Lunch and play for TOTALLY FREE. How.?....where?.....you ask. Try your local park. I know...boring right? Well, it's not to your kids. When was the last time you made a real picnic lunch (not fast food from Micky-D's on the way) and took a blanket to lay out on the grass? It's amazing how super-exciting this is to kids. I remember it VERY well as a child too...it was one of my most favorite things to do. Even if we couldn't go to the park, it was SO cool to make our lunches up in little baggies, pack up drinks and napkins and take a blanket outside in our yard and have a picnic. Anyway, a lot of parks these days have even added sprinkler parks where the kids can get wet and have fun. We have a park nearby that has a nice pavillion, lots of trees, a great "regular" park with swings and slides and all that stuff plus a wonderful new sprinkler area. For absolutely FREE, me and the kids can spend an afternoon there and have lots of fun. I take a book or a magazine and lay out/read while they splash in the water, then we have our lunch on a blanket under a tree (and get a little dried off) then we go over to the regular park and have some fun there and then usually end up back in the sprinkler part again for a bit to cool off before we head home. By this time the kids are usually totally pooped and ready for rest and relaxation which equals quiet time for mommy and daddy! yay!
Anyway, I know this wasn't the most ingenious Thrifty Thursday you've ever heard...but sometimes the simplest things are the best and we just have to be reminded of them. I also have to give a big HOORAY to Logzie for last weeks Thrifty Thursday where she talked about the Library. It is also one of my favorite things to do with the kids. Our library has a special little area for kids that has toys and books and comfy chairs. Most of the time during the midde of the day in the middle of the week, we are the only ones there so we just stay for an hour or two and play/read. I know that is something we could do at home...but at home there are so many distractions and I just never do it. One day, I actually took a nap at the library while the kids played. They were doing so well, playing quietly in the corner so I just put on my sunglasses, hunched over in the corner by them and dozed off. Matt thinks I am CRAZY for this...but hey...when you're a mom whose on the go all of the time...you learn to grab a nap when you can...whenever...wherever! ha ha
One last tip...I think we may have mentioned this one before...but just in case some of you don't know this...Thursday's is cheap Happy Meal day at McDonalds. Hamburger Happy Meals are, I believe, only $1.59 on Thursdays. Then, if you want to be even more thrifty...I order a side salad for .99 cents, a McChicken sandwhich for .99 cents and a water. For 2 bucks, I make myself a chicken salad. (I usually throw away the bun--or sometimes eat 1/2 of it with my salad). It costs us a total of around $5.50 to eat there. (and you're not consuming too many calories either! BTW, a side salad only has 20 calories in it!! And their Newmans Own Balsalmic Vinagrette dressing is TERRIFIC. It only has like 30 calories!! )
Well, I am home from the dentist with one less tooth. They went right to work giving me all kinds of nasty shots in my mouth to numb me up and then the dentist came in with what looked like a mini ice pick and dug the thing out. Man...that was not fun. It didn't hurt (just the shots did) but it was very uncomfortable and gross. Now I am chewing on gauze and switching them out every 30 minutes or so. Ick. At the moment, I am gingerly shoveling applesauce into my mouth on the "good side" so I will have at least something in my stomach. I just took a pain pill and an antibiotic and I think I'll go veg on the couch for a while. Hopefully, if I am feeling up to it, I can scrapbook later tonight and REALLY hopefully I will be able to get back to the gym tomorrow. It's been a week and a half since I've gotten to work out and I MISS it!
Okay, hope you're having a good day!
Does anyone know why those awful, painful, stubborn teeth that pop up in your mouth during your late teens-20's are called Wisdom teeth? Just curious. As far as I am concerned, they should be called Misery Teeth. They do nothing but cause people misery.
For about a month now I have been cutting a tooth. Isn't that nice. I get to be in the same boat as my friend's daughter who is a year old. Ha! I am too old for this. Anyway, this stinkin tooth is about 75% through the gums but that last little corner can't seem to push its way through--thus leaving me with a horribly painful mouth for about the past week. I've suffered in silence as much as possible because I don't want to seem like a crybaby after that whole kidney stone incident a couple of weeks ago. Matt mentioned that it seems like something is always hurting me these days. Well..it is. This tooth has been causing me bad headaches for at least a month but its only been the past week that my mouth has started hurting. It is so bad now that even my Tylox (which is strong pain medication) isn't helping AND for the past 2 days, I have been eating things like oatmeal and mashed potatoes so I can just slurp them instead of having to really open my mouth and chew. It hurts to swallow, chew, smile or even talk. The only time I feel halfway decent is when I am silent and still. But HELLO! I am a woman...and I am a go-go-go girl...so that is not working for me! Ha ha!
