The Hughes Family

Pre-Valentine Fun

2012-01-30T21:58:00.001-06:00

I found this adorable heart Memory game online; Lily loves it! (I printed mine on Cardstock): Printable Valentine Memory Game

Miller Park, by our house, is AMAZING. It has rocks, woods, streams, bridges, and TWO playgrounds right next to each other. We walk there a few times a week. Lily is usually wearing as much pink as possible. Valentine's Day is her kind of holiday.

More cute block letters. I STILL have wood leftover from the one piece of $2 wood I bought this summer for the other letters. Plus, when you move as often as we do, you always have to be thinking about "how easy will this be to pack and move in a few months"?

I made a heart door hanger out of burlap! It is okayish in person but I think I can do better next time. It literally cost less than $4 (bought the burlap at Jo-Anne's), because I just stuffed it with newspaper.

New favorite idea, EVER. Crepe paper streamers, with a twist. One of my playgroup friends did this for her son's birthday, and I am trying to figure out how to incorporate it into my daily life. It is magical in person, y'all, I am serious. And so easy, cheap, etc... You just cut slits in the streamer, alternating sides. Hang with tape. Done.

Red and white ball-things I got on after Christmas clearance.

A girl getting herself some Pink Lemonade (I hate Walmart, but I did find this 89 cent sugar-free pink lemonade there. I literally only go there once a year).

I love when people tell me how lucky I am to have a playroom to "contain the mess". Don't get me wrong, the playroom is AMAZING, but with two-year olds, there is no containing. This was one room after playgroup at our house. The playroom was a nightmare, and I could not get a picture that did its mess justice. *My friends did offer to help clean, but I am OCD and would just rather do it myself. With Lily, who loves to clean. :)

Making cookies. Perched dangerously on a ladder. She's fine.

Crafting. Her favorite.

This dress was free ($5 shipping), because I had a random credit for signing up for a deal site. The getting-dressed battle is an every day fight, but she will at least leave on this dress, because it is pink and has "L-I-L-Y."

*After looking back over this post, I would like to add that our real life is not as perfect as our blog life. Haha. I mean, my life is pretty freaking awesome, but it isn't just all crafts and making cookies. (Facebook and Blogs are just unfair, inaccurate representations, usually). There are definitely tantrums, anxiety, piles of laundry, fights over getting dressed, exhaustion, money stress, etc... BUT, isn't life a little better with some crepe paper hanging over the chaos and yelling?*

Free Apps (Fridays only), a recipe, and some pictures.

2012-01-27T09:41:00.008-06:00

FREE kids APPS on FRIDAYS!!!!!

Just go here every Friday: http://momswithapps.com/

They are usually newish ones, and I guess the owners (owners? are apps owned?) just want more publicity for the apps so they will go higher up in the rankings. There are usually 2 or 3 that are completely free and 2 that are discounted. They are actually real apps and not just sneak-peeks that you have to later spend money on to complete the app. It seems that some of them are only for iProducts, but most are for all Smart Things.

I have been REALLY pleased with the ones I have gotten free so far. Lily gets so excited: "Oh, thank you for my new game, Mama! You got Lily a new game? I LOVVVVEEEEE it!" as soon as she sees new ones.

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http://realmomkitchen.com/287/ranch-house-crock-pot-pork-chops-with-parmesan-mashed-potatoes/

Amanda, because she loves us and is probably concerned for the general welfare of Lily when it comes to what she is eating for dinner with me as her Mom, sends Melissa and me (you guys, it IS "me" and not "I"...you wouldn't say "She sends I"...that is how you check it) recipes each week. She is like my personal e-mealz but with much better recipes. She even tells us the other sides she is doing, so I can make them, too. It is kinda fun to think that maybe Melissa and Amanda and I are all eating the same meal for dinner- in 3 different states!

This was one from last week. It is AMAZING. SO EASY. The pork chops are just THREE INGREDIENTS. Seriously, save this one.

*I used 2 cans of soup and 2 packets of Ranch dressing for the pork chops.

*Crock Pots, like all cooking products, ingredients, utensils, etc..., cower in terror whenever I am near them and just stop working correctly in protest of my lack of cooking skills, SO...things ALWAYS burn. I only cooked it for 4 hours, and it worked great. Plus, when I worked, I got so angry when people suggested I use a crock pot to cook. When you are gone for 10 or 11 hours every day, a crock pot is NOT the answer. I did see a suggestion that someone mentioned using a lamp timer if your crock pot doesn't have a timer?

*In order to make the mashed potatoes easier, I did not roast the garlic (what?!?! Garlic powder worked fine).

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My sister and I apparently have old-person neck. It has bothered us for a few years, this disease which is like the WORST crick in your neck imaginable. Mom bought us these awesome microwaveable heat wrap things a few years ago, and it is the closest thing I have to a fashion statement piece. I wear it a lot. Love you, Mom!!!

She goes to school for like 6 hours a week and does like it once she is there. But, EVERY morning on school days, she is anxious and nervous and sad and mad.

LOVE the park by our house.

Always twisting. Always. But...NO hairballs recently!!!! YEAH!!!!!!!!!!!!

Deltas, Anderson, (and the Blue Jacket)

2012-01-25T01:49:00.003-06:00

We aren't planning on going out of town until at least March, and I am SO excited. I love being able to see family and friends, but since Christmas, I have just not been home very much. It is awesome to not have to worry about cooking, unloading the dishwasher, making the bed, etc... But, I am a homebody. Just being honest. I do not love, at all, living out of a suitcase and feeling my butt fall asleep from driving.

BUT...we did have a really fun weekend! My college friends (Delta Delta Delta!) try to have a "reunion" once a year, and this year it was in Nashville this past Saturday night. Since I didn't really want to bring Lily, and since I didn't want to drive the 9 1/2 hour trip all in one stretch (again, apparently I live in North Carolina. I forget constantly), I graciously let my parents watch Lily for me. I am so generous with her, I know.

Since I do live 5 hours from my sister (they live in West Knoxville, so it is farther than just normal Knoxville), I could not just jet down for the Boy's birthday party. So, Melissa basically threw another one so that I, and his BFF Jack, could come.

This boy is a PRO at celebrating a birthday. Our kids are spoiled... I mean, loved.

As a side note, I know he loves me, but I think he loves the idea of me (Bobble Cole Jeep!) and the fact that I bring Lily to him more than me at this moment. At one point, I was trying to put on his pants, and he ran screaming to my mom, tattling that I got his glasses AND his patch dirty! It was really hilarious, actually, but he was inconsolable. I am in no way concerned about this phase, because:

1. when we move I will be able to see him more often (he is really obsessed with my parents, and we are always with them).

2. He HAS MY DNA. It is all good.

3. I look like his Bobble. (Oh, he calls Melissa, "Bobble")

The cupcakes. I wish you could see Jack's excitement. He was thrilled by the whole thing, especially the hats and the ring pops. I am so glad Anderson has a cool BFF.

Sissa opening the LeapFrog computer thing from us. He loved it. Of course.

On Saturday, we drove to Nashville to hang with the girls. I still think it is 2001, so it is really weird that we are getting so old. Our conversations used to be about boys, parties, classes (Tri Deltas aren't just partiers, thank you), potato chips,... Now, it was filled with talk about potty training, epidurals, mortgages, etc... It is fun because I knew them before I knew Hughes! Crazy.

*Melissa isn't in the picture, because she was taking it. We figured I could kinda count for both of us*

Emily and Lauren are both expecting GIRLS!!!!!! Love! Since I became a mom, I am SO MUCH better at giving practical baby gifts. So, I got them matching Gymboree bikinis. Necessities.

**Also, I am SO SAD that I didn't take a picture of my friend, Amy, who is ENGAGED! She is the one to the left of Lauren in the group shot. I also love Amy, OF COURSE. She is basically like a Pottery Barn catalog/Real Simple magazine...wrapped into a person. I know that sounds weird, but those two things are AMAZING and so is Amy. She is just really..."together" and classy. She is getting married in October, and there will definitely be pics from it! Thanks for reading the blog, Amy!**

Emily was my junior year roomie and a BFF; and Lauren and I did a million things together in college (Orientation Leader, Ambassador...). Plus, she was with me on Alternative Spring Break when I first met my hubs (sophomore year). Hughes and I were both dating other people, and we seemed really different, but Lauren and I stayed up late analyzing/trying to figure him out/dancing around the fact that I had a huge crush on him/trying to decide if he had been flirting with me (he HAD been), etc...

They are amazing girls and great friends. I am excited for them!!

You can kinda see Melissa in the mirror.

Also, I am allowed to officially announce that I am STELLA'S GODMOTHER!!!!! For real. I know.

Huge deal. Huge honor.

My mom sent me some pics of Lily, who was clearly anxious and depressed about me being gone.

We go to Forsyth Family Magazine events, and Lily (and the Blue Jacket) made the event page! The BLUE JACKET is FAMOUS!!!!!!!! I tried to scan the pictures, but they look fuzzy/small. If you look below, I tried to capture the page (the magazine is online, too), because she is also hugging the cow elf in the middle of the page.

Right below this sentence. :)

Home Sweet Home.

2012-01-19T10:09:00.000-06:00

No, we have not found a home in Bristol, yet- sorry if the title is misleading. :)

We visited Lily's first home last week, possibly her favorite home of all.

That's right- Aunt Manda, Uncle Zack, Kyler, and Noah time!

Since apparently I live in North Carolina (I always forget. Weird, I know), it is a 9 hour drive. Ugh. Thankfully, we broke it up with a night in Knoxville on the way there and back. So, we got a little Noni-Bop-Anderson time sprinkled in (Sissa was at work).

Lily was AMAZING in the car for the first 3 hours from Knoxville to Alabama. Seriously, amazing! She slept for ALMOST 3 HOURS!!!!!! I have no idea who this kid is, but I think that maybe she is desperate for a sibling playmate and is trying to convince us that we could possibly survive another kid. Not, soon- don't get excited. But, the final hour that she was awake, she was EXHAUSTING. She could literally not handle her excitement: "When it says, three, zero, zero, then we will be there. Mama, where is Manda? Mama, it says two, one, five. I want three, zero, zero. I love Uncle Zack. Will Kyler and Noah be there? Mama, I need Manda." Etcetera, Etcetera...over and over for AN HOUR.

It was worth the wait- Aunt Manda had so many surprises waiting! Pom Poms, paper clips, marbles, Princess stuff, craft things, beads, lots of hugs...

***Disclaimer: you will see the blue jacket and the same pair of pajamas (Dora ones from Aunt Manda) over and over. We were there longer than one night, she has millions of cute clothes, and we do laundry. She is just persistent and stubborn and loyal?. Hence, the same jacket and jammies.***

***Also, if you are one of my Alabama friends and didn't know we were in town/are sad you didn't see us, please understand I love you and would have loved to hang out...but, we are really crunched for time when we are there...plus, there is no way I can take Lily away for even a second. It would get violent and ugly. :) ***

Lily wasted no time, just jumping right back in where she left off. She loves her cousins.

Making pink cupcakes. With pink sprinkles.

The picture doesn't do the size justice. This huge tub of popcorn is in my brother's pantry. My brother eats popcorn every single night. EVERY SINGLE NIGHT. I remember seeing the bowls sitting on the counter every morning growing up, so this has been a pastime for years. Lily clearly has his genes/influence, because she always wants popcorn, now.

There was a lot of stuff like this happening- Lily wearing cute outfits from Aunt Manda, while eating yummy treats from Aunt Manda. While Mama played on her phone.

So much attention and love.

Seriously, she FORGETS about me. It is precious. Heartwarming. Perfect.

THIS girl. LOVE this girl. Hughes and I caught the shrimp, trying to be good sports, and when the cook got to Lily, he pretended like he was going to throw it, and she opened her mouth! So, he threw it. And, she caught it! Several times!

My nephews are adorable and just let her do whatever she wants, even if it means walking around holding her hand. (Um, Kyler is going to be 16 in April! When/How did that happen?).

Relaxing.

Had to make a few stops and grab some essentials.

(I literally turned my back for one second and found her in the cooler).

It is a rough, rough life to be a Bishop.

Her other Mama.

Playing some video games with the boys. And eating some Oreos.

Carousel.

She doesn't realize that she barely fits in her old chair.

My brother is the BEST. Please notice that Zack has a rope tied around his waist, a scarf around his neck, and is holding maracas. There were lots of parades. I love my brother. How did I get so lucky???

It is hard to explain how just, at peace or something, we are when we are there. Lily is in her element, the happiest I ever see her, when we are there. I think it is because they were as much a part of her DAILY like as we were, and it has to be reassuring to know that they aren't just gone forever. Maybe she got nervous that one day Hughes and I would just disappear?

We love them and are homesick for them, already.

This post is about the Bham family, but I had to sneak in a picture of Noni and Bop. Lily is obsessed with their cuckoo clock (she has a new love affair with time, in general). My parents don't at all encourage it or spoil her.

Video of the shrimp. Too cute.

Cute outfit pics.

2012-01-19T09:05:00.000-06:00

Outift: by Manda

Pictures: by Manda

Cute earrings, again.

2012-01-16T13:52:00.001-06:00

These are so precious in person!!!

I made these earrings at a craft night when I first moved here... I have since made almost every color possible and wear them pretty much daily. I literally get 5 or 6 compliments a day on them, too! So, GO make some! Basically, it takes 2 supplies and a hot glue gun.

You need:

1. Flower embellishments. I think they are only at Michaels- in the scrapbook section, with scrapbook embellishments. They are less than $5 for quite a few little flowers (20 maybe?). Use a coupon, too. Of course.

2. Earring posts. I usually get them at Jo-Anns (JoAnnes, JoAnns, Jo-Anne's...I have no idea and don't feel like googling it). Again, less than $5 for a bunch. Again, use a coupon.

3. Hot glue gun or that craft glue (E600 or something? I read on the back of the label that it may cause cancer, so I just stick to hot glue guns. Which definitely cause burns and me yelling at the random stringy annoyances.

You do:

1. Glue the flower on the earring post. That's it.

2. I decided to make the presentation cuter...

I traced a circle onto white card stock, drew some cute little stems, and stuck the earrings in (pierce with a safety pin first). Then, because I am super nerdy, I added a cloud with the initial for each person...and a yellow ribbon for the sun. Nerd.

Crafts. Always. I am so lucky to have a girl, I think.

She thinks she made them.

Calm.

2012-01-12T20:30:00.001-06:00

I really need to be calmer. It is a New Year's Resolution, actually. Well, really, I just keep thinking how I need to be calmer, and it happens to be January, so it works.

