OK, yes, I've officially lost my mind.  Look what I brought home last week.

Isn't she adorable!!  How could I resist, right?? 

Well, the story  is, that my dearest husband has been wanting a pug for a long time.  Every time we go to a pet store we invariably look for a pug.  Sometimes we find one.  Then we ask the price and well, lets just say that you could put a down payment on a small home for the price of a pug in a pet store. 

So, the other day, I'm driving down the road and lo and behold there is a sign that says simply, "PUGS".  Well,  my curiosity got the best of me and I turned around immediately and went up to the house.  Turns out that the owner is not there and I'd have to come back in an hour.  You would think that would deter me, you know, it must not be the Lord's will or something, right?  Well, since I had 2 girls in the car that could read and knew exactly what I was up to, they made sure that I knew exactly when an hour was up.  I went back and there were 6 little pug puppies in a playpen.  Oh my goodness, I could have taken all 6.  I knew that my hubby would want a girl pug since he thinks that a female will take to him better.  This remains to be seen, but she seems to love us all now. 

Well, my hubby was so happy when he came home from work.  He thinks that she is the greatest thing.  Of course, he is not the pooper scooper of the household.    We named her Peaches and she really is a sweet dog.  Otis ( our Boston Terrier ) doesn't quite know what to think.  He seems to like playing with her, but he is also quite jealous.  Stay tuned for more Otis and Peaches stories! 

Also, here is a pic of Cute-E and her cast. 

She should be getting it off next week if all goes well!!  She has been a real trooper.  As far as her thumb, she is sucking the other one now!!  How's that for adaptability! 

Much to her mother's dismay, Cute-E is now sporting a purple cast on her little tiny arm.  On Friday, she fell backwards off of the couch and broke it.  At the time, I knew something was wrong, but didn't figure it out until later that evening when I was changing her clothes and she started crying really hard when I was putting her arm into her sleeve.  We watched her closely at that point to assess whether or not it was broken.  She could move it and she used it almost like usual except for a few times when it was turned a certain way.  Monday morning, we took her to the doc who did an x-ray and determined that yes, indeed, it was broken.  She broke her radius (one of the bones from the elbow to the hand) right in the middle.  It is not a bad break, it looks like a crack that goes across the bone.  However, it needed to have a cast put on since it needs to be protected. 

I was REALLY dreading the appointment with the Orthopedic doctor today because I just knew there would be alot of pain and crying.  HOWEVER, you could not have asked for a better baby.  She just sat there and watched the doctor bandage it up and roll the cast around it!  It was unbelievable.  Here is the video to prove it. 

What a good, sweet baby!!  We are so proud of her.  The doctor says that she will have to wear the cast for about 4 weeks and then he will x-ray it again to make sure it is healed.  It should be good as new.  PTL for an easy doctor visit and a calm baby!!

The only BIG issue I can see right now is that she may not be able to suck her thumb.  She fell asleep on the way home and when I put her in bed, she was trying to manuever it in her mouth.  We'll see how this affects her sleep.  Hopefully it will be an easy adjustment. 

OK, so maybe you don't want to use this as a good example of homeschooling.  In my defense and in Cute-E's defense, she learned this from her sisters.  Don't worry, we'll work on it. 

Cute-E took her first REAL steps on my birthday.  Up until then, she would take 2 or 3 steps if prompted, but on my birthday, she walked across the room.  Of course, I wasn't here.  That is OK though.  I am sooooooo happy that she is walking.   I love to sit and watch her walk.  She had a little friend over the other night and they were both teetering around and it was so cute to watch.  She has gotten it down alot better now and she is pretty much a pro.  Next up... running. 

I found about about this awesome little video camera that you can use and upload videos to your computer.  It is called The Flip.  http://www.theflip.com/  Check it out.  It was on clearance at our local blockbuster for $119.00.  They normally sell for about $149.99.  My best friend and fellow bargain hunter Jen saw it and called me since she knew I wanted one.  I was so excited I went and picked it up right away!   Now I can post and email video.  You can also load it on to a CD for safe keeping.  It is not the most awesome quality, but it is perfect for what I want.  it fits in my purse and so I can keep it close at hand! 

So, here is a video of Cute-E doing the walking thing! 

Enjoy!

I'm on the downward slope now, or at least that is what someone told me about turning 40.  Does that mean life gets easier from this point on? 

God has given me a wonderful life so far.  I am blessed with a wonderful family and just the best of friends that you could ask for.  I thought this birthday would hit me harder.  Besides beating myself up lately about my lack of STEWARDSHIP (see very first entry), I'm not having a hard time at all.  Maybe it is because I am and feel so blessed.  I am blessed with a wonderful husband who really, really comes through when times are tough.  He really loves me and I know this without  a doubt.  I have three beautiful girls.  One, who is changing almost daily and approaching those teen years WAY to quickly for me.  She keeps me on my toes in many ways!  She is such a tremendous help when she wants to be.  She can outclean and out organize me any day!!  Sometimes I have to let her know that, even though she is almost taller than me, I am MOM and I mean business.  I still can't believe that she is not a little, little girl anymore.  

