An Economic Christmas, Day 4

Well, I'm very sad to say that we have come to the end. I know you were all loving my so-consistent posting, but I've got about 12 orders of vinyl waiting and a whole bunch of sewing to do (anyone want to come over...with your sewing maching?). But, I wouldn't leave you without giving you more cool things I found. And, if any of you made anything I showed, I'd love to see it. So, leave me comments and/or links to your blog. I know I have a few sisters-in-law who made some skirts, so show them off! I can't wait to see!

I think I've saved a few of the best things for last.

First, hooded towels. I found them on littlebirdiesecrets.blogspot.com (I love that site).

I'm going to find some cute hot pink bath towels for Kendal and dark blue ones for Brandon. I'm going to scout out the ads to see who's having the best sale on big, huge, fuzzy, soft towels and head on over. I'd love some cool retro towels though, so if anyone knows where to find those, let me know. These look so easy and I think you could add some things (ric-rac, ribbon, buttons, etc.) to make them super cute!

Second, are these cute pillowcases. Again, Little Birdie Secrets helped me out.

My kids love personalized anything and something with Princesses or Star Wars would make them so happy. They'd also be a great, cheap gift for friends or family. I'm going to try to find some flannel to do them out of because I think that would make them even better.

Lastly, is something I found over at madebypetchy.blogspot.com. Isn't she awesome?! This cute dishtowel apron is adorable.

My kids love to help their dad cook. I don't and can't cook. The last time I tried to cook I added 2 cups of salt instead of 2 cups of sugar and he (Derek) promptly kicked me out of the kitchen. I'll take care of this awesomely cool blog and leave the cooking to him. Anyways, I found these and am going to make a couple so they can cook in style.

Thanks, everyone, for all your lurking. I know you're there because my site meter tells me you are, even if you don't leave me comments. But, I want to see what everyone made, so leave me comments and links to your blogs so we can all admire!

An Economic Christmas, Day 3

I'm sorry, I'm sorry! My apologies to my 2 or so readers. The last two days were so hectic and busy that I didn't have a chance to update.

I promised you boy gifts and I'm here to deliver. Although I didn't post, I spent many hours looking for things for the boys. So here it goes.

The first thing I found is pretty dang awesome! As a kid I would have loved this. Now, I'm not sure how fun this would be to get out of your carpet, but check it out!

It's called Oobleck. I found the recipe on www.skiptomylou.org. Here's the recipe. I think It'd be a great idea to throw some in a cute Christmas container with the book that goes along with it, "Bartholomew and the Oobleck" by Dr. Suess. It would also be great to give to your kids' friends. I'm sure they'd love it. It's one of those presents that as a parent you'd hate to get but would love to give just to torture the other parents. 'Cause that's what it's all about, right?

Next, is something that we as a family have an awesome time with. We found these at Peach Days in September and bought one for everyone. (This one's not ours, we have ours painted cool colors, I'm just too lazy to take pictures.)


Every so often we go out and have big fights. Derek always wins. Mostly because I'm a wuss and he's full of hot air! Don't tell him I said that! :o) Every family needs a couple of marshmallow guns! Even the girls. The ones we bought were spray painted different colors. These would be easy and cheap to do. Here's the instructions.

Next are these cute felt monsters. I found them on littlebirdiesecrets.blogspot.com. Here's the instructions. The idea is that you have your kids draw a picture of their favorite monster and then you translate their picture into a cuddly creature.


My idea was that one night for family home evening we'd each draw a picture of our monster and include it with our letter to Santa so that for Christmas he could bring each of us our monster. They look so cute and really easy to do. I can't wait to see what my kids come up with!

While I was looking around, I found this great website called madebypetchy.blogspot.com. She is an amazing seamstress and I found a few things I wanted to do.

First are these shorts. She says they take ten minutes. For me I'm sure that's 10 minutes give or take an hour. I think they'd make great pajama pants or even shorts to play in. Very cute and hopefully easy!

Second, are these freezer paper stenciled t-shirts. I fell in love with the cute robot on this shirt.

I think it would be a great idea to personalize a t-shirt for your kids. What kid wouldn't love a t-shirt made just for them?

Lastly, is this ipod case holder. My kids are each getting their own cd players from their meema for Christmas and I wanted to make something that they could keep it in so it wouldn't get ruined. I found this and I think I could modify it to work.