For our entire lives, people have commented, with a mix of awe/curiosity/jealousy/concern/disgust, on how much energy and how "busy" my sister and I are. Often, people have asked why we are such spazzes. "Spaz" is very much part if my identity. Every year, when I taught the word frantic, my students immediately commented, "oh, that's you, Mrs. Hughes!" And, I was always the subject of the sentence for the frantic sentence on the vocabulary test. Every single year for 8 years. I was also the subject for exuberance, empathetic, and witty, so it's all good.

To be fair, some really fun, exciting moments come out of my non-calmness. Yesterday, I gave Lily a part of a cookie that I was eating, and she said: "Oh, Wow! This is so awesome, Mama! Thank you!" It was more squealing in delight rather than just saying it, actually. I think that most of the time, life is just better when fun and excitement are involved. Obviously. BUT, the franticness that IS me threatens to suffocate us at times. Mainly, I want to stop worrying / being anxious / creating worst case scenarios in my head. So, I don't want to filter my excitement or joy or exuberance, but I want to be able to CHILL out... At least have the ability to not be crazy. It is really so exhausting to have to constantly overreact, and I am ready to take a few steps toward occasional calmness.

Here are a few of my recent non-calm incidences, just so you understand:

1. A few weeks ago, I texted Hughes:

I lost my Visa card. Ugh. There was a homeless man at BP trying to get into my car, so I think maybe he took it. Can you see if the number I am supposed to call is on the back of your card? Thanks.

There WAS a homeless man at BP that day, and I was completely convinced he took my card. It is not as terrifying/ sketchy as it sounds, though, so quit freaking out, Mom. I was pumping gas and singing to Lily though the open back door, when this man appeared like 10 feet away asking for some gas; he wanted it in his little red gas can. I, of course, pretended like I didn't hear him and kept singing to Lily. I cannot save the world when I have my girl with me. I did, however, shift my stance in case I had to use the gas nozzle as a weapon and spray him with gasoline. He kept inching closer until at one point he was practically next to the car, so I jumped in the car, threw out a "sorry" and sped away. At some point soon after at McDonald's I realized I was missing my Visa. Hence, the text to Hughes. The man was never even really that close to my car, yet I was completely convinced he took my card and this was some sort of conspiracy. I am serious. My stomach was in knots about it. A few minutes after texting, I realized my Visa was in my wallet, one space under where I normally keep it. Oh.

The BEST part about it... Later that night, Hughes told me he was eating lunch when he got the text, and his co-workers were apparently quite alarmed. They asked Hughes, "Aren't you worried? A homeless man?"

He loves us, and is definitely our protector, but he is also very used to me. I think he just told them it was all fine. This is just part of his life.

2. I lost my purse at gas station. (See picture above. I am on my iPad and can't get it to move).

We drive to see family A LOT, and on one trip, I thought I left my purse in the podunk, sketch East TN gas station bathroom. It had my wallet, phone, snacks, coupons, etc... So this was tragic. As soon as I realized it was missing, I acted like the mature grown up I am and screamed loudly and abruptly enough that Hughes almost ran off of the road. My husband, the master of calm, took a breath and turned around to go back. Once we arrived back at the gas station, my heart pounding and my palms sweating, I was about to jump out and spring inside the gas station. But first, I had to take my purse off of my feet where it was resting. Yes. On my feet. Ridiculous. We didn't have to go too far out of the way, but STILL! We just turned around, again, and rode in silence.

3. The dryer broke. This one happened Sunday. It was sort of the final straw for me on deciding to get calm (let's remember that these are just a few of the daily incidences). I pushed the button to turn on the dryer and realized it did NOT work! I clicked amd turned and re-turned. Nothing. There were wet clothes in the dryer, so I, of course, immediately started worrying about them. In a matter of 12 seconds my thoughts genuinely followed this path: "Oh, no! I will have to take these wet clothes to the laundromat, where I will have to sit and wait, probably get my wallet either stolen or lost... Oh, yuck, I will have to go BACK to the DMV. Ugh." I run and tell Hughes (breathlessly, frantically, because that is how I live) that the dryer is definitely broken. I seriously debated telling him about the possibly future-lost wallet but decided to wait to break that news to him. He walks in, says, "let me close the door completely first (no sarcasm) and then we can see what the problem is." Oh. Lily helped me out in the clothes and the door looked closed. I never checked it. Obviously when he pushed start, it worked. I mumbled something about Lily and not my fault and ran back upstairs, genuinely relieved that my drivers license wasn't going to need to be replaced.

I am ridiculous. I am not a pessimist at all, so the worst-case-scenario isn't me being negative; it is me just being frantic.

It doesn't help that my husband is the most prepared, rational, logical, un-dramatic person, ever. The epitome of calm. Even when my twin sister accidentally sprays (soaks)him with gasoline because she thinks she sees a Death-Eater and is taking Mad Eye Moody's advice (constant vigilance!) to heart.* When she can't get the nozzle to stop spraying gas all over the three of us, he calmly, without any screaming or drama, quickly, purposefully, and rationally saves the day. But not our clothes, which are permanently ruined.

* She was reading the 4th Harry Potter for the first time (years ago- our spazness goes way back), and it is VERY easy to get immersed completely in the book and be unable to separate it from real life. Don't judge.

* This is how I know gas nozzles make good weapons.

I have no idea how to get more calm, though. Advice?

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly.

2012-01-11T08:45:00.001-06:00

Lily. Just some updates. Kinda long post...sorry.

I am going to start with the Ugly and the Bad, because it is way more fun. Nobody wants to read about how perfect Lily is except the grandparents, and they probably think that even the bad and the ugly are pretty perfect, anyway.

I do not have that kid who can sleep through a picture or someone opening/banging down the 1941 creaky door to her room. This picture took some mega stealth on my part. It's amazing how perfect they are when they are asleep, huh? I always feel like I could have ten kids when I see Lily asleep.

SLEEP: When Lily was a newborn/baby, I remember hearing all of my friends talk about how their babies magically slept through the night on their own...and how they were sleeping 7 to 7 every night. TWELVE HOURS! At one TIME! WITHOUT Benadryl! I vividly recall one night in July 2009, when Hughes and I were walking around our neighborhood with 3 month old Lily in a Baby Bjorn on my chest and Hughes pushing the empty stroller. Lily was an extremely loud, intense crier. So, we could either sit in our house and listen to her scream or we could go for a walk, and the entire neighborhood could listen to her scream. It became a nightly ritual for us all. If she was in the Baby Bjorn, she would actually take a crying break for 30 seconds here and there, so she never actually stayed in the stroller. We just brought it along, because we always saw other parents with non-screaming babies IN the strollers, and we kept thinking maybe this time was the night she would finally shut up. It never happened, and, in 2012, the stroller is still empty most of the time. During one walk, we were discussing Lily's lack of sleep and how other babies slept better, and Hughes said, genuinely trying to help: "I bet by the time you go back to work (3 weeks from then), she will be sleeping 7 to 7." My husband is the smartest man I know, and he is always right, so I kinda believed him. It is odd that this is one of the few memories I have of Lily's first 4 months, but I think it is seared in my brain, because I was SO desperate for sleep and willing to cling to even the slightest hope. I remember it even now, because I am STILL usually pretty desperate for sleep.

Based on this comment, EVERYONE ELSE'S KIDS actually sleeping, and the ridiculous Baby Center emails predicting Lily's sleep needs, I seriously kept waiting for the night when Lily would just finally realize that she was supposed to sleep at night. It never came. And, it doesn't look promising for us, now, either.

Lily never naps anymore at all, despite the pediatrician, a million parenting books, and my sanity telling me that at 2, she SHOULD still take a nap. Whatever. I was jipped, and I am slowly getting over it...even sort- of appreciating that our afternoons don't have to be planned around nap time. My grieving for the loss of nap time, however, turns into anger when people tell me: "Oh, I bet she is sleeping so well at night, though, now!" Grrrrrr.

No. The UGLY, BAD truth of it is that Lily is not a good sleeper- never has been and I don't predict ever will be. I am not being negative. Well, I totally am being negative, actually. It sucks. But, the only thing that helps me cope with exhaustion is accepting it. For the past 6 months (basically since I decided to stay home with her), she has slept a TOTAL of anywhere between 8 and 10 hours a day. Total. And, MOST of this sleep is punctuated with random middle-of-the-night wake-ups, so it isn't just a continuous 8 hours.

(In Lily's defense...the past 6 months have also included: a move to a different state, losing nap time, potty-training, LOTS of traveling, living in an old, creaky house, etc... BUT, whatever. She was a poor night-time sleeper before, too).

**Disclaimer- I started this post a week ago and forgot about it. As I am finishing it tonight, I have to say...this past week has been sort-of amazing with Lily! She still wakes up a few times during the night and causes me to put in ear plugs, but she has been sleeping 10 or...ALMOST 10 1/2 hours every night! I am terrified to type this, because it hasn't happened in... well, ever. We got her a nightlight, and I think maybe it helped??? She does come into"Mama's Bed" every morning and plays on my phone for a while, which is pretty sweet. ;)**

HAIRBALLS: You may have noticed in the first picture- Lily's hand is twirling in her sleep. Yes, our dear friends, The Hairballs, never really left us. They took a few vacations and weekends off.. but they are never far from us. I know it is so weird, but it really is just a habit. People who don't really know Lily try to give us advice for her, and it is cute that they think she has normal issues. Even our AL pediatrician told me, at almost every visit, that "Lily does not play by the rules."

EATING: I know it is BAD, but Lily STILL does not eat what we eat for dinner. I think this is one of those things like the sleeping- some kids are just born better at it. I have done everything I was supposed to do and still put servings of our dinner on our play at night. She will usually take a bite and will always never have a second bite. Lily, most nights for dinner, eats: cheese, fruit, cereal, circle bread, yogurt, and maybe some macaroni and cheese/broccoli/edamame if that is one of our sides. Every night. It's not like she is demanding a chocolate pop-tart, and her dinner is usually pretty healthy, so I have quit stressing about it. The advice I have received is: don't let her eat anything else except what you are eating for dinner...if she doesn't eat, she doesn't get dinner. No thank you. I have enough nighttime problems without her being starving at midnight on top of it. And, NO, making cute animals out of a casserole or breading green beans isn't really something I want to do. It is hard enough for me to get the original dinner on the table, much less morph it into a food zoo or something that Lily STILL wouldn't eat. I really don't care if she is 10 and still eating grapes and yogurt for dinner.

One more quick UGLY: She refuses to take off this jacket. You can't even tell how cute her outfits are because the jacket that matches nothing is always on top! This is just normal quirky two-year old stuff, though, I think. They are odd creatures.

The GOOD:

Since it's not my fault that she is a poor eater/sleeper, I realize I can't take much credit for the good, either.

Y'all. I can't really explain how quick and eager this kid is with learning. Or how much she LOVES letters and numbers.

Truly, letters are characters in her life.

She learned all of the capital letters in less than an hour- using a Melissa and Doug puzzle!- about a month after turning two. I didn't really push the lowercase, because I was too afraid she would forget the big ones. Nah. She is a letter rockstar. About 2 months ago, I sat with her for maybe 20 minutes, and she learned the entire lowercase. For about 4 days, the "abpq" gang caused some confusion...but she figured them out perfectly and pretty quickly!

Lily LOVES to spell and find letters all around us. They really are her friends. Typing this is making me realize that maybe this sounds odd? Her favorite, she will tell you, is: O. Also, apparently, Q is mean. Who knew? Today we were driving, and she said, "O-F-F! That spells Off! On that sign, Mama!" I was so proud, and then she said... "Did Circle Elf put that there?" which made me even happier. Intelligence and imagination!

Okay...wait, I am not pretending like she can read at 2 or anything...she just likes to memorize the spelling of words and, in the case of long words (like Octopus- for Ursula), she just remembers the first letter. It just makes my heart so happy to see her falling in love with letters and words. *Sigh*

She can count to 49 and when she sees 17 or 30 or any double number, she says, "When 3 and 0 are together, that makes thirdee." She clearly gets her awesome number skills from her Mama's husband.

She also loves time. LOVES. I can get her to leave- tantrum free- almost anywhere, if I show her my phone, and tell her we have to leave in 5 minutes... at 10:35. She just understands life. "Oh, it's 10:35, time to go, Mama."

POTTY-TRAINED: I don't really want to put a picture of her on the potty...so I will put this cute picture, instead. The best thing about this picture is that less than one minute before, she was crying, screaming, soaking the walls, thrashing, etc... Then, she turned into this ball of preciousness.

It did take about a month for Lily to be completely potty trained, but it only took about 4 days for her to get about 85% there. I did it in July, when she was 27 months old, and she has had very few accidents (less than 5 total) since the summer. She just got it, and, even now, I NEVER ask her to go. She always tells me (I give credit to the 3-day potty training! It made SO Much more sense to let her listen to her own body's cues rather than sticking her on the potty every 10 minutes). Several times, I have walked downstairs, and she will be standing at her sink, drying her hands: "Oh, I had to go potty, Mama." Okay. She even closes the lid before she flushes and always uses lots of soap. It is amazing.

I am probably going to jinx myself here...I really did not necessarily love the first part of the two year old world, but I am digging the later part. I have high hopes for 3! Lately, she has just been understanding MORE and MORE about how life works.

One final GOOD: Crafts. This girl will sit for, literally hours at times, doing crafts. She has scissors, glue, glitter, paper, markers, etc... and I never have to worry about her making a mess or being irresponsible with the supplies. It is weird how purposeful she is. Love her.

Notice the jacket.

Whew. Long post. Just trying to document some of Lily at 2 2/3 (older than 2 1/2...).

Christmas Videos (more button fun)

2012-01-09T20:28:00.000-06:00

Some festive Christmas singing (while Skyping family)

Buttons are back.

A lot of camera flashing occurs during this video. It was the highlight gift, people.

She doesn't actually play with them, now, though. Two year olds are so weird.

Apps Lily likes and a trip to GOODWILL

2012-01-06T20:29:00.002-06:00

I am really embarrassed to admit how many Apple products we own (at least nine, but I may be forgetting something). Hughes and I are SUPER frugal and were (still currently are) broke forever, but Hughes was an early Apple convert, and he has sold me on iEverything. In the long run, their products really are a better deal, because they are AMAZING and never break or get old. Honestly.

