This is being given away HERE!  Also check out the Etsy store HERE!

If you know Joey and I well, you know that Camp Lu-Jo holds a VERY special place in our hearts. (click here and here for stories and pics)
This week marks the FIRST time that Joey or I have been to camp without the other one since our story began about 15 years ago! It feels VERY unnatural for him to be there without me! However, life means that “You can’t always get what you want” – a line from one of my favorite Rolling Stones songs! Since this year has been crazy in my line of work (mortgages) and it’s only getting busier…there was NO way for me to be able to make it happen this year.
So… Yesterday Joey left for camp. Jax was pretty bummed, because he loved it last year. We plan on spending an entire day out there this week so at least we’ll get a little fix!

Okay, thanks for getting through the obligatory family stuff… here’s what you really want:: The Dumpster Dive story!

My mom got here yesterday from Ft. Worth to help w/ Jax for the week since I will be working. Tonight as we were on our way home we spotted a GREAT “trash” pile. Tomorrow is “Big Trash Monday” in our neighborhood! I didn’t get a pic of the pile, but here are a few items I pulled out of it. This was my FIRST time “dumpster diving“. I’m sure my husband would approve! ha! For the record, I got all of this loaded by myself and it took two trips!

You can find your very own Whirley Pop HERE for $25.19 plus shipping and handeling. I’m proud to say that I paid a WHOLE $3.00 for mine!! I’ve been wanting one forever… timing is everything!

Sta
y tuned for After photos… I might actually get through a project this week… ok, don’t hold your breath!
Happy Monday – Suzanne

I remember the first day I dropped Jaxon off at his home for childcare for almost 4 years. After he was born, I was able to stay home for almost two months. When it was time to return to work, we had a dear family friend who kept him for the summer. When he was about 5 months old, he began to go to a wonderful caretaker full time. She is someone that goes to our church and I have known for a long time. She is so loving and wonderful with the kids, plus she has a christian based curriculum and a structured schedule that was desirable to us. Since I couldn’t be there everyday, she was the next best thing! Wonderful!

Since Jax turned 4 in April, this past Thursday was Jaxon’s last day with her. One more milestone crossed off the list.

In honor of all the great memories… I thought I’d do a tribute to the loaner clothes Jax has come home in over the past few years! I was never all that great at packing extra clothes. And, let’s face it toddler boys are messy and have accidents! So, it was always fun to pick him up and get a report of the day. I knew it had been fun if he was dressed in loaner clothes when I got there!

I absolutely love all these pictures… some of my favorites: the epitome of a little boy… crazy outfits::

HERE IS A POST I wrote a long time ago about loaner clothes. Here are some pics from that post::

Here’s to four fabulous years of childcare…we made it! And Jaxon would not be who he is today without the love and care he was provided.. Oh and the clothes!

I love you little man and I’m so proud of you… welcome to pre-k!

I am exhausted. The wedding was perfect. We had a scare with my dad on the airplane yesterday, but he is fine now. I’m exhausted… oh wait, did I mention that already! ha!

Here are a few pics to tease you with… please come back for more and for a few stories! Oh, and don’t forget to comment. ha!

Matron of Honor and Best Man w/ Stacey and Marc

The Wedding Party

Isn’t she GORGEOUS!!

I can’t wait to meet my new beautiful baby neice either!

This morning I will get on an airplane and head to California!  You may remember THIS POST from three years ago this past March.  My sister made the big move to LA! 
Fast Forward three years, two months and two days to today.  Stacey is going to become Mrs. Blackwell on Saturday!!!  My little sister is getting married.  I can’t believe it and I can belive it at the same time!  For so many years she has just played the role as a sister and a friend to me.  Pretty soon she will be a wife and a mommy just like me and it will take us to a whole new level of understanding for each other! Stacey and I have had a typical sister relationship.  I’ve been thinking lately about all the crazy stupid fights we’ve had…. some physical, some vocal.  I’ve been thinking about the silly and dramatic times like when she ended up with a fork in her leg at the dinner table.  Or the time that I ended up with a bucket on my head (a story for a whole different post).  I also remember all the clothes sharing.  There were times that we would sit down on a Sunday afternoon and make a schedule of who was going to wear what during the week that way we wouldn’t fight!  Then there were times when we would just take whatever whenever.  Sunday afternoons we got bored a lot.  Several times we decided to completely re-arrange our bedrooms and even switch rooms once or twice.  Mom and dad would wake up to see the house re-invented! 
Oh I could go on and on…. 25.5 years of memories!  For now I’ll leave you with their engagement pictures.  They are gorgeous!  When I return I promise lots of pictures and stories!!

