Name and blog change

Since things are ever changing in life, I am going to be blogging back at treasuresofhope.blogspot.com . I had it a few years ago, and never really blogged back then, but now I am heading back to that blog. So in that, I am not limited to things that I adore, and love. For me, it will be about the things in life that I treasure. Soon I will have treasuresofhope.blogspot.com up and running so be sure and change it in any of your favorites or things that you have saved, so you will be able to find me on my new blog.
Let's see if I can remember what I used over there as log ins and such a see if I can get it up and running.

Catch me over there.
Toodles.
~Hope

Happy 44th!

Anniversary to my parentals. I have been trying all day to post this and things just kept coming up. Today, 44 years ago, they married one another. Who ever thought that 44 years later, many many moves, many houses, a construction company, 6 children, and 12 grandchildren, they would still be together. I am so happy that they are. It makes me look at my marriage and know that downs do happen, but ups will be there soon, and it is worth it to stay together. Be commited.

This was them on their wedding day. April 30th 1966. What a HOT couple!

Here they are at my wedding, in May of 2001. I had to take pictures of these pictures as they are both in frames in my house. So the quality is not the best.

my Dad has a funny face on him and can you tell it was a windy day??

LOVE YOU GUYS!! Happy Anniversary and may you live for many more!!

I saw red

Bringing back these photos that I took of my niece, back in December of 2008. I am putting them in a photo contest with the theme "red".

This is my favorite.

But since we were in the snow, and gettin' all crazy, I guess I got some water on my lens and it made it blurry,

So this one, SOOC, Is better composition and focus.

I LOVE Red. It's my favorite color to wear, and it's just soo vibrant. So ALIVE!! I know, I'm weird, but it's a great color.

Almost ready

to jump back in and get back to blogging. Sometimes, I just need to clean and clear out everything. and that means my head as well.

I'll be back soon, and with a GREAT mother's day giveaway. Let's celebrate the mothers that we are and that we have!
Coming soon! Hope everyone is enjoying spring :0)
Besides the allergies that come with this season, it's my second favorite time of year.

Takin' a break

for awhile.
I'm going to step away from cyber world for awhile and get my head clear, my thoughts out, and re-group for spring and summer!

See ya in awhile.

A lunch quip - Funny kid

We are in Jackson’s room trying to find his tag reader (A little device that will read a book to you, or say certain words that you don’t know.) for story time.
He says to me, Mom, I have to tell you something that’s gross about me.
I reply, (in a laughing matter) Oh! I know you are gross. You don’t have to tell me anything more. I could tell YOU some things of why you are gross!
No mom, this is something that you don’t know. I want to tell you. OK?
Ok.
When I am at school, if there is something I want in the trash can, I take it out and eat it. Even if it’s not in a wrapper, and it’s just sitting there! Like the Pizza Bagel. Even if it has a bite taken out of it.
(me cringing inside) Ewwww!! Don’t do that.
Well I’m hungry! And someone is just throwing it away!
Oh, that is gross! (half of me is proud that he is not wanting to waste, the other half is grossed out beyond belief. )
I did laugh about it though.

Spring has Sprung

You know what that means??? It's time to clean. Clean, clean and declutter.

At least that's how it goes down in my house.

The semi- annual, get crazy and get cleaning party is about to start. Well it's not really a party, since it's mostly just me, myself and I that get down and dirty, but I SHOULD enlist the help of others. My husband got the backyard and our "slope" on his mind, so that's his spare time project, as well as the garage. Getting it back to a state of "happiness" so that I park can in there once again. Oh, that will be so lovely. I can't wait. I'm not going to get overly excited though, sometimes, he takes years to finish a project, and I'm not exaggerating one bit. I wouldn't do that. Well, not about him finishing a project, I would maybe about something else. And Bubba, he could help too, but I do most of it while he is at school in the morning, pre-afternoon hours when I have my groove on and can get things done.

So, back to spring cleaning. This is the time of year, that for me this is what I do.

1. Windows need washing. (vinegar and water works great- just cheap plain white distilled)
   
2. Baseboards and walls need a good scrub down, (vinegar and water is also my favorite on this)
   
3. Cupboards are cleaned out, wiped down, sorted through, expired food trashed. That sort of thing. (I use vinegar here too, to wipe things down. I use vinegar actually for A LOT of things. It's a great go to cleaner.)
   