Again, cute and easy. I also have to wonder where she comes up with the time to make all her cute stuff! I think she needs to come to my house and start sewing!

So, there's some stuff for boys and a few things that could work for girls (sorry boys you don't get to have all the fun). Tomorrow (or today, it's 12:49 am) I'll post things that would work for boys and girls that are quick and easy.

An Economic Christmas, Day 2

For today, I want to focus on the girls. I found some really fun things that I'm going to do for Kendal.

One thing I'm going to do is get a fishing tackle box (hear me out) for all her hair and nail stuff. That way it can be organized and easy to find. I'll add some pink and purple vinyl flowers, polka dots, or hearts to make it cute. Then I'll stick some hair and nail stuff in her stocking. Easy, fun gift! For those on a very tight budget, check out this link.

Next I'm going to do these cute baby legs (arm and leg warmers). They would be perfect for her because she hates to wear long sleeves. This way she could wear them outside and then take them off inside. I found these on littlebirdiesecrets.blogspot.com. Here's the link.

Look how cute!

The really cheap way to do the baby legs is to head over to Children's Place and go through their clearance bin. Just don't go before I get a chance to head over! You can usually find some really cute tights or knee socks for pretty cheap.

Kendal loves jewelry and I found these cute rings and hair things on littlebirdiesecrets.blogspot.com.

They look really easy and I can raid my button jar to make them. I can get the rings for the buttons at Roberts or Michaels and use a 40% off coupon to make them even less expensive. I'll just slip them in her stocking and she can put them in her tackle box.

For more bows, headbands, and clips, head over to thirtyhandmadedays.blogspot.com. I found tons of bows for you here, here, and here. So have fun!

I think, if I have time, I want to do a couple skirts for her to go with her baby legs. I found this skirt on thirtyhandmade days, but it's originally from Grand Revival Designs. Here's the link.

They look really cute and easy. They would be perfect made with some cute Christmas fabric. Hopefully I can find the time to get these done. I know she'd love them.

Tomorrow, we'll focus on what we can do for our boys. I think sometimes they're the hardest to shop for. Let me know if you have any additional ideas or maybe some things I've missed that everyone needs to know about.

An Economic Christmas, Day 1

This Christmas, as in Christmases past, we're on a budget (I guess that's not any different than any other year). This year though, I decided that I'm going to give my kids things they can use. I'm tired of buying them toys that they get bored with that I end up throwing away in a few months anyway. So, I decided to do a homemade Christmas. We are getting them b-i-k-e-s (you have to spell it so they don't know what it is) but I can't make them so we do have to buy them. But other than that, I'm going to use my semi-craftiness and make some fun things they'll like.

I thought I'd share because I know other people might be in the same boat. I'm going to try everyday to post a few things that I'm doing and that you might like to make yourselves.

For the first one, this is something we made at our Super Saturday this year. I found it online and loved it the moment I saw it. It's a crayon roll. I found it on skiptomylou.org. Here's the direct link.


This isn't the one I made (I'm too lazy to take a picture). For mine, I used flannel from Joanne's. For Kendals I did princesses, polka dots, and stripes and for Brandon's I did bugs, stripes and light green. I bought a half a yard and I think I was able to get 4 or 5 out of them. You do need three different prints, but it's still really inexpensive if you look for a sale or print off a 40% off coupon. The ric-rac was about $1.50 and I was able to get 2 done from one package. It does take a little while to make, about a 1/2 hour to 45 minutes for each one, but the outcome is awesome. We take them to church with us and get so many compliments. I've given them away for birthdays and the kids love them. Easy and cheap!

The next thing I'm giving them for Christmas are rice bags. I found these rice bags with a removable outside on Sew, Mama, Sew. Here's the direct link.

Again, I used the flannel from Joanne's. Kendal - princess, Brandon - bugs. I made mine a little bit different though. I wanted mine shorter and squatier so the outside bag is 7x12 and the inside bag is 6.5x10. Also, I used stick on velcro dots instead of one big piece of velcro. It cuts a little bit of time off. I filled mine with rice, but next time I'm going to use dried corn from IFA. The rice was a little too spendy for me. I know....I'm cheap!

Next, is rainy day playdough. I haven't started on this yet, but it looks pretty self-explanatory and easy (that's always a plus!). I found this on littlebirdiesecrets.blogspot.com. Here's the direct link.

You could easily use a scrap of fabric to do this one. It'd also be a great gift for your kids to give their friends.

