One of a Kind

Here is my one of a kind girl in her one of a kind outfit (all her doing of course)! 

Look Very Closely

Does anyone else see it, right there in his mouth? 

See, it is a little tooth breaking through!

Believe me, it's there; you might just have to look very closely!

My Funny Boy

This boy makes me laugh, often without even really trying.

Before I share my latest fit of laughter brought on by this handsome son of mine, I need to lay the groundwork and give you a little necessary background information.  About two years ago, give or take a few months, Braden decided he needed a way to distinguish between his three grandmamas (my mama, Rich's mama, and my grandmama); after much thought, he decided that he would assign them colors.

First there is Black Grandma, due to her dark locks.

Second, there is Brown Grandma, again due to her hair.

Third there is White Grandmama, his great grandmama (who probably actually has the least amount of gray or white hair out of all three of them)

As you probably have already gathered, we often get quite the looks when we are at various stores, and he begins to talk about his grandmothers, always referring to them and their colors. ex: (in the middle of Wal-mart) When are we going to go visit Black Grandma? To continue, I must also point out that Braden is in Reading Recovery right now at school, where everyday his Reading Recovery teacher writes a sentence he has journaled, cuts it up, and places it into a labeled envelope, for him to later reconstruct at home.  Every afternoon, I pick up Braden, and quickly look in his backpack; I check his work from the day and swiftly move on to his Reading Recovery bag, looking to see what books he has brought home and what his sentence is for the day.  Well, a few weeks ago, I anxiously looked into his bag, pulled out his daily envelope, and was greeted by this.

Do I even need to tell you that I instantly started laughing hysterically?!  I pictured the puzzled look on his Reading Recovery teacher's face as she looked at Braden and possibly thought, 'You look pretty white to me.'  I laughed at the conversation that must have taken place after that journal entry.  I laughed and laughed, and then I laughed some more; in fact, I laughed all the way home!  Once I finally gained my composure, and I had shared the envelope with Rich (I thought he could use a good laugh too), I investigated a little more, asking Braden more about what he told his teacher; what I really wanted to know is if he left his teacher wondering how in the world a little boy that looks so white could have a Black Grandmama.  With a serious look on his face, he said, "Mama, I told her that Black Grandmama has black hair and peach skin."

As you may imagine, this caused more laughter and more giggles; thinking about it now still brings a smile to my face, and for that reason, I will always hold on to this envelope!

You never know when you might need a good laugh!

Pillowcase Dresses

Well, I finally found the time to attempt the pillowcase dresses, and I am pretty pleased with the results.  Are they perfect? No.  Do I want you to look terribly close at my stitches? No.  Do I notice things that bother me? Yes.  Am I a professional seamstress? No.  Nonetheless, I am really proud of myself; it feels good to have created dresses that my girls can actually wear out in public.  It also makes me want to learn sooooo much more about sewing!  Bring on the projects, and bring on the creative juices!

If only I had long...

hair!!!!!

Often around our house you witness this,

Emma with a towel, fabric, pants, or pajama bottoms somehow attached to her head or draped across it. Emma has been doing this for quite some time,

(as evidenced by this picture taken when she was about 20 months old)

leaving Rich and I puzzled to as what she could possibly be thinking.  Now after arraying her head with the chosen pants, towel, or fabric of the day, she brushes one side to the back, looks at one of us, and says, "Do you like my hair?"

Mystery solved!!!!

All my sweet little baby wants is hair, long, beautiful hair!

I think it is already beautiful, but until the long part happens, what could a little pajama head wearing hurt?!

If anybody can pull it off, Emma can!

Let the fun begin!

Last night Brooke had her first soccer practice with her team, and her coach a.k.a Rich.  I think it is safe to say that she LOVED IT!!!!!!!!  Last night she couldn't stop talking about how much fun she had, and one of the first things she did this morning was find her pink princess soccer ball (might as well play in style) and start showing me how hard she can kick.  Brooke also informed me that she needed to practice her soccer moves in the backyard today, all suited up of course (she made to point out that fact).  I think it is going to be a fun season for her, her team, and the coach.  Rich did a fantastic job by the way!  The kids had a great time, they practiced their skills, and had fun while doing it! Here are some pictures from our evening:

Of course to celebrate our fun filled soccer evening, we came home, made strawberry milkshakes, popped some popcorn, and piled on the couch to watch none other than:

(Rich loves this movie!)

