Crazy...Insane...Ahhhhhhhhh

May now has a new designation in my house - it's officially the craziest, most insane month of the year.

December used to hold that honor, but when you really think about it, we're only REALLY busy for 2 weeks in December around Christmas and New Years.

But we are busy ALL THE TIME in May - May 1 until May 31.

So to May I say "may you finish soon."

In light of our crazy, busy month, I won't make any promises about being able to post much, but I've been writing blog entries in my head the whole month!! :)

So maybe in June I can actually write them on here.

**On a different note:  I'm no longer the mother of a preschooler :(.  Sad as it is, David graduated from preschool this week and is a new, up-coming Kindergartner.  I've been so used to eating lunch with my little man and hanging out with him in the afternoons...school in the fall will take some getting used to.  But I have a whole LONG summer to spend incredible amounts of time with my kids and become very ready for them to go somewhere else (anywhere else at that point) like school.**

**Laura picked the best hairdo name.  So we now christen that style "Criss-cross Applesauce."  Thanks, Laura!  ("Erika couldn't do this to save her life" was a close second :).**

Conversations with a 4-yr old

Setting - in the car on the way home from preschool.

David:  Mommy, I just love Leah.  She's my best friend.  I'm going to marry her.
Me:  OK
David:  (with a disgusted look on his face) Mommy, if I marry her...do I have to kiss her?
Me:  (holding in the laughter)  Yeah, usually married people kiss each other.
David:  (looking thoroughly grossed out)  Yuck!  I don't want to kiss Leah.  Kissing's yucky.
Me:  (outright laughing now)  What about kissing Mommy?
David:  (Looking like I do when I'm gently revealing a new truth to him)  Mommy, even you're yucky.

Ah, gotta love the girls-are-yucky stage.  I'll pull this post back out in about 10 years.........

Subtle complaints really work

As you know my new love is coupons. Almost every week since December I have been going to my local Walgreens to get all the good deals - using coupons of course. But my nemesis lives there. Well, she's not really my nemesis and I guess she doesn't really live there although it seems like she does. You see, she's a cashier there and she is there ALL the time. I've tried going in at night, in the afternoon, in the morning, on the weekends...and she is ALWAYS there. She is an older lady who apparently takes a lot of pride in her store. So much so that she questions EVERY SINGLE coupon I use. As if it were her own money involved.  I know I am using these coupons legally and ethically but her attitude is that I am trying to sneak something by her or see what I can convince her to do.

Today was the last straw!!  I had a BOGO coupon for a Tresemme product (BOGO is buy one get one free, by the way) as well as a $2 off coupon.  All good couponers know that if you buy 2 products, you can use both of these coupons.  You use the $2 off one on the product you are not getting for free.  Well, apparently my nemesis must not be one of those good couponers, because she did not know this.  She, politely (at first) informed me that I couldn't use them both.  I, politely as well, told her that this was a legal transaction and could she please just try scanning the coupon to see if the computer would take it.  She, not so nicely this time, told me that "no" she could not do that because I could not use 2 coupons on that if one was a BOGO.  I, once again as politely as I could muster at this point, asked her to please scan the coupon.  Reluctantly, she did, although she was very obviously angry at me at this point.  And, lo and behold, that coupon scanned with no beeps.  She informed me that she would be contacting a member of management about that later.  I said that would be perfectly fine with me.

I would like to say that I came home and forgot the incident, but I didn't.  I came home and decided I would find Walgreens corporate coupon policy to have on hand the next time I needed it.  So I searched and I searched all over the web and couldn't find it.  What I did find was a "contact us" button.  So I clicked it.  There was a spot for complaints so I left one.  I was very polite and said that I had problems with a coupon and could Walgreens please send me their official coupon policy.  I was expecting an email with a coupon policy attached.  And I expected never to set foot in that particular store again.  What I got instead was a phone call this evening from my local store manager (only 5 hours after my visit to the store and about 3 hours after my website visit).  I explained the situation to him, he vindicated me (woohoo) and said he would have a meeting with all his employees to review the coupon policy.  It was a nice conversation and I was thoroughly impressed that he took the time to call me and find out what happened.  He encouraged me to ask for a manager while I am in the store next time so they can resolve it at the time it happens.  He also thanked me for bringing this to his attention because management doesn't know about these things unless someone tells them. 

Now Walgreens is back on the top of my list and I will be visiting that store again.  However, I will still try as hard as I can to find a different cashier to check me out. :)

The hair with no name

I haven't posted a hairdo in a while. We created this one last week and it was so easy, I decided to post it for you guys.

 Start by parting the hair from ear to ear.  Put it in the front to keep it out of the way, then pull the rest into a ponytail.  (If you are wondering what is over Julie's mouth, it's an inhaler with a spacer.  My asthma kids do this 2x a day to keep their asthma in check.)

