it is my journey, I have to get to a point of where it just clicks. I want this for me. I want to get my life together  - Al Roker

vroom vroom!

I have gone and done it. I joined the mini-van mom, soccer mom world.

I am a stay at home mom that babysits 3/4 of the week and carpool two to three days a week. I have the year old I sit, our daughter and three nieces in the vehicle each time I pick them up so we decided it was worth the investment to look into purchasing a mini-van. Well, hubby gets a huge discount through his work for chrysler/dodge for one percent under factory invoice. Yes! We did look at used (which the discount does not apply to) , but by the time we added up financing without a discount, we were still paying a high value to a used car. So we bought a 2013 Dodge Grand Caravan. It was a fabulous deal size and money wise! :)

Our little 5 year old is a soccer player now too. She loves playing goalie. The Fall soccer season is almost over, but we are looking into a winter indoor league. We will see. She did play forward one game and scored the teams first goal too. It is so fun watching her play and we are by the side cheering the team on. We are playing in the Lindbergh school district and there are some big girls in there. Our team is small in stature and seem to get the pants beat off of them on each game, but it is  still fun.

Julia was Jessie the Cowgirl from ToyStory this Halloween. Fun. She rocked the costume. 

Cheers.

Couponing crazy again

It has been a long time since I posted about couponing, but I am back at it. I use to post on another blog, but I'll keep it here since I use this one the most (which has been less and less each year).

This past week I went into Target with my list for shopping for Julia's Birthday party and a few other household sundries. It has been at least 6-8 weeks since I had really shopped .. out of TP, napkins, paper towels..etc. So I go in, do my coupon shopping and found a few good stackable coupon deals and proceeded to check out. This guy behind me pulled his cart up and immediately let out a sigh. Oh boy, here we go. I started to unload my FULL cart (dog food, cat liter, some food, etc...) and he then rolls his eyes with a huge sigh as soon as I pulled out my coupons (nice and neatly in order and facing forward for the sweet cashier, who loved that I was couponing. Admit it, you don't find those cashiers very often!!!)   I gave him a look and proceeded to check out with my reusable bags too. chaching!

I came home and thought about his rediculous actions and posted this on Fa ce book! 

To the guy behind me in line at Target; Roll your eyes all you want at me, but my couponing just saved me over 35 bucks!!!! At least I am not an extreme couponer or else you a@@ would be waiting in line still. Hahaha


hahahahahahaha! I bet he has never couponed in life and does not know how much you can really save with little effort of clipping a few good coupons. :)

By the way, We had a lovely Birthday celebration this past weekend for J and she is so proud she is now a 5 year old. WOW... how the time has flown. I'll post a few pictures soon. 

I hope we can catch up with her birthmother and birthfamily soon. I sure miss them. More on that later. 

Cheers to couponing and saving money towards our Disney vacation soon. 

First Day of Kindergarten is in the Books

In the last few weeks, I have been silently emotionally building tears up for when I knew we would give Julia a walk into her new Kindergarten class for her first day of school. It went uneventful and I am so proud of our not so little girl now! She looked so good in her uniform. I'll try and post pictures later after I transfer them to this laptop. She wanted piggy tails in her hair, a cute pink clip for her bangs that she is growing out and just looks so cute in her uniform. When hubby and I walked her into school, we did not seem very emotional, but more so happy and smiling for her huge accomplishment to make it into Kindergarten at the age of 4.10 months old! She, in my eyes. is super smart and has coping skills beyond what I know I had at her age. I give kudos to her birthmothers great strong educational genes she passed onto Julia!

First day of Kindergarten in the books. She said she had a great day and loves her teacher already. The teacher said Julia was very tired, but someone is buzzing and won' t settle down now. LoL oh and she said she needs a new lunch box! Hello Kitty one! Hehe

 

She was excited to tell me she had a great day, they got some computer time, they colored and she even put her head down for a little rest time at her desk. She got to eat in the new cafeteria. Today she brought her lunch. Tomorrow, not sure what she is having. 

