HAPPY ?? BIRTHDAY LAURA!

HAPPY ?? BIRTHDAY LAURA!!

I would like to start out by wishing my friend and cousin-in-law a very Happy Birthday and may you have many many more spectacular birthdays to come.

We have been so busy all weekend that I'm ashamed to say, our Christmas tree is still up. The positive side is Doug got the ladder out for us last Friday night. Unfortunately, that's as far as we got! With all the snow storm threats on the news, we decided to take Millard and Peggy out for their Anniversary Dinner on Friday night instead of Saturday.

Happy 44th Anniversary Millard & Peggy!

We would have enjoyed our time more, if Katie wasn't being such a pill all afternoon. I didn't think the trouble twos could get worse, but she has showed us differently this past couple of weeks. Ugh!!! SERENITY NOW!!!!! Peggy and Millard tried everything they could, being nice, to get her to be good. Nope! It wasn't going to happen. I felt bad for them because she was messing up their Anniversary evening. I know Peggy and Millard felt bad for me because I was mad at Katie for ruining their evening. I've gotten to where I'm ready to lock her up in her room until she gets out of this stage.

I've been checking out all the great sales online from J.Jill, Cold Water Creek, Gymboree & Disney. The only bad thing about the sales online is you still have to worry about the shipping cost. Thursday, I got some coupons from Belk and it was burning a hole in my purse. I wanted to get out of the house all day. After Katie's nap, we coated up and went to Belk to checked out all their sales. Oh my gosh! I got such a great deal on her Winter coat & a wind breaker for next year. The Winter coat is a buckskin colored leather with pink fur trim on the outside and fur all on the inside of the coat. Katie loved the pink furry purse that comes with it. It has a hood, two front pockets & zips up in the front. It was regular $64 coat and I paid $22. I also got a purple hooded wind breaker with fleece lining for $16. I was so excited because I just knew I wouldn't be able to find the right coats and jackets for the price. I figured that they would have already been picked through. Katie loves the jersey material casual dresses, Belk sells. So, we checked out the Summer collection and she found one that she had to have. It's blue with little flowers all over it. She hugged on it all the way to the cashier. Unfortunately, Peggy got her the same one. Oh well, we'll just take it back and get the skort that I wanted to get. I think skorts look adorable on her. By the time we got back home, I was on a bargain buzz. I was ready to go to Disney & Gymboree. Doug was afraid to go off any where distant because of the weather. I told him there was too much talk for us getting 2-8 inches and blah, blah. Every time when a weather person begins talking up the snow or bad weather, it usually turns out to be a bust. Saturday morning, I got up and didn't see any snow. I took a bath and got ready to leave for the mall. Doug knew what I was going to do. He began giggling at me and asked me where I was going. He knew. Then he begins asking about all the Christmas stuff. Maybe we'll get it down by Easter. Who knows I can see an Easter Lily by our Christmas tree. tehe! We went by Millard and Peggy's house and picked them up. At the Disney store, I love their new Spring line. So precious! I showed Peggy the Tinkerbell nightgowns. They are precious and I know Katie would look adorable in one. Believe it or not, Katie actually liked the Tinkerbell PJs better than the gown. I don't think she understood that the shirt she liked really wasn't a gown, but PJs. I even liked the sleeveless Princess night gowns they had right now. Peggy wanted to get the Tinkerbell one for Katie's birthday, but I told her to wait. This line just came out and they will go on sale in a month or two. I don't think she believed me until she saw the price $29. Shoo! A bit steep! Give it a few months, they 'll be around $19-$10. Katie absolutely loves her "Mermaid" night gown that Santa Claus got her. They had them on sale for 50% plus an additional 30%. I grabbed two & Peggy got one for next Fall/Winter. They ended up being $7.49 each, which was cheaper than what I would have gotten them online. I also grabbed a Sleep Beauty Toboggan with flaps over the ears for Katie next year. It was only $2.50. If they had another kind for a little girl, I would have gotten it. I showed Doug the hat and didn't think Katie could wear it, but it says on the tag for 5-7 years. She already wears a Toboggan 2T-5T and it fits perfectly. If she can't wear the Sleeping Beauty next year because it's too big, then she might be able to wear it the next year. Peggy got Katie a pair of Mermaid flip flops and a pair of Mermaid sunglasses. She loves them! We went to Gymboree, but it looked like it had been picked through. I thought about getting the short sleeve cupcake "Birthday Girl" t-shirt for Katie to wear on her birthday. We are going simple this year as far as birthday parties go or that's my goal. I was so glad that we found all of these great deals.

After we got back from the restaurant on Friday night, I began showing a few sites online to Peggy. Because Katie loves her Puddle Jumper shoes (pink & red pairs), Peggy wanted to know if they made them in sandals. I bought Katie's pink pair of Puddle Jumpers last October and they have held up so well. I pulled up "If The Shoe Fits" and "Puddle Jumpers" websites for Peggy to look at. I could even find some Puddle Jumpers listed on eBay, but none were in Katie's size. I love the pink and white polka dots the best, but they have several different colors. Peggy likes the white with pink polka dots. I also showed her the "Smartie Britches" website. She couldn't believe it! We found a few outfits that she wanted to get Katie this Summer. I suggested we call the company, see if we could order the outfits and just pick them up when they are ready. What is amazing is the outfits we found, also came with a custom made purses and/or hair bows. So cute! Once Peggy and I got on eBay, we couldn't put the computer down. We began looking at smocked dresses and Peggy was having a fit because the bids were around $16-$22. I had to tell her, the battle is if you can get it at that price. I think I could easily get Peggy hooked on eBay.

Speaking of eBay, I've decided yesterday to clean out some of Katie's Spring/Summer outfits from her closet. I got the dresses and outfits that didn't have any or slight flaws, washed them up, ironed, took pictures, wrote descriptions on MS Word and spent the rest of the night doing my research. Now, I've got to go to WalMart and get some supplies including a weighing scale, Ziploc bags and packing envelopes. I've got her dresses & outfits ready to put on auction that I think would be nice for Easter. I also have a few other separate auctions on stand by like Spring Capri Sets and Summer outfits. I figured Doug and Peggy would be upset with me when they found out. They seemed sad, but they know this will allow her to have new cute outfits to come.

I just won this dress! Isn't it pretty? It's not new, but it suppose to be well taken care of. I don't think the hair bow is included. Normally, they are just for show. Katie has a pink organza hair bow that I think will look perfect or she has a pretty white & pink bunny hair bow. Katie will look precious in this for Easter. I'm also bidding on another more Spring Capri set. It will end later this afternoon.