A Tribute to Being Cheap

Last Saturday my lovely wife needed me to get the kids out of the house so that she could get some things done. We knew that Michaels craft supply store was having a kids day with various crafts and activities so I planned on taking Clark and Ryleigh to investigate. As soon as we got in the car I turned on the radio and scanned a few stations to see if any of them were on remote somewhere near by with free food and drinks.

As luck would have it, KXY was advertising from an ATT/Cingular store not far from Michaels. We stopped there first to see what they had. Of course they love to see kids, so Ryleigh and Clark each got some pens, a small squishy basketball and a bottle of water each while I entered some drawings for a free phone and some concert tickets. It was close to time to draw for the prizes so we stuck around for a few minutes, and lo and behold I won a new phone that takes pictures and plays music!

We went on to Michaels from there. Not only were they doing crafts inside the store, but outside were our local firemen and their trucks, someone dressed as a giant Sonic slush handing out coupons, and someone dressed as a cow handing out Chick-fil-a coupons. We talked to the firefighters whose station just happens to be at the entrance to our neighborhood, and the kids took turns sitting in the fire truck. We gathered all the coupons we could and headed inside for the 3 craft tables that were set up. At the first station Clark painted a turtle figure and Ryleigh painted a seahorse, at the 2nd they made puppets with wooden sticks and stickers, and at the 3rd they made a necklace. From there we went on a treasure hunt around the store to claim our final prize - 2 new Color Wonder markers. We grabbed 2 balloons on our way out the store and headed for home.

When we left the house we passed by a neighborhood that looked like they were having some sort of celebration, but we couldn't tell if it was public or private. On our way back home we stopped by to find out. D.R. Horton, a new home builder in town, was trying to get people interested in building a home in this new neighborhood and to attract people they had a moon bounce, hamburgers, hot dogs, and all the fixins. We didn't buy a house, but I bet we spent an hour there eating and playing. The kids had a blast and I had a free lunch. We gather our free frisbies and coozies and headed for home.

In summary:

1 cell phone, 3 squishy basketballs, 3 pens,
2 bottled waters and 1 Sprite ......................retail value $215.00

2 ceramic figures, assorted fast food coupons,
craft supplies, 2 markers, 2 balloons, .............retail value $ 22.00

2 hamburgers, 2 hot dogs, 3 bags of chips, 2 sodas,
2 bottled waters, 3 frisbees, 2 coozies ............retail value $ 28.00

Spending the afternoon entertaining your kids
without spending a dime......................................Priceless

In All Things Love

Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for he who loves his fellowman has fulfilled the law. The commandments, "Do not commit adultery," "Do not murder," "Do not steal," "Do not covet," and whatever other commandment there may be, are summed up in this one rule: "Love your neighbor as yourself." Love does no harm to his neighbor. Therefore love is the fullfillment of the law.

Romans 13: 8 - 10

This was part of our Bible lesson on Wednesday night and I thought it would be a good reminder for all of us leading into the Madness that begins next week. That's right boys and girls, the brackets for the NCAA tournament come out Sunday, and this in the time of year that pits brother against brother, mom renews her love for one towel-chewing ex-coach, and kind loving words are replaced by trash talking from the most unlikely of sources. Consider this the calm before the storm for next week the games begin!

What happeded to February?

A lot has happened since the last time I wrote. One of the big events was Ryleigh's 6th birthday party. She wanted to go to Ponyland where they have pony rides and other activities on their farm, but when it came time for us to schedule the party we found out that they were no longer hosting parties. We found a few places that would bring ponies to our house, hired the cheapest one and had a party. About 6 girls from school and church, 2 cousins, a younger brother and the next door neighbor came over to ride, lead, and feed ponies for an hour. The kids had a great time in spite of the 30 mph arctic wind that was blowing.

There was a 2 week stretch around Ryleigh's birthday that I couldn't write anything while Andrea parents were visiting. When I started this blog I set a standard that I could only write about "whatever was lovely, pure, admirable, excellent or praiseworthy" and I just wasn't having those thoughts for a few weeks. Things aren't exaclty settling down now, I don't know that they ever do with 3 kids, but at least we are calling the shots again.

I think I've said it before, but I really need to have a notepad or laptop computer with me at all times to take notes of all the things the kids say or do that make us laugh. By the time I get to the blog, I have forgotten most of them. There were a few good things from yesterday. Clark is growing like a weed and into everything. We are constantly on his case about staying out of trouble and doing the right things. Last night while I was finishing dinner he was down on the floor talking to Lydia who was in her bouncy seat. He had cut a little piece of green paper (smaller than a postage stamp) that he wanted to give to her, but we told him that she might put it in mouth so just show her the paper. In his sweet little voice he was telling her to look and paper he cut out for her, and then he just started repeating this phrase, "I am not pinching Lydia and I am not hitting Lydia", and he wasn't which was good. He loves his baby sister, but he a Ryleigh both have a hard time keeping their hands off of her. They like to put their face right in hers, nose to nose, and rub their hands all over her face.

Ryleigh was star student of the day for her kindergarten which meant she got to bring her favorite book for the class to read, bring snacks and have her picture on the wall in her classroom. Last night was open house so we visited her classroom to see her picture and tour her classroom. She took us to all of the stations where they do their "must-dos" each day. They had an assignment on display where they had to draw a picture and complete this sentence: "When I grow up I want to be a (blank) and I will use (blank)". The idea being you pick and occupation and the whatever you might use to perform that job - I want to be a builder and I will use a hammer for example. Ryleigh's read, "When I grow up I want to be a Mommy and I will use Cookies" and she drew a picture of a mommy with a platter of cookies. It just cracked me up. There is no doubt that her mom does wonderful things with cookies. Ryleigh and her mom just this week took some cookies and a card to a sick little boy, and of course we made cookies when we came over from open house. When Andrea was a the school yesterday to deliver Ryleigh's snacks, Ryleigh's teacher said to Andrea that if she was ever going to have another child, she would want her to be just like Ryleigh. Needless to say that made Andrea and I feel pretty good.

Lydia is just precious. Soooo close to rolling over on her own. Smiling and talking and outgrowing most of her outfits. Her smile is contagious. You can't help but smile when you are holding her and she is smiling back; her eyes and her smiles are just so responsive to every little thing you say. I was using Lydia as an example the other day while talking to Ryleigh. When you frown at Lydia you get nothing in return, but smile and she smiles right back. The best way to get a smile is to give one first.