A Math Field Trip

Today we went on a little field trip.  Jake wasn't buying it when I told him it was a field trip because we were going to go shopping.  Well not really shopping...we were going to two different stores to compare prices.  You see, now that Aaron doesn't work at the airport I no longer get free coupons (he would bring home 3 or 4 set of coupons for me.), I am weighing the options of how much I can actually save shopping at my favorite local grocery store: Bi-Lo.  Since I still work there (very part time-1 or 2 shifts a month) I feel the need to shop there.  I know the employees and I always see faithful customers turned happy to see acquaintance's.  I know where everything is.  I know how awesome the sales, double coupons everyday (on coupons up to 99cents...in other words a 75 cent coupon is really $1.50 off...awesome I know), and fuel perks (every $50 you spend earns you 5 cents off per gallon of gas.  Plus there are certain fuel perks deals like buy 3 products that are on sale from this list of items and automatically get 20 cents off per gallon of gas.  One time I had $2.65 off per gallon of gas and I spent $1.93 on a WHOLE tank of gas.) are.  But...there is always a but...I also know that the prices on groceries have been steadily rising at my beloved store (probably most stores...).  I know this first hand because one of the shifts I work every month is a 3rd shift changing tags.  We change the tags on the price locked items every four week (another great way to save at Bi-Lo.  Items go on sale for a whole 4 to 6 weeks.  Good sales...) and I am a first hand witness to them going up.  When I first started couponing and shopping the sales at Bi-Lo I cut our grocery bill by 35%.  Awesome.  But that hasn't been happening lately.  The coupons haven't been as good (for the things I buy at least.  I don't use coupons just to use coupons.  I use the ones on things I actually want to try, need, or use a lot.), plus they aren't free anymore.  So...this brings me back to our field trip...I saw a commercial the other day for Walmart (where I used to shop before becoming a Bi-Lo employee) and they were showing people how much they saved buying the same things from Walmart that they usually buy else where.  Brilliant.  Math project and something that has to be done and I really don't want to spend my spare time doing wrapped up in one! We made a list of some basic items that we get a lot: milk, eggs, bread, and cheese were just a few.  We took said list to Wally World and "the Bee-Lo" (this adorable older couple from Africa came in and were calling it that with their awesome accent one time and I have called it that for fun ever since) and we compared.  We compared name brands and store brands.  Broke it down to how many sheets per roll of toilet paper or ounces which was a great lesson for Jake.  He wanted to just write down the prices and call it good until I pointed out that they may not have the same quantity as the other store.  Jake took notes and was only mildly entertained while we were doing this at our first stop which was Walmart.  After a library break (we love the library) and a quick Doritos Taco Locos at Taco Bell (have you tried one yet?  If you like those 2 things you will like this combination. The shell it like a big Dorito) we headed to Bi-Lo.  This is where the fun began...

Jake got so serious he had to get in the shopping cart to take better notes.  He was totally into this project!  He was amazed and after every thing he jotted down he would say "we are not shopping here anymore!" or "we are going back to shopping at Walmart!". We haven't done all the calculations to see just how much we would save by shopping at Walmart...but EVERY.SINGLE.ITEM cost more at Bi-Lo...{sigh}. Example: we use Hunts spaghetti sauce and it is 50 cents more a can at Bi-Lo...even on sale and with fuel perks added the regular price at Walmart (they didn't carry it for a while but in my absence have since gotten it back on the shelves) was better....I am sad.  I didn't want to admit it but I have seen the prices rising at Bi-Lo for about a year but it was just a little at a time.  They were rising at every store!  The problem is Walmart has more stores, buys in bigger quantities, and therefore can lower their prices more to get people in the door.  Back when coupons were free (and better) and I worked when Jake was at school (and knew all the sales and all the coupons that were out there to go with those sales because I rang them up all day), and  Bi-Lo was trying really hard to  compete...I saved a lot of money there.  Now that Fuel Perks have sucked people in (saving on gas while buying groceries is a VERY powerful tool) they don't notice the prices have crept back up. 
Tomorrow we will put up the complete tally of our random and make believe grocery list (we didn't compare produce because the prices change so much according to seasons and if they are gross at one place I will spend more at the other for them and the farmers market will start getting the good fresh stuff soon).  We forgot about crackers and chips and snack stuff so it is a pretty random list but the point has been made clear.  Actually several points:
*We use math in everything we do.
*Stores will try and make you think buying the bigger quantity is the way to go because it is cheaper, but that is not always the case so check the cents per ounce (or price per sheet...).
*If they blind your with other bells and whistles (coupons, cheaper gas,...) than they will trick you some where else.
*Going to the grocery store can be a field trip.
*Math can be fun...did I really just say that?
*Jake was reminded today just how quickly "small change" can add up.  As he told me today: "It is like you always say Mommy: every penny adds up!"  Makes me wonder how many extra pennies we have spent this past little while that we didn't have to if I would have just swallowed my pride and gone back to the  loathsome Walmart...
*And most importantly: If you can save 40 cents on a bag of chocolate chips and 17 cents per ounce on flour and sugar you can make cookies more often and your family will think you are the bomb.

