That was fast

Stephanie had her dermatologist appt. today. After last time I arranged for Chris to pick up Logan after he got off work, & both Steph & I took our books. Her appt. time was at 4pm & we went straight there after she got out of school. So we did arrive about 5-10 minutes early. This photo was taken once we checked out & got back to the car. Guess they were making up for last visit which we waited from 4:30 (appt time) til 5:15 to be called into a room. Then about 5:40ish they came into to discuss everything. We left there at almost 6pm.

Paper Chain

Last weekend (after a great Spring Break) Logan especially kept saying he couldn't believe Spring Break was over etc. So I decided it'd be fun & he'd enjoy making a paper chain w/ each link representing a day of school. One link should be torn off after school each school day. I've never heard so many excuses in my life from him. "My arm will get tired", "It'll take all day to staple all those", "My elbow will hurt" it went on & on. Finally I said "Just forget it then". To my surprise Stephanie comes in & starts stapling them. I hung up the completed chain & wouldn't you know...........the first school day (& every after) Logan was the one that is asking if he can rip off the link. Stephanie told me she wants to rip the last one apart.

View

Here's a view we see many times in this family. It's the view turning onto our street. I won't tell you how many days I had my cell phone (what I use mostly for photos these days) ready, only to find a car on the street.

Yummy

Stephanie usually will cut up an apple & put in her salad. She's been telling me it's good so one day at work for lunch I decided to try her recipe. And guess what? It WAS good!!!! I've even got another girl at work doing it too.

Oil Change Time

My car has a light that comes on when it is time for an oil change. Everytime the "Maint Reqd" light comes on it freaks me out. I don't like lights coming on while driving ya know. If you are wondering how I know it's for an oil change, it's because my mileage is wrote down on the little sticker they put on your windshield. It's brillant of them (car makers) to do this though because you take it in to get that light off.

Happy Birthday to Retha

Yesterday was Retha's birthday so we celebrated w/ cake & ice cream. It gave me an excuse to use my Big Top Cupcake Maker I got for Christmas too. It was a busy day to say the least. Had to go buy a gift for a birthday party for Steph's friend. Heating/Air company was scheduled to come do our Spring prepaid maintenance on our system. Dropping Steph off to the party, picking her up then heading over to Retha/Wallaces to enjoy the cake/ice cream. It was a good end to the day to enjoy dessert & visiting w/ family.

My new addiction

Hello, my name is Missi & I'm addicted to steamed broccoli. Chris got some at Chili's & let me have a taste. Oh my gosh I could eat bushels of the stuff I think. I found this little steamer/rice cooker on sale at Target ($13.99) & grabbed it up. I'm so glad I did! Steamed broccoli is the best w/ a little bit of melted butter & minced garlic drizzled over the top.

All Excited

Stephanie passed her driving test this morning. She almost didn't get to drive. After not passing last week for not checking her blind spot one time they wrote that she couldn't test again til the 28th. He told me to bring her back in a week. I hadn't even looked at the permit & didn't see the 28th date. After he tells her she had to come back he comes back in & asks her if she was on Spring Break all week & then says he'll let her drive. And she passed! Way to go Steph!!!!

Love Your Earth + Furniture "shopping"

I wouldn't consider myself an "activist" by no means, but I do think recycling is a good thing & I do my part even if sometimes it is a bit more work. Today the kids & I were making a trip to drop off some of the recycles we collect that the trash company doesn't accept. After that we headed to Best Buy for Steph to get a backpack she's been saving up for. Then off to Hanks Fine Furniture & More so Logan could look around. He's been asking repeatedly to go there since they've opened. He just wanted to see what the inside looks like. As we were walking thru the store he tells me "This is the best day ever". LOL. He sure had fun & that's what Spring Break is all about.

Spring Break

Not much planned this Spring Break. Monday I had a dental cleaning to make up for a cancellation from the snow storms. A trip to the library & the kids doing yardwork finished off the day.

Tuesday Retha, the kids & I went to Alma to the A-Z complex store. Wow that place has sure grown since the last time I've been there. We went into every store except the grocery one. We found a few good buys & the best part is we didn't even "break the bank".
Here Logan is in the A-Z Sporting Goods store by the koi pond. I think they were koi anyways??
After we finished up w/ lunch in Alma we of course had to head into Ft. Smith for a trip to Michaels since we were so close. Wonder why they've not put a Michaels in NWA yet?

