Nursery Projects

After the initial shock of baby #5 news wore off, we had to start thinking about how we were going to handle the sleeping situation in our house. Right now, Ethan has his own room, Morgan has hers, and Hannah and Bella share a room. We decided to put the 3 older girls in the larger room and change Morgan's room to Emma Kate's nursery.

Next was the furniture. We had sold Ethan's crib just months before we found out (along with all of the other baby stuff!) so we had to figure out what we wanted. I also wanted to keep the shabby chic look I have going in Morgan's room, for 1)I don't want to paint again and 2)I really love the blue color. I searched store after store, Baby's R Us, Baby Depot, JC Penny, and online and I just wasn't finding what I was looking for.

So I started searching resell shops. Then I found it! A dresser with a mirror, chest, and crib.

You wanna know what I paid for it all??

Dresser, Mirror, Chest: $90 Crib: $25

WOW! What a steal! Add the cost of paint and I got it all for 1/2 of the cost of a crib!

Ok, will show you some pictures of it right now, but you REALLY have to use your imagination! The previous owners painted the furniture black and red crackle. OH IT IS HORRIBLE!!! The crib is yellow right now, not too bad just worn. Like I said...

Imagine the possiblities...

Dresser:

I am going to use this as the changing station by adding a changing pad to the top

Mirror:

Chest:

As you see, it needs paint, hardware, and lots of TLC

Here is the crib:

Very Shabby Chic. Now on to the bedding...I will keep you updated! Be sure to check out my May To Do List to the left. Lots of projects planned for Emma Kate's nursery and the older girls' room. Lets see how much I get completed in May. I am almost 20 weeks. It's all downhill from there! September 19 will be here before I know it! I can feel the clock ticking...

Quick Monday Deals

I ran into Target today on my lunch break looking for a few things and I came across these great deals!

Huggies Clean Team Flushable wipes: $1.99 on sale
$3.00 Off on 2 Coupon from here

$1.99 x 2 - $3.00 = $.98 or $.49 each

I printed two coupons out the other day so I don't think there is a limit on these. (let me know if that's wrong) I may try to do this again before they go off sale.

O-Cell-O Expressions Sponges: $.98 on sale and $1.14 on sale
$1.00 Off from here EXPIRES 4/30/08

$.98 + $.98 + $1.14 - $3.00 = $.10

Too bad they only had 2 of the $.98 ones left at my Target! I could have gotten three for free plus a $.03 overage! BTW, when you go to print the coupons, you can enter in the number you want to print and they will all print on 1 page.

Other deals: I found two rugs (a red one for the foyer and a pink one I am going to use in Emma Kate's room) marked down to $.98! There were alot of things marked down, but I have to tell myself not to buy it just because it's on sale!

Today's Spending: $4.02 for 2 rugs, 4 boxes of wipes, and 3 sponges

CVS Sunday Deals

After clipping coupons, going through the sunday paper, and of course checking out Money Saving Mom, I decided to get out (in the rain) and make a trip to CVS. I don't think I did too bad on my 2nd time at this! Check out everything I got! Well, worth the trip to me!

Transaction #1: Essence of Beauty(EOB) Money Maker-Buy 3, Get $5 in ECB's

Toe Divider: $.99
Toe Divider: $.99
Toe Divider: $.49 (rang up B1G1 50% off)
$2.00 ECB used

$.50 OOP
$5.00 ECB Earned

Transaction #2

Softsoap Body Wash: $5.49
Toe Divider: $.99
$1.00 Off Coupon from here
$5.00 ECB from Transaction #1

$.51 OOP
$5.49 ECB Earned

Transaction #3

Toe Divider: $.99
Toe Divider: $.49
Toe Divider: $.99
Toe Divder: $.49
Men's 24/7 Deodorant: $3.99
$5.49 ECB from Transaction #2
$1.00 Off Coupon from here for 24/7

$.49 OOP
$8.99 ECB Earned ($5 from EOB and $3.99 from Deodorant)

Transaction #4

Bic Soleil Razor: $5.99
Bic Soleil Refills: $5.99
Toe Divider: $.99
Toe Divider: $.49
Toe Divider: $.99
Toe Divider: $.49
$2.00 Coupon on Bic from here (printed twice)
$2.00 Coupon on Bic
$8.99 ECB from Transaction #3

