Cute and Creepy

As I walked into the kitchen Saturday morning, I was greeted by Todd's early morning shopping trip purchase to Home Depot. It has been gracing our kitchen counter top all weekend long.

It's so cute and creepy at the same time.


I am ready for it to be moved to its intended spot, on top of the greenhouse to scare away the birds.

Happy Birthday, Niko!

He awoke early and came upstairs. He had to grab his blanket and fake sleep on the couch so we could bring him breakfast in bed.

Oh, yes . . . another pink cake with army men on top. We may be seeing a trend.

Profile Picture

I finally added a profile picture to my blog and Facebook.

The biggest setback is that we do not have a lot of pictures with me in them because I am usually the one taking all of the pictures.

Are you on Facebook? Come find me. Be my friend . . .

Headboard Finished

I saw this picture in Rachel Ashwell's book "Shabby Chic." I thought the headboard in the back would look perfect in our bedroom.

Todd's assignment: Make a headboard for our bedroom that looks like this one. Make it look old by using rough, uneven boards, with a lot of knots. Then turn it over to me to paint.

He did a great job. I love it!

A Harmless Children's Game?

Who knew playing a harmless children's game, "London Bridge is Falling Down," with your sister could be so dangerous?
This child has got more shiners in his short little life than the rest of the family combined.

Saturday in the Yard

Thursday Evening Conversation

Thomas: Hey mom. I'm trying out for the Jazz Band tomorrow.


Me: The high school jazz band?


Thomas: Yes.


Me: I thought they already had a drummer. What instrument are you going to play.


Thomas: The bass guitar.


Me: Is that an electric guitar?


Thomas: Yes.


Me: Have you ever played a bass guitar before?


Thomas: I tried my friend's before.


Me: When was that?


Thomas: Last school year.


Me: How are you going to practice?


Thomas: It's the same top 4 strings that are on my guitar and the teacher gave me some music to play.


Me: The tryouts are tomorrow?


Thomas: Yes.


Me: Does the school have a bass guitar you can use?


Thomas: Yes.


Me: Okay. Good luck.


Yes, Thomas is now a member of the high school jazz band.

Happy Birthday, Jay

In my bloggy absence, I missed posting Jay's birthday.

I didn't want to miss his requested pink, strawberry cake with army guys on top,

his ever present enthusiastic attitude,

or the spanking line.

I'm Just Sayin'

If you happen to leave the box of wet wipes open when you are sitting next to a little girl named Heavenly, don't look away for a few seconds. When you look back there could be a huge pile of wipes strewn outside of the box.

I'm just sayin'.

And in a rush to get the wipes semi orderly back into the box you might just miss the photo opportunity for your blog.

I'm just sayin'.

Hummm . . .

What can I find in here to get into?

Thank You, Todd

As I finished writing the last blog post, I highlighted the whole thing in order to change the font color and size. At that very moment Heavenly walked into the office. As I picked her up, my arm bumped the keyboard and hit the letter O. The whole long blog post disappeared and all that was left was the letter O. As my heart started beating faster, I looked for an undo button on the blogger post box. None.

Then I remember Todd had shown me to undo by using the Ctrl Z. Fast and steady I held down the Ctrl button and then the Z. And then my post magically reappeared before my eyes. I breathed a sigh of relief.

Today, most computer programs have every button you need on the screen, ready for the click of a mouse. And then sometimes they are not there . . .

Thank you, Todd, for teaching me some of the basics key strokes.

I Love a Bargain

I have always loved a good bargain.

It would be very hard, in today's world, to be a big, one income family without putting a few thrifty ideas into action.

We shop sales and yard sales and even thrift stores. We cook and eat at home most of the time. We rent Redbox DVDs for $1 instead of going to the theatre.

Since the gas and food prices have gone up we have gone into a bigger thrift mode. We try to minimize our errand running and I always plot out the shortest driving route. I have been on a quest to find yummy meals that are less expensive.

A couple of weeks ago I saw the pile of newspapers left over from our early morning paper route. And I said to myself, "I bet there are some coupons in there."

And so the journey began . . .

This is one of my first trips. Everything on the right was free. The cereal on the left was .50 a box.

This is from a late night run to Walgreen's Monday night. All free. Some are rebates. Some are coupons. Some are Register Rewards. Some are a combination of two.

This is from my trip to Walmart yesterday. Each box on the table was only .25. There was no prep for this trip and no coupons involved, just a matter of being in the right place at the right time.

As I went down the isle, the man stocking the shelf said, "We are trying to get these items out of our stock. Everything is .25. They haven't expired yet." So I filled up some shopping carts, 3 to be exact.

So here are my favorite frugal tips:

1. Don't buy anything you wouldn't normally buy or use no matter how good the coupon or sale is, even if it is free.

2. There is usually a free Redbox code every Monday. Let me know if you want me to post them.

3. Walgreen's has an EasySaver booklet every month full of rebates. You don't have to fill out anything by hand, clip UPCs, or send in receipts. You do everything online. Just type in your receipt number. They have 8-10 items each month that are completely free with the rebate. Buy the rebate items later in the month because everything gets kind of picked over when the booklets first come out. If you purchase the item with a coupon, you still get the full rebate back. The booklet are usually right inside the door next to the current week's circular.

4. There are women out there who hunt down bargains all day long. Just read their blogs so you can find the same deals without spending too much time looking. Let me know if you want me to post my favorite thrifty blogs too.

5. Teach your children to be thrifty.