Brooke's Bargains 45

Hit the jackpot for Addison again: smocked dresses, pajamas, ect: $25.50

Shoes for me: brown Yellow Box flip flops and some new black flats from Target: $1.50. Shoes for Addison: 5 pairs for $7.

I actually bought two booster car seats because they were only $2/each. I left one at Brittany's in case we need it there. 5 books for $2.50 and a backpack for $1.

Last week's finds for Ava & Addison: play pen, carrier, 3 hardback books, 2 dvds, jeans, Keds, and a crown: $7

Etsy Shopping for Addison

I love etsy.com even if it's a little overwhelming sometimes. I bought Addison the cute monthly stickers, the nursing cover (for me, actually), and the minky dot changing pad cover. I really like the wooden initials a lot too since they will be sharing a room and share the same initials, so I'm debating on that! Also, how cute is the mini-sling for Ava? I think she'd love it! And I've loved this quilt since before I knew she was on the way-- perfect colors!

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Spring Break 2012

I've been counting the days down 'til Spring Break because I was so excited to have some evenings free with Ron, do fun stuff with Ava, visit family, and mark some things off the to-do list!

10 days school-free!

1. Friday: I had a decorating job with Jamie (pics to come) while Brittany watched Ava. We hung out with Britt & Reid afterward. The weather was gorgeous, so Ava played on the playground. Then we all went to our Dave Ramsey class. It cracked me up because Ava was on her pretend phone telling someone about Dave Ramsey. Ha!

2. Saturday: Brittany, Ava, and I hit up a few yard sales. Then I met Haven for lunch-- it's been so long since I've seen her but we always pick up where we left off. I wish she lived closer because we share a lot of the same hobbies.  Brittany, Job, and Reid rode with us to a birthday party for one of Ava's best friends, Tuesday, at the Aquatic Center. It was so much fun! Tues's mom said that all she asked for was that Ava come to her party. Sweet!

3. Sunday: Church and a VERY long nap! Then we took A to IHOP for a late, not healthy dinner..

4. Monday: Ava and I were bummed because Ron had to go on a last minute business trip for training, and we didn't get to have the family fun day we had planned. Instead I completely caught up on laundry for the first time in a while, vacuumed, straightened up, and packed for our overnight trip to Crowder. Ava requested rice & beans which means she wanted to go to the Mexican restaurant. We were in bed before 8!

5. Tuesday: Our sweet friends, Tim and Maria, had their fifth baby Sunday, so we had to go meet Daisy! Beautiful baby!! I thought it was so interesting that they had a home birth because I don't know many people who've done that around here. Next, we picked up Reid & Britt to stop in Senatobia to vote (after 9 years of living in another county, I still haven't changed my voting location). Next stop was Goodwill in Batesville and then Crowder to visit our grandpa, aunt, and my mom was visiting too. It was wonderful to have a home cooked meal, see family-- my great-aunt Mary stopped in, followed by my uncle Steve, and then my dad drove down after work. We relaxed and visited 'til late.

6. Wednesday: We had a leisurely morning complete with Aunt B's blueberry pancakes, and Britt and I  spruced up her kitchen. One of my friends, Eren, lives in the area so we try to stop and let our girls play whenever we can.  After church, we were thankful that Ron made it home from such a long trip safely.

7. Thursday: I did some housework and resting before getting ready for Supper Club. This time we met at my favorite pizza place called Brick Oven and sat outside and visited for a few hours. It was great! Love catching up and laughing 'til my stomach hurts!!

8. Friday: Yay for pay day! It was past time to go to the grocery store. We went to Target for a few things plus some window shopping, met Ron for lunch at Lenny's, and then had Dave Ramsey class.

9. Saturday: We went to some great yard sales, ate breakfast @ Britt's, cleaned, played outside with Ava's new ball, had a decorating consult, and stopped at a playground on the way back home. The best part of the day was family movie night complete with the best Chinese food I've  had in a long time!

10. Sunday: Church, another long nap:), and Life Group

Some of the pics are out of order because I got tired of trying to fix them. It's weird sometimes..

Addison's first baby gift

Haven & me

On our way to the aquatic center

She LOVES the water!

Meeting Baby Daisy for the first time. Precious!!

Sleepover at Aunt Bobbie's

Emma's castle built by her dad-- so fun!

 These girls could play dress up and tea party all day long!

Little Reid enjoying the water

Love this pic!

