100 back in my pocket instead of on a little card for a couple of years until I need something from Dress Barn again.

Got a merchandise credit or a gift card you don't need?

Sell it on ebay!

Friday Follow With The Chatty Mommy...

First softball game tonight- we didn't get mercied (that's when they beat you by 15 early on so there are only 4 innings instead of 7 and believe me it happened a lot last year)!
The score was 8-2 and it was a lot of fun!
Trying to get some things done this weekend and have a lot going on. 2 of the kids have dentist appointments for cleanings- we go in shifts every 6 months- so it takes about 3 visits to get everyone done.
Not sure what to get my mom.
What are you getting yours?

On to the follow:

rules:

1. You must follow TCM.

2. Link your blog with the linky.

3. Put the follow button somewhere in your post.

4. Visit as many blogs and follow as many as you can.

5. Family friendly only and HAVE FUN!

Weight Loss- or Lack of....

my favorite - I have on a couple of occasions hid these in my drawers- crazy I know, but I believe in full disclosure.

I saw a couple of my favorite blogs posting about weight and here I am to share.
I remember after I had my first child (over 10 years ago) I weighed 138 pounds and I just couldn't believe it.
How could I get so big?
I am only 5'1".

Well, child, those days are long gone and all I think to myself is "I can't believe I thought I was heavy!!"

I have no idea what happened- I am in my early 30s- but bam- I gained weight and I don't even know when.

I seriously need to lose weight.

I have thought about joining WW again (I have been there before plenty of times)- I just can't see paying $10 a week for someone to tell me I lost weight.

But have I lost anything on my own?
NO.

I went for my physical and the doctor told me if I want to lose weight I can try anything with food, but I have to exercise.

I got standard blood testing and figured I def. have a thyroid problem.

Nope.
The receptionist called and said everything was great.
Me- "No thyroid problem?"
Her- "No it's perfect."
Me- "Oh, so I can't tell my husband that I am heavy because I have a thyroid problem?"
Her- "You can tell your husband anything you want- I'll back you up."

Me- "Thanks"
But, of course, I can't lie....

Oh, let me tell you about the fall when I was sure I was one of those women who is pregnant and didn't know.
It's the TV show on TLC that made me think this.
I was so sure.
I didn't know how my husband would take it.

But, alas, I am not the pregnant lady that doesn't know she is pregnant, I am the crazy woman who watches too much TV.

I am the woman who eats when no one is looking and is laid back and likes to relax.

But today, I am the woman who is going to lose this weight by biking and walking and cleaning and constantly moving and eating less and not taking a second plate and I will not be a part of the clean plate club.

I will be healthy and excited about buying clothes and I will wear single digits again!!!
And I will wear a bathing suit that is not a "slimmer suit"!

Who's with me?

I'm linking up with Kathi and the Tri-Moms.