I took that front section and did a triangle kind of part - you can kind of see that on top of her head.  Then I french braided both side.  You could do a regular braid as well.  It would work the same.

The part (and she's not in pain, just dramatic...and wiggly, hence the hand holding her head still for the picture.)

Take the right braid and wrap it over the top of the ponytail and secure it underneath with a bobby pin.  Do the same for the left one.  Make sure that the bobby pins cross when you put them in so they won't fall out.  I'm sorry that I didn't get a front picture.

It only took about 10 minutes to do and held up pretty well.

I still haven't figured out what to call this one.  Have any ideas?

Its About Time

This is my 95th post.  That's hard to believe. 

So in 5 more posts it will be my 100th (yeah, I know you can do simple math like that).

I have a nice big giveaway in the works for #100, so keep reading, invite all your friends and get ready to win!
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Well, for today's post, I just have one thing to say:  Good things come to those who wait.

These little babies have been teasing me for 3 years.  I transplanted them from a friend's garden 3 years ago and they have been without a bloom for that long.  I thought maybe they were defective.

But....after being patient and waiting, this is what I was rewarded with yesterday.

There is a second one next to it that will also bloom any day now.  They are just so pretty!

The Yellow River game ranch

Day 2 of our Spring Break trip started out a little chilly.  We decided to be lazy and make a slow start to the day.  At lunch it had warmed up a little so we (meaning me and my friend in Atlanta that we were staying with) packed a lunch and had a picnic in the park.

Notice the coats - yes, Hotlanta was actually a bit cold!  I was very surprised.  Poor David.  I didn't bring a coat for him (thought it was going to be hot).  So he is wearing one of his friend there in the middle's coats.  It's not TOO girly, just a few ruffles. 

Then we went on to the game ranch to "feed the animals."  What we didn't realize was that the animals had already been fed all day and all day the day before and those animals really weren't hungry by 1 PM.  So only a few of them ate.

The deer and chickens just roamed around freely, so we were always trying to feed them.  But usually the squirrels came and got the peanuts instead.

There were beautiful peacocks just laying around - literally.  Look how long those feathers are.  We could never get him to put them up.  They were some lazy animals there!

Big 'ole turkeys who are lucky that they are in a cage and not out being made into Thanksgiving dinner.  They were huge!!

Yay!!  Finally an animal who will eat something.  The donkey likes carrots and Julie was brave enough to feed it.  David?  Not so much.

Don't let the picture fool you.  As soon as that goat got close David jumped back.  He really didn't want it to eat out of his hand.

Who knew that pigs like graham crackers?

Finally, an animal that David would actually feed.  It's shorter than him so he was less intimidated by it.  And being a pig and all, I think it would have eaten anything.  But it did like those graham crackers.

So this close, brave and maybe overly so, deer?  We got close enough to pet it!  I petted a real deer - like the kind that come into my yard in the morning and eat my flowers but run away when the kids run down the hall.  One of those.  It was pretty cool.  Julie petted it too, but David was too scared.

Over all a fun day, but I think it would have been better if we had gotten there earlier in the day when the animals were a little hungrier.  Julie gets to go on a field trip in May to a game ranch around here.  We'll have to see how it compares for her.

Hope you are having a great week.  If you know of any fun places in the southeast to visit (GA, NC, SC, TN, VA), let me know.  We're always looking for fun day trips to take.

The American Girl Experience

Spring Break has come and gone now, but Julie still talks about visiting the American Girl store in Atlanta.  (I haven't told her how much cooler the Chicago store is :)

So here it is - the American Girl Experience (although unless you are a 5-8 year old girl, you probably can't TRULY experience it).

This is the "before" picture - that would be before I paid $20 for a hairdo that I could do for free.  Smack (that's me smacking my hand for being snippy).  I apologize, I really paid $20 for the experience.  I just have to keep reminding myself of that.

Natalie (the doll) getting cleaned before her styling.  The cleaning was only $5 and THAT really was worth the money!  She looked great afterwards.

Luckily, there was an extra chair for David's hippo webkin to rest in.  He got a kick out of that.

There's the hair minus the bows.

Ah, just look at the smile on that face.  That made the $20 worth it!  Just like a proud mama.

Now, time for lunch.  Nevermind that it was 2 in the afternoon because that was the only time they had reservations available.  Each doll (or webkin) got its own little seat and a mini-muffin to "eat."  Luckily they let me order off of the kids menu for Julie (it's supposed to be for kids 4 and under).  The kids menu had dessert included and that chocolate ice cream was the best part for her.

I knew it was going to be a costly day and it was, but I had prepared and saved up money from my consignment sale.  But I am also very glad that I got to give my daughter this experience.  She got to spend the day with the doll she loves.

Oh and the mommy and brother she loves too - I'm sure that was key to her happiness as well :).