Hooray!

We did a little research and are now on HIGH SPEED! We got it through our cell phone provider for the laptop. Now we can disconnect our house phone that we only used for dial up, and disconnect our old dial up service! And save 20 a month! WOO HOO!

OOOOH!!!!

I interupt you for one brief moment! Yes it's me again. 3rd post of the day! Forgot to tell yall this earlier! In light of the sergeant getting hurt working off duty - rumor has it that the commissioners are pushing for a COUNTY WIDE LAW ENFORCEMENT raise of 10-20%!!!!! That would be INCREDIBLE! They said that there is way too many officers having to work off-duty details that they need to raise the wages! OMG I can't even begin to tell you how awesome this would be to us and the others in his county. So many young couples like us struggling just to put food on the table at times! Really, we would have NOTHING if Chris didn't have his overtime pay.

Anyways - maybe some of you will be as excited at this possibility as we are! Just thought I'd share the news- it's not official yet, but we're told it's in the works!

Back to your regularly scheduled blog!

Who are You?

Hmmm... looking at my statcounter today. Got some new people reading my blog. I get a pretty good handful of people stopping by daily. I know who about 90 percent of you are. I LOVE STATCOUNTER! They tell me where you are located, how long you stay, what type of computer you are on, your screen resolution, and anything else I would want to know. It shows who your computer service is through too - bellsouth, verizon, mindspring, aol, etc and if you are highspeed or dialup. I even know HOW you get to my blog (bookmarked, clicked a link, etc) I see you looking even though you don't know. You aren't being sneaky ;-) I see you checking me out in Lawrenceville (know all of my L'ville visitors - many of those!), Alpharetta (seems someone was at work checking my blog according to statcounter as it listed the company where the person was), Dover, Wichita, Costa Mesa (haven't figured out who you are yet though!), Seneca, Sylva (who are you?), San Angelo (KNOW you for sure ;-)), Atlanta, New York (who are you up there on dial up?), and Marietta. There are a ton more, but these are the newest ones. Want to find out about statcounter? It's free! Just stick the code on your blog or website! http://statcounter.com

Hmmmm.... my life must be rather intriguing!

I have been asked why I have a blog. Plain and simple! I have a lot to say and I think DH's head would spin if I bombarded him with all my thought and daily events. So to keep DH from turning into a scene from the exorcist, I can entertain you all with my life. If it gets to be too much, don't come back. But if you do.... I will know you have been by ;-)

Things always work out :-)

I told yall it would work out! My mom called last night that a friend of hers out of the blue wrote Hubby and I a check for Christmas! Not only was it enough to cover what we were lacking on one of our bills, it was enough to put a bit toward our credit cards as well! What a sweet surprise!

Hubby is off today and tomorrow and we took the kiddos to the park with the waterfall this afternoon. Went for a hike and then played on the playground. Blondie was very sad that we wouldn't let her play in the water and kept asking why was the water too cold. She couldn't quite grasp that concept since we were there several times in the summer when the water was nice and warm. So I took her down to the edge of the water and told her that she could get in. She was so excited! She took off her shoes and socks, rolled up her pant legs and Stepped right in! Quick as she stepped in, she stepped out and said, "The water is too cold!". Hmmmm... guess sometimes it takes first hand experience to get her to understand that we are right! lol! Hubby and I cracked up about that!

Another Blondie moment today. After we got back home, Blondie was rather tired and she's grumpy when she's tired. Hubby asked her to do something and she sassed him. He says "Who do you think you are to talk like that". Her sassy response "I'm just Gracie". I had to leave the room - the sarcasm in her voice when she said that made me crack up into hysterics! Sometimes you just have to find the humor in things!

Trying to think of something funny Bear does. Bear loves to pretend to be a Bear. He'll come up to you and go "GGRRRRRRR" and if you don't scream, he will for you! LOL!! Then he chases you! I've also thought of another nickname for Bear. How about Linus from Peanuts. Bear is a blankey boy and is now at the point where he pulls his "Banky" out of bed and drags it behind him! Sometimes he even gets his "Mmmmm" (Passy) and walks around with it. Yep he's a passy baby. I can't get him to sleep otherwise! I promise he'll give it up before college! He's also obsessed with OTHER peoples Belly Buttons! Not his own, everyone else's! And he's not afraid to lift your shirt to look at yours!!

