Happy birthday!!

Just wanted to wish Z a very happy birthday today!!! After everything we have been through, especially this year, we are so thankful to be able to celebrate this day with you......love you, babe!!

Mail call for today

Mail has been ok lately. Today I got some things I had been waiting for....

- College t-shirt from My coke rewards (one of 8 I am waiting for....didn't cost any points!!)
- Hanes boxer briefs/freshpair.com giveaway (I sgned myself and Z up for a fre pair and only he got a free pair! LOL)
- Cottonelle Roll Cover (had been waiting for this for awhile! They are also now giving them away on their Facebook site and I won another one today!!)

Re-potted!

So I finally got some potting soil and got our plants redone. One of the plants had started to die off a little, which I sort of expected. It only has a small piece left, but it is SO healthy!!

Another weekend has left us

And boy am I glad it's gone!! We had such a rough weekend here. It was actually a three day weekend for Ty, since school was closed Friday. Ty had been complaining on and off of an upset tummy, but nothing too bad. Chase had had some diarrhea issues but nothing major......until Saturday. He woke up with a bad diaper, and he decided to take it off himself. All of the sudden Ty went to yelling about poop.........on the floor. It got on the rug in the laundry room and on the actual floor. I finally got him to come to me so I could get him good and clean and get a diaper on him. That went good.....until a few minutes later when he went again, and this time the diaper couldn't hold it. Yeah, it was that kind of day. Z missed work on Saturday because he was up going to the bathroom most of the night, and Ty's tummy was giving him some issues as well. By the end of the day I was wiped out!!! Chase seemed to have all of his poop issues done by Saturday night but Ty still was having issues with his tummy. He kept getting really bad belly aches Sunday morning. Z went and got him some stuff for his tummy and after a bit it seemed to start working. We had him watch what he ate yesterday, and this morning he seemed to be back on track. I feel so bad for him, because his tummy has been bothering him on and off for about a week or so now. :( If it keeps up i'm going to see about getting him into the family doctor.

Welcome, Fall!!!

Gravy.....

So i've never been a huge fan of gravy. There were basically three I liked;

- my dad makes an AMAZING gravy!! Anytime we would have steak (mainly cubed steak) he would make it........
- Campbell's Chicken Gravy....has some yummy seasonings in it
- Campbell's Pork Gravy...VERY hard to find!! We have yet to find it here in East Knoxville. Anytime my parents would visit from MD they would bring us a dozen or so cans of it! (yes, I love it that much!)

That's about it. I never liked any of the jarred gravies and the canned Beef always smelled nasty to me. And I never learned to make my own gravy, no matter how easy it was!! (hey, it hasn't been all that long ago that I learned how to thicken things without leaving huge chunks of flour mixture! LOL) Well, Z showed me the McCormick powder gravy mixes and that they had a Pork gravy mix so I decided to give it a try....and I am SOOOO glad I did!! It is really, really good!!!! We also tried the brown gravy and that is just as yummy......now that I found a gravy I like, it's like eating foods for the first time!!! Hamburgers, steak, pork chops.........yum, yum, yum!!!! Thank you, McCormick!!!!

Last day of sSummer!

I tell ya, I don't like rushing time at ALL, but I am so glad to see this Summer go!! Between the heat and things that happened, it was a looonnngggg Summer. I'm just hoping and praying the rest of this year is good to us, and that next year treats us much better!!

I did get a few Fall decorations up and i'm thinking about looking for the rest of it today......somehow I just can't get into decorating this house. It just doesn't feel like "home" to me and honestly never will. I mainly do it for the boys, as they love when the house is decorated.

(yes, I am VERY grateful to have a roof over my head, but bewteen the druggy neighbors and issues here at the house, which were NOT caused by us, we just can't get out of here soon enough.)

Yesterday's excursion....

Yesterday was Z's day off, so we decided to get some shopping done together. After we dropped Ty off at school, we went and got a bite to eat and then hit Kroger. I love when they have a good sale going.....they had some awesome deals in their buy 10 participating items get $5 off sale. After Kroger's we headed to West Knoxville to go to Michael's and A.C.Moore. (we wanted to see if we could find something special for Ty for doing so well in school. He LOVES dinosaurs and we wanted to find him something cool that had to do with those....) We found him a cool dinosaur skeleton puzzle that we decided to just put away for Christmas. We also found Chase a super cute tiny metal school bus that goes when you pull back on it. (he LOVES school buses!) I also got a few pieces of scrapbook paper I needed. We left there and went to A.C. Moore. I think i like that store better than Michael's! At Michael's we found a really cool T-Rex dino, but it was $5.99. We thought about getting it, but decided to wait. Well, I am so glad we waited!! They exact same dino was at A.C. Moore, and was cheaper AND on sale!! We got it for under $4!!! We also got him a really cool 3D T-Rex Bookmark that we ended up giving to him yesterday for doing well in school....the other things we put away for Christmas!!