$2.09 OOP
$16 ECB Earned ($10 from EOB, $3 from Bic Razor, $3 from Bic Refills)

Transaction #5 (I was able to get NEEDED items in this one)

Clorox Bleach: $.99
Softsoap: $.97
Softsoap: $.97
Softsoap: $.97
Softsoap: $.97
Softsoap: $.97
Softsoap: $.97
Colgate MaxFresh: $1.97
Palmolive: $1.59
Palmolive: B1G1 Free (1.59)
All Detergent: $6.49
All Detergent: B1G1 Free (6.49)
Men's Speedstick: 3.29
Lady's Speedstick: B1G1 Free (3.29)
L'Oreal Vive Pro Conditioner: $4.99
L'Oreal Studio Style Gel: B1G1 Free (4.99)
Tostitos Scoops: $3.79
Tostitos Salsa: B1G1 Free (3.29)
CVS GelCaps Pain Relief: $3.99
$.55 Coupon Tostitos (old coupon from paper)
$.75 Coupon Colgate (4/20 or 4/27 paper, can't remember)
$1.00 Coupon L'Oreal Vive Pro (4/27 paper)
$1.00 Coupon L'Oreal Studio (4/27 paper)
$1.00 Coupon All Detergent (4/20 or 4/27 paper, can't remember)
$1.00 Coupon Lady's Speedstick from here
$3.00 CVS Coupon from here
$16.00 ECB from Transaction #4

$3.91 OOP
$3.99 ECB Earned from Pain Relief

WHEW!!! The cashier didn't seem too happy with having to ring up 5 transactions, but OH WELL!! I spent $7.50 Total OOP for all transactions and earned $3.99 ECB to use for next time!!

All of the items would have been $94.96 and I only paid $7.50! That is crazy! Seriously you have to try this!!!

BTW, I have NO idea what I am going to do with all of the Toe Dividers :) But, hey, I ended up making $10.12!

Frugal Friday

With the cost of fuel increasing rather than decreasing, we have had no choice but to lower costs in other areas. Rather than it be getting my nails done or hair done (which are the first things many websites say cut out first) I have decided to try to cut grocery expenses. For the last month I have been reading this blog and have gotten SO many tips on coupon clipping, ad watching, and CVS. More on CVS later, let's start with coupons and ads. And to add, the lady that writes Money Saving Mom spends only $35-40/week on groceries. OMG!! Last month we averaged $150 grocery trips at Wal-Mart A WEEK!!

There are TONS of sites to find coupons to print, not to mention the ones in the Sunday paper. Don't forget to ask friends, family or neighbors for theirs if they don't clip 'em. Now I will be the first to say there can be alot of coupons in the paper that you don't use, but I clip every one of them. You never know when you will come across something on sale and want to try it or someone you know could use it. Oh, and it seems to me that 2-4 weeks after the coupon comes out, you will start seeing it on sale. Now this may not be everytime, but I am just using coupons that I clipped from the 3/30 paper.

The next thing I did was find an organizer (happened to come across one in the Target $1 aisle). I organzied it in sections that would be easy to follow in the store.

Last but not least, the weekly ads for grocery stores come out in the Wednesday papers and the sales will run through the next Tuesday. CVS, Rite-Aid, Target, Etc. comes out on Sundays.

One vow I have made to myself is not to shop at Wal-Mart. I know, you are probably thinking what I did...Wal-Mart matches any stores prices. Right? But, how many of you can honestly say you were able to walk out of Wal-Mart without buying something that you didn't go into the store to get? I know I can never do it! So I have decided to not do grocery shopping at Wal-Mart UNLESS I know its cheaper and I have a coupon for something.

Kroger has been my store for the past month. There have been so many 10/$10 deals and I have been able to stock up on frozen veggies, canned veggies, cereals, and so much more!

So you wanna know how I did this month? I have not spent more than $100/week. Usually before coupons and Kroger sales, my totals have been about what we normally spend, $150. It's such a great feeling to watch that total steadily decrease when the cashier scans your Kroger card and coupons!!

My best week yet was this past week. I only spent $85!! Now I am nowhere near money saving mom, but I am getting there!

And the 2nd best thing about shopping at Kroger? For every $1 you spend, you get 1 point towards gas purchases. Earn 100 points and you will get $.10 off per gallon!!!

CVS 101:

(I am still learning CVS shopping and still have so much more to learn!!)

