On Cloud Nine!

I'm beginning to think that an awesome cure for the blues is to do something nice for someone else! You know that feeling you get when you know you've found just the right gift for a special person? I have that feeling times 100 right now!

Let me explain. I stumbled across a link to voting for the American Music Awards over on ABC. I decided to go vote because some of my favorite artists were up for awards. While doing that, I discovered that The Eagles were up for several awards. Hubby has a serious thing for these guys. So, when I was done, I wandered on over to their website and checked their tour schedule. I say that they are coming to Dallas on 11/15, but thought nothing of it because, well this is The Eagles we're talking about and we have not won the lottery. But, I checked it out anyway. And on impulse bought tickets! Now we are talking $45, cheap seat, nose bleed tickets, but they are tickets just the same. during this time I was madly trying to reach hubby on the phone to clear this with him. I finally decided this was probably a once in a lifetime thing and to just do it. When I finally reached him I told him I'd spent a good chunk of money and not to be mad. His whole tone of voice changed. Seems he thought I'd bought a dog. Anyway, he was thrilled when I told him! In fact he's called me back twice to ask if I was kidding.

So, I've got this super pumped up feel good thing going on! I am really excited, mainly because he's so thrilled! nothing like making your hubby's dream come true!

BTW, you've got to see the Eagles themed pumpkin they've posted over at Latest Eagles News! It's amazing! And don't forget to go cast your ballot for the AMA! The voting ends on 11/2!

Halloween

photo by paparutzi

Our kids do not trick or treat. They have in the past, but only because we've been really pressured into letting them. Having recently moved to this town, it's not like we know very many people anyway, so our trick or treating options are pretty slim. I refuse to let my kids trick or treat at a strangers house. Some think this is silly, but bad people live in small towns too, they don't just stay in cities. My children's safety is more important than anything else. Some years we have done the full blown costume thing, but even then we'd only go to church fall festivals and such. I'm all for kids having fun, I just prefer it to be safe fun.

Anyway, this year we'd decided to do our normal family Halloween thing. We order pizza, have popcorn and a big bowl of candy, pile up on the couch and watch Halloween movies together. We all really enjoy it and look forward to it. We don't spend a lot of time together, so this is great for us. It's pretty much our Halloween tradition and the kids have always been happy with it.

Until this morning, when Tristen asked me why I thought they didn't deserve to go trick or treating. My reaction was "What?" Seems a friend had asked him yesterday why they didn't deserve to celebrate Halloween. This mad me upset. First off, we do celebrate Halloween, but I don't like people telling me it's something we have to do. I know plenty of people that consider it just another day. I would be happy doing the same. In my mind Halloween is just a reason to spend money. It's not a holiday. It's just an excuse to spend money on costumes and candy. An excuse for kids to behave badly and eat too much sugar. The reason we celebrate, if you can call it that, is because I hate for my kids to feel left out. We do special family time and they love it. They've celebrated and a good time has been had by all.

I was really upset by the whole "deserve" aspect of the question, because to me it implies we don't do trick or treating because my children have misbehaved or have not earned the privilege. Poor Tris thought he'd caused us not to let them go. So, I explained that it is no one's fault, we just choose to spend Halloween differently than others. As long as we all have fun, who's to say we are doing it wrong?

It just aggravates me that when you deviate from the norm, you and your motives are questioned. What everyone does on October 31 is their personal choice, just like any other day. You do your thing and I'll do mine. Okay, off my soap box now.

Y'all have a safe and happy Halloween!

Depression, Life, & A Road Trip

**This photo is titled Sadness and is by Eric Perrone**

Yesterday afternoon, I called hubby at work and suggested we go on a road trip this weekend. It seems he'd been thinking the exact same thing, so we began to plan. You'd think I'd be happy, but less than 24 hours later life is getting in the way and I'm doubting myself.

I have 15,000 loads of laundry to do and with hang drying, it is not a speedy process.

Then I need to pack. And get the house in tip top shape, as coming home to a messy house is so depressing.

And the kids are not thrilled because they can't trick or treat if they are stuck in the car for 4+ hours. The funny thing is, we weren't going trick or treating anyway, kids!

