End of Summer Fun

It's been busy these days. I keep waiting for creativity to strike so I can share something delightful and funny, but that hasn't happened. I guess I'll settle for the mundane, "here's what we're up to" post.

Why so busy?

I don't know. It just seems everything started up at once.

Mr. D's hours went to evenings, so that means that I am on kid-duty for most of the day AND night. That keeps me moving.


We had a couple playdates this week. We welcomed in the start of fall by celebrating 100+ degree weather at the nearby water park. The kids loved it.




Me? I'm ready for fall. My tan (what there was of it to begin with) has faded. I'm ready for jeans and socks. Okay, okay, I'll admit it. I'm tired of shaving everyday and making sure my toenails are done.


On Wednesday, we had Grace's appointment with the school speech pathologist to proceed in getting her into some speech therapy. I love my little dear to pieces, but her pronunciation needs help. Fortunately at the evaluation, it was determined that it is strictly intelligibility that needs work. She doesn't seem to have any deficiencies in language development or comprehension. I didn't think so, but it is nice to hear it confirmed anyhow.

And because I felt that I wasn't busy and getting out enough, I signed up for a MOPS group (Mothers of Preschoolers) as well as a weekly women's bible study at church. So we added those on our schedule this week. Yay for childcare at both of those events however!

And tomorrow we are heading to the fair with some friends.
Oh, and Saturday the kids and I are going shopping with my sister-in-law.

Whew! So at least I can't complain that I'm bored and lonely!

A Garden

This was a corner of our backyard when we moved in two months ago.


Then it looked like this as we (meaning hired help, not myself) dug out part of the slope that made up our yard.



But now, we have this.


Oh, and this.


But back to this.

This is going to be my garden area. I am so excited. I am imagining all sorts of fresh veggies, maybe some fruits. Some succulent berries or crisp lettuce. Saving money, feeding my family, teaching the kids about nature. How fun.

One problem.

I don't know how to garden.

Yet.

My thumb isn't looking anything green so far. There's no dirt under the nail. It's one step from being manicured.

Okay, maybe not that bad, but really, I'm not sure even where to begin. Good thing I have some time until spring.

Of course, I'm assuming I should wait until then.

Save While I Spend

I am on a mission to save a few dollars these days. Of course, isn't everyone it seems. It has become a bit of a game now to see how good of deals I can score.

My last trip on Sunday was a winner - I purchased a gallon of milk, hairspray, a Glade candle, two jars of Welch's jelly, and hair dye. I paid $1.44 out of pocket... PLUS, I earned $13 towards a future purchase. Mr. D was waiting in the car for me with the kidlets and he said he always can tell if I made a good purchase because I come out grinning.

I have a Target trip planned tomorrow... hopefully I come out grinning again!

Also, to save some money, I haven't had a dryer for the last month. Our dryer gave up for good, and we are hoping to find a good deal on Craigslist. I love that site. We have found a few leads, but they have been snatched up before we could get to them. Our recent 100+ degree weather has been drying my clothes "super-fast" as Grace would say, so I haven't had any concerns. Yet. When we get our quasi-fall season sometime, then we'll have to get serious in looking for a replacement.

So with the money that I'm saving here and there, I'm using to start decorating the house. Even though we are unpacked, the rooms just don't have a "Sara-touch" yet. I need to add some finishing touches here and there. I have a lot of empty wall space that I didn't have before. The paint is just kinda "blah". I have a list of things to do, but I am trying to remember "one thing at a time" or rather, one room at a time.

Ok, the point of all this rambling really is to share that I found a super-cute bedding set for Grace's room.

I found it on a few websites, all around the same price. But then I found that one of the websites I considered, also listed their products on ebay. Brand new and sealed. I scored it for $20 less then I would have paid through their real website. Not including what they would have charged me for shipping. Sweet. See, I can save while I spend.

That's what I'm telling Mr. D at least.