I'll be back tomorrow to post more cute make-it gifts. If there's anything you'd like for me to find instructions for, leave me a message and I'll scour the net.

Are we there yet?

On November 8th, we decided to take the kids to the Nellis Air Force Base Air Show in Las Vegas. Originally, Derek was going to take the priests in our ward but none of them wanted to go, so we went instead. The gates opened at 9:00. We left home about 8:30 thinking that that would be plenty of time to see everything. We got there between 10:30 and 11:00 and saw a line to get in to wait for the buses to take us to the air force base. The line we got in wasn't way long, but it got longer as we waited. Below is the line after we had waited for about an hour. To say it was about a mile would probably be an understatment because it was long. From where I took the picture, we still had about a half a mile.


By the time we got to the air force base, after a bag search and a bus ride, the kids were ready to go home. So we decided we should get them something to eat. We had thirty dollars in cash to eat lunch with. Sounds pretty resonable huh? Not when 5 chicken fingers and fries are sixteen dollars. We decided that instead of eating there we'd look around for a little while, munch on the string cheese and trail mix we managed to smuggle in, (don't look at me like that!), and head out to eat lunch somewhere a little cheaper. We could've gone to a steak house and eaten cheaper. Derek and I loved looking at the airplanes in the sky, but after waiting so long and being hungry, the kids weren't really into it. We had a fun time, but next time we'd leave the kids home and head out by ourselves.

Brandon and Kendal in front of this huge plane. I can't remember what it is but it was big!

Halloween

We had such a fun and great Halloween this year. In the morning I had to head to Brandon's school to be a witch for his class. It was so much fun! It reminded me of my "drama geek" days. Those were definitely the days!! Below is the picture of me, yep, it's me. None of the kids knew who I was which is pretty amazing since they all know me. Most of them were scared and wouldn't talk to me. I think my most favorite part was driving down the road. I got the best stares! It was so much fun that I think I'm going to do it again next year!


Brandon and Kendals costumes turned out great! Kendal was a cat and Brandon was Anakin Skywalker. We got Kendal's costume from Childrens Place and my mom made Brandon's. She did such a great job. We headed out to a couple trunk or treats and then went to a neighborhood that we go to every year. It's one that looks like it's out of a movie. It has the big oak trees lined down the street and the white picket fences. We dream about living there someday. So we got there and it was amazing. They had blocked off the whole neighboorhod so nobody could drive down it. It was decorated like you wouldn't believe. They even had mini spook alleys. We had such a great time and got a ton of candy. Which I promptly ate. No I didn't. I'd still be puking if I had. We had a great time and can't wait till next year.

You can't be a kitty without black toenail polish!

Real daddies don't wear pink, they paint toes...

How cute is this!? This is what I found one day when I walked downstairs after a nap (that my wonderful husband let me take). It warmed my heart and made me realize that I'm so lucky to have such a great guy.

She wanted alternating colors on her toes, so some are pink and some are shiny light pink.

$230 Dollars and Two Missing Teeth Later...

This is not a story for the faint of stomach. It's kind of fun to read about but be glad you weren't there to witness it.

About the beginning of October we noticed that one of Brandon's front teeth was loose and his permanent tooth was already up behind it. He's been asking us since Kindergarten when he was going to loose a tooth and the time was finally here! He wiggled it and wiggled it (we weren't allowed anywhere near it for fear we might pull it out) but it wasn't coming out. I told him we could have my dad (Papa) take it out. When I was little, he tied my tooth to string and tied the string to a doorknob to try and get it out. It didn't work, but I thought maybe it could with Brandon. Not a chance. Even his cousins tried to get him to pull it out. One suggested that he bite down on a carrot. He tried, biting down softly, but it didn't work. So his cousin said, "Try again." And then when Brandon went to bite down his cousin pushed on the top of his head. It's the thought that counts, right? So, since no one was allowed to touch his tooth and he wasn't going to pull it out himself I had to take drastic measures, it was time to call the dentist.

We go to a great pediatric dentist. His office is so cool (because that's what matters right?) with tvs in the ceiling and video games they can play while they wait. So we headed over on October 22 to pull out not one but two teeth! I guess they do them both at the same time so they can come in correctly.

This is Brandon's loose tooth with the new tooth coming in behind it. Sorry it's blurry, I was in a hurry. Perpetually late... No surprise there.

