Cute Kids

Honestly, I just wanted to show y'all a picture of this cute baby. He is too sweet!


Even when I catch him in action....haha!


Jessica, Michelle, and Michelle's sister, Shana, from MD came over yesterday with ALL OF THEIR KIDS!!! 9 to be exact.

But I can't show him off without posting pics of some of the other cuteness running CRAZY around our house yesterday.....(or maybe it was just my kids doing that??)


Shana with her sweet little one....






It was quite an eventful day, to say the least. I SOOOO should have taken pictures of my house and the aftermath. I think I can say without doubt that all of the kids had a good time! As did the mommies....

We are all so blessed by our kids. I thank God everyday for sharing mine with me. Even in moments like I had yesterday (I could have pinched Nicholas' head off) ((I know I did not just type that!!!)) I am blessed. It almost makes me love him that much more when I find him doing this today without being asked.....


'cause he really is a good kid. He is thoughtful. Maybe not to Maggie all of the time. But he is. And I can't imagine how my life would be without both of them.

p.s. Michelle, if you are reading this....yes, he was still vacuuming popcorn from yesterday! haha!!

She Did It

We have been checking things off our list today.

Things that we have been avoiding need to be done.

Simple things. I am determined to be caught-up on life (which will never happen) by Monday. (more on that later)

One of Mag's hair bow holders fell apart a few weeks ago. Heck, it may have been months by now. It's been a while.

She and I finally *re-did* it this morning. She is so proud. It's different now than it was. I think she likes it better because she did it! :)

This was the base of it.


We added a few ribbons with hot-glue.


And voila!


Did I mention this is only ONE of her holders?? And do you ever see bows in this kids' head?? Nope. Me either. Honestly, she could care less. Mommy likes them, though. Maybe the cute hanger that SHE DID will spike her interest in them. Just maybe.

Book Giveaway

Are you joining us?? Or would you just like to bless someone else??

I have a total of 6 books to give away.

3 of these....

and 3 of these.....

It's easy to enter - Just leave a comment stating in which book you are interested. Please limit your entries to once for each book.
(That's a maximum of 2 entries per person)

Winners will be picked using a random number generator. Entries accepted until midnight Friday August 7. Winners will be posted by 10am EST Saturday, August 8. The winners must email me a shipping address within 48 hours of posting or a new winner will be selected.

Happy posting and good luck!!

Frugal Friends

That's the best kind to have, right?? Because *You are who you hang around* (how many times have I heard my Daddy say that????)

Today was our last Mom's group for the summer. For our finale today, we hosted ATIC. (All Things In Common - Acts 4) Everyone cleaned out as if they were having a yard sale - clothes, shoes, books, toys, dishes, household items, etc. We set it all on tables and went in groups (drawn by color) to shop. FOR FREE!! I took a LOAD!!! (I had to trade vehicles with Bryan because I had so much stuff!) And sadly, I could do it again next week....

(I'm still not quite sure where the kids rode. They squeezed in somewhere!)

To answer any questions....NO - I did not give away Tostitos chips. We were also to take a dish for potluck. I took a dip with the chips. :)

I was determined not to bring one thing home with me. Yeah, that didn't happen! Instead, I brought 4 kids' books and Nicholas brought a baking pan. Not too bad, though. We will have the books read in no time and donate them to the library. Nicholas has been a cooking-fool! So, I know his pan (that he is oh-so-proud-of) will get much use.

We were also to have a speaker, Traci, who sadly has been in the hospital. (praying for a full-recovery for her) The topic today was Frugal Moms. Three other moms, (and good friends) stepped up to the plate and covered today quite nicely! I don't know if you *do* coupons - but I do. And I have been learning over the last months how to *do* them more efficiently. That's what a lot of today's discussion covered. Ironically, I had a lot of this EXACT conversation last week when I went scrappin'. I love learning of deals. I love finding deals. We were advised that *deal-searching* can be addictive. I can really see this. It can also be counterproductive, if you start buying items just because you have a coupon. Thankfully, I don't fall into that category. I am not one who is tempted to buy just because it is a deal. I am so picky about what we eat - so I have no problem passing over the coupons for processed-freezer items or a box of Cheeze-Its. (Now, this is coming from a woman who INHALED a more-than-large Hershey bar over the course of 2 nights this week! ha! At least it was GF!!)

I have used coupons forever now! We don't get a paper, but I will buy one on Sundays for the coupons. My sweet Mama mails me the coupons from their Sunday paper every week, too. She has done this since January '06 when she could no longer hand-deliver them to me. I appreciate them so much. Bless her heart, she says she gets the same about of joy just sending them to us. :)

I am posting below some of the tips that were shared today. (Mind you, a couple of these are for us local-peeps)

• www.freecycle.org - sign up to receive emails from people in your area who are giving away items; a great way to get or give away things!
  
• www.craigslist.com - search your region for free online classified ads; find merchandise for sale; job search; find housing for sale or rent; post your own classified for free
  
• www.afullcup.com - hundreds of printable manufacturer coupons; printable target coupons (can be used at Publix); forums to discuss how to save money at just about any store; buy, trade, or sell coupons; too many features of this site to list!!
  
• www.hotcouponworld.com - free printable manufacturer coupons; printable target coupons; forums to discuss how to save money; too many features of this site to list!!
  