I have been researching CVS shopping through money saving mom and have learned that this is the best place to buy shampoo/conditioner, toothpaste, toothbrushes, and so on. From the paper you can find deals and which items will generate ECB's (Extra Care Bucks) that you can use towards future purchases. For more info on learning the CVS game, read here. It can seem complicated at first, but once you get it down, you can save LOTS of money!

I made my first trip tonight and this is what I came out with:

1st purchase:

2 Colgate 360 toothbrushes: $3.99 each and $3.99 ECB each
Total OOP (Out of Pocket): $8.54
Total ECB: $ 7.98

2nd purchase:

2 Airwick Oils refills: $2.99 each and Coupon for free plugin (.99 value) with purchase:
Herbal Essance Shampoo/Conditioner: $3.99 each and B1G1 Free and $3 off 2 Coupon
2 Oral B Power Toothbrushes: $5.99 each and $1 ECB each and 2/$1 off Coupons
2 Crest Toothpastes: $1.88 each and $1 off 2 Coupon
$7.98 ECB from 1st purchase
$2 ECB from old purchase during winter season
$3 off $15 purchase (this printed out when I bought milk a couple of weeks ago)
$4 off $20 purchase (signed up online to receive ads via email)
Total OOP: $2.92
Total ECB: $2.00

So I basically got about $45 worth of stuff for only $12!!! And we wont have to buy toothbrushes for the rest of the year! And maybe toothpaste too! Along with air fresheners that smell so good!! PLUS I got $2 in ECB to use next time!!! This bargain shopping is so much fun!!! You should try it!! Good Luck! Let me know how you do!

Prayers Needed

Please add the Ginn Family to your prayer list. I grew up with this family and this is just a horrible thing that has happened. Mr. Ginn has not been seen since April 14 in Raymond/Clinton. He had open heart surgery on April 3. Mr. Ginn is the bank manager at Bank Plus, so the FBI was brought in to assist local police. His wife Regina and children, Matt, Marcus, and Marianne need all the prayers possible.

From the Clarion Ledger:

Missing Man's Family Makes New Plea


The family of a missing Raymond man is speaking out.

Mark Ginn, 52, has been missing since April 14. Family members made an appeal at the Hinds County Sheriff's Department in Jackson on Monday to ask anyone with information on Ginn's whereabouts to contact the sheriff's department.

Ginn's wife Regina said she's especially concerned about her husband's welfare because he had open heart surgery on April 3.

Sheriff Malcolm McMillin refused to answer any questions about the ongoing investigation. He also said he knew nothing about reports that Ginn was last seen in Clinton driving his 1996 Jeep Grand Cherokee. He said Ginn was last seen at Ginn's home in Raymond.

Family members say they're just hoping the Hinds County School Board member returns home safely.

A $5,000 reward is being offered to anyone who can locate Ginn or his SUV.

Baby Update 18 weeks

I haven't been doing well with blogging lately! I have been meaning to update everyone on the baby, but I have been sick and extremely busy, not to mention TIRED all the time!! We did find out the sex...I will make you wait til the end so keep reading...Boy or Girl???? What do you think??? Here is a picture of me this week. Maybe you can guess from the way I am carrying...
Any idea? What's your guess???

So, wanna know what we have been up to? T-Ball and Softball...2-3 nights a week we are at the fields with the girls. They both are doing so well this year! It's so fun to watch Hannah keep up with all the boys (she's the only girl on her team!) We have about a month left so I'm sure May will go by just as fast as this month has! I can't believe April is almost over. This pregnancy has seemed to go by so fast...I am almost half way there!

Back to the baby...here are a few pictures from the sonogram we had two weeks ago.

More Young Family news: I am going back to school!!! What!!?? That's probably what you are thinking. That was Alan's first reaction! I really have been thinking since I left my job at the apartments about what I really want to be when I "grow up" so to speak, and I came to the conclusion that I want to give back, really do something meaningful each and every day, and I have decided to go to nursing school. Well, back to it so to speak (I made it through 1 semester and ended up withdrawing in 2002.) I wasn't quite ready. Or maybe He had other plans for me at that time, I'm not really sure. I do know that this is where I am being led right now and I couldn't be happier! Of course I am going to have to work around the baby since I am due in September, but I will start on June 2 with an 8 week summer class of Human A & P I and lab. (I have to retake it because it has been over 5 years). Then College Algebra and Sociology the first 8 weeks of the Fall and Human A & P II and lab the last 8 weeks of the Fall. Which puts me at starting nursing school in the Spring! If I get accepted!! Hopefully I won't have anything to worry about!