The above two pictures are of Brandon laying peacefully in the chair while watching Open Season. Who was to know that as soon as the dentist walked in all heck would break loose.

It was horrible! The dentist walked in and just wanted to look at his teeth but Brandon wouldn't open his mouth. It was full on thrashing, squirming, sitting up, etc. Anything he could do to keep his mouth shut. And this was after he'd been on the gas for about 10 minutes. I felt so bad for him because I knew how scared he was. But his teeth had to come out. Finally we were able to get him to open his mouth so the dentist could look in. Then, he had to have a shot to numb his gums where they were going to pull both teeth (the other tooth wasn't even a tiny bit loose). The dentist is really good about giving shots so the kids don't even know what happened. But that wasn't the case with Brandon. He felt the needle and screamed like he was dying. We tried to calm him down, but he wouldn't stop screaming so the dentist put the gas mask over his mouth so the kids in the waiting room couldn't hear him (they still did). He was still thrashing and trying to sit up so I had to almost lay on him to get him to calm down. He never did, the dentist just grabbed the pliers and yanked. When he pulled his teeth out, blood went flying out of his mouth and I almost lost my breakfast. Then Kendal started crying because she had seen everything that happened. And then it was over. Thank heavens. I think next time I'll have to give him a horse tranquilizer before we head in. I'm kidding! If anyone has any advice for next time, since I'm sure there will be a next time, let me know and I'll be sure to try it.

I want to run many, many miles!

A few years ago I decided I wanted to run a 5k. I bought the shoes, ran a few times, dragged Derek out with me, and eventually ran it. Then I was done. I ran it, I accomplished my goal, I was done. But not him. He went on to run a 10k, a half marathon, and on October 4, 2008, a marathon. What an accomplishment. I am amazed and in awe of his determination to do something that....big.

He is awesome.
He is amazing.
He is astonishing (as Brandon would say).
He is an inspiration.
He is mine.

Let's pick up and move!!

After a fun day of pottery, we decided to get even crazier! We went to Lin's. Not the crazy part. Tricked you, huh?! We left Lin's. Still not the crazy part! We drove by a house that we like and saw that it was for rent. This is where it gets crazy! (And a little spooky.) So, we drove by this house that we've liked forever. It was built a couple of years ago so it's fairly new. We've always liked it and would have loved to live in it, but it was always a little above our price range. At the time we were paying $775 - I know! Cheap! Who'd want to move?! Anyways, we drove by and saw that it was for rent. We then decided to be really, really crazy and call to see how much it was. We called and found out that the people renting it out were friends of my family. We also found out that the rent was only $50 more a month than what we were paying. So we set up an appointment to see it at 7:30 that night. Our friend said she was showing it to someone else at 7:00 but then she'd show it to us after that.

At 7:30 we showed up and we loved it. We gave her the deposit and it was ours. We decided that since we were living on the edge we'd go for moving in on October 3. Yep, that's the day before Derek ran the marathon. It was all very, very crazy and I'm really only now recovering.

I love it here though! It's two stories and all the bedrooms are upstairs. It's not huge, but it's bigger than what we had before. It's nice to be able to send the kids upstairs and let them play while I'm doing stuff downstairs.

Our ward is pretty amazing too! We moved at the perfect time because they split our ward and we would have been in a different ward not knowing anyone. It seemed like the perfect time to venture out. Another funny thing about this house is that our landlord is the Bishop. Crazy! What's even more crazy is that our first Sunday here we had a meeting with the Bishop. He gave us both a couple new callings. Me, I have the best, most intimidating, scary job of being Primary Chorister. Every Sunday I stand up there hoping they won't laugh at me. I know they're 5 and 6, but they look so intimidating and scary. Derek, he got the fun job of being Young Men's President. He was shocked (to say the least). I think he's going to do amazing. He loves the youth and is excited to be with them. He has some really good goals for the boys and I think he'll be awesome.

In a nutshell, that's our moving story. It was crazy, jam-packed, and meant to be.

Making Pottery!

On September 20th, I had the best idea ever! I thought, "I'm so tired of doing tons and tons of dishes so I think everyone should have their own plate. That way, they can do their own dish and if their dish is dirty they have to wash it before they can eat and then I don't have to wash a million, trillion dishes every day." (Did you know the secret to not having that many dishes in the sink is to do them after every meal? I know!!! Who knew!!! I don't do that. I wash my dishes after every meal so I never have that problem.) Whew! It's good to be back and doing run-on sentences!! I've missed this!

