Camping in T-minus 5, 4, 3, 2, 1......DRIVE OFF!!!

Katie, My little sister Gracie (read Katie's BFF) and Emily - if she is awake it's impossible to get a non blurry shot.
They are superheros...though I feel I am stating the obvious.

As some of you may already know....I coupon.  I am NOT an extreme couponer in any way but I definitely save money and make our bucks stretch a lot farther then they used to.  For which my husband is extremely grateful!  I started in April 2010 and slowly but surely our bank account is showing the difference.

So.....my point.  I have been buying things on sale WITH coupons to prepare for this trip.  It is our annual "Girls Only" Camping trip.  My darling hubby takes the camper to the campsite, helps me get everything set up, and then he leaves.  He'll return in 3 days to help me break everything down and bring the camper home. 

Sorry ladies....He's mine and I'll be holding on to him.

So. I have been building up the supply list for about 3 months now.  Only thing my sisters have to bring are their toiletries, one is bringing the fixings for smores, one is bringing the hot dog buns and bread for sandwiches and my mom gave me $10 for the doughnuts that will be each mornings breakfast. 

They love it.  I love getting to spend the weekend with them.  It is turning into an annual tradition.

Now I must go load the truck.  Hubby will be sleeping until we have to go get the camper.  He got off work at 6:30am, goes back at 7:30 PM and taking us to the campsite, setting it up and coming back will take approximately 5 hours.

I shall return with some CUTE camping pics.  Even better I will be doing a tutorial next week on some ways to make some cute recyclable sandwich/snack bags.  I am actually marrying to tutorials I saw.  It's my first tutorial so we'll see.

God Bless!!
Melissa

Bah Flu Season!!

I have done the math.

I have looked the calendar over and over.

There is only one conclusion....

BAH FLU SEASON!!

I think we have only had a week since New Years that one (or both) of the kids wasn't sick.  This last round has Emily just now getting back into her routine ...she started having symptoms a week ago!  We have thrown away a sleepers and onsies because of excessive blow outs.  Bad enough that there was just no way those clothes would ever be clean enough again.  We had a period of time she was getting 2-3 showers a day because she would blow out so bad!! She has been to the doctors Monday and Thursday and lost a pound since her checkup 1/20.  She has to go back to the doctor on Wednesday to make sure that she is starting to gain again.  She is FINALLY on the mend and starting to eat and drink at a level I would think her normal......

......then Katie starts acting puny.

BAH FLU SEASON!!

I pick her up from school and she's pale and very inactive for Katie.  She fell asleep on the 20 minute ride home that would have normally been filled with chatter.  She laid down with daddy and was in no rush to go run errands and finally said she would rather go to sleep then go shopping with daddy.  She fell asleep and was sleeping so hard that when she started to throw up in her sleep she didn't wake up.  I had to wake her up to get her to sit up and hold a bucket.  She is throwing up and having trouble "below the belly button".  Her tummy hurts worst right before she gets sick and feels better right after it's over.  Though (Thankfully) she seems to already be perking up a bit.  She now gets a penny everytime she washes her hands and everytime she drinks a full glass of liquid.

BAH FLU SEASON!!

Never before have I looked so forward to spring.  It signals not only warmer days and pretty flowers but the ever so glorious end to Flu Season!!

Things I am telling myself over and over:

• We are building immune systems.
• Each year it will get better. 
• This too shall pass. 
• God doesn't give us more then we can handle.
• This is one more germ their bodies will fight off easier next time.

Alrighty.  Well I am off to bleach something or other and wash something or other in the attempt to keep re-contamination to a minimum.

God Bless!

Warning - Glimpse of how my mind wanders in 3....2...1........

Does anyone else ever feel like the innkeeper? As I am taking steps to make tomorrow morning run that much smoother (laid out everyone's clothes, bag is packed for all contingencies, breakfast and highchair set up so Emily can go right in etc) can't help but feel like I am running a B&B getting the next day ready for my tenants.  Of course I am also getting it ready for myself.  Goodness knows the more I do in advance the better the morning will go but the thought did occur.

At least I would be like a 4 or 5 star B&B. 

How ironic....I probably could not afford to go to a B&B like the one I sometimes feel I run for my family.  Pretty sure if I ever go someplace that cooks all my meals, launders and puts away my clothes, cleans my room etc, it'll be at a point in my life where I have blue hair and false teeth and spunky and sassy have been added to the adjectives that are used to describe me.  My get up and go will have gotten up and left and my great great great grandkids will come see me the 3rd Sunday of every month.  Fighting over turns in my hoover chair when I am not in it.  I'll sneak them candy with there mom's and grandmothers very aware and intentionally oblivious.  Matt will tell them stories of when cars had wheels and drove on the ground, fueled by gas (that word will make the kids giggle), he'll tell them the same story every time they visit and they will pretend it's the first time every time he tells it.  My husband will still have eyes only for me chasing me in his hoover chair, he'll still posses an amazing ability to make me giggle (and blush!) like a 16 year old girl falling in love all over again every day.  For our 100th wedding anniversary we will have saved every penny to go to Disney Universe on the Moon.

Our room will have a view of the Galaxy.

.....and we're back.  My mind enjoyed the trip...did yours?  What are somethings you see if you just let go and imagine everything is possible in your future?  Sometimes allowing ourselves to let go and dream everything also gives us a glimpse of where are hearts are now... Where is the focus of your dream?  Do you need to adjust somethings so that your future becomes your present?  Is your dream focused more on things then people?  If so is that how you want it to be?  I can't glow with pride at a flatscreen tv but I look forward to bragging on my grandkids...as much if not more then I enjoy bragging on my girls :D

off to finish up the kitchen so we come home to a clean house tomorrow.  God Bless!

See you soon!