POTTY Time!

HELP!

It's time for me to stop procrastinating and add yet ONE more thing to my already full plate this Summer!  I seriously NEED to get on the ball with this Potty Training thing.  Makoa has absolutely no interest in it and I know, I know, he'll do it when he's ready and all that, but seriously, he's THREE and hasn't even tried!  He moves up to the 3 year old class at chuch this week, where they don't take "diaper bags" and this summer most of the kids in his class will be potty trained.  I know the majority of the problem is that I haven't taken the actual time and effort to potty train him.  I am at a loss.  Not to make this about my mom, but this is something I would totally need her assistance on!  Actually, I would have flown her out here to potty train her grandson for me :)

So when I have the time to blog, it'll probably be about the Potty Party in my household...All advice welcome and needed :)  And a TON of encouragement would go along way too, I'm gonna need it :)

Thanks and I'll let you know how it goes...

First and Last of 2010-2011

First Day of School 09.15.2010

Last Day of School 05.18.2011



I'm Daring 2 Share.

Jason Petty aka Propaganda
is truly amazing and inspiring.

I just had to share this with you...




"I hope you're closely listening..."

I Just Had To Share

Guess how much I saved?

Last night, to Stephen's and my dismay, we once again realized we were out of coffee for the morning.  And let me tell you, in this household, that is NEVER a good way to start off the morning.  So, thankfully, we have a gas station just outside the neighborhood that would provide us with our morning kickstart AND from immediate research online to find the store I would be going to to remedy our situation, Harris Teeter heard my cry. 

I LOVE Harris Teeter SALES! 

And I LOVE being an eVIC Member! 

This week I purchased:

Buy 2 Get 3 FREE!  So I bought TEN!

I see lots of baking in my future and lots of eggs spam and rice too!

Buy 2 Get 3 FREE!  Again, I bought TEN!
My sister Jesseca is coming for the Summer, so I need to stock up on CORN!
5 cans of Corn, 3 cans of Green Beans, & 2 cans of Peas

Buy 2 Get 3 FREE!  PLUS 2 coupons for $0.55/off 1!  So I bought 5 bags!

Buy 1 Get 1 Free!  I bought 2!

With my nephew in tow, we checked out and paid our bill, came home, scanned my purchase for the National Consumer Panel, and took a picture of our loot...

I paid $50 for $125 worth of groceries!

Yes, that's a $75 SAVINGS!

This is not something I do every week because the BEST savings is to NOT spend any money,

I do believe that "necessity is the mother of invention",

BUT

I LOVE getting the most for the money I do spend!

April Fool's Day

This day also happens to be my Mother-in-Law's Birthday.  Lucky Lady! 

The family decided to have a feast for her prepared by each of us contributing something. 

Stephen, Makoa, and I were in charge of Bread and Dessert. 

This is my staple Sourdough French Bread that I make often.

Photo by  Taste of Home

For Dessert, I've been working on mastering the Molten Lava Cake, one of my favorites.

Photo from Tasty Kitchen

As for her gift, Makoa and I had fun with this. 

I had made Marvelous Marble Cream Cheese & Chocolate Muffins to take to dinner at a friends house the day before the birthday dinner.  I had one left, so I decided I would put a candle in it and have Makoa hold it for a picture to be framed and given to her as a gift.  That "photo session"  sparked a bit of inspiration. 

A HomeMade Birthday Card

As you can see, Makoa and I had fun.

Honestly, Self-Accountability Time and a Prayer

Hi All.  I've been lazy (you should see my laundry).  I have been pushing against financial anxiety that is creeping around (a bad habit of mine).  My "To Do List" of all things I've been procrastinating on keeps growing.  I've been unmotivated and the inconsistent weather doesn't help.

I know why I've been in this funk.  I know exactly why.

I've been slacking and inconsistent with my alone time with God.  Partly because I'm trudging through the book of Exodus, but mostly because I have allowed myself to fall into distraction and a lack of self-discipline.

But I'm back.  Time to buck up.  Through this funk I have maintained prayer and God ALWAYS provides.

So.

Good Morning God.  Today I feel my motivation returning and I thank you for changing my attitude.  I pray for you to continue to work on me, my attitude, so that I will do your will with a joyful heart.  I do feel the weeds of financial anxiety creeping up again.  I pray.

⁶ Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. ⁷ And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:6-7, New International Version, ©2011)

I thank you, Lord,  with an overwhelmingly joyful heart for Makoa.  I pray, Lord, for your continued guidance so that I may be your light, so I may inspire others through my example, as imperfect as it may be, to seek you.  I pray these things in Jesus' name.  Amen.

Ok.  Thanks for listening.  Thanks for praying with me.  Now, time to face that LAUNDRY :)

2010 Year in Review, Part 5

I've been putting this post off for several reasons, but mainly because this part of 2010 and any year, for that matter, is quite vast.  The End of the Summer always brings a whirlwind of emotions and changes. We always count our blessings and celebrate during this time of year.

We miss you Chilli Dawg



1997-2010

We celebrate the lives of my parents. 

We reflect and hold on to their love and legacy. 

We count our blessings.



Daddy Jesse  November 26, 1956 - August 11, 1984
Mama  August 22, 1976 - September 6, 2008

We moved out of our old house and into our new house.  This was totally God's work because we weren't "actively" looking.  We really weren't trying to move.  We set the standards to move pretty high...

1. Cheaper

2. Newer

3. Bigger

Nothing is impossible for God.  Our new house just literally just fell into our laps, with our criteria and more room than we know what to do with.  We LOVE it and Thank God EVERYDAY for His provision.



Our First House as a Family (The Old House)

I only have pictures of the backyard...we spent a lot of time in the back of the house.

View from the backyard of our First Family Home

 We LOVED our old house.  It was a perfect "starter" home for us.  We had MANY celebrations in the backyard, right on the water.  Lots of memories were made there.  We brought Makoa home from the hospital in that home.  But we were growing out of that house and with Makoa breaking free of any barriers, it was time to get off the water and into a cul-de-sac. 

Thank you God!  We LOVE our New Home! 

We went from a 2 Bdrm/2 Bath House to a 5 Bdrm/2.5 Bath House!

The view from our front porch.  We are now across the street from the water.

The view of our backyard from our screened in porch.

That would be my Sister-in-Laws home. 
Our backyards connect, making it easy for the cousins to grow up together.

After a long Winter and too much time with JUST mommy and daddy, Makoa was showing signs of major cabin fever.  He was extremely shy and a little behind in his Speech development.  So we decided to enroll him in Preschool. 

So we commemorated his

 1st day of school! 

First he wanted to mow the lawn

Then he was off and running

It took him about a month to feel comfortable. 

 But eventually he stopped acting like an Opihi every time we got to his classroom and now I barely get a kiss goodbye.  And thanks to his INCREDIBLE speech therapist, his vocabulary is growing more and more!