Let’s begin with a random picture of me and my hottie  :)

I have a few random thoughts, but I think they could be very helpful.

I’ve been getting our fall clothes out and put away in drawers and closets over the last few weeks. As I unload rubbermaid bins, I figure out what is going to need to be purchased to complete an adequate winter wardrobe for each child. One of the things Jesse and Owen needed were more long sleeved t-shirts. My first thought was, “Oh, I’ll just pick up three or four for each of them at Walmart or Target.” Well, at Walmart, their long sleeved t-shirts range from $5+ and Target is about the same. However, Children’s Place (I shopped online) has their excellent, super soft, long sleeved t-shirts for only $6!! I ended up buying them four or five shirts each. I should get them in the mail today. My shipping was only $5, so I’m VERY pleased with this great deal. There are great sales going on right now. Stores are desperate to get us shopping again, so brand new fall wardrobes are already 40% off in many places. All it takes is a little searching online. Compare prices. Then enjoy your savings!

That leads me to my next random point. Every year I get stumped on what to buy the adults in our family for Christmas. However, this year I’ve been getting tons of catalogues in the mail. Lillian Vernon, ABC Distributing, and The Lakeside Collection to name a few. These, sometimes cheesey, catalogues have some really great gift ideas for even greater prices, so don’t be so hastey to throw them away. Keep an eye out for teachers’ gifts as well. Christmas is officially less than two months away!! AAAHHHHHH!!!!

And now my final random thought. I have been completely out of whack with Joshua’s school work lately. I just don’t have much accountability and sometimes he does a lot of school work at once and I let him slack for a few days, or even a week afterwards! While shopping at a cool local toy store called Learning Express, I found some wipe-off placemats with all sorts of info on each one. One of the mats was a list that could be personalized. It says, “Chores and Things To Do” and there is space for a list under every day of the week. For my homeschooler, the list has items like; chores, bible, reading, math, memory work, spelling/writing, etc… You can personalize it to best fit your child’s responsibilities. It could be an after school list: homework, set the table, bath, reading, brush teeth, clean up toys… My rule for Joshua is, if he completes an item well with no complaints, he gets a check. If he completes it sloppy or with an attitude, he gets an “X”. If he gets through all of his items with all checks, he gets one quarter. I’m not really someone who likes to reward things that are required and expected, but in this case, it is good responsibility and if he’s doing everything with a good attitude, then I want to reward that. This money is counted as his allowance since “Chores” is a daily item on his list. By the end of the week, he has the potential to make $1.75. Not too shabby for a six year old. The only problem: always having to have quarters on hand! :)

Hope this helped someone. :)
HAPPY MONDAY!

~audrey

~audrey

Dear Treadmill,

Please stop staring at me while I do my laundry. I know I haven’t had any interaction with you in a while, but it’s just rude to stare and it makes me self-conscious. I know my butt is bigger now than it’s ever been, but apparently that’s just not enough motivation for me. I mean, it’s not that I don’t like you anymore, I just like food a lot more. You see, I don’t have to take a shower after I eat…but I do after spending time with you. I can’t drive a car while I walk on your track, but I can bring food with me anywhere! Sure, you’ll make me look better and I’d have a LOT more clothes that fit me if we spent more time together, but you just haven’t been a priority lately! Sorry about the dust, I’ll clean you up every once in a while if it makes you feel better. I’ll even let your track down so you’re not all scrunched up against the shelves in the garage all the time. I’m thinking about getting you a friend! I like bikes. Bikes don’t hurt my back and I can go farther and faster on a bike, rather than walking.
Josh promises me we can move you inside once the addition is done, but THAT doesn’t seem to be a priority lately either! Don’t worry, you won’t be in the front yard at our next yard sale. I still love you. I promise I’ll do better with my part in our relationship, especially with the holidays approaching.
Is there any way you can fold my laundry if I pile it on top of you? I’d really use you a lot more if you could do that for me.

Well?

~audrey

What a great weekend. It was our first real fall weekend. Saturday was dreary, rainy, and cold, and today (Sunday) is absolutely gorgeous with a clear blue sky and a crisp breeze blowing through my house by way of open windows. We had a blast at Kackleberry Farm yesterday. Although the weather did NOT cooperate, we were so glad to spend time with my dad, a.k.a. Grandpa. :) The farm was a lot of fun and the rain and cold didn’t seem to bother the children one bit! In fact, we got lots of great ideas for when we finally buy some land and build a house. Hopefully we’ll be able to do it while the boys are still young and will enjoy some of these fun farm activities!

Joshua learning to milk a cow.

Jesse firing the "Corn Canon"

All three boys loved the Cow Train.

Even Grandpa joined in on the silliness!

There is nothing sweeter than family time and one of the things I love most is watching my husband be a dad. Josh is the best dad in the whole world and I love watching the boys’ faces light up as Josh makes them each feel special and assures them there is nothing he wouldn’t do for them.

Love it!

Daddy and Owen

 We were thrilled to have Josh’s sister, Erin, home for the weekend.  This is her last semester of college and we’re looking SO forward to having her back home for good!  We love you Erin!!

Aunt Erin and Owen sporting their argyle sweaters :)

I hope you all had a great weekend!  I’m going to attack my messy, dirty house now in hopes that I can get everything done TODAY and not have to worry about laundry or house cleaning all week.  We can focus on school work and preparing for another week of waiting for our foster children. 

Bless you!

~audrey