What quirky kids! Gotta love them!

UGH!

Yep it's me - complaining again. But hey - this is my blog, I can cry if I want to :-)

It's so frustrating! Just when you think things are going great, WAMMO! We got slapped with a bill for our car insurance that we thought wasn't due until January or at least until Chris' next paycheck. UGH. Had to take back all Paul's new winter 18-24 month clothes to Gymboree to put toward that. Definately no fun. Then Chris' truck does NOT like the cold weather. It dies on him over 4 times each time he goes to work. Fingers crossed that it makes it through the rest of the winter. It's looking doubtful. I know it will all work out - it always does. Just frustrating at times. You all know how we're working to get out of debt. It slowed down a bunch at Christmas time as we tried to save for the kids presents instead of putting it toward the bills. I can't wait to post when we are debt free! That will be exciting. Not too too much left but with me staying home and Chris not getting paid a heap of a lot, it takes a long time to pay down. He's about to take on tons of overtime though as he will not be getting overtime when he gets on with the police department. So we gotta get it taken care of now. Sold hold tight and wish us luck as he takes on practically every day for a whole month of overtime. This may be a bumpy ride!

Merry Christmas Round 2!

This morning we woke up early and headed to my moms for our family Christmas party. It was the only day that Hubby and my brother (firefighter) had off together for us to do Christmas. We had a very fun morning. My grandmother gave me an awesome HP laptop! How cool is that! My mother gave me one of those neat digital picture frames that flips through your pictures that you load to it. Hubby got a bluetooth phone thing and a mastercard and homedepot gift cards. So he's happy. From my mom, Blondie got a horse that Kit can ride, dog bath thing for kit's dog. From my grandma she got books, littlest pet shop toyset, and my little ponies. From my brother's family she got a My Little Pony that she can "paint" on with cold water. Pretty nifty. Paul got some pjs, cars, and veggie tales dvd from my mom, cars that make noise and some really nice board books from my grandmother, and a little people dump truck from my brother's family. So everyone sure was blessed today! They also got some more toys but I can't quite remember everything at this moment. We had an awesome time. My little nephew loved his wooden cars that I gave him. I believe I will order some others for him for his birthday in January. He's going to be a big 2 year old!

I didn't take too many pics today, but will upload a few later. Now it's time to spend time with hubby!

Oh and I've had many of you ask about my prayer request the other day. Thank you for the prayers. It was in regards to dealing with another person. We prayed about it and I spoke with my wise Aunt in NY and decided the best thing to do was to not say anything at all. You guys know me - I can be pretty outspoken, but sometimes silence is the best solution. MERRY CHRISTMAS ALL!

Merry Christmas 2007!

As you all know, Chris is working Christmas and Christmas Eve so we celebrated Christmas today! After the kids rest time, they woke up to a yummy feast of honeybaked ham, homemade mac and cheese, green bean cassarole and of course hawaiian rolls! Yum! I made everyone dress up including Hubby and me. Afterward, the kids danced around to Christmas music while I cleaned up the kitchen from dinner. After that the kids opened presents. Chris and I were not able to exchange presents this year due to the tight christmas budget that we had set. I was able to sell a few things on ebay to get him the nifty Gwinnett Gladiators hat. He was very surprised and loves the hat. Blondie was THRILLED with Kit, Kit's books, and Kit's dog, Grace. Bear loved his new car mat, wooden cars, and toy phone. Definately a small Christmas, but we still had fun. On to the pics.

Haag Family Christmas 2007

Kids Dancing around before Christmas Dinner

Ready to open presents!

Something was in our tree!

Dearest Friends....

Dearest Friends-

Pray for Chris and I with a hard decision that we need to make and for God to grant us the wisdom to say what needs to be said.

I love you all!

Bear Lake!

Starring our favorite little bear!

Fun Yesterday!

