A visit to the Michigan Clan

This weekend K and I hitched a ride with my Ma, aunt, and cousin to go see Grandma in Michigan.


A good time was had by all. We gave my sister a surprise birthday party and she got lots of good loot! Thanks to Aunt G and Uncle V for the lovely accomodations and for helping us feel right at home.


K got to go sledding up near Lake Michigan which was a treat for her since where we are there are neither lakes nor hills. Then they loaded up and went to the local McDonald's for a snack. The one they made it to was having a huge grand opening complete with free cake and ice cream, face painting, goody bags...she had a blast.

Later that day, (still in Michigan) as I sit by my lonesome back in the craft room at Aunt G's, I get a call on my cell phone. It went something like this:

Hello?

Is this Mrs. so and so?

Yes, it is.

Well, this is so and so from McDonald's. I wanted to tell you about K. I just got off the phone with your husband, S. (As I sit there totally confused since my husband is back home still and what could this person possibly know about K.)

How did you do that?

I used the phone number from the paper.

Okay, you seem to know alot about me and I don't know you. And what paper?

The paper your daughter filled out. She must have been in here sometime today and filled out a form. (I'm still not getting it)

Okay. Yeah, she was there.

I just wanted to tell you that your daughter's name was just chosen for free tickets for a family of four to Michigan Adventure.

Oh, wow! That's great! (I have no idea what this place is.)

Congratulations! Just come on in sometime with your ID and we will give them to you. (As he proceeds to talk to me like we are best friends for several more minutes.)

When K gets back later, I tell her what happened and she was like "Oh yeah, it musta just slipped my mind that I filled them out since I figured it was so unlikely that I would win anything." "Man, I was hoping you woulda said I won the plasma TV..." "That's cool too, tho."

All the while I am thinking this is so great! We never win anything...and from the reaction from everyone else this place must be pretty neat! She just takes it like it happens all the time! Too funny!

So, needless to say, we will be going back this summer to use our free tickets and see everyone again!

I just wanna help, ma

Tell me something I don't know

Gnightgirl passes this task along.

Something mundane that others don't know.

I don't like "used" water. This includes, but is not limited to, the water that gets used over and over as you wash your dishes in the sink, the condensation that forms on the outside of a glass, and worst of all, the water that collects on the deck of a swimming pool that everyone else has walked in. Yuck. I don't even like to think about it.

I'm pretty sure I put it in here...

Just another lazy Sunday

Not much going on around here today. We awoke to a few inches of snow and the big kids had to get out and use their snowball makers and snowball shields. It was pretty fun to see them making perfect snowballs and piling them up just so they could pelt each other.

Next thing you know the neighbors are over and they are in on the fun, too.
Not to be outdone, they had to fire up the grill and roast weenies and make hot chocolate! In 30 degree weather! Too fun!

Then my daughter and I went on a field trip to meet a potential pet for my Ma. His name is Wilson and he is super cute...even with a cleft palate and missing his top lip! I am pretty sure she will be taking him home. She couldn't resist.

Tagged

I was tagged by gnightgirl.

1. What did you do in 2006 that you've never done before?

Have my eyebrows waxed

2. Did anyone close to you give birth?

Yes. Me

3. Did anyone close to you die?

No, thank goodness.

4. What countries did you visit?

For real, none.

5. What would you like to have in 2007 that you lacked in 2006?

I dont think there is anything I need.

6. What dates from 2006 will remain etched upon your memory and why?

April 9. My third child's birth.

7. Did you suffer illness or injury?

Aside from delivering a baby, I had to have a root canal and a tooth pulled and then I got braces.

8. Who's behavior merited celebration?

My husband. For being the best dad ever.

9. Who's behavior made you appalled and depressed?

I'll have to think on that.

10. Where did most of your money go?

Formula and diapers.

11. What did you get really excited about?

My son's birth and his siblings reaction to him.

12. Compared to this time last year, are you, a) happier or sadder, b) thinner or heavier, c) richer or poorer?

Happier thinner richer

13. What was your favorite TV show?

I love lots of shows....right now I think Ugly Betty. Oh wait, maybe House.

14. What was the best book you read?

Ever...I Capture the Castle. Recently, The Thirteenth Tale.

15. Is there someone or something you missed this past year?

My dad.

16. What did you do on your birthday and how old were you?

Uhhh...don't really remember. I was 32.

17. What kept you sane?

Shawn and Mindy

18. What is one new thing you'd like to accomplish this year?

Take more pictures.

19. If you could do one thing this year and not get chastised by or for it, what would you do?

Dunno

20. If you could meet one blogger in 2007, who would you want to meet?

Dunno if I could choose just one!

I'm not really sure how this tagged thing works...do i just "tag" somebody I want? Then I choose whiteredelectra.

Speaking of milk...

The last few months we have been having our milk delivered right to our front door. I have to say that I am loving every minute of it. How cool is it to have a milk carrier drop off fresh milk in the morning right in time for breakfast.

The Oberweis Dairy milk comes in 1/2 gallon glass jars and they leave it right on your front porch in a dairy box. (It appears to be mostly like a cooler.) The first delivery you get you pay a one time fee for the dairy box and they leave it chock full of whatever you have ordered. The dairy box is yours to keep after that. You simply rinse out your milk jugs as you use them and put them in the milk crate (that they supply) and set the milk crate and your dairy box outside and the next time they fill it all up again!

They normally deliver once a week, but they have it nicely set up online so you can adjust your deliveries and change your orders. As long as you do it by 10pm the night before your delivery day you can add items or take them off as you like.

We like the fact that the milk and some of their other products are hormone and antibiotic free. This enables us to give our family great, healthy products without having to pay the premium price for certified organic.

