En Vogue

Fashionable Hair Accessories

A MUST for every little.....boy?

hmmm....not sure how his dad will feel about this. But personally, I have been laughing about it all day.

Canadian Falls

A couple weekends ago Mike spontaneously decided we should head on over and visit our neighbors to the north….er….East from where we live, and hang out with some Canadians. Pretty fun, eh?

So we booked our reservations at Michael’s Inn (Seriously, that’s where we stayed) loaded the car, and headed to Niagara Falls. It was a great get away.

We saw the sights, went on a hike, got SOAKED on the Maid of the Mist, crossed the border and ate at Hard Rock Cafe in NY, and watched Miles swim his little heart out in the hotel swimming pool.

(Because let’s face it…when you’re 2, the swimming pool is all that really matters.)

Pretty much, it was awesome.

I highly recommend going. To the Canada side.

sorry America…your Niagara Falls just weren’t as good. (But your food is cheaper, so thanks for that.)

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This is Only a Test

This was my husband, testing out his NEW 0.38 fine tip gel pen, which he assures me is PRACTICALLY the smallest and finest pen tip EVER MADE!!

And He thinks I’M WIERD!!???

I (HEART) SAVING MONEY

Here is the difference between men and women.

Scenario 1:

Me: I walk in and immediately begin unloading my bags of groceries onto the kitchen table (arranging them just so), then pull out my camera and start clicking away.

Mike: WHAT are you DOING!

Me: Taking pictures of my groceries. All this only cost me $11.32!!! I need a picture for my blog.

Mike: YOU ARE SO WIERD!!!!

Scenario 2:

Me: I call my sister to tell her my great couponing news, complete with my afore mentioned story.

Rachel: Well, you ARE wierd. But I would do the same thing.

So there you have it.

After I took the picture, I realized I had forgotten to unpack 1 bag, which had another pack of Pull-Ups and 5 more toothbrushes.

From Rite-aid I bought: 1 pack of pull-ups and 4 Reach toothbrushes = $22.24

minus my coupons = I paid $1.03 out of pocket. Repeat 5 times.

And in case you were wondering, I didn’t set out to buy 20 toothbrushes. I don’t really need 20 toothbrushes. But I had LOTS of coupons for the toothbrushes, which resulted in “overage.” (meaning I had more coupons than the actual price of the item, so the remaining amount of my coupons get applied to other items)

Rite Aid Total: $5.15

Saved: $106.05

Meijer : I bought everything else – 2 gallons of apple juice, 3 jars mayo/miracle whip, 4 Kraft salad dressings, 2 bags of Ruffles, 3 gallons of milk, 1 pound apples, 5lb bag potatoes, 1 dozen eggs, 1 loaf of bread, 2 tubes of toothpaste for Miles, 2 pasta salad mixes, and (not pictured) 4 containers of Crystal Light Lemonade, and 1 jar of peanut butter.

Meijer Total: $6.17

Saved: $50.34

Total Spent: $11.32 Saved: $156.39

So what am I doing with all that saved money? Only creating the most FANTABULOUS crafting area out of the mess downstairs we currently call our unfinished basement. Oh Yes….you heard me. Project Basement re-organization/craft room creation is well underway. And I am positively giddy about the results thus far. But there is still much more to be done.

Like painting, and organizing, and hanging my new pendant lights over my new fabric cutting island and beading desk. oh yeah…you heard me. My heart beats a little faster just thinking about it! Anyone up for a craft night???

Lucky

Did I ever tell you that I am not a “Lucky” person? Well… I’m not. Not really. But please don’t confuse mu use of the term Luck, with being blessed. I have undeniably been very very blessed in my life. But not lucky.

It’s been a long standing joke in our family that if you ever want to win ANYTHING….have Adam enter the contest for you. He always wins. ALWAYS. Lady luck has chosen him as her golden child. The kid is the luckiest person I know.

BUT…every once in awhile, the stars will align, and Lady Luck will smile down on me. I still remember the last time that happened. I was attending my 6th grade end of the year party. The raffler was approaching the last item; a six pack of Mountain Dew. And when the teacher reached his hand into the bucket to pull out a ticket, I heard a voice somewhere inside me confirming to me what I already knew; I would win. And I was certain. I started to the stage to collect my prize before my name was even called. But it WAS called. Just as I knew it would be.