Anyways, I thought we could go to a pottery studio and make our own plates; have them personalized so they would be sentimental and all that. Well, it was a good idea in theory until we got there and I learned that each plate was $15 and there was a $6 studio fee on top of that. So, instead the kids made piggy banks. They turned out so cute! And they made them their own. I love how creative my kids are! They're pretty dang amazing!

I love this picture! I took about 10 of her trying to get her to smile sweetly, but this is my daughter and her crazy, sweet, fun personality. I sure think she's pretty awesome!

What can you say? That's an awesome looking camouflage soccer ball! He did a great job! Still an amazing kid!

After we finished with the banks, which were considerably less than plates for a family of four, we headed to Tai Pan Trading where we picked plates AND bowls for under $5. Can't beat that!

I'm Back!!!

I'm here! Finally! I know it's shocking, surprising, a little overwhelming, and quite possibly a tad bit scary! I know it's scary for me because I have a whole month I have to get through. And you, you have to read about this whole month! I'm sorry ahead of time for putting you through this.

I bet you're wondering where I've been. I could come up with some good stories I'm sure; for example I could use the "I took a trip to Paris and stayed for a month." excuse. But really, I know you're smarter than that. You know I'd never go to Paris, there's too many people and I'd get claustrophobic. I really went to the Bahamas. It's warm there. It was nice. No, not really, I was here. So, read on and you can see the exciting adventures I've been through in the past month.

Celebrate your birthday at Disneyland!

I was reading another blog and found out about this cool deal at Disneyland. On your birthday, in 2009, you can get in free! I don't know how many of you out there like Disneyland, but we love it! We've been a few times and want to go next summer. So, if you like Disneyland and would love to get in free on your birthday, check this out!

Halloween Craft Group

In our ward Relief Society we do awesome and amazing crafts each month. For the month of October we are doing this great plate. It says, "The Wicked Witch and her little monsters live here." I don't know how many of you feel that way sometimes but I sure do. So, if you want to come join our ward feel free. We love kooky visitors! Just let me know if you'd like to come or if you want me to do all the hard work and do it for you. It's $7 for just the plate or $13 for the plate and the stand. I like slave labor so I'd be more than happy to do all the work and mail it to you!

Just a side note for all you vinyl lovers. I know one of you wanted the quote that I put above my table but was there anyone else? Will that one person (you know who you are) send me your measurements and whether you want just the quote or the quote with the parentheses. I have about 4 extras and they'll just go in the garbage if I don't find loving homes for them. See this post: http://lafamilledebarney.blogspot.com/2008/07/i-know.html

Peaches

I was trying to come up with some witty opening line, but I haven't had a Code Red Cherry Mountain Dew in awhile (trying to quit) so I'm a little fuzzy and couldn't come up with a stinkin' thing. So, just "peaches" will have to work for now. I know, a little boring and bland but it's the best I can do.

Not last Friday, but the Friday before. We (Derek, Kendal, Mary Jo (my SIL), Ellie (my niece), and myself headed out to the church orchard to pick peaches. They had already harvested what they needed so they told the members they could go out and pick. When we got there, we found a whole row that had been missed being picked. So we had a peach picking party. We got some great pictures but they're on Mary Jo's camera and I have neglected my good SIL duties by helping her get them off. Someday Mary Jo....someday.

We picked a whole bunch of peaches and I had the great idea to make peach jam. Yup, the great, marvelous, heavenly idea. I think I'm a train wreck from start to finish when I try and attempt things I've never done.

"Well self, this recipe seems a little small. I think I'd have to do a lot of batches if I only did them one at a time. I know, let's quadruple it."

"Hmm, self, that didn't work too well. I guess there's a reason you don't quadruple the recipe."

"But, look self! I got 14 jars of runny jam that slides off the bread when you put it on! Genius!"

Later, I made some more batches and they turned out beautifully. I guess there's a reason that you should follow recipes. But, if anyone wants some peach-raspberry topping for ice cream let me know and I'll hook you up!

Run like somebody's chasing you!

Today is the Nike+ Human Race. Yes, that's the name of it. Derek's been wanting to do it ever since he read about.

So, for his birthday, I bought him the Human Race shirt.

Each shirt has a different bib number so it's like you're in an actual race. I know....cool!

