Sweet Cake. . .

We have a small tradition for the kids' birthdays.
The actual day of the birthday, we have dinner and dessert as a family - the four of us.
The menu is decided by the birthday star and she/he can have a more expensive dessert than we have at the big party.

The menu this time was a bit easier on me, very little cooking!
We had Subway Sandwiches (Birthday Girl also had a baked sweet potato) and Ice Cream Cake.

Instead of ordering it over the phone like I normally do or picking something off of the shelf, I decided to stop by Dairy Queen a few days early and order one specifically for her.
It is her Sweet 16 after all.
I was not disappointed!
THEY DID AN AWESOME JOB!!!

Namaste.

Sweet Sixteen

My little girl is 16 today.
*GASP*

Yes, I can call her little even though she is taller than me. . .I've only had her for 2.5 years!
So, in my mind - she is a giant 2 1/2 year old.
J/K
Kinda.

Happy Birthday MaBell.
I am truly blessed to have you in my life!

Namaste.

Budget Challenge - April

Here's the results for this month in our Grocery/Supplies reduction.
(OOOPS. . .Not posting this until May 16 - It's been pretty busy and haven't been able to work on receipts and filing and such.)

Budget: $300
Actual OOP: $434.45
Retail Price: $821.43
Coupon Savings: $182.74
Sales Savings: $204.24

I saved 47.11%.
We are WAY over budget this month.
To be honest: We needed things that hadn't gone on sale since this experiment started.
To be realistic: Included in the total above is $24 in medicine and $22.59 for MaBell's future party (I budgeted $100 for food for her party - in the end, I went over on that budget by $13).
So, we really spent $387.86 versus our budget of $300.

Namaste.

Fun Times

When I realized that the left hand would not know what the right hand was doing during April and May, I made a calendar sheet for each month to leave in the kitchen.

Whenever someone asks me when something is: "Look at the calendar on the kitchen island".

What has doing this shown me?
Not many people look at the pieces of paper on the kitchen island.
We are pretty messy - the April sheet has who knows what all over it.
Our schedule changes daily - there are so many cross outs and pencil scratchings!

The good news is that we are almost ready to throw the first sheet away.
I can now see a light at the end of the tunnel!
Now, if I can just find time to put the elliptical together. . .

Namaste.

Yard Addition

Can you guess what this is???


A plot for a garden?

No

The base for a rectangular pool?

No

The starting of OB's Half Pipe?

You guessed right.

Namaste.

It's Spring

It's Spring in our house. . .
Will be a few more weeks before I move Spring outside.
Namaste.

Final Stretch.

Well, we are in the final stretch of a few things. . .
Primarily, MBB's journey to get his Bachelors and yes, it has been a journey.

He has to finish his paper this week and then his presentation.
I am on a mission that all he is going to do when he isn't working, sleeping or eating is work on that project! Yes, I know - he's an adult. . . We'll see how my "mission" goes - though I did refuse to buy trees today knowing that he would plant them instead of school work.

I am finding myself stressed out big time as I dive into all of the running (thank God for carpools), plan a 16th birthday party which is right around the corner, I think, and (try to) adjust to an ever changing pre-teen's hormonal attitude.

I've realized that I need to decompress or my head will blow off.
I am taking the 2.5 hours that I am sitting in the parking lot of volleyball practice to try to find some peace, to read a book, to rejuvenate for the upcoming week.

I think I've been pretty successful today - I am lucky and blessed that the weather is so beautiful as I sit here typing!

Now, to keep from getting a farmer's tan this year or I will look like a dork in my strapless wedding dress!

Namaste.

179

With our schedules being so hectic lately, I try to get little things done when I can.
MBB picked the kids up from track practice tonight and took the carpool to volleyball practice. . .
I had a few hours to get some things done.

My "To Do" list for the evening:
- Start one of our registries (my big "little thing" of the night).
- Grocery Shopping (hard to do when you're hungry!)
- Figure out what in the world we were doing for dinner
- Pick up the car pool from volleyball practice

When everything got crossed off of my list, I logged into the new registry to talk to MBB about stuff.
The first thing I saw: 179 days until your wedding.

Hmmmmm. 179.
I think I am still good in cruise mode for awhile.

I don't think you want to be with me when it goes down to two digits. :)

Namaste.

Changes. . .

I have been reminded lately that life flows like a river - always changing and flowing.
Now I feel the need to listen to "The River" by Garth Brooks.

Does everyone need to stay in High School for their entire lives?
As hard as graduation is, it marks the time when we move on to the next experience, whether it be college or careers.
Then we reach the same moment in college. Even if we move on to our masters, it will be with a different set of people, different teachers, different price commitment, etc.

The ways of our past aren't always the ways of our future.
New traditions, new families, new communities evolve into our lives.
That change is sad even though there is no long a connection that no longer feeds the soul / body / mind.

It is right and perfect. . .
Does that make it any easier?
Right isn't always easy.

Life is about evolving and changing and experiencing all that we are here to experience.
Somethings are absolute joy to let go - my last name comes to mind. :)
Somethings are hard to let go because I am tied to the memories and not the reality of the moment. Sometimes, it is hard to separate the two things.

It hurts to say goodbye to things that was such a big part of my life previously.
Things that played a huge part in changing me into the person that I am today.
They were pivotal in getting me where I am, but no longer impacts or positively influences me longer.

Namaste.

Catch Up

I've been catching up on some posts lately. . .
You may want to go back as far as 2/28 to catch everything. :)

Namaste.

The Easter Bunny Visited. . .

Namaste.

Thoughts

- If you learned the lesson once, it would be a wise idea not to have to relearn it.
- Learning a new language mid-way through life, may make your head hurt.
- It may make eyes leak to see the actions of the children you help raise change, especially when they give you credit for the change.
- Mean comments make me angry.
- Sometimes a project is just to big for "To Do" lists. Toyota Time Lines are the bomb!
- Some people are just greedy.
- Support from friends, even those a-far, is so heart warming!
- Change can be good. . .Even when it is a 15-year old's hair length!
- I hate yellow. . .Except when it's the big ball in the sky - so glad to see you again!
- I get to work my way through the name change maze in 27 weeks.

Namaste.