B-Day, B-Ball, and Bargains

Happy Birthday Dad!!!


We celebrated Steve’s birthday a couple of days late because of our travels but I think he’ll tell you it was worth the wait!! He was very surprised at this present from the kids (the bike) and he was unimpressed with the nail gun from me. I don’t understand why…..Okay, maybe I do….you see, I have been asking for a nail gun for my birthday or Christmas now for a couple of years and he recently informed me that he would not be giving me that. So, naturally, when I was in Chicago and found a nail gun that was a great deal I went ahead and snatched it up. I wrapped it up with some hearing protection just as a gag gift with a note that I was going to make him something awesome with it….but something tells me that Steve wasn’t too thrilled. Of course, that wasn’t his real present!!! I actually made reservations at a restaurant in Portsmouth and we went to dinner. At dinner, I gave him his real present which was a new MP3 player. I hope that his 33rd birthday ended up being fun and memorable!!  The kids enjoyed dressing him up like a rock star and putting a crown on his head!


 
Softball and T-Ball

This spring the girls have both been playing softball and T-Ball. Emma has done great playing her first season. She particularly loved playing catcher for one game! The highlight of the season was yesterday, though, when she actually caught a ball and got a player out as the second baseman. Way to go LaPierre Septic!! You gotta love those business sponsored team names!

Lauren has had a fun, but less exciting year—her games were all rained out! She has only played 4 times but has 3 games scheduled for this upcoming week to try to make up for it. Still, she has enjoyed playing and is excited to keep going next year. Good Job M&J Landscaping!

Yard Sale-ing

While it is debatable which day in life is a mother’s proudest day, I believe I have had mine. Yes, it has happened—my children have discovered the thrill and joy of yard sales! It began 3 or 4 weeks ago when I got out with the kids at about 7 am to visit a yard sale that was advertised on Craigslist. All 3 kids were psyched to go with me and Steve was psyched not to.   He doesn't exactly like the idea of spending money on other people's junk and while I continue to bring home things that are decidedly not junk, he is yet to be convinced of the benefits of Yard Sale-ing.  Well, the yard sale we attended that morning was not nearly as great as the advertisement made it out to be, but the kids loved taking a small amount of money and purchasing a mother-approved quality item. Well, the appetite was created and now all the kids have gone with me to different yard sales over the past weeks. Our favorite purchase so far: An unfinished solid wood dollhouse for $1 that we are making our summer project. This little house is going to be a luxury home, complete with stainless steel appliances, hardwood flooring in the living room, framed real family portraits, shingles, and other high end extras! We are, of course, doing it on the tightest budget possible and could not handle the sticker shock of the cedar shingles at the craft store ($46.99 a bag?!! We needed two bags!) so we have been brainstorming all the time and have come up with some AWESOME substitutions for a fraction of the cost! Definitely going to be an awesome home to Polly Pocket, LPS, and miniature princesses---not to mention the pillaging pirates and race cars that have already come to call.

Speaking of yard sale bargains, yesterday was amazing. I only wish I had more cash with me or felt that Steve wouldn’t freak out when I spent a small fortune. So I passed on a few finds that I really wish I had tried to bargain for (doll house accessories and Hummel statues)! We did get 10 very gently used DVDs (mostly Disney classics that we have on VHS) for dirt cheap. However, the real gem of the day was the new, unopened 80 Gig iPod for $50! This baby was about a year old but in a sealed box. After getting home I discovered why they let this originally $250 iPod go for so cheap---the iPod actually had a company name engraved on the back so I assume that this was probably a prize or a marketing tool. Do I care? Of course not! So since I washed my MP3 player in the washing machine a couple of months ago, I was more than thrilled to snatch up this amazing bargain. Ahh, I just love yard sales and as a proud mother I am elated to pass this tradition on to my children.