Wrong Side

Have you ever gotten up on the wrong side of bed, figuratively speaking?  I seem to have managed to do that twice in  two days.  Sunday started off on the wrong foot when I ended up with one of the worst hair days I have had since junior high.  It was a cross between a poodle with its tail in the electric socket and Don King (for all you 80’s junkies).  And I only had about 30 minutes to do damage control!  Thank goodness, I was presentable for church in time.  I won’t be trying that particular hair styling tip  again anytime in the near future (Thanks, Laine-but it just doesn’t work for short hair! lol).

Monday was just a bad day from the get-go.  I got up late, and was hurrying so I could make it to Curves.  I could not find my keys.  Now, this is unusual for me.  I always know where my keys are.  Let’s face it, there are only so many places you can put your keys in a 36’ trailer!  I searched high and low, and enlisted all of my children and husband in the search.  I even offered a reward to the one who found the keys.  Now these keys are not low visibility, either  - not like two keys on a single ring.  No, my keys are a ponderous weight of metal and plastic.  There are four rings, eleven keys, a car “beeper,” and twenty-four store/library/loyalty cards on it.  I cannot close my fist around it.  I just couldn’t imagine where they were. 
On a whim, I went over to the church, and there, next to the computer where I had been working the night before, were my keys.  I was so relieved!  Nothing gets me out of kilter like not having things where they should be!  OCD, I guess. :)
The kids were taking forever to do their homework, and I was excessively frustrated with – well, everything!  Then I decided I really needed to get my MS driver’s license.  So, I gathered my papers and went downtown.  I couldn’t find the DMV.  Then, when I finally located the office, I had to sit for a long time.  I showed the lady my papers, and she told me I didn’t have the right ones!  I had grabbed the wrong ones!  I was ready to cry.  The only reason I didn’t was because I knew my picture would look worse with red eyes and nose and blotchy cheeks, so I kept it under control.  I had to go back out to the truck to get the right papers.  Another wait, then I got my license! I was glad to get back home.  :)


This is my latest CVS deal.  I went shopping hoping that some retail therapy would counter my crummy day.  It worked!  The Physicians Formula lip gloss was a bonus deal.  This week, if you buy $10 of PF, you get $7 ECB.  The lip gloss was $9.99 and had a $3 peelie coupon on the front! Woo hoo!  The UP2U gum was on sale for $.99 and I had $1 coupons!  All of this was totally free!  Yay!  I even made $1 by using my green bag tag, so all in all, I made a profit on this transaction.  The PF deal is a limit of one, but the gum has no limit on how many you can buy.  Fresh breath coming up!

Like New

Well, the crisis is over, and the newest member of the LFTC has been repaired and made to look just like new!  I was a little nervous, since this was the first time we had ever been to this dentist, having just moved to the area.  However, it was a good experience all around.

The dentist said that the tooth did not seem to be damaged in any way that would cause it to become loose or cause the nerve to die.  He said that the grinding did not even go to the second layer of the tooth, which is great news.  He had a cancellation right after our initial appointment, so he was able to repair the tooth immediately.  I was thrilled!  The Lord worked it all out for us!  Here she is with her new fang—oops, I mean, tooth! :)

 

 

What a relief that the whole ordeal is over.  She will have to be careful about biting into hard foods, but other than that, there is no significant change in habits.  Perhaps a football helmet for when she is riding her bike…

 

Today is Swagbucks’ 4th birthday!  Make sure you head on over and take part in the Birthday Bash!  I know there are tons of fun things going on, not to mention the team contests.  I plan to be a winner!  Who knows, maybe you will be one of the $1000 winners!  Check it out at Swagbucks!

New Member

I want to be the first to introduce you to the newest member of the Left Front Tooth Club.  This exclusive club has been around for many years, having been started when I was a child.  I was one of the charter members, and for some time, the only member of which I was aware.  Eventually, I was joined by a friend, then my brother, then a few more friends during my teenage years.

 

Membership has been dormant for a while, but just this week – Tuesday, in fact, my daughter Abigail joined the club.  The mode of initiation into the club is actually up to the individual, and so varies from member to member.  Here are some of the inventive ways that people have wrangled a membership into the Left Front Tooth Club.  (*The names have been changed to protect the innocent.)

 

Sarah (me) – whacked in the mouth with a croquet mallet (my brother had a wicked backswing!)

Luke (my brother) – hit in the mouth by a stray “grounder” during a softball game (some called this poetic justice)

*John –  ground his tooth off on the pavement in a bike wreck

* Lily – fell off a milk crate, hitting her mouth on the basement floor (she also broke her wrist – bonus points for the initiation mode)

*James – forgot to make sure the pump on his BB gun was latched; it popped up while he was aiming and knocked his tooth out.  He excitedly called our house to say, “I joined the club!”

*Andrew – was experimenting with scientific properties; pushed a five gallon bucket down into the lake, with the intent of sitting on it (the air underneath keeping it buoyant) – the air pressure was greater than he expected, and the bucket flew up in his face, hitting his tooth and knocking it out.  He gets a 10 for creativity.

 

Add my sweet Abigail to this list – she used the tried and true method of the bike wreck (see *John) to great effect.

 

 

In all seriousness, it could have been a very bad accident.  I am thankful that the Lord kept her safe, and that the damage was not more extensive.  There is still the possibility that the tooth could die, so pray that it stays healthy, and that there are no complications.  Also pray that we don’t have any more members of the LFTC in our family! :)

 

Congratulations, Abigail!