 

All grown up! 

Giving referrals for our Adoption Agency

A Gift of Hope Adoptions asked us if they could use us as a contact for future referrals after we adopted Julia. Of course we said YES! AGOHA's  is a wonderful Adoption Agency in central Missouri. Every once in a while we  will get an email from a perspective couple asking us questions about AGOHA's and how our experience went with them while going through adoption and post placement. We are glad to provide our account of how we felt, dealt with and embraced adoption in our lives through our experience with AGOHA's. I am glad to be able to help another couple decide if they want to build their family and especially if they decide to sign with our agency too! Today I opened that email back from a couple that did decide to go with AGOHA's and I am proud to feel we helped them in a HUGE decision of their lives now and coming in the future. I wish the the best journey and hope they can have a successful match, placement and finalization in their near future.

remembering my cousin dee

http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=41536746

remembering my cousin Dee

2012 Consignment sales resale events

Spring 2012

March 7-10
Just Between Friendshttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif
St Charles' 11th Semi-Annual Spring Sale is March 7-10, 2012
3115 McClay Road, St Peters 63376.
http://w50.myfranconnect.com/jbfwebsite/?site=869123655&


March 23rd & 24th
Just Between Friends
Next Kirkwood Spring Event is March 23rd & 24th!
Concordia Lutheran Gym, 505 S Kirkwood Road
http://w50.myfranconnect.com/jbfwebsite/?site=1358833737&


May 19th - 20th 
Just Between Friends
Next Sales Event: May 19th-20th
Maryville University Athletic Center: 650 Maryville Center Drive, Chesterfield
http://w50.myfranconnect.com/jbfwebsite/?site=636344934&

check these out, baby bottle holders

moms ebay sales sidneyray0 (you may need to be logged in to see her list, but just search for baby bottle holder john lennon or baseball or blue bubble.

My mom sells these on Ebay and has really started picking up business again. Homemade! I know, not everyone feels these are a great item, but let me tell you from experience, they work so well. http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif

I started making these with my mom when we first started our paperwork for the agency to pursue adoption. It really did help fund parts of our adoption costs such as finger prints, background checks, co pays for physicals and tb tests, etc....

I love that my mom took these over and is still selling them. Great for moms of multiples too since they don't have 10 hands. Never leave a baby unattended with these, they are a mother's helper instead.

My mom, grandma of 7, now uses these sales for the 7 grandkids to help pay for special things like sports equipment, uniforms, school tuition (one of my nieces is in college and grandma helped her with book fees). :)

No Flash Card activities

great site to look over for activities for the little one. Little one? She isn't so little anymore.


http://www.notimeforflashcards.com/2012/02/sea-animal-craftsand-activities-for-kids.html

January 2012, where has the time gone?

This year is flying already. I can't believe I am planning things into March and April already for parties (julia's friends), theater shows, Spring events. It is just happening all so fast.

This past week, Julia has really been into crafts with scissors. She wants to cut up paper and make "flying" animals out of them. She has gone through a whole roll of sco tch tape already. I love that her imagination and creativity is there, School really does wonders for her and shows me that her teachers are doing a great job.

This winter has been a crazy weather adventure. Some days we have reached into the 70's while right now we are buuuurrrrrr cold and awaiting a freezing rain sleet night. Not much snow yet this season. I hope we get some more so we can take Julia sledding. I bought her a new sled and while we were looking at them in the store, she spotted a princess shovel. Yes, I bought it. LOL Now she can help me shovel if it ever snows again.