Was so tired yesterday that I didn't get to post about all the fun we had. We drove down to ATL with a friend of ours and her 2 kiddos, which are 2 of Gracie's good friends. We went and rode the famous Pink Pig at Macy's. That was a lot of fun dispite the insanely long and slow lines. Also got to venture around Lennox Mall - what a beautiful mall but so crowded. After the Pink Pig, we went over to have a quick trip around the zoo. We have yearly passes plus guest, so we all got to go in for FREE, including our friend and her kids. Can't beat that. Blondie of course, wanted to go see Mei Lan the Panda. That's her favorite. It was nice and cool out and all the animals were out roaming around - so neat! Bear took a spill at the zoo. Seems he can't go more than a few days without bumping into something or falling. And he always injures his face. This time he bit the concrete- has a nice concrete-burn on one side of his face and some bruises. We had seen the flamingos at the zoo and then he walked over to the stairs. I reached to grab his hand and he was reaching for mine and trying to step up the stairs at the same time and lost his balance and fell on the concrete steps. Poor little man.

Today is filled with cleaning. I'm not doing much crocheting today - gotta catch up on the housework before Saturday. I want to have a clean house when I celebrate Christmas with Hubby and the Kids. Gotta get the counters cleaned off so Blondie and I can make some christmas cookies.

Tomorrow is off to the Yellow River Game Ranch. All you local friends are welcome to join. It's only $1 to enter. We will be there at 10:30 with crackers! Not sure if Hubby is joining us. Depends on where he is working tonight, but most likely just me and the kiddos.

Have a great day!

Hooray For Hubby!

You all know how proud I am to have such an awesome Hubby. Just wanted to brag about him for a moment. On Monday he went for his enterance tests for the Police Department. Today we received word that he passed both the physical and written exams! Hooray!!! The next step is waiting for the background check to come through and then the initial interview. He's a few steps closer! Congrats Chris - I'm so proud of you! One step closer to wearing that awesome PD uniform :-) Gotta love a man in uniform ;-)

Sergeant Gale

A website has been set up for the officer I was telling you all about. CLICK HERE TO VIEW

Pics!!

Okay, the kids are in bed so I wanted to share pics of Blondie and Molly and tell a little about the experience. Blondie saw me open the box and saw me lift her out. "OH MOMMY SHES BEAUTIFUL" was what she said. She says "Is that your lost Molly doll". I told her, no, that Mommy had worked really hard to find another one of the rare discontinued dolls and had finally found one similar to what I had when I was a little girl. She says "Mommy - It will be so exciting on Christmas - When I get Kit, Kit will love Molly too and we can all play".

What a sweetie, huh. When I bought this molly, I had to buy the whole set - bed, doll, book, and doll nightstand. Right now Molly is rooming with Blondie, although i'm a little worried about the bed. I'm worried that Bear will think the bed is his chair or something! Oh well - we will see how it all goes. So glad to share the fun with my daughter!

On to the pics!

SHES HERE SHES HERE!!!

I know I've shared my Molly saga with all of you. I had saved up and saved up and bought a Molly from someone of a yahoo board - one of the hard to find pre-mattel ones. She arrived today!!! I'm so thrilled! Princess Blondie is as excited as I am!

I have been working on forgiving the ones that wronged me regarding my original Molly doll. It's very hard when they have never even attempted to apologize in the slightest. But when someone wrongs you, you still need to forgive, right? Just as Jesus forgives us when we do not deserve forgiveness. I guess what I am trying to say is that I do forgive them. I am very sad to have been lied to and that they have never seeked forgiveness. But in order for me to move on in my life, I need to be able to forgive them.

Off to play with Blondie.

Breathing Again

Whew - had a couple last minute rush orders. I'm finally able to relax and breathe again. STill have some orders but nothing that HAS to be done before Christmas. I've been staying up till 3-4 am trying to get everything done for everyone. i will be happy when I am completely caught up - then I'm taking a VACATION!!

Hubby actually doesn't have overtime tonight so tomorrow we are going down to ATL to ride the pink pig with some friends and off to a quick trip at the zoo. That should be a lot of fun. Yesterday Hubby had his testing with the PD, so hopefully all that goes through and then he'll be out on the road working 8 hour shifts instead of these 12 hour shifts. And then he will not have all the mandatory overtime either. That will be kinda odd actually having a hubby home at the house! For the past 2-3 years he's been off maybe 5 days a month so this will be a welcomed change.

