Fun Filled Weekend

Garage Sale - Saturday
I am so thankful to God for listening to our prayers. He kept the rain off of us until around noon. Sure, our plans were to keep selling until close to 3PM, but we took noon. It was a great sale. We had a large variety to choose from and I believe everyone came out a winner. We got out and setting everything out at 5AM. I had so much, I ran out of space to set all the girl clothes. Thank goodness Robin, Whitney's MIL, let us borrow 3 (store) clothes racks. They helped out a lot! Finally, I just had to put the rest of the clothes out on a brand new tarp, on the ground. I really didn't like this idea, but I had no choice because I ran out of tables and clothes racks. HAHA! Doug took a few pictures for me of the BIG Garage Sale.

By mid-morning, I could see a huge chunk of clothes and items sold. So good, I was able to transfer the clothes off of the tarp onto the tables and racks. I've come to find out there are some people that make yard sales their profession. Sure, I expected to get the occasional product offers. If the item was something that wasn't my favorite or I could see the person needed worse than I, I was happy to come down a lot. One lady bought 2 1/2 Pamper boxes full of baby clothes that I came down a lot just for her buying so much.

Several people picked up the dresses and made cute comments about them, but put them down after seeing the price. I had 3 or 4 Rosalina dresses in excellent condition in the sale. I was asking $20 each, except for the Bama Smock. I believe I asked for $30 on it because it cost a lot of money and Katie hardly wore it. The Bama smock wasn't her favorite because it wasn't pink. Ugh! Go figure. After I get a breath, I'll get them out, take photos and post them here on Blogger before I post them on eBay. So, stay tuned!

Decoration Day - Sunday
Today was our annual run around the county for Decoration Day. The church, I grew up in and the church Doug grew up, both have their Decoration Day on the same day. I've had several people ask me about Decoration Day. What is it? What do you do? I think it must be a Southern thing, but it's when we take time out and just remember our loved ones that have gone on before us to be with the Lord. To celebrate them and our memories of them. We do this by "decorating" their gravesites with flowers, stuffed toys, crafts (handmade signs), plants, pretty much anything to dress up the graves. The church usually dedicates a one hour program of songs, reading poems and playing of instruments, all in remembrance of the ones who have passed away.

This year, Doug's family decided to do something different. We all met up at a restaurant to eat lunch, instead of going back to their house to eat. It was so nice to not have to worry about staying in the Kitchen, laying all the food out and then having to clean up afterwards. Ahh! It was nice. I think we had a very nice visit and I didn't seem too stressed out by the end of the day. In the past, Decoration Days kept me all wound up and by the end of the day, I was ready to collapse. I hope we can do this again next time.

Katie and Trey are something else. We kept giggling at those two. They were hugging and hanging on each other most of the time. Katie couldn't keep her hands off of him for a second and Trey was always wanting to know where Katie was at. They kept begging us parents to go to each others houses today, so they could play. I think I heard Katie telling Trey about the "Fun" Museum aka "EarlyWorks Museum." She wants someone to go with her so bad, she can taste it. Anyways, Katie and Trey are real affectionate to one another. In the future, I think we're gonna have to remind them that they are cousins. I remember my nephew, Nicholas, and niece, Leslie, were the same exact way. We were all the time saying they were the "kissing cousins." To this day, they seem to be very close. Not too close, if you know what I mean. HAHA! I hope Katie and Trey will have the same closeness in the future.

Fabric Canvas Wall Art - "The Tidymom"
This is such a great idea! Here I thought I was going to have to learn how to paint, so I could make my own works of art at an affordable price. Shoot! Now, I can change up my household wall art as much as I want. I love this idea and hope to find the time to do it. Whose with me? CLICK HERE FOR INSTRUCTIONS. Have you ever done anything like this? Is it really that easy? Oh, I'm so excited!

The Gulf of Mexico - Oil Spill
Have you been keeping up with the latest on the oil spill off the Gulf of Mexico? First of all, the explosion is awful and I hated to hear about this tragedy. My thoughts and prayers go to the victims from this disaster. I really hope BP are able to cap this spill before things get worse for everyone and the environment. Isn't it something? No matter how BIG or small, a bad choice or tragic experience can affect so many many people and living things. Thank goodness God knows what's best and He always allows us to find a way back into balance for a brief moment. This spill could not have happened at the worst time right now. Now, when we need our oil rigs running smoothly, so the more than average environmental crazed nuts won't come jumping out of their skin saying, "see, see, we told you." "You're going to ruin the environment and kill off the endangered species by drilling for oil." Please don't get me wrong. I love animals and most other living species. We have to remember God created us for His glory. The animals were created for Adam's amusement, to care for. We just need to keep our priorities in check and make sure we are doing all we can do without jeopardizing our good will. We have to remember God is in control at all times. Accidents happen and yeah, most of the time it's our fault. Thank God because he is ever forgiving.