Ok, enough with me, on to the baby right??!! Drumroll.....

IT'S A GIRL!!!

Another girl!! Poor Ethan! And Alan! We are very excited to be welcoming another child into our family! We have also decided on a name...

Emma Katherine, Emma Kate for short

So, the Young Family children will be:

Morgan Olivia, Anabella Corrine, Hannah Elise, Ethan Taylor, and Emma Katherine

Whew...did I miss anyone?! Hahaha! The kids are so excited it's a girl! They all agreed (me included!) we couldn't handle another Ethan!

Well...more updates to comes as the due date approaches!!

Picture Day

I know I can't be the only mom that STRESSES out on picture day! I can't even describe how stressed out I get! It is VERY difficult to get 4 children, with 4 TOTALLY different moods, to look at the camera and smile! Heck, for that matter, to get all 4 of them to even look at the camera at the same time! I know everyone usually shares the "good" pictures, but I wanted to share what our family goes through everytime we try to do family photos...

Lots of these...if you notice, I do have Morgan "trained" LOL...she doesn't move when we say smile!!

Then there are lots of these...Ethan running away and Hannah trying not to chase after him! And of course, Bella, who just HATES taking pictures!! LOL

And every now and then I will get a good picture! Like I said, all 4 looking at the camera, not necessarily all smiling...but at least I got 3 of the 4!

And of course, my favorite ones...when everyone starts to get tired and the tears start flowing! Poor Ethan was tired!

But I was able to get this SWEET one of him smelling the flowers!And here is a good one of Morgan and Hannah...
But I wouldn't have it any other way!! Although...it would be nice to find someone that would just let me drop my kids off with them and let them do all the work and get those "PERFECT" pictures! I can only imagine what that would cost me! LOL!

My Sweet Baby Girl!!

I almost forgot...Thanks to Melanie for taking the pictures for us! And keeping me somewhat sane that day!!

The Easter Bunny Came...

And he brought lots of goodies for us!! Ethan's 2nd Easter! "Cars" and candy! Yippee!!

He brought the girls all Hannah Montana barbie dolls and TONS of chocolate!! YUMMMY!!!

Happy Easter!

Good Morning to all!! The Young Family would like to wish everyone a Happy Easter! We have lots of pictures to post, but here are a few to get things going! This is how we started our morning off...dyeing eggs!!

I will add more later this evening!

Happy Easter!

Make ya think twice...

This just makes you go ewwww....I never once thought twice about ordering water with lemon on occasaions while out for lunch or dinner, but after this, I think I will steer clear. And to think we've even given the kids a lemon to see their funny face while waiting on our food....YUCK!

The Lemon in Your Drink Study

We are what??!!

Lots of explaining to do...I know, I know!!! What a crazy yet wonderful month we have had!!!

Yes, you read that right...We are expecting!! You can only imagine the shock we have gone through over the last few weeks! At no point did we ever consider having another child. I mean, we have 4 already! But, He has other plans for us! Everything happens for a reason. One more child to love!! We are very excited!!

So I have an excuse for not blogging...I have been really sick, mainly at night. AND I started a new job last week. I am working in Sales for a local electrical company. It seems to be great, just totally different than what I have ever done. It's gonna take a little bit to get used to!

Kids are great..We started t-ball and softball this week. Hannah is so excited to get to play this year! She is really going to love it! Morgan on the other hand, I had to make her pinky promise me she wouldn't play in the dirt and she would actually pay attention this year!! It's going to be a great season!

So, back to the baby news...Due date right now is September 22. Although the baby was measuring about a week larger so we will see what he says at the sonogram on the 26th. I will try to posts some pictures of the belly....yep, it's already there!! I hope to keep better pictures and info about this pregnancy...since it will be our LAST!! And yes, we are going to make SURE it will be the last!!

I promise to get better at posting...no more excuses about not having anything to post about!!

Where have I been???

I really don't even know....I looked up and it's ONE MONTH later! Seriously that is what it feels like...I have a lot to catch up on....but not tonight!!! I know everyone is just DYING to know what's been going on in the Young's house!!!

