Tonight....

We let the girls go trick or treating.(Pause here for air...)... We aren't halloween fans at all.... and our older kids were never allowed to go trick or treating. I'm sure we'll hear about this one for a while to come:) but we got together with the M.E.'s (what the girls call the Eastham's) and the Santa Maria's and the Romanacee's for a hot dog roast then a giant trick-or-treat parade through M.E.'s neighborhood. The P.C. had a blast and came back with enough chocolate to keep mommy and Julie and Mom Jo happy for a long, long time! Note the shameless political plug in the bottom photo! Gotta teach 'em early!! And the leopard and tiger got loose before we left ....(first photo)....they were reigned back in with bribes of 'tandy for the tiger'! The tiger had to take her kitty cat trick or treating. Her newest 'cant put it out of her sight' toy! Leni was The Rose Fairy Princess complete with her first make-up ever. She decided by the end of the night that make-up wasn't all that great but getting free candy piled in your pumpkin sure was worth all the walking!

Have You Voted?

I remember walking the streets of China and watching the PSB officers with their serious, stoic faces thinking to myself...these people aren't even allowed to vote for their gov't officials! We are!! It's a critical year for our country!! Have you voted yet?? I did today!!


My car....

My yard....:)

Go vote!! It's a privlege....not a right! Many, many in other countries would love to be in our shoes!!

Katie at School Today....

How about this cute Asian Tiger in the Halloween parade at school today?? GRRRRRRRR!!!!

New Do's!

The P.C. made a visit to our fav salon today to get new hair-do's:). My friend Rose whom I've known since high school is the owner and it's always a pleasure to take the girlies in for a visit! My mother was Rose's first client when she was straight out of 'hair school' and Rose gave Jason and Julie their first haircuts. So....rightly so that these 3 monkeys should sit in her chair as well! Katie got a new "Bob" that we LOVE!!! Her hair grows really fast and was at the middle of her back....Leni has the most gorgeous hair and wants to grow it LONG because she's tired of looking like Dora (her words) and Poor...poor...poor 'Onion'. At the ripe old age of 5 1/2 she still has some thin, straggly, but beautiful colored platnium blonde locks that just won't grow. We barely got a trim.:) You just gotta laugh. We think they look great! What do yall think??!!

We're All In This Together

Well I did it. I caved in. Last night I took our three little "wildcats" to see High School Musical 3. Now, before you ask why on earth I would do this, let me try to explain. I try to watch the girls every Friday night so mom and dad can have some time away from the circus. Most nights we just stay home, or we'll go get a treat at Starbucks, but we rarely go see a movie, and hardly ever in the real theatre due to a ticket costing as much as 2 gallons of gas these days. But yesterday as I was debating whether to take them or not I realized that 10 years from now, I won't remember what movie we saw (although images of Zac Efron breaking into song mid-conversation will be burned in my mind for quite a while...so funny), and I won't remember how much it cost to get in to see Zac Efron and friends jump around singing "wildcats in the house", and I won't remember the chaos of trying to get 3 children, a stoller, 3 slurpees, popcorn, a drink, a stuffed kitty, a stuffed dog, and myself into our seats, but I will remember the time I spent with my precious sisters. And I will remember the fact that Katie sat in my lap the entire time, clapping her hands and bouncing, and Kristin singing along with every song even though she didn't know them, and Leni in the car ride home telling me "thank you Julie for spending time with me. You're the best sister ever." The money spent to get there, the energy spent to get there, and everything else spent to get there, does not compare with the treasure that I have in my 3 little sisters. I hope 10 years from now they remember how much their big sister loves them and how she wasn't too busy or too concerned with herself to spend time with them. Here are some pictures from our evening :)

The Pea Shucker :)

She sings....she dances....she sits at the counter and shucks peas straight from the garden... (not while singing and dancing mind you...that would be..uh..difficult:))....What more could a mom ask for??!! The Dad recommended that she starts a band named appropriately...."The Pea Shuckers". What do you think?

PLEEEEESSSSEEEE Mr. Shamu Roller Coaster Man...

Let me on! If I stand here long enough maybe I will grow, OR Mr. Man will give in and let me on. You see, you have to be 38" to ride with an adult, and as you can see...I'm only 36". HOWEVER....this little girl is BIG, BIG on the inside and wants to do everything her sisters get to do!! Outcome....she didn't get to ride. Miss Kathy took the big girls on Shamu, and Mommy took a dissappointed Katie to the sand pit. We still had fun!

Beautiful Day For A Picnic!

See the four little monkeys enjoying their picnic today? On the days when I have them all, I feel a little "Jon and Kate Plus Eight"-ish and there's only 4 of them!
We even got school done today:) Do I hear a round of applause????