4. Plants, trees and shrubs are pruned and cut for the new growth. (I do the plants; I let my husband do the trees.)
   
5. Clothes. Go through the clothes and take out long pants, long sleeves, sweaters, and that sort of thing. I now put them on the other side of the closet. My boys have double sided closets, before I used to pack them up and put them in a bin if I didn't sell, or get rid of them, now I just move them to the other side of the closet. Since Mother Nature likes to be sneaky and all the sudden we'll get a cold day in the middle of HOT days and no clothes are to be found, I now keep them accessible, at least a few things. {Important fact: I didn't even know this, but this year is El Niño, which means for us in California, it gets more wet than years in the past. I guess this happens every 7 years, and this year is THE year, so I'll keep rain/colder things on hand.}
   

That's all I can think of off the top of my head. These are the things that I do, twice a year to keep in some "Deep" cleaning and get things organized for the upcoming warm and summer months!

Happy Cleaning! If you have any tips and or ideas, please share! I love to find new ways organinzing or cleaning things. It makes my heart sing.

Light at the end of the tunnel and Bubbles

I think things are beginning to calm down a little bit around here. Though usually the minute I say that, it's busy again and events come up and more things to do. But for now, I feel that my head is above water and that's a good feeling.



I can't think of anything that is super important that is coming up for me to have to prepare something or run around and do things, so I feel more relaxed. It must be springtime. This is Boo boo after eating a banana. No edit on this picture, just SOOC. His eyes, Oh! how I LOVE them.


We were out in the yard the other day, and turned on the bubble machine. I forgot how MUCH kids love bubbles. I think the pictures speak for themselves.





He wouldn't let me take pictures of him having a "good" time. He's concerned bubbles are for babies.





Then the solution starting get low, and we got these HUGE bubbles!
And then they starting sticking together!!

and getting gi-NORM ous!

You know, it's the simple things in life that make life enjoyable. Sometimes with life so busy and FULL, I forget to stop and smell the roses.
or play with bubbles.

We will most definitely need a refill for our bubble machine!

This is Bubbas bubble all edited and enhanced all by himself. I was in photoshop the other day and he asked if he could edit some pictures. This was what he came up with, so I thought I'd share.

Feeling BLAH today!

Please tell me I'm not the only one that has these days?? I know I'm not. I just feel like I am.

I feel fat.

I feel ugly.

I feel like I don't know how to take pictures.

I feel like I need to learn how to put make-up on right.

I know it's that evil side, trying to get me down.

I guess it's working today.

So I am going to put up some pictures that I took, of the flowers that are out in my yard.

Flowers that I love.

That make me smile.

Then go to bed and start anew.

and remember all the things that I CAN do.

that I AM good at.

and that, evenutally, I'll get to where I want to be weight wise,

and hopefully, be content with ME.

How I shop on occasion now

I’ve been wanting to do a post like this for a looooong time. I keep hesitating, and putting it off, because I don’t want to seem like a “copy cat.”
But after my shopping trip yesterday, I can’t keep quiet. I HAVE to share.
I think I’ve been doing it for a LONG time . Probably longer than some of the sites now up on the web. Maybe not, I don't know when they are started, But, I feel like I can share what I know. I know what I'm talking about too. (for the most part)


There are soooo many websites out there already and they show you how to shop with coupons and save money. It’s almost soo many that it’s overwhelming. I look and browse a lot of them. I’m not “obsessed” with it anymore, one, because time is limited for me now, and two and more importantly, we have enough “stock” on hand of most things, to be OK. I do however, still pick up things even though we don’t need them, for free or nearly free, just because you always can find someone who needs them, or donate them to shelters of some sort. And honestly, I like the little “high” you get when I do so well!


If you have NO idea what I am talking about, and are not interested, scroll down and see some cute pictures of my kids. If you are though, please keep reading. Many of my friends and family don’t shop this way. They are amazed how I do it. Want to be better with their money, but don’t take the time to learn, or think they can’t, so I’m posting this for them, so maybe it’s a little easier to “grasp the concept.” It does take a little time to get the concept and know what and how to do things, but for me, it’s about an hours time organizing my trips, if there is more than one, and I think it’s worth the time.