The concept is pretty neat. Nike is holding 20 actual races around the world but for places that there weren't races you could run by yourself and enter the time in on the internet.

The concept is this (taken from their ad): "On August 31, 2008 you'll be making history. You'll take on the world in a 10k like no other. A 10k where every step counts, no matter how fast, slow, short, or long. A 10k where a million runners will celebrate human potential. And you'll be proud to say you ran the day the whole world ran. Just do it." Obviously, the whole world didn't run cause I'm sitting on my toosh as we speak. But I think it's pretty amazing. When I checked last the miles run was 2,882,252. That's a whole lot of miles.

So, we got in the car, drove 6.4 miles and I dropped him off. There were quite a few people out running and we joked that one guy had a chainsaw and if he chased Derek that could improve his time significantly. So far it's been a half hour but I'll update you on his progress later on.

Questions...

Disclaimer to all: This is not a pity post. This is a post that will hopefully start a discussion with other women who may have the same problems as me and ways they have come to terms with what they may be going through. Also, I joke to make this more light-hearted and lift what sadness may be associated with this.

How to start? Well, eleven years ago I was married. Greatest day of my life! Three and a half years after that we decided it was time to start a family. I got pregnant quickly and had a miscarriage 12 weeks later. It was hard to go through but like every trial, you become stronger. We waited three months, like the doctor said (we play by the rules....occasionally), and decided to start trying again. One month passed, then two, then six, then finally nine months later I got pregnant with Brandon. It was wonderful... stars, roses, flowers, kittens, etc. A year and a half later we decided it was time to add a sibling to the mix, because when you get perfection the first time, you know you'll get perfection again! Which we did! Again, nine months passed before I got pregnant again. That was when we were blessed with Kendal.

In October of 2005 we decided it was time to start trying again. In October of this year it will have been three years that we've been hoping, praying, and struggling. I've been to the doctor and he SAYS there's nothing wrong. Maybe, there's a whole master scheme going on....hmmm... Anyways, there's nothing wrong. Now, don't get me wrong, I'm not being ungrateful. I'm very grateful for the two wonderful children I've been given and I love them more than life itself. And, it's only recently that I've stopped obsessing about getting pregnant and really enjoyed them. I think I've had more fun the past few months than I have in a long time. I thought I was enjoying them before, but I feel like I was detatched. Kind of watching the situation from the outside while a war waged in my mind and heart about my problems.

I've come to terms that I may not have any more kids and I'm not angry. So, don't worry that if you get pregnant I'm going to be mad at you and come egg your house. Because I won't. I'll be happy for you. Not having more kids has been my biggest struggle because I wanted a whole bunch of kids. A friend explained it this way: maybe when we were all up in heaven just the four of us got together and decided we would work together and help each other through this life. Maybe there's not anybody else up there headed for our family. I don't know.

My questions now are numerous. How long do you wait before you give up or do you always hold out hope? What about adoption, how does that work? What is a good age gap between kids or is there never really a good one? How old should I be when I stop? There's just too many unknowns which I think is where faith takes over and I just go along for the ride.

So, anyone that wants to weigh in, go for it! I know there's lots of you out there who hold the key and aren't speaking. If this diatribe isn't torture enough for you to talk then (when to use then or than....aargh...I don't remember) I don't know what will. If you want, link to your blog and write your own story, if not, leave me lengthy detailed comments on the right way to go about this so I don't do it the wrong way. And, let me tell you ahead of time....thanks...not just from me, but from all those that your words of inspiration may help.

Preschool Fun!

On August 20th was Kendal's first day of preschool. I love the expressions on her face. It looks like she's headed to a rock concert in the first one. Who knows, maybe preschool is like a really good Pearl Jam or Foo Fighters concert! I don't remember back that far so who am I to argue?

In the second picture I think she's headed to the circus. She and her daddy would make a good pair! I'm kidding people, I would never really send any of my children to the circus (maybe only on a really bad day...no, we don't have bad days...ever).

Preschool is gearing up to be a success. The preschool she goes to is awesome! The teachers have their degrees in Elementary Education with their Early Childhood Endorsements. I was so impressed when I went to the parents meeting. Their goal is get every child in the class reading by the time kindergarten starts. Very impressive! I'm excited for her and I think she's thrilled to be able to go to school...finally. She's going to be amazing and go on to do amazing things. I love her no fear attitude! Underneath all that attitude is a sweet, loving, and kind girl who goes out of her way to help and boost those around her. She's an amazing child and I'm grateful she's mine!