Brain Declutter: Because random is the best I can do right now....

Yes, we have been busy.  Yes, I do have pictures to prove it.  No, I am not going to post them because I just don't feel like it. I have been slightly anti-blogging as of late.  Not sure why but I am just not feeling it.  It could be because Aaron is home more (only 4 more days of 3rd shift!!!!) and I would rather hang out with him (....or maybe because I love the mindlessness of Pinterest.  I think it is a little of both).  Two weeks from yesterday we are going on a date.  We don't have any money so it may just be a throw back to our courting days-Taco Bell; but that works for me.  Aaron will be home past 9:00pm and not have to sleep during the day...I think I remember what that used to be like...

Jake has been sick this week so there has been a LOT of TV watching and video gaming.  I know that sounds really pitiful but I think if you are really sick (not just faking) than you should be allowed to do things that cheer you up since you are all pitiful otherwise.  Jake was coughing up a lung and asked me to give him and hug and to say: "Oh my poor baby!" which apparently I used to do when he was little much more frequently than I do know.  It makes him feel better he says.  So I have been saying it a lot.  A few coughing fits he had to say "say it Mommy..." to remind me.  What can I say?  He is growing up and I am kind of okay with it (I don't really have a choice). I have learned when bigger kids are sick it okay to treat them like they are little.  I am making that note to self so I won't forget it next time.

On a similar topic, I just realized the other day that I don't have to cut the crust off Jake's bread anymore...I don't even know when that happened!  What kind of mother am I to not notice these changes?!  Just kidding.  I have beat myself up enough over not really remembering what his first word was (I am pretty sure it was Mama...) so I don't feel so guilty about the whole crust thing.  Am I the only one who isn't really the mother I thought I would be and it took me several years to realize that is okay?  I am a good mom.  Good enough that Jake tells me I am the best mom and that I am his best friend.  That is something right?   He has others too (best friends...not mom's) of course but he doesn't "hate" me.  I have seen some kids "hate" their parents by this age....so sad they don't rock as much as me.  I am humble too... :) Good enough that having a slumber party with me is still fun...even if we are pretending to be Ninjago (if you don't know what that is than you don't have a Lego lover in your house...) characters and in the middle of a battle (not acting it out jumping around-just doing the voices) I hear him say "okay it is time to go to sleep" because I am already dozing off...I don't remember what his first word was!  So shot me.  I do remember he said it to me and he still says a lot of things to me that parents don't hear from their kids at his age.  I am good with that. :)  I am trying to remember that he won't care if I didn't write in a journal every day of his life (that was my plan...that never happened) to make of a record everything thing he did.  The only person that puts that amount of stress on me is me.  In 2012 I will not do that to myself any more.