We may make some christmas cookies tonight! YUM YUM!

WHEW!

Breathing a sigh of relief- I just got out my HUUUUUGE crochet order that I've been working on for a while. I'm exhausted. Just a couple more things to finish before monday and then I can work on presents for my loved ones. I've been so stressed this past week that I almost made myself sick! I tend to do that - whenever I get stressed, I get sick. Blah. It's been hard this past week especially since the day that hubby had off, he had to spend at tazor re-certification class. So I didn't get a break at all and this is his weekend on shift. Makes for one tired Mama! I'm so burnt out on crocheting right now though. I'll probably be taking a month off or so after the holidays. Just one week until we celebrate Christmas as a family. We are celebrating next Saturday with the 4 of us and then Sunday with my mom, grandparents, and my brother's family. Then on Christmas I want to take Princess Blondie and Bear to see Alvin and the Chipmunks. That's so exciting to see one of my favorite shows come out again in "real" form. Blondie LOVED both Garfields, so I know she'll love this one too.

This morning I had a lovely morning of....cleaning! Since I had that big order done, I actually was able to clean the kitchen this morning! It's a miracle!

Oh, and before I forget, I'm having a BIG SQUEAKER SALE this weekend - all squeaker shoes are between 15-60% off! CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE DEALS! Be sure to check out the clearance section for even better deals.

Off to fold Paul's diapers. Yep - we're doing cloth diapers. Actually, they are called FUZZI BUNZ. They are GREAT! Extremely soft, super easy to clean, no mess, no pins, nothing! Saving money and saving the environment!

Have a great weekend!

Oh - and from what Hubby has heard, the officer went through a total of 5 surgeries and she was supposed to be coming out of the ICU yesterday, so doing a lot better. There is however, a problem between her and her insurance. Not sure what all is going on, but today they are having a bike fundraiser for her. Lots of praises to God that she's doing a lot better!

Slight Update

Thank you for your comments and prayers for the officer. She is actually a female officer. Last we heard she is still in critical condition. Hubby had to go in for a Tazor Recertification class today so when he gets back he may have an update.

Jennifer - yes it does make it hard to sleep for sure - especially the way things have been going lately. Before he leaves for work in the evenings, we read the bible with the kids (right now we just finished about Jonah), then we pray for hubby's safety and for the kids and my safety. Then we always give him hugs and kisses and tell him we love him. My sweet friend Rachel made a great point to me - Yes law enforcement is dangerous, but he could walk out the door and get hit by a bus as well. (Well, not quite since we're out in the boonies, but you get the message). Basically, I just make sure we leave nothing unsaid and always tell him that I love him. You never ever know when your last day will be.

Prayers....

One of the officers in Hubby's county got stabbed by someone last night. The officer was trying to arrest/stop a shoplifter and they pulled out a knife and stabbed the officer numerous times, hitting a major artery, and other critical areas. The officer is in critical condition and has underwent 2 emergency surgeries. Right now they aren't sure if the officer will make it or not. Prayers for the officer and for their family. Fortunately the suspect is behind bars now.

AWWW!!!!

Awwwww!! We went to the hospital today to see our friends' new baby! And OMG he was barely 6 lbs. SOOOOOOOOOO TINY and newborn! Mama and Baby are doing fine - Mama was in pain - she ended up with an emergency c-section, so I can totally relate to those feelings. Daddy is as proud as a first time dad can be but he looks scared out of his mind! LOL! They are having trouble finding things to fit him since he is so tiny. He was due on Christmas day so he's about 2 weeks early. He was sound asleep the whole time we were there - such a snuggly little man. They did finally have a name for him, too! EEEK BABY FEVER! LOL!

Just a little humor...

Blah Blah - weekend chatter

Had a very nice weekend- Chris was off for most of it - we went on Saturday to have dinner with some friends at their house - had a very nice time.

Today we received word that other friends of ours had their first baby! Woo Hoo! Can't wait to see - we got a pic that they sent us on our phone - but tomorrow we'll go up to Athens Regional to see in person! Last we heard, they didn't have a name for the little man, so hopefully when we see them tomorrow, they will have a name! Too many babies being born right now - I'm getting baby fever!