But, by mid morning, I was getting stuff done and thinking it won't be so bad. Then it happened. Ya know, the thing at the end of this sentence. Cramps that had me doubling over came on full force. Well, at least we know why I've been having crazy mood swings, lol. So, I pop a couple of Midol and hope it helps. I have too much to do to deal with this right now.

I think my main problem is my depression messing with me. Hubby thinks it will be good for me to get away and unwind a little. But, I'm already thinking how many gallons of paint the gas money would buy and what we could get done this weekend working on the house. Honestly, the house is big time stressing me out lately. I feel like we are making no progress at all with updating it. And it's a wreck. All the time. And worse yet, lately I don't care. I'd rather crawl in bed and sleep and hope it all goes away. As I realize what I'm typing this voice in my head is screaming "Hello! You have depression you big dope! That is what makes you think that way!" But knowing it and overcoming it are two different things. I normally manage my depression pretty well, but every now and then I get really blue. With all that's going on around here, I suppose a non depressed person would get a little stressed.

So, maybe hubby is right, it might be good to go on a mini vacation. Seeing our friends and family sounds great! I miss them so! Plus, maybe we'll get to do something fun. Maybe we'll stumble across the stove we've been looking for. Or splurge and go out to eat at one of those yummy places we miss. I'm sure it will be fun.

I just gotta snap out of this funk I'm in. To all you other moms with depression, are there certain times when you get really down? What do you do to snap out of it?

Hurray for Giveaways!

This week seems to be full of awesome giveaways. Here are a few of the ones I've found so far. I'll probably be updating this several times, so keep checking back!

Confetti by: Kateedyd is a blog I found via Entrecard and it looks like a great one. She's giving away a $25 Amazon gift card. Rush on over and check it out!

Tara's View of the World has a bunch of giveaways going on!

• She is giving away credits to make your very own Blurb book! She posted about her book recently, so I went and explored Blurb. All I can say is I want one!
• She is giving away a beautiful pair of earrings by jaC Jewelry. They are Pine Forest Earrings made with Hemi Jasper and Sterling Silver, just beautiful!
• A great pair of earrings by Canadian Rockies Art. These are pretty little silver studs. Classic and elegant!
• A lovely Mini Art Tranquility Pendant by Bee Dazzles Pendants. This is a pretty and unique pendant. I rarely wear jewelry, but would love to have this and think i'd wear it a lot.
• Great glass marble magnets by Daisy Mae Designs! Really cute and fun magnets! They'd make a great addition to any fridge door.

Frugal Mommy of 2 Girls has some great giveaways as well!

• An adorable rag doll by K-Plus Krafts! This little lady will surely delight the little lady in your life!
• An awesome print from allPopart.com! This iste could get me in trouble. I want so many of the orints! The choice of styles is mind boggling! I really want one of these!

Cutest Costumes Ever!

Do you have your Halloween Costumes yet? There is still time to order from Halloween Adventure and get guaranteed Halloween delivery. This is where my whole family found just the costume they wanted! I was very impressed with the diverse selection this great site offers!

The infant and toddler costumes are so adorable! You can dress your little ones up in a wide variety of things like a lemur, a slice of pizza, marshmallow Peeps, a sailor, or their favorite storybook characters. I personally wish I had a little one to dress up like Hedwig! These costumes are very cute and offer more choices than the local mega mart.

My kids ages 11 and 9 really enjoyed exploring all the different costume offerings. I love that the ones they were drawn to were more creative than the more trendy TV and movie character costumes. Although I was quite impressed by those too. The variety of Hannah Montana outfits and accessories alone is quite staggering! My son was impressed by the old west sheriff, whoopee cushion, and air force pilot costumes. My daughter's favorites included English nanny, candy corn go go dancer, and the southern bell outfits. We also found a great selection for teens, which is not always easy.I'll know where to look for costumes in years to come. If your kids can dream it up, you are quite likely to find it here.


I found the costume I've always wanted! It's Lucy from I love Lucy!