Yes, Lily has her own iPod (it is over 3 years old and was free but still works beautifully). She is a pro at it and never needs our help. She started using it at 19 months or so, and I know she will be using it for a long time. Lily is super careful and responsible, so it works great as a toy for her, because she would never throw it or lose it. Ever. I seriously think an iPod would be a perfect gift for a toddler, especially if you got a used or refurbished one. It IS an investment, because it is pricier than most kid toys, but this is one they will use for YEARS and will bring HOURS and HOURS of learning, entertainment to your kid and renewed sanity/shopping time/peaceful car rides to you.

Here are Lily's TOP favorite apps:

1. Tozzle (puzzles) ***Her FAVORITE ***

2. The Monster at the End of this Book (Old School Grover!)

3. Preschool Photo Touch Animals (Choose the correct animal. It is an AWESOME "first" app).

4. Preschool Memory Match (Old school Memory- 3 different levels) *other favorite*

5. Super Why (like the PBS show. I think there are 4 games in this one app)

6. My Play Home (it is an interactive dollhouse...the dolls can cook and take showers, etc...)

7. Weet Woo (they have videos from YouTube based on your kids' age. It is hard to explain, but it is AWESOME!!! They have a MUSIC channel (Wiggles, Fraggle Rock!!!!!, etc..), a LEARN channel (i.e. PBS shows, trucks, letters, books, poems, Reading Rainbow, etc...) and many others. It is REALLY amazing and they add new clips often. It basically filters YouTube clips and organizes them for kids. The videos are stored in a database, so you don't have to be on wi-fi to see the videos. I like it because it is usually just 2 or 3 minute clips and not a whole TV show.

8. All of the Sesame Street ones (the Count, a Grover farm thing, etc... just search Sesame Street)

9. The Dr. Seuss books (you just can't go wrong there)

FREE:

1. PBS Kids (awesome learning videos- PBS shows, obviously) *third favorite*

2. Hallmark Jingle (an ebook, decorate a Christmas tree, etc...)

3. Moody Monster (create a silly monster)

4. Humpty Dumpty (I think it is free): It is an ebook and it has a puzzle and some other things

I try to hunt promo codes and deals, so Lily does have quite a few apps. Starbucks has a Free App code once a month-ish, and some apps run specials with lower prices (to try and boost their rankings), so just be on the lookout. Although, I would rather spend $1.99 on a learning app that will last for months than on something that will just sit in her playroom, waiting for me to step on it.

Here is a link to Babble's 50 best iPhone/iPad apps: http://www.babble.com/products/kids-products/50-best-iphone-apps-for-kids/

Here is a link to Babble's 25 best Droid apps: http://www.babble.com/products/kids-products/android-apps-for-kids-2011/

Lily got a LEAP PAD from Santa, and we are actually loving it more and more every day. Once I stopped comparing it to an iPad, it really is pretty amazing. Plus, it is good for kids who aren't as cautious as Lily, because I think you can just stomp on it and throw it. Here are her two favorite Leap Pad apps so far:

1. Ozzie and Mack ebook (she just walks around quoting it)

2. Jewel Train

**********************************************************************

I accidentally uploaded the pictures to this post and I am too lazy to re-upload, so GOODWILL is making this post, too. It is actually fitting, because we can only afford all of our iLuxuries BECAUSE of things like shopping at GoodWill.

(If only I had married a doctor or someone who made a lot of money).

As mentioned before, WS is the most amazing place, ever (no traffic!). OF COURSE, it has the coolest GoodWill, ever which I just discovered today. I couldn't get a full shot, because of the glare (63 degrees in JANUARY), but the other side looks like this one and is the "Outlet Store."

(Aunt Paula, you KNOW I was thinking about you today!)

The Retail side is pretty nice for a GW: the people were very friendly, things were super organized, it didn't smell weird, etc...

I got some awesome deals (below)!

The Outlet side...Well, it was...an experience. It is just rows and rows of built in tables with...just STUFF (clothes, books, shoes, broken vacuums, stuffed animals) piled high. I think it was stuff that didn't make the cut for the actual Retail side. The best part: It is sold by the pound! 0-25 pounds is $1.39/lb! I am serious! I can't stop laughing. It went up to over 100 pounds, I think.

I will sum it up with Lily's comments when we walked in:

- "I think someone is yelling?"

- "Mama, let's leave."

It was totally safe, I promise! But, people were digging and getting excited about their finds, and the whole thing just felt chaotic. I will not be visiting the Outlet, again. (Please spare me the comments about being cheap or an awful mom. It was really an adventure, and we got some super cute stuff!). :)

My Finds:

Seven jeans ($3) and a 50 cent book.

All of this for Lily ($2 or $3 each). It is in better shape than stuff I buy at consignment sales- and better brands! Plus, please check out the ARIEL pajamas! For $2!!!!!!!!

We deserved a donut (after a sanitizer bath) after the adventure. (Did I mention I had a free donut coupon?)

**Also, I was just reading my sister's blog, and I was thinking about how funny it is, because we even sound the same on our blogs. Plus, there is a hilarious video of Lily and Anderson on it, and Melissa and I REALLY sound alike when we talk. It's creepy. Plus, my boy turns TWO tomorrow!

Her blog:

http://thegloverfamilyblog.blogspot.com/

Book Candles.

2012-01-02T07:37:00.000-06:00

I am pretty sure this is my favorite craft, ever.

Book Candles!

Specifically...Harry Potter book candles!

These pictures don't even begin to show off the adorableness.

I was inspired by etsy...someone was selling tiny votive holders wrapped in random letters from a book. They were not cute, but it made me think about how a Harry Potter candle!

I bought a $2 HP book (Chamber of Secrets) at a used book store and (gasp!) cut strips/words/phrases/quotes/page numbers. The first snip of the scissors was terrifying, but I kept reminding myself this was for a greater cause, so it was okay.

All you need: a book, ModPodge, a sponge brush, a candle holder.

You just apply ModPodge to the glass holder and stick on strips...then apply more ModPodge. Be generous with it, but make sure it dries between coats. It WILL dry clear, I promise.

I started by just sticking pretty longish strips on the holder, just to cover the entire thing. Then, I went back and added one really important quote (see above- when Dobby earns his freedom with socks!), a bunch of other phrases (Dumbledore walked in), words (Chapter Two, the titles of Chapters, page numbers, etc...), and even those little stars that are on all of the pages.

Again, use LOTS of ModPodge. If you aren't familiar with ModPodge (it is super cheap at craft stores- and use a coupon), maybe experiment with paper scraps and an empty glass bottle (or even that jar of Ragu in your pantry?) first, just so you can see how much you need to use (more than you think).

"It is our choices, Harry, that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities."

Albus himself.

*At first I was bummed when I could only find a used copy of number 2, but as I cut out quotes and words, I was really excited! It has so many important/awesome parts!*

I hot-glued a little bow around, just for extra festiveness.

You can also see the words that were on the backs of the pages...they show through the glass, so even the inside is special!!

Celebrating with the Fam.

2012-01-01T21:25:00.000-06:00

We had a cozy little Christmas, here in the blue house, just us.

Then, on the 26th, we got up early to go start celebrating with the whole family! It is a ten hour drive to Huntsville, and Lily can't really handle 10 minutes in the car. SO...Lily and I flew there while the Burger (have I mentioned I call him Burger? Like a Huey Burger?) drove with Dixie. We had a million gifts, a dog, and a budget for only 2 plane tickets. ;0 Plus, we were leaving from Huntsville to go see the Knoxville crew, so we needed a car.

Lily was excited/indifferent (only 2 year olds can be both at the same time, I think) about our adventures. This is her new face that she makes when you surprise her with a treat/present/a stool in a public restroom.

*Side note: she refuses to take off this jacket, and I have given up on making her. She literally even sleeps in it most nights. Whatever.*

"What did Lily think of the plane??"

In true 2-year-old fashion, our expectations of Lily were the opposite of the reality. She was wholly unimpressed with the whole thing, except for the pull down table in front of her.

Lately, Lily has really developed a knack for looking homeless.

She REFUSES ponytails of all kinds and most clips/bows. She is also knotting and twisting her hair more than ever. My efforts are just futile. Sometimes I do get a tiny bit jealous when I see a cute little girl with pigtails or matching hair bows or no blue jacket. But, then Lily will break me out of my self-pity moment by doing something awesome like go potty by herself, and I remember that kids even out in the end. Right?

We had a layover and a delay, so we entertained ourselves and apparently the rest of the waiting passengers as well.

Lily loves this game I made up, called "Trash Can Relay"...I tear up a piece of paper, and Lily has to grab the first piece and run it to the garbage, then come back and grab the second piece, etc...

Once she throws all of the pieces away, we cheer and clap and yell, because WE WON! We beat everyone (no one)! Then, we bathe in hand sanitizer. Finally, we look up to see everyone staring at us. Haha! The looks are a mix of: amused, jealous, and disapproving (mostly jealous). After one pretty tense race, an airport worker came running down the terminal to give Lily a stuffed bear as a prize. It was really sweet.

After flying with a two year old, I have a new appreciation for Public. Honestly, everyone was AMAZING to us: patient, helpful, kind, tolerant. When Lily threw a MASSIVE tantrum ON THE PLANE, nobody was irritated (honestly) but instead kept trying to help me find a solution (they sang to her, offered chocolate, and constantly reassured me that it was okay). After a while they realized that Lily is extra persistent and doesn't play by the rules, so they quit trying to help and instead just smiled and nodded at me over the piercing screams and flailing legs. When I had to basically sit on top of Lily to keep her tantrum contained, nobody judged at all. Seriously. It really does take a village, I think.

Being crazy is exhausting, and she fell asleep (AS THE PLANE LANDED IN HUNTSVILLE! She is ridiculous). MeeMaw, Granddaddy, and Mama Gen were still so excited about their girl, though!

We surprised our parents, and we are all going on a cruise in March! We told them by having 5 gift bags (peanuts= airplane; chocolate= food, in general; sand=beach!; water=ocean!; picture of cruise ship= cruise!)! I numbered them 1-5 and sent Lily to get one at a time. The girl can be so much fun.

They thought it was just random stuff Lily had wrapped up but still made a big deal out of how excited they were.

We are SO excited about a cruise in just a few months!!!

How cute are these pants?

The Doodlus. Celebrating.

Family fun with Aunt Shannon!

We attempted family pictures.

After Huntsville, we made the trek to Knoxville...where I apparently only took 4 pictures that are decent. The boy is rocking it out.

Giving Noni and Bop a water bottle.

We are going on a cruise together!

My dad. Love him. He makes this Bowl Pick Challenge with our family, and it is his favorite part of the whole year.

We added two more days to the trip and went to look at houses in Bristol! (No house, yet...just checking out some things). We stayed with my friends, Sara and Aaron, and we had the best time. Sara is the best. (Ignore my Bob Dole hand).

Hughes and I are lame New Year's guests, because we literally changed into pajamas and were asleep by 11.

Happy 2012!!!

Christmas Morning Buttons

2011-12-25T19:37:00.000-06:00

Merry Christmas!!!

We celebrated Christmas Eve and Christmas at home- just us! We obviously missed our family and the old traditions, but we just hung out and ate and relaxed. Except Christmas Eve when Lily threw a MONSTER tantrum and REFUSED to wear her super cute Santa jammies and screamed and cried and kicked until we changed her. Pretend that all of the following pictures have her in adorable pink Santa pajamas.

She was excited to see what Santa brought...

But WAY more concerned about Dixie getting a treat...

and finding Circle the Elf.

Circle, chilling, by her stocking.

I love that Lily has the really nice, plush Pottery Barn stocking (clearance) and Hughes, Dixie, and I have the ones from Target that were $2 BEFORE I got them on clearance.

Most of our presents ended with- "Daddy, open this, please. "

BEST present of ALL: BUTTONS!!!!!!!!!!!!

The thing is...I TOTALLY knew this would be the hit present, which is why I was crouched down in front of her, ready. Hughes filmed the whole thing, too...PRECIOUS.

She danced around the living room for a few minutes, just clutching her treasure and grooving in happiness.

It was maybe longer than a few minutes.

The buttons were a really big deal.

Santa also brought her a Leap Pad, which cost about 90x the amount of the bag of buttons. Lily likes it...but it is going to have to grow on her. It is a cool toy, but Lily has apparently inherited the Apple gene and can just tell that this is not made by Apple. The iPod and our phones just work so much faster and better. But, we still have high hopes for the Leap Pad, once we figure it all out. It is pretty educational and has the Tag Reading System built in, so I am hoping she likes that part, too.

She also really liked these circle cotton balls in her stocking. Weirdo.

Monkey Bread Muffins.

Oh, HEAVEN. We always had monkey bread growing up, and it is such a special memory. I can still picture the recipe paper (Mom, remember the stack of spiral papers in that cabinet under the phone?) and the taste. Yum. We don't have a Bundt pan, since our 1941 kitchen is tiny and we left ours in storage...and I am WAY too cheap and practical to buy a Bundt pan JUST to use at Christmas. So, I found this amazing recipe for Monkey Bread muffins. AAGGGHHH. It is SO easy, because it is just layering (biscuits, cinnamon, butter, sugar) and adding the secret ingredient at the end (condensed milk!!). You MUST make these. So yummy.

I am so thankful for Skype! And for hubbies who splurge and get their wives an iPad for Christmas!!! ;0

A few festive pics.

2011-12-22T22:01:00.002-06:00

Um, WOW. I was blown by the genuine excitement and love for us from my last post! I use the blog as a scrapbook for our lives, and I thought, selfishly, it would be kind of fun to post about the journey. The phone calls, emails, FB messages and blog comments were so wonderful...Hughes and I feel really loved that so many people are so happy for us. :) THANKS! :)

Yay.

I saw this on Pinterest...isn't it cute!?! It is self-explanatory...I just painted Lily's hand green and made a tree. I did it on a 9x12 canvas that I had, so I can keep it forever. Festive.

My great friend, Emily Hortina, sent Lily this amazing PlayDoh table! It came with tons of PlayDoh and utensils that STORE IN THE TABLE! I am OCD about organization, and so is Lily; this is perfect for her! She has played with it for about 3 days straight. She has made about 893 birthday cakes for Foofa (all of them have been pink). Lily would sort-of half heartedly play with PlayDoh before, but this table has made her an addict. I think it was secretly a gift for me, because it has given me SO MUCH free time while she plays. Love you, Ems!

(Lily is obsessed with this jacket and usually refuses to take it off. Whatever).

Running in the park in our super cute Christmas dress.

Tights from Sissa. (after Christmas clearance?)

She loves this little potty and sink at the mall.

On another note, I am starting to realize how easy Lily was to potty train. She hasn't had an accident in months, and she always tells me when she has to go without me ever asking. I don't usually get to brag on how "easy" she is, so I feel like she deserves some credit.