SHOCKER! We've actually begun to harvest vegetables! Who woulda thunk??!! These are NOT store bought and put in a bowl. The P.C. actually grew these from scratch!!

New House!

It's moving week for Mel and Jason! Yep..they got a house and exciting it is! Today we went over to see....and pick up Cade. Mom Jo took the big girlies for the afternoon...while this mommy picked up Katie from pre-school with her buddy Cade (it was pajama day at Katie's school today:) and now they are both down for a nap after a 'wallerin' session. It's so fun taking Katie and Cade out together now. They are exactly the same size ...so you can just watch the heads turn and see the quizical looks that 'almost' translate into quizical questions from some! Most people are very polite...but you do have your few ringers in there. Should I clean while they're asleep?????Nahhhhhhhh! Peaceful time is rare! Time to take advantage of it!

Katie's Post~

Friend and honorary family member Medana came over yesterday for a looooonnnngggg overdue visit. I gave Katie my cell phone as she was BEGGING to 'tade a peeshure!!' and here's what she got. Some were deleted due to inappropriate subject matter:) I must say....her photographic prowness rivals mine!!:)


Title: Sisters Leg in Tree
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Title: My Friend Lauren and I said It was ok if she wore my Cinderella dress:)

Title: New baby Sadie and Mz. Dena's leg

Title: Part of Sadie and back of Mz. Dena.

What We've Been Doing....

Lots! This month at Sea World every weekend they have free Trick-or-Treating in the park. We are NOT Halloween fans but Sea World does it cute and right. You get a bag upon entry and set up all through the park are different stations with candy sponsors and even free "game' cards...in addition to dressed-up Sea characters who are not evil or sinister in any way. The girls have a blast and come out all 'sugary' to boot!

We're also making a special effort to do more one-on-one with each girl. This week it was Leni. She's got a quiter, sweeter temperament than the other two at this point in time. To put it in plain english...Kristin and her sidekick are LOUD and get LOUDER when they want something. Their wishes are made LOUD AND DEMANDING (which we're working on:)) and VERY CLEAR. Get my point? Leni is very patient, loving and good at waiting her turn....and can get lost in the 'hoopla' if we're not careful. We don't want to miss a minute developing and cultivating this sweet spirit... So...this mom took her out on Friday night for a 'date' to the dollar store and some special time with just her. She talked my ears off!! :)Yackety-Yack! Then today at Sea World she got to pick the first ride. Her pick?? Journey to Atlantis. Her fav candy?? Hmmmm....anything but Twizzlers. None of them like those. Dad won all 3 an animal with the free game cards they got. Leni won a Clydesdale horse she promptly named 'Sparkle'....Kristin got a Walrus with BIG TEETH as she just lost another tooth last night (OH!!!!The drama...Julie pulled tooth and it was traumatic for both!!) and Katie got a Sea Otter. Yea for Daddy the game king!

We Love You Leni!! And..what we're seeing in your sensitive, special heart!!

Field trip to the zoo today. Strange...but these two animals (Mz.Tiger and Mz. Leopard) stowed away in our car, and came home with us! Now they are prowling around our house very LOUD and demanding in ways only large kitty cats can! Blonde leopard is also requesting lip gloss.(??!!) Asian tiger wants chocolate 'tan-dee'. The zookeeper thinks all animals in the immediate vicinity need to be in their cages-I-mean-beds:)

Here's a few updated garden pics! We have little squashies and black-eyed peas...and cucumber....and tomatos...and greenbeans so far! Mix that in with rosemary, 2 types of basil, tarragon and flat-leafed parsley...and you have our science project. Note the marigolds planted to help us be more 'organic'. If you think we have green thumbs......we would LAUGH!!! HA! This is a great, fun and awesome project for the P.C...but not easy. We've had catepillars (the bad, bad, bad kind!!) ...fungus...blight...leaf-spot...mildew...fursilium wilt(!) among other things. Whew! It's a wonder Pa and Ma Ingalls ever got anything to eat!! We press on!

Boys Day Out`

Believe it or not...our guys had never done a boys day just to themselves. You see..in this family we travel as a herd. Usually with a high female ratio:) SOOOOOO...this was a big deal! Scott and Jason took Cade to the local race track last week to give this race-car obsessed 2- year- old a shot at driving his own race car. They had a blast and it made this mommy cry to see her husband, son and grandson having such a good time. Arent' they so very cute??!!

While I'm waiting

This past weekend we saw the movie Fireproof. This song was a standout for me ...so much so that I had to post it. I pray as you listen that God's grace falls fresh on your life as you 'run your race' as God calls you. In this time of economic upheaval and uncertainty....we are certain about the unwavering God we serve. None of this takes him by suprise and as we do our own 'waiting' we know that ALL is working for our good. (Romans 8:28) I pray this blesses your day!