Yall, prayer for our Bear. Pray that he makes it to 2 years old! He is so extremely accident prone it's frightening. He's giving me a run for my money lately! Totally 100% all boy!

Merry is doing great - she's very laid back with the kids! She lets Gracie tote her around everywhere.

That is all for now until I have something more interesting to say!

50 Odd Things About Me!

A friend sent me this so I thought I'd share my answers.

50 ODD Things about you! If you opened this, FILL IT OUT! Learn 50
Things about your friends, and
Let them learn 50 things about you!

1. Do you like cheese? Yes
2. Have you ever smoked heroin? No
3. Do you own a gun? Yes
4. Your favorite song? Magic Carpet Ride by Steppenwolf
5. Do you get nervous before doctor appointments? Who Doesn't?
6. What do you think of hot dogs? They are okay.
7. Favorite Christmas song? Little Drummer Boy and I wanna hippopotomus for Christmas!
8. What do you prefer to drink in the morning? Grapefruit Juice
9. Can you do push ups? nope
10. What do you think about your job? Love crocheting and love being a mom!
11. What's your favorite piece of jewelry? Any of my pearls!
12. Favorite hobby? Photography
13. Bedtime? When I stumble to bed
14. Do you have A.D.D.? Who knows
15. What one trait do you hate about yourself? I'm very opinionated ;-)
16. Middle Name? Dawn
17. Name 3 thoughts at this exact moment: I have a headache, I have a lot of work to do, and I'm tired
18. What are you doing tonight? Avoiding my work
19. Name 3 drinks you regularly drink? Water, milk, juice
20. Current worry right now? Getting everything done for people's christmas orders
21. Current hate? none
22. Favorite place to be? In my Hubby's arms
23. How did you ring in the New Year? Hasn't happened yet!
24. Where would you like to go? SHOPPING!!
25. Name three people who will complete this? Just me!
26. Do you own slippers? Yes but I can never find more than one!
27. What shirt are you wearing? fuzzy pink
28. Do you like sleeping on satin sheets? Love it!
29. Can you whistle? Yes
30. Favorite color? pink
31. Would you be a pirate? no
32. What songs do you sing in the shower? Don't sing in the shower
33. Favorite girl's name? Hmmm... well if we ever have another girl, I like Juliana right now
34. Favorite boy's name? Favorite boys name is William right now
35. What's in your pocket right now? nothing
36. Last thing that made you laugh? The kids
37. Best bed sheets as a child? Rocky and Bullwinkle
38. Worst injury you've ever had? none really - tore off my toenail once! YOUCH!
39. What's your obsession? hmmmm.. kids clothes??
40. How many TVs do you have in your house? Two
41. Who is your loudest friend? Hmmmm.... everyone's pretty normal!
42. What is your favorite holiday? Christmas
43. Does someone have a crush on you? better be my husband!
44. What's your favorite quote? ????
46. What is your favorite candy? Crunch
47. Favorite Sports Team? Gwinnett Gladiators!
48. What song do you want played at your funeral? We'll I know they'll be playing Ding Dong the Witch is Dead!!! LOL! Just kidding. Hmmmm... never really thought about it.....
49. What were you doing 12 AM last night? crocheting... sad but true.
50. What was the first thing you thought of when you woke up? NOOOO Please let the kids sleep for 5 more minutes! lol.

Christmas Pics!

Sharing some pics I took of the kids for Christmas Cards. We weren't able to get a family pic done - we tried to set up my camera to take the pics - boy was that a disaster! So we are going with just the kids on our cards! Here's some of my favorite pics!

And Gracie modeling for me so I can sell the poncho/hat set - the hat is getting a touch too small for her - gotta work her up a new one!

Bear in Custom Snowman

Excuse Bear's red face - it was cold out this morning! And my kids always get red in the cold - I assure you he was NOT crying. He's also getting his molars - poor guy. But we just love this set. The designer is Torri of Southern Traditions. It will be going on ebay later - I will post the link when she sends it to me.

Our Early Christmas Present!

