Lots O Pics

My front porch...it is so cute ain't it??
I wish Id taken when when more flowers were blooming, the pansy's look sad.
The wicker set was from the tree lawn, I spray painted it to make it whiter and it is so cute!



The pansy's aren't doing well (they were early summer), but this curly grass is doing great, I just LOVE it! It looks fake. (See Milo in the window??)

You give a city woman, .24 acres and she grows corn...LOL.
It is so cute...who will get to eat the 1 ear of corn??

waterfall...this is what happens when you leave the hose on and go play on facebook;)


Hey at least they have extra room to play, right?

This is what we found in our pool after a few days of rain...ICK.




These are our tadpoles (3), 2 now have full back legs and overnight grew front legs.
They are so incredibly cute!!

This was one of our frogs, they were so itty bitty.

Awe, I miss them already. All 3 frogs died=(

Wordless Wednesday ::At the River::

Do I really make any money?

I have sold stuff on ebay for years. I used to keep very good track of exactly how much I would make for each item after, insertions fees, final value fees, shipping, fees from paypal etc. I think I made decent $ for each item back then, but now...fees are higher and I don't keep as good track of all the fees that pile up, so I really don't think I make anything after all is said and done.
I need to market my items better.
It also seems like the more you have up the more you sell.
I need to learn more of the ins and outs.
Like I heard if your auction ends on Thursday it is more likely to sell...seems true for me.
Maybe I need to do a LOT of clothing instead of 1-2 items.
But I recelty heard about free online auctions, definitley worth looking into, but new companies like this scare me, there seems to always be a catch. Have you heard of them???
I will keep you updated if I fins out anything else.

Maybe....

....since he got what he wanted I could talk him into getting me my own elliptical, then my lazy butt that needs to loose a few pounds can just work out at home....but then again maybe going to the gym won't be too bad when the kids start school in the fall (well only about 26 more days really...), something has to happen, I want to be pre-baby weight, it has been almost 5 years, no more excuses.

Lucky Duck

I was a lucky duck a few Christmas's ago when my hubby VERY much surprised me with my very own iPhone, I was the cool girl on the block;)
But now HE is the cool one...he went out and upgraded his iPhone to a 3G S today!
His is the owner of his company and really needed a phone, so he gets to write it off...as well as 80% of his phone bill!
Me, well I am not an employee, so therefore, it is all our cost...and since I am home all day with 2 computers, I really don't need a 3G S. It would be fun, but not needed by any means.

Now don't think we are a family that runs out and buys the newest gadgets like iPhones, game systems and Mp3 players, because generally we aren't.
The only other NEW thing Id like to get is a Nintendo DS I...it takes pictures...and you can dress up the pictures with funny eyes etc...I just think it be fun for the kids...but we will wait until we can get a used one for cheap...maybe a Christmas present?

Oh and by the way my husband deserves any new thing he wants...he works his butt off for us, so if he wants something I usually insist!
Just not a kayak;)

I am taking the plunge

Let me start by saying, I do NOT like Dave Ramsey or the like.
I am so sick and tired of hearing about all these guys.
Sorry to offend anyone...but I have my reasons...and will not go into them in this post.

Josh and I really are trying to do better about watching our $ and trying to save a bit more and be aware of where our $ is going.

I have been wanting to try the envelope system, but have had a hard time finding a place to start with it....I have found it. I started it Tuesday. I made out envelopes and decided on amounts for envelopes. Yesterday I went to the bank and took out the $ for the envelopes. and then I found a better (and cuter) "envelope."

Take a look:

I bought this cute little pouch while at Old Navy yesterday...I did make sure
paper $ would fit nicely, before I bought it.

I cut out pieces from manila folders, added tabs and put my $ in each section.

Always something....

It is so nice that my kids are older and I am able to decorate my home how I want (no kids to take my pictures down or candles or vases...), I don't need cabinet locks, or bathroom safety products, baby gates...the list goes on.