I have a 7 year old that thinks that I hung the moon.  Seriously, she really thinks that I am perfect.  I hope that never changes,  BUT, having an 11 year old makes me realize that it will and sooner than I want it to.  For now, I'll let her think I'm perfect.

I have the sweetest, cutest baby ever.  OKAY, maybe I am biased, but she is pretty special.  It is SOOOOO much fun watching her discover things for the first time.  I am so blessed to be able to watch a third little girl grow up!  Again, that will happen too soon.  Time goes by so quickly. 

I have the best parents EVER.  Again, I am biased, but on that note, I do have alot of people that agree with me!!  They are not only wonderful parents, but wonderful people, PERIOD! 

I have the best in-laws as well, they have also really come through for me and my family when times were tough.  My Mother-In-Law is a prayer warrior and never ceases to pray for us, even when we aren't going through tough times. 

I also have the best friends.  Most of my friends revolve around our church.  What a support group we have!  There is nothing like having good "women" friends!  God has been so good to me in that area. 

My wonderful friends threw me a 40th birthday party at The Melting Pot on Saturday night.  It was so much fun and I came home feeling like a million bucks! 

This is one of the things that they gave me.  Everyone there had contributed words that described me. 

It is my very favorite present because it made me feel so loved.   Of course, when I got home, my hubby said that they didn't ask him for words because he didn't see "Pain in the B*tt" on there.    Good thing I know that he loves me. 

Here are a couple of other favorites! 

This is something every woman should have by the time she is 40 according to one of my dear friends. I have already used the hammer and the screwdriver that comes with it to do a small job around the house.  I am empowered!!! 

This is from my girls.  It is a I Corinthians 13 bracelet.  That is my favorite chapter and if you follow the stones and charms around, it recites (symbolically) the key verses that describe Love.   

One more thing.  Hubby got me a CD of Mandisa.  Mandisa is a Christian singer from American Idol last year. She did not win, but she never hid her faith.  This won my vote!!  Listen to a song and watch a video of my favorite song from the album here.

As you can see, it was a wonderful birthday!!  Thank you God for 40 years and 40 BILLION things to be thankful for. 

Next Entry will be Cute-E... she is FINALLY starting to walk...pics to follow!

We were able to take a little overnight trip to Disney with our older girls and our best friends and their older girls.  All signs pointed to it being a rainy, stormy deluge of a time, but God is good and the rain and storms pretty much stayed away and it was a wonderful time! 

Here is our group the night before.  This is a great place to eat, by the way, but as usual with most Disney attractions, a little on the pricey side.  The girls LOVED it though!

Sweet-E said she didn't want to spin very fast before we got on this ride.  Note to self:  Never trust a 7 year old in a teacup. 

Tween-E and her BFF.

Look who found a friend! 

Earlier this month we did the Awana Grand Prix at church.  Each year, we try to come up with some fun ideas because we usually are not the fastest.  However, this year, Tween-E's car won first place for the 3rd through 6th grade group!!  YAY!  So, not only was it cute, it was a speed demon! 

Sweety-E's care was a Zoo Bus.  She chose the color and the decor.  Tween E's is the cute Valentine Mobile.  My car was, of course, the Chick-Fil-A car.  I modeled it after the Chrysler PT Cruiser that sits behind our Chick-Fil-A. 

Here is the other sides. 

A fun time was had by all as usual!!

Well, last Saturday night we went to a sock hop for the anniversary of some very good friends of ours.  What a fun time!  Here are some pics...

 Here's the girls that look the part...

Isn't she lovely?  Isn't she wonderful?  Oh, yeah, that is from the 70's.

Sweet-E and Tween-E showing off their hula hooping moves.

As you can see, a fun time was had by all.  I think the girls will remember it for a long time! 

I've been trying to save money lately in various ways.  I found something called The Grocery Game.  Basically, they tell you where to look for the coupons and for the sales that will save you big bucks at the Grocery Store and at some area drug stores.  www.thegrocerygame.com

Using this sight along with some other great sites (www.couponmom.com and www.moneysavingmoms.com )  is yielding me some great savings.  By using some of their ideas, I'm walking out of CVS with merchandise that costs a fraction of its original price.  Tonight, for example, I bought 3 pkgs of Huggies diapers and another small item for $10.33 out of pocket and earned more "Extra Cash Bucks" for next trip.  I also went to Publix and spent $25 and saved $31.  I'm psyched!

It is taking some valuable time though, so we'll see how it goes. 