Here she is! Isn't she beautiful! Her name (as of right now) is Merry. We fell in love with her! Me especially - I have a tortoise shell kitty who is as old as dirt and then I had a orange tabby but we had to rehome him since he had the personalitly of Garfield and didn't get along with Gracie when she was born. Merry looks like the 2 of the cats mushed into one. She is just a doll and so friendly! She's about 6 months old. Princess Blondie and Bear are both loving her! Bear calls her KiKi! Blondie wanted to call her Mary Poppins (after her current favorite movie!) but we settled on Merry for Merry Christmas.

DROWNING .....

Boy am I ever drowning here. Over the weekend, the floodgates poured out! I prayed several times last week for some business since it was a tad slow and boy has God answerred that prayer and then some! I've got about 20 hat orders and still need to finish a sweater and then got another top order today and the list is ENDLESS! Not to mention Gymboree's new cupcake line that has me with cupcake orders out the wazoo!

I got one of my Christmas presents early today! I'll share pics tomorrow if I get a spare moment!

Kids are fabulous - Bear is getting his molars OUCH! He's definately being... well.... a BEAR!

We're trying to get Christmas scheduled. "The Hubby" has to work on Christmas and Christmas eve, so we think we're going to celebrate our Christmas on the Sunday before. We've got the tree up now and The Hubby is wrapping some presents and I'm giving my hands a rest from crocheting.

So much to do, so little time - haven't done Christmas cards yet - hoping to get a family pic done so we can just get them printed to save time!

Don't forget to be doing some RANDOM ACTS OF KINDNESS! I have one or two up my sleeve to do this month. I've blogged about this before - LOVE Random acts of kindness - show someone that you care about them "just because". It can be a perfect stranger. Just brighten someone's day. Do it, tell me about it, and i'll send you a free skull cap! Now go out and show others that you care!

My Brother's Family

I was asked to photograph my brother's family for their Christmas cards. Aren't they sweet? My little nephew is going to be 2 in January! I can't believe it! He's turning into quite the handsome little dude. Getting his curls cut off soon though!

Princess Blondie and Brother Bear

My hubby has asked me to make my blog anonymous since I'm getting so many hits a day from people I don't know. So from here on out, we will be having Me, the famous Queen Mommy, DH as well... DH until I think of something better. Then we have Princess Blondie and our little Brother Bear. I will be working my way through old posts to make the name changes.

Modge Podge

Just an assortment of comments today!

Got a down payment started on the doll - she's going to let me make payments as long as I have it paid in full by next friday - fingers crossed!

Winter Vacation - we are going to see if chris' grandparents are available the week after christmas or if they may like to come up here. If that doesn't work we may try for my birthday-ish.

Prayers for a sweet friend- One of my local friends, Cindy just emailed me and she is going to be giving her kidney to her mother in law on December 28th- prayers for a safe and succesful surgery. And for her husband to relax a little - he's having a hard time with it, of course. I've met her mother in law - such a sweet lady!

Prayers for Chris for safety at work. He needs those prayers badly. Things are happening that are cause for concern.

Prayers for a safe delivery for another local friend - she is being induced tonight at Athens Regional! Just got a text from her that she's in her room and having lots of contractions! Can't wait to meet her new son Andrew when he makes his appearance!

Tomorrow if all goes well, we're getting our tree out of storage and put up! Although I'm usually very much against anything christmas until December. I'm feeling Christmassy. I can't stand the radio stations that are already playing strickly christmas music though!

Have a great rest of the week!

American Girl Update!

I've heard from a couple of you asking about the Molly doll saga. Well, still no apologies or anything from the people - I doubt that will ever happen. BUT a lady on one of the yahoo chat loops with me has a PRE-MATTEL MOLLY DOLL that she is willing to sell me. She wants to sell it as a lot with the bed and the nightstand. Gotta raise 170 dollars - good deal since the pre-mattel version is hard to come by. I've been posting things that the kids have outgrown on my loops to try to raise the money - I'm about halfway there. If any of you all want anything crocheted, such as a hat, purse, anything, EMAIL ME and I'll work you out a deal. I gotta raise the funds before she sells it someone else. I hope I can come up with it! It won't be "The One", but it's as close as I will ever get.

Fun Fun!