Bread

A lady at work mentioned an easy bread her daughter made. I asked her for the recipe & she brought it. I actually tried to make this. I was in a hurry because I was needing to pick Steph up from school (she stayed late) & I was getting stressed. Chris ended up picking her up for me & I finished the bread. The dough was pretty tough I thought but it turned out pretty good (for my first attempt).

Birthday Invite

Steph was invited to a birthday party tonight at Fast Lane. Chris, Logan & I dropped her off & went to eat. The mom of birthday girl said it'd be an hour & half to 2 hours long, but I had a feeling it'd be longer than that after having Logan a party there once. She was dropped off at 5pm & at 7:30pm we started calling/texting her to find out how much longer. It's so loud in there it took a bit for her to text back. Finally just after 8pm she told us she'd be done anytime. After three days of picking kids up late from activites I feel like I've not been home any.

My Favorite #

I asked Steph to drive back from my sisters house in Bella Vista the other night & it was getting fairly dark out & started drizzling rain on the way home. Half way to our exit on the interstate she says "My new favorite # is 78". For the life of me I couldn't figure out why she'd choose 78 of all possible #'s to choose as a favorite. She tells me that 78 is our exit # after I asked why. LOL Side note~photo taken coming from Springdale the following weekend.

Friday Fun Night

Kirksey holds a Friday Fun Night twice a year & it's basically a couple hours that kids can go hang out, play games, & have fun at school in a safe place. 6th grade attended from 5:30-7:30. Steph enjoyed these while at Tucker Middle School & Kirksey Middle School. Logan decided not to attend the first one they had, but was excited about going to this one. He had fun, of course.

Taxes

We've been using this tax place for a long long time, my parents have used them my whole life & my dad before my parents were married. They called today to say they were finished & we could come sign. I normally don't get in any hurry to have them done because I use the refund for our summer vacation & to pay the property/real estate tax bills in Oct. This year though I got it together & decided to just take it down to them, they were sure surprised to see me so early (not the weekend before deadlines like last year).

Multicultural Festival

Steph helped out with a festival that was held at Tucker Schools tonight from 5:30-7:30. She earned extra points for her Spanish class.

Deena's card

My sister is going out of town for her birthday so I made her card early with My Digital Studio. I copied a card I saw in the Stampin' Up SAB mini that I really liked. The kids & I went over to see her one evening.

So Many Loads

I usually do laundry on Sundays & seems like that is what I do ALL day long. So I decided I'd do at least one load a day & see if that helped out on Sunday's laundry marathon. Some days this week I did more than 1 so it really did help out on Sunday. Don't you like my mis-matched washer/dryer? We've had this washer since we've moved into the house. (18 years) The dryer has been replaced once & thus the mismatch. However it's time for an update (dryer issues) & I'm trying to decide if I want to replace both or just the dryer.

Birthday Dinner

Every year on the kids birthdays we let them choose where we eat dinner out that evening. About a month before Steph's birthday one afternoon as we drove down Walnut St. she says "I can't wait for March 7th". I asked her why (yes I know it's her birthday, but curious as to why). She responds that she is choosing Maria's for her dinner that night, lol.

Party Time!

You get a 3 for 1 deal today since we celebrated Steph's 16th birthday & I couldn't decide on just one photo. I will have more photos on the other blog if you want to check those out too.
First we have the table w/ the cake, napkins all set up. I stamped the "S" on each napkin.
Next is the Sweet 16 sign I made out of paper mache letters (wood #'s). Everyone signed it for a keepsake from her party.
Last but not least the place we got the cake in Fayetteville. First time we've ordered from them & it was an awesome cake.

Soaring Gas Prices

Gas prices have really jumped in the last week or so due to some overseas conflicts. Here was the outcome at the pump for me today when I had to refuel. We weren't all the way to "E", meaning the light wasn't on, but it was very close!

Cabbage

The 3rd graders at the school got a cabbage plant to grow. They had a few extras & the office ladies gave me a couple. I shared one w/ a co-worker that does a garden each year. She perked them right up w/ her green thumb. I will do another post once it is ready to pick.

I can hear better now

Got my new hearing aids this afternoon. Wow! I was missing a lot of stuff. Once we got into the car to leave I had to turn the radio volume WAY down. (24 to 12). Steph turns it up to 16 & that was still to loud for me.