This is really sad...

Look at what my girls will look like in about 10 years:

Oy, I need a haircut

My hair is starting to fall out. It happens every time I have a baby. The good thing about long hair is I can pull it back in a ponytail. The bad thing about long hair is I can pull it back in a ponytail. Being almost FORTY and having a ponytail just doesn't go together real well. I just wish I had a lot of money and could afford a complete make over. You know, like on those TV programs where they take you to some posh salon and totally make you look fabulous. I also need a personal wardrobe shopper, because I have no fashion sense whatsoever. I wear jeans and a T-shirt and call it a day. I would love for someone with fashion sense to take me shopping. Any takers?

After I wrote that paragraph, I went to Marie Claire and gave myself a virtual makeover. It was so much fun.



So, you like?? I am digging the haircut and color. Let me know what you think.

Books, books, books

I told Camille that if she got an "A" on her History/Geography test that I would take her to the bookstore so she could buy some new books. Lo and behold, the child got a 94% and didn't miss one single question on the geography section. So, as promised, we all went to Books A Million today so she could load up on new books. I have written before, and will say it again, that she is a total bibliophile. Today she spent $45 of her own money on new books. She had no problem laying out the dough either. She bought Eldest, the sequel to Eragon. (Did you know the kid that wrote those books was homeschooled his whole life?) She bought four books in a new series called Warriors. It's about clans of wild cats. She bought the last two books in the Deltora Quest as well. And she's not just an action/adventure reader because she also bought The Diary of Anne Frank and The Hiding Place by Corrie ten Boom. Whew! I'm tired just listing them all. I can't imagine reading them all. Eldest is really thick. That one will take her a week or so to read. Maybe two weeks. And speaking of reading, Grace has me amazed. I gave her this Pathway Reader and was so surprised that she can read the thing! This book would be what a First Grader would read at the end of the school year, not the beginning. She is reading words like could, Grandfather, and surprise all by herself. I am so proud of my girls.

Drumroll Please

And the winner of the first ever Bloggy Giveaway is.....The Campbell Corner! Congratulations!!

Whoa, Nelly!

Can you believe how many people have left a comment for that stamp set? WOW! I will use this random number generator to pick the winner on Friday morning. I will take the number that it gives me and count from the first comment left toward the last. This has been so much fun for me. Camille is even giving away a copy of Little Women. Go sign up for it if you haven't already. She is LOVING all the comments she is getting on her blog.

I haven't posted a photo of Simon for awhile...so, here ya go!

He looks like Olaf in this picture to me. Well, Olaf's baby pictures anyway. He is absolutely adorable and I am so in love with him. We already are wanting another one. I figure I am so fat right now I might as well try to get pregnant again:0)

Camille, Grace, and Josiah are all going to join the homeschool choir this year. That should be a hoot. Practice is every Wednesday, so I will be running around this year a bit. Camille will have Spanish class on Thursday as well. I am such a home body. I really dislike leaving the house for any reason. Especially if it involves other little children that don't belong to me. They carry germs not to mention bad manners.

Camille is plugging along with school. It is a lot more school work than we are used to, but I think it has been very good for her. Grace gets mad if I don't "do" school everyday with her. Sometimes the baby needs so much of my time that I sit in the recliner and direct her school work from there. She can self direct a lot of her work because she reads well. She can read the directions on her workbook pages all by herself. Twelve more days until Caleb goes back to school, but who is counting?

Scrappers, Stampers and Paper Crafters

This freebie giveaway is for you! Thanks to Shannon and her fabulous idea, I am giving away a brand new, unmounted (I will mount it if you want me to), Stampin Up stamp set called Polka Dots and Paisley. It is a set of six stamps. It is perfect for scrapping and card making. I will also include some other "crafting stuff" as a bonus, but I'm not sure what:)


Now, if you would like to win this prize package (I sound like Bob Barker) just leave a comment below. I will be drawing on Friday. International readers are encouraged to join. I will ship worldwide! If you go to Shannon's blog there are links to lots of other blogs that are sharing the love. Go take a look.

You simply must...

Go watch these videos at Cheri's blog. They are so worth your time.

Grace lost another tooth

Now she looks like Olaf:

It's Friday

*an e-mail from a long, lost roommate from the Air Force!!
*Crayola Crayons 24 pack for 9 cents --9 cents people-- at Office Depot. (They are only 20 cents at WalMart right now) I bought 15 packs.
*Crayola Markers (10 pack) at WalMart for 88 cents.
*School supplies in general. Oh, they make my heart sing.
*A baby that wants his Mama to hold him. So, I am off...

