{ Another big day }

Don't tell my dad, but Paige got her ears pierced today! (I wasn't allowed to have mine done 'til I was 10!)
Here she is getting her last minute pep talk from daddy.

They did them both at the same time. Don't you just love the flower studs she picked!?

I love her face in this picture. A little happy, a little stunned.
Happy girl with pierced ears!

I swear if she starts asking to wear thongs next week I'll croak.

{ Home again, Home again, Jiggity Jog }

Are we the coolest kids on the block or the worst parents ever, to let our kids ride home on a motorcycle?

I vote coolest! Duh. The kids beg for it and Daddy is happy to escort them back and forth.

Besides, how cute is that?

{ Goodbye Summer }

Hello School!

Lord please protect my sweet children as they are out in the world with out me. Keep their hearts pure and focused on you. Please let the adults around them have their best interest in mind. In all things let us glorify you. Amen.

{ Hi Yah }

He did it!

{ Three Amigos }

They are quite a team!

{ New Attitude }

Lil' Miss Sassy Pants got a new haircut just in time for Kindergarten tomorrow.


She loves it short and begged for a while to cut it. I figure as long as she doesn't dye it blue and pierce her nose, she can do what she wants!

{ Overheard today }

Funny #1

Davis: "You know Paige, because I'm sick today, I'm a little bit more important than you."

Funny #2

Paige: "Davis, do you want to go play Barbies with me?"
Davis: "OK."----(what 7 year old plays Barbies with his kid sister???? I love that boy!)

Funny #3

The kids were eating lunch and KLOVE is playing on the kitchen radio. The song Come To Jesus, by Chris Rice is on and the lyrics say "Fly to Jesus". Here's the conversation around the table:
Paige: "That song just said 'fly to Jesus'."
Davis: Wildly flapping his arms "Jesus, I'm flying to you." --now yelling, still flapping--"Here I come Jesus!!"

It's just lunch time, there is no telling the comedy that is to come!

{ This Just In...}

Paige informed me this morning, "I am no longer a 'dress' person.".

Good grief, the child is 5 and already opinionated about her clothes. I'm in big trouble.

{ it's the little things }

It's the little things that show me how well The Biz is settling in. Like the way he plays peek-a-boo around the kitchen island or the way he prefers chicken nuggets to veggies.

Or the way he brings me books and stands on his tip toes until I pick him up and read to him.

Sweet boy is truly finding his place in our family.

While getting dressed in my closet today I heard the 'whoomp' of a drawer closing in the bathroom and the 'waaahhh' of a baby crying. As I turned the corner to inspect the damage I saw big brown eyes filled with tears and a tiny brown finger being held up in the air.

Already he understands that mommy's kiss makes boo-boo's go away. *swoon*

A quick kiss and he was off. More things to get into, more siblings to annoy.

More little things that compile into one big thing called, family.

{Mommy Guilt}

Summer. Such a small word that can evoke large emotions.

Ours is almost officially over. As of the 21st I will have a 2ND grader and a Kindergardner and only one left at home.

Summer use to be just a hot few months on the calendar, but now it's filled with memory making moments. Travel that you can't do when school is in, theme parks that are only open for a season, and staying up late riding bikes until the wishing star comes out.

So here we are in the last week and I am filled with a rush to cram in a few more memories, a few more summer only moments.

And yet, the excitement of a new school year is creeping in. Less sibling fighting, a bit more alone time in the evenings (due to early bed times!), and a break for an entertainment weary mom.

Am I a bad mom for looking forward to school? Ah, the mommy guilt fairy has struck again. I want to grab her little sparkly wand and beat her with it.

{ Some CVS deals }

Not a super great day at CVS, but still a day filled with free stuff. I did get all the sunscreen, toothpaste, Alavert, face stuff and mascara for free. Still have to work on the baby deal and add some to the candy deal.

The sunscreen was marked $1.99 with a CVS tag that said $2 off any CVS sunscreen. I took them all off the shelf and up to the register and asked what it meant for me. The cashier/manager said "It means you get all of them for free.". Wahoo! The mascara was marked down to $1.20 for a pk of 2. I had 2 $1/q's and 3 $2q's. So they were all free with some overage. I need to go see if I have any more coupons floating around for the mascara. I think the college girls will be happy with the new makeup I've stock piled for them this month.

Hope you all have a super week shopping!

{ Homeland Deals }

Today was my first trip to Homeland. I recently found out that they double coupons, so I quickly organized my q's and was off!

These are the best deals from the trip!




Mini Spooners-- $.50 each
2 boxes of Pasta Roni--FREE
Lance crackers 8pk--$.50 each
2 Johnson's Shampoo--FREE
2 Revlon nail clippers--FREE
Pickles--$.66
2 Ken's Salad Dressing--$.50 each
Wheat Crisp Crackers--$1.49
Huggies Wash Cloths--$.61
2 Pop Tarts--$.66 each
Veg All--$.12 each

I think this was a good trip. Not that I will be shopping there for all our groceries (the prices were HIGH), but I'll be happy to run in once a week and remove the good deals from their shelves!

{ Questions }

Paige was asking quite a few questions about where babies come from. Without going into graphic details I was attempting to tell her the truth-ish. This is a glimpse into our conversation:

Paige: "Mom is there a place "down there" that babies come from?"

Me: "Yes hunny, girls have a special place where babies come out when it's time to be born."

Paige: looking pale "Does it hurt?"

Me: "Sometimes it hurts, but I would do it all over again so that I could have you as my daughter. The pain goes away and you are so cute I forgot all about it" (this is where the 'ish' comes from on the above "truth-ish" mention)

Paige: after thinking for a few seconds " Mom, I don't want to have any babies."

Me: "OK sweetie, you have a long time before you have to worry about that."

Paige: "No, mom. I'm not going to have any babies. I'm just going to go to Africa and get a baby who doesn't have a mommy."

That's my girl.

{ Legal Theft }

Is it wrong to love a store? Can you legally marry a store? Truly this is one of the best relationships in my life. CVS keeps giving and giving and asks very little in return. It doesn't whine or leave underwear on the floor. I heart CVS.

Here's how the deal went down today. The total above was a bit over $77. After coupons I paid $1.28, got $9.50 back in ECB and after it was all done I noticed that one of my ECB's didn't print so they gave me $4.00 in cash. LET'S RECAP--I gave them $1.28 in cash, they gave me $4.00 in cash. I LOVE CVS!!!

My total savings for this year is $3,551.73 (no that is not a typo) and I have spent $51.84 (and that was with free gift cards).

This September I will be teaching a class at church on Wed. nights. There are so many people who could be reaping the benefits of this amazing program. If you live in the area, you should come!