Welcome Fall & Everything That Comes With It

I must say that when the new school year begins, it is almost like the gun going off at the start of a race to the finish line. That is what I feel like. I have not made it to the finish line yet, AND have not found a good place in the race to stop and catch my breath....can you relate? I honestly think that the finish line is not even visible to the naked eye until after the beginning of the New Year. That is 24 days out of 90 that I have (less than a month) to do anything extra that I don't have time to get done during the week. Don't get me wrong. I LOVE this time of year...it is my favorite. Month after month there is a holiday to look forward to, decorating to get done (which I love), candy to eat, turkey's to cook, gifts to give, gator football to watch, family, friends, birthday parties, and so much more. These are all the things I LOVE. Then there is the sick child who decided to show up at our house Monday evening. Tuesday morning I took Steven to the Dr. and found that he had a double ear infection, a fever, and on top of that was throwing up mucus. Aaahhhh.....I just love the fall air, the crisp cool weather, and the smell of vomit on my sweater. So as I was sitting in the lobby of the pediatricians office with a sick, limp child on my lap, Steven decided to throw up on me. The lady that was sitting next to us just kinda smiled at me as I was getting up out of the chair with Steven to go to the bathroom with him. Getting up from a sitting position was somewhat difficult as I was trying to keep the vomit from falling off of me and onto the floor, or in this lady's lap for that matter. As stressful as this is, at the same time I almost can't help but laugh BECAUSE of how much is going on at the same time. I think that the urge to hold back from laughing happened once we went into the bathroom and Steven decided to lay on the floor in the vomit that he had just made an attempt to get into the toilet and missed. At that point I just said to myself "Oh..whatever...go ahead". He was now feeling better, and this gave me an opportunity to use the restroom and wash up. If he wanted to lay down on the bathroom floor in the Dr. Office in his own vomit that was fine by me if this was going to allow him to feel better. On the inside I was feeling like this was like the icing on the cake after the evening and morning I had with him and at the same time it was this moment that I knew would be a memorable one. One of those that need to be shared for years and years to come. I just let it happen and rolled with the punches literally with a smile on my face. Luckily I had packed two change of clothes just in case, one of them being PJ's. This is what Steven picked to put on after we were done at the Dr. We then left and went to get a prescription filled for his ear infection. I was thrilled beyond belief that this was one of the rare occasions that we ACTUALLY GOT A PRESCRIPTION WHEN WE LEFT! I know that getting a prescription is not necessarily a good thing, but at the same time I HATE leaving the Dr office when my son is sick and they send me back home with the over the counter stuff that IS NOT WORKING and say "That will be $15.00". Is it worth it, ABSOLUTELY! Is it stressful, ABSOLUTELY! Since becoming a mother I have learned that there are ALWAYS bigger fish to fry...there are always things that are sometimes out of my control, and of course CARPE DIEM!!!!

Steven's Online Birthday/Christmas Wish List

It is official! I have found a very nice website that you are able to view pictures of what Steven would like for his birthday/Christmas as well as reserve items for purchase. The item should at that point be removed from the list, that way everyone knows what has been purchased. "Wishpot" lets you add products from anywhere on the web  You can share items and lists with friends and family and they can reserve items for purchase.

Whenever you share a list with your friends they will be able to view the list even if they are not yet registered for Wishpot. Anyone you share a list with or list URL will be able to view and reserve items from off your list!

I have a number of items on the list, ALL of which can be bought at either Wal-Mart, K-Mart, and Target! Also on the side of my blog is a wish list widget which shows you everything that is on Steven's list. Just click on the widget to take you to Steven's wish list.

Please let me know if you have any difficulties. It might be something on my end that I can fix.

Also, if you click on the title of this blog it will take you to Steven's list.

UF vs. LSU in Skybox....WOW!

Never in all my years of attending Florida football did I ever imagine I would end up in a sky box at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium to watch a game. Just the fact that my family has season tickets was something in itself that I felt lucky and privileged to have. I have always looked up towards those sky box seats and said to myself "I wonder what it feels like"? Or when it was REALLY COLD, REALLY HOT, or POURING RAIN, looking up at the sky box and saying "Man....would I love to be in a sky box right about now". But last night was a night to remember for the rest of my life. We watched the entire game from the second to last sky box on the end and loved every minute of it. We had high top tables, four rows of cushioned chairs, TWO 42in flat screen TV's, a kitchen, our own bathroom, and all you can eat food in the lobby for the entire game. There was a desert buffet, popcorn machine, and a dinner buffet which included a carving table, salad, cheese topped mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, pasta salad, and terriaki chicken strips with dipping sauce. Plus a beverage table with tea, lemonade, and soft drinks. All of this at your disposal whenever you wanted. Plus there were people working there that were always asking if there was anything they could get you, or if you needed anything...opening doors for you...even someone on the elevator just to push the button for you. I guess you could say that this was the high roller version of the concession stand. Even if the gators lost to LSU, this was one of the best experiences of my life! 

Check out my "Gator Pics" on the right to see pictures of inside skybox!

Personal Finance & Budgeting Advice for Women

Mom's Budget Website

This is a wonderful website that I have stumbled upon. This website provides printable checklists for anything and everything that you can think of including Holiday and Christmas printable, meal planning and shopping printable, Freezer Cooking printable, Budgeting Printable, Household and Family Printable, Health Printable,  and Crafts and Hobbies Printable. It also has budgeting tips for the following:

1) Saving money on school supplies

2) Lunchbox snack ideas on a budget

3) Make your own swifter dusters

4) DIY Chocolate Bubble Bath

5) Freezer Cooking Cookbooks

6) DIY Fancy Flip Flops

7) Prioritize Household Bills for Better Budgeting

8) How to Tile Your Own Kitchen Backslash

9) Pumpkin Pie Hand soap recipe

10) Thanksgiving Dinner in a crock pot

11) Make Cookie Cutter gift tags

12) Save Money Buying Christmas Gifts After Christmas

CLICK ON THE TITLE TO THIS BLOG TO TAKE YOU TO THE WEBSITE!

Labor Day Weekend

This past weekend was a very eventful and fun weekend. Steven attended his 1st football game on Saturday  with Steve when UF played Univ of Miami in Ohio. He made it to the 2nd quarter of the game and told Steve he was ready to go home. Steve called me and I came and picked them both up. We then left after the game and went to St. Augustine until Monday. We spent a lot of time at the beach, and as you can see, Steven just had to take it upon himself to meet these two girls. Actually they were flying kites and walking the beach. One of the girls was flying a "Spiderman" kite and that was it. He saw them and asked me "Do those girwls like Spiderman"? I said "I don't know, why don't you go ask them". The next thing I know Steven is jumping off the back of Steve's truck and his is gone at mac speed. When he got back he said "Mom, when I aksed that girwl if she like Spiderman she said "totally". It was the most precious thing. My son had his eye on that "Spiderman" kite even when we were playing in the water. Steve grilled out both nights we were there, and it was just a nice relaxing weekend.