BUT I do have cats now, and would love to have half that stuff I mentioned. They get into cupboards, jump on top of everything, go in rooms I don't want them in...but most of all...they get dirty cat prints all over in my bathtub and toilet, not sure how their paws get that dirty (problem from the basement that has halted construction due to heavy work season...and hasn't been cleaned up), but it is SO AGGRAVATING!!

I cannot close the bathroom door, because my son...he is funny...he has the hardest time opening up doors...of any kind...that is another post for another day!

Wordless Wednesday ::A day at the Fountain::

Need to renew...

Our Garmin GPS has died. I am not sure why...a little over a year old is a pretty sudden death. We bought him at Costco, and our membership is currently expired, we just haven't had time to get there (it is about 30 minutes away)...we hope they would help us out or maybe we have to call Garmin, not sure.
Must go renew our membership to find out what the next step is....and to get some of those wonderful Churros....hot dogs, ice cream....MMM.

Back to our Garmin. We loved it, it was wonderful for the time we had it. He got us where we needed to go with ease. The screen was nice and big so we could actually see the streets, AND we got to pick from different cars to drive on the little screen. By far my favorite option=)

So here is hoping either Costco or Garmin stand behing the product that died an awfully sudden death.

So how's the weather?

So what is with this weather??
Have we had a Summer yet?
How come I have no AC in my house and have not even needed it??
How come we have only used our jet ski once?

Usually we here in Ohio talk about cross country moving in the frigid, arctic Winter months...but seriously a little bit of California weather, Florida for that matter sounds pretty nice rigth now...

I bet no one is complaining about droughts this year? Are they, because maybe we have had all the rain here....Hey...Mother Nature...be nice...SHARE the rain with everyone....K??
I mean seriously it has been weeks since I have had to water the plants, and they look pretty good!

A mild Summer has been nice, hopefully that means a very long Fall;)

I will enjoy the mildness and hope for at least a few weeks on really nice warm Summer weather in the next few weeks, and then I will be back to whine about the heat!

Birthday Party Bash

It is party season over here!
We had a 4th of July party, then the following Saturday we had Merci's Rock Star party, and then in a few weeks we will have Ethan's birthday party.
All of these parties are not a problem, because I LOVE having parties.
I am a hospitable person, what can I say!

I was super excited to receive one of Wii's newest games BEFORE it was on sale to the public!

Birthday Party Bash




We got it the day of Merci's party!
We played around with it before the party, and were excited to use it if we ran out of stuff to do, which we didn't...but we haven't been so lucky for Ethan's parties in the past. We usually get rained out....BUT
I really think that this doesn't have to be used for a party, but as fun for the family in general.
You can play games, decorate, and even race to open presents (more fun things too, I was just busy preparing for Merci's party while my husband played around with the game) all with only your Wii remote...How FUN is that???

It was fun learning the ropes and seeing all the fun things to do.
We were not short on laughs, that is for sure!
I see a FUN family night in the future and definitely a back up plan for E's party!!!

Thank you Wii for providing so much fun for everyone!
Thank you Mom Central for this great opportunity!

The Par-TAY

The Glam station
The girls got all glammed up with sparkles everywhere, nail polish, necklaces and jewel tatoos.



The we decorated cardboard guitars

They turned out so cute!
I painted them black and then put the silver sparkle paint on, the girls embellished!

Punch in fake wine glasses and blow up microphones!

Some yummy ice cream cake!!

We also had a jam session with the guitars, and the girls made up dance routines, and we did High School musical Wii karakoe!

Wish I could post more, but don't know how to black out faces and don't want to put other peoples kids on here without permission.

NINE:: 9 :: NINE

Oh my. I just cannot fathom that MY daughter is 9 today. My little Merci. 4th grade this year.

I am so not old enough to have a 9 year old child, but I do! Here are some snippets from over the years!

We will be celebrating Rock Star style on Saturday night. Pictures to come!








Loosing her first tooth, now she's loosing molars...







MY ALL TIME FAVORITE!!!

Wordless Wednesday ::4th of July::