Julia is in tap/ballet/gym one night a week and loves it and then on thursday nights she takes swimming lessons. She is a fish in water for sure. She is leaps and bounds above the other kids in her swim lessons. I hope she can graduate to Eel soon. She is a Pike Plus now. Starting to swim on her own without a belt and also putting her face under water while swimming is her goal for this class to graduate out of. I will miss her current swim teacher if she does graduate to the Eel's, but I know it is for the best. Being four and loving swimming is a dream of mine. I was a water but when I was a kid so this pleases me she loves it so much too. After her class, daddio and I helped her swim back and forth with the boogie board and she did a great job. SO proud of her.

Thinking of taking her to the movies tomorrow. Might go see Chipwrecked or 3d Beauty and the Beast.

Wordless Wednesday picture posts.

Because I failed at the 365 pictures deal on here, I will get back to WORDLESS WEDNESDAY.

Welcome 2012

Happy New Year everyone. I hope this is a year I can get back to blogging and finding a full time job. LOL

Today we went to the Galleria to shop at Build a Bear for Julia. She got a 40 buck bear buck card for her Birthday and WOW... we never used it. I promised her the other day we would use it and she had a great time today picking out a new bear and one complete outfit to put her in. I'll try and post a picture later of the bear. I know she has enough stuffed animals, but she does always get rid of at least 3 stuffed animals to the one she brings in. That was a promised we made with her over the summer when daddy would do the claw machine at all the stores / restaurants we would go into. She agreed to give up 3 stuffed animals to a charity/child/goodwill in order to bring a new bear in the house. LOL We have kept to that promise for the most part. Tomorrow we will pick out 3 and bag them up for donation.

I have been out of the adoption support group circle for a while and am feeling I am ready to get back to it. No, we are not adopting again, but I am glad to be of support to those that might need it. I just hope I can find time to make it to a meeting soon.

Here are a few pictures from the past few months. Happy New Year. May 2012 be a year of Joy and Happiness for all of us.

4th Birthday pictures

Julia, you are the light of my life. We love you so much. I am so glad you loved your Birthday Bowing party.

ramblings of a nearly 4 year old (very touching)

Today, Julia said she missed pawpaw(my dad or hubby's?!). I said I missed him too (mine passed in 1995 and hubbies in 2001). She then asked if they were in heaven. I said they sure were! She proceeded to ask me "Mommy, what is Heaven". I simply explained to her that it is the place that some people go. She asked me if it was because they were old. I said, sometimes they do, but sometimes they go to heaven because they were sick or hurt. She then said "or killed". How does a nearly 4 year old know the meaning of killed in relation to dying and going to heaven.

Ok, I just found out that she had asked daddy today about what the word Killed means. He was playing "Julia" by John Lennon and she heard the words and asked him what it means. The memory on a child this young impresses me so much. She so comprehends what it means already. That is complicated in and of itself, let alone to associate it with pawpaw being in heaven.

I love our daughter so! She is so smart and makes me laugh out loud so much.

a weekend full of camping and river fun

This past weeekend, we camped at Onondaga State Park and had a blast. The B.U.L.L radio station float trip was this weekend from the ozark outdoor (or whatever it is called) camp site just down and across the river from Onondaga. Several of us campers bring awnings and set up our river chairs and sit on the river all day Saturday of the float and watch the crazy people (drunk and whateverelse they are) float past us. We stood in a line in the current and told them they had 18 miles to go until take out and then splashed them with our hands and water cannons. FUN. Julia played on the banks with her friend Emily and they both befriended a little terrier named Penny. They had so much fun. We made sure we applied the sun block and stayed hydrated. We even cooked hotdogs on a friends gas grill. Fun. Veggie trays, a yummy chicken salad a friend made (with grapes in it, YUMMY! gotta get her recipe) and then I did have a few adult drinks. So much fun.

I am so glad I get to instill in Julia the fun to have while in the outdoors. Next time I promise to bring my bike because all she wanted to do in her free time at the camp site was to ride her bike around. I did walk with her a few times while she rode, but I want to make it a point to get up on the bike and do it myself too. Much needed exercise.