Had a GREAT weekend. Chris actually had the entire weekend off for a change! Saturday we took the kids to the hockey game! Gracie LOVED it so we will definately be taking her back. She liked being able to scream indoors! Paul did well until the last 5 minutes or so - but they did go into double overtime! Gladiators won during the shootout! WOO HOO! We are soooo hooked! I'm hoping to maybe get a gladiators flexbook for us. Actually bumped into one of my brother's friends while there. Weird to see people you haven't seen since highschool. They are all grown up! lol.

We've been trying to plan our next vacation. Definately need a vacation. We've been debating going to Florida to visit with Chris' grandfather - they just adore having the kids around. They stayed with us during Chris' graduation from the police academy, and Gracie was in LOVE with her Great Grandparents. She needs a grandfather figure around. I have always been close to my grandfather so I know how special that relationship can be. My Grandpa even walked me down the isle to marry Chris. He's just about the cutest old man in the world! Right now, he's got a horrible cold, so prayers that he will get better so he can get right back out to the golf course. Another destination idea was Chattanooga. That's where Chris proposed to me. Of course we love going back! I don't think we've been back since our 1 year anniversary. I was trying to talk Chris into touring the US to visit with all my boutique buddies, but don't think that's going to work! LOL! We'd have to go to Texas, Iowa, New Hampshire, Florida, California, and more! We'll save that trip for the retirement years! Savannah is always a nice place to visit as well..... or tybee island and jekyll island. We went there when I was pregnant with Paul. Sooo... let's hear from you guys... where should we visit? We can either go before or after christmas but not the week of Christmas. Chris can't take off any work that week, and he has to work Christmas eve and Christmas day 7:30am-8:30pm. Help me decide!

10 Things I am thankful for....

I was challenged by a friend to post 5 things that I am thankful for on my blog, so here goes.

1. I am thankful to have a roof over my head, food in the fridge and heat/air. This is much more than others have.

2. I am thankful to be married to my best friend. Chris and I don't stay mad at each other longer than an hour ever. We're always able to work things out.

3. I am thankful for my 2 kids. They are everything to me.

4. I am thankful to have my mom and other family members that really care about me and my family.

5. I am thankful for my friends - couldn't live without you guys!

Website Sale!

Having a sale from now till Saturday - 20% off your purchase by using code BLACK20!

Enjoy!

Another side note... Kit is in the house! woo hoo!

There is a Fungus Among Us

Had to take Grace to the doctor this morning - she had a funky looking spot on her back. Turns out it's ringworm! As gross as that sounds, the doctor explained that ringworm is a fungus much like athlete's foot. My first reaction- EEEEEWWWW my kid has worms - but it's not that at all. Whew. I hate worms - creepy crawly slimy things.... blah!

Sell, Sell, SELL!

Yall, I have several huge boxes of things just "waiting" to be ebayed! And I just haven't gotten around to it! Mainly because it takes so stinking long on my poor dial up to get anything done! Maybe I'll go down to my moms tomorrow or something so I can get these things listed. Gracie's also decided to sell her Huge lot of Fisher Price Loving Family Dollhouse in order to make room for Kit. She's so excited about Kit! I can hardley wait for Christmas! Kit hasn't arrived yet, but perhaps some time this week, along with Paul and Bo's (my nephew) presents.

I think I'm making everyone elses - for my mom and grandmother and chris' grandparents. Such fun! I love Christmas!

OOOOH and I'm so excited, I just ordered some new BOOTS for my website. Arent' they ADORABLE!! And these Leopard Shoes. Can't wait for them to get here. Probably next Wednesday they will be "in house". They have a bunch of others too, but that's all I can get for the time being :-) Gotta make more money to spend more!

Well, off to crochet. Have a great day! Woo hoo - Chris is off tomorrow :-) Haven't seen him really since Thursday! My mom is going to *TRY* to get us some hockey tickets - they have a home game tomorrow night, Thursday night, and Saturday night. So hopefully we can go to one or more! Thursday Chris works of course, but perhaps I'll take the kids there instead of to the movie. Gracie's been begging to go since Chris and I went.