Making a gingerbread house at the Children's Museum. This was the only picture of her without a mouth full of M&Ms.

Her school/church had a fun Christmas morning celebration...she made cookies, a baby Jesus, 27 ornaments, etc... What am I supposed to do with all of these ornaments? This year alone she has made enough to fill up an entire tree. Am I really supposed to save all of these?

They also had a live nativity with animals, which was really fun until one of the sheep literally sat on Lily. She was petting them and laughing, like it was the best thing ever, and- out of nowhere- a sheep sort of knocked her over accidentally. Then, he lost his balance and sat ON her. Her little face...it was so confused. I think it just hurt her feelings more than anything. Needless to say, it caused quite a commotion, even though she was perfectly fine. I just don't think people understand that Lily is exceptionally loud and dramatic. Thinking about it now, I am laughing, because it was pretty funny. Lily kept telling me all day: "that sheep sat on me." She could NOT wait to run home and tell Circle Elf all about it.

Sometimes she ends up here in the middle of the night. Odd.

***It's almost Christmas!!!! SO EXCITING!!!!!!****

The contract is signed...we are MOVING TO:

2011-12-19T09:43:00.002-06:00

BRISTOL, TN!!!!!!

A few people know this already, but we finally feel like it is the right time to tell everyone! We interviewed (yes, WE!) at several places in October, and this was a REALLY TOUGH decision, but we are completely confident that Bristol is the right choice.

*I know some of my former Hoover kids and friends will read this and be sad, because we had tossed around the idea of returning to Alabama. We LOVED it there, but ultimately the better job and location for our family was in Bristol. I do love y'all!*

Right now, you are either thinking..."Bristol...where the Nascar race is?" OR "Bristol...where is that?" I understand both questions. Honestly, we weren't actively seeking a job in this area or anything, so it was definitely a surprise for us when we kept coming back to it as the right choice for us. It still seems weird, even though I keep practicing saying, "I live in Bristol." I seriously think I may get a Nascar shirt.

Bristol is in East Tennessee, bordering Virginia. (It is about 1 hour, 45 mins from Knoxville). This is just some random picture loaned to me by google, but Bristol really is beautiful. We have been surrounded by mountains for our entire married life, and they definitely make life more cozy.

Bristol is TINY. In 2009, the population was 25, 821. They have one McDonalds and don't actually have a Chick-fil-a OR A TARGET, BUT it is like 23 minutes from Johnson City and Kingsport, and 15 minutes from Bristol, VA...ALL of whom have Targets. No job offer is good enough for me to give up my Target. Since there isn't really traffic in the Tri-Cities, it is really about the same time as sitting in traffic in a bigger city. STILL, it is a small town...this was our biggest concern when trying to decide on living here FOREVER. But, the group where Hughes is working is so strong and stable that it outweighed the negatives. Plus, we are ECSTATIC about no traffic!!!

Ultimately, we are THRILLED to finally have a forever home. It has been really strange for the past nine years, having no idea where we would be at the end. I cannot wait to have a home that we know we will be in for many years. When we move in July, it will be our FOURTH move in nine years-TN, AL, NC, TN.

Perhaps you are thinking... "What would it be like to marry a doctor?" Well, I can't answer, because, unfortunately, I married a medical student. Big difference. It is quite the journey:

(I was trying to find this one picture of Hughes holding up his Match Day envelope, and I ended up posting a million pictures here of our journey. I kept finding fun pictures that told our story!).

At 22 years old (!!!) you will marry your only crush and your first/only serious boyfriend. Those other boys were all losers. You will have no clue what you are doing in any aspect of your life. It will be hilarious that you think you are marrying a doctor...you will have NO idea of how long this adventure will take. Or of how broke you will be.

You will be eerily tan.

It will be the best day of your life.

(Thanks, Mom and Pops!)!

And, NO, having Lily is nowhere NEAR the best day of my life. SHE is the best thing, but how is going through childbirth the best day?

You will leave Knoxville, DEVASTATED to be leaving your twin sister (tears! sadness! devastation!), friends, and internship there but excited (as only the totally naive or totally stupid can be) about being an ADULT! You will move to Johnson City and start your first official teaching job (in Kingsport), as a clueless 22 year old, the day after you got back from your honeymoon. You will have 120 8th graders. You will be mega-nerd teacher and make homemade semi-colon mascots. (Years later, you will be SHOCKED that apparently you used to wear heels AND makeup to work?!?!).

You will immediately fall in love with your new school! You will develop amazing friendships, teach some of the greatest kids (shout out...anna f!), and make some of your favorite memories. You will chaperone the DC trip for 3 years, and above, your friend, Sara, and you will be inaugurated into K(appa) F (u) Chi) . It is hard to explain, but middle school teachers just do stuff like this.

**ON the most fun side note, ever... Sara will STILL LIVE in the Tri-Cities, and they will all still teach at Sevier! EVEN MORE FUN...The man across from her (Aaron! Love him, too!) will be her NEW FIANCE!!!!!!!! You will have been there when it all started!!!

You and Sara will be scarily alike, and you will talk/email/visit obsessively once you have to move. "Sara" will be one of your top "Pro's" for Bristol.

You will have the CUTEST nephews, ever. They will come visit you in the summer, and you will love every second. You will take them fishing on the same lake in the Tri-Cities that you may have a house on one day! You will be so broke, but they won't mind, as you eat McDonald's several times a day and make homemade ice cream.

Noah at the same lake.

You will feel so desperate to reverse time when you look at these pictures years later.

You will be excited that one day, SOON, you will be able to hopefully do fun, cool-aunt stuff with them on this SAME lake from years ago.

It will be really cool that you were so close to your forever home and had no idea.

Reindeer Cupcakes!

2011-12-16T06:49:00.000-06:00

Even though it feels like Spring outside (where is the frightful weather that is supposed to be outside right now?!?), we are feeling pretty festive around here! We made some fun Rudolph cupcakes yesterday afternoon, because Lily LOVES the Rudolph song and the old-school Rudolph claymation movie. Plus, we all love chocolate.

(Thanks, Aunt Manda for sending the idea to us!)

Chocolate cupcakes with chocolate frosting...

Nilla Wafers, peanut butter m&ms (I ate half the bag- peanut butter has protein, right?), pretzels, and candy eyes.

Lily LOVED hers, of course.

(Also, on another note, these are the only pajamas she ever wants to wear. I miss the days when I could just pick out and put clothes on her without it being a traumatic ordeal where both of us end up sweating and in tears).

Also...why did I JUST decide to put this best-of-all-Christmas-quotes on a canvas? I love his Grinch-feet.

Festive times.

Stella.

2011-12-15T13:02:00.003-06:00

So, I cannot let future Stella think that I let her Aunt Sissa beat me to posting about her! I am not sure what I was waiting on to post about her (well, I WAS waiting for a name). So, I will redeem myself by giving Stella her ENTIRE post all to herself.

Stella is a pretty special girl, because she is the daughter of someone really special to me...my friend, Emily Hortina Hawkins. I remember meeting her- standing in line during Rush (were we actually outside of the Tri Delta suite? Or was it another room?) in 1999- before our freshman year had even technically started. Emily is instantly memorable, for so many reasons, and I literally have that first image of her (grinning, eyes wide, excited about Rush- I think she was the only one excited and not just terrified- beaming at me in line). And, then there she was IN THE TRI DELTA ROOM on Bid Day!! And, she lived in the same dorm (South Carrick shout out!!) even though most of our pledge class lived in Humes. We were roomies Junior year, which cemented our friendship for two reasons: one, I feel like people always stay friends with their college roomies, right? Also, it was my Junior year when I fell pretty hard for a certain Huey, so dealing with lovestruck Nicole really took a special person.

When I think of Emily, I think of- in no particular order- her grinning, oranges (remember when they had all of those free oranges and we took like 70?), matching pajamas (us. nerds), our dads currently being best friends, donuts, Dominos thin crust pizza with green peppers (right?), and how much she LOVES, LOVES my Lily girl. She LOVES her like an aunt, I am serious. And, NOW, I get to be an aunt to my little Stella! I literally started crying when she called to tell me it was a girl, and all day I was just giddy! I kept texting Emily, saying "I just love her!" And, Emily kept replying, "I know! I have been trying to tell you for 3 years that this is how I feel about Lily!"

So, I am excited. Hello Future Stella if you are reading this post. (Emily, make her read it one day!). We are so excited about you!

Emily's blog: http://dandehawknest.blogspot.com/

Santa and other festivities.

2011-12-11T21:04:00.002-06:00

I was starting to get stressed out thinking I was going to have to give in and buy the $25 wallet size photo of Santa at the mall...But then, Winston Salem came through for me, again! This Saturday, a real estate company had a precious Santa event in a little park here. Free picture with Santa, sticker crafts, cookies, and cider all about 3 minutes from our house...it was perfect way to spend some time together on Saturday morning!

Lily really loves Santa and is PUMPED that he is coming to bring her presents, but she was NOT digging the picture with him. Thus: Santa, Lily, and Mama. Of course.

I loved their little "create a Santa stickers!" Lily is getting really good at stickers, which is awesome, because now I don't have deal with her screaming "Lily do it by herself!" while she simultaneously thrusts them at me to peel them for her. Two year olds are confusing.

Santa was at Sci-Works later, and this was the best picture I could get of Lily with Santa. I realize he is not actually IN the picture, but he was in the room, and on her shirt, so that counts.

*Quick shout out to Aunt Manda who got Lily these awesome boots on Winter clearance last year and Auntie Kay and Sissa who bought Lily tons of Santa shirts on clearance last year, too. I love that the whole family looks out for us! Thanks!*

One of our sweet friends, Zade!

Why do I encourage this hand-holding adorableness now but in a few years will dread it?

A family magazine here sponsored a breakfast at Chick-fil-a where we got to meet the Elf Cow, make a necklace AND reindeer food, plus I won a door prize! Yeah!

But, the BEST part of the morning was when heard this conversation, coming from the inside of the tube slide:

Little Girl: That's my sister out there. Do you have a sister?

Lily: Yeah.

Me (in my head): What??!?!

Little Girl: What's her name?

Lily: Dixie.

Of course, it's a good thing the little girl didn't ask where Dixie was, because Lily probably would have answered: "In her crate, because it's raining."

How CUTE is this stocking stuffer?!?!

Hughes' Mom, Auntie Kay, and Mama Gen are super talented and used to do craft shows. His aunt made these before, and I remembered them this year. It is a toilet paper roll, filled with candy, and wrapped with tissue paper! It's really so much cuter in person. I put all of Lily's stocking candy in them, so the candy won't just be floating all around the stocking. Plus, I hope it will be a fun tradition every year that she remembers!

They also made many of the UT ornaments on our tree!

Visiting Daddy at work on a Sunday...

My husband is currently in his 9th year of POST-COLLEGE education, and, YET, he STILL has to pick up extra shifts on the weekend for more money. It's going to be awesome when the new health care plans go into effect, and doctors make even less money when they are finished training. I am sure there will be TONS of talented, smart people begging to be overworked, broke and in debt for ten years, only to finish and make 12 dollars a day from the government. And, by awesome, I mean totally terrifying.

On another note, I LOVE this shirt she is wearing! Sissa bought it for Lily when I was PREGNANT! On clearance, of course. Lily also has a pink one in a size 6, just waiting for her. We really love a deal.

Lily LOVES a list, since she has grown up with them scattered all over the house, and it is just in her genes to love a list. So, when we go to the store, she wants her own list. She is super obsessed with letters and words (also in her genes!), and these are a few of the words she can spell and recognize on her own. *She almost has all of the lower case alphabet perfected, now, too! The pesky q and g keep confusing her, though.

This has REALLY helped with the lower case letters. I bought a pack of flash cards for $1 at Michaels, and we spread them in a circle on the floor. We play random games, like "run and step on the baby e." At one point, there were cute pants, Santa socks, and a reindeer bow. Whatever.

Circle Elf. Love him.

WS has an H&M, now!!!!!!!!!!!!! I have to be careful, because I want to buy everything (it is 2 floors!), but how cute is this PINK polka dot sweater? With her PINK cowboy boots (target daily deal!). The girl loves pink, so this meant a non-stressful getting dressed session.

Christmas Parade!!! We are super festive around here.

Adorable shirt we borrowed from Anderson until it fits him next year: It is a Tennessee Santa!!!

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CHARITY.

We are broke, but we have everything we need and almost everything we want (I want better jeans and Starbucks more often), so I try to give back whenever we can, even if it's not much money. I just got an semi-unexpected $20 Mastercard card for spending money online with my MC. I thought it would be cool to see how much I could do for $20. It's just another way of doing the deals!

I used to do the Salvation Army angel trees and things like that, but...and please forgive me if I sound like a total jerk here, ...I am pretty sure that poor people in America are doing okay. I am not trying to get all political or mean here, but I think that food stamps actually allot more money each month than our own grocery budget allows. My taxes are charity enough. (When I had a job and paid taxes, anyway). I am just saying. However, when I was a teacher, I would anonymously adopt 2 TRULY deprived kids and buy them clothes and books. It would make my DAY when, for the rest of the year, they would walk into my classroom wearing the clothes I had given them. Super cool.

Usually, I like to help other countries and St Jude when they guilt me into donations with the free address labels and pictures of sick kids. My FAVORITE is heifer.org. They have the coolest concept! You can "buy" animal for a poor family in a developing country. For example, for $20, you can buy a flock of chicks, which gives that family eggs all year (protein!), AND eggs to sell/trade/give away to other poor families. Some of the eggs can hatch and then they have more chickens...it is the best cycle, ever! You can donate $1 or more (you can buy cows, goats, rabbits, bees, etc...). Love it.

Some other ideas (I saw these in Oprah mag)

$1 (yes, $1): TWO BOOKS shipped to Africa (in most schools there, 20 kids share one book): https://www.booksforafrica.org/donate/funds.html
$3: A field trip to a museum or theatre show for an at-risk youth: http://createnow.org/
$4: Two hours of phone time for a soldier to call home: cellphonesforsoldiers.com
$10: Cloth and tools so an Afghan woman can become self-sufficient by taking a 6 month tailoring course: http://www.globalgiving.org/

Random Comments from Lily

2011-12-09T19:58:00.003-06:00

Lily: The big A has one window and the big B has 2 windows!

Me: "I love you."
Lily: "I love you more."

Me: "I am about to flip out..."

Lily: "No! No, don't do flips in the car; do flips on the carpet!"