This crazy redhead is so much like that crazy redhead of yesterday. It seems like my wacky plans always come undone, no matter how good my intentions are. I was thrilled to find this great looking costume in my size. In fact they offer a wide selection of plus size costumes, which is not an easy thing to come across. I almost always end up in some dowdy looking costume due to sizing issues. This is not a problem anymore! I can be anything from funny to scary to sexy!

I am so glad to have found this awesome resource! The great quality, variety, and size offering will keep or family coming back for our Halloween Costumes for good, I think. Stop by and browse around, you're sure to find something you love!

I Feel So Loved!

Wow! I've sure gotten my share of bloggy love lately. A blog I absolutely adore has given me this oh so cool award! You truly need to go check out Memoirs of a Southern Domestic Goddess. She is creative, smart, sassy, and southern y'all! She is one of the first blogs I read in the morning. Warning, her blog is habit forming. Thanks so much for sharing this award with me!

The rules for this award are as follows:

~You may choose five people/blogs to give the award to.

~Four have to be dedicated followers of your blog.
~One has to be a new follower of your blog or live in another part of the world.

So here are the peeps I pass this nifty award along to:

*Travels Through A Crazed Mind - This is my neighbor Lenore's blog. As far as dedicated readers go, she's the top of the list. This lady is my coffee pal, partner in crime, and very dear friend. Check out her tell it like it is, day in the life blog. And say hi, she likes making new friends! Love ya, girl!

*Christians In Good Company - This blog also belongs to a loyal reader. It is one of my favorites. I really enjoy everything she blogs about. Drop by and say hi!

*Wep Ruminations - I love Wep! Go read her blog right now! It's fantastic! I love it! And she reads my blog, which makes me happy. :-)

*The Adventures of Scarlett O'Kara - Yes, I've given this blog an award recently, but she deserves another one. Since this blog is to go to dedicate readers, she needs it. She deserves it. She must have it. So, it's hers! Seriously folks, this lady is one of my absolute favorite readers and favorite bloggers all rolled into one. Stop by and say howdy!

*The Power of Housewife Word of Mouth - Chrisitne is a new reader. We found each other via Entrecard. She is a fellow Texan and writes a great blog. I feel like I have quite a bit in common with her and am so happy to have found her blog. Christine, thanks for reading me! I can't wait to read more from you. You're right, us Texan bloggers need to stick together!

There they are, my five loyal award winning readers! Please go share a little comment love with them all!

Kreativ Blogger Award

Rhonda over at A Home With A Smile gave me this award. Her blog is one of my favorites, so I was really flattered she thought my blog was award worthy! Rhonda says these are the rules for getting this award are:

• List six things about yourself


• Pass this award on to other bloggers

So, here we go!

• I am very scatter brained. I tend to start one thing, then leave it for another. This is such a curse when it comes to housework! A perfect example of this was yesterday - I started organizing the kids bookshelf, then remembered I needed to start a load of laundry. So, there are boxes of books for me to deal with today. DH sometimes calls me his Edith Bunker, lol.


• I love old movies! From Bringing Up Baby to The Searchers, I love them all! It's funny because my kids watch these flicks with me and have no idea they are watching movies 40+ years old. When Tristen found out John Wayne was dead he was heartbroken!


• I love to cook and try new recipes. Not having a range has been quite a challenge for me. But, we have tried some great crock pot recipes the past few months! I cannot wait to be able to start baking again, because it is one of my favorite things to do!


• I love to write letters! In this age of email, it's almost becoming a lost art. Nothing brightens my day more than to get a heartfelt letter in the mail. Even a short, simple note can make someone's day. I have several pen pals in Iraq at the moment and I really enjoy writing to them. I hope that I can be a bright spot in their days.


• DH and I are hooked on the Sci Fi Channel's Ghost Hunters show. We love it! One of the highlights of our week is when the newest episode is available to watch online. We snuggle in bed with a bowl of popcorn and watch together. Good times!


• I have a serious addiction to THe Sims 2. It's scary! I can sit down to play for just a few minutes, but end up losing a lot of time. I've actually started setting a timer. I thought I was some oddball, but I've found quite a few Mom bloggers that share my addiction. It's nice to have a fun way to unwind. Plus my kids think I'm super cool!

Now to pass the award on to other bloggers.