Oh, and the T-Rex dino we got.....Z added a small little eyelet to it, and made it a Christmas ornament!! The Christmas Place had a T-Rex ornament, but was sold out and didn't think they would get anymore in before the holidays, and most other ornaments I found were geared more towards smaller children. Z got the idea to make him the ornament as soon as he saw the T-Rex!!




How cool is that?!?!? He absolutely loved it!!!!!!!!!!

Last weekend of Summer....

And honestly, I am GLAD to see it go! It has been such a brutal summer......we all hate the heat! Our electric bill took a hit because we used the a/c so much.....and Z keeps it SO cool in the house. But I am really looking forward to fall. I think Fall is my favorite season. The crisp air, the smell of wood burning.....and of course the pumpkins and Halloween!! I'm still not sure what the boys will be for Halloween.

So we had a decent weekend. Z had to work Saturday, but he was off Sunday. His parents and brother came down to "visit". They got here yesterday afternoon, but when they called to let us know what hotel they were staying in (right up the street from us) Ty had a really bad tummy ache and nosebleed. :( Once we got the nosebleed under control, he asked to lay in his bed. Z told his brother once Ty felt better we would call to let them know we would come to see them. (they can't come to the house, mainly because my MIL has issues with her knees and can't do the steps to get into the house) After Ty had been laying down for about 15 minutes, he said he felt better and wanted to go. So off we went. It was actually a nice visit. Ty was all over MIL, but Chase wanted nothing to do with anyone but daddy. He started to cry, so I took him out of the room for a few minutes to calm him down. Once he was set we went back in. He still didn't go to anyone, but he started to loosen up and play with Ty. After we were there for a bit, FIL decided to lay down and go to sleep. He was up the night before, so I guess he was pretty sleepy. He slept for a bit while MIL played with Ty and was trying to get Chase to come to her. He did talk to her, and she got a kick out of that!! FIL did wake up long enough to ask about dinner and what everyone wanted. Z and I had already taken things out for dinner and they all knew we had. Plus, we didn't have the extra money to eat out. And with Ty's belly still not 100%, I didn't want him to eat anything greasy or heavy. I guess FIL got upset about that, because he layed back down and went back to sleep. He only see's the boys once, maybe twice a year and this visit was only for that day (and only a few hours at that!) so you would think he would want to stay awake, no matter how tired he was. Oh well. It was so nice to see MIL with the boys...the smile on her face was huge!! After a few hours we had to leave, mainly so Ty could wind down since he goes to bed early for school. Other than FIL sleeping, it was a nice visit.

Ty only has 4 days of school this week, thank goodness!!! Love three day weekends!!!! He brought home his first interim report of the year and he did amazing!! he got all "E's" (excellent) and "A's"!!! We are so proud of him!!!

Argh, matey!!

"Happy "talk like a pirate" day!!!

SHOCKED!!!!

So today I entered into a drawing at Frugalissa Finds to win tickets to the Cruze Farm Corn Maze, and I won!!!!! I can not believe it!! The boys will have such a great time there, and i'm sure Z and I will enjoy it as well!!



I am just SO excited!!!!

Thank you again, Frugalissa!!!!

Ty's new pj's and swimming trunks!

Wow, I just realized this child needs a haircut!!!

A rough day.....*edited*

...for the most part, anyway. It's been a week since Licky left us. When I was sitting at Ty's school waiting for him to come out I started thinking about how that time last week is when she passed away. Made my heart hurt for her. :( The house still feels so empty without her. I keep waiting to hear her bark when we get back from being out. And I can still smell her in the house, but it's not a stinky dog smell. I miss having a dog around so much.......once we are out of this house we will add a new family member.

So today was an "interesting" day, to say the least. It started with me not being able to find my cellphone. Ty and I looked all over for it before I took him to school but had no luck finding it. I got some change together so I could use a payphone to call Z to let him know I didn't have it. (we don't have a house phone anymore, as there was no point to having it when we never used it) I stopped to get gas and then took Ty to school. I knew there was a payphone at Weigel's, so I headed there. They wanted $1 to make a 10 minute call!!! OMG, I couldn't believe it!!! Needless to say, I didn't use the payphone. Before I left to take Ty I had posted on Facebook about losing my phone. Well, once I got home I posted again about still not finding it and how expensive the payphone was. I went to get laundry started when I heard my phone ringing!! I started listening really hard for where the sound was coming from......and then I knew; the darn thing was in the diaper bag the whole time!!!! But my bestest bestie had called me to help me find my phone.....I swear I never even thought to ask someone to call me to help me find it!! Talk about a blonde moment! Also, poor Chase wasn't feeling well and I wanted to see if he should be seen by a doctor or not and not having my phone I was worried if he got worse I wouldn't have a way to call anyone. I was also worried if Ty's school needed to get ahold of me I wouldn't get the calls.