Me: Here are your choices for what to wear today: A, B, or C (assigned to different shirts).

Lily: No! (runs to dresser and grabs pajamas) I want D!

Lily: Mama will open the door and Circle Elf will fly out and go see Santa. Circle Elf will tell Santa to give Lily presents! In Lily's stocking!

Me: Lily, when is your birthday?

Lily: I will be 3 in March (and she starts physically marching!Haha!)

Me (yelling in the kitchen...sometimes the no nap thing sends me over the edge. It was a bad moment. Don't judge): I can't do this!!!!!!!

Lily (3 seconds later, flinging herself onto her pink chair): I can't do this!!!!!!!

*Yes, I felt awful and we made cookies immediately after. All better.*

Me: Hang on, Lily. I have to clean the potty...then I will come play.

Lily: Oh, thank you for cleaning my potty, Mama!

*She is so grateful and says thank you for everything!*

Me: Mama came right back to get you, baby.

Lily (after being left for the lunch thing at her school, for the first time): I was so sad. Mama not come to get Yilly. Mama run errands? Mama leave Lily? Mama not come back. Lily cried and sit on teachers' laps and was so sad. Mama not come back.

*It is literally December, and this is the first time she has stayed past 11:55- the lunch thing is optional/costs more- and this is how she reacted when I picked her up. She is crazy. BUT she and her little tear streaked face got lots of special attention. And we went to 3 parks this afternoon to make up for it.*

Lily (In the backseat, very matter of factly): I am the best thing, ever.

*I constantly tell her that she is the best thing, ever. Kinda makes up for the no-nap meltdown comment*

Me:(thinking out loud, when we were in the throes of decision making) Lily, where should we live?!?

Lily (without missing a beat): Target.

*that's my girl*

Family Pics. :)

2011-12-05T19:29:00.008-06:00

Like most moms, I am in about 5 total pictures from my kid's entire life so far. There are a few other pictures where maybe my hand makes an appearance, or my foot...just Mom as background decoration rather than actually in the picture. So, I was PUMPED when my neighbor just volunteered to take pictures of us one day (yes, it IS the best neighborhood in the world). Aunt Manda had offered before, of course, but I usually looked homeless and/or was rushing home to beat the Bham traffic. Sarah, my amazing neighbor, just came over for a while a few weeks ago and snapped some shots AND edited them! I also love that they are in front of our house here. We are only here for one year, so it will be fun to have Winston Salem memories.

Our previous pictures together looked like these:

Or maybe a really stellar one, like:

(photo booth on my mac!)!

Sarah is clearly a better photographer than I am! I am so grateful!

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Love, love, love.

Sigh.

(Why, yes, I did teach her "Down, Down, Baby..." Here, we are doing "Eat a piece of candy, Greedy, Greedy...")

Is it weird that I always have a pony tail holder around my wrist? Or, can it pass as a bracelet?

I just GRIN every time I see all of these pictures! YAY!

Here is the link to the album: https://picasaweb.google.com/sarahkearns/Nicole?authkey=Gv1sRgCJLM79yXtZzF8AE&feat=email

**On an unrelated note, I think I may have jinxed Lily's sleep when I typed that she slept 11 hours in the last post. Literally, since typing it, she has slept for only 10 hours at night (and no nap, of course). I am hoping I can UNjinx it by posting about it, again. Also, jinx-gods, I would like to help out my nephew, Anderson, who sleeps even LESS than Lily does. Thank you for your help. **

Circle Elf, hair update, and a Snowman Calendar

2011-12-01T18:40:00.001-06:00

Last year, I got Lily an "Elf on the Shelf" on major clearance after Christmas. I was pretty excited to have him come visit us right after Thanksgiving, but the idea of him making huge messes like some people do with their elf just sounded exhausting. Lily destroys a room in 2 minutes by herself; the elf mess just seems weird to me. So, instead, our elf just hangs out with us during the day and visits Santa at night (because, you know, that isn't weird at all). He is in a different place every morning, and Lily LOVES to find him as soon as she wakes up. He is a flexible little guy, so it is fun finding new places for him. On the first morning, I asked Lily what she wanted to name him, and she said, "Circle." She has really enjoyed Circle Elf just being with us during the day, and she will often run up to him and tell him something, usually involving some sort of drama ("Circle Elf! I fell and hit my foot! I so sad.")

Lily got a hair cut! She has such super fine, thin hair, and it needed to be chopped.

People have been asking me about the hair situation. I appreciate the concern. :) After cutting out the nap and getting rid of the rails on the crib, she has done MUCH better with pulling out her hair/the hairballs. Clearly, like the doctor said, it was NOT an anxiety thing at all, but just because she wasn't tired at all. Now, she goes to bed about 7:45ish and wakes up about 7. I miss nap time so much, but this is AMAZING compared to what the last few months were like. I still can't believe she sleeps so long at night!!! I literally can't even believe I just typed that she sleeps 11 hours. Insane.

She has had a few random hair balls in the past month, but it has been when she didn't feel well, and there hasn't been a pattern or huge chunks. Success!! It is so odd that I have to worry about hairballs with my daughter. I think it is some evil cat spirit punishing me for hating cats.

New haircut. Best picture I could get. I took her to an overpriced little kid place (see above), because I had a $10 off coupon. It was cute, (but we will not be back, unless I find that same coupon).

Snowman countdown to Christmas calendar! We made it out of foam and ribbon; I just printed out clip art and traced/cut onto foam. Then, I made a chart with numbers 1-25 and printed it. Every day Lily gets to glue a cotton ball, and by Christmas it is a Snowman! She had fun gluing the numbers and face on (I put Elmers glue in a bowl, and let her use a q-tip). Plus, I realized she can recognize all of the numbers from 1 through 19. She can count to 49, but I didn't even know she could recognize all of the teen letters. She found all of the correct squares when I asked her. (I seriously think this is from us pointing them all out at Target when we are in the check out lanes. Thank you, Target).

We made the calendars at our Playgroup today, at our house! I got some really awesome/close-up pictures with everyone looking.

At our gym, you can write what you are thankful for on an ornament. I asked Lily, and she said: "MeeMaw and Granddaddy." She wanted me to add some shapes, too.

McDonald's is disgusting, and I hate to encourage Lily liking it...BUT they have these awesome coupon books right now! They are for kids 12 and under, and they have 12 coupons in them (4 each of: hamburger, ice cream cone, milk, apple slices), and they don't expire until March 31 ...all for ONLY $1! I got Lily 3 when McD's had the Halloween ones, and we have almost used every one. They are perfect when we are running errands or I need to bribe her. They sell fast, so buy a few books if you see them.

;)

CYBER MONDAY deals!!! (one new freebie)

2011-11-28T08:34:00.009-06:00

**New deal I am just adding! :)

Go to fab.com and sign up. You get a $10 credit for signing up, and find these ADORABLE little outlet stickers (!!) for $3.50. You can use your credit toward it, so it is totally free. I got 3 packs and paid 50 cents total. Super cute and fun. No code required. Just sign up and you should get a $10 credit. Then look under "Today's Sales" for these stickers and add to your cart. :)

******

1. Discount Mags has an AWESOME deal on magazines. They have a bunch of Magazine "Packs" for $6 total for 2 new magazine subscriptions (full year). So, for $6, you can choose a "pack"! These are AWESOME magazines and would make great gifts/stocking stuffers! You can even choose different addresses for each of the ones in the pack, so you can get two separate people a magazine subscription for $3! YOU MUST USE THE CODE TO GET THE DISCOUNT: CYBERMONDAY.

PLUS...GO THROUGH EBATES for 10% cash back! So, that saves 60 cents MORE, making it $5.30 for TWO subscriptions.

2. Open Sky is a new site, like Totsy or My Habit. They have different deals every day: food, kid stuff, decor, clothes, etc... TODAY, you get FREE SHIPPING and a $10 credit. I got Lily a super cute apron (search under "For Kids" for the apron)! They have lots of stuff...just click on the Kids, or Food, or "under $30" on the links in the right side of their webpage. Here are two other deals:

Melissa and Doug super cute luggage!!! Kids can ride on it! It is $29 MINUS $10, plus free shipping.

Earbuds...$20...minus $10.

3. Children's Place:

Lily has a puppy dog hat from CP that she LOVES!!!! TODAY, you get 30% off PLUS FREE SHIPPING (Use code: CYBERMON). That makes the hats $4.38!!!!!!! PLUS, go through ebates (of course). They have super cute shirts, pants, pajamas, etc...

4. Disney Store: Free Shipping all day on any order (use code: CYBER). They have cute pajamas on sale for $8! GO THROUGH ebates!

***There are so many more, but those are my favorite 4. Just don't forget to GO THROUGH EBATES!!!!****

Thanksgiving with MeeMaw and Granddaddy!

2011-11-26T21:31:00.002-06:00

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend! Please keep in mind that we haven't seen MeeMaw and Granddaddy since July, so this is a super long post. It's nice when I have an excuse to have a million pictures on a post.

Waiting at the airport... (For a while I could just download the free versions of all of the apps, and Lily never knew it was the "lite" one. Alas, she has caught on. I am still really selective (cheap) about which apps I buy, but TOZZLE is awesome! It is $1.99, and I highly recommend).

I had these great plans for an adorable first picture of Lily running toward MeeMaw and Granddaddy. But, then I put on some Wal-Mart (from a consignment sale nonetheless) shoes on Lily, and they flew off as she was sprinting toward them. So, this was the first picture, instead. She did FLY toward them, so excited about seeing them in person!

Minnie Mouse present, just right off the bat. (At the present moment, Minnie is tucked in on the couch beside me).

Lily basically didn't leave their sides for the entire trip.

I am an awful cook, but I did manage to make a few edible things for the feast! This RANCH CHEX MIX is amazing!!! It is so quick and really delicious. Plus, I already had everything in the pantry and got all of it with such great deals (is it weird that I remember how much I pay for everything?) that it cost me about $2 to make the whole thing.

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/cheesy-ranch-chex-mix/detail.aspx

Thankful for such a doting Granddaddy!

While I was cooking (and warming up a few Fresh Market sides), MeeMaw made all kinds of crafts with Lily! Crafting is in Lily's genes!

Lily is thankful for little things.

Deep-frying the turkey.

Precious.

Lily got the wishbone! Even though I was actually trying...

Lots of kisses!

These are the toys she still loves- a wallet (Thanks, Shannon!), money, and turkey stickers. Whenever kids come to play at our house for the first time, their parents hand me things that they think accidentally got into Lily's toys: coins, marbles, rocks, cotton balls, tiny beads, etc... I am always a little embarrassed when I have to explain that those actually are the toys.

A Dora backpack with 100 pom poms. You never know when you made need these.

A fun tradition we started! I saw this in a magazine...take a white tablecloth (or ivory if that is what is on clearance at Target) and have people at Thanksgiving sign it with permanent markers...then use it every year and add to it! We had Sharpies, until there was a casualty involving the Blue one and the wood floor. I bought a fabric marker at Joanne's instead. Lily's hand, unfortunately, looks like Bart Simpson's, but I am still excited.

The other edible thing I made: Fruit Salad. I have just never thought to mix all of this together and serve it, but it was yummy! Basically, it is strawberries, grape halves, banana slices, FF vanilla yogurt, FF cool whip (just a tiny bit) and granola. YUM and healthy!

I am thankful that Lily is so neat and conscientious. She found this tiny felt mouth in her playroom and stopped what she was doing to go bring it upstairs to put it into the felt book. LOVE her.

BFF does not even get close to explaining it.

I HATE this spot in our kitchen. It is about 3 inches wide. Since it is the entryway for the kitchen AND where we have to pull out the freezer for ice, AND Lily's favorite place to count pom poms, AND Dixie's favorite place to lie...it is a crowded 3 inches.

CVS! CVS! They always have awesome Thanksgiving deals. This picture does not even do it justice. Favorite finds: free nail polish set for Lily's stocking and 4 packs of free M&M minis!

CVS employee: I have never seen a receipt this long."

I had $15 in EB from a few weeks ago, plus a $5 off email coupon; my first total I had to pay was $9. I did a second transaction with the second half of merchandise and used all of the EB's from the first order. So, that total was 12 cents. AND, I left with over $30 in EB for later!!

Lily constantly colored pictures for Meemaw! "This one is for MeeMaw." (How cute is the MeeMaw dress on Lily?!)

SO loved.

Making us sand edamame and smoothies.

Reunited and it feels so good...

Santa and Snowie are back.

MeeMaw brought ornaments for Lily to make with her!

Lily took the decorating the tree business very seriously. Except at one point, there were about 40 ornaments in a 5 inch square about 3 feet above the ground...

The Star. She has this Christmas Mouse book she loves, so we have been talking about Lily putting on the star for 2 months. This was a big moment.

Lily must wonder why she is never in People magazine. She has plenty of people taking pictures of her/idolizing her/catering to her. I am so thankful she is so loved!

It's beginning to feel a lot like Christmas! Except it was 70 degrees outside today.

She did not understand that they would be leaving already, and she was really sad when we dropped them off at the airport. :( So sad.

They left her with lots of love- plus stickers and a Granddaddy bear! And that was just in the car!

*Thanks for coming! We had a great time!*

ebates

2011-11-26T11:52:00.000-06:00

I am concerned about the people who apparently don't believe me about going through ebates. Please believe me- it is totally legitimate and totally awesome. You just go through their website, like a portal (Harry Potter!) and then they keep up with your cash back. Different stores have different percentages. You get a check a few times a year...free money just for shopping online! PLUS, a FREE $10 gift card (to Target!) if you spend a certain amount online ($25?) in the first month.

EBATES! EBATES! EBATES!

Please, sign up for ebates and then remember to use it. Please. It would make me so happy.

Terrible Twos.

2011-11-25T08:24:00.003-06:00

Sometimes they are really and truly terrible.

My sister's friend, Elizabeth, always has fun/true/realistic words-of-wisdom. She told Melissa, "There's a reason Two and Terrorist both begin with the same letter." Hahaha. Yes.

Happy Thanksgiving!

2011-11-24T08:17:00.000-06:00

We are THANKFUL for so many people and so many blessings!

We love our little turkey!

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***Don't forget CVS starts their sales ON THANKSGIVING!!!!! They have TONS of "Free after Extra Care Bucks" items, so today would be a good day to start your CVS affair. Remember, you will have to invest the first time, but hopefully, you will just be able to always put your ECB toward items with new ECB's, so the first trip will be your priciest. *Don't buy things you don't need, though- that ruins the deal!* Also, CVS does rain checks, too!