• Bella Casa ~ Beautiful Home - This blog is a treasure I discovered just over a week ago thanks to Entrecard. It has quickly become a favorite!
• The Jolly Kitchen - This seems to be a fairly new blog and I'm so glad to have discovered it! It has some of the most clever recipes I've ever read!
• The $200 Mission - Okay y'all know a blog on spending $200 a month or less on groceries is going to be one of my faves! Awesome recipes, deals for us frugal minded folks, and a great writing style blend into a great blog!
• Full Bellies, Happy Kids - I've been an off and on reader of this blog for awhile. I'm terrible about just bookmarking things, or thinking I'll remember the sites I love. Anyway, the only word for this blog in YUM! You really need to see the recipes!

All four of these are fantastic blogs! I urge you to stop by, check them out, and tell them Nessa sent ya.

The Saga of Tristen's Tooth

Several years ago, Tristen was running across a playground when he smacked into a head high vertical pull up bar. None of us could see it, as it was getting dark. From my view point, it looked like he'd broken his neck, and I swear my heart stopped when he crumpled to the ground. Thank goodness, he was not broken, just bruised, bleeding, and missing a good chunk of his front permanent tooth. So, we take him to the dentist and have it fixed. A month later he was visiting his great grandparents when his cousin punches him in the mouth, knocking the fix out and revealing the chipped tooth again. And so it began, he'd have it fixed for awhile, then some awful thing would happen and he'd be chipped again. The last fix held the longest, over a year. Then he came home from school today looking like this. He says he did it with his tongue. Do we fix it again, or wait until he's older and truly cares how it looks? This is getting old and he honestly thinks it's cool. Boys!

Fall Food Cravings

photo by VirtualErn

I am having a serious craving today. The idea of a nice, toasted piece of Collin Street Bakery Deluxe Fruitcake just has my mouth watering. I love it buttered, with real butter of course, and popped under the broiler until lightly toasted. It is the perfect partner to a good cup of coffee. But, I'm not picky, I love this fruitcake even cold from the fridge. Or with whipped cream. With a glass of milk. In a box with a fox. Anyway, it's just good! And my love affair with it is strange because I do not enjoy traditional homemade fruitcakes, but I love Collin Street Bakery's. To me they are so much better than what grandma made. If you've never had one I highly suggest you give yourself one for Christmas. You'll be glad you did!

I guess the cooler weather has me craving this. To me it goes with the holiday season that is rapidly approaching. I am craving pumpkin as well. And am oh so eager to fill my house with the wonderful scents of baked goods. Baking during this time of year is one of my favorite things.

What about you, are there certain foods you crave during different seasons? I know Christine of at The Power of Housewife Word of Mouth has a thing for pumpkin pie blizzards. What is your favorite fall food? Your favorite holiday food?

Man, I'm hungry! I want some coffee and cake!

Crockpot Recipe - Bean Chalupa

1 pound dried pinto beans

1 (3 1/2-pound) pork roast, I used a boneless roast

2 garlic cloves, chopped

1 tablespoon chili powder

2 teaspoons salt

1 tsp black pepper

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1 (10-ounce) can Rotel tomatoes

4 cups hot water

Rinse and sort beans. Put beans in 6 qt. crockpot that's bean sprayed with Pam. Add roast on top of beans. Add all other ingredients, making sure water completely covers the roast. Cook on high for about 8 hours or until beans are done. Using two forks, shred the roast and mix it well into the beans. This might work better if you removed the roast to a plate to shred, then added back to the crock. Serve in bowls over Fritos with shredded cheese, salsa, sour cream, guacamole, and any other tex mex toppings you enjoy. It is also very good served over rice.

Nessa's Crock Pot Chicken & Rice Soup

I made this really yummy chicken soup yesterday! It started with a quest to find a way to use up a lot of left over cooked rice. Since the weather was quite crisp yesterday, soup sounded terrific. I was quite proud because although I consider myself a good cook, I use lots of recipes and do very little on my own. This creation was all mine and it turned out really well. Very frugal, but still oh so yummy!