Last week I was checking one of my absolutely, most favorite blogs, EVER…sisterscafe.blogspot.com

(If you haven’t checked it out yet, I highly recommend it. I am not exaggerating in the least when I tell you it has completely changed my life.)

But back to my story….

So I was checking the blog for this weeks weekly menu/grocery shopping prep, and they were sponsoring a give away. A give away that seemed to be right up my alley. It was for a DSLR camera class called “Get Out of Auto Mode”. I almost skipped right over the post when an old feeling came back to me. “You will win”, it whispered. So I entered.

And it was right. I DID win.

So I ran right out and bought a lottery ticket.

But then I realized I never got a “winning” feeling when I purchased my ticket. AND….I had just used up all my luck for the next 15 years or so on the camera class.

I hope it’s worth it! :)

P.S. The lottery drawing was Saturday. I’m not a 180 millionaire. All requests for new cars and shopping sprees will unfortunately be denied.

P.P.S. Hurry on over to The Sisters Cafe and try out these delicious dishes. They are my FAVORITE!!!

1. Crispy Southwest Wraps - (The home made guacamole is TOTALLY worth it. And using lots of fresh cilantro. Seriously…the more the better)

2. Chicken Corn Chowder

3. Honey Lime Enchiladas – I have tried both pork and chicken. They are both great, but shredded pork is my personal favorite

I could post a million more…but we’ll start with these three. Your husbands will thank you!

It’s my potty and I’ll poop where I want to

Sorting through some old memory cards and organizing pictures today. I stumbled across this old photo taken when we were visiting Mike’s dad down at Bryce Canyon. I think Miles was about 6 months old (or so). Oh how I miss those little chubber cheeks and so soft and fine you can’t do anything with it baby hair. What did I ever do to deserve such a wonderful little family???

But now my little boy is growing up.

<tear>

<sigh>

But it’s okay. Really, it is. Because this boy is hilarious. Seriously, he cracks me up.

Take yesterday for instance.

Miles has been working on potty training, and is doing really well. He has completely figured out that he isn’t supposed to go potty in his undies. So yesterday (while he was in timeout) the urge struck. And knowing he isn’t allowed to get off the naughty chair until he has served his time, and knowing he isn’t supposed to do his business in his pull-ups, he did the only logical thing. Stripped down, stood up on the chair, and peed off the side into the corner of my dining room.

twice.

And OH, he was so proud of himself. He kept saying, “Mom…no pee pee undies! Yah!” Complete with a jubilant fist pump into the air. Now, how could I not laugh about that?

But wait, there’s more…..

One of the hardest things about potty training (I think) is getting your child to come inside to go potty even when they are having a great time playing outside. But Miles has already worked out a solution to this dilemma.

Like when he waddled inside yesterday, pants around his ankles, bare bum exposed, exclaiming “poop, poop, poop”! I thought he must have had an accident. But his pull-ups were perfectly dry and perfectly clean. I was confused, until Miles grabbed my hand and marched me outside to show me his accomplishment. He lead me outside to the sidewalk in front of our house where, with a gesture of his hand, proudly declared “Mom, Look! I did it! Poop!!!” And sure enough, he had.

Oh, the neighbors must have had a great laugh about that. I know I did. I figure at least its a step in the right direction. Apparently, I need to start focusing a little less on not “going” in our undies, and start emphasizing we ONLY go in the POTTY.

But it sure makes for some very entertaining afternoons. :)

Mothers

I have a pretty great mom. In fact, I hope to be just like her when I grow up. And that’s sayin something! :)

Happy Mother’s Day to all you Mother’s out there!

Now go lie down and take a nap.

YOU DESERVE IT!

And a special thanks to my mom for Miles’ new summer clothes. He loves to wear them, and I love that he looks so handsome! (even with his eyes closed.)

Easter

I have always looked forward to Easter. It is one of my favorite Holidays. And having a 2 and a half year old….(WHAT!!! 2 1/2 years old???? Holy Moly, he is growing up too fast)…. meant I was even MORE anxious to see how he would react to all things Easter.

Like, say…the Romer Family Annual Easter Egg Hunt.

This year it was inside because the weather was so gloomy. Grandma Romer hid eggs and candy all over the basement. Miles’ little cousin Taylor got to start first (seeing as she is only about 18 months or so). After her minute was up, then Miles got to join in on the fun. I was expecting wide eyes, crazy running around, and maybe some shouts of pure joy coming from my little guy.