In my head, I have the paint color picked out in every room in "my/our house" in SC  Have I mentioned that here yet?  I blog in my brain so sometimes I can't remember if I really posted it our have it stored in my brain...Please tell me you do that too my blogging buddies?  I have looked at a house that is for sale 3 times now.  It is 2 houses down from Nana and Papa.  It is walking distance from the Martin's (the Martin's=cousins that are awesome, and sister/brother/in-laws that are...well they are redonk!). And it is in the town that Aaron was born and raised in. It is a big yard that backs up to the woods we go "4 wheelin!" (picture Aaron saying this in a really crazy voice while we are going insanely fast on the 4 wheelers and having a blast).  It is a great deal (the potential to be very cheap....) and it is a dream right now that I am slightly obsessed with.  What can I say it is fun to decorate a house in your mind whether you are actually going to live there or not, right?  We shall see if it is in the cards to be there in "my house".  If not there will always be other "my houses" but they will all be in Aaron's home town because that is where we want to be and where we know the Lord wants us to be.  We will just have to see if His timing is the same as ours and "our house".  And no that isn't #9 for anyone who is still wondering what that is...Keep wondering because I am still not quite ready to tell yet. :)

And on last bit of randomness that just popped into my head like all the rest of this has:  I have actually seen a movie that was better than the book.  There is a first time for everything!!!  The movie is "The Help".  I read the book and liked it.  I loved parts of it and hated other parts, so that averages out to liking it.  The movie I heard was amazing.  I didn't see it in the theater and I have waited since it came out on DVD for a little while. I finally decided to rent it and LOVED it!  Which never happens to me.  I usually wait too long and build up how great it is going to be in my head and them I am disappointed.  A great example of that would be: "The Blind Side".  Great movie-don't get me wrong!  But I was bummed because I was told by so many people I was going to cry & I knew too much about it...so it was a let down...even though it was good.  Please tell me you know what I mean....The Help was not a let down because it was way better than the book!  My apologies to the author....

Enough for now...I am heading to bed.  As a friend of ours father likes to say: "Church comes early in the morning!"   I chuckled a little when I typed that because I hear it in the voice of mocking from a couple people who will remain nameless...Don't feel bad if you are wondering why I think it is funny...Or if you are wondering why I am typing that at all...because I am starting to wonder that my self.  Anywho!  The longer I declutter my noggin of randomness, the greater the chance I have of dozing off at Church like I did while playing Ninjago with Jake at our slumber party. :) Goodnight!

Brain Declutter: Holiday Style

*The ultimate compliment was given to me today at Walmart of all places!  I was printing some pictures of our "photo shoot" pictures of Jake and was asked by an employee if I had taken the pictures myself.  (You know how you have to push the button saying you aren't printing copyrighted prints?)  She didn't seem to believe me but let me pay for them anyway.She flipped through them and eyed me suspiciously.  Then she did something that made me realize I may not want to let it go to my head because she may not be the brightest.  What made me think this is when she looked on the back of them, as if she expected to see a photographer copyright and eyed me one more time.  I wasn't lying of course, but even if I was how did she expect to see the copyright on the ones that I had printed?....

*We still don't have the decorations on the tree!  It is up, lights are shining brightly...and that is it.  We are doing it tomorrow I swear.  In the mean time we put these up:

(Jake decided if he could have been there at Christ's birth he would have wanted to be a sheep.  The words around it are the things he thought he would feel if he were there...Note to self: we are going to have to add curios to our vocab list...He wrote: carieas...?  Spelling is not his strongest subject-he talks after Aaron in that regard.)

We started the Christ Centered Christmas book tonight and talked about Mary.  (It goes through all the people in the Nativity and gives you scriptures that go a long with them and ideas on how to learn about and appreciate their part on that special day.)  The book suggested making heart shaped cookies or cut out paper hearts to go along with talking about the things Mary pondered in heart (Luke 2:19).  It also suggested discussing who you would have wanted to be if you were there that day.  We combined them and cut out the hearts and wrote who we would have wanted to be, why, and then we wrote down some words that we thought we would have felt in our heart if we were that person.  Then we talked about preparing our hearts for Christmas instead of just preparing the gifts and decorations.  It was a good discussion and we finally have Mary in the manger.  And yes the Nativity is in the fire place.  There was literally no other place to put it...This is my mom's Nativity.  We have the Willow Tree (I LOVE IT) and it stays out all year long in the living room (that's how much I LOVE IT).