So once I had my phone found and some calls made (and Chase started feeling better), we went and did a little shopping. We went to Target first, as they sometimes have a better selection of clothes for Ty. Well they had swimming trunks, but they were still marked $9! Walmart had them for $6, so I decided to just wait and get them from there. I was about to leave when I saw something that I had been searching for for a looonnnggg time......footie pj's for Ty...and at a decent price as well!!! I squealed so loud when I saw them!!! I picked up a pair for him, and i'm hoping to go back and get him at least 2 more pairs. When we left there we went to Walmart and I got Chase a pair of sweatpants and went looking for swimming trunks for Ty. (I was at a different Walmart than we normally shop and they sometimes have a different selection...and higher prices!! ) I saw some super cute Spongebob trunks, which were marked $6. I picked up a few other things and went to check out. Well, when the lady was ringing up my things, she scanned the trunks and said "Oh, you got a great deal on those!!" and I said "yeah, $6 is really cheap..." and she said "No, they rang up $4!!" I was so excited!!! I'm sooo glad I held off on buying him new swimming trunks!! Now I need to get pics of him in his new trunks and his footies!!! Oh, and to add to the fun blondness for the day, when Chase and I got back from shopping I got him out and locked the van then closed my door....with the keys still in it!! I had to call Z to come get the van unlocked and to let us in the house. Once again.....

The main reason I got him new trunks now is because we have company coming down and they are going to get a hotel that has a pool so Ty and Chase can swim. He's really excited about it!!!

My boy is getting so big......

Got a wonderful surprise today!!

So, I don't know if I ever posted here on my blog, but about a year ago I lost my wedding ring. I've missed having a ring to wear so much. When Z and I were dating, he bought me a ring that was a silver band. Once I got my engagement ring and wedding band, I put that first ring away. Well, when I lost my wedding ring I went to put that ring on and it was way too tight. :( A few weeks ago Z was asking me about the ring I wear on my right hand (a birthstone ring). I never really thought much of it, to be honest. Well, today he said he wanted to go to the mall to pick up something. After we walked around a bit, we got something to eat and then left. When we were in the van he said he wanted to talk.....he then asked me to close my eyes, and said "Will you marry me again?" I opened my eyes, and it was the first ring he ever bought me......the little stinker had it resized for me!!!! It feels SO good to have a ring on my left finger again........

Licky

A layout I made for Licky......



Miss you, girl.......

If you love Christmas time...

I highly recommend the store Christmas Place! They are located in Pigeon Forge, which is about 20-25 minutes away from us. In all the years we have been going to PF, we never went in. Well, I was looking online for a certain ornament for Chase and their site popped up! I not only found the ornament I was looking for, but it was on sale! I also found some really cute LED photo frames that were also on sale. They did have an ornament I was going to order for Ty, but it was out of stock. So I talked to Z and he said to just order what I found online and we would go into the Christmas Place store on his next day off. (this past Thursday) Well, Thursday morning we went to the store.....and all I can say is, if you have never been and are ever able to go, you need to GO!!! They have everything you could ever imagine for the holidays!! And to be honest, yes some things were a little pricey, but for the most part their prices were not that bad! (and you know what a cheapskate I am.....) And this place was HUGE!!! Every time we thought we had seen everything, we ended up going into a new section! And the employee's were so friendly and helpful. We spent almost 2 hours looking at everything!! We ended up getting an ornament for Ty (not the one we wanted though, as they were not only sold out online but at the store. he is SO into dinosaurs and they had a T-Rex ornament but it was not in stock....we ended up getting him the Stegosaurus) and I got an ornament that goes with what I call Chase. It's an adorable baby monkey (looks like a baby in a monkey costume!) and on the belly it says "Little Monkey". (for Ty I have a pickle ornament, since i've called him my little pickle since before he was born)

Well, once we got home I put the ornaments away so the boys wouldn't see them. Later that evening, UPS came and brought me what I had ordered from Christmas Place online!! I was so shocked to get it so fast! I absolutely loved the ornament for Chase (a school bus....he LOVES them!!) and the picture frames are so adorable.......plus they sent me a free snowflake ornament!! Now I can't wait to get our Christmas decorations up!!!



