ten smile tuesday...

sorry if the lay-out on the post is strange or anything...we just got our new computer set up, and i'm not quite used to all the spacing, etc...

1. tucking the girls in bed last night...seriously...it was a big, full day...cleaning out closets, grocery shopping, laundry folding, playing outside...i was wiped out by their bedtime! i really love my girls, but some nights that silence and downtime is more welcome than others!

2. the MUCH cleaner closet...i admit it, i am a terrible pack-rat...whats worse, i think both my husband and i struggle with holding onto things...but it feels wonderful to have gotten rid of so much excess. hopefully i can find the perfect person or ministry to bless with all the clothing i am getting rid of!

3. this delightfully scrumptious looking pie i made this morning. a treat for our MOPS steering appetizer and dessert night tonight (because, really, in the grand scheme of things, who needs the entree!). its a white chocolate key lime pie...recipe compliments of denise at "the centsible sawyer"--that big pink button on my sidebar! (no fear...i already asked her for permission to post the recipe on good stuff maynard (sidenote: i just posted two yummy recipes there moments ago!)

4. a delightful belated birthday gathering friday night. my dearest friend jill was kind enough to plan the little gathering...everyone came to our house (which is so much easier with the girls!)...and they even brought all of the food! it was a great time! here i am with three of the four gals i so often mention hanging out with (my previous wed. night Bible study group...sweet jamie couldn't make it, so she is absent from the photo)

jill, me, lora, and janie

*the pic on the right is nathan (the engineer) and elizabeth...i LOVE that nathan stayed and built the tower even after elizabeth lost interest! he is going to be a great daddy here in a month or so when jill finally "pops"! :) and i love showing you proof that we are putting our free lego table to use...remember, the one i stealthily snagged from the neighbor's trash one night!

5. these splendidly cute pants that arrived in the mail last week from my sister....aren't they the cutest. they are handmade...and she won them at a silent-auction at the "jamboree" to benefit her cousin-in-law's 6 month old baby boy who has some medical problems

6. a low-key...but no less enjoyable...mother's day (i actually prefer the low-key kind quite often!). church, a costco run, doing my cvs-ing without "company" (its just easier that way!), relaxing, and then a trip to target to get some new shirts and pants for our florida trip, and ice cream at cold stone...a great day simply because it was spent with the very special two girls who made me a mommy (and, of course, their daddy!).

7. the aforementioned trip to cvs...i had over 50 ECBs (from the may monthly deals), so i had plenty to take advantage of all the great deals this week...and then some (i definitely smile about "free" diapers and diet coke)! i did pretty well at walgreens too...free diapers and really cheap make-up, thanks to my register rewards from last week's deals there!

CVS

WALGREENS! (there's your dish soap mom!--have i mentioned how much i love finding deals and using my "money saving powers" to benefit others!)

8. decorating and decluttering progress in the downstairs...look, we finally have something on the walls in the living room (and it only took us 2 1/2 years!--he he!). this is just a shot of the one wall (and our new "play corner" in the front room--mom, thought you might like seeing how we rearranged this).

9. reading with my girls...while i do love reading with the girls, i also LOVE this picture....kate sitting in the big girl chair. elizabeth thought having kate sit in the chair was extremely exciting!

10. a great 9 month check up for kate this morning. would you believe that though the girls are separated in age by 22 months, they are separated in weight by a mere 6 or 7 pounds! yep...kate topped the scale at 20 lbs and 8 oz. this morning (75% percentile) (no wonder my arms hurt from carrying her!). she is also extremely tall....29 inches long (95% percentile!--as my dad said on the phone this morning, "can we say basketball player!?"). and just to round things out she has a big ol' noggin as well...her head measured in the 80% percentile. these numbers crack me up even more when i look back at what elizabeth weighed...at 9 months elizabth was 17 lbs. and 9 oz. in fact, at a year, she was only 19 lbs. 10 oz (and 28 inches long)....it wasn't until she was 15 months old that she surpassed the 21 lb. mark. isn't it amazing to see how different our children can be...God is amazing! well, and i definitely see how elizabeth takes after her daddy....and kate, well, she takes after her mommy...i never was a skinny little string bean!

*these were taken a couple weeks ago at the park...lauren and elizabeth are her buddies--lauren is a week older and elizabeth is a month younger

11. oops...how could i forget the beginning of garage sale season! silly me! i picked up an unbelievable load of almost brand new clothes (most of them name brands) for just $6....7 or 8 sets of pjs, two pairs, jeans, several shirts, shorts...and on and on! all this for six bucks!