*So we won't forget what the house looked like the day we got out all of my mom's Christmas decorations here it is:

 I know you are thinking what is the big deal...Take a look at this:

And that isn't even all of it.  It was in the sun room and kitchen too....My mom is serious about her   decorations.
(The putting away shouldn't be so bad because we got it all out so Mom could decide what she really wants to keep...Hopefully there won't be as much for them to get out next year!!)

*Do you ever wish your hand writing looked different?  I wish mine did because I am getting ready to write on frame mating for a Christmas gift and I am scared I am going to totally screw it up....Writing it in your handwriting makes it more personal right?

*Nee is home and here is the proof:

*The picture below is of Mom's new Kitchen Aid-an early birthday gift from my sis and her family.  Yes I am jealous because it matches my stuff. :)  It also gives further proof that she is home.

*Aaron is down to 2 more exams and he will officially be a Math Major Geek Graduate!  Expect several (hundred) pictures of the graduation and after party!

*I know a lot of people that are pregnant right now.  Four at Church (that I know of) and my sister-in-law.  Do you ever have that happen when it seems like all the sudden everyone is pregnant?  It is kind of funny how that works.

*I love Mod Podge.  Serious crafters probably laughed at me when I put "modge podge" in my last post.  It won't happen again I assure you.  I kind of think it is magic how stuff that looks like elmers glue can make anything look so shiny and pretty...I like the luster not the matte myself...That is why it is shiny.  Here is a picture of a fun gift I am making for Jake for Christmas:

(Okay so it is partially for me because I want to hang up pictures of his cute mug all over the house and adding a little Star Wars is one way to insure that it will go up. :)  The pic was taken in the drying phase.  The things you see in the left of the picture may or may not be other gifts for people I know...Sorry none of them have Yoda on them so don't get your hopes up.)

*Science is fun!  Papa and Jake made a catapult last week.  I took the pictures:

*Do you have a favorite wrapping paper that you like so much you don't want to use it?  I do. I got it at Target last year and it black with snowflakes all over it.  I love it because you can put any color bow with it and because I love black and white.  I don't want to use it but I will because it really does look great under the tree.  Speaking of the tree: first time ever in Jake's decade on earth that we are having colored lights on the tree.  We are using my parents tree because ours is looking pretty Charlie Brownish.  It is (was maybe...) pre-lit except the middle section wouldn't light up any more so we just said it was striped and called it good....

*A massive photo drop of 2011 stuff I have posted yet will happen before the end of the year.  I may even have to break it into parts...Yep it is going to be that bad.  Just warning you.

*I just looked at the clock and it is 10:12.  I promised myself I was going to bed a reasonable hour tonight and I still have to pick up my crafting mess and I still have to read some of Jane Austin's Persuasion that I have been reading for about 2 weeks now (it is not taking me so long because it isn't good-it is because I have been making gifts almost every night)!  I guess the writing on the frame mate will have to wait.  Maybe my handwriting will be fancier tomorrow any way. :) 

*Happy holidaying to you !  I didn't even give myself enough time to check all my favorite blogs!!!  There is always tomorrow I guess.  Don't blog to much people because I already have a ton to catch up on!!!

A glimpse into Aaron's life.