 

Are any of you card-carrying members of the Left Front Tooth Club, or do you have your own exclusive club?  :)

Pass It On

For over a year, Esther has been asking me to teach her piano.  I have put it off until this year, hoping that she would learn her ABC’s and 123’s first – it makes teaching piano so much easier!  I feel as if I have bitten off more than I can chew at this point.  She is so excited that I can hardly get her to sit still on the bench!  She squirms and wriggles, smiles and giggles all while pressing the keys of the piano.

I guess I tend to be somewhat OCD about extra-curricular noise and movement, a trait I seem to have inherited from my maternal grandfather. :)  Whatever the reason, it is all I can do to not scream as she writhes about on the bench beside me!  I can only give short lessons at this point…  Bad mom, I know.  Perhaps she will grow out out of it?!

 

After our lesson this week, Daniel came in and was playing on the piano.  I was doing something in the next room, and I heard Esther’s voice prompting his actions.  “Now, Daniel. Push this one, now this one, and this one!”  They were both delighted with their music, and she exclaimed to me, “Mama!  I’m teaching Daniel to play the piano!”  I couldn’t resist snapping a few pictures of the two of them playing happily together!

 

Here are my two budding musicians, hard at work!  I just love those smiles!

 

 

 

Here they are playing Daniel’s “favorite song.” At least, that is what he said when she flipped the page in the book.  How he made this determination is probably totally arbitrary, since neither one of them can play the song, but it really was funny!  I love the way she has her arm around him – just like the sweet big sister that she is (most of the time)!

Super Deal!

I love it when I get a great deal with coupons.  My Kroger store has a clearance aisle where damaged and discontinued items are placed each week.  I always try to make my way through that part of the store first, snagging the best deals possible.  This week, I hit upon the jackpot.

 

Here is what I bought.

 

Now, I know some of you are going to say, “I thought you didn’t color your hair!”  I don’t, and do not plan to,either.  However, the deals were too good to pass up! 

The Clairol boxes were marked $1 each, the Garnier were $1.69 and $2.99.  The granola/protein bars were $.49 and the Scrubbing Bubbles (I actually bought two, but had already put the other one away) were not on clearance, but they were just items that I needed.

Here’s how it broke down:

3 – $1 Clairol

2 – $2.99 Garnier

1 – $1.69 Garnier

3 – $.49 granola bars

2 – $2.99 Scrubbing Bubbles cleaner

Total: $18.12 +tax

Enter the coupon queen!  Ta-dah!  I just happened to have some great coupons for the hair color!

3 – $2 clairol coupons

3 – $2 garnier coupons

1 – $2/2 Scrubbing Bubbles coupon

1 – $2 off my next order Kroger CRT

Total OOP : $2.12 (I will also get another dollar credited to my account from Saving Star for the Scrubbing Bubbles!) 

So while I will not use the hair color, I will pass it on to someone else.  I only bought it because it gave me overage on the other items I really did need to buy!  That was my exciting deal of the week—so far! :)

Happy President’s Day!

I have no plans for today – other than school, housework and the usual.  I know today is considered a holiday, but I didn’t tell my kids! Mwahahaha!  I am so motivated to get the school year over that I don’t want to take any extra days of vacation.

 

Last week, I took my girls to the doctor because they both had a rash on their face.  I found out it was scarletina rash due to the fact that they had strep throat!  Neither one of them had complained of feeling badly, nor did they have a fever, sore throat, or any other symptoms.  The doctor told me I had caught it early, and we were able to get them on antibiotics (I don’t usually do antibiotics, but sometimes you have to) right away.  I am so grateful that they didn’t get really sick, or spread it to their brothers.  Now I just have to make sure I don’t forget to give them their medicine every day.

 

For those of you who participate in Swagbucks, this is their birthday month, and there are a lot of special activities going on around the website.  One of the big prizes is that four people will win $1000 cash!  Now is the time to join if you haven’t already!  Check out Swagbucks today!  New members can get an extra 110 Swagbucks for using the Promo code BIRTHDAYBASH12 when you sign up, making a total of 140 Swagbucks on your first day!  What a great deal!

Never Forget

One of my husband’s hobbies is studying World War II.  He started as a child interested in aircraft, and eventually, it became a more specific study.  We have dozens of books on WWII battles, aircraft, strategies, etc.

 

Several summers ago, we had the opportunity and privilege to hear a Holocaust survivor speak in a small home-school group meeting.  My heart broke as she described life in wartime Europe, the horror of the concentration camp, the loss of her entire family when she was just a young teenager.  It was beyond comprehension, but I will never forget it.

 

Last year, I decided to do a little study on my own.  Instead of studying the battles, strategies, and equipment, I wanted to study things from the human perspective – the testimony of those who survived.  I checked books out of the local library, and for several weeks, read dozens of accounts from many different countries.  The unbelievable stories of survival against the most horrific odds, stories of courage, strength, and daring.  Amidst the terrible extermination camps, men and women forged character into their souls.  My respect for these who survived, and even for those who died fighting, continues to grow.

 

I pray that kind of war will never touch our country, but I am challenged by the example of these mostly unknown heroes.  I would like to think that I would go on, fighting, never giving up, no matter how insurmountable the obstacles seemed.  When I look at my own life, I think about the things that make me want to give up, and realize how small and insignificant they are.  May I learn a lesson from those who have gone before—just keep on keeping on! 

I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me. 

Let Christ be your strength.