Coupon Tutorial.

2011-11-20T19:30:00.003-06:00

I have had lots of people ask me questions about coupons/deals recently, so I decided to jot down a few ideas in a post. Feel free to read, ignore, or skim. ;0

Pre-Thoughts:

I am by no means pretending to be an expert, but I have been couponing for ten years- well before it was trendy! Plus, we were beyond broke for the first part of our marriage and are pretty broke again this year, so I do know a few things about being frugal.
This post is just going to include whatever I think of right now. Okay, so I just finished, and it took more than one night, and I got carried away.
BUT, it might get long- I know myself, and I get fired up when I am passionate. Yes, I am passionate about coupons.
All of the advice may seem really overwhelming/exhausting/totally not worth it. Learning to use coupons (or just find good deals in general) DOES take time and energy, but after you figure out what you are doing, it is just a tiny part of your day. Plus, it is fun, rewarding, and an adrenaline rush! ;)

THOUGHTS on HOW TO BEGIN...the FRUGAL FOUNDATION

1. I feel so weird typing this, like I am trying to be Dave Ramsey or something (I won his book once!), but: MAKE A BUDGET. My super smart hubby does our whole budget, so I can take NO credit really for creating or tweaking it. But, I do a pretty amazing job of sticking to it, so I will take a LOT of credit for that part. ;) There are tons of free online sites or software programs to keep up with a budget (www.mint.com), so it should be easy. Figure out your monthly income, how much you want to save, and then divide the rest of the budget accordingly. If you don't have a budget, now, it will take a few months to really get it perfect.

For spending areas that are IN your control (heat, electricity, etc... don't really count), set a specific monthly budget and stick to it. Duh. The most important step is to hold yourself accountable.

- One example and the most important in being frugal: Set a monthly grocery budget. We include food, cleaning supplies, dog food, detergent, soap, etc... I read that a good rule is about $200 per adult and $50 per kid PER MONTH. This includes ALL household items and groceries. You can totally do it. Every time I go to the store, I record the total spent in my phone. We totally splurge on iphones I just use a List app (i.e. "November Groceries") , but you could even just write it down somewhere. I check it right before I go to the store, so I am accountable all month and know how much we have left in the budget. It helps in 2 ways: one, I am aware of the budget with each shopping trip, so it is easier for me to not buy the ice cream that isn't on sale unless it has been a really bad morning, and I need the Moose Tracks. Plus, as the month comes to an end, I have to be more creative with our meal choices (waffles for dinner!), because I have $3 left in the budget. (There is always random stuff in the pantry that needs to be eaten!). I look at the budget as a checking account, where I literally just have this set amount of money. To be fair, I am an AWFUL cook, so if you love gourmet foods, you may have to choose somewhere else to save money. But, I think that being so terrible actually hurts our budget, because I literally have to throw ruined dinners away several times a month. Haha. Plus, one time, Dixie had to eat our food for two days, because it was the 29th, and I wanted to wait until the 1st of the next month to buy her 35 pound bag of dog food. Dixie loves a budget. ;0

- Another helpful budget thing is we each get a "monthly allowance." I know that sounds weird, like we are 8, but it has been such a smart financial decision from the start of our marriage (um, it was like $15/month in med school! SO BROKE!). We get a certain amount each month, and if I want clothes, makeup, books, etc... it comes out of my allowance. When Hughes bought his iPad, he saved his allowance to buy it. (He had to mark off his chore checklist, too...). I do LOVE our allowance, because it helps me question purchases before I spend (Do I REALLY need 8 things from the Target $1 bin? possibly. Do I really need to BUY that book when I can just wait another week and get it free on my Kindle from the Library? YES! You can check out library books on your Kindle, now!). PLUS, it helps me to not just resent Hughes if he makes a big purchase. I guarantee you that if Hughes had just bought an iPad out of our budget, I would have gone out and spent $$$ on clothes, just because he spent money. (Maybe I am 8?!?!) Plus, we have lived in 3 different states during our marriage, so I would just as soon NOT have mounds of crap to move, again, anyway.

2. In order to make this a realistic hobby, PICK ONE GROCERY STORE. I have tried to do the thing where I go to more than one each week and get the best deals, but it is a nightmare with a 2 year old in tow. When we first moved, I originally thought my store would be Lowes Foods NOT the tool store; it is a local grocery- weird, I know, but after experimenting, I realized Harris Teeter, although SUPER overpriced, had the best deals and scenarios.

- So, you have chosen your grocery store (I used Publix in AL and Harris-Teeter here, so those are the ones I know the best. They are both extremely over priced, but I still save the most money there, because I have figured out their systems. So, Kroger or wherever else is probably just as good).

Now, you need to do 3 things each week:

A. Look at the ad in the newspaper or online, and MAKE your weekly MENU AND shopping list based on the sales. This sounds obvious, but you would be surprised how many people don't do this!! If you hate cooking, try e-mealz.com because for $5/mo, they create meals based on sale items for specific stores. (Google search for a promo code first, because I got it for $12.50 for 3 months when I used the site). I LOVED it when we were close to a Publix, because e-mealz created varied, frugal meals for ME; all I had to do was PRINT OUT THE LIST AND RECIPES. Check it out.

B. Go to www.southernsavers.com. Sign up for her daily emails. I CANNOT STRESS THIS STEP ENOUGH. Each week, after you browse the grocery ad yourself, go to this site and click on the top link to your grocery store. She links up all coupons that are available for each item. I don't always have the coupons she mentions (I don't get All You magazine, for instance), so I mainly just look for printable coupons that she links. After a month or so of couponing, you will remember which cut-out coupons you do have, too. Plus, you can check the boxes of the items you want and create a printable link. This is the BEST website for grocery store deals, so trust me and make yourself familiar with her. She (Jenny...I actually went to a conference she led in AL!) has lots of info on "getting started" with her site, so check all of that out. It is really pretty easy once you do it 2 or 3 times, but at first you will be confused (i.e. SS= Smart Source newspaper ad). I can literally tell you the max price I *try* to pay for most items (i.e. cereal- less than $1 a box, cake mix- ALWAYS less than 15 cents, spaghetti sauce- less than $1, etc...). After a while, you will just know what is really a good price and what is not a good deal. Southern Savers has a searchable "coupon database" at the top right hand corner, so you could try that for printable coupons, too. Seriously, invest yourself in Southern Savers and give it a month or so- I PROMISE it will be the best thing to help you save money, even though it will just be confusing at first.

C. When items that you like are on sale, STOCK UP! Grocery stores typically run their sales on a 6 week cycle, so, in theory, buy enough to last 6 weeks. For example, today I got 4 boxes of Wheat Thins, because they were BOGO (usually just means 1/2 price), and I had 4 coupons. We really like wheat thins, and I got all 4 boxes for less than the normal price ($3.79) of one. You basically have to become a hoarder with some items. Maybe TLC will call and then you will make money for being a hoarder? Possible money maker? Just looking into my pantry right now, I have 7 jars of spaghetti sauce, 8 boxes of muffin mix, 6 boxes of cake mix, and 14 boxes of cereal (the above picture was taken before I got some really good deals today). I paid about $11 TOTAL for ALL of those items just mentioned, and they are all good name brands. Again, after a month or so of finding deals, this will be SO much easier. Oh, we also have 15 bags of shredded cheese, because this time of the year is the cheapest it will drop, and it doesn't expire until April! Good thing we have an extra fridge in the basement. **Some items rarely, if ever, go on sale, so there will be a few exceptions to the deals.**

****One final thought about grocery stores: check and see if they give a student discount. Harris Teeter does, and my husband, a medical fellow, counts as a student and we save 5% each trip. Okay, so I just say he is a medical student, because he is STILL in school, technically. And, you are supposed to have a student ID when you are shopping, but I just tell them he never comes, which is 100% true. They have only said "no" once, and I convinced them to give me the discount anyway.

2. Choose ONE DRUGSTORE. And, the drugstore really needs to be CVS. (Whatever you do, do not choose Walgreens. I promise, I am pretty talented with finding deals, and over the last few years, the Walgreens "deals" have become fewer and fewer. Their coupon policy is atrocious, and you will never consistently save money there).

This post is getting so long, and I am pretty sure nobody is even still reading, so to keep this short, go here: http://www.southernsavers.com/category/cvs/ and click on the CVS links on the top right. She (my good friend, Jenny) will explain everything you need to know about CVS.

The main thing about CVS: IT IS AMAZING. It is too good to be true! They are like the Chick-fil-a/Target...Walgreens (in MY opinion) is like the McDonalds/WalMart. CVS has the best customer service (universally- in AL, in NC, in TN...) and the best customer rewards. Their Extra Care Bucks (ECB= CVS credit, basically) program really is legitimate and will change your life. This is serious, people. I get most of my household stuff there (cleaning, toilet paper, laundry detergent, etc...) and most of my makeup, lotion, vitamins, medicine, etc...

So, check out what Southern Savers says, but my best CVS tips:

A. Try to use ECB (extra care bucks) for OTHER items that give ECB, so it is just a cycle. For instance, I got the Jergens lotion above (it was on clearance! And, it is awesome lotion!) for $3.99; I used a $1 off coupon and ECB from last week to pay for it. Plus, I got $3 ECB for buying the lotion, so I will use those next week.

B.Sign your CVS card up for the emails on cvs.com, and you will get weekly emails for $4 off $20 or 20% off, etc... Check cvs.com for coupons, too. Remember you can use a CVS coupon AND a manufacturer coupon for EACH item.

C. Look at the deal scenarios Southern Savers has for CVS. It is a great way to start before you get comfortable creating your own deals.

D. Buy a Green tag at the CVS check out (Ask the cashier- they are really nice). It costs $1, but scan it at check out and have a reusable bag of your own, you get $1 ECB after 4 times. Trust me, you will be at CVS a lot once you discover their amazingness, so this will add up.

E. Seriously, give CVS a try. I regularly leave CVS, giddy! This morning, I scanned my coupon at the IN-STORE COUPON MACHINE (!!!!!!!!!) and got a $5 off a $15 Garnier purchase and a $5 off a $20 facial care purchase. CVS lets you stack coupons, so I used both of them to get sale priced Garnier items...AND I got $5 ECB back from Garnier! It TAKES TIME AND PATIENCE, and it won't be every single week, but CVS is the best place to get household items.

F. They give rain checks, even for items that give out ECB!

This is getting really long.

THOUGHTS about COUPONS:

1. Figure out a system to organize your coupons that works for you. I like the little accordion books that are $2. I have 2- one for Food, and one for everything else. Ten years ago, I just had one, but now I need 3! You MUST be organized (what works for you), or you will never find your coupons. I cut and sort on Sunday night and just clean out expired coupons at the end of the month. It is very little time, but my coupons are so organized that I can find them easily in the store, even with Lily screaming for another sucker.

2. Have all of your coupons ready BEFORE you go to the store. I make my list, by looking at the ad and southern savers.com. Then, I just find the matching coupons and paperclip them to the list. I still bring my coupons inside with me, because sometimes I notice a good deal scenario when I am in the store.

3. Remember most stores accept a Manufacturer's Coupon AND a store coupon. Check the store's website (target.com has TONS) to see if you can find a match for a coupon you have. This week, target.com/coupons has a coupon for $4 off a women's sweater, and they have SUPER cute ones on sale for $9.99 (originally $19)...soI got two super cute sweaters for $5.99 each! IT ENDS ON WEDNESDAY, I THINK...it is worth checking out, though!!!

4. Look everywhere for coupons! Products often have "peelies" (peel off stickers) on them, which may make for a good deal. Look for store displays, and sign up for coupon books (like P&G) in the mail. Southern Savers always posts about mailed coupon books. Also, ask your store's customer service desk if they have any coupon books!

5. Before you buy anything at a store or online, do a google search for a promo code or coupon.

6. If you see a store display with a coupon, ALWAYS get the coupon. You will need it eventually.

7. GET THE SUNDAY PAPER. You can convince yourself that you don't need a paper and can find good enough coupons just online or whatever, but you are wrong. Sorry. If you really want to save money, spend the $2 on a paper, people. It is totally worth it. The coupons in the paper are NOT the same ones online, so you are missing out if you are trying to save $2 on a Sunday paper.

8. Swap coupons? My cousin, Shannon, is awesome, and sends me her extras. In AL a few friends and I swapped coupons. If your friends don't have kids, ask for their diaper coupons or whatever.

9. Those "Living in the City" books with the coupons are actually pretty good deals if you eat out a lot. Also, the newspaper has restaurant coupons.

10. TONS of coupons are available in your birthday month: http://www.heyitsfree.net/birthday-freebies/ .That site has a pretty good list. Really...these are GOOD deals. I got a free meal at IHOP, Jason's Deli, Firehouse Subs, Genghis Grill, Moes, etc...

11. You can find fun coupons for little kids' birthdays, too. Off the top of my head, I know Barnes and Noble (cupcake!), Burger King (kids meal), Sonic (kids meal), etc... We ROCK IT OUT in March! ;0

12. Facebook...There are millions of coupons available on FB. You can even create a fake FB account just for coupons.

13. For stores/sites you like, get their emails for more coupons (Shutterfly, for instance, frequently sends out perks to customers). And CVS.

14. Look in magazines! I get lots of free/super cheap magazine deals (sign up for www.hip2save...see below), and it is worth getting them just for the coupons!

15. Ask the person behind the counter. A lot of times, if I am at Gymboree or Children's Place, I will ask if they have any coupons behind the counter that aren't being used. If Lily is with me, it is a huge bonus, because everyone loves a little kid (at least when they aren't screaming and possibly throwing their mom's phone AT the person behind the counter).

THOUGHTS about DEALS:

AL Some of the FREE Christmas cards I got from MyPublisher, with a coupon code. Great quality, too.

Cutting/Printing Coupons is really just part of being frugal, so even if you don't want to do the coupon thing, you can STILL FIND FUN DEALS!!!!!

1. Go to www.hip2save.com RIGHT NOW and sign up for her daily emails. Southern Savers is AMAZING for grocery deals, but hip2save is the holy grail of fun deals! Sign up for the daily email, and scan it at the end of the day to see deals that you need. It is fun, and you will be able to find so many good deals on gifts for Christmas. It is ideal if you can check the site periodically during the day (or follow her on FB, t00), because some deals expire quickly. If this is the ONLY thing you do from this insanely long post, visit this site; it ROCKS.

2. PRICE MATCH! This is so important to remember with Christmas deals coming, soon. Target and WalMart price match a printed ad price (not BOGO, though), so remember that for toys, diapers, etc... If you have a Target coupon for diapers, bring in the CVS ad with the diapers on sale, and use your Target coupon on top of it.