2 large boneless, skinless chicken breast
1 tablespoon minced garlic
6 cups water
1 cup chopped onions
1 tablespoon dried celery flakes
1 tablespoon dried parsley
1/2 tsp. salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
2 chicken bouillon cubes
4 cups cooked white rice
1 cup milk
1/4 cup butter

I cooked this in my 5qt. crock pot. I had not thawed the chicken breast, so I added the water, then put them in there frozen. To this I added the onions, garlic, celery flakes, parsley, pepper, and salt. I let all this cook on low for 4 hours. I then removed the chicken breast and shredded them up using two forks, then returned them to the pot. At this point I added two chicken bouillon cubes and the butter, and gave the whole pot a good stir. About an hour before dinner time, I added the milk and rice, and stirred again. I cooked the soup for about 7 hours total on low, but I'm sure you could cook it longer if you'd like. Of course you could do a shorter cooking time on high. My house smelled heavenly with this simmering away all day long. This would be awesome with warm, buttered homemade bread.

Wordless Wednesday - Ashley's 9th Birthday

Click on over to 5 Minutes For Mom to find more WW fun!

The Secret's In The Sauce

Today is the Blogathon over at The Secret's In The Sauce. SITS is a network of women who commit to comment on blogs. It is very cool how it works. The benefits of joining SITS are huge! Not only does it bring in folks who will actually read and comment on your posts, but you find some fantastic new blogs to read! I haven't been part of SITS for long, but I've already found a lot of new "must reads", not to mention met some terrific women! Here are a few of my new faves:

Wep Ruminations

American In Norway

April's Little Family

John Deere Mom

Mama's Losin' It

So, head over and check out SITS! Couldn't we all use more bloggy friends and comment love?

The Working Poor & Why I Started Blogging

Lately I've been thinking about the working poor. That's what my family is. We work, but often have more bills than paycheck. We aren't on food stamps or government aid, but we struggle to buy gas and groceries at times. When the choice is between a gallon of milk and a gallon of gas to get to work on, guess which one take priority. I know we are not alone in this. I also know that with the current state of the economy, things are likely to get worse before they get better.

I am not complaining, just stating facts. And these facts have got me thinking creatively. We starting sharing meals with the neighbors, an out of the box idea for sure, but it helps both families. I've been selling on Ebay and doing more GPT sites to bring in extra money. I pretty much will not pay full price for anything grocery related any more, other than milk and eggs. I cook from scratch. We don't go out to dinner every week, hit the movies, or do much of anything outside the home. And you know what? We are a happy family. We aren't flush with cash, but we are happy.

All of this is what lead me to blogging originally. I knew there were other families like ours out there. Families struggling to make ends meet in these rough times. I wanted to connect with other moms like me. To teach others how to cut costs on groceries, cook from scratch, stretch what they have, etc. To share what was working for our family and what wasn't, to learn from others. To empower those moms who felt beat down by their situation. My goal was to tell all other moms like me that you aren't alone and things can get better. I wanted to make a difference. I hope I have.

Ugh!

I am so aggravated at Pay Pal right now! I've been selling a few things here and there on Ebay lately. All my feedback is positive. Pay Pal apparently automatically holds money from some Ebay transactions. I understand this and agree there should be things like this to protect the buyer. My issue is my funds are never released when Pay Pal says they will be. The package can be confirmed delivered, the buyer can leave positive feedback, but still the funds are on hold. I've spoken to their customer service three times this week and cannot get a straight answer. I have no problem with them holding the funds until the item is received and feedback left, but I don't understand why I can't have the money if the customer has the item and is happy! Sometimes my Ebay profits are the only way we can fill up the gas tank. Not only are the profits held up, but I'm out the upfront cost of shipping the stuff. They can keep your money on hold for up to 21 days! It frustrates me because although Ebay is a good way for us to make extra money when things are tight, you have to be able to ship stuff on your own in case they hold the transaction. This sure makes things hard at times. It already takes a few days to get the money from Ebay to the bank. Why do they have to tie up my funds longer than necessary? Plus, why are only some of my transactions held and others go through fine? I just don't understand! Okay, rant over now.

I Won A Blog Award!

