Blog Break

I am leaving in the morning to go to my mom's house for a week. :) I will not be able to take my devoted computer as it has reached its final resting place (the graveyard). Unfortunately, Murphy's Law struck and Tim's computer is now in the ICU. I am on one of Tim's work computers now, so it looks like I will be fighting the crowds on Black Friday for a laptop.

I will not be checking my email or blogging for a week, so I want to wish all of you a very Happy Thanksgiving! Be sure to eat LOTS of turkey, dressing, and the fixins'. Yummy!

When I return, I can't wait to show you all the new pics of Caroline's NEW outfits. Super cute!!

Have a great Thanksgiving and I'll chat with you in a week. :)

Awesome Giveaway!

You MUST head over to my friend Lou's blog to enter her first giveaway!! You WON'T be sorry! Don't you LOVE the monogram vinyl decal? It can be yours on Friday. If you don't win, you still need to buy one of these awesome decals for your house (especially if you live in the South!!). I am definitely going to be purchasing one for Caroline's new big girl room. (sniff...sniff...)

Laptop temporarily out of service...

My laptop finally bit the dust (for a bit). I have to replace the internal battery, which means LOTS of tedious work, so it will be a little time before I can post new pictures. I am hoping to have a new battery before we leave for my mom's house on Sunday. Caroline and I will be spending the week there, so that means NO internet!!! Yikes!! Oh, well. It might be nice to have a break away from this wonderful distraction. I might be able to sneak away to McDonald's for free WiFi. ;)

We have had some EXCITING things happen around here, so I can't wait to post updates with pictures. I have been floating on Cloud 9 for a few days!! You'll just have to stay tuned to find out why....

The Monsoon Hit...

As you know, we live in Atlanta and lately we have BEEN HIT WITH RAIN!! Here are some pictures that I took on Tuesday after Hurricane Ida came to town.

The lake outside is now in our backyard....
Our neighbor's swing is immersed....

These are the islands in the middle of the lake. You can't even see the 'ground'.

It's now Friday and the water level is still above normal, but not flood zone. The water in the first picture is mostly gone, but wowzer...we have TONS of trash in the backyard. YUCK!

We have been super busy around here again. Stay tuned for pictures of my tennis team at the City Finals and some adorable pics of Caroline. (She looked so adorable going to school this morning!!).

Finally...A Publix Shop

Life has been really hectic around our house over the past several weeks and I have let my couponing/grocery shopping fall behind. But, thanks to great stockpiling, we haven't noticed the lack of groceries. I didn't have one of those 'blow you away' kind of shops today, but I felt good about my total and the items that I bought.

Transaction Details:

2- Snuggle Fabric Softeners $1.93 ea- (2- $3.00 MQ- RAINCHECK)= Free++++

6- Bandaids $.79 ea- (3- $3.00/2 MQ)= Free++++

1- Betty Crocker Potato Box $.79 ea- (1- $.40 MQ doubled)= Free

1- Publix Quick Oats- Penny Item= $.01

1- Dozen Egg $1.39- (1- FREE Kroger egg Q)= Free

1- Special K cereal $2.00 ea- (1- $1.00 MQ and 1- $1.00 TQ)= Free

8- Nestle Morsels $1.25 ea- (8- $1.00 MQ)= $.25 each

4- Nestle Cookie Dough $1.45 ea- (4- $1.00 MQ)= $.45 each

2- Campbell's Select Soup $1.20 ea- (2- $1.00 MQ)= $.20 each

4- Nestle Graham Crackers $1.99 ea- (2- $1.00/2 MQ and 2- $1.00 TQ)= $.99 each

2- Half and Half $1.69 ea

1- Milk $2.59

1- Glad Trashbag $8.99

Bananas- $.97

1- Double issue newspaper- $2.34

Used: $5/$25 competitor Q and $5.00 Walgreen's Register Rewards

Total: $90.85

Total OOP: $12.00

Hoe Down Day

Caroline had Hoe Down Day at school today. We have been anticipating this event for quite some time since it's been postponed for several weeks. I designed Caroline's outfit and my mom made it for me. It was all inspired by the RED BOOTS! It was a bit cold this morning, so I had to add tights and throw on her red vest. Luckily, it all seemed to work. :)

They had the Kentucky Derby, egg/spoon races, digging for farm animals in hay, farm bean bag toss and of course a hayride. Caroline had a great time....until....I showed up! She became very whiny and REFUSED to take a group picture. Picture this...SCREAMING, CRYING, SNOT, TEARS....YIKES!! I walked her inside with her class and hightailed it out of there until 12:00!! She definitely had an off day. :( I took her to Sonic for lunch and then she went to bed.

Halloween Pics

Our our way out the door (in the rain!!)

Checking out her cool bag from Uncle Stan

Dancing with the Big Kids

Like I said earlier, we didn't have a big Halloween this year. Our plans were affected by the rain and my unexpected tennis match (yes, in the rain). I'm also anti-candy for Caroline (everything in moderation) and Halloween is NOT in moderation. :) Caroline was Little Bo Peep. My mom made her the costume for Nursery Rhyme Day at school and I decided to reuse it for Halloween. However, this time, my mom informed me that I put on the coat backwards the first time. LOL! So, we are sporting a 'new' look!

Orange and Black Day at School

Checking out her Goody Basket from School
Cool! Bandaids!!

More Bandaids!!!!

Cheese!!!!!!

My Sweet Caroline

Friday, October 30th, Caroline had Orange and Black Day at school. My mom made her this adorable outfit and I made her some matching bows. So cute! Caroline LOVED her goody basket that her teacher made for her. The kids helped glue orange crepe paper on an oatmeal can and then her teacher added the fur and the pipe cleaner handle. Adorable!

A New Favorite Blog

Upon researching activities for Caroline to do at home, I stumbled on an adorable blog full of fun ideas! It is called No Time For Flashcards! We made the Shape Scarecrow this weekend and I can't wait to use her ideas in the near future. Her instructions are very easy to understand and the pictures make an added bonus! I hope you enjoy her site as much as I have. Warning: Be prepared to spend lots of time because it's that GREAT!

Checking in...

We are still here and doing well. It's been a CRAZY week and I am just now starting to catch my breath! My mom has been here visiting and left yesterday. My stepdad came in on Saturday and will be leaving tomorrow. It's been great seeing my family. I haven't seen them since this summer. :( Caroline loved hanging with Nana and Pepaw! I loved it too (LOTS of things got done around the house!!!).

My women's tennis team made it to the Playoffs, so we had to play on Saturday (Halloween). If you live around here, you will know that it was RAINING!!!! How in the world did we end up playing you might ask???? We used leaf blowers, brooms, squeegees, and beach towels to dry the courts. CRAZY!!!! But the other team insisted on playing. Since it's the playoffs, you only have to win 3 out of 5 lines (points). My partner and I ended up finishing in the POURING RAIN to clench our third point!!! Yay!!! Yesterday, we drove 80 minutes to play the overall number 1 team and WON!!!! So, next Sunday, we play in the Final Four!!! We are so close to winning the silver plate....fingers crossed and say some prayers! :)

After finishing on the courts at 6:00, I rushed home in the rain to pick up Caroline and get her dressed. We raced to my sister's house, went to one house to trick or treat, and called it a night. I'm NOT a fan of candy, so one house was more than enough! Uncle Stan made all the kids treat bags with toys in it, so she was super excited! We then came home and crashed in the bed!

I'll post pictures of Caroline dressed up either later today or tomorrow. For now, I'm tired and my fingers hurt from tennis. I just wanted to give you some updates and to let you know we are ALIVE!!! :)