Julia asks when she can go camping again. I love that. I spent so much time growing up camping and doing outdoor activities that I am so glad she is soaking it up now too. I need to make it a point to take more pictures when we camp. I often forget to do that. I will say I did have my camera with us this weekend, but the battery died as the main group of floaters (average of 3200 floaters for that b.u.l.l float trip).

Visits with her birthfamily

Ahhhhh, what a great time we had last night. Scenario ...we had been texting all week long with J's birthfamily and the subject of meeting up in person came up and they asked us to meet them Saturday night for dinner. We set a date night at CiCi's pizza and when we arrived, we found all of them standing out in front of the store. Oh my gosh. Tummy Mommy H was there and she had her hair up in a dual cornrow(like a outward french braid) and so did J's birthsister, B! They looked like twins. B has grown so so much since we saw her in person the last time. Heck, she is growing into a near teenager now and her height is soaring up there. J's Birthgrandma M is just as beautiful as ever with her long flowing brown hair and smile. Then there is Little man A, he is not so little anymore. He was just over 4 when J was born and we have only seen him a handful of times up until J's 2nd Bday. So to see them all standing there, in great health (tall and skinny!) was such a blessing.

They all gave us huge hugs and especially J! She gave them hugs right back as if she had just seen them yesterday.

We proceeded inside and enjoyed nearly 3 hours of dinner and chatting time and we gave the kids some change to play the game machines. While at the table we were able to catch up and see how life is treating everyone. H is a cook at a local diner .. She had told us she always wanted to go to culinary school, but she said she was blessed to have gotten this job and LOVES LOVES cooking the breakfast and lunch crowds. M is cleaning apartments still, she wishes she can find something else, but it works really well with the fact that the B & A get off the bus right there at the house and M can just walk out the door to bring them inside.

I wanted so badly (and plan on in the future) asking them if we could bring B & A into the City and have a huge play date with J. I just didn't ask today. I didn't want to put any pressure on our enjoyable evening. I wanted to enjoy looking at their beautiful faces and be so thankful we got to see them in person. It had been nearly 2 years since we saw them in person and only had text messaging as our means of contact sporadically through these last 2 years. I don't want to push any buttons and cause further distance between contact. I did ask B if she needs more paper, envelopes and stamps so she can send J more letters, pictures, drawings etc and she said YES. So this week I will do that and send a box of goodies down to them.

I had missed them so much, but having talked to J's birthmother M, we knew we needed to let them contact flow with H's comfort. And thanks to our agency's Social Worker, we learned it is best to back off and not put so much pressure on the birthmother/family to have numerous visits. I think the visits we have, although far between, make us appreciate the situation and love we have with them even more. It personifies the LOVE we have for each other and respect too.

We gave H a photo book and more pictures. I told her we will for sure send more at her birthday and along with a letter or two. I want to let them see how big she is and how smart she is and how she is growing up to be such a beautiful "Diva" , love of our lives.

When we left, we stood around in the parking lot giving hugs and more hugs. I loved it. We did get some pictures. I'll have to get them printed.

Thank you Lord above for letting us have contact with her birthfamily. What a love to share and what a blessing to have in our lives.

Oh, I did ask her birthmother for a family tree history so maybe we can see that come our way in the next few snail mail mailings.

whatchu looking at. fool

yes, this is my blog that has been severely neglected. Busy is a term I use to describe my life now. Raising a nearly 4 year old child, looking for a full time job, wanting to get back into school, it all keeps me very busy. I hope to put our daughter in pre-school part time again this fall. I hope to find a part time or full time job (maybe babysitting again). I'd like the flexible schedule to help keep up with her school schedule, but we will have to see about that.

Watching her grow up is something i have always longed for. She gets bigger and bigger each day, smarter by the moment and wiser with each step forward. This was my hope and dreams to see her fulfill my wishes of this dream, it is all coming true. I love it. Motherhood is a challenge, but bring it on.

