Fresh & White or Contemporary?

Hank and I have been looking at remodeling the upstairs hall bath. First of all, the sink is not very functional. That bathroom is going to eventually service all three of our children and it only has one sink. The counter space is massive, so we consulted our plumber (aka Dad!), and he said the space is more than big enough to install a double vanity top! So now that we have decided on the number of bathroom vanities, we need to decide on the style. I think that we need to go with something white and fresh looking. There are no windows in that bath, so anything that will lighten it up is a bonus to me. We plan to resand and repaint the cabinets and update hardware on that as well. And we have already purchased the tile that we are going to use. It is a white tile. That paint on the wall is currently a tan color, but as we all know, that is easily changed!

My Wish List

I have a wish list a mile long these days. Everything from new videos, jewelry, an eliptical machine, a new stainless steel fridge, and so much more. But because I like bargains, I won't pay an average price on the things I want... I want the best price!! That's why buy.com rocks!! They have some killer deals everyday on things that we could use in our house right now... like a wireless router for $12.99. I would love to finish updating my kitchen with a stainless fridge... maybe even one with a television in the door if the price is right! That's why buy.com rocks! With buy.com, the price usually is right! Price comparison is huge for me, and buy.com also has a price comparison engine that comes in handy. They have digital thermostats, books, video games, baby strollers, and all kinds of toys. I've added buy.com to my list of favorites, and you should too!

The Sickies

Starting in December, we leave humidifiers running overnight in the boys room as well as Sophie's room. We'e done this since, as an infant, Tres got his first cold. Not only do we feel like it helps them breath easier, it has also got them slightly addicted to the lulling and slightly hypnotic whirring sound it emits.

Right now, Sophie has a Hello Kitty humidifier and the boys have a blue one we got at Wal-Mart. But I really want to upgrade both of those for something a little higher quality. With as much as we run them, I want to make sure that we have the best in place for our children.

And with cold and flu season so severe this year, I've really wanted to look into air purifiers. We've all been sick this week, and I feel like there is still a feeling of 'sick' in the house, no matter how much I disinfect!

Maybe I'm becoming slightly OCD, but I've also been a little germaphobic about the bathrooms since I saw a special on 60 Minutes about what areas have the most germs. Toothbrushes get so nasty!! I really want this toothbrush sanitizer to help curb that area as least!

The Game of Life

Since adding Sophie to our family six months ago, we have had to take a look at the amount of life insurance that we have on ourselves. We have small policies on each child... it just seemed like the responsible thing to do. And we have a decent amount on each of us, but we need to raise the amount on Hank. As the primary income for our family, we would be in trouble if we ever, Heaven forbid, found ourselves without him. I hate writing that thought out. I hate expressing these kinds of things, but feel like they should be said. I always get slightly depressed when I deal with this, for obvious reasons! I'm just thankful that we don't need high risk life insurance like my Dad does. He has high blood pressure and sleep apnea and is therefore considered higher risk to insure. I need to send him to the site above to check into their prices on insuring him. As a business owner, I'm sure he is always concerned with making sure Mom and Jennie are cared for.

Kitchen Overhaul!

Hankie has been hard at work on our never-ending home improvement project otherwise known as our new house! We started out by painting three of the rooms in our new house that were once painted in what the previous owner described as 'designer colors.' We had to disagree and happily slopped on some primer and paint! Then we moved our washer and dryer down to the basement, and converted that space upstairs into a huge pantry. We've updated light fixtures, fixed outside flood lights, and replaced light switch covers. But the biggest change can be seen in our kitchen! We changed out the stove and dishwasher to stainless appliances and have plans to purchase a stainless fridge soon. We received a new kitchen sink and faucet for Christmas from my parents. And Hank has spent a lot of time sanding and painting the kitchen cabinets to give it a brighter look. He did a wonderful job!! Then we updated the hardware and hinges. Just look at the difference!The hardware is similar to this Baldwin handle I found. Now we just need to add some new flooring and finish painting the trim and it will be a brand new kitchen!

Birthdays and Diamonds

I just had a major milestone birthday. I turned 30 about a week ago... with really very little fanfare. I spent the day being loved and reminded of how very blessed I am. One of my favorite memories of the day would have to be when my little boys gave me my gift. A ring. Now to some it might be a simple, silver ring. But to me, it will always be a reminder of the look of love and adoration in a little boy's blue or brown eyes. They chose it for me. Just for me, and I love it. And, this photo is another birthday present from my wonderful husband, who knows that I would want to capture the moment forever and took the time and effort to have the digital camera ready. Tres told me that he 'just knew' that I 'had to have' diamonds for my birthday. I'm training him up right, ladies! I just wish there was some piece of men's jewelry that might hold this kind of sentimental value for Hankie. I would be making a purchase for his birthday this summer.

Branson, Take Me Away!

A group of ladies from my church planned a trip to Branson Missouri a couple of years ago. I was a single college student at the time, and a bit broke, but that didn't stop me from wishing I could go! The trip they took was focused on pampering