I did decide to make a dentist appointment today so hopefully we can get it all figured out and fixed. I go at 1 pm so wish me luck!
what do you guys think about this new look? I love the cool colors..But, I don't like how squished up my posts are...they are long and skinny instead of short and wide like I'd like. I don't know if there is a way to fix that or not. Plus, that pic of the fam up there is GINORMOUS. (I know that is not a real, actual word...but in my house...it means gigantic and enorous at the same time). So, you guys just tell me..do you like it like this or should I put it back the old way?
Amos' sweet husband just let me know that in my Thrifty Thursday post where I said that 12 x $10 for 10 years is $12,000 is actually only $1,200. How I didn't catch that, I don't know. Man, what a let down. $1,200 will hardly buy her a bike, let alone a car. Ha Ha! Maybe I'll have to up it to at least $25/month and see what that gets me. I am not going to even try to do the math on that one! hee hee
Thanks Ben for pointing that out! I never have claimed to be good at math....:o)
My God is an Awesome God!
It's late...12:21 am to be exact and I have to get up in less than 5 hours...and I should TOTALLY be going to bed now...BUT...I have to share a quick story with you while I can (meaning kids are sleeping and the house is quiet).
Monday started out as a BAAAAAD day for me. I woke up later than intended and started my work. I had a lot and should have gotten up extra early so I could get it done before the kids woke up...but...I hit snooze on the alarm oh...about 10 times and ended up getting up about an hour later than I had planned. Anyway, after only a few minutes of working, Grant got out of bed. Then followed Brooklyn. Once they are up, it's nearly impossible for me to sit at my computer and work. Someone needs something every 3 minutes and it's majorly frustrating. So, 2 hours later and lots of cartoons and mommy saying "Go AWAY from my DESK! I am WORKING! Go watch cartoons for a little while longer PUH-LEEZE!" I finally got finished. It was nearly 11 am by that point. Poor kids. So I quickly do my spell check, line count and then sent it off (by e-mail) to the dr. office. I left my office and ran to get a shower. My plan had been to get the kids and me all ready and spend the day "in town" doing some shopping and maybe a park for a picnic lunch. After my shower and getting the kids all dressed, I ran back to my computer for something real quick and noticed that I had a new e-mail from the dr. office. It said, "Jennifer, we are unable to open the work you sent today. It says the password is incorrect."
I pulled up the work that I had just done and entered the password to open the document. Sure enough, I got the same message. HOW could I have typed in the wrong password? I have been typing in this password every single day for over a year...AND...not only did I type it in wrong, but I had to have also typed in the password verification wrong too. At about this time, my heart sank into my stomach as it became clear that I would either have to miracuously figure out what combination of letters and numbers I had typed OR start ALL over!!! I tried everything I could think of. I entered in the correct password over and over and I tried all the keys close by to see if maybe one of my hands was off center, but no luck. I called my brother who is an IT tech...but he was unavailable. I called my husband and my mom, but of course, all they could do was listen to me cry. At about this time, Brooklyn came running to me saying that Grant was going to hit her with the paddle. In our house, we have a wooden paddle that is made out of a 1 x 4. Its in the shape of a paddle and it's OFF LIMITS to the kids. They are not EVER allowed to touch it and we only use it for major punishment. Well, sure enough, Grant had gotten up on top of a high shelf and gotten it down and was chasing Brooklyn around with it, trying to hit her. In a very stern voice, I told him to STOP and give it to me. But instead of listening, he just kept running. I ended up chasing him all over the house and when I finally got to him, I was STEAMING! I bent him over the recliner to give him a good swat but somehow in that split second he moved and turned and I ended up whacking him on the side (in the ribs). He cried and cried and I felt HORRIBLE. I kissed and hugged him and apologized but my emotions were out of control. Then all of a sudden my friend, Tori called me. Just out of the blue with nothing in particular to say. I was actually in a pretty bad mood and didn't feel like chatting but I vented to her about what was going on and she tried to cheer me up. She also said she was at Wal-Mart and shopping with her kids and it wasn't really that she needed to call me, but that she'd felt like God was telling her to call me for some reason. Hmmm...wow! So after I hung up with her, with tears in my eyes, I said, "God please. This is my heartfelt earnest prayer. I NEED your help! I opened my eyes to see a little box pop up on my screen that said "You've got a new e-mail from {my doctor's office}". I clicked to open it and read this, "Jennifer, I just tried the password again, and now it works."