The weight loss journey is slow at 3.5 pds in 2 weeks.  I was hoping it would be a little quicker, but I'm not being an angel either.  :)

Cute-E, Sweet-E and Tween-E had their well checks this week.  Cute-E is 24lbs and 6 oz.  and 32 inches.  She is a big girl but starting to slow down a bit in her growing.  Sweet-E is 4 ft. 2 in. and Tween-E is 5 ft. 1 in.  She is 1 in. shorter than me and that is about how much she has grown in the past 6 months.  So, I'm figuring she will be as tall as me by her 12th birthday!  It sure is going to be strange looking UP at her in the next few years. 

They are all healthy and for that we are thankful.  God has blessed!

Well, January is going rather quickly.  I believe we have only had 1 REALLY cold spell and that didn't last long.  That is what we get for living in Florida.  I just got an email from my aunt in SC.  This is her at 11:00 p.m. Wednesday night making snow angels.  She's either trying to rub it in, or she is going crazy. 

Seriously, it looks like great fun and my girls are quite jealous.  I just have to figure out a way to get up there when it is actually snowing. 

Well, Cute-E went to the doctor today and she has an ear infection.   On a positive note, this is her very first ear infection!  This was something  I was worried about when I couldn't breastfeed her.  Since she was a preemie, I was convinced she was going to get sick all the time and have multiple ear infections.  Well, God protected her and she has really been quite healthy, except for lately with all these little cold viruses, etc.  That is the normal stuff though so it isn't so bad! 

She isn't walking yet,  here is a pic of her cruising around.  It concerns me somewhat, but as you can see she does know how to use a computer.   Oh, and this must be the one cold spell we had as she is in a blanket sleeper.  Yes, in Florida, we put our babies in these when the weather gets below 70 degrees. 

Here is another picture of her in one of her favorite places. 

School is going well this month.  I feel like we are accomplishing something so that is always good.  There is still room for improvement as always.  The girls surprise me with what they learn. 

My honey and I are doing Weight Watchers.  He is actually going to the classes and has lost almost 35 pds!  His success has encouraged me and I'm getting started myself.  We'll see what happens.  This is another area where my word for the year needs to be applied. 

The girls and I went bowling on Thursday.  That was an interesting experience.  Tween-E was self-conscious (yes  she is a true TWEEN) about her bowling but did pretty well.  I never broke 100, but it was fun.  Sweet-E managed to get a 0 on our first game.  I don't know how that ball could go down 20 times and not hit anything, but it did.  The second game, we had them put up the side rails.  Well, one side rail, the other one wouldn't work.  This time it would hit the side rail and then go into the other gutter.  Quite funny!  Actually, we all did better that game and Sweet-E got a 60!!!  Cute-E sat in her stroller hollering "BALL"!  She loves to play ball.  I did let her out once and she cruised over to the place where the balls come out.  When I took her away from it, she wasn't happy!!

Now that we are all feeling better, maybe we can do some interesting stuff and take more pictures!  Since it is not going to snow here, we may have to make some sand angels!! 

~C

This is Tween-E and her first solo at church.  This was a HUGE step in her life.  She NEVER has liked the focus to be on her whether good or bad.  From the time she was an infant, she was very sensitive about attention.  She has done a couple of other solos/duets since this one and we're hoping that she uses and develops the talent God has given her and that He blesses it. 

I am the pianist and I almost messed her up on the second verse!!  She came through like a champion. 

Enjoy!

This is Sweet-E and her very best friend.  They have been best friends since their very beginnings.  I love to hear them talk to each other and play.  They love each other so much.  They have no trouble  speaking their mind to each other either.  It seems they are knit together by a special bond that I hope will be there for their whole lives.  It is a big hope, I know, they are very young.  Aren't they adorable?!

2008 is here!   My word for this year is STEWARDSHIP.  I'd really like to be a better steward in every area of my life.  God has given me SO much and I feel that so much is wasted because I don't take better care.   I'm not exactly sure when I started to see things go out of control, but I'm ready to get them back under God's control with my stewardship. 

I'm starting the New Year off with a resolution to blog.  I'd like to learn how to do all the fancy stuff too.  We'll see what happens.  I don't want to spend more time on the computer, so I don't know how I'll learn. 

Tonight was our annual New Year's Eve party.  It was alot of fun and I like to start the New Year off with our close friends and family.  We adults were getting tired as the midnight hour approached.  I think we are getting old.  The kids had some excitement as someone from the neighborhood was sneaking over to the fence and scaring them by saying things like "Get away from there!"  Sweet-E was literally trembling, but I think they actually thought it was exciting and it will give them something to talk about.

Well, I'm going to bed now.  Tomorrow is the start of a brand New Year.  Time to begin writing on a brand new page.

-C