Hannah turned 4, I'm looking for a new job (yep, gotta find one by March 7!), and I have a birthday tomorrow EEEEKKK!!! Not even revealing my age (Let's just say my 'car insurance rates will lower hehehe!!)

So check back...I promise to update and post some pictures of the kids SOON! By the way...Morgan has her shots for school tomorrow :( Then it's off to register her for Kindergarten...OH MY!!

Back at Home!!

First we want to say thank you to everyone for all of your thoughts and prayers for our family throughout this trying time. Hannah was released from the hospital yesterday afternoon. The doctors never officially diagnosed her, but they feel it was a combination of her tooth and an infection in her lymph nodes. She still has to take antibiotics for 7 days. She is so happy to be back home playing with her brother and sister! She missed them so much!! And of course it's great to have things back to normal. Back to work tomorrow!!

Oh, yeah... Hannah turns the big FOUR on Tuesday!!

Update & Snow

Update: Hannah's temperature did not go up last night and her face looks SO much better today! She is definitely feeling better, too!! She is feeding herself breakfast after 4 days. I feel very confident her pediatrician will let us go home today!! YAY!!

Now...the "SNOW" part of the title!! I woke up to the nurse saying it was snowing outside!! I had to stop and ask myself if I were dreaming!! It hasn't snowed here in YEARS!! So long I can't even remember! But it really IS snowing!! It's not sticking, but, hey, it's Mississippi!

I will post an update later, from HOME hopefully!!!

Update on Hannah

It's been a LONG week...Many of you may know our youngest daughter, Hannah, is in the hospital. I just realized last night I could bring the computer to the hospital (I have really been out there!) so I wanted to update everyone on what has been going on this week. Here is a timeline of everything:

Tuesday 1/15:

When I got home from work a little after 5, I saw the girls and went to help Alan finish dinner. About 5:30, we sat down to eat and I noticed Hannah's left cheek was big. I jokingly told her to stop holding food in her cheek like a chipmunk. She opened her mouth and was like, Mom there's nothing in there. So I started freaking out. The left side of her face was enlarged and all the lymph nodes were swollen. I immediately got her dressed and we headed to the ER. If you know where we live, you know the closest hospital to us. I would rather not mention the name because we will NEVER go back there. She had a temp of 102 when we got there. They even tried to give her two doses of Motrin because the time the first dose was given was written incorrectly in her chart. Needless to say they told us it could be one of several things: abscessed tooth, lymphadenitis, and the nurse said, "Oh, it looks like mumps". They gave us a prescription for Amoxil and said to follow up with our Pediatrician in 2 days and he could do bloodwork because they didn't feel the need to do it. I was so mad, but went home with those orders. He was a dr. right? Just to show you what we were dealing with, here is a picture of her face on Tuesday night.

Wednesday 1/16:

About 5 am I woke up to Hannah burning up with a temperature! I took her temp and it was around 103 and her face was double the size it was the night before. Our Pediatrician's office didn't open until 8 so those 3 hours were tough having to wait! He was able to see us a 8:30. Let's just say by 9:00, he had bloodwork done and was telling us we were headed to the hospital to be admitted. It was that serious! Her face had swollen so much he was worried it would start to block her airways and affect her breathing. He thought it could from her tooth but wasn't sure. We were admitted to the Children's Hospital at UMC because they have the dental clinic on the 6th floor if it was a dental issue and it could be taken care of while we were in the hospital. They started her on antibiotics and the dentist came in to see her. They came back a little later in the afternoon with like 4 doctors to look again and said it could be an abscessed tooth (her back molar) and it could be draining into the pocket under her chin. Ultimately her tooth was going to have to come out but they wanted to wait until the swelling went down a little bit. Hopefully Thursday, but no later than Friday. The entire time I just didn't think this was the problem. I have had an abscessed tooth and I remember the pain I was in. She hadn't been complaining about her tooth and she had still been eating on that side. But her tooth did look strange (it was split and looked like two separate teeth) so I just put my instincts to the side and let them make the decisions. Here is Hannah on Wednesday. You can see how much it swelled basically over night.

Thursday 1/17:

Her temp spiked at 104.4 early Thursday morning. There were no signs of the swelling decreasing so the dentist decided around 10 to take the tooth out to remove the source of infection. She went into surgery around 3 and lasted a lot longer than expected. Her tooth has some abnormalities (sorta like hooks on the roots holding it to the mouth) so they were confident it needed to be out, but they weren't sure it was the cause of the infection. An ENT would be called in to do a consult and we were going to continue antibiotics until they could determine what else might be going on.

