Is this a sign??

My friend Staci is venturing into the world of stamping and sent an email out saying that she was having a catalog party. I have been curious about this branch of paper crafting, so I called and asked for a catalog. The makers of the stamps have an online catalog, which is free, but I like to have the catalog to mark up and look through at my convenience so I sucked it up and agreed to roll the price over to my order. This was two weeks ago. I don't know what happened. Is someone else getting my catalog?? I had finally waited long enough and called Staci to see if she could get some answers for me. The first one was sent out on a Thursday, and after a week she has put another one in the mail. I still don't have one let alone the two that have been sent. I am thinking that this was a little nudge from above to be diligent with my saving and not place an order. If I don't get that darn catalog by Thursday, than I will have to just forget it. Can't say that I didn't try. If any of you have a catalog that you would like to share, send me an email or a comment. I am sure Staci would appreciate it. :)

Rain rain go away...

I am keeping my fingers crossed that we don't get too much rain this weekend. I still have lots to do in the backyard!

So many things...

Here are some pictures from our trip to San Antonio.

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We're debt freeeeeee!!!!

Ben and I made our last credit card payment last night. Do you know what this means?? It means that next month we will only be making monthly payments for rent, utilities, and daycare. Reality has started to sink in and I am really excited. (I wasn't feeling so hot when I put all of our account info in for the payment.) If we hadn't heard about this financial person, I don't think we would have been able to do it. If you're having issues with money then I strongly suggest that you check it out. It is simple, makes sense, and it works.

on the web: daveramsey.com

radio: listen live from 1-4 every weekday on klif.com

book: Total Money Makeover

the debtor is slave to the lender (Prov. 22:7)

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On Saturday I am going out of town to scrapbook. Every month I get a SB kit that comes with all of the papers and embellishments to make a complete album. The lady that puts the kits together has a sister that owns a SB store. I am going out there to buy some goodies, meet the ladies that I talk to on the message board, and get some of these kits put together with pictures. I am really excited. It's been a while since I've been to a scrapbook store, let alone a crop.

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I am in the process of coordinating the kids' summer vacation schedule. The two big girls go to Girl Scout camps for a week, stay at their Grammie's house in OK for a couple of weeks, and their Aunt's house for a weekend of fun. Haley will be staying overnight at an Aunt's house to play with her cousin. It's her first year to do anything overnight without sisters, so I am nervous about how she will do. Haley and her cousin are too young to stay over the weekend with their Aunt, so this way they get to have a little fun too.

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Alexander is doing so many things! He's nine months old now. He has 3 bottom teeth, two top teeth with two more cutting in right now. He can sit, crawl, and pull himself up to standing. He is a speed racer when he's in the walker!! Watch out for your heels and toes when he's loose. :) I try to get updated pictures but most of them come out with his giant arm reaching for the camera. I love, love, love this age. He is so sweet, it's amazing to see his reaction to the smallest discovery. He's a happy, smiling, healthy boy. I couldn't have asked for more.

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I hope to see you or at least talk to you all soon. I miss being close to my friends.

xoxo

Monday, April 21

I have lots to post, but I am SUPER tired. Tomorrow there will be a post and pictures. Promise.

Tuesday, April 15

I went to get a pedicure during my lunch break today. Working in downtown has it's advantages.

Monday, April 14

Today was a pretty good day. Nothing out of the ordinary happened, I just had a good day for no good reason. :) We might head out of town on Friday for some weekend fun. Ben flies in on Wednesday and leaves for San Antonio on Thursday. I was thinking about leaving work a little early so that I could be home when the kids got home. Then, we would get on I-35 and head on out to meet him. I don't know if he is the lead guy on this show. If he is than we will most likely stay home. When he is lead, he is the first one there and the last one to leave. It wouldn't make sense for us to go to visit him if he's going to be at work all day and night. I am hoping that we can go, it would be nice to be away for the weekend and splurge a little bit. The kids want to see the Alamo and the riverwalk. Madison and Rebecca were little when we were out there last, and I haven't been out there with Ben since our honeymoon. (and I want to SHOP) Keep your fingers crossed!

Sunday, April 13

I am going to Target to get some springy clothes for the kids. Then, to payless for the BOGO event. I have to get all shopping out of my system now because the IRS check will be in the bank on Friday, and ALL of it goes to the "we NEED a van" fund. At least that's what I have to keep telling myself. :)

Wednesday, April 9

Sorry, I haven't been updating as much as I would have liked. Instead of posting, I have enjoyed the company of my husband. He's leaving for D.C. tomorrow and will pretty much be gone for the rest of April give or take a few days in between flights. He literally will be home for a day before he flies out to his next trip. We will see how I am doing with this traveling business by the time the year is almost over.

This weekend was beautiful! We were outside for most of Saturday and Sunday we went to the park. The yard is mowed, trees and bushes have been pruned, the flowers and veggies have been planted. Thank goodness for the rain, I have a hard time remembering to get out and water after a few days.

I filed my tax returns last night. I was having trouble with one of the sections, and Ben wanted to see how the return would change if we filed separately. In some cases, you can lower your tax bracket by filing separately. It didn't work for us. When we changed the filing status, our refund turned into $5,500 OWED. It was changed back pretty quickly, and all is well. Normally, I wouldn't think of filing tax returns as a romantic night but it turned into a pretty nice trip down memory lane. When you file online you have to give them the information from last years return so that they can verify that you are who you say you are. I had to go to the cabinet where I keep all the important forms and drag it out to the computer. It was fun for Ben and I to look through each year's packet and see just how far we've come. We filed our first joint tax return in 1995. Our adjusted income was a whopping $11,000. How in the world did we pay for and apartment and a new baby on $11,000 a year??? Anyway, we laughed at all the the different places we had lived and all the crummy jobs that we had to have and we decided that we were happy to have gone through all of it. After 14 years we still have each other and we also have four beautiful, happy and healthy children. Who knew that doing taxes together could be so rewarding??

Tuesday, April 1

Somehow I have screwed up the look of my blog. I have to add the date to my posts now. No more title until I find a way to undo whatever I did that makes the date disappear.

My days are so busy. For the most part, I love being at work again. It's my "adult time". I really appreciate having the "extra" money too. :) Lately, I have been missing my family and my home. I can't enjoy them like I used to. It's a rush to get out the door in the morning and it's a rush to get home and in bed on time in the evenings. Do I run around all day and night during the week so that I can have two full fun days with the family? OR do I take it easy in the evenings, and run all weekend long? I can't have both and I can't decide what to do. If Ben had his way I would quit working tomorrow and stay home full time. He knows that I enjoy being back to work so he bites his tongue. The kids would rather have me at home, no questions asked. I want to do the right thing, which leads to nothing at all because of my indecision.

Ben will be home tomorrow! I am very excited to see him. It's been ten days and I am ready for him to be back already!!

I am trying to figure out a way to get to the SB convention in June. Schedule wise it's not looking good, but I am working on it.

I will be in Atlanta for three days someitme in November. Ben has to be there for two back to back shows and his company agreed to keep him there rather than fly him back and forth for those days. So guess what?? I am going out there to meet him and see the sights. I have never been there, so I have been looking around the internet for stuff to see and do. If you've been there and have a suggestion, let me know. I am ready to have some kid free time.

Still have to figure out a way to post some pictures on here. I don't have enough plug in things on the back of the computer to upload them.