Pintrest Score

Pinterst isn't the greatest thing since sliced bread but it does have some great ideas.  Christmas proved that - meals don't always work out like it looked.  When I saw that if you wrote this address at Disney it would send you a card signed by the princesses I thought I would give it a try.  Honestly when I mailed the cards in I didn't think anything would come of it BUT today in the mail we got the cards!!  Addressed personally to each girl was a post card signed by 8 princess.  Molly will not put her card down and is talking non stop about it.  The small things in life bring such joy sometimes.

The girls and their cards.

Teeth

Teeth are coming in strong, just not the ones you would think.  Her smile brings joy and smiles when you see her random teeth.  Now just need the two bottom teeth that have the gums swollen to pop out.

 

Hello world

BAM - those suckers hurt when you forget she has them and put your fingers in her mouth.

Snow Day!

Before you get too excited the definition in NC means there is a chance of something happening so everything closes down.  Jon got off work at 11 but stayed in his office to do some sermon prep, especially since the girls and I had at a lunch date with some friends at Chick-fil-a (and nothing will stop me from getting out with friends).  Molly's school posted on facebook that parents could pick up kids early if they were afraid of crazy traffic - I don't think many took them up on that since the line was pretty long when we got there.  I took a picture of our roof when we got home to document our "snow".  

Our neighbor met us as we drove up and we had her over for a few hours of fun since we weren't going to play outside the cold rain.  The girls had a lot of fun dressing up, making a mess, cleaning up a mess, having a fake wedding officiated by Jon and reenacting a few fairy tales.  M even got to stay over for dinner which makes for happy girls!!  It is so fun to see how just having one friend over makes everyone play together so nicely

 

 

The girls ready for M and Molly's wedding. 
They is only 1 year difference in the big girls but one is a head taller:)

The grace, the class, the daintiness- ahh but I love her

Look carefully at the crack and you will see a white line
That is all the snow!!

Popcorn brings perspective

So today has been one of those days where I could find something negative in just about anything.  The girls got up to early, Kelly climbed in the shower with me, we had to run by Jon's work to give him money (which I don't like to share), the children's museum was hot, the girls naps were too short, Jon didn't wipe down the table when he did the dishes last night, etc.   But for snack this afternoon the girls wanted popcorn and I love cooking popcorn in my whirly pop which my granny Head gave me and it reminds me of the awesome popcorn she would make most nights when we spent the summers with her.  So I was able to figure out the good in life.

Girls up to early = more time together

Kelly climbed in the shower = she is mobile and wasn't crying when not being held

Giving Jon money = he was trying to bless me by not making sew some crazy patches on his backpack which is very hard with my machine

Children's Museum = we got to play, the girls got along and I connected with another mom for over an hour

Naps were too short = they will be going to bed early tonight?

Table not wiped = Jon did the dishes and he really helps around the house

 

A little oreo always makes waiting for popcorn so much easier

the girls making their dolls nap

We hear it popping and want it now!!

 

Brighten your day

Low of the day: Jon getting called back to work when he is 5 minutes away and dinner is 5 minutes from being ready.

High of the day: 3 happy girls who smile through most anything in life!

Laundry soap

Borax, Washing Soap, Ivory soap, oxi clean and water and that makes 2 gallons of soap

Tonight I made my second batch of laundry detergent.  It worked well last time and the clothes didn't seem any worse for the wear.  I will not be making a second batch of dishwasher soap though because my dishes do not seem as clean. 
I have now used homemade soap since November and saved the family over $16 bucks:)  That is 16 diet cokes for those who enjoy a large diet coke during happy hour at Sonic!
 

Cut-N-Seal

This past week I was talking about how I am trying different ways to save our family money and was thinking about getting the cut-n-seal from pampered chef to make freezer sandwiches.  My awesome friend let me borrow hers before spending money!!  Yesterday on my grocery store run I bought a few extra loaves of bread to try this out.  It took me about 20 minutes to make and seal the 10 sandwiches and then I put them in the freezer before individually wrapping them.  We now have 5 pb and honey and 5 pb and nutella grab and go meals:)  These are great for picnics and for Jon who doesn't always have time for lunch.  The girls love them and at this age still share one with some chips and fruit so they should last a few days at least. 
 

Love these days

Seriously I think I spend at least an hour everyday laughing at/with the girls.  They are three happy go lucky girls who are very different. 
Molly can throw her hip out and start this sway thing while talking to you that makes it hard to keep a straight face.  She now knows when I am about to bust out a smile and possibly a laugh because she will start to shake her hip faster and get this grin on her face and completely forget what she is talking about until I laugh with her.  I am so thankful for her sense of humor and general joy for life.  When left alone you can hear her singing Go Tell it on the Mountain and Joy to the World but she doesn't always get the words right.  If you ever hear her you will know she is our child because clearly singing is not her forte but that won't stop her from belting out a tune!  I also get a laugh out of her outfits - she has an opinion and wow her sense of fashion is BOLD.  Watching her explain how things match and go together can be a treat and at times it is hard to argue with her logic.
Riley will throw down her head and charge at you then jump all out into your lap - whether you are ready or not:)  She has the biggest grin and is actually starting to say more words but as of now we think she would make a good umpire as she gives the exaggerated NNNNOOO like YOURRRR OUT.  Riley dives into things head first - like the tub last night fully dressed while we were filling it up and will just look up and smile with adventure written all over her face.  We call her smiley Riley because the second the wakes up until the second her head hits the pillow there is almost always a smile on her face - even when she is mad at you!
Kelly, well her teeth are helping in the the enjoyment factor.  When she smiles she has her two fangs in and nothing else so you always do a double take and then start to giggle because let's be honest it is kinda funny looking.  She loves to open her mouth and say argggh to you and if you copy her she will go on for a good 10 minutes - smiling in between a full mouth arggh.  Hard to keep a straight face but so fun to watch her.  She also loves to give ladies kisses - she will grab your hair and pull you in and throw an open mouth kiss on whatever she can get.  If she is being held she is happy anywhere else you are taking your chances for a few tears. 

Homemade

I am would like to say I am frugal but the bottom line is I am cheap, you can ask anyone in my family.  When Jon and I got married we lived in an apartment that rent was $300 a month - the cops were are regular for our neighbors so we later moved.  When we found out that we were pregnant I researched cloth diapers and we went with it because it could save you around $3,000 - so said the Internet.  Cloth diapers were a great decision on the money side of life but now that we have 3 kids well there are times I go with disposable for laziness sake.  When we PCS'd from AK to NC we tent camped for the fun of it and to save up some.  I would not trade that experience for the life of it - Jon, Molly and I had so much fun and I loved camping more than staying in a hotel. 
So this past year I have tried a few new things in order to save our family money.  Some have been better than others.  My first attempt was homemade laundry detergent.  It actually works pretty good and our clothes still smell good so this is a keeper.  My second attempt was dishwasher soap.  This will be a no go once it is gone - the dishes are clean but I just don't like the look or feel of the dishes.  Next up homemade lotion - my friends had some at their house and it was pretty awesome.