So a little background {if you don’t care, or have the time, scroll down to where I start My trip yesterday.} When we were living down at the beach and my husband was finishing up his undergrad, I had a friend that I “worked” with at church. We started on the topic of shopping and spending money, and onto "deals", and then she told me what she found. Now her husband is a doctor, so money wasn't necessarily an issue for her. She had 3 little kids, {a family of 5} and was just tired of spending SOOO MUCH ($1000-1200 a month} in groceries. She knew it was necessary to feed her family, and it wasn't something she could cut out of her monthly spending, but she wondered if it could be cheaper. One day she was on the internet and googled "cheaper groceries", or "save money on groceries/ food", something like that, and came across; Teri’s list or otherwise known as the grocery game. She started it, fell in LOVE, and then shared it with me. She showed my her pantry, her “stock” and I was totally game and ready to play. This was 2002. I’m thinking, I don’t know if I WAS pregnant with Bubbas but probably must have been. So anyways, I learned it, got my routine down and starting shopping like that, and we even taught a class at church so others could do the same.


In 2004, we left the beach house, a very sad time for us, but Bradley had graduated college and had JUST gotten a job that was much further away. We moved to his parents to save some money, because we knew that we wanted to buy a home soon, and there wasn't really a way we could save in our current situation. While living there at his parents, I continued to shop for his family. At that point, I don’t remember how many kids were still at home, I guess two and their cousin, so 3. Plus us, plus his parents and the other ones that came over to work, (family business) so there where at least 10 people through the week eating there. It was pertinent that I continued to shop like that. My IL’s paid for the food, I just clipped the coupons and went to the store and that was my “contribution” let’s say, that we agreed on. It was a great agreement, in my opinion. I LOVED to shop AND save money. I got to do both, without spending my own money. And they got a fridge and pantry stocked with stuff!

So a year later, we moved out, bought our home, and I continued to shop this way for about another year until 2006, religiously, then we had sooo much and I was wanting more healthier foods and so I only did it every now and then. Kind of took a break for 2 years. The newness wore off, and we were OK to buy what we needed.
When Boo Boo was coming, I started up again in 2008, because I knew how hard is would be to get to the store for this or that, and with a baby, diapers and wipes were necessary so I wanted to stock up when I could for the “rainy days.”
Things had changed in these few years. More people were shopping this way. More stores, were on the bandwagon, and more specials and deals were out there to be had.
And that is just what I did. So here we are today. I watch the specials, get the newspaper for the coupons, or actually I get the coupons from grandma’s paper, (we would never read the paper so why get it when she does?? LOL) and I still shop occasionally for the "deals".
SOOOO now onto the post.

Shopping trip Yesterday




I went to CVS and this is what I bought. Gosh can I even say that??? hehe keep reading, and you'll know why.

My total at first was 29 and some change, I don't even remember.

Then, I used these coupons from iheartcvs.com links:
$1.00off CVS paper product (prints at machine with rewards card)
$1.00 Dial soap coupon
$1.50 Jergens
2 $2.50 John freida hair products
$4 off 20 beauty purchase



Paid with These extra care bucks (ecb’s):
4.50 in ecb from my winter spending
3.99 ecb's colgate deal {still going on}
5.00 ecb from huggies deal a couple weeks ago

and it took my total to............


which means I paid "Out of pocket" (OOP) :
Ready??? Wait for it,,,,,,,,,

Wait for it……………… (Here's my receipt so you know I don't fib)
.99 + (tax) 1.53= 2.52



That's not ALL!!!!

I got back :
5 ecb for the Jergens/John Freida purchases
4.49 for the Dove shampoo
4.50 for the Dial soap
And .25 cents for my “green bag tag”. {It’s a dollar after 4 visits, so .25 each visit.}

So I spent 2.52 and got back 14.24 for my future spending.