Broken record moment: Aaron works 3rd shift.  I worked third shift last night too...8pm-6am pulling tags and putting up new ones.  I was okay until around 4:30 when my ipod batter died and I took a little break.  Bad idea-stopping made me realize my head was a little foggy.  Jake got to spend the night with our long time family friends (first time he has spent the night alone at a non-family members house.  But they really are family so I don't know if it counts or not) Sharon and Ron.  Sharon is my mom's best friend from high school and I grew up with her children.
I was excited to get home and get in bed for a nap/sleep but couldn't fall asleep.  When Aaron got home at 7:00 he gave me tip to read and it would make me fall right to sleep.  It didn't...I am at too good a part in Sense and Sensibility to fall asleep!  I finally gave up around 8:30 and slept, waking up every 15 minutes until 10:30 and I headed out to get the Jakester.  He had a great time with Sharon and Ron building with Lego's, playing Mario Kart, and using this very cool Crayola tracing thing-a-ma-gig from when Sharon's children were kids.  But he missed me and gave me about a million hugs and kisses when I got to their house. :)

Fast forward and it is almost 2pm and we have one of Jake's friends from church over until after Cub Scouts tonight.  His parents are chaperone's (sp?) at Youth Conference and we planned a couple of months ago to have him over a couple of times while they are gone so he could have a break from his 2 nieces under the age of 3. :)  Who knew it would fall on a day following my first time ever working 3rd shift.  I am glad I told BiLo I could work 2 days a week for the 3 weeks before going to Vermont (good gas money for the drive) so it could give me a glimpse into the sacrifice Aaron makes for our family 5 nights a week.  I told you he rocks.  My brain feels oddly empty and I don't feel like eating at all.  Maybe I should stay up all night more often.  I wouldn't ramble on all the time and I would have to lose some weight by not eating right?

A very long catch up and a brain declutter. (I am not proofreading this-just warning you...)

It seems like forever since I have posted!  Did you miss me?  I wasn't really gone.  I was at home enjoying FREEDOM!  We have had a fun time getting ready to home school, going to the park, playing the Wii, working on a project....We have been busy doing nothing and it has been FUN.  I am going to just make this a MASSIVE picture and brain declutter extraordinaire!  (I warned you ahead of time so don't be surprised when you see just how long this is...this is what happens when I don't post for a while. This could probably be about 5 separate posts...)

*I have mentioned before I am a Yankee (born and raised in NH), but I consider myself a converted Southerner (except when it is really hot and I wish I wasn't....).  Well, I often wish I had an accent like Paula Dean, but I don't think it will every happen.  What I am getting at, is that the other day we were watching something on the History channel or Discovery channel  (2 of our fav's...I also love Fox News and HGTV) and a Southerner said "thang" instead of  "thing" and I was instantly mesmerized...Not enough to remember who it was or what it was on apparently, but I really wanted to sound like that.  It wasn't a redneck or uneducated accent like people who don't live in the South think it is.  It was a civilized "thang"...Maybe one day I will get my wish and have a Southern accent...I girl can dream right?

*Jake was playing his recorder the other day and decided to write a song.  It took him about 10 minutes and was really AWESOME.  I am so impressed.  I told him that he could probably play it on the piano (which he wants to learn to play and is going to when Nee get home to teach him us.).  So, we sat down at the piano and I found the notes and he played it.  It really is a great song.  He played it on Father's Day for Aaron and Papa G.  He decided he wanted to wait and surprise Papa Harmon by playing it for him live on their piano, when we go down to Spartanburg some time soon. So, Nana don't tell.

*While I am typing this post Aaron is teaching Jake to play the guitar and they are writing down all the cords in a notebook for him to practice.  I told Jake the other day that when he was writing his song and playing it on the piano that, that was homeschooling.  He didn't believe me, but I asked him: have you ever written a song before?  (No)  Are you learning the first few notes on the piano (Yes).  That is learning!  It is educating yourself and finding your talents.  He was pretty psyched to think that an education is not just worksheets.  :)  I am excited too. 

*The other day while I was doing something (dishes or something...), I heard some noise coming from Jake's room and when I went down the hall to see what it was this is what I saw:

What is it you ask?  A club house of course!  This happened to be the day we thought maybe we would put Sadie's crate in Jake's room to see if she would start sleeping in there.  The night before she slept in his room, (not in her crate just on the floor...she has a nice comfy dog bed but choices to sleep on the hard floor?) but she peed on the floor!  I think she was nervous or something because she didn't know what to think when we shut her in there and Jake said she was pacing for a while.  She never pee's on the floor any more...Except today when we put a rug back down that she peed on a couple times when she was tiny, so we put it up until she was potty trained.  Fast forward a couple of months with no peeing....She pees in Jake's room and then pees on the rug we literally just put back out...Any way...back to the story.  This is what was going on in the club house:
Jake rediscovered his dress up clothes and was sharing them with Sadie.