CLICK HERE TO SEE PICTURES

Last week I found some old Polaroid film and decided to introduce Jaxon to the joys of Polaroid. There’s nothing quite like snapping a picture and then shaking it and waiting for the image appear. SO fun!!

Click on the picture below to see a sampling of our Polaroid fun!

I’m so sad that they will not be making the film anymore! Oh well, it was fun while it lasted…and I’ll never get that song out of my head!!

Now, this is not something that I do EVERY week.. but when I do I really enjoy it. This past Saturday, Tracy and I headed out on the town. We hit a few small sales and then headed to a large neighborhood sale.. it was great! One key thing for me is to have a set budget BEFORE and to only have just enough cash!
Here are a few finds::

these glass hurricanes totaled 2.50…  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

Stay posted for some makeover projects!  I hope you all had a great weekend!  

Please leave me a comment with your favorite THRIFTY find!

Even though I haven’t ACTUALLY posted in a LONG time.. I still care about my blog! ha!

I was bored tonight and decided to change things up once again. I’ve also wanted to move back to a 3 column and many of you have let me know that you miss my links on my main page… So, I needed a change and maybe it will motivate me to actually post again! I’m not feeling very creative or up to making my own banner like I usually do, and I’d seen this image before. Tonight I came across it and decided to use it. You should check out Lena at simply fabulous blogger templates!

I wasn’t willing to give up all the hard work I put in a few months ago with my horizontal links, etc. So, it’s taken me ALL night to put her design with mine and make it work! I love it! It’s nice and springy! Maybe, just maybe I’ll actually get to write some REAL posts this weekend!!

I’ve missed you blogger world… I’m coming back!

I hope you all had a happy Easter! We had a great day!
I’m not sure why my family cannot seem to take a normal photo! These were taken when we got home from church. Jax was enjoying a peep – hence the blue lips!

 

  

 

Yesterday ended up being a great day!!! I flew to Houston to spend a few days with my dear friend, Megan. The day started out a little crazy!!! I left my house to run and drop Jax off at Mrs. Ruthann’s and when I got home I COULD NOT get back into my house!!! It was about 8:45 and Tracy (she was so sweet and brought me chicken mini’s from chick fil a) was picking me up to head to the airport at 9:00!! I still had clothes in the dryer, no makeup and was not in the outfit I wanted to be in! For some reason our lock was STUCK and was NOT budging. So, I called Joey and he thankfully came to my rescue! After about 30 minutes of trying many things, we were in! I’ve never packed a suitcase as fast as I did yesterday!!
Luckily the OKC airport was not packed and I made it in plenty of time! The flight was smooth (always a concern for me) and was on time. I had interesting seat mates (a story for another day) and soon enough I got to see this pretty face::

Connor (he had a fever yesterday morning) did not want to partake in the picture taking and Logan was still at school! Next stop… FOOD!! I was hungry and they hadn’t eaten lunch yet. When I’m in a different city I like to eat at restaurants that we do not have at home, so Meg had several suggestions. We chose MOOYAH::

Here’s what we came up with:: a Mexican Fiesta………..

It was SO good!!! We had chicken fajitas, black bean salsa and homemade guacamole!! YUM!!!

Ok.. so it was a great day… It’s time for me to go get ready for our trip to IKEA today… Yay!!!

Have a wonderful weekend!