• www.thrifyfloridamom.net - tips on where to find great deals in Florida and other money-saving ideas
  
• www.southernsavers.com - tips on where to find great deals in the south, including CVS, Walgreen's, Publix and sometimes K-Mart; has printable FoodLion coupons that Publix will accept; has printable SmartSource coupons
  
• www.couponcravings.com - daily updates on freebies, cheapies and deals from restaurants, stores, etc.
  
• www.iheartpublix.com - all about great deals you can get at Publix by using coupons coupled with their BOGO free sales. You often get free products! [I &hearts this site!]
  
• www.savingyourcents.net - another place to find great deals at local stores, including Publix, CVS, Walgreen's, target, Kmart, etc.
  
• www.couponmom.com - printable coupon links, free sample links, money-saving tips
  
• www.couponmountain.com - find promo codes for discounts at multiple cyberstores, such as free shipping, percentage discounts, etc.
  
• www.gasbuddy.com - finds the cheapest gas prices in your area or area you might be traveling
  
• www.reastaurant.com - where you can purchase gift certificates to local restaurants and save up to 80% of your bill (very small selection of places)
  
• www.eyeslipsface.com - a great site for finding inexpensive cosmetics
  
• www.oldnavyweekly.com - website *game* that updates weekly with chances to win some great coupons at Old navy. If you catch it at the right time and are good at figuring out puzzles, you can get some good deals. Check on www.afullcup.com in the clothing stores section of the forum page for info on when they update their site and where the coupons might be hidden.
  
• www.youtube.com - a great place to find free workout videos
  
• www.charlottecountyfl.com/Historical/CCHC.asp - Join the Charlotte County Historical Society - for $35 a year, a family of four can get free admissions to several museums around the country.
  
• www.buschgardens.com - (this could work for a number of parks) When purchasing annual passes, upgrade one to Silver. This includes a discount on food and free parking!
  

If you have another good saving-site, comment or email me. Saving money = it's a good thing! :)

MOSI

Well, I finally got through all 211 pictures! And I am very sorry to tell you I only cut it down to about 25% of them. There was sooooo much to do!! AND write about!! I still can't believe we hadn't been there before yesterday, but we will for sure be going back. Soon! This was not a museum that we just walked around and looked. We did it! We did it ALL!!!! (almost) There are a number of IMAX films playing that we haven't seen. There are still shows in the Planetarium we need to see also. See - I have found reason for us to go back already! ;) Here is a taste of how we spent our 5 1/2 hours at MOSI......

Of course, the first thing to get my kids' attention....Lego's.

We learned about tornadoes.

And Maggie was very happy for Florida not to be in Tornado Alley. Until Nicholas reminded her of our hurricanes. (which, thank you Lord, we have not seen this year)


This car showed evidence of the damage hail can do....


The HURRICANE tank - the winds reached 90mph. Maggie-Peyton was NOT interested!



Bet you can't guess whose sweet little hands these are....


This exhibit showed the risk of flooding in low-lying areas. (Honestly, it reminded me of Mud-Island in Memphis)


Nicholas wanted so badly to do this! Yes, kids can ride this *BIKE* across a high-wire. Unfortunately, he needs to be about 2 inches taller. I'm sure he will gain this over the next couple of months.


I love the words at the top of this board....*MAKING MEMORIES* - I say that almost daily. For the good and bad.




What I would consider the WORLD'S LARGEST OPERATION GAME!! ha! There were even scrubs for the kids to dress like doctors.



FYI, I would not let either of them perform ANY surgery on me anytime soon! ha! ha!


This was like a HUGE Cyclops. The camera is that black circle on the blue wall, and the image is magnified on the screens. Mag used it as a mirror! (I am so not kidding!) She is watching the screen as she pulls her hair back in a pony. Is that not hilarious?? It is sooooo her!!!


We watched a video of a knee replacement. Mag wanted to know if the bones on the display were *real humans* - (smile)




Galileo.....



Then, the real fun began............

The main attraction at MOSI right now is an Animation Exhibit, featuring Cartoon Network. We had sooooo much fun with this! and learned a ton!!

In Laymans' terms....the kids *shot* frames for a movie....
This is stop-motion-animation. (they stop between each frame and get in a new position)









Here are a few shots of them being played back in a movie.....(I so wish I had had my video camera) :(






Drawing cartoon frames.........



As a Foley Artist......


After we read about cels, we watched a Yogi Bear cartoon and picked out what we thought would be the the cel-overlays....


Then we made our own! Did you know it takes about 30 frames per second in those cartoons?? The kids quickly figured out if they wanted a picture to actually *show* during their movie, they must take a number of frames. Nicholas even had the words THE END at the end of his.




We picnic-ed under a HUGE tree - one of the best moments of the day for Mommy! :)


Next was the butterfly garden....



And then KIDS IN CHARGE!!! (did I say it was a fun place??)


We each cracked codes to the safes.....


The kids were raised on a bed of nails. Yes, REAL nails!!




Mag said it was giving her a massage! (what is it with my kids and massages lately???)



There was a game-show-like place set up, too. This was Mag's fave of the day.


Tug of war.....


Making it through a Spider's Web....


Giving the Dino teeth....


And then the Dino used those teeth to eat him.....


Dominoes....


This is probably not even a 1/4 of what is there. Seriously! I could go on and on telling you peeps how awesome it is. You just need to go yourself! It's in Tampa. And for us, definetly worth the drive!

And the best part....it's on our Museum Pass! :)