The Toy Story 3 Operation game was on sale at Toys R Us for $1 last week, and you know they had 1 per store probably. I took the ad to Target, where the game was priced $18, and I got 2 for $1 each. They weren't thrilled, and I had to stand my ground and refuse to budge and pull up the price match policy on my phone, but they eventually agreed with me. (This is the only time I have ever encountered a price match issue, though; normally it is so easy!).

3. Rebates! Southern Savers (again!) allows you to search for rebates in the coupon database (type in "rebate"). I do tons of rebates/money back guarantees! Numerous products have "try-me-free" info on their websites or on the product. (You KNOW I got that mask at CVS today). Every P&G product does, and I have requested refund checks from Tide, Cascade, Bounce, IAMS dog food, etc... I always say I am dissatisfied because the product was too expensive. If I paid full price, the product WAS too expensive, so I am being honest. It is usually just one refund per item per household, though, so this can't be your full-time job. Haha. Plus, I don't feel bad, because I always buy P&G (with coupons). The newspaper ads also have try-me-free or rebate forms frequently, too.

4. CONTESTS!!!!!!! Above are the items (minus 2 which are being shipped, still) that I won during the month of August from allure.com/freestuff. Those are awesome brands: Urban Decay, Fekkai, Redken, SmashBox, etc...!! Allure has giveaways during the entire month of August but also for the first part of each month. Also, check out hip2save, southern savers, and I like this site: http://bloggiveaways.blogspot.com/ because she just links to a bunch of different giveaways on people's blogs. I try to enter a contest a day. My best prize ever, of course, was the year's supply of Tide, but I win stuff all of the time. If you think you are unlucky, it is probably because you never enter contests!

5. Groupon, Living Social, and Save More. They really DO have good deals and make it totally worth it to get the daily email every day.

6. Craft Stores (Michaels, JoAnns, AC Moore) are fantastic places for kids toys! AC Moore, especially, has a HUGE selection of Melissa and Doug, Thomas the Train, etc... They are, of course, overpriced, BUT they put it all on sale for 50% off all of the time. Today, they had ALL Crayola on sale for 50% off, too. Or, you can ALWAYS find a coupon online or in the paper. They all take each other's coupons, too. Almost all of Lily's stocking will come from Michaels.

THOUGHTS about ONLINE SHOPPING:

1. The number ONE thing about online shopping to remember: go to EBATES first. I promise I was skeptical at first, too. When my Aunt Paula first mentioned it years ago, ebates sounded so weird and like there had to be a "catch." Almost 3 years later, I have earned cash back of almost $300! I am serious. There is NO catch, and it isn't shady at all. Go to ebates right now and sign up if you haven't. Then, every time you online shop or book a hotel, go to ebates first! Enter the store in the search button, and if the store is there, click on the link. You will be redirected to the store's website and shop from there like you normally would. But, you get from 1% to 15% cash back on what you spend. They send a check a few times a year, or you can get it deposited into PayPal. It is MONEY, not a credit or points or something. SO easy!

To recap:

a. Sign up for ebates.

b. Go to ebates.com before you online shop

c. Search for the store, click, and be redirected to the site.

d. Shop.

e. Get a check in the mail.

2. Speaking of...SHOP ONLINE! Your sales tax will be MUCH lower, and most stores have free shipping and online coupon codes. PLUS, there are better clearance selections. I order from target.com frequently weekly?, because have you ever shopped with a 2 year old? Name Lily Hughes? Who is crazy? I get free shipping over $50, awesome clearance deals, lower tax, ebates cash back, and I can return everything that doesn't fit or that I don't like straight to the Target store because we are there anyway. I figure it prevents Lily from become obese from me constantly pumping her with snacks while we shop. So, everyone wins.

I also just ordered some stuff from sephora.com, (I love nice mascara. It is a weakness). because I got a free Hello Kitty makeup bag (for Lily's stocking), 15 samples, ebates credit, free shipping, lower taxes, etc... PLUS, they have free returns by UPS.

3. I have really loved our Kohls credit card, because they have promo codes constantly, lower taxes online, free shipping, ebates credit, and you can return anything to Kohls that you bought with the card- for up to a year, no questions asked! Remember they have fun things like Keurig coffee machines, those cute BabyCakes things CakePops!, and TONS of TOYS!

4. Amazon Mom is the cheapest place to regularly buy diapers and even kid soap, lotion, etc...(yes, it beats Sam's and Costco). PLUS...lower taxes, free shipping, and NO shopping with your kid. Just remember to sign up for the "subscribe and save" option to save 30%. I chose every 6 month delivery and just canceled it as soon as my diapers came in...then resubscribed the next time. They don't care. Plus, for signing up for Amazon Mom, you get 3 months FREE of AMAZON PRIME! And then, for every $25 you spend, you get a FREE month of Amazon Prime! (Have I mentioned how PROUD I am of Lily?!?! I can't even remember the last time she had a potty accident!!! LOVE a potty trained kid!). UM..even if you don't have a kid, you can sign up and get 3 free months of Amazon Prime. No strings attached.

5. Use google shopping. I can't copy the link, because it keeps copying the link where I searched for Leap Pad. But, just go to google and click on the Shopping tab on the left. Or google "google shopping." Haha. You type in the product you want to find (Leap Pad pink case!) and it shows you the prices/tax/shipping from online stores and local stores' availability.

6. Find random sites like totsy. I LOVE totsy, because they have the cutest gifts, like the ladybug bead thing for $5.85! If you sign up for a new account (new email address...not new mailing address...hint, hint), you get FREE SHIPPING on your first order.

7. Good Coupon/Deal Apps for Smart Phones:

The Coupons App= pinpoints your location and finds coupons
Cellfire= loads coupons for stores with loyalty cards
FourSquare= alerts you to deals at stores, restaurants, movie theaters...uses your location
SnapTell= Uses bar code to find the best price of an item online and nearby
PriceGrabber= tells you who has the item you want at the best price (by name or bar code)
Garage Sales Traacker= Self explanatory.

OTHER THOUGHTS:

1. Get rid of cable. Cable is basically a leech that really provides you no benefit. Although I do miss the Kardashians... Instead, we have a Roku box and an Apple TV, so we can have one for each room. And, because Hughes is on a personal mission to own every Apple product. We have a NetFlix subscription that is like $8/mo that streams instantly through our TV's. It has everything we need: Dora, Sesame Street, Blues Clues, Tangled (Lily is obsessed!), Parks and Rec, The Office, etc... However, it doesn't have the newest season of TV shows, so we also have an $8/mo HuluPlus subscription, which streams all of the new shows the next day, and we can watch them at our convenience after Lily goes to bed. If we ever want a movie that isn't on Netflix, it is $3.99 from Amazon. We spend $16/mo instead of over $100, and we have never once missed cable, except when Kim's marriage special aired.

*Disclaimer: my hubby figured out some way to get ESPN on his computer and bought an $11 cord to hook the computer to the TV, so we did get all of the UT games. But, now that football season is over, there is really no need for cable.

2. Get a points credit card. We have the BP Visa and really like it. We just charge everything and pay it off in full at the end of the month...then we get a cash back check every month.

3. Remember that little purchases add up. I am so bad about this part. Ugh. I really love those Target dollar bins.

4. Shop at consignment sales and yard sales! Search online: http://www.consignmentsalefinder.org/

And, like I mentioned before, I have had success with Thredup.com. (ONLY order boxes that have pictures!)! Plus, you get a $5 credit for signing up, so the first box is a good deal. I literally got some stuff at consignment sales that I put up for Lily's Christmas. (Don't worry...she is getting PLENTY and is totally spoiled).

5. Give coupons a chance! Over time you will learn the prices and what the bottom line is that you will pay. It is a fun, addicting, challenge! Soon, finding deals will just become second nature.

Random pic of Lily, who has recently realized that she is, in fact, a girl. She slept in this pink tutu (from MeeMaw and Granddaddy a while ago) and insists on all pink clothes. Who is she?!?

*This picture was taken in the morning- I do not have that kid who you can take pictures of while she is asleep. The big girl bed and no napping have made her a MUCH better sleeper at night, though.

Acorn Cookies!

2011-11-16T20:04:00.002-06:00

THIS is my kind of cookie...it is 4 ingredients, basically no prep, no cooking, and no recipe. Plus, they are adorable, festive, and YUMMY!

Basically, you just need Hershey Kisses, chocolate chips (I ONLY use Ghiradelli....try them and you will never go back), mini Nutter Butters, and frosting.

Two thoughts:

1. Clearly, chocolate frosting would be better to match the chocolate, but when Harris Teeter had their last Super Doubles with coupons, I got 8 tubs of frosting for about 12 cents each, and they only had vanilla.

2. You could use mini Nilla wafers, but the texture on these Nutter Butter cookies is so much cuter. Plus, they have peanut butter, so they won.

Lily thinks acorns are pretty fun ("they have hats!"), and she is pretty much a cookie monster, so she would shove these down as fast as we could make them.

Easy, Cheap, Yummy, Festive, Fun!

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Print out a coupon for a free medium fry with purchase of a soft drink (it doesn't expire until Feb!)

http://www.mycokerewards.com/en_US/item_assets/downloads/McDonalds_Coupon_en_US.pdf

Falling down the stairs and a visit to a hotel.

2011-11-14T20:28:00.006-06:00

Lily fell down the stairs.

Completely. We don't have carpeted stairs or a landing, either; we have old, squeaky, HARD, STEEP 1941 stairs. I am not even sure they would meet an inspection requirement.

Yes, it was awful and terrifying, and I keep re-hearing it over and over in my head. She is okay, obviously, but it could have been tragic. I know it is like a rite of passage for kids to tumble down a flight of stairs...but, people, we have really mean, unforgiving stairs. Plus, it was my kid, so I can be dramatic. Shudder.

It was 7am-ish, and I was about to get Lily dressed so we could go out of town. She was sitting on top of the stairs, just hanging out, holding and talking to her ABC pillow (" I woke up!") I walked past her into her room, and as soon as I got to her dresser, about 12 feet away, I heard the loudest bumps I have ever heard in my life. It was that oddly-rhythmic, echoing sound of something definitely falling down the stairs. Boom...Boom...Boom... In the 2 seconds before I reacted, my first thought was "did she just throw a brick down the stairs?" and then it registered that I JUST saw Lily, 5 steps ago, and there was nothing near her except a soft, light ABC pillow. Panic, terror..."Why isn't she crying? Why aren't my legs moving? I can't move! I can't get to her! Ohmygod!" It was literally the nightmare where you can't move, and your brain is lightyears ahead of your feet.

In real life, it was probably 4 seconds before I got to the stairs. I saw her: sprawled face down, in pink fleece penguin jammies, at the foot of the stairs, the ABC pillow resting innocently a few feet from her. At the same moment, a swoosh, a blur from around the corner, faster than I thought humanly possible- Hughes had literally dropped everything (later he had to pick up paper strewn over the office floor) and grabbed her before I was on the second step. "My daughter fell down the stairs. She fell down an entire flight of wooden stairs. ..." It was like a broken record in my mind that wouldn't stop. BUT, one second later, or 300 years-depending on if it is your daughter or not- she started crying. And, I was giddy through my tears, sprinting down the stairs, so grateful that she was alive. The whole ordeal probably spanned 25 seconds total, and it ended okay- just some ugly bruises on her head. Better than okay for Lily- we propped her up on pillows, held her milk up to her mouth, kissed her, fawned over her, encouraged her dramatic reaction, etc... I, of course, nonchalantly asked her questions about the ABC's and Dora, just to make sure. Lily wanted to call someone and tell them (i.e. get some sympathy), but it was early so only Sissa was awake. Imagine the saddest, most pitiful little voice: "I fell down the stairs, Sissa... I okay...Daddy picked me up. I'm so sad. I slipped on my piwwow." Drama.

It was scary, because it reminded me that our lives could change in an instant. So, we will just love on her and appreciate her every minute (except when we are on road trips, because she is still a terror as a travel companion).

************

We finally left, a little behind schedule, and took a one-night trip to visit somewhere that we* interviewed earlier for the REAL job next year (*when you are with someone for the entire 9 years of POST COLLEGE medical training while they work a million hours for 30 cents a year and you live in 3 different states, it is considered a we. Thanks.). We still have not made a decision about it, so there will be more details, soon...hopefully. ;)

We brought the girl with us this time. It was her second hotel visit, and she LOVED it! (For a recap of the first one: Lily's First Hotel Visit ).

Having a late night Salsaritas guacamole snack and watching Arkansas play football (Tennessee didn't, technically, play).

I am not sure people understand how attached Lily is to me. "Mama, I coming, too" , "Mama? Wanna play/sit/eat with me?" , "I love you, Mama," "MAMA!!!!", "Mama, I sit in your lap?" and "Where Mama?!?!" are the songs in the soundtrack of my day. Do not think for one second that she is not MADLY in love with her Daddy, though. She is obsessed with him, but she STALKS me. I am not even sure if "stalks" is a strong enough verb, to be honest. It has been like this for her entire life, so I should be used to it. But, I am just not sure if you ever get used to your daughter just sitting calmly on the toilet seat while you take a shower. We have tried everything, people. Like my sister said, "One day they won't want us, but we will know we got in all of the time possible when they did." Or something like that. My mom says I was the same way, so maybe it is genetic? Or, more likely, she recognizes my awesomeness.

Closet fun...

Best part: Cable! When she woke up , she got to drink her milk while watching Mickey in bed, with Mama and Daddy 4 feet away from her. Heaven. (For the record...we splurged and got the suite. She is a terrible sleeper and it was worth the extra $ to not have her keeping us up all night).

Our visit brought us close to Johnson City, where we lived during medical school. We had to check out our first home: The 600 square foot (? maybe smaller?) "house" that we lived in during medical school. I am pretty sure that the term "house" does not apply to this box with doors. Literally you could stand in the living room and see all parts of the house. HILARIOUS. I cannot even comprehend how broke were were back then, but we were so happy, too. Wonderful memories.

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Another fun, random idea...

ArtsCow (again...cool products, okay quality, cheap, slow shipping) has their photo cosmetic bags on sale, again! Order asap for Christmas delivery (they are slow)....BUT, they are SO adorable! Get them for a Valentine's present! I bought Lily the XL one and put pictures of Dixie, Daddy, me, Dora, Minnie, etc..(they are double sided) on it. She actually stays with our family overnight some, so I thought this would be fun for her suitcase when we aren't there. I also made her a Small one and just put pictures of her, Dora, Mickey, etc...for her to carry her marbles and fuzz balls around the house. The XS one would probably be perfect for a little bag for a purse!