One of the neat things I think is that every once in a while they will leave free samples in your box so that you can try out different products. I have to say that a couple of our favorite things are the fantastic chocolate milk and I love the fresh butter quarters.

Thanks to Oberweis Dairy for helping me offer my family high quality, healthy products to eat.

Cover me, I'm goin' in!

I am getting ready to go into the market for a new digital camera. I would really like to stay in the range of $200 or so.

I think the only things I really have an opinion about right now are that I would like it to be small and lightweight and have a pretty good shutter speed.

Anybody have any suggestions? Anything you would like on your camera that you don't have and think may be useful? Anything you just had to have and then realized it wasn't so important after all?

It will mainly be used for point and shoot kinda things, but it would be nice to get some good pics from the zoo when we go.

Alright, I'm goin' in!

Supply and Demand

My friend, Mindy, always has the neatest stuff. She's always the first one of us to buy something new that has just come out so she can try it. It is a small goal of mine to buy something before she does and then call her and tell her all about it. Normally, she says "I know, I have that." or " Yeah, I saw that on T.V."

A long time ago I was visiting her and she had this body wash that I really fell in love with. I used it all the while I was there and it made me happy and I smelled pretty. I, being a frugal person, don't frequently buy stuff like that. So, it was a nice treat when this Christmas she gave me some as part of my gift. There was also an added bonus of body lotion to match.

Imagine my surprise when she then tells me that she got it at Big Lots. That is a closeout store around this area. I had a rush of panic and then elation. Panic because if it's at Big Lots than that normally means it won't be available anymore. Elation because (and this is where my frugal gene comes in) I was thinking off how many bottles I could stock up on at a really good price. Could I possibly be one of the few who liked this scent and it just didn't make the cut?

The next day we headed out to run errands and went to Big Lots in search of New Year supplies. We headed to the soapy, smelly aisle in hopes of finding my loot. My adrenaline was running strong and she calls out to me that she found it.....do you think they had any of my scent left? NO!!! I was bummed, but we stood there and smelled all the others they had. I did end up picking out a couple of new scents, but they didn't compare to the Vanilla Plum.

Fast forward to today. I was online and came across this. They didn't stop making my scent after all. It is just in a new package and now instead of listed as Soothing it's listed as Uplifting. *sigh* I feel so much better now. I haven't even used the one in the new package yet and I already feel Uplifted.

Back to Basics folks...please don't scare me like that again.

Everyone else...pick up a bottle and try it. They have alot of different scents to choose from. The soap doesn't dry out your skin. It foams up into a nice, bubbly lather and it doesn't leave you feeling sticky when you're all done. They also have matching lotions for all the scents as well.

Take it from me. It works well as a gift, too!

Cookies, anyone?

I have to tell you this story.

I have this friend named Mindy who I commonly refer to as the kitchen gadget queen! She has every imaginable kitchen tool available. I visit her house often and usually stand there and talk about how I would like to have this or that...altho I don't want to spend the money on a new tool when the way I do things work just fine.

She has had these cookie scoops for quite sometime and I always see her use them, but am always skeptical as to how they could possibly be better then my way. My way she would refer to as archaic. The 2 spoon method. You know, scoop the cookie dough up with one spoon, scrape it onto the cookie sheet with the other spoon...

What should I receive from my loving husband as part of my christmas present? 3 different sized cookie scoops. They are made by Oxo.

I decided to make cookies the other day and pulled out my Oxo cookie scoops. I have all 3 different sizes, but chose the middle size to make my cookies. Can I just say that these things are amazing!!! It is so much faster and the cookies are all the same size and totally porportioned. I can fit more cookies on my sheet and they look so pretty when they are done baking. The cookie scoops are easy to squeeze and can go right in the dishwasher when you're done. How easy is that?



I was so excited that I had to call Mindy while I was making my cookies and let her know how much fun I was having and how much easier and faster it was. She, of course, says, "I've been trying to tell you!" "You were always so skeptical!"

So, go out and get some of the Oxo cookie scoops and bake away! I'm telling you it will be a fun time had by all. Watch out tho, if you use the small cookie scoop you will end up with bite size cookies and that could be dangerous...you might not know when to stop eating!

What has prompted my first entry?

I would have to say my first entry has been prompted by my great find of Robeez shoes. I had heard of them before, but since my kids were older there wasn't really a need for them. However, when my youngest son was born and began to become mobile I began my search.

I found their website and browsed online, but decided to try to find them here in my own neighborhood. I found a few locations on their website that carried them around here and headed out. First things first. I had a pit stop to make at Target. It so happens that Target carries their own brand of a leather shoe that is similar to Robeez.

I will sometimes get sucked in by the off brand because it tempts me by the difference in price. I had my son with me so I tried them on him......having nothing yet to compare them to I opted to go for the Circo Baby Infants Leather Shoes for $12.99. They are blue with a green star on them. We finished up and went home and he has been wearing them ever since (about 3 weeks so far.)

Christmas came and went. My family happened to be staying at my in-laws. My father-in-law and I have an annual tradition the day after Christmas where we go to a store in his area called Kaleidescope . We like to pick out really cool Christmas ornaments at half the price! What should there be towards the back of the store??? A rack of honest to goodness Robeez. You should have seen my excitement. After much contemplation and discussion with my FIL, we went with the giraffe pair for $26.00.



I have to say that I should have opted for the Robeez from the get go. They are more expensive, but clearly much better made. They are more narrow than the Target brand so they stay on his feet better. The Target brand ones have lost a lot of their color near the tips of the shoes and have cracked pretty badly. The Robeez are still looking great. The soles on the Target brand have began to wear away...almost like when a sweater pills up. The soles on the Robeez look like brand new.

My thanks to the Robeez folks!! I will pass on the word that they are the shoes to get for the little ones!