OH and I don't think I've shown off my Basic Winter Hats. Already sold a few. Here's Grace, Paul, and 3 friends having fun in their hats. Aren't they cuties?

Be sure and check my website on Friday for some Black Friday Pink Alligator Deals!

Shopping Complete! (Almost!)

I am just about done with Christmas shopping. The kids are both DONE! We took Gracie down to the American Girl store. That was a blast! It was incredible and overwhelming! Dolls EVERYWHERE! Gracie fell in love with Kit. So her 3 gifts are Kit, Kit's book set, and Kit's dog, Grace. GatorTots has expanded their made in the USA items, so I just got him the Toys Cars. Aren't they cute? I also got my nephew's gift, so all is left is just Chris. What shall I get him? Any thoughts?

Thanksgiving

Soooo..... what are everyone's thanksgiving plans? Plans to eat lots of Turkey I hope! As for me and the kids, I think we will be going to Waffle House and to a Movie on Thanksgiving (of course if there is a kid appropriate movie out!). Chris is working. We will be having our Thanksgiving dinner the Saturday after Thanksgiving when Chris is off. On Thanksgiving, I've been nominated by Chris to send in some goodies for him and his work buddies - they are having their own little thanksgiving dinner at work. So I've gotta make a hashbrown cassarole, green bean cassarole, and some other things to send in with him.

I love this time of year!

Congrats!

Congrats to Tiffany - Email me girl and we'll give you the hookup!

Come on THURSDAY!

We've been looking forward to Thursday for a LONG time :-) We are going to a mall far far away! I can't wait! We're taking Gracie to the America Girl store so she can see the dolls in person. She's very excited! We're not going to buy one but just look for now.

Yall, I have been soooo sick the past few days! BLAH - Had a horrible sinus infection. Still have a terrible cough, but at least I'm feeling a little more "alive" now. Now to catch up on the cleaning, schooling, and everything else.

Thankfully I'm pretty much caught up on crocheting since I can do that in a comatose state while the kids are watching a movie. Just have to make a flower for one of my sweet customer's hats and then 3 furry socks for another customer and then back to Rach's sweater. Rach I PROMISE if I have to stay up every night till Christmas, Miss Nikki will have it for Christmas.

Have a great week everyone!

Hmmmm.... first person to reply to this post gets a basic skull cap free :-) I'm feeling nice today! Who will it be???

Go Gladiators!

Well, we ended up going afterall - mom was feeling better so she came up and watched the kids. one of her friends has season passes and so we got to go to the game for FREE. We can go more often too for free. I definately want to go back! I'm so hooked! What a BLAST! Our team won too! Can't wait to go again!

Tis the Season

Okay - so we've finished the christmas budget- now for my favorite part - the shopping! I've been browsing online looking for good (AND SAFE!) gifts for the kids. We've nixed the powerwheel for now - that will have to wait until after tax season. I bought one of Paul's 3 gifts a couple moments ago - THIS ADORABLE FROG. Made in the USA! I absolutely ADORE that website - and the owner is so sweet! Have you heard THE LATEST SCARRIEST RECALL???

Getting the shopping done quickly so I don't have to among the crazy last minute people. Any ideas of what to get Chris?

Oh and update on the hockey game - not sure if we are still going tomorrow - Mom was sick with a flu bug yesterday and today I can't breathe! Coming down with something I think :-( Hopefully I'll be better - tomorrow morning Gracie's looking forward to skate day.


Now for some pics - all these items are available for purchase On My Website.

The birthday boy!

Sorry for venting on my last post, but ya know... sometimes you have to get things off your chest.

Yesterday was Chris' birthday. And okay okay - he's not THAT old... lol. We went to lunch at Longhorn with Chip and Sara. Then we walked around the outlets and spent the day together. Later we came home and Gracie and I finished decorating chris' cookie cake. Then we had dinner, put the kids to bed and watched Prison Break. LOVE that show! It makes me nervous though! lol - so suspensefull!

So here's the birthday boy

And here's some other pics that I've been meaning to share!
We're potty-training Mr. Paul already. Or at least getting him accustomed to the potty! Gracie insists on keeping him company and reading books to him. What a great sister!

And here's another Halloween pic from when we were going to the Winterville Storytime.