Ava & Reid playing at Aunt Bobbie's house

Happy birthday, Levi & Tuesday!

me & Christie

Katie & Meg... Jessica & Ashley missed getting their pic because Logan got hurt and they had to leave in a hurry:(

Brooke's Bargains 44

I found some great things for the girls today! Now, I am looking for anything "girl" 0-5. Lately, I've found a lot of kid stuff which I LOVE; however I've been missing the home decor-- you just never know what you'll find...

9 books: $2

14 chapter books: $4

felt Easter bucket w/grass: $2

3 pairs of shoes (Gymboree, Keds, Children's Place): $2

3 pairs of jeans, gingham pants, navy pants, 2 pairs of leggings: $5

3 jackets/sweaters: $2

3 summer outfits: $4

sleeper & Halloween outfit: $2

4 costumes: $7

I estimated the retail value which wasn't hard since most of the books had the price on the back, and I generally know how much different brands cost. If I had bought all of this new, it would have been around $500. I paid a total of $30.

Book Review 11

Thank goodness for books that can get ya out of the real life zone for a few hours and into relaxation mode! I don't get to read as much when I'm teaching because there's always something else to do, like grade papers or sleep!
My favorite genre since I was a high school student has been Christian historical romance fiction (must be my addiction to Little House on the Prairie and Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman). I feel like I not only get the pleasure of reading, but I come away with a good message too. Sometimes the genre can be predictable, so in the past year I've set out to find different authors to try. And I've been pleasantly surprised! Here are my favorites from the last six months:

Much to my aunt's dismay, I generally don't read "bonnet" books as I first heard my friend, Jesse, say; however, this one was good! Read it on a cold, rainy Sunday afternoon while Ron and Ava napped.

I liked the humor, characters, and bit of mystery in Making Waves.

The Doctor's Lady rates in my top five of all time favorite books!

I always enjoy Tamera Alexander's novels.

LOVE!

I thoroughly enjoyed Shay and Travis's story.... recommended by Joy.

My favorite author! Ready for another!

Brooke's Bargains 43

What a nice start to my Spring Break week... great finds at a few yard sales. 

2 Remember Nguyen smocked dresses, $4 total

Old Navy, eyelet sundress, $2

Haute outfit, $1

Ralph Lauren t-shirt and shoes, $2 total

12 books that are often required readings in school, $5

 Grand Total: $14

This season...

Several months ago Kelly did a blog post of one week in their life, so that she could look back and remember that season. Mine won't be nearly as detailed, but I thought it would be neat to read this years from now.
My life from age 5-now (30) has revolved around semesters at school; I've either been a student or a teacher for the past 25 years-- it's all I know. So this semester that began in January has been busy as usual. Our days our fairly flexible as long as I can start getting ready around 3 o'clock for whatever obligation I have that night. Typical days include cleaning house-- the more we're at home, the more dishes, vacuuming, and picking up there is to do. I usually have a cup of coffee and begin on whatever chore that is most pressing. Ava wakes up between 8-9 most everyday. She likes to watch a little Mickey Mouse Clubhouse while I make breakfast. I'm trying to get in a better routine with her preschool work; we read together, do crafts, play, go outside to the playground, and do house jobs together (she helps with emptying the trash, making her bed, and loves to use her scrub brush in whatever room I'm working on). One thing we both really enjoy is meeting friends for breakfast/lunch at Chick-fil-A for inexpensive play dates. Ron and Ava get to spend good quality time together on my school nights, and on Thursdays Ron has music practice at church. Ava loves going with him. He's also been doing a lot of the grocery shopping lately. Yay!
What I haven't been good at is getting rest during the day even though I work at night. The classes require preparation (nothing like looking at a room full of adults and winging it;) and getting completely ready, and driving 20+ minutes one way. With pregnancy and my tendency to get in the zone on whatever project I have going on at home, I'm often exhausted to the point of tears before I get to work. I keep saying, "I see the light at the end of the tunnel. Only 2 more months of this particular schedule!" I'll be off work for the month of May; teach two online classes in June & July; and only teach on Monday nights during the fall semester! Currently my commitment schedule looks like this:

Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday	Sunday
6:30 p-9p teach English Comp. II	6:30 p- 9 p teach Beginning English	4 p-8 p drop Ava off with Miss Emily; online classes; church	6:30 p-9 p teach English Comp. II	6:30 p- 8:30 p Dave Ramsey’s Financial Peace University (13 weeks)	Yard sales! *Pretty much the only evening we’re all home together.	9:15 a- 11:45 a Church 5 p- 8 p Life Group (every other Sunday evening)