Care to guess where we were today? Another fun day and BEAUTIFUL weather for the P.C. and their always-looking-for-something-fun-to-wear-out-little-ladies... parents! Yes...they're always the blur of non-stop motion the pic represents. Especially ....the one named Onion. (see below)

Onion and Her Trusty Sidekick

Who the heck is Onion? I know that's what you're thinking!:) Well...all summer and now into the fall...Katie has had trouble pronouncing 'Kristin' and it comes out sounding something very similar to this root vegetable. So we all call Kristin 'Onion' and she answers to it like it's just another day in the park. I have gotten some strange looks from folks as I've whirled around and shouted "ONION! COME ON....CATCH UP!! or....ONION! go get me ______!" Can't you see people scratching their heads thinking...'I know there's some strange names out there now...but why in the world would that woman name her child Onion??!!" In recent days, Onion and her new little shadow (actually not so new) have really begun to 'get tight'. Everywhere Onion is...there is her little Asian shadow. Both bossy as can be. It's either sweet, sweet peaceful playing.....or rip-your-eyes-out-screaming-fits. (oh..the joy of these!:) Today was really cute. Onion made she and her sidekick 'fishing' poles complete with garden twine and perfectly-picked-out curved sticks for hooks. Then they 'took to fishin' in the lake. The conversation from these two Alpha females was priceless as they really thought those fish were going to jump right on those hooks that were not even in the water!:) (Leni is having bad asthma these last couple of days and was inside).
Now...the last 2 days Katie has refined her pronounciation of 'Onion' and it comes out sounding completely different. My family will not allow me to post on here the phonetics of her new vocab. They fear it would be offensive...and it is. However we have Katie say it over and over just to roll-over-laugh. Sorry...but trust me...it's funny....but we would never ever want to cause anyone to stumble:) Better safe than sorry:) You'll have to use your imagination or wrestle it out of me...actually...you could just throw me $$$$. :) Make sure you check out the money saving post below too:)

I Don't Normally Get Excited About Things Like This...

Everything here was between $1 and $2 after coupons. Many of these items retail for around $5.99!

Everything here ended up between $.01 and .99. The Fantastik was .23! And the shout was .79. The body wash was was $.17!

Again...between $.01 and .99. The toothpastes were .50 each. A pack of 12 razors was .98.

All these items were FREE!!


But the thrill of the chase sure is fun! I know many of you out there are doing a version of The Grocery Game. Being a marketing major I LOVE figuring out how and why companies market products the way they do...then I find it fascinating finding a way to 'beat em' at their own game. From a personal standpoint I refuse to pay money for the grocery game. It's something I simply cannot do as a personal conviction ...but if you do please, please don't take this personally. I simply think that I can do the research myself and do it as well or better... and have been for a few months now. For me and this group of girlies managing our grocery $$ is a stewardship issue and a great way to let those $$ saved go to something else:) Ok, so here's what I did today. K-Mart announced their double coupon days in our area. This is a big deal because rarely around here do you see double coupons offered anywhere. So today I tried a little experiment. I tucked a $20 bill in my wallet and set out for our local K-Mart to see how far that $20 would take me. Now, I'm not a big K-Mart fan, and I haven't been in one in years. Point 2. I took 78 (used 23)coupons because I didn't have any idea what products they carried these days...but assumed it was close to Wal-mart which I frequent.Point 3...I only buy what we will use in a reasonable amount of time (I don't believe in hoarding) and refuse to get something just because it's a 'deal'. So... in I went...armed and dangerous....with calculator in hand. And here's what I came out with for my $20. I actually ended up spending $23.85. If you know your retail prices....you should be able to add some of these items and know what a deal this was even from a discounter like K-mart. I'd love to hear from you ...both those I know and those I don't... about how you are saving amist rising grocery prices and your tips for making it 'work'!! For me...this is really fun and pretty rewarding when you can 'steal a deal' these days!!

Last Weekend...

While our daddy was hererunning the monthly free medical clinic for The Destiny Foundation....the P.C. got an invitation we couldn't turn down. You see, on our previous Cypress Gardens day they gave us a 2nd day free...to use within 10 days. We did a turn around and went twice in one weekend!! We joined the Easthams, Romanacee's, and Stoffers for another awesome fun day in the not so hot Florida sun! Here's some of my fav pics of the day. You will see Leni on the 'drop you from the sky' thing with M.E. (the girls name for the parental unit Easthams) and Mr. George. Her face when they dropped ever-so-many-stories-down was priceless. Katie rode the 'orange' roller-coaster *8* times!! Hands high in the sky! A great day...and our Daddy helped many, many people in need:)