They are going in her stocking, and they are SO cute and fun! One of my friends used them as pencil cases for her kids! Love it!

The DEAL: Pick any 3 bags (any size: XS to XL) for $9.99 with each extra bag just $2.99. Plus free shipping. You would have to actually need 3 or 4 to make it a good deal, but who doesn't need a photo cosmetic bag?

Coupon Code :	3CBGS999
Expiry Date :	11 / 28 / 2011

Leaf Hunt! (Plus, two random frugal gift ideas))

2011-11-12T20:49:00.001-06:00

This is the view from my kitchen window. I just love it. Except I am usually cooking or putting up dishes when I am looking out of it, so I really only love the idea of it.

In order to keep spending QUALITY time with Lily, we went on a leaf hunt. She was so excited and ran off to find all of the colors on our list.

Yellow!

Make fun of me if you want, but I found a printable thing online and we used it to keep up with our leaves. It is funny, because I DESPISED worksheets as a teacher, so this is maybe the first one I have ever printed off of a site? It just helped me to stay focused and the walk not turn into "Lily walks and finds leaves while I play on my phone." I love her tattooed hand marking off the yellow leaf! (She loved this game for about 9 minutes; then she needed "to potty" and then told me "Mama, you go find leaves. Lily watch DT." It was fun, though!)!

Hughes was off on Tuesday, so we went to this local restaurant here (Breakfast Of Course) where Lily had a 30 pound pancake. This picture does not do it justice.

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Two Random Frugal Gift Ideas:

1. ArtsCow photo ornament.

(TERRIBLE name, OKAY quality, FUN, frugal gifts!!)!

Go: http://www.artscow.com/photo-gifts/ornaments

$2.49 each with free shipping

Use code: OMENTS249

Expires: 11/24

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2. Super fun PLACEMAT!!

Inkarden.com is a new site for photo gifts. They have some cute things...plus, they have a deal right now! If you use code: ForFree at checkout to get $13 off any order. They have cute stuff like mugs, photo pads, plates, and placemats. You do have to pay shipping, but for most things it is less than $3.99. I decided to make Lily a placemat for her to use during her birthday month every year. It was about $3.73, I think. Melissa already got hers, and it is AWESOME quality and much larger than you would expect. This would be cute for a little Christmas gift or for a holiday; I almost made a Valentine's one for Lily but decided on the bday, instead. Adorable.

Super cute hair clips! (And laundry detergent ratings)...

2011-11-10T22:10:00.000-06:00

I made these a few months ago, but I just realized that maybe I should share them! I can take NO credit for any of this, because I was lucky enough to be invited to a fun GNO craft night (in August)! I'm a mega nerd, so it was the best kind of GNO.

Don't judge the earring by its terrible quality picture. I got lots of compliments on these little spider earrings during October!

I made bobby pins and earrings, but I also made Lily some cute bows on alligator clips, but I have no pictures of those. (This is such a fantastic tutorial post, huh?) The bobby pins are perfect for Lily, because she has such thin/ripped out hair. And, I love a bobby pin AND being festive AND being frugal. PERFECT!

I just never thought about doing any of this before, though, so I want to share; they were cheap, easy, and super cute.

I bought my stuff at Jo-Ann's and Michaels, on sale and/or with coupons, of course.

1. Earring posts/backs- I got a bag of 30 or so for a few dollars.

2. Hot glue or craft glue.

3. Felt in the color of your bobby pins.

4. Alligator clips- again, super cheap for a big bag.

5. Buttons and scrapbook embellishments. This was the most fun part! Why did I never think to glue a little flower on a clip? It took a while to find them, though. Look in the scrapbook section and the aisles around it at Michaels. At JoAnn's, look in the button area.

* For EARRINGS: glue the button/embellishment/flower on the post. Let dry.

* For Alligator clip bows: Walk around Michaels or Jo-anns and look for flowers, already made felt designs, cute buttons, etc. I even bought Lily this Hello Kitty thing at Target today that I am going to glue on an alligator clip. Glue thing on alligator clip. Let dry.

*For bobby pins: I hope this makes sense...Cut out a small (tiny?) rectangle of felt in the same color as the bobby pin. Slide the bobby pin onto the felt. The felt piece has to be small enough so that it isn't seen under the button. Put glue on one side of the felt piece and push the button down. The felt is what keeps the button/embellishment attached to the bobby pin. (My super clear picture above should be helpful...haha).

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Plus...Consumer Reports latest test on LAUNDRY DETERGENT:

1. Basically, never buy household products at Whole Foods; their laundry detergent was the most expensive and the worst one tested!

2. Tide and Wisk were the two highest rated ones overall, for HE and conventional top-loading.

3. For HE machines, here are the top ones:

- Tide HE plus Bleach Alternative

- Tide Ultra HE

- Wisk New Stain Spectrum (this was random to me...wisk!?!?)

- Tide plus Febreeze HE

- All with Oxi HE

-Tide HE

4. For Conventional Top Loaders:

- Wisk New Stain Spectrum (we have a top loader now, so this is good to know!)

- Tide plus Bleach Alternative

- Tide for Cold Water

- Tide Total Care

Gain with Bleach Alternative

**Side note- I LOVE TIDE!!! In medical school, when we were super-broke-beyond-broke, I won a YEAR'S SUPPLY of TIDE and BOUNCE! It was a contest on the tide website. I will be forever loyal to them, so I am glad they always score so high!!!***

Back to Knoxville, again.

2011-11-09T19:01:00.001-06:00

We go to Knoxville a lot in the Fall, and now that I am not working (how unfair is it that I am basically seen as unemployed?) , it is easier to stay there longer. So, we went back, again. I am running out of titles for the blog posts about Knoxville.

We may not be going back for a while, so for this trip, we really focused on the major important things that needed to be done.

For starters, we made sure to get the annual awkward family photo taken. (Melissa and I used to get our pics taken with our cousins in Christmas jammies).

Mom and I got a really high quality picture of ourselves.

Lily dragged some babies around by Dixie's leash. It is clearly not time for her to be a big sister.

LOTS of attention was devoted to the patch.

My parents took care of my other daughter, too.

We got attacked by some psycho aggressive ducks at the park. It was terrifying, and I may have run away, screaming "Mom! Mom!" until I remembered that the car door was open, and I deserted my child who was standing 2 feet from the gang of killers. I genuinely believe that without hesitation I would risk/sacrifice my life for Lily's. I mean, of course I would. But, this is the second time I have basically forgotten about her (for 2 seconds) and just left her to be eaten by wild birds. (The first involved some seagulls and goldfish crackers at the beach...remember, Emily Simril? Haha). It was close, but we all survived. Lily is terrified of ducks, now. "Don't get me!" she kept yelling. I am sure my dramatic reaction in no way influenced her fear.

We watched Anderson climb out of the pack and play. He can do it in less than a minute.

We played with a Jack n the Box.

We took some really good pictures together.

My dad: Bop, the Balloon Man!

My Dad: Rocker Extraordinaire.

We figured out that Anderson will eat if Lily hands it to him. We are continuing to figure out how much Lily thrives in a supervising role.

We painted with Noni.

We got confused when we saw this boy on the couch. I keep looking at this picture (Melissa, we put the patch and glasses on right after- he had just taken them off a I snapped the picture), because he is a different kid without the patch and glasses. He is precious all-around, of course, and how much does he look like his dad here? It is crazy. WHERE IS MY DNA? It is supposed to be in there! Where is my DNA in the one on the left, too? It is supposed to be in there! How cool is it that Anderson literally has my DNA?

Lots of rocking with Bop.

L is for Lily and Leaves! (Plus fun microwave puffy paint)

2011-11-07T20:21:00.010-06:00

*Thanks for the new title, Sissa.*

Lily and I are depressed about Halloween being over (although, we trick-or-treated for over 2 hours, so the candy will be around for a while), so I am trying to make her excited about Thanksgiving. Turkeys and pilgrims are just not as exciting to a 2 year old. Shocking, I know. (We did get some super cute shirts in the mail from MeeMaw, though, so they will help get us excited hopefully). Today, we went and played in the leaves!

I LOVE my new camera.

Even though our house drives me crazy with its oldness (the quaintness gets old after a while), our neighborhood cannot be beat. There are just huge piles of leaves all around. Instant fun.

It is so weird...I always thought that once I was staying home with Lily, I would never be stressed out and we would just play all day and sing songs. Right. Somehow, even though I literally CUT OUT an entire job, I still feel overwhelmed. For instance, right now, I literally have 23 things on my to-do list. It is ridiculous. Granted, none of the items are super important, but I still love to cross off something. I REALLY need to clean my house, the laundry is piled up on the couch, and I just put 3 more things on my stack of paper work. WHY DO I EVEN HAVE PAPERWORK?!?! I NEVER watch TV and I hardly ever read. Of course, I do blame the no nap business partially, but mainly it is just my personality. I will always invent some new task/craft/deal that I need to do.

The point is: I feel SUPER rushed and preoccupied whenever I am playing with Lily. While we are dancing with our scarves, I am thinking about running off to fold clothes. While she is cooking erasers or marbles for me on her stove, I am trying to sneak in one email reply on my phone. I just feel frantic and rushed all day, STILL. So, I have decided that I am going to devote at least 30 minutes (twice a day) of completely uninterrupted attention to Lily. I realize how pathetic that sounds, especially to working moms. But, I am telling you...errands, chores, free Christmas card deals, etc...- they will suck you in, and there will be no time left in the day. So, for 30 minutes we will do the Hokey Pokey and Ring-Around-the Rosy.

I started today, and we played in leaves and then we painted! (Trust me, there was plenty of other Mama-Lily time, too! But, this was just me focused on her). It was amazing how much better I feel at the end of the day. NO mom guilt! It was refreshing and relaxing to actually put down my stupid phone and play with the girl.

MICROWAVE PUFFY PAINT:

I got the idea from: Microwave Puffy Paint. I hope that link works. This was SO MUCH fun, cheap, and really easy. On her blog. she makes it look really time consuming, but it was not hard at all (except I don't bake and had to go buy self-rising flour). I used the Crayola washable paint that comes 6 in the little cardboard box. I love that paint.

The picture doesn't do it justice. It was super cool (and easy!). The flour in the paint makes it puffy, so I tried to get Lily to put big blobs. Then, after you microwave it, the paint is this hard, spongy texture that is really fun to push and press. Lily had a lot of fun, but she did decide she would rather just supervise for the second one.

Halloween.

2011-11-01T20:24:00.001-05:00

First...a little flashback to the last two years...

The hotdog.

Last year- a ladybug. This was taken at the end of the night, clearly, which is why she looks so awesome. She definitely figured out what to do last year; I think trick-or-treating is in her genes.

Getting a present from Aunt Manda last year.

I remember she carried around her orange pumpkin filled with candy for DAYS last year. She had no idea it was candy, which was awesome because I got to eat it all; she thought it was little toys.

This year! Minnie Mouse! This was definitely the best year, because she totally understood the excitement that is trick-or-treating before it even happened. I credit her Dora Halloween DVD plus the million Halloween festivities we did!

Lily's friend, Zade, came over to eat pizza and go trick-or-treating with us! I think Zade (and tiny baby brother, Jude) was the highlight of the day for Lily. She talked about it for days before it happened. Zade is adorable, so I can't blame Lily.

After pizza, the kids were playing and my friend, Emily, asked Lily if she could write her name. I was like, "No way. She knows the letters in her name, but she can't write any." And, then, Lily wrote this. Completely by herself. Emily was a witness. I was slightly embarrassed that I clearly had no part in teaching her or even realizing she could do it. But, mainly I was just SUPER proud. They aren't working on letters at school, yet, so Lily just literally can do this all by herself. (And yet, I would probably trade this skill for a nap. Just one nap).

Daddy is a pretty big part of the trick-or-treating deal.

To say she was excited was an understatement.

"I Minnie Mouse!"

Best idea- getting the wagon!

How amazing is my neighborhood?? They literally BLOCK off streets, because there are so many people. I have never seen anything like it.

Ignore the blurry pics...just trying to capture how festive it was. Probably 99% of the houses were giving out candy, and most were decorated, too.

There were LINES at the houses, but it was worth it, because people passing out candy were in costume. Plus, we were surrounded by hundreds of kids squealing, the smell of chocolate, the taste of the Snickers bars I kept swiping from Lily's pumpkin, and excitement everywhere!! What a great night to be a kid...and an even better night to be the mom of a kid!

"LILY, that spells Yilly."

Power T. Much cooler in person.

Pumpkins, a Piñata, and Noah

2011-10-31T00:38:00.004-05:00

More love! We got a card from Aunt Shannon and Auntie Kay, too! The card from Auntie Kay and Charlie has a cat, and it joined Lily for lunch! Haha. Well chosen, Auntie Kay!

We have been out of town and/or Hughes has been working for the entire month of October, so we just got a chance to carve pumpkins on Saturday. Lily is totally her Daddy's girl, so she was born with a love for power tools. (Yes, my husband has tools to help carve the pumpkins).

Okay, so the reaching into the slimy guts only lasted 2 seconds, then she said, "Daddy, you get the seeds." Lily is definitely more of a supervisor in some areas.

By the second pumpkin, she didn't even need help.

Super cute dress from MeeMaw. For some reason, Lily jumps around constantly in it, so this was the best picture I could get.

We went to a super cute party on Saturday, too.... a tennis theme for our friend, Clark. His mom is precious and made this awesome piñata!!

On Sunday, the Big Cousin himself, Noah, had a tournament in Charlotte, so we drove (an hour and a half- not bad) to see him. It was awesome to just see Noah and Zack on a Sunday, but it was sad, too...it was like a tease. We don't know when we will get to see them, again. :( His team WON the whole thing, too! Of course they did.

Uncle Zack!!!!

She isn't spoiled at all.

I love that Noah and his friend, Jackson, are so awesome with Lily. She literally stayed at their end of the table for the entire lunch, and they enjoyed her. Noah has always loved Lily and has the best relationship with her. Even when she was tiny and just screamed at all of us, he still loved her so much. He is just the most special kid. Look at the love and admiration in her eyes.

They taught her games on their phones.

Uncle Zack. We were sad to not see Aunt Manda and Kyler, but it felt like old times, hanging out with our family on Sunday. We miss them. It sucks.

The Dixie Doodlus. We really think she is beautiful, but when I post pictures of her, I am aware that maybe it is a mama's love?

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!!!!!!