Imagine my surprise when I received an award from one of my favorite blogs! Money Saving Pro presented this award to me an I am so flattered! Thank you so much! It's nice to know folks enjoy my ramblings.

The words are in Portuguese and mean, “This blog invests and believes, the proximity” (meaning, that blogging makes us ‘close’ -being close through proxy).

So, I will in turn present this award to eight blogs that I really enjoy. All of them are great reads. These are some of my favorite blogs, written by some fantastic folks. I am so lucky to have formed several wonderful bloggy friends.

Six In The Country - Gina is my frugal mentor. I had no idea what coupons could do for my family until this wonderful lady came into my life. Thanks for all you've taught me!

Keeping The Kingdom First- Alyssa is another frugal guru. She's even one of Walmart's 11 Moms! I think we were one of each other's first regular blog readers. She has become a good bloggy friend.

JANE4girls $800 Annual Grocery Budget For A Family of 4 - Erin is an inspiration! She is awesome at what she does! I look up to her so much and am always learning from her blog.

4 Days In A Week - Becky's blog is one of my favorites. we've "talked" via are blogs and she's made quite an impression on me with that limited contact. Her blog speaks to my heart. You just know she is a kind soul. She probably doesn't know it, but I find her blog a great source of inspiration. She seems to be the kind of woman I wish I could be.

Tara's View Of The World - I honestly don't remember how I found this blog, but I'm so glad I did. Tara was someone I could instantly relate to. We have quite a few things in common, so I really enjoy reading her thoughts. She shares her good days and her bad, her triumphs as well as struggles. It's a wonderful, down to earth, honest mama blog.

The Adventures of Scarlet O'Kara - I love, love, love this blog! In my opinion she is one of the best mama bloggers in the world! I like how her writing style makes you feel like she's an old friend. She rocks!

A Home With A Smile - Another frugal blogger. I love her frugal advice, her garage sale finds, her redecorating, and pretty much everything about this blog!

A Year of Crockpotting - Finding Stephanie's blog has been a true blessing for my family. I've always used a crockpot, but generally made just a few basic things in it. Then we moved here and my crocky became our only way to cook. Our menus were very dull until I found this great blog. I never knew how much you could do in a crockpot until now! Thanks so much for helping me to feed my family a variety of yummy, nutritious meals with my crockpot.

Each of these blogs has made a difference in my life. They all truly deserve this award. They are a special bunch!

Wordless Wednesday - Cookie

Our newest family member, Cookie. Click here for more great WW photos over at 5 Minutes for Mom.

Neighbor Helping Neighbor

This week we are trying something different. We are combining the resources of our household with those of our dear neighbors at dinner time. I am loving it because we have no stove, so all my cooking has been done via crock pot, electric griddle, and fry daddy. Plus, I really love cooking, which Lenore does not, and have missed it. So, we combine our resources to make a really good meal, rather than two so-so meals. If we don't want to eat together, we divide the food and I bring our part home. We are two low income families, so this arrangement really helps us both stretch our grocery budgets.

I believe that with the current economic crisis, we will see more of this type of thing. I was reading an article about the great depression last night and they had interviewed a man who had lived through the great depression. He talked about how you made your friends your family and neighbors pulled together to help each other survive. It was pretty interesting, especially considering what Lenore had posted yesterday morning. She wasn't necessarily talking about economics, but I found it to be an amusing coincidence. Maybe some of the only good to come out of the current state of things will be to bring friends and family closer together.

I am curious as to what your families are doing to survive these tough times. Have you cut back your spending, given up your morning Starbucks, started clipping coupons? Please leave me some comments! I think we can all use all the frugal ideas we can get!

I'm a Guest Blogger!

I'm a guest blogger over at Coupon Coup today! Click the banner above to check it out! Jenn's blog is a great frugal resource, so I'm sure you'll love it!

Joshua 1:9

photo by venicephotog

"This is my command—be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid or discouraged. For the Lord your God is with you wherever you go."

Joshua 1:9 (New Living Translation)

This is one of my favorite verses and has been for years. I am especially thinking about it today, as I'm trying so hard not to be discouraged. I know that God has a plan for us, but it's sometimes hard when he answers your prayers with a no.