Super Fun

Shannon at Rocks In My Dryer had a fabulous idea. On Monday, July 23rd, several bloggers will be posting giveaways on their blogs. Could be anything. Something new, something old, something handmade, something bought. I want to join in too. I mean, who doesn't love giving things away? I am not sure what exactly I will be giving, but it will be fun none-the-less. I have an entire week to think of something fabulous. Now, how do you win whatever it is I decide to give away? You must leave a comment. Yep. You have to come out of lurkdome. I will take all the comments and do a random drawing for the winner on Friday, July 27th. FUN!

It's Friday, so that means...

*Nancy Drew computer games

*Sharpies in lots of colors

*This editorial

*Trusting God when I can't begin to understand...

Wednesday Update

Camille was over at a friend's house on Saturday. They were out playing in the woods. Sunday morning Olaf pulled a tick out of the back of her thigh. This is what it looked like Monday:



See the Bulls Eye rash? Looks like Lyme's disease. It is 5 inches across. We took her to the doctor on Tuesday and he basically said exactly what I thought they would say. "Lyme's disease is rare in Georgia, so let's wait another week to see if the rash spreads and if she develops flu like symptoms." Great. Let the child get sick before we give her antibiotics. Doctors drive me BATTY!

On another note, isn't this baby the cutest baby in the entire world?



He is so flippin' cute that I just sit there and stare at him. Honestly, I couldn't be more in love with a child.

Camille is loving school. The teachers on the DVD's are fantastic. There are two that teach sixth grade. Mr. Howe and Mrs. Pereira. I am enjoying it too:) I am so, so, so happy that we went with the DVD's this year. Camille will also start taking Spanish every Thursday morning with a local homeschool coop.

Grace is bored with first grade so far. She hates review. I have already skipped about the first two weeks because she didn't want to do "baby work." She is so ME! It isn't even funny how much that child takes after me. She's tenacious like I am too.

Josiah is working on letters and numbers. He still holds his pencil with a fist. I really have to work on that with him. He likes to color though and does a great job staying within the lines. He is precious.

Pray for my friend, Karen. She isn't doing well at all.

The weekends fly by

The weekend always goes by so quickly. I wish Olaf would win the lottery or something and could just stay home all the time. Maybe I'll start a fund in the sidebar for donations.

Olaf set the crib up yesterday in our bedroom. I guess I was hoping it would hold some magical powers and Simon would sleep through the night in it. Didn't happen. Not even close. However, since he is the cutest baby in the whole entire world, I will not complain about lack of sleep.

Today we went to Target and bought some small bookshelves for the girl's room. They were on sale for $15 each. Camille owns so many books. She is a total bibliophile. We don't check out books from the library, we go to Barnes and Noble and buy them. We have everything from Elsie Dinsmore to Eragon.

Our homeschool year starts tomorrow. Actually, Camille did Math and Reading this evening to get a head start. She liked watching the DVD's. It was fun for her. We'll see how long that lasts. There is about 2.5 hours of viewing time for all subjects. That doesn't include her seat work, so she will be doing about 4 hours of school a day. Maybe more. Gracie starts 1st grade. I can't believe it. They grow up so fast.

Public school starts August 6th. Caleb got a new backpack last week, so he is asking for the bus now. He has had this same backpack from Lands End for six years. The only reason I bought him a new one is because it is looking pretty dirty. It's not worn out though. I highly recommend this backpack if your child tends to drag, kick, throw, or twist his backpack like Caleb does. I also had them monogram it with his name. He liked that.

We saw Ratatouille on Saturday. It was a good movie, but not worth the theater ticket price. Wait for it on DVD. Thankfully, Simon slept through the entire thing. Josiah kept asking if it was over yet. Caleb did really good which surprised me. At the end of the movie he started clapping and that started the rest of the theater clapping. It was cute.

Long post...I'll sign off now.

Goodbye Suzanne

Last night I went to say goodbye to a friend. She is moving to Tennessee.



We ate yummy chick food and laughed. We gave her a Longaberger Basket filled with goodies. It was fun.


Suzanne, Charity, Krista


Me, Heather, Tammy



Miss Mike


Esther

These are the women that I went to Bible Study with every Thursday night for almost four years. Although the Bible Study is no more, they are all very dear friends. I will miss you Suzanne. Start a blog woman!

Now for Friday Felicities:

*Laughing with good friends on a Thursday night.

*One cup of strong coffee in the morning.

*Having my four year old ask me to go snuggle in bed with him.

*The thought of grandchildren.