Friday 1/18:

So today is Friday, we are still here at the hospital, waiting on the ENT to come by, waiting on another CVC (bloodwork), but the good news is the swelling has went down some. Her temp only got to 101.5 so that was good too. She slept most of the night and ate breakfast this morning. Hopefully we will know more this afternoon, but as of right now we probably won't be going home today. :(

Thanks to everyone for all of the prayers. It's difficult because no one really knows whats going on. We pray that the doctors find some answers and the swelling continues to go down as well as her temperature.

One thing I want to add...Everyone here at the Blair E. Batson Hospital has been wonderful! So helpful and understanding. They have playrooms with toys and even volunteers that come around and read stories. We are so thankful to have this hospital to come to. As you may know, it's the only hospital in Mississippi designed specifically for children. I've always heard radio-thons and different fundraisers for the hospital and never once thought we would ever be here so I didn't second guess not donating. But after this experience, we plan on changing that.

It's Finished!

Thanks to my wonderful husband for finishing Ethan's room today!! And he managed to get it done all while taking care of THREE kids!! I love how the border came out...hard to get some good pictures but it is AWESOME in person!!

Another good picture of Ethan LOVIN his new bed!!

Baby Update!!

May I introduce...Katelynn Marie

She is absolutely ADORABLE!! And no, I'm not just partial, she REALLY is!!!

Proud Daddy!

Ten little fingers, Ten little toes,
The sweetest of smiles and a cute little nose
All these add up To a very special thing...
A baby... The greatest of gifts
That life can bring.

My sister isn't feeling well...nauseated from the pain meds. Please keep her in your prayers! Thank You!!

Southern Belle T-Shirts

This will be the 2nd order for the Southern Belle "Autism Awareness" T-shirts. I ordered one last time and they are adorable! And they are for a good cause! If you want one, mail the order form below by FEBRUARY 16, 2008.

The t-shirts will be available in youth and adult sizes, long and short sleeve. They will be chocolate and teal on a pink shirt! TOO CUTE!! Here's the back of the t-shirt:

Katelynn Marie is HERE!!

After an emergency c-section (because Katelynn's arm was above her head & she couldn't be delivered naturally) she was born at 11:21 a.m. and was 5 lbs. 13 oz. and 18.5 inches long!

Please pray for my sister. I'm sure it's devastating when you plan a birth one way and unexpectedly things change. Within a 30 minute period she went from 5 centimeters to 9 centimeters and then the news of having to have a c-section was pretty overwhelming I'm sure.

I wasn't able to get a good picture, so I will post later this evening!

She is sooo cute and sooo little!!

Please Pray!

My younger sister, Brittany, is in labor at Baptist about to give birth! She wasn't due until 1/25 but her doctor scheduled to induce her this morning. She just had an epidural and is about 5 cent. dialated! Hopefully around lunch, Katelynn Marie will be here!! Please pray her labor goes smoothly & as painless as possible and they have a healthy baby girl in the end!!

We love you Brittany & J.R.!!

Ethan's NEW Room

We have been debating for the past few weeks whether or not to retire the baby bed (FOREVER!!) and get Ethan a toddler bed, but I was worried he wasn't quite ready...WELL, after he decided to CLIMB out of his baby bed, we immediately went to get his new BIG BOY BED! He loves the movie Cars, so we decided to go with that theme! We found the bed, bedding, kid's chair, & lamp and we bought paint and stickers to do the walls. We took down the baby bed and put up the new one last week & we finally had time this weekend to start on the painting. I helped a little bit, but Alan did the majority of it all!! He painted the mural on the wall & added the stickers. We still have to finish the other walls. I couldn't find a border I liked so we decided to paint red between the blue and brown and add more stickers to make our own border. It's SO cute! Here are a few pictures of the mural. You can see Ethan pointing to the cars!

I hope he enjoys his new room...from the looks of it...I think he does already!!

She Did It...She Did It!!

Over, Under, Around the Tree,

Swing past the bunny hole,

Pull & See!!

She FINALLY did it!!
We have been working on this for a few weeks now and TODAY Morgan finally tied her shoes...
ALL BY HERSELF!!
I am so proud of her! She is really growing up! TOO Fast may I add!!