My husband was up for a promotion at work. His mom, my grandma, other family and friends, and myself all prayed about it for over a week. When the "interview points" were tallied, he was beat out by two points. We were so upset.

But, our timing is not His timing. He wants what's best for us and knows what that is. I know this, but I have trouble remember it sometimes. Do any of y'all struggle with this? And prayer, I struggle with prayer, as silly as that sounds. Sometimes I think I do not know how to pray. I need to find some wise, older in their faith Christian women to mentor me or something. I have trouble just talking to God. But this is a whole other subject. Today I am praying about this verse and about letting Him be in charge. He knows what this family needs far better than I do!

Sleeping Angel

This is the "sleeping angel" pic I snapped for the contest over at 5 Minutes for Mom. They are giving away a new set of bedroom furniture to the lucky little angel who wins! I would love to have the Lily Rose set for Miss Ashley!

I love this pic because it is just so "her". She has her baby to snuggle with, her half read Narnia book, and she looks so peaceful. My favorite thing is the crazy hair with the lone wild curl going over her eye and nose. Who can sleep with hair in their face?! She's so funny! I am so blessed.

So, click here to go over and check the contest out! Contest ends Monday, October 13th at 3pm EST. Have fun looking at all the adorable sleeping angels and good luck!

Stinky Feet

Tristen is going to just love me for writing about this, but I'm sure I am not the only mom with this problem. His soon to be 12 year old feet stink. I mean they smell really bad. They are gross. Anyway, it seems to be a boy thing. I've talked to several other moms and read a lot on line, so I'd like to share what I've discovered.

Number one, everything I've read and everyone I've talked to about this has said to get him into sneakers made from natural, breathable materials. The man made materials seem to trap moisture and harbor odor causing bacteria.

-This honestly got me to thinking about Alyssa's post on when it is worth it to buy a more expensive item. No, she wasn't writing about stinky boy feet! She talks about the benefits of buying higher end sun glasses vs. being frugal and buying cheap. Now for me, any pair of sunglasses I buy will end up lost or sat on, no matter what I paid for them. But, I'd rather spend more money on some nice leather sneaks that will let Tristen's feet breathe and probably last awhile longer than the synthetic, plasticy cheapies we've been buying him. So, cheaper isn't always the more frugal way to go. It depends on the situation.-

Okay, back to feet discussion. I've also gotten lots of advice on how to battle the odors. Baking soda, baby powder, foot powder, deodorant spray, and odor eater insoles have all been suggested for use in the shoes, in his socks, on his feet. Soaking in brewed tea, vinegar, or baking soda has been suggested. Rubbing liberally with tea tree oil was advised as well. As far as fighting odors in the shoes, everything from Fabreeze to shoving crumpled up newspapers in his sneakers at night has been suggested. I've been given lots of information, so I'm unsure where to start.

I've decided to experiment to see what works best. If at all possible we will buy a pair of "breathable" sneakers this weekend. He will alternate between pairs he wears everyday, so each pair will have a full 24 hours to dry before being worn again. He will change out of sneakers as soon as he comes home and will just wear a clean pair of cotton socks. I'm hoping the afternoon sock change will help keep moisture away from his feet. Lastly, I think we will add foot powder to his routine. We will try this plan for two weeks and see how it goes. I'll keep you updated about how it's going.

I'd love to hear from all you wise moms out there. Do your boys have stinky feet? How do you handle it? Any good air freshener you suggest? Please leave any input in the comments section.

Y'all have a fantastic weekend!

I'm a Proud Mama

Today was a great day! Little Miss made A Honor Roll and Little Mister made AB Honor Roll! This is just fantastic! I am so thrilled that both of them are doing so well in school. It's the answer to many prayers! I just had to brag on my babies!

Yard Sale Day

Since today is yard sale day, I will be over at Lenore's helping us both sell, sell, sell! So, I urge you to click the adorable pic below and check out the 12 Weeks of Christmas series over at The Coupon Coup. She has a great blog and you know you want to read about great holiday ideas. She is even featuring guests bloggers, like me. So stop by and check it out! Off to the sale I go! Have a great day!