Deals Galore

I posted on Facebook earlier this month that I had found a whack load of clothes for my kids at a community garage sale.  I was so thankful since new wardrobes for 2 or 3 kids every season would be expensive if I bought all new clothes.  Haley is able to wear a lot of Kiera’s old clothes, so that’s really nice!  Here are my recent purchases:

Necklace from the thrift store

Blake’s clothes (he was quite excited about the Cars pajamas)

Kiera’s clothes

More of Blake’s clothes

Kiera’s clothes including some pajamas

Kiera’s shirts and an Osh Kosh outfit for Haley that I found for $1 or $2

I just kept buying and buying as I found stuff and when I got home and laid the clothes out, I realized that a lot of Blake’s shirts are striped with collars.  I guess he has no choice but to be a preppy boy! :)

My Mom got this shirt and jeans for Haley…totally cute!

Blake modeling one of his shirts and his Nana’s shoes

Kiera wearing her new sweater. She didn’t realize that it’s supposed to be worn with a shirt underneath, but since she was just at home, we let it slide.

Blake got his very first professional haircut and Jared said we’re never going back to doing home haircuts, which is fine with me.  I’ve butchered his hair enough times, so it’s worth the $8 to get nice haircuts! 

I probably spent about $50 for all of the clothes and now, except for a few sweaters Kiera will need when she starts Kindergarten, they’re all set until next Spring!

Counting in the Spring

“The more I count these blessings, the more I realize that they really are not the product of my own efforts. They are truly gifts of grace from God above. It’s incredible to open my eyes to them week after week. And humbling. That I should be graced with such wonders? Me… whose heart is weak and black, yet covered with much mercy. How great is Your unfailing love, Lord God of all!” ~Sharaya Crossan

I have still been writing in my thankful journal regularly, but I don’t have a lot of time to blog these days.  Well, I have had some free time lately, but I’ve been reading some REALLY good books that I just finished as quickly as I could!  Here are some more gifts on my thankful list:

1301. The Sisters of the Quilt Series, probably some of the best Amish books I’ve read!  Yes, maybe Amish books sound boring, but these were anything but boring. :)

1302. Kiera + Blake saying, “I love you very much,” to each other and hugging each other this morning and Saturday morning (without anyone telling them to do that)!

1303. Catching him asleep…a rare thing

1304. Watching 2 horses and their baby horse with my kids at my aunt + uncle’s house

1305. This Strawberry Shortcake outfit I found for Haley at a store for $1 (the bottom is a skort…so cute)

1306. Going shopping with a friend, which was my Mother’s Day gift from Jared

1307. Seeing her first thing in the morning

1308. Jared buying me a peach smoothie on Mother’s Day

1309. The kids doing lots of puzzles these days

1310. Monarch butterflies, which Kiera loves to chase around the yard

1311. Accessorizing

1312. What happens when I tell my kids to smile

1313. Cuddling with Haley right before bed

1314. The Bob the Builder theme song…yes, I like it.  It’s catchy!

1315. The Bailey Flanigan series that I just finished and I happen to own all 4 books!

I’m Normal!

Some of you reading the title of this post might be thinking, “I beg to differ.”  Allow me to explain what I’m talking about.  In March, I went to see the ophthalmologist because my eyes had been red for 3 months and I was feeling intermittent pressure behind my eyes.  The specialist didn’t find anything wrong with my eyes and the pressure had basically  gone away.  She sent me for a LOT of blood work, like 16 vials worth.  I called back 3 weeks later because I hadn’t heard what the results were.  They said they would look into it and call me back.  A week later, they finally called back and said that everything was good except that my white blood cell count was slightly low.  I made the mistake of googling what that could possibly mean.  HUGE mistake!  Did you know that leukemia is the first thing that comes up on Google?  I immediately went into major stress mode and started feeling pressure in my head again.  I’m thinking stress is the trigger for that.  I started wondering whether or not I would live to see my kids grow up and my train of thought was just horrible.  After praying a lot and another reflexology treatment, I felt better.  The person who called with my results suggested I should follow up with my family doctor.  I don’t have one, but I saw a doctor who said he would test everything to make sure I’m healthy.  That was over 2 weeks ago.  Today, I went in to find out my results and he said that my white blood cell count is normal!  Praise Jesus!  He said normal is around 4.5 and my number was 4.7.  He asked if I wanted to see on his computer screen, so he showed me and there was a long list of things they had tested and beside each one, it said normal, normal, normal, all the way down the screen.  When I got back to my car, I cried and praised God.  I have never been so happy and so relieved to be healthy and gloriously normal!!      