Sweet Baby Boy

Little boys are amazing! I have learned since Ethan was born that boys are SO different from girls. Bumps, bruises, running, tumbling, falling down and getting right back up is the way he works. The girls fall and get hurt and its like the whole world stops! Mine are so dramatic when something like this happens; I run to get ice packs and bo-bo strips (as Hannah calls them) and Ethan, he just keeps on going! I try to console him and he fights to do it all over again! I remember one time in particular he climbed in a plastic chair and stood up and tumbled over, fell into the wall and busted his lip. I cleaned him up and let him back down. What did he do? Went right back over to the chair and did it again!! He has so much energy! Someone gave me a plaque when he was born that I have hanging in his room that reads, "Mothers of boys work from son up to son down. I couldn't put it in better words if I tried!

But after all of this, the love a little boy has for his mother is far more amazing! I walked through the door after a long day of work and he is the first to greet me...MAMA MAMA MAMA!! and he wants me to pick him up! He wraps his arms around me and its an indescribable feeling! After a hard day of playing, he gets sleepy, grabs his blankie, and says "Night Night"!! Yes, an 18 month old asking to go to bed!

Hard to believe but thats my Ethan! Once he's down I sneak in to check on him and I realize he really still is my sweet baby boy! He always will be! I know once he's grown, he will always come back back to me. Now, it may be to wash his laundry or eat some of mom's cooking, but that will be ok! We have the special bond that I know will only grow stronger as the years past. I took this picture a few nights ago when I did my nightly "peek" on him and I started to tear up! He may be rough and tough on the outside, but when it's all said and done, he is and will always be MY BABY!!

Just one more reason I thank God EVERYDAY

for what he has blessed me with!

YOU pick the cup

A group of graduates, well established in their careers, were talking at a reunion and decided to go visit their old high school teacher, now retired. During their visit, the conversation turned to complaints about stress in their work and lives. Offering his guests coffee, the professor went into the kitchen and returned with a large pot of coffee and an assortment of cups - porcelain, glass, crystal, some plain looking, some expensive, some exquisite - telling them to help themselves to the coffee. When they all had a cup of coffee in hand, the professor said, 'Notice that all the nice looking, expensive cups were taken, leaving behind the plain and cheap ones. While it is normal for you to want only the best for yourselves, that is the source of your problems and stress.
The cup that you're drinking from adds nothing to the quality of the coffee. In most cases it is just more expensive and in some cases even hides what we drink. What all of you really wanted was coffee, not the cup; but you consciously went for the best cups...and then you began eyeing each other's cups.Now consider this: Life is the coffee; your job, money and position in society are the cups. They are just tools to hold and contain life. The cup you have does not define, nor change the quality of life you have. Sometimes, by concentrating only on the cup, we fail to enjoy the coffee God has provided us. God makes the coffee, man chooses the cups. The happiest people don't have the best of everything. They just make the best of everything that they have.

Live simply. Love generously. Care deeply. Speak kindly.
And enjoy your coffee!'

New Year, New Me

2008 is HERE!!! I decided I needed a little change last week, so what do I do?? Color my hair, of course!! I decided to go dark again! My hair was this color this time last year...but it was also light brown, a little blonde, red, and dark brown so black was the next best choice!! I'm asked all the time why I change the color of my hair and I really don't know why. It's one of the few things in my life I have complete control over...Well, I say I have complete control but more and more a few gray hairs have snuck up on me! Let's just hope I don't get that from my dad's side of the family; I think all of my aunts and uncles, even my grandmother, was completely gray by the time they were 30! Clariol will be rich before I let those little suckers be seen on me! So with a new style, I thought it would be good to make a list of my resolutions for 2008. Here's a few I will share, but there are a few other personal resolutions I will be working on along with these:

1. Grow spiritually, read my Bible more, and start each day with a morning devotion
2. Be more organized (I started out today at work! Still need to start at home)
3. Wake up earlier...be 10-15 minutes early for everything (With 4 kids, this will be hard, but if I start earlier in the day, hopefully I can be on time at least!)
4. Stay away from fast food and cook more meals for the family
5. Lose 10-15 lbs. (ties in with #3 and I'm still trying to get all the baby weight off 18 months later!)
6. Sew more (Once again, with 4 kids, finding time will be hard, but I really want to use this talent I have been given!)
7. Let my hair grow out and donate it to Locks of Love (I am really hoping to accomplish this, but my hair is short so I don't know!) I will be donating in honor of this precious angel.

