My New Minivan

I've been thinking. Every time I have to go long distances in the car with my kids, it ends up being crazy loud. Someone is always yelling, crying, or complaining. Any of these things can be easily dealt with in the wide open spaces of your home. But in the car, they are magnified a gazillion times and it makes you want to jump from the moving vehicle.

My idea is genius. Why don't they make minivans like limos. You know how in the movies the driver is always putting up the privacy shield so they can have a little peace and quiet.

Why can't they do that in a minivan?

When the kids get a little rowdy you could just push the privacy button and a sound proof shield would slide up between the front and the back seats. Then you could enjoy a blissfully quiet ride in the car.

Let the kids hash it out in the back seat and you can have your own soft music playing soothingly in the front.

Everyone is happy right?

I swear, they should hire me as a car designer right now.

My Lucky Day

I am a hopeful fool. When I was I kid I loved these claw machines. I would beg my parents to let me try them. I was always convinced that I could beat the game and win a prize. It looked so easy. The stuffed animals are just sitting there ripe for the picking. Needless to say, I never ever won.

Fast forward a few years to today. I am still a hopeful fool. Yesterday in the mail I received a flyer with a key attached and a scratch code at the bottom. I usually throw these away immediately. But the scratch off peeked my curiosity. I figured I might as well scratch it off-- just in case. Well, scratch I did, and I found myself looking at a $25,000 winner ticket!

I could not resist this tempt of fate. I scanned through the rules and realized that I now qualified to win $25,000, a new car, a new ATV, $1,000 or three gold coins. It was right at my finger tips!

I knew that I was no longer able to make a sound judgement, so I called the mister. He made sure that it wasn't a scam and then humored me all the way down to the car dealership. The kids were jazzed and so was I. I made lofty promises of icecream and ponies if this indeed was the lucky winner.

After the typical schmooze of the salesman, he agreed to check my ticket and...

I am now the proud owner of three gold coins to commemorate my idiot move.

Priceless

Books!

I'd like to introduce you to one of my favorite authors. His name is Mo Willems. He writes with so much wit and fun-- his books give me the giggles. The author has been one of my kids' all time favorite.
The elephant and piggie series has quite a few books. It's great entertainment for early readers or preschool aged kids. Although, I've read these books to fourth graders and gotten a great response too. They are clever and simple. It's magic!

This one is my daughters' all time favorite books. She memorized it when she was 3. I've had to buy several copies because she has loved this book a little too much.

I have all of Mo's books. He rocks! If you are looking for some fun books to explore with your kids or grand kids, give Mo a try. You can't go wrong.

Beauty Bargains

People are always stopping me on the street to tell my just how amazingly beautiful I am. They want to know just how I do it and what my secret ingredients are. So, here are just a few things that help me stay runway pretty.
This mascara is my all time favorite. It is Covergirl exact eyelights. I have a sensitive complexion and this mascara never irritates my eyes. It washes off super easy but it doesn't smudge one wink all day long. It never clumps up on me. It's always a smooth thick application. It has a hint of color to compliment your eye shade (it comes in several different eye enhancing colors). I am all about this magic tube of goodness.

I love to dye my hair. I've been around the block with every shade you can think of. I'm usually a salon snob and rarely do my own color (major problems with home color when I was in college). My sister suggested this brand and I was a little skiddish because of my previous mistakes. It turns out that this stuff is amazing. What's even better is it's under $3! I've been saving a ton on color for the last few months with this beauty. The best part is it doesn't make my hair all stringy and coarse. It makes my hair super soft and shiny. I've been rockin' light auburn #53 all winter long. I promise you will not be disappointed.

Something new for the crafting junkies

Look out crafters! My sister Cheri is a crafting machine. She loves to be creative and now she's going to share it with the world. You wouldn't believe all of the things that this girl is good at if I told you. Everything she touches turns out super swanky hip. If you'd care to be inspired by one hot mama, this is the site for you. Check her out here.

The mister has a new favorite saying that goes like this:

you can't shine a turd

(I know, classy-- right?)

Well, he has been inserting it in conversation all over the place to see how it will be received. So tonight we are sitting with the kids before bed and he says it.

Z Kid: What does that even mean Dad?

The Mister: It means that it's bad no matter what you do to it, just like a turd.

R Kid: Well, you could put googly eyes on the turd that would make it look better.

B Kid: Maybe a wig and some arms and legs. That would make it way cuter.

The Mister: But at the end of the day it's still a turd, stinky and gross.

Kids: Wow, you're right Dad.

The mister is our guru master. So mystical and mysterious. It's hot!

A Saavy Girl's Guide to Budgeting

Yeah, that's about how I feel about budgeting. Every here and there the mister and I have a little talk about money. He talks, I pretend to listen. Since our relationship is rather traditional (he makes it, I spend it) these talks get slightly uncomfortable for me.

Here are a few of my finest moments after having "the talk..."

1. I just stop going grocery shopping. (total money saver) I'm currently working on week two of no shopping. Last night the kids wrestled over the last of our Pizza Hut left overs and tonight we are having breakfast for dinner. In another day or two he'll be begging me to go spend some money.

2. When in need of cash, I go to target, buy some toilet paper and get cash back on my debit card. This is valid "supplies" for the house with a little something on the side for me.

3. After coming home from the mall I tell the mister what the price was and how much I didn't have to pay for it. Coupons are my little red devils.

4. I offer to make the mister something nasty for dinner as an option for not eating out. That one gets him every time.

5. If all else fails, I tell the mister, it could be worse. I could have a serious yacht addiction or something. When taken to the extreme, I always look better.


Happy Budgeting!