Trampoline

At the end of March (I think), the kids were given a trampoline, which was a belated birthday/Christmas present for them.  It sat in the box for a couple of weeks as we waited for warm weather to coincide with Jared having free time to help set it up.  On Easter week-end, we set it up and the kids LOVE it!  We had Haley set up on a picnic blanket right beside the trampoline.

We started while the kids had their Easter hunt outside.

These were taken while we were setting it up.  We hadn’t put up the net enclosure yet.  SO thankful for that!

Jared also bought them a big ball to bounce on there, which just adds to the fun!  I grew up with a trampoline and spent hours on there with my friends, so I’m excited for them!

Dairy Farm Adventure

Kiera was going to Preschool at our church and we decided to end it early, at the end of March.  We decided to do a couple of field trips this Spring, so they had one at the beginning of April.  One of the Moms grew up on a dairy farm, so we went to her parents’ farm.  I have never really been on a dairy farm, so it was a new experience for me, too.  I took all 3 of my kids.  Blake was very unsure, Kiera was very interested and Haley was just bundled up in the stroller, fairly content.  Here Kiera is running to the barn

The first barn was full of calves

I have never seen that many calves in one place before

Feeding time

The next barn was full of big cows.  I must say the smell was horrendous

Can you say "butt ugly?”  Sorry, I had to say that.

Milking time…I had no idea this is how they’re milked.  They have a machine that measures how much milk is coming out, what percentage of the milking is done and it displays the cow’s number.  I couldn’t help but mentally compare it to breastfeeding.  A few differences there…

It was a beautiful morning on the farm!

Smoothies Galore

Lately, I’ve been on a smoothie kick.  I LOVE them!  Last week Thursday, Jared went to McDonald’s.  They had their snack-size real fruit smoothies for $1, so he brought me back a mango pineapple one.  YUM!

On Saturday, we were at the mall eating in the food court for lunch.  Before we left, I decided I wanted to buy a bubble tea to share with the kids, so I got green apple.  The key to a great bubble tea is to get ones that are made with syrup, not with powder.  Some of them use jello powder and I think it tastes so fake and almost gross.  This one was fantastic!  I forgot to ask for no pearls like I usually do, but they were ok.  Kiera thought they were “chocolate balls” so she liked them!

On Monday, Jared and I got to go out on a date!  We went to a nearby coffee/dessert place that we had never been to together and I was thinking about getting gelati, but wasn’t pumped about the flavors they had.  I ended up getting a pina colada smoothie.  Mmmmmm!!

 

Yesterday, Jared surprised me by taking a day off, so we all went to the chiropractor, did a couple of errands and went to McDonald’s for lunch.   There was a Booster Juice right close by and I had brought my BOGO coupon along that I got off the back of a cereal box.  So, we got 2 large Booster Juices for the price of 1.  That’s the only time I can justify getting them because they are expensive, but SO good!  I got Strawberry Storm and Jared got Raspberry Rapture.

They are definitely my favorite treat these days!  I’m really happy that I’ve been able to have so many different kinds from different places.  I wonder if I could find a job as a smoothie taste tester and then I could get paid to drink them instead of paying for them… If anyone hears about a job like that, let me know! :)

Things I Never Thought I Would Hear or Say

With kids around, you never know what kind of conversations are going to take place.  I have been keeping a list of strange and funny comments over the past couple of weeks.  Here are the ones I wrote down:

Things I have said to Blake

-No, I can’t breastfeed your dinosaur.

-Haley is not a popsicle.  Please don’t lick her head.

-Please eat your yogurt with the spoon instead of your fingers.

Things Kiera has said

-I want Jesus to be pink! (while coloring a picture)

-Great Grandma is a mermaid!

Something Jared said

-Blake, just concentrate on drinking your milk and leave your sister’s underwear alone.

I saved the best for last…

Something Blake said

-We were sitting down to eat supper which was soft tortillas stuffed with a pizza mixture.  He pointed to it and exclaimed, “That looks like a penis!”

There are other comments and questions the kids have had about certain body parts recently, and although they’re hilarious, they’re not the most appropriate blog content.  Where do they come up with these things?!  My 2 favorite recent pictures of these silly kids:

Shaving with Daddy

Playing at one of our Easter gatherings