I sent a text msg today to her birthfamily to see if they would want to meet up this wekeend. I am sad to say they have not seen her in person since her 2nd Birthday... Is that right? nearly 2 years? let me check that again. I could be wrong, but it seems ot have been that long. I did print off some photos recently and plan on adding a letter to them in September and seding them off to her birthfamily. I know they appreciate them, but I wish we could also see them and take some pictures with them.

I love being able to share her with her birthfamily and taking lots of pictures is the way I do that. I also send text msgs every once in a whle with a silly picture of her when we are out and about. I want them to see how she is thriving and growing up to be a little girl, not just a baby anymore. I want them to know she is so smart, crafty and sassy! hehehe. Yes, sassy is a light word for some times of the day/week. LOL she tends to show her emotions well and even has an arm folding sneer and umph she makes when she is mad or protesting against something. I love that, but then again as her mother I can say it is frustrating sometimes to not be able to get her to do the things I want her to do and to learn. Patience is what I lack in that department as her mentor and mother.

So since her birthday is late September, she has to go to school for another 2 years.. Preschool that is. I wish her birthday was a few months earlier, since I feel she is skilled and at a level she might fit well in kindergarten. I know I need to let her be her age and grow into school. I won't push her.

Her likes these days in music is cracking me up. I tend to have y98 on the radio often .. lady gaga, katy perry, bruno mars.. she sings them all. She especially likes lady gaga and katy perry. When we are inside, I put on YouTube for her often and let her watch videos as long as they are not too "adult" for her. She will dance for us and sing. Singing in the car is one of her favorite activities.

Speaking of dancing, she is starting Tap/Dance and Gymnastics this fall. She did gymnastics at Litt.le Gy.m this last year, but we decided to change it up a bit and try tap and dance (ballet?, not sure). I can't wait to see her follow instructions for tap. I took tap as s kid and loved it. Getting her to put her hair up for these classes will be a challange. I can see it now that she won't like to let me put it up, but maybe once she sees her classmates, she will then let me put it up in a pony tail. I tried to do a french braid the other day, but it was very loose. I'll keep trying because I love how they look in her hair.

Fun. I'll keep updating. I need to do this from now on so I can keep the updates for her yearly letters and pictures to her birthfamily.

I love our daughter.

my adoption tattoo

It is the adoption symbol and I added in the celtic forever knot in design. It took roughly 1:15 to do and it hurt, but after having put countless needles in me for nearly 9 years of trying to have a baby, that was NO problem or pain compared to then. hehehe

I am planning my next one

help with freezer cooking links

http://www.oneshetwoshe.com/2010/10/freezer-meals-tips-for-dummies.html

The love of a daughter and getting inked

Today, I wake up a bit nervous. I am prepping my nerves for the pain of getting inked for the first time. yes, inked, tattooed. I am having the adoption symbol of the triangle and heart entwined on my calf. In the design, I asked Jamie Toon to add in a celtic knot design. I am excited! I trust he will do a great job. I know and have been told that once I get inked it will be a new addiction to wanting to get inked again and again. I can't say I would do full out sleeve work on arms and legs, but I do admire a friend for having hers done and more. Next, a nose stud and some more earring piercings. And them maybe some more ink and them more piercings. LOL Yes, more.

This morning, while catching up on emails and such, my beautiful daughter woke up (after 11 hours of sleep), walked into the room and just smiled at me. I love a happy face on her in the morning. Great night sleep does that for her usually! She then asked me where her cousin, megan was. I told her that they were at home and we would see her later today (see, I watch my two nieces and nephew this summer so she thinks they should be here 24/7. haha). Later today is a trip we will be making to the local private schools annual picnic. They have fun kiddie rides and I so want to take Julia up there. It will bring back so many memories of when I was a kid and went to carnivals. I promise pictures to come!

For now, here are a few pics from this Spring, Summer 2011.