Tough topics

Having kids really puts things into perspective, doesn’t it? I mean, when I was in my early 20s, I never thought about life insurance at all, but now it’s like a no-brainer. Luckily I am pretty healthy, but for people with health problems or for smokers life insurancecan be hard to get. I know there *are* plans out there, but wouldn’t a much better option be to just quit? It’s such a gross habit. I know I am guilty of having smoked a butt or two, especially during times of stress, but it really is horrible and it’s been ages since I had one. I can’t imagine smoking a pack a day! Anyway… just another reason to keep in good health, I guess!

Sofa so good~

OK, the title is a bit funnier if you actually say it out loud Anyway, we *did* end up finding a sectional the other day! The places that we looked seemed to have a lot of modern furniture that was very cool looking, but didn’t fit with the style of our house. Finally we found a sectional that we liked, in the color we wanted, that is also in our budget! Score!!! And bonus, we even found a rocker recliner to replace our old one. I am going to wait to order the furniture because delivery time is 4-6 weeks, and I don’t want to get it before our wood stove is installed.

But I am so thrilled that I can cross another “to do” off of my never ending checklist.

My little artist

Jake is so funny. He has the soul of a little artist, that’s for sure. He’s starting 1st grade next week and is excited to learn more math skills so he can do more complicated craft projects that require measuring and such. LOL! Yeah, I don’t really see him going into futures trading or anything like that. He’s definitely going to be doing something creative when he grows up — maybe even teaching I bet. He made me this crazy necklace the other day with beads, pom-poms, and pipe cleaners. I loved it! He is also always creating his own playsets and making pom-pom pals. I’m so excited to see how he progresses this year. I hope it’s easier to get into the swing of things than it was with kindergarden.

We need some couch vibes!

I know that sounds so ridiculous doesn’t it? Well, we’re looking to buy a sectinonal for our living room. With the wood stove in there, and a new sofa, the room will be SO comfy for winter. Unfortunately, we have a budget. And everything I’m liking is above the budget. Sigh… Maybe we should just look for discount home theater seating instead and make it a media room. Alas, the money was a gift and I don’t think my mom would be thrilled with that option. She’d say that she can’t fall asleep in a chair, LOL! This afternoon we’re going to check out a couple more furniture stores. Wish us luck because we need it! I’d like to have that room done by my birthday in October!

Maggie meow meow

Our poor kitty is getting old I think. She’s 11 now and is starting to slow down. Last week I tripped over her twice. I don’t know if she didn’t see me, or if she just didn’t care, LOL! At any rate, I’ve been feeling bad lately so I’ve been giving her extra wet food and treats. She’s so low maintenance so we don’t have a lot of cat supplies for her. Maybe I’m feeling guilt and wanting to spoil here, LOL… Poor thing. And I’m not even a cat person!

Today’s Freebies

Here are a few freebies for you guys!

Free sample of Greenie’s for your pet.

Free chicken biscuit coupon at McDonald’s (must purchase a medium or large drink)

Free sample of Gain with baking soda from Wal-mart

Fall is in the air

Oh, I am *so* looking forward to fall. It is my favorite season! Of course, my birthday is in the fall, but aside from that I just love the weather, the beautiful foliage, the comfort food, the holidays… pretty much everything! Since only four kids came to Jake’s birthday party, I am toying with the idea of a harvest party of sorts. I’ve been looking at Halloween invitations and thinking of fun games to play: bobbing for apples, make-a-mummy (where you divide the kids up into teams and they wrap one child up in toilet paper — it’s really funny). I could make an autumn snack mix with pretzels, dried cranberries, popcorn, and candy corn. And of course we’d have to have candied and caramel apples! Then again, in my head these childrens parties are very “Martha Stewart” and in reality they don’t turn out to be, LOL! So we’ll see. But it would be fun, don’t you think?

Some fun freebies!

It’s been a while since I’ve posted links to free samples, but there are some good ones out right now. I hope you’re able to get in on a few of these.

Free sample of Neutrogena Pink-Grapefruit Foaming Scrub Oil-Free Acne Wash

Free Scott toilet paper sample

Free Sesame Street Fire Safety Station Color and Learn books

Free Snausages Snausomes Dog Snacks

Free Sunsilk Hair Samples

Free subscription to Organic Connections

Free Yanabah herbal tea sample

Happy birthday to my guys!

Over the weekend we had birthday parties for both Jake and Noah. Jake turned 6 on the 14th and Noah turned 3 on the 17th. Jake had four friends come over for a party on Saturday and it was a little crazy, but I think they all had fun. Drew put on a  magic show for them. I made “dirt” instead of a cake and their reactions were priceless! I told them that I dropped the cake on the ground so we had to eat dirt. It was really funny how they believed me for a moment. But the dirt must have been tasty because they all asked for second helpings.

Then, on Sunday our family came up for a party for both boys. It was great seeing everyone! I made london broil and a few different salads. Instead of dirt we had “sand” (the vanilla version). Everyone had a good time but boy by the time everyone left I was partied out! And so the parties are done for another year… Crazy how time flies.

Just smashing!

So it seems that my old laptop is dead, fried, kaput. We can’t get it to boot up at all, and it had been infected with a nasty virus that affected its system memory at one point, so it’s just not worth it. I never use it anyway, so… Kind of stinks to think about how vulnerable these machines are. Maybe I should go back to old-fashioned letter writing and my typewriter. What do you think?