I'm still hearing reports that this oil will more than likely hit our coast in the next couple of months. At the same time, I'm hearing BP won't be able to guarantee a cap for that length of time. As much as I hate the affect this spill will have on everyone and every living thing, all I can think about is our future vacation plans. This definitely slings a dirty mop into the wash. Thankfully, like all dirty mops, they always come out clean in the end. I revisited our current contract and we have at least 6 weeks to cancel, in order to receive our deposit. So, what will be the alternative vacation spot? I was thinking about Biltmore Estate in Asheville. CLICK HERE FOR WEBSITE.

Biltmore Estate in Asheville ~ America's Largest Home ~

 Completed in 1895 ~ owned by George Vanderbilt

Several of my family members have had the opportunity to not only visit here once but twice. They love it and recommend the trip! Unfortunately, I never had the chance to go and would love to because of all the stories I hear about it. You can tour the house, winery and grounds. While you are touring the winery, you have the opportunity to taste a little as well. I understand there is a small town to visit and do a little shopping and sightseeing. The place is localed in the heart of the Appalachian Mountains, so there's lots of wildlife and beautiful scenery. I have a nephew that doesn't live very far from there and I think he mentioned that a lot of people like to do a little hiking and whitewater there as well.

Garage Sale Eve

I think we're ready for the garage sale tomorrow. I'm excited! We are forecasting 40% chance of showers tomorrow.  Most of the meteorologist are thinking the rain will hold off until tomorrow afternoon.  They say there might be a spot shower here and there.  Oh, I hope their right.  Us ladies have come to a conclusion, if it rains, it was meant to be.  We have our tarps and plastic drop clothes ready.

A young girl came by earlier today and bought Katie's toddler bed.  Whoo Hoo!  Now, if it's the Lord's will, everything else will be sold tomorrow.  Ha ha!

Maryann sold her bedroom suite to a couple tonight and the same couple bought Natalie's radio.  YAY!  Both ladies that bought our furniture today, said they would be back tomorrow.  Let's hope they will buy more.    

Garage Sale

Saturday, May 1st

7AM - 3PM (weather permitting)

Our House

Strawberry Patch Field Trip
Katie was so disappointed that she picked a basket full of strawberries too quickly, causing us to go home earlier than expected. She wanted to just hang out with all the kids. It was such a beautiful day to pick strawberries! The patches were LOADED with red ripe berries. I told Katie that we'll have to come back another day and get some more. The kids picked so many strawberries that they were falling out of the their baskets and then the other children would step on the berries. Yuck! I kept telling Katie to watch where she was walking. For this to be our last field trip for the year, it was very nice and enjoyed it. Mrs. Katie is getting plans together for a great Year End Party next month.

Katie and her friend "O" waiting patiently in line

"H" posing for the camera, while Katie looks away again.

Kids beginning to fan out

"A" showing her momma what she picked

Busy picking berries

Katie & her friend "M" showing me their strawberries

Katie wanted a picture taken of her HUGE strawberry she just picked

Girls wanted me to take a picture of their baskets

My Little Butterfly

Katie's Art Class painted butterfly faces yesterday.  You should have seen all the butterflies coming out of the school building.  Too cute!

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Finally, The University of Alabama has "The National Championship" coca cola bottles out now.  If you want one, you need to hurry because not many were made.

Colton has learned to sit in chairs now.  I caught him twice standing in this chair in the Living Room yesterday.  Ugh!  So, I've been trying to teach him to turn around and sit as soon as he gets in the chair, instead of standing.  He sat in this chair by himself.  Katie was amazed.  She came running after me because she thought Colton did something wrong.  I had to take a picture.  He sat there for quite sometime, looking at his book.   

Movies In Review

Last weekend, we rented "Did You Hear About The Morgans?"  with Jessica Sarah Parker and Hugh Grant.  I loved this movie!  It is so funny. 

