Women of Faith Indianapolis Giveaway!!!!!

I was all set to go to the Indianapolis Women of Faith event August 19-20 2011.  I was selected as a Women of Faith blogger.  I was extremely excited and honored.  However, after 15 months of unemployment my husband has found an amazing temp. job!  However, this means I am unable to attend.  This is GREAT news for my readers though.  If you can find a way to get to Indianapolis on August 19-20 I will give you my two free passes which include free boxed lunches as well! 

Let's keep this simple...

Mandatory entry:
Be a public GFC follower of my blog and tell me why you want to go to Women of Faith 2011.

Extra entries:
Blog about this giveaway and link back to this post - 5 entries
Tell me who you want to take with you - 1 entry

This giveaway will end in one week on Friday August 5, 2011.

Best of luck!

Coffee Time

My first full day at the coffee shop is under my belt.  I had SO much fun!  I am so glad to be making coffee once again.  I came home to a (relatively) clean and organized house, happy kids, and an amazing husband who had even done laundry for me!  I was able to relax for awhile and then make homemade fajitas for dinner.  Now I am pretty tired and have another full day of work tomorrow, but just wanted to say hi to everyone!

Summer is flying

I cannot believe how quickly this summer is flying by!  We have all been so busy and this week is another busy week.  I have even written out all of our lunches and dinners for the week.  I am working almost 40  hours this week and my poor husband is trying to manage 3 kids, his classes for his Master's and job applications.  I am hoping that having all the meals written out will make it easier on all of us.  We did a big shopping trip tonight to prepare for it all.  We ended up being at the store for over an hour!  When we went to check out, we were all organized and everything, but I had gotten 4 peppers.  2 red, 1 yellow and 1 orange.  Peppers are usually pretty expensive but this week they were 4 for $5 so I knew we had to have fajitas this week.  But when the lady rung them up they said 2 for $3.  Now, I know it is a minimal difference but still, I pointed it out.  The lady looks through the weekly flyer, but the peppers are not in there.  So she sends this guy over to check.  And guess what?  I was right!  It serves as a good reminder to check, re-check and triple check your receipts.  They had not fixed the problem at that point so anyone buying peppers is overpaying.  A dollar may not seem like a big deal, but it is to me.  Anyone else ever have that trouble?

Back

We are back from a (free) much needed getaway!  I am going to post one little picture from our time away.  It was a wonderful little trip and our only cost was a little gas and 1 meal!  Not too bad for 2 nights and 3 days! I am starting a part-time job at a local coffee shop so the blog may get a little slowish for awhile, but please keep checking back.  Once I am in a good work routine and such I will be better at posting!  Meanwhile...enjoy the pic!

LOL! Don't you love the cheesy smiles and dazed expressions??? Guess that is what happens with lots of sugar and convenience foods combined with lack of sleep...but I still think they are adorable!!

Guess Where I am Going???

Yep. That's right!  I am heading to Women of Faith this year!  It is my first time and I am extremely excited!  I will be blogging, tweeting and facebooking about this event along the way, so stay tuned!!!

Kids in Summer

The girls were "helping" the Professor play with one of his birthday gifts.  LOL! I am not sure that pool was designed for 3 kids, but they all love it!

When Things Just Don't Go Your Way....

You may end up with a very swollen, very painful thumb like mine...

It was all just a lousy accident.  The girls have been attending a Vacation Bible School with some friends and we have been taking turns with pick-up/drop-off.  Last night was my turn.  It was beautiful outside.  The four kids were being cute and funny.  We got to the church and the two kids realized they forgot offering.  I reached into the van to grab a few quarters for them and BAM.  Someone closed the sliding door on my thumb.  I quickly opened the door and noticed..."man this hurts".  But I shook it off, I mean, there were four scared kids looking at me.  I really thought I was fine and so I grabbed the little ones hand and we set off for the front door.  The closer we got, the worse I felt.  We walked in and I saw a chair and immediately sat down.  I was saying, "girls get ______", because he has to be walked into his room and signed in.  That is the last thing I remember.  Next thing I know they are people shouting at me and shaking me.  Evidently, I totally passed out.  They got me onto the floor and I was saying "where's ____" because I was so scared!  Luckily, leaders had taken him back to his room safely.  I ended up being there about 30 minutes before I could manage to sit up.  It was awful!  I have no idea why I fainted or anything.  They said I was in shock.  But shock from what??? I mean, my thumb hurts, but not as bad as labor or anything.  I will say...fainting in real life is very UN-romantic. 
Have you ever passed out?  If so, why?

Weird Fact..

7-11-11 and I made my 1,111th post.  How weird is that????  Anyways, here are a few leftover pics from the Professor's 1st birthday.  Here is the Hippie helping him open up his gifts.

The Professor LOVES his Nana!

He also enjoyed playing with the wrapping paper...

The Genius and Nana blowing up the Professor's new pool.

The Genius is pretty cute and summery...don't ya think?

Cake Eater

I just love the cake platter my parents gave me a few years ago.  I had trouble coming up with a theme for the Professor's first cake.  He loves trucks and cars though, so I thought a little traffic light would be cute.  I am not much of a cake decorator.  But I am very pleased! It was cute, colorful and tasted good.  But the important thing was the kids liked it!  The Professor dug right in but really he barely ate any.  He ate maybe 2-3 bites, but made a huge mess. LOL!  It was a blast!  I cannot believe we have a one year old!

Best Buddies

Last night was kind of bittersweet.  The girls first year of swim team came to end.  The Hippie's best buddy is on the team, so they will not be seeing each other every day anymore.  Here are some pics of them playing with the Professor...yeah, he is pretty spoiled.

The Professor LOVES hanging out with the big kids.  The girls loved hanging out with all their friends at the meets.  IF you have never been to a meet...let me tell ya.  Meet is an appropriate word. LOL!  Meets are just a giant social event.  There are kids running around laughing, playing and snacking.  Adults are cheering and catching up with each other on the latest news.  They really are quite fun! 

A little bit older...

The Professor is now a 1 year old boy!  He had a great birthday.  We got all of his gifts at garage sales and he loved them all.  He is such a cute, funny boy.

These pictures make me so proud!  For one, I just love my hubby and kids. But secondly, we are all dressed entirely in garage sale clothing and it cost about $2 for all these clothes!  
Do you like garage sales?  Love them? Hate them? Somewhere in between?  What is the best deal you have ever gotten?

A Festive 4th!

Scones and Horses

My grandpa asked for a picture of the Hippie on a horse.  However, she rides inside a barn and I am leery of using a flash, but here is pic of her grooming the horse.  This was not her usual ride.  Usually she rides a spunky little pony or a big, old horse.  This horse in this photo is old AND spunky! LOL!

Also, I made some homemade scones for my husband's birthday and just had to share a photo!

Have I said...

how MUCH I love garage sale season???  Today I got the Professor's first birthday gifts for $3 and we got a new desk, desk chair and very special "seat" today and only spent a total of $40!! Plus there were some nice kids clothes included too.  Let me know what you think of the pics and if you have any special ideas for sprucing up the new seating!

He currently has a 4.0 on his MBA!  But lest you think he is all work....

Mmmmmm..... M & M's!

Yep, it is an old church pew!  We actually really like it!  I have a dream project for it when we own a home again.  But for now it adds MUCH needed extra seating and provided HOURS of fun for the kids today.
So, what are your thoughts?