All up in the kool-aid, dont even know the flava

Miss Independence

Emma let me take pictures of her modeling the dress that Sandy sent.

 

And this video is for Kristie- to show her that we are all enjoying her 4th of July Banner!

Untitled from alfredsmom on Vimeo.

Emma's Birthday Gifts

 Emma was on lucky little girl this year. At her party, she recieved:

• two baby dolls
• a big set of Mega bloks
• a Dora pop up tent
• a sesame street alphabet compturized toy
• an electronic magnetic alphabet game
• a bubble mower

And from her blog aunties, she recieved:

Tammy sent this great card, and a Target gift card!

With the Target gift card, we got Emma three new movies!

Pam sent Emma some art supplies!

Sandy sent these cute dresses!

Kristie made Emma something for her walls!

Lisa and her family sent this Dora The Explorer Sit and Spin!

And, because I neglected to post these gifts several weeks ago:

Leah sent Jackson the adorable outfit in this picture:

 (ok, granted you cant really see the outfit, but trust me- its adorable)

And she made this for his room:

(yes, I need to get a better sized picture for that opening)

And she sent this adorable outfit for Emma!

And  Priscilla sent this blanket that her mother made:

(disregard picture of a messy Emma, and focus on the great blanket she stole from Jackson)

And these adorable sandals for Jackson!

Emma is one lucky little girl!

Whew!

I'm tired. Tired from middle of the night feedings and toddlers with excessive amounts of energy. Tired from making big life decisions and tired from waiting and waiting and waiting for decisons to be made and- while I am on a roll- tired of being the only one that puts the dirty dishes directly in the dishwasher instead of letting them vacation in the kitchen sink. Gah.

But, I am not tired of reading through all of your comments from my $600 question. Yall have some great ideas! I would I could tell you I asked all of you because I just happen to have $600 to give each of you, but that's not so. Sorry!

But, I have found myself with $600, earmarked just for my happiness. When my grandfather passed away 5 years ago, I was given his coin collection. He was more of an "accumulator" than a serious collector, but there were two large boxes full of all kinds of coins. I've never done anything with the collection because A) I have no knowledge on coins and B) no time nor interest. But recently, with me staying at home with the kids instead of working outside the home, our finances are TIGHT.  So, we thought about the coin collection. Sitting in the attic, taking up space. We found a reputable dealer, and he came to our house last night to assess our collection. Over about 2 hours, he and Jason poured thru the coins, checked values in coin books, and made lists of everything we had. In the end, the collection had grown in value from the last time my grandfather had in appraised. Grown enough in value to surprise us a bit. So, when the dealer offered us money for part of the collection, we said YES!!! HECK YES!!!!  He would have taken it all, but we opted to hold onto part of it. Sentimental reasons and planning for the future reasons. Some of the coins we kept are pretty valuable, and since the collection had grown in value as a hole, we could part with the rest, and still keep a few good coins for the future.

So, we sat down and divided up the earnings very wisely between bills, savings, the church,  home improvement projects,  christmas fund, a future vacation for Jason and I, and finally- ME.

After all, the coin collection was my inheritance, it seems only fair I should get to spend some of it on something just for me.  Jason came up with the idea, and who am I to argue?

So here are my thoughts on what to spend it on:

• While I enjoy playing Wii with our friends (they own one) its not really my thing.
• I definetly want a DSLR camera, but right now I dont have time to A) learn all about it B) take really great photos. I think in a year or two, I will have the time/patience/desire to do all of that, and I definetly don't want to be one of those people that owns a really nice camera and doesnt know how to use it.
• Not really into purses or shoes.
• I view clothes as a necessity. And while I definetly could use a whole new wardrobe A) I dont want to spend this fun money on a necessity (i.e. something Jason agrees I need, and shouldnnt have to spend this money on) and B) my body is ever changing. Lots of baby weight and loose skin left to lose. I'd rather weight until I've reaching my body goals to get new clothes
• the spa idea was great, but I want something tangible.
• as far as furniture, I'm happy with our living room furniture set, and although we desperately need bedroom furniture, we have a plan mapped out to get a nice bedroom set when the kids are both sleeping in big beds.
• I LOVED the personal trainer idea, but our next couple months are....going to be chaotic, and I wouldnt have the time for that.

So, I think, I THINK, I am going to get a laptop*. I've always wanted one, our current computer is quite old (yet still working fine- just slower), and I could blog from the living room while overseeing the kids instead of running off to our bedroom (where our computer is).  I'd love to devote more time to a dream of mine to be come a published author, and having a portable laptop just means I'll have more flex time to be on the computer.

Plus, I just think they are cool and I want on, So There.

I havent made up my mind yet. So we'll see. I do intend to use my $600 very very soon, because money disspears quite quickly around here, and I dont want my money to vanish before I've made a decision!

*(I dont need a fancy or higher end laptop, I've priced a few I like and that meet my needs in the $500-600 range.)

Question

You've been given $600.

You can NOT use it on:

• bills/debts
• charity
• savings
• kids
• travel

This money is for YOU. Something you've always wanted. Something that when purchased, might make you feel a little selfish, but that's ok because this money was intended to be just for YOU.

What do you buy?

Updates

Thanks for all your concerns for Jason's health! By Sunday he was fully recovered from his food poisioning.

The questionable meal he ate was on Friday night, his last night in New York. It was called "The Garbage Plate". It starts with a layer of macaroni salad, then two beef patties, covered in cheese, then homefries, then all smothered in some mysterious meat sauce. Go figure why he got sick..... lol.

He also hurt his foot while he was in New York. Pulled/strained/tore/whatever something in the top part of his foot. He thought it was broken, but today he went for x-rays and it was all clear. The doctor (a military doctor) was all "Oh, its probably nothing...here's a prescription for some motrin...."  Right.

He can walk, but he limps, and cant really do any working out right now or mowing of the lawn. Dang.

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It's nice to have Jason back home. Obviously its nice to have a hand with the children etc, and its nice to not get so lonely in the evenings. But it is a bit difficult to adjust to him being around again! I got into quite a routine with him away, and now I have to readjust! Then in 3 weeks he'll go on another trip, this time to Kansas, and he'll be gone for two full weeks. Sigh.

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In fitness news, we didnt last but 1.5 weeks on the P90X workout. It was HARD. But more so than the intensity of the workout was the length. Most nights it was a 1.5 hour workout! I dont have that kind of time. Especially when Jason doesnt get home until 6:30pm, then we eat dinner, then get Emma to bed. We dont get started ont he workout until at LEAST 8pm. That's not cool at all.

But, we both have been diligent about our diets. Portion control and the elimination of the nightly deserts. Jason dropped  from 213 to 204 lbs, and I dropped from  155 to 149lbs. We  need a workout routine that isnt so  lengthy,  so we  obtained a Billy Blanks Tae Bo DVD. Its only 40 minutes in length and goes by quickly. I started it tonight. Jason is out of commission for a bit though until his foot heals.  I think the Tae Bo workout is  A) a great length B) a great workout, good sweat but I dont feel like I am going to die, like I did with P90X.

I think we'll eventually do the P90X routines, but when we have 2 sleeping thru the night children, more time, and more workout stamina. So, not now.  I've had to rework my weight loss goals a bit, and now I would like to be down to 145 steady by August 1st. I know 4 lbs in a month doesnt sound all that hard, but I platueau easily. So, 4 lbs should be doable, but not easy.