I would love to see "The Bounty Hunter" with Jennifer Aniston and Gerard Butler. I hope it's as funny as the preview.

Garage Sale

Saturday, May 1st

7am - 3pm

My House

Items includes: baby clothes (boy and girl) in good to excellent condition for all seasons. Girl clothes/dresses (sizes: 3-5 years old) for all seasons. I've priced the good condition dresses $8.00-$25.00. Children shoes (size: crib-youth 9).  You Alabama fans, I've got a beautiful smock dress, size 2T, in the sale. It's in excellent condition, retail $45.00. I've got it priced for $35.00. Name brand clothes: Smart Britches, Rosalina, Rare Edition, Flapdoodles, Nike, Stride Rite, Keds, Gymboree and The Children's Place. Pink toddler bed (excellent condition) $15. Toys of all kinds, a baby jumper station, pack-n-play, stroller, Avent & Playtex bottles, Maternity clothes (size: M-XL), two battery operated/electric breast pump with all the accessories (great condition) and other knick-knacks. 

My sister, Maryann, is selling a nice bedroom suite and beautiful Prom dresses (sizes: 6 and up). I'm going to try and sell my wedding dress and veil again (size 12). I'm asking $100 for both, but will consider any offers.

Great Finds To Share

Health Note
Sometimes, I might flip the television station over to "The Drs" or "Dr. Oz." Now, I realize these are all television doctors and may not be equivalent to your own personal physician. Saying that I've slowly and I mean SLOWLY been trying to change our eating habits. I do know that you should have lots of daily fiber, but I never really knew how much until "The Drs." were talking about it one day. So, we've been trying out the whole wheat pasta, Doug's not on board with that one. I've been choosing Whole Grain foods over regular snacks and carbs. We really like Whole Grain Goldfish and Cheez Its around our household. So, the question for today is how much fiber are you supposed to take in daily? Would you believe, 25-30 grams a day. The fiber is good for several reasons, but what's most important to me is it helps prevent colon and breast cancers and heart disease. Saying this, it doesn't mean you should get on the fiber train full force or you will fall flat on your face. Trust me! I've done that before. Like most, I do not take in as much fiber as I should and no where near 25 grams a day. When I was pregnant with Colton, I had digestive issues and ate TONS of "Fiber One." Oh, I thought I was going to die right then and there. I didn't know what was wrong with me until I spoke to my sister. She knew I was eating the "Fiber One" snack bars. I guess I was eating 3-4 a day because of my condition. They were not helping but adding to my problem because I went all gung ho on the fiber. "The Drs." addressed that very issue. If you normally do not eat that much fiber, you need to take baby steps and slowly build up your grams of fiber. That's what I'm trying to do and luckily, it seems to be working.

Now that it's Spring time and warmer weather, I've wanted to put the comfort foods away for a brief moment. Today, I got all the ingredients to make my Chicken Salad. You'll find the Recipe HERE. I served it inside one of these:

These FlatOut Flatbreads are Multi-grain with Flax flour, which contains 8 grams of fiber per serving and an excellent source of Omega 3.  Plus, they are only 100 calories, 1 gram of sugar and 2.5 grams of fat.  I love wraps, so I thought it tasted really good.  "The Drs" suggested eating lots of fruit with skin on them like grapes throughout the day for small snacks.  So, I plan on doing this with the grapes I had leftover from my Chicken Salad.  

Laundry Tip
I don't think I've mentioned this great product before that's why I'm posting it now.  Because of our living situation, I've been using "Downy Wrinkle Releaser" for the past year. Grant it's not like ironing your clothes to perfection in preparation for that very important business meeting, but it does work.  Especially when you might be in a hurry or last minute mom errand run.  My excuse is our iron and ironing board is currently located in Colton's bedroom.  Now, we've tried moving them to other locations throughout the house, but we keep coming back to Colton's room because there is just no other convenient place to store them.  This arrangement has made it somewhat difficult for me because if he is asleep, I can't go barging into his room just to iron my clothes.  I've tried ironing my clothes the night before, but I'm one of those at the moment type people.  So, what I ironed the night before, I may not want to wear it the following day.  I go ahead, wear it and end up uncomfortable for the rest of the day.  Ugh!  Or I wasn't able to iron because I might be having "one of them days."  Needless to say, the idea went down the toilet.  That's when I discovered "Downy Wrinkle Releaser."  It works great for me.  I just spray a little bit on the wrinkled areas, stretch and wipe the wrinkles away.  Wha-la!