But alas, it was not meant to be. He just looked around, saw things on the floor, and dutifully went about putting them in his basket. Like it was just another typical day, and I was making him clean up his toys and deposit them in the toy box.

He didn’t even care about the eggs. He walked AROUND the eggs. So I was forced to take drastic measures. I opened one egg so he could see. And he saw alright. He saw MONEY in those eggs. Then the kid was all about business and ended up having a pretty decent basket to show off.

His sugar high never really wore off, and it was a chore getting him to bed that night. But I was able to coax him into dreamland by by reminding him that the Easter Bunny only visited little boys who WENT TO SLEEP! Eventually, sleep he did.

And the Easter Bunny brought this!!

I thought it was ESPECIALLY nice of the Easter Bunny to personally make a coordinating tie to go with Miles’ new Easter outfit. How thoughtful!!

But the only thing Miles’ REALLY appreciated were the Reese’s peanut butter eggs that he found in his basket. He felt it necessary to separate those eggs from all the other “inferior quality” easter treats, like jelly beans and m&ms. No, he could not even CONSIDER eating any of those until his beloved peanut butter eggs had all been consumed. At least now the Easter Bunny knows not to waste her time with Jelly Beans.

(Like THESE ones the Easter Bunny lovingly laid out). Nope. The kid was not interested in them. Not At All.

Because Easter Sunday just happened to also be Conference Sunday, Miles didn’t get to don his new duds. But pictures will be coming soon.

We missed Mike (who was still in Michigan, enjoying the beautiful Spring weather out there), but were glad we could share in some fun activities with the Romer clan.

Thanks Romers for so much fun!

Extra, Extra! Read all about it!!

I like trying new things. I mean, I like trying to MAKE new things. I have an endless list of tutorials bookmarked on my computer just waiting for the day I fancy to give them a try. It has crossed my mind that perhaps I have Arts and Crafts ADD. Is there such a thing? I’m not sure.

My husband tires of my endless need to create something I couldn’t before. But I have to give him props, because he usually just goes along with it. He must have learned its just much easier this way.

So one project I have wanted to tackle for awhile now was learning how to crochet a newsboy cap for Miles. I scoped out patterns on Etsy, found one specifically labeled for “Beginners”, bought some yarn on sale at Michaels, and learned how to do a half double crochet stitch by watching You Tube. (Have I ever posted about my fondness of You Tube? No? Well, I will add that to my list of things to do.)

So I started off. The instructions said it would take me about 2 hours. ‘Cept I must be really slow. REALLY REALLY slow. Because it took me just over 4.

And the result……..was not so great. WAY too small. Packed it in my bag to give to my new nephew. Back to store to buy a larger hook and thicker yarn.

2nd Attempt: Increased the number of rows to make it large enough for Miles. Result: Not so great. I didn’t realize that the larger hook and yarn would ALREADY make the cap much larger. Add in my extra rows and well…..let’s just say it is now MY cap. And fits me perfectly.

3rd Attempt: Back to the original pattern, but using the larger hook and yarn. Was the third time the charm???

Well, not EXACTLY.

But it was pretty close. Don’t analyze these pictures too closely, or you will see my many mistakes. I somehow lost count of my rows, so it is a couple rows too long. I also managed to “flip” my pattern half way through, which is why the top of the hat looks different. And the bill is a little wonky.

But it keeps little ears warm on brisk mornings outside when the agenda, apparently, is squishing ants.

Maybe the 4th time will be the charm. Anyone want a not so well made crochet cap???

Other projects on my immediate “to do” list:

1. Make the quilt kit I bought for Miles

2. Diaper and Wipes Case

3. Easter Tie

4. Magnetic Message Center (for home in Michigan)

5. Plant my first ever Vegetable Garden

6. And a few more “Baby Sets” for close friends.

7. Couch Pillows. (Don’t tell Mike. This is one project he WON’T go along with.) It’s going to be a surprise! :)

OOOOh…I am sure you can hardly wait!

April Fools

Mother Nature definitely fooled us this year.

And I was a fool to believe she wouldn’t.

But we made the best of it.

(Meanwhile, it is 80 degrees and sunny back in Michigan. Go figure)