I will also be starting the book "The Purpose Driven Life" by Rick Warren. Well, restarting I guess you could say. I have attempted to start this book 3 times, but I plan on getting through it this time. Lately I have really been asking myself so many questions...Why am I here, What is God's purpose for my life, and What do I need to do to live my life the way He wants me to? I want to look back on this year on January 2, 2009 and know that I have come so far and I am living the life God planned for me. So here's to the New Year and the New Me!!

Christmas Photos!

OK! After much anticipation (from those few readers out there!)...Here's how The Youngs celebrated Christmas this year!!!

I was lucky enough to have the week of Christmas off!! And I needed it! We had dinner and exchange gifts at my mom's Sunday before Christmas and Alan's parents came in that night from Florida. Monday, I did a little last minute shopping (YES, I was one of the crazy last minute shoppers!) and last minute wrapping! I think I was wrapping presents in the car on the way to my Grandmother's Christmas Eve!! It's our tradition to eat and exchange gifts with my dad's side of the family Christmas Eve. We let the kids see lights on the way home and once we got home we arrived to this...

No...Santa did not come early to The Youngs House...It's presents from Grammie and Poppy!! We let the kids open presents from them and a few from mom and dad. I always get the kids pajamas to wear Christmas Eve...not really what they want to open, but Mommy likes 'em! They all look alike and cute for Christmas morning pictures! After the kids FINALLY went to bed, Santa came!!

Out of the chaos on Christmas morning, this was the only picture I seemed to get of the kids seeing their presents for the first time. Morgan WAS not happy as you can see!! Hannah came in and wanted to get up and play then went in to wake Morgan up way before she was ready! She would have rather celebrated Christmas afternoon!! Not my morning child!! They really liked all of the presents! When Bella came home Christmas night, she had a blast as well!! Next year she will be with us for Christmas Eve! Yay!!

We hope everyone had a Merry Christmas!! We sure did!! Lots of pictures to come...stay tuned!!

Hair Cut Night

Friday night I decided to cut Morgan & Hannah's hair! Ok, I am no hairstylist at all, but I think both came out cute. Morgan wanted to go short like mommy(I was scared to go TOO short) and Hannah just wanted it cut "just a wittle bit"! Here's the outcome of a 2 hour hair cut!

Look What We Made

Our First

Gingerbread House!!

We had so much fun making our gingerbread house!! Alan "built" it for us and the girls and I decorated it! Well...maybe more like mommy decorated it and the girls handed me the pieces I asked for!! The whole time they were like, "Mommy can we PLEASE help!!" I did let them put the leftover pieces on the back of the house!! They were so proud of it and wanted to eat it! I'm sure the pieces will slowly disappear!!

All I Want For Christmas is....

PHOTOSHOP!!!

So I downloaded a FREE 30-day trial of Photoshop to see if I really wanted it and to see how easy I could navigate it and all I have to say it WOW!! If I had $600 I would buy the CS3 version, but I will settle for Elements!! I have just recently started blogging and making banners and such, but tonight I tried something completely new...

I just LOVE black and white photos with color accents so I attempted to do it on my own. After a little googling, I found this great website that was very helpful. Now, like I said, this is my first attempt at this, so it's nowhere near perfect (if you know me I don't quit until it's perfect, but after 2 hrs, I just had to save as and move on!) I could be doing it totally wrong, but I thought the pictures came out cute! AND it's a sneak peak at our Christmas card photos!!!

I will get better in time! But the only way I can is to get PHOTOSHOP!!! I only have 13 days left in my trial and there's 14 days left until Christmas!!! Let's hope Santa is listening!!!

Attention MOMS!!

I saw an ad for this 2007 Fall Warehouse Sale from Kelly's Kids. It will be Saturday 12/8, from 9 am- 4 pm at the Trade Mart in Jackson. They are advertising kids tops and bottoms for $9.99 and dresses, jumpers, and jumpsuits for $14.99.

From the website, the clothes looked ADORABLE!! Even the website is running 50-75% off ALL items! Has anyone ever heard of this company and the quality of the clothing?

This is probably where you will find me Saturday morning!!