Yard Sale
I took a break today from the yard sale preparation, due to sinus problems. I know the meteorologist keeps saying that the pollen counts will come down as soon as the oaks and junipers stop pollenating. Yes, but when exactly will that be? I ask this question because I'm tired of going to bed with a headache and not being able to smell, waking up in the middle of the night hacking and dragging myself out of bed the following morning because of the drug induced coma I'm under. I can't take "Benadryl", so I'll say "Sudafed" to the rescue!

Lord willing, I'll get back to my Samford and Son's loot tomorrow morning, ready to put on some more price tags.  I think Maryann is going to try and help me out Friday.  Millard and Peggy will be here (thank you dear Lord) to tend to the kids for us.  It's amazing how they want to help me out.  You'd think it would be too boring to mess with, I know I am. 

Prayer Request

Please remember a friend of mine, Becka. She's been having serious sinus problems for quite some time. It developed when she was younger, right after getting a broken nose. Tomorrow, the doctor will have to re-break her nose and reset it. Plus, the doctor found a tumor in her sinuses. The tumor is benign, so that's good news. He will drill holes and hopefully the tumor will drain out of her. Doesn't that sound awful? Talking with her tonight, she is a bundle of nerves. She's at the point where she doesn't want to hear any awful personal experiences from other people or horrifying questions. I just told her not to think about what everyone has told her that was negative and think positive. I didn't tell her good luck. Instead, I assured her everything was going to be just fine and I'd be thinking about her tomorrow. I think she liked that much better. Poor soul. This procedure is considered major, so she'll be in the hospital for a couple of days.

Yard Sale
I will be hosting a yard sale in the next couple of weeks and I've been going through box after box of baby/toddler clothes. Oh my gosh! My head has been spinning because you have to realize that I have nearly 5 years worth of girl's clothes and shoes in our storage building. I've got the stack of special clothing that I plan on keeping for Katie and Colton.

I've found out, it's easier to price items while the children are asleep. You may not see much of me for the next couple of weeks and this is why. They are trying to help me. Katie feels she must make sure all the clothes and shoes absolutely do not fit her. You don't know how many times I've had to stop her from trying on clothes. Finally, I had to have her repeat after me "these clothes and shoes are too small and therefore, I can't ever wear them again." She thought it was funny, but she got the hint. LOL! Now, I've got to go shopping online and find her new Disney PJs. Thank goodness Disney is having a 2 for $20 right now on a lot of their PJs and gowns. She wants a new Ariel, Tiana and Bell PJs. I had to stop for a little while because Colton kept unfolding my nice folded priced outfits. Then, he kept snatching my pen and tape. Ugh! I guess he thinks, he can put a better price.

Katie is not liking me going through her stuff to sale. DRAMA, DRAMA, DRAMA! She calmed down a little when she saw some of the things I was keeping for her, so when she has a baby. Whell, that statement flipped her lid. She immediately asked, "when I have a baby? Mom, when will I have a baby?" We've had this discussion before, I guess she needed a little reminding. She was okay afterwards.

Little Family Singer
Doug's got the Zune all charged up, in hopes Katie might like to use it to listen to her favorite music. She sings all the time now. Some of the songs are 80s that have been reintroduced to the new movies like "Chipmunks Squeakquel." I remember some of the words, so I have to correct her from time to time. I think I'm going to break down and purchase the "Chipmunk's Squeakquel" soundtrack for her. I listen to 80s music on the radio in the car. A lot of the time, she'll ask me what the name of the song is or she'll tune up and start singing with me. I love times like these to remember.

Colton
Colton is right there in the middle of things. He thinks he is just as big as you and he can do anything. He has a way of communicating with you. Right now, he grunts a lot. If he wants a drink, he'll start grunting. If you ask him if he wants a drink, he'll either smile and go crazy or he'll take you to the refrigerator. He still thinks his sister is the funniest person on the face of the earth. He'll start laughing at her like a drop of a hat. He waves bye-bye and if he feels that he has accomplished something big, he'll start clapping.  Or if you say "yay," he'll beginning clapping.  He's beginning to enjoy watching cartoons like Sesame Street and Mickey Mouse Clubhouse with sister.