I like to call him "Obi-wan-ca-Jakey" when he puts this old Halloween costume on, but he had another name for himself that I can't remember at the moment...He wants to post some pic's on his blog too so he will probably tell you on there what his name was....
****BY THE WAY**** Did that get your attention?  His blog has changed to: jake-myschool.blogspot.com and it is not private after all.  Aaron thought it was fine to be public since I talk all about him on my blog anyway...Good point...So, if I sent you an invite to the old one, just forget all about it and go to this one from now on...Back to the regularly scheduled post. :)

He got hot and changed.  Can I even tell you what a joy it has been to watch Jake play and enjoy himself again?  It seemed any time we played before it was in a hurry because we had to do homework or get to bed since it is a school night.

*I forgot to mention Jake has been lucky enough to go to a b-day pool party and to a  friends house who has a pool in his neighborhood?  He is a fish and loves the water like I do.  That just popped in my head for some reason...Probably because I really want to go swimming...

*This is a picture of Jake reading from an awesome new collection of books a friend of mine from church brought to Cub Scouts to see if Jake wanted them.  She got them a the school she works at and thought her kids would like them.  They didn't...at all and since Jake had excitedly told her at Church (she is our Primary pianist) that he was going to be homeschooled she thought she would bring them to someone who would appreciate them.  And he does!  They are so cool and it is the whole set A-Z talking about cultures in different countries.   On a completely unrelated note (I can do that because I am brain decluttering...) see the peach he is eating?  I told Aaron I got peaches and he excitedly went to eat one and then informed we they weren't real peaches.  We are used to the peaches that are almost the size of a softball, that are so juicy you have to eat them outside because the juice drips down your arm all the way to your elbows...I wish I had one right now...Which makes me think of one other quick thing...Nana, Jake thinks you are very tough.  (Why did that make me think of Nana?  Because you get those awesome peaches in SC and there are awesome peach stands off the highway on the way to Nana and Papa Harmon's house....See how randomly my brain works...)  Any way.  Nana has a broken foot right now and went a week after hurting it before she went to the doctor to get it checked out.  So, in Jake's book you have to be tough to walk around on a broken foot for a week...In my book too, now that I think about it.  Jake stubbed his pinky toe today and said if it is broken (it's not...) than he will just be tough like Nana.  Just thought you would like that Nana. :)...

*Here is Jake working on his first homeschooling project.  We aren't "officially" starting until July 5th because July 1st is when we can start taking attendance according to the county we live in.  This is a project that Jake decided to do on his own, just because he wanted to.  That makes me a happy camper. :)

This is what it looks like so far.  It is a report on Black Mamba snakes, which happen to be the most dangerous snake, but not the most poisonous.  Jake will have to explain all that to ya.  He learned it in his research and it is all pretty cool if you like that kind of stuff.  Jake some how became a big snake fan and I am not sure how...The pattern on the poster is an extreme close up on the what a black mamba's scales look like.  Pretty cool huh?  I was excited because he let me help. :)

Aaron serenaded us while we painted.  He of course would not look at the camera, since he is a PTPP (picture taking party pooper).

Sadie just hung out looking all cute like she does.

So cute Jake couldn't resist playing with her and a few days later the project has not moved any further along than printed pic's from the internet of black mamba's (that I was REALLY sick of looking at on the computer desk so I made him move them to his room), and a sheet with "fun facts".  Did you know there was such a thing as "fun facts" about snakes because none of it sounds fun to me....

