Beginners Luck

Thomas caught his first fish today. He was really excited. It was just a teensy little thing, but he didn't care. After I got it off the hook he gently took it from me and plopped it back in the water. His subsequent casts were followed by the statement, "Oh geez. I didn't got one again." He and Daddy had been talking about going fishing all week, but the weather was just a little too wet.

Hasky, our good friend and Thomas's godfather, bought him his first fishing rod. Thomas picked out the Cars rod. He loves it. Alan and Hasky both share a passion for fishing. I hope Thomas follows suit.

Alan convinced me to tag along today- despite this horrible cold that has left me with no voice or a really manly voice at times. The weather was great and I think an hour out of the house was good for me. I'm glad I was there to witness T's first fish.

Waiting...

Reeling in his line, a current favorite activity.

Just for humor - Thomas has really been into the weather lately. Probably because of all the recent storms. On Friday, he and I went to Walgreens and it was pouring down rain. While walking through the store, Thomas proclaimed "I think it probably is a beautiful day for golfing. I think I will go golfing when I get home." This caused audible laughter from the 3 male workers that were unloading a shipment nearby. My little boy will turn 40 this fall. Stay tuned.

Thrift

I love reading/hearing about the great deals other people are getting. So, I thought I would share a little here as well. I have always been pretty thifty (read...cheap). Much to my husbands chagrin (and occasional eye rolling) I haggle with car dealers, negotiate with salespeople (XM, Kohls, Best Buy) and scour clearance racks. For a couple of years now, I have been taking sale ads for price matching and coupons to my grocery store in an attempt to get cheaper groceries. I HATE to pay retail prices. A good friend of mine has been doing some serious couponing and I've caught the bug. It is SO much fun. Try it, you'll like it!



This is my haul from a recent trip to Target. Target allows you to use a manufacturer coupon AND a target coupon for each item. I checked out the Target website, printed out coupons and then did a couple of internet searches for corresponding coupons.

Suave Shampoo and Conditioner
$1.77 Sale Price Shampoo

$1.77 Conditioner
($1) off Target Coupon when you buy 2
($1) off Suave from their website
($1) off Suave from their website again
Due .44

Energizer 4 pk AAA
$3.04 Regular Price
($1) Target Coupon
($1) Man. Coupon
Due $1.04

Benadryl Itch Sticks
$2.29 each
$2.29
($4) Benadryl man. coupon when you buy 2 items
Due .58

Infusium Conditioner
$2.92 clearance price
($3) man. coupon
Due 0.00!

Dove Deodorant 2 pack
$4.25 clearance price
($1) Target coupon
($1.50) manufacturer coupon
Due $1.75

Kashi
$2.78 a piece
($1.50) man coupon when buy 2
($1.50) man coupon when buy 2
($5) target gift card when you buy 5
Due $10.90 which is a great deal on Kashi

I held back a couple of items and used the $5 gift card during this same trip.

In addition, the Puffs were on clearance $4.18 for 4 boxes and I had a $3 coupon for the razors (making them $2.39). The whales were $1 and the Target granola bars were $2. Alan doesn’t like the Kashi ones. Total, I spent $21 at Target today!

Morton Arboretum

We spent this weekend with the Sias clan and had a great time. It is always nice to spend time with people that you have known forever. Alan and John have been friends since kindergarten . Suzie and I have gotten to know each other really well over the last 11 years (wow!), and I really value the time I spend with her. She is a great mom, a great friend, and someone I can talk to knowing that no judgement will ever be passed. They are members at the Morton Arboretum. We packed up the kids and headed there this morning for a while. It was a BLAST! This place is great. The kids ran and played for a really long time. They really got tuckered out. Alan and Thomas struck out when trying to catch some tadpoles. I was 3 for 3 catching tadpoles today. I know. You're jealous.

Climbing back down from the treehouse.

Thomas loves to explore, be active and needs hands on activities. This totally fit the bill. The 3 musketeers sitting on a hedge. The little boys tried their hand at pumping the well. They were not very successful. John lent a helping hand, much to their delight.

Us :)

We had a nice, low key picnic after a fun romp through the arboretum. The kids had a great time running around (some more) and playing a couple of new games. Alan made up a game called whacking stick. The kids took a stick and whacked dandelions. John made up a game (that didn't actually get played) called "lets see who can find the longest blade of grass." These guys crack me up!

Maiden Voyage

Gettin' ready to head out. We took Alan's new fishing boat out on it's maiden voyage tonight. Not nearly as spectacular as christening a yacht - we didn't crack a bottle of champagne on the side or anything. Although, I am on my second glass of wine if that helps. Thomas (and Alan, too) was so excited he could hardly contain himself. He talked about fishing and fishing hats and fishing poles and bait and all sorts of guy stuff the whole way to the lake.

Once we got to the lake, the story changed. Thomas really liked the idea of the boat but was kind of afraid of it. When we were done with our trip he said "the next time when I'm bigger I won't be scared." Pumpkin. He thought it was fun when daddy turned the boat and the water splashed up. Other than that, he had a death grip on my legs.

Thomas was really afraid that his fishing hat was going to blow away in the wind. I couldn't convince him otherwise. It's not a speed boat after all...

This just makes me smile. That's my boy. Love him to pieces.

Guilty Pleasure

So....I have a new favorite song. It just cracks me up and I feel a little guilty for liking it so much. When it comes on the radio I crank it up and belt it out. My favorite verse goes like this:

"I pray your brakes go out running down a hill; I pray a flower pot falls from a window sill and knocks you in the head like I’d like to; I pray your birthday comes and nobody calls; I pray you're flying high when your engine stalls; I pray all your dreams never come true; Just know wherever you areHoney, I pray for you."

It's called Pray for You, by: Jaron. Click HERE to hear it. Maybe it will be your new guilty pleasure.

$6 Sandbox

Yup, that's right. We just built a sandbox for $6. Alan got the wood from his dad when he was in Midland this weekend. It is salvaged redwood from a friends pool fence. Yay for recycling. We had to put in 2 1/2 hours labor and $6 worth of sand (1/2 yard). Pretty sure it will be worth the price. Previously, he had the little green plastic turtle sandbox. It served it's purpose when T was little, but now he needs room for Tonka trucks and friends. We sold the turtle sandbox in the garage sale last weekend anticipating this project. In all, it is about 4' x 8'. We'll be constructing a sturdy lid in the days to come... we'll keep you posted.

On a separate note, I purchased the green turtle sandbox for $2 at a garage sale a couple of years ago. I sold it last weekend for $5. So, I guess that technically makes this a $3 sandbox project :)

Forgive me?!

Okay, I know. Two tool posts in one day is a bit much. So, please forgive me.

Thomas may not be the most coordinated when it comes to sports (although this is improving), but he has amazing hand-eye coordination when it comes to his tools. Alan and Thomas were working on my garden and Thomas spent lots of time and effort hammering in this nail. When he was done he said, "I hammered that nail in like a worker guy. Daddy are you a worker guy?" Lol.