Another Tag!

There's not a lot to write about right now and I found this tag on a friends web site so I decided to pick it up and pass it along. Enjoy!

Four Places I go Over and Over:
1. Home
2. Lin's
3. Wal-Mart (Wal-Mart holds a share in my family income.)
4. The Mailbox

Four people who email me regularly:
1. Children's Place (Can't beat those 15% off coupons!)
2. Target (We're having a sale!! All you have to do is spend over $125!)
3. The Irish Commissioner (You've won the Irish Powerball Lottery!! All we need is your bank account number so we can deposit it!)
4. Betty Crocker (Cook better tonight with us! It's going to take more than Betty Crocker to help me cook better.)

Four places I would rather be right now:
1. Pacific Beach, California
2. Seattle, Washington
3. Mexico (Not Tijuana, the nice beaches part.)
4. Disneyland (No matter how many times you go, it's still fun!)

Four people I talk to on a regular basis:
1. Derek
2. Kendal
3. Brandon
4. Myself

Four of my favorite places to eat:
1. Pachanga's (Cause I'm cheap and you can get a huge plate of nachos for $6!)
2. Pizza/Pasta Factory (Love their salads and their pizza.)
3. Parrothead (Love, love, love their smothered french fries!)
4. Panda Express (I could eat their orange chicken all day long!)

Four people I tag:
1. Chelsi
2. Dianna
3. Mary Jo
4. Lisa
And anyone else who wants to do this. So I guess I tag everyone!!!!!

Birthday Boy

Today was Brandon's 7th birthday. I was going to write a long poetic post about how much I loved him and I was going to post some dang cute pictures of him as a baby and show even cuter pictures of him right now but I don't have my computer because it got a virus and it's getting fixed! This was not just a little virus either, this was a hefty bag size virus.

Norton let it in and then couldn't find it to get it out. Malwarebytes couldn't find it either. Granted, Malwarebytes found the malware that was hanging out having fun, but it couldn't find the virus that was making my life miserable. Whatever it was, by the third day I was so sick of it that I was ready to pick up the computer and throw it out the window. Yes, I was that desperate. Every time we got on the internet, whatever it was, was using our internet connection to send spam to people.

Now I know that everyone loves a little spam on a sandwich (I personally LOVE it with my eggs in the morning.) but nobody likes spam in their inbox. One nice thing about Norton, was that they blocked (I hope) most of the spam from going out. At first we couldn't figure out what was going on with the computer. Norton kept popping up odd messages about emails not being able to be sent. I wasn't sending any so I figured there was something wrong with Norton. Because really, how could it be blocking emails that I wasn't sending?

I finally figured it out when one message (out of about 300) from Norton appeared saying that our message to [insert random email address] with subject line [insert random subject, they ranged from freezers to Russian watches] could not be sent. Then it clicked, somebody is using my connection to send spam. Then I hurried and yanked the internet connection out of the wall (anyone know anything about drywall?). Then I threw the computer out the window. Don't worry, I covered it up with cardboard. It looks fine.

Back To School

Yesterday was the first day of school for Brandon. It makes me feel so old to have a second grader! Granted, he is one of the youngest in the grade (he turns 7 tomorrow), but it still makes me feel so old.

Here he is dressed in his new clothes. Yes, that's a skull on his shirt. I'm THAT kind of mom. I'm not sure what THAT kind of mom is, but it's probably the bad kind that lets their innocent kids wear scary skulls on their shirts. I just consider it pirate gear and every good pirate needs a shirt with a skull on it. Justification rocks!

Kendal and Brandon cheesing it up.

Every year since kindergarten I've taken Brandon to school and walked him to class. This year though, he wasn't having any of that. I took him to school and was getting ready to get out of the car and he said, "I know where my class is." I told him that I'd walk with him. He said that he was fine and he could walk by himself. "What?!", screamed my brain. "My six, almost seven, year old NEEDS me to walk him to class!" Apparently, he didn't and I'm now one of THOSE moms. The moms huddling in the corner, quivering, crying for their child that grew up all too fast. Who knew? I thought for sure that he'd still need me up until high school. By then I figured he might be able to find his way around. Dang! They grow up way too soon.

He's excited for school and I know he's going to do awesome! What a good start to a new school year!