Heart on My Sleeve

The Latest

Hello my long lost friends!

I wish I could say I was on an island pictured like the one below, but I haven't been.  We have, however been celebrating (With Momma and Daddy - YAYYY!) Blair's 2nd birthday!  Can you believe it?  When I started this blog, she was only 4 months old.  Wow - how time flies.  I'll post pics as soon as momma sends them to me (hint, hint.)

In the meantime, I hope you all enjoy Collin's latest piece of art as much as I did.  How adorable is this?  He'll be 7 in 3 weeks - I am amazed at the artistic talent he is already showing (he must get it from Aunt Rachel!  ;) My favorite part is the crab at the bottom - the expression on his face is priceless!  I hope it translates well in the scan, since I had to cut off about 1/2 inch off the top of the pic for you to see it.

Let me hear from you!  I've missed you guys!

"Not Great"

Ava's new saying is, "That great!"  or, "That great, mommy?" (asked when she's unsure if something is good or not), or "I great!"  (when she feels she's done something spectacularly well.)

The other day, she got a swat on the bottom from me for not listening and as she was crying she wailed, "I not great now, mommy."   (Yes, this would be one of those times I turn my head to hide my giggle, so she doesn't get positive attention while I'm trying to discipline her.)

Anyway, I'm sick.  I've been sick since Wednesday.  I'm sick and tired of being sick.  But this bronchitis and ear infections don't seem to be going anywhere, so therefore,

I am not great.

I'll be back when I am a little bit "greater."

xoxo

Updates

Happy  Monday from the Pierce House! 

I've FINALLY added Ava's birthday party pictures to the left side, if you would like to take a look.  (yes, I do realize I'm over a month late . .. )

We've been busy here.  Ava is going thru the usual first time at school, sick all the time stuff.  Last week it was pneumonia and they're trying to determine if she might have asthma.  I was prepared for this, and know that her immune system just needs to catch up.  What I didn't realize was that she'd be bringing it home to Blair as well!  Blair has RSV and they're both headed back to the Dr. at the end of the week to get flu shots.  I feel like we've been in seclusion for two weeks, due to all the coughing, runny noses and fever.  Wait a minute . . . we HAVE been in seclusion!  I miss my friends and am anxious to get back into the swing of things - or at least venture out into the real world - at some point this week.  On a positive note, I finally got our bedroom unpacked, organized and cleaned during this time, much to Brad's delight - and am thinking of continuing on with my streak of organizing and tackling the office/dining area next.

I have been clipping coupons like crazy and am going to be making an organizer for them.  My first tip for saving money at the grocery is USE COUPONS!  I know they may not seem worth the time to clip them, but I have made it a habit and actually look forward to sitting down and looking for them!  I usually collect coupons from the Sunday paper and Walmart's "All You" magazine.  The money I end up saving from the coupons I use end up more than paying for the mag. and the paper, and I get reading material to boot!  Between coupons and individual store reward cards (more on that later), I typically save at least 50% of my grocery costs - which allows me to buy that many more groceries!  My only rule of thumb for coupons is that I don't generally clip for less than $1.00, unless its something I buy regularly (at which point every cent counts).  I also don't clip a coupon, no matter what the amount unless I am almost positive I will use it.  Often, I find coupons for things that I don't use personally, but that I know my friends will, and that's always an easy way of letting someone I love know that I'm thinking of them - I clip it and save it until the next time I see them.  And I ALWAYS clip the buy one get one free coupons.  If someone in my family won't use it, its still worth buying (i.e. energy bars, craft supplies, etc.) and using as teacher gifts, school donations and gift baskets for friends.

Here's an example of my last coupon savings:

I checked the Winn Dixie ad and used coupons I had that were not only store specific, but also coupons I'd clipped.  I spent $70.32.  I saved $37.81.  $16.95 was in COUPONS alone!  The rest were items I saved on by using my Winn Dixie Reward Card.  If you're on a tight budget, and/or have a large family, $37.81 can make a BIG difference! 

Thankful

As an update on my MySpace.com profile, I just listed the following mood:

Jeanine is:  "loving my husband and baby girls."

Mood:  "Thankful"

For those of us on myspace, we are given the opportunity to update our "status" and "mood" at any time.  Since my Myspace world and my Typepad world seem to be pretty seperate, I thought I'd share why I posted these sentiments on another site:

Watching the girls watch their daddy reminds me of how my mom must have felt when she watched me "lift weights" with my dad with a plastic broom (and yes, she's got the pictures to prove it - wish I had them to post as well).  We spend so much time missing Collin, I truly relish the opportunities to notice these little moments - and to acknowledge how thankful I am for them.  Just wanted you to know.  :)

For Sale

If you are reading this from the Southwest Florida area, please spread the word.  I've listed the following on Craig's List and we are entertaining offers on any of it:

Toshiba Satellite Pro Laptop (w/ Targas carrying case, docking station, software, and more)

Dell Dimension Desktop (w/ monitor, keyboard, mouse, speakers, software, etc.)

Digital Camera

Philips GoGear Jukebox 30GB Mp3 Player

If you know anyone who would be interested in any of the above, as well as a used T.V., DVD player or anything of the sort, please let us know!  Thanks for spreading the word.

You're jealous, aren't you?

Here is what my day looks like:

At least 5 loads of laundry, this beautiful bounty from the farmer's market (I only spent $10 on all these goodies!), and keeping my 2 beautiful girls in check . . .   I guess it could be worse.

Hope everyone has a wonderful last week before school starts.  (More on that from this homefront to come in the next day or two, along with Name That tune updates  ;)  Let me hear from you guys!  I miss hearing from some of you.

Lazy Sunday? I wish . . . .

Have too much to do to be this lazy, but I'm sure I'll fit in a nap at some point today.  In the meantime, how sweet is this?

The girls are under the weather,

but I'm determined for us to have a fun family weekend this weekend, as Collin's summer with us ends Sunday afternoon.  So, in an effort to send our wishes for your happy weekend as well, please enjoy the following pics:

UPLOADING . . .

In the process of uploading a major slide show . . . . stay tuned!