All in all, it was a successful start to soccer season, and I say,

"Let the fun begin!"

Who doesn't like to save a buck?!!!!

Who out there doesn't love to save money?!! 

Or better yet, get something for free?!! 

I know I LOVE to see how much I can save on something; it is like a game to me!  There are very few things I pay full price for, groceries included!  Having said that, I want to share some websites with everyone that have fantastic ideas of how to save money, links to other sites, and other money saving offers.  The first link is to a blog that my friend Heather (THANKS Heather) showed  me a few days ago, and since then I have been hooked!  I have sent for a free DVD for Brooke's stocking, printed off several coupons, and learned some valuable lessons.  One thing I learned was that coupons.com changes their coupons at the beginning of every month, and that they only have a certain amount of each coupon; if you want the best coupons, you need to check at the beginning of every month.  Having said all of that, here is the link: http://whataprilsaves.blogspot.com/. 

After completely falling in love with that blog, and the high I get every time I know I have saved money or gotten something for free (always have to read that fine print), I decided to search the internet for more blogs and more sites that could help me save more money!  Here are a few I found, but I know that there are tons more out there; my search is just beginning!  If you have any you would like to share, please do; I am always looking for a good deal!

http://bargainmoms.blogspot.com/
http://www.afrugalfriend.blogspot.com/
http://print.coupons.com/couponweb/Offers.aspx?pid=13306&zid=iq37&nid=10&bid=alk0904050931b7c1a721817416
http://www.providentprincess.blogspot.com/
http://www.thriftyandchicmom.com/
http://www.littlepeoplewealth.com/
http://attentiontargetshoppers.blogspot.com/
http://www.moneysavingmom.com/
http://www.frugalfinder.blogspot.com/
http://neverpayretailagain.blogspot.com/
http://www.dealseekingmom.com/
http://www.survivingthestores.com/

How could I not love this man?!!!!!!!!!

How could I not love this man?!!!!!!!!!

It's hard not to love a man who sends you sweet e-mails like this one (especially after a crazy hectic morning)!

Carrie,
I know I left you in a state of chaos this morning but I want you to remember that I love you dearly and I’m proud of the change you’re making in our children’s lives. Thanks for helping me realize Braden’s needs. If it were up to me alone, I think I wouldn’t have noticed any problems until he was a punk teenager. Thanks for being awesome and I’m proud to call myself your husband. Love you, Rich

Man, I love that stud of mine!!!!!!!!!!!

For all those hardworking moms

This a GREAT movie!

This is a GREAT movie! Just saying.

Loving YouTube

How can you not love YouTube?!

Okay, not all of YouTube is uplifting, quite the opposite, but so much of it is fantastic! Thanks to so many wonderful people willing to share their talents and knowledge with the world, you can learn to do so many things.

For example, this video,

helped me make this tutu.

(needed to be smoothed out more before taking pics)

This same sweet woman has also posted other videos, the following being one of them, which I plan to attempt (notice I used the word attempt).

Need to know how to sew a button, knit, do some fancy card tricks, do repairs around your house, correct the white balance on your camera, make your own bias tape, make an upside down planter for tomatoes, get basic gardening tips, learn some cool make-up tricks, impress everyone with some new hip hop moves, get some tips for playing soccer, learn how to make jewelry, find out how to improve your golf game, learn to play the drums, find out how to make a diaper cake for a friend's baby shower, or just watch some old school cartoons,

(Man, they don't make cartoons like they used to!)

YouTube has it!

You name it, and there is probably a video on YouTube to help you. They have everything from instructional, fun, and spiritual, including videos that remind us what is truly important in life.


Next on my list, learn how to salsa; I love to dance, for those that didn't already know that, and the more I get to move my hips the better. Will Rich and I go to a dance studio to learn to salsa? No way! We will put the rugrats to bed, and learn in the comfort of our own home.

I say bring on YouTube Baby!!!!