*This is a park close to our house (we gave up on the ghetto park after we had to leave because several cop cars pulled into the parking lot with their lights on, to arrest a bunch of people in what was apparently a drug deal...And we had one of Jake's friends with us.  Luckily his grandmother understood when she came and picked him up...), that we LOVE.  We went twice in one day the end of last week.  Then we went back the next day again.  Jake made a couple of new friends and had a great time running around with them.  I had a great time not having to be the one running around and I painted my nails and cleaned out my purse while he played.  Actually it was the other way around.  I found the nail polish in my purse while cleaning it out and then I painted my nails.  We had to cut playing short (it had already been over an hour so they were getting tired since it was 9,000 degrees out) because one of the boys Jake was playing with a had teenage cousin who was playing too, that cussed a couple of times and then when he said "rape" and "hey my cousin tagged me and tried to touch my private parts!".  I don't think he was a child molester or anything like that.  I think he is just an idiot and doesn't know what is and is not appropriate to say around younger kids..  At any rate, I called Jake over and told him it was time to go, which he understood.  Sad isn't it?  I remember when I was little and  we used to play outside all day with our friends...It is a different world.  On a more positive note.  I showed Jake all the fun things we used to do on swings on the playground when I was a kid.  Like twist and swing at the same time.  Or hold onto each others chain and swing sideways together.  All those things he doesn't know about because he has never had swings at his schools because they are too dangerous.  And the last time we had a swing in our yard he was too little to show those things too. :)  I have heard more of my favorite Jake belly laughs in the past week than I have in a long time.

*This is Jake getting ready to roll the dice and pick what 5 states he is going to research first.  He decided he wants to start with geography, researching a few interesting people, and researching animals this summer.  Sounds good to me.  We are also going to be reading the Book of Mormon. 

Where ever the tiny little dice landed would be one of the states he would start with.  With exception of Florida and Texas, he just wanted to do those 2 first and he helped the dice land where it needed to land. :)

We were having a game day last Tuesday and took turns picking the games.  I love this card game called "5 State Rummy".  You have to get cards for 5 states that border each other.  While playing Jake decided he wanted to learn the states.

*We made Aaron blueberry streusel coffee cake one morning.  Don't be too impressed-it was out of a box.  But you can be impressed that I got if for almost free on sale plus my coupons...which I really need to cut out, I am so far behind...This is the best pic we could get with our resident PTPP.  Jake was concerned when we first started making it, that it had coffee in it, since the box said coffee cake.  I assured him it didn't and we enjoyed it's yumminess.

*This is a random picture of Jake playing Wii Fit Plus on our game day last week. (Out of order but I don't feel like moving it...)  He was doing the flying chicken one...It was much funnier than the picture makes it...

*I can't believe I haven't posted all this stuff already!!!  This is the very first lightening bug Jake caught of the season last week...I think it was on our game day last Tuesday...Yep it was because Sadie turned 6 months that day.  She goes to the vet on Thursday to get spade.

Sadie played with our neighbors dog "Bear" (he is the vicious looking one in the picture, but he really isn't...), while we caught lightening bugs.  Bear is Sadie's best dog friend.

I couldn't for the life of me get a shot of them running that wasn't blurry.  They are way to fast.  They ran from one yard to the next.  We don't have to worry one bit about Sadie running off if Bear is out to play with...If he isn't?  Forget about it-she is gone.  Little stinker...

Here is the mason jar filled with the bugs.  One lite up as I took the picture. :)

Love this sweaty headed boy.  Nee you can see your little bushes growing back in, in the back ground.

See all the little guys in there. Don't worry we let them all out before we went in for the night.

*Here is a where a picture of the Papa John's pizza we got the other night would be...but I can't put it up here because it is one of the pictures I took for the secret shop we did...don't tell them! You just order the pizza (you have to be approved to do it obviously...), answer some questions about the customer service. Take a few pictures of the pizza with your shopper number on it and you get a free pizza. This time it will cover the cost of the pizza, tip, and I get a $10 bonus because I haven't done it for a while and they really needed someone to do it. Did you know you could do that? It is the only time we order Papa John's. :)

*And last and definitely least...Did I mention that I dyed my hair "dark mahogany brown" about a week and a hal ago?  I have dark brown hair and I have been dying it for a few years because I am getting gray...I would have a skunk stripe on both sides of my face and they are starting to pop up other places throughout too...I usually just go with dark brown, but since I have red undertones anyway I decided to try the mahogany for a change. This is me waiting...

I got bored waiting for 30 minutes, when there was no one around (Jake was asleep and Aaron was at work) to distract me from the fact that I may look like a clown when I rinsed it out, so I took a picture of myself...That makes sense right?.. Can you tell by my facial expression how I am feeling about it? It was so much runnier than the regular dark brown and where I could see it on my forehead it was BRIGHT red...I have no after picture...yet.  I haven't really worn my hair down since because the roots are so red.  The rest of it looks pretty much like what it always looks like.  I am just waiting a couple of weeks to go back to my regular color.  After 4 days and 4 times washing my hair red dye was still coming out of my hair in the shower.  That never happens with the brown I use and it was the same brand.  So, I learned my lesson:  I will just stick with the color I've got...as long as it's not gray.  I am too young for gray...

Don't know what you've got until it's gone...

A couple of months ago I painted this picture:

I liked it but I didn't love it.  I knew it needed something, so I hung it up and looked at it...and looked at it...I couldn't put my finger on what bugged me about it. Tonight at about 10:45, when I should have been in bed already, the creative juices to try to fix it appeared to be flowing...I got out my paint and brushes and went for it....And now I wish I never did...I thought maybe changing the background color would help...It didn't.  I had to dry brush a lighter color over it because it didn't turn out to be the perfect shade of Robin's egg blue/teal that I thought it would be.  Then I decided that since I left a little of the original dark brown background around some of the petals, that maybe if I went in and lined them all (I didn't even finish because it didn't work), it may be just what it needed...Not so much.  I worked on the center of the flower (I am too tired to remember what it is called right now) and it is a little better...maybe?  I give up.  I may just paint over the whole canvas and start over.    I don't know...maybe I like it better...I need to sleep on it and look at it for a while I guess...
What do you think?

TGIF and Note to self.

Thank goodness it is Friday (...that is if the girl at work that needed more hours, so I gladly gave her my Saturday shift, shows up tomorrow when she is supposed to...Why is my manager all the sudden giving me weekend shifts? I am a Mon.-Fri. girl!)! I need a day at home (besides Jake's last b-ball game, the awards dinner that evening to wrap up the b-ball season, and of course grocery shopping) to catch up. Bedrooms are highest on the list of an overhaul...And then the rest of the house will follow.

This has been a week to remember! I need to remember that when my child is sick and I miss church it really throws the whole week out of whack. I don't think I could go inactive because this past week has been a real stinker and I am blaming it all on Satan. He realized we didn't get our Sunday uplift and really focused in on us all week long...Every morning was rush, argue, guilt. Every afternoon was...well, exactly the same as the morning! The house is still partially a mess. I clean one room and then the next one is back to a disaster zone, because I have been to lazy to keep it up. I will admit to the fact that I have not cracked my scriptures this week-except at Primary training on Wednesday night. How sad is that? And my prayers at night have been laying in bed half asleep apologizes to the Lord as I am slipping into dream land and not making any sense. My morning prayers were an after thought. After I have been a screeching, mean mom...Sorry about that Jake. Not to mention poor Aaron-even when he was calling on the phone on the way from school to work I was only half listening...Sadie was no where to be found, (which is never a good thing) and I was yelling from another room to have Jake find her...all while talking to Aaron on the phone for a few minutes of the 24 hours we exist at home with out him. Nice job Carrie!...Sorry Aaron...(that talking in 3rd person was a joke, I swear.)

What is the point of this post? Why am I rambling on about this? This is a note to self. "It" all does make a BIG difference. "It"being: reading scriptures, praying, homemaking, and going to Church on Sunday. I have been one big ball of grumpiness and I know exactly why. I will read my scriptures and say my prayers. I will get this house in order. I will be nice and not grumpy. And I will be ready and waiting to go to Church on Sunday so I can start the week off on the right foot!