Essentially, they paid me = 11.72 to come and take buy things from their store. They got $7.50 in coupons that they send to the manufactures and get $$$ for. I see this as a win /win situation if you ask me.
Go out and try it if you don't.
If you have any questions, let me know. {this post was already wayyy long and so I didn't go into ever. single. detail. )
I am MORE than happy to help people’s money go further and help you stock your house for the “rainy days”.
Because as we know, like what’s happening today out there in the economy, you never know when you are going to need your stockpile. I’m glad that we have it on hand, in case we REALLY need it. Meaning, unemployment, illness, that sort of thing. We USE it, or share it and give to others, but if we couldn’t go out and buy these things for some reason, we’d be OK with a lot of things on hand. With the money I saved, when I first started out, THIS is how I got my hair done, pedicaures, ate out for dinner, and did fun things with my family.

So how many people shop like this?? Is this a totally "new" concept for you, or is this "your" way as well. Just curious to see. Leave me a comment if you went through some or ALL of this, {I'm sorry, it was REALLY LONG,} and let me know how YOU shop.


Here are a few sites I've used or currently use to check things out.

thegrocerygame.com
iheartcvs.com
iheartwags.com
iheartriteaid.com

afullcup.com
couponmom.com
coupontom.com {database to search for when coupons came out)

It's a Big old Party.

I've been partying it up over here and you should join and check it out because there is a LOT of fabulous things to win.

I would LOVE any of these.



The GRAND PRIZE of course- Toshiba laptop
US1- 150 Shopping spree at Pedals Cars at Retro Collectibles.
US2 - 50 GC to tagless baby apparel.
US 63- Razor Rip Rider.
US 73- 30 amazon gift card
US 74 - more amazon gift cards.
US - 112 5o amazon gift card
Just to name a few.

Head on over and join the party!!

Free treats for tax day! and a baby giveaway

Saw this on yahoo. Thought I would pass it along for those of you who may have any of these places nearby and can get some free things.


Here are some of the freebies and discounts on offer for tax season 2010.

-- FREE COFFEE AND TREATS

CINNABON: Get two free bite-sized cupcakes from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Thursday at participating mall locations as part of "Tax Day Bites!" Flavors include Chocolate Passion, 24-Carrot Cake, Vanilla Bliss and Cinnacake Classic.

MAGGIEMOO'S: Get one free slice of ice cream pizza -- ice cream with red frosting to look like sauce and white chocolate to look like cheese -- at participating locations from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. Thursday.


STARBUCKS: Get free brewed coffee all day Thursday if you bring your own mug, a promotion the cafe chain says is friendly to the environment as well as taxpayers.

Also found this on USATODAY

•Free tacos. At its 275 restaurants in the West, Taco Del Mar will run a promotion: "Taxes Suck. Tacos Don't." People can register at the Taco Del Mar website for an e-mailed coupon for a free tax day taco.

-- DISCOUNTED MEALS

BOSTON MARKET: For a "last-minute tax break" -- one free meal for each one you buy Thursday through Sunday -- show this coupon: http://bit.ly/d1YlRO

IHOP: Expanding on the tax deduction parents get for kids, the restaurant chain is offering free dinner for one child age 12 or younger with each adult meal purchased 4 p.m. to 10 p.m. all month long.

MCCORMICK & SCHMICK'S: The seafood restaurant is offering $10.40 dinner and drink specials in the bar on Thursday -- a nod to the 1040 tax form. Bar guests who come in April 15 also receive a $10.40 gift certificate for a later visit. And professional tax preparers, who may have to work right until the midnight deadline Thursday, get their freebie Friday: dessert on the house plus a $10.40 certificate if they show a business card.

P.F. CHANG'S: Get 15 percent off food purchases for dine-in or take-out, excluding alcohol and happy hour food and beverages.






-- STRESS RELIEF

HYDROMASSAGE: Get a free massage Thursday through Sunday at participating locations. The mall-based massage chain suggests calling ahead to book an appointment. Find a location at http://www.hydromassage.com/taxday.

Also, one of my fellow bloggers is giving away a baby ergo carrier. Do NOT go over there though because I want it!! Ok, I kid. Here is her blog. Have fun!

The Uncanny truths about Motherhood- Crying

I remember, oh probably 3 years ago, maybe even four, about a lady coming on Oprah. She talked about baby cries. I didn’t have a baby at the time so while I thought it was interesting; I didn’t really pay too much attention to the information. When Boo Boo was born last year, I thought, now is the time to find out what that lady was talking about. I googled what baby cries mean, and found the Oprah page and then had to search a little more to find the five different cries. Priscilla Dunstan is her name and her findings I found were pretty amazing and interesting.

It's hard to hear your baby cry. It's even harder to not know what they want or need. It can make you feel overwhelmed, stressed and even more exhausted. Understanding what your baby is saying to you, is sooo neat that once I read them I was ready to put them in effect.

I quickly wrote them down and listened closely to my baby the next time he cried.

#1 Neh= “I’m Hungry”—listen for the “n” sound. If you hear it, you know that your baby is hungry. Offer to nurse or give them a bottle at this time.

#2 Owh= “I’m sleepy. “ This is the time to swaddle (if you swaddle) and lay your baby down for sleep. Or rock them to sleep. However you have decided you are going to do it.

#3 Heh=”I’m in pain or discomfort.” Listen for the strong “h” sounds in this cry. They are cold, hot, want a diaper changed, or what a different position.

#4 Eair= “I have lower gas.” This may also be accompanied by the infant trying to bring his knees to his chest. You can assist the infant, or push their legs up to help them get that toot out of their tummy. I honestly don’t remember hearing this one to often in my baby. He didn’t have problems with gas to much unless I ate something that didn’t agree with him, but I knew that ahead of time, and stayed away from what bothered him. Mylicon works GREAT, in my opinion, it helped get rid of any gas that he had almost immediately.

#5 Eh= “I have to burp.” The sound almost sounds like they are trying to get something out of their throat. At least it did for my little guy. After a few taps, he would burp and be content again.
These cries were lifesavers for me. Seriously. Between the feed, wake, sleep schedule and knowing the cries, I felt like the hardest things were dialed in for me, and it made the beginning months so nice and pleasant.
Some of the cries sound very similar. Try to listen when they first start crying and not after they have gotten worked up and/or are hysterical. With the Neh, and Heh, listen to the first letter and see if it is present. It’s so nice to be able to understand your baby’s communication and now what they need. Again, it made things so relaxing and calm for me, to not be trying to figure out that they needed, try everything, be exhausted from it and still have a fussy baby. Within a day, I understood his cries and could understand what he was telling me. It was dreamy…

Easter Egg Hunt

Here they are. Finally rounded up and together. Our Easter pictures.

As I have mentioned a few times, I was really sick on Easter. It was awful. I hate being sick. Yes, I think I can use the word hate here. It's more than despise.

I'm glad it was me though, than anyone else in my family. I think I handle it a little better than ummmm.......... say, the male of the household. I kid. I kid. He's pretty good actually and doesn't ever want to be sick either, so when he's down, I know he's really out.

These were the only shots that I managed to take on Easter Sunday but at least it was something.

All the egg hunters gathered on the stairs to get baskets, get ready, and of course take pictures. It's quite hard to get a "good" picture with 14 kids in it. Or a picture at all without someone looking. This was the best, that wasn't blurred and kids weren't moving, waving, standing up or what not.

I didn't ask to post this picture of everyone, so if someone doesn't want their child up, email me and let me know. It's mostly family and great friends, so I didn't think anyone would mind, but I don't mind taking it down, if someone doesn't want it up.

The littles were let out first. 2 and under (I think)

It was Boo Boo's first time to hunt eggs. (Obviously, he was a few weeks old last year.)

He enjoyed it for about 4 eggs, then he was done.

(Sorry Babe, I didn't mean to cut you out of everything)

Well and the older ones came out, and he was more interested in seeing what all the rukus was about.

And the kids began hunting.

The boys ran and hunted.

I mean REALLY HUNTED.

Look at the determination!! Of course only a boy would go out on there to get that thing. (and only a boy would put it out there ) Our Easter bunny was definitely a boy.

and the girls................... they got some eggs. But they were more daint and delicate about getting their eggs.

Mainly, they just looked pretty!

Look at my gorgeous nieces!! Strutting their stuff. They are just sooo pretty. Watch out boys.
And then they were done, and content, and socialized and let me take pictures. :0)

And the boys, yes, they continued to hunt.

Prize in sight!!

Gotcha!
{Oh yeah, the boys shirts were made by my friend Gina, who has now moved to England. She is soo dang good with her stuff. Check out her etsy store. She'll be up and running again in a month or so.}

Looking through my photos, it just reaffirms to me, that the men are the hunters out there in society. (Generally speaking of course)

They are the Knock 'em dead, go out, kill the beast and bring it home to the family kind of people. It is who they are.

They hunted for their families and those around their homes, and the mothers, took care of the children, and homes.

It is sooo obvious in these pictures,to me, that this is how God planned it, and this is how it should be.

It may sound silly to some, but going through these and seeing the different genders hunt, there is a difference. The way the two, go through life and see things differently and view it, I'm glad I am where I am, at home, and my husband is out tackling the beasts and bringing us home dinner.

I hope everyone had a beautiful Easter. I wish I could be with all my family and friends on all holidays, but such is life.

This is my life. And these are my 3 boogers.

Last Day

of Spring Break. Gonna Make it a fun one!!


I can't believe time has come for the the big kid to go back to school. We are going to have some fun and make it a memorable one.

Happy Monday

threeboogers out!

Our weekend so far..........

has been a great one!! So much fun and laughter. I went on a date with my hubby Friday night,(more details of that later) my oldest booger Saturday, got my hair done, (which I ALWAYS love, thanks Rebecca!) and hung with the family.

Totally Blurry picture (Bubbas took it and I guess I should've switched it out of manual for him) but you can see the "new do" a little bit at least.



After church tomorrow we get to meet up with MckMama and have our family pictures done! I'm really excited. It will be a treat, I'm sure. There will also be more on that as well.


I haven't even put up the Easter Egg Hunt pictures either. {which are the only ones I got pretty much of Easter}, but that will be on here soon as well.


Just wanted to write some things down before hitting the sack and post some pictures of us today. We had so much fun hanging out as a family, even if it is cutting down some bushes and trees. Well, I do no labor, as I play watch with baby, but it's still fun to be together!



This kid will not just look at me normal, or smile for a picture. In the past it has really bothered me, but I am now being OK with it, because this IS him. It's his personality, his style, and when he grows up, this is what I want to remember and want HIM to remember. Happy times :0) (though tomorrow, he WILL be told it's a smiling day-just FTR)

He is loving this bike that was his brothers. One of the few outdoor items that made the moves and years. You can tell it's faded. I'm not sure how much more wear it has left, but until it starts breaking apart, it's his. This kid loves all things with WHEELS. He is so different than Bubbas was at his age. Bubbas still is not a HUGE car fan. (you wouldn't know that though by his dad's hot wheels collection ) he likes science and math things more. I can't remember what toys he was into at this age, I'll have to go sort through pictures and journals to remember.

I shot for the first time today in RAW. Not sure how I feel about that yet.
It's fun to play around with that, but I don't know what I am doing at all, so........ I'm just not sure.


I also was looking at the other settings on my camera today as well. Wondering, Do I play around and change these as well any time?? the L thing (you like that??) jpeg size, evaluative meter or some other options?? I have no idea. Will have to read my manual or google I guess.

Anyways, RAW photos.
Leftover cupcakes from the baby shower (another later post)


Him and his new friend.

He had just pinched his finger. His expression makes me laugh. He didn't want anyone to help him turn the trike over and somehow pinched his wittle finger, but he finally got that thing over.

Alright it's way late and I'm tired, have a great Sunday all!!
Peace!

Organization tips- Lists

I know it sounds silly, and may think, well DUH! But sometimes, people need to hear it. So that is my tip. Lists simplify things and make things easier.

When I have a full day ahead of me, like today, I make a list of "to-do." I used to be able to remember it all and be aware of what I had to do, but with sooo much on my plate these days, it's easier to make the list and not HAVE to remember. (it's something my FIL taught my husband because he doesn't have the best recall skill out there, and so his dad always told him, write it down, then you just have to look back. And being as busy as my FIL is, and doing as much as he does with regards to work, I understand now, why he does that. Occasionally, he stills forgets to call back a customer, or look for a certain item maybe for another person, but that's just because of the volume of his load.)

At my old age, hehe, sometimes, I am forgetting about certain things, not necessarily anything important really, but a little something, that I at the end of the day don't want to say, Oh! I forget to get such and such, and so I take the easy route and write it down so I can use my brain for more important tasks of the day.

For me, I don't put down things that are obvious, just so I can check things off; I'm not that type of list maker.

Get up

Dress kids

Make bed – those sorts of things, they don't make it on my lists. Those are "given" in my book and aren't worthy of a list.

Mine are usually more like errands that I have to run, of places I have to stop, things that need to get done for the day.

Get ribbon at Michael's.

Pick up balloons.

Get gift together.

Go to bank. (then name which one and what I am doing there if necessary)

These are more the sorts of things that show up on my list like today.

I have also found that lists are very effective for other people.

• Bullet points make a great way
  
• Helping others understand what they need to do.
  
• Hubby and my oldest son, get lists now.
  

My husband actually asked for one. I thought, of course! Why didn't I think of that? If we are talking about things that we want to do around the house, or things that need to be checked on, after we walk away from the conversation, sometimes it's like, Now what was I supposed to do again?? For this, I give him a list.

For my oldest boy, who can now read, I've listed his chores for him so he can remember, and I'm not repeating myself 50 times. PUT YOUR CLOTHES AWAY!

His list sometimes is a little more of obvious things because he doesn't know of everything that he has to do. (at least that's what he says-not sure I'm buying it.)

His looks something like this:

• Pick up clothes [off floor] (because they ALWAYS seem to wind up on there)
  
• Hang up clothes in closets.
  
• Put pants in a pile with hangers for mommy or daddy to hang. (His pants hang high and for now, I'd just rather be the one to put them up for him)
  
• Pick up toys off floor
  
• Put in their bins.
  
• Take dirty clothes to laundry.
  

These are the items that I found myself repeating (over and over and over again) so he got a list, in the form of a chart.

Other things that he does around the house, sweeping and vacuuming, I didn't put on a chart. He doesn't have to be told more than once, because he enjoys those things and he's excited to do them. He actually asks to vacuum sometimes and pulls out the broom by himself. {mother grinning here}

That's it! It's that easy, it may sound simple and it is! Stop remembering and make lists!

The end.

What a difference

a little editing can do.

Just want to show you a little something that I think is neat. I heart photoshop. It's really neat IMO. I think we have gotten into an era where it is used ALL the time. That aspect of it I don't nesseccarily like. It actually bugs me a little.

BUT that being said, everyone is processing their photos right now, and whether it sticks around or not, is another question. With more technology I think it will , but I hope the pictures that are pure, true and really capturable stick around.

So, with that said. I want to show you some pictures. That back in the day, we would've just tossed and thought, bummer, they didn't work.


With digital, with editing software, and so much more, you can MAKE the pictures work. Here are 3 pictures that I took with my settings incorrect.

I would LOVE to say that it was on purpose, but it wasn't.

I was taking pictures of some watches, {my husbands family business} and my son was with me outside, so I starting shooting away. Well, pictures close up and shiny metals and diamonds, as opposed to Boo Boo a little further off, and not so shiny, I thought wouldn't make such a difference, but it did. So I got pictures of him totally blown out.


I am in no way an expert. I am learning photography and teaching myself editing and I enjoy it, so I just want to share with you that not all pictures are lost. Again, I am not an expert, not a professional, I am learning, have been in this for about a year and a half and am trying to understand it all. There's my little disclosure, so you can't hold anything against me, or say, SHE said. Of course , some pictures can not be saved, but MOST can.
AND, if you take a crappy picture, meaning crappy exposure, compostion, it's not in focus at all, then, well, it's probably not worth saving, but if you get some of it right, it's possible it can be.
Ok, moving on.
So with a little help. A little bump of this, take away of that, we have our 3 pictures that are worth looking at now.

Is that cool? I think it is. They aren't perfect, they won't win any prize, but I got the moment captured and now it will be a memory and something he can see when he is older.

By the way, This was one of my most favorite outfits from his older brother. There were few outfits that I had saved. This was one of them, and I'm so glad. I'm not so much into overalls like I was with his brother, but I think it's cute on him and I've been wanting to get him in this. He is taller than his brother was for sure. Wearing this at a year old, when his brother wore it at almost 18 months. It's neat to see how much they are similar and different, and I get a little of that when I can put some of Bubbas clothes on Boo Boo.

Here they are together for a comparison.

Pretty Cool Yes??