The frames look super bright because they have glitter on them to look like snow....can't wait to put pics in them and light them up!!!

Todays mail.....

Todays mail was fairly decent....

- Tshirt from Camel that you design (I didn't get as creative as I coudl have with the shirt, but it's still nice...and HUGE!!! Should be a nice sleep shirt.....)
- Another gift from L'oreal Test Panel/ Kiehl's Creamy Eye Treatment with Avacado & Maybelline Eyeliner

One good thing from today......

Ty was so excited to show me his third tooth fell out while he was at school today.

Heartbroken

It is with an extremely heavy heart that I have to do this post. *sigh*

Licorice passed away today. Losing two dogs in the span of 9 months is so damn hard. I do find some comfort in the fact that she is once again with her sister Honey and i'm sure my mom is throwing the tennis ball for her.......


Licorice A.K.A. Licky 01.17.2001 - 09.09.2011




Rest easy, my sweet girl....

Can you believe.....

There are only 109 days until Christmas?!?!?!? Yes, I know i'm a little insane, but I am actually looking forward to the holiday season this year!! I honestly don't know why, as I usually stress about what to get the boys and how we can get them things without going broke!!! But this year just feels so.......different, for a lack of a better word. Z has a new job that is so much better for him, not only financially, but for his own sanity!!! We started up a little savings for the boys Christmas, and I would LOVE to be able to actually send friends and family a little something this year! Plus, we already have a few things put away for the boys, and I ordered Chase's Christmas ornament today! (we try and get the boys new ornaments every year, mainly of things they are really into) I think what mostly got me in the holiday mood was when I found the star that we are going to use on top of our tree this year. (our angel died on us last year....so sad :() When I found the star I called Chase over to where I was, and I plugged it in so he could see all the colors.....the look on his face was just priceless!!! He got a huge smile on his face and was so excited!!! I wanted to put our tree up right then and there! But, then I went through the pics of last years Christmas and our "leaning tree" and that brought me right back down to reality. But still, i'm really looking forward to the baking and shopping, and of course the decorating!!!

Rest of todays mail

Not a bad day!!!

- Burberry Body sample/Facebook
- Bil-Jac dog food bzzagent campaign (Z and I both got in on this one....coupons for free 6lb bag)
- coupon for free box of Garnier Herbashine Color Creme (may not use this, as I think i'm going to stick with the John Frieda foam haircolor)
- Vichy Anti-wrinkle cream & Kiehl's Lip balm (my gift for doing a study for Loreal...anti-wrinkle cream....wth are they trying to tell me?!?)

Today's mail!

I still haven't gotten the things from the mailbox, but sitting on the front porch was a HUGE box from Moms Meet!! It was for the Kashi sampling!!!!

Love the tote!!

Look at all the goodies!!!

Yum!!!!

It came with a box of Cinnamon Harvest cereal, a box of Ripe Strawberry soft baked cereal bars, and 48 Peanutty Dark Chocolate layered granola bars!! We've tried their Blackberry cereal bars before, and I can not wait to get into the Strawberry bars!!!

Labor Day!

Hope everyone is having a wonderful Labor Day! It's been raining fairly heavy since last night, and is supposed to keep up for the rest of the day. We desperately needed the rain, but it's coming down SO fast! Z has to work today, so it's just the boys and I. With all the rain, it's been a pj and movies kind of day!! (the movie Up is about to come on....love it!!!) Z was off yesterday, so we got most of our running done then. We got something for Ty for Christmas. He has been asking for his own mp3 player, and he is SO rough on things and I just couldn't see getting him something that was super expensive and just have him destroy in within days. Well, Big Lots had an mp3 player at a really good price, so we got there when they opened and got him one!! It's perfect for him, and I just know he will love it.

Well, with all this rain i'm SO glad we decided to not cook on the grill today!! Thinking about making some tacos for dinner...at least that's what Ty has been asking for! ;) Stay safe out there, everyone!!!!

Recent mail goodies!! **edit*

The past 3 days have been very good for mail goodies!!!

- Suave variety samples/Walmart (came with Suave for men body wash, Suave Professionals dry shampoo and Suave Sweet Pea & Violet lotion. LOVE the smell of the lotion!!!!)
- Newcastle Brown Ale beer glasses (actually got 2....love them!!!)
- Dr Scholls Custom Fit insoles/Smiley 360 (can't wait to try them!)
- Mary Kay mascara (I think it was from a text giveaway?)

(forgot to get a pic of the Suave goodies and mascara)

Z brought me a surprise home!!

Why yes, I AM married to a mechanic......