My mouth dropped open! What? It opened? I wrote back to make sure and yep, she wrote me back and said that the very same password that we had both tried many times just minutes earlier...now worked. I had just witnessed a miracle folks! Now I was REALLY overwhelmed with emotion. My heart felt like it was going to burst. How deep is the love of Christ! That He would care about such a teensy little thing that meant so much to me. He knew there was no way my kids could endure another 2 hours of mommy sitting at the computer while they had to entertain themselves. He knew that I was at my breaking point. He loves me THAT much! Awesome! I called my mom to tell her the good news and I could hardly choke the words out through all the tears. The kids looked at me like I was crazy. I bet it did look weird--tears streaming down my smiling face. Quite an oxymoron to a child, I guess. I tried to explain to them it was tears of JOY. I loved and loved on them and said I was so sorry for being such a grouchy-pants all morning and that God had just answered one of my prayers and I was so happy, it made me cry.
Anyway, I know that was a long story...but it was such a big deal for me, I didn't want to leave any of the details out. I don't care what anyone says or thinks...that was no coincidence or luck...that was MY GOD showing me He loves me -- even in the little things.
Is this the funniest picture you've seen in a while or what? Ha Ha! After a couple of hours of swimming and doing slip-n-slide, Grant decided he'd had enough and he went inside to get himself dressed. This is what he came out wearing. A stocking cap, Thomas the Engine underwear and Lightning McQueen socks---and that's all! What a silly boy! ha ha
My sweet girl. She can be a stinker...but then there are days like this...when she's such an angel. Makes me remember/realize how much I love her and how FAST she is growing up!!!
Grant was whining about not getting to drive the Gator...he makes the funniest faces when he cries so I had to snap a pic. Brooklyn was trying to imitate him...ha ha
ve you all!
As you can guess, that is Rachael and Me blowing out the candles on our cake and the other pic is just of the gang all sitting around the table.
This is my $5 Adidas jacket! A while back I had gotten a gift certificate to a sporting goods store from our insurance company for filling out a survey so I finally got to go and spend it Friday night. I found this jacket that was originally $50 for $29.99 and I used my G.C. so it only cost me five bucks! What a deal!
I know you guys are probably wondering what's been going on with me since the whole emergency room incident a few nights ago. Well, I ended up passing one stone on Monday evening. But knowing that there was still one more to go, I went to the hospital and had an x-ray on Tuesday and then went to a urologist. He basically told me that yes, according to the report from the ER, I should still have another 4 mm stone up in there trying to come out. The one that I passed was only 1 mm. However, the kind of x-ray that I got doesn't show stones that are composed of uric acic and because the pH of my urine was very high, he suspected that is what the 4 mm stone was made of..So...consequently, he couldn't really tell me much of anything. We ended up deciding that I would just go about my life per normal...but keep a bottle of pain meds close by just in case. I am supposed to call him if/when the pain returns. He also instructed me to start taking pain pills the minute I feel an ounce of pain. Because kidney pain is fast and severe, he said if you don't catch it right away, it will very quickly turn into pain that can't be controlled with pills and will require a shot.
S00000000, everything was going great; I was feeling totally fine. I was SO excited to get back to the gym today and get in a good work out. Which I did. All was well, until about half an hour after my work out when I got THAT pain back in my back. It wasn't severe...and I had to question "is this REALLY happening again" but the longer I went through the day...the more it increased. Now normally I would have taken a pain pill right at that moment, but I wasn't at home and didn't have any and I still had a Wal-Mart trip to make. So, I did my shopping quickly and got home and took a pain pill. That was at about 4 pm. I've been fine ever since...so I don't know what to think. I mean, of course I am glad I am not hurting...but at the same time I wish I knew if this was all over with or if I am going to be going through it all again. ugh.
Anyway, I hated to leave you all hanging since I titled that last post "I thought I was dying".
I'll keep you updated on what happens next!
By the way, here's an interestng tidbit of info I got from the urologist that everyone can use: He said that it's a common myth that urine is supposed to be yellow, but in reality, urine that has any yellow to it is a sign of dehydration. He said that the color of your urine is a good gauge: if it is clear, you're well hydrated, but the darker yellow it is...the more severely you are dehydrated! Also, he said that if a person were to drink enough water a day...they'd NEVER have kidney stones. He explained that if you put a Tbs. of sugar in a shot glass...it would just sit there but if you but a Tbs. of sugar in a gallon bucket...it would dissolve. Well, that's how it is with our kidneys. If we drink enough water to filter out all that stuff....everything works great...but if we don't...that stuff sits down there in the bottom and crystalizes into little stones thus giving us kidney stones. You better believe I am gonna be one water-guzzlin' girl from now on!! :o)
Our 4th of July Family Portrait: Note to adults of this household: 4 hours in the pool with no sunscreen is Not Good. Youch!!
Grant doing a Sparkler. This picture was taken just seconds before the sparkler got to the end and turned to "fire" and he started FREAKing out and handing it to me! ha ha
A Gorgeous rainbow this past weekend. I took this picture as we were driving home! Isn't God Amazing!
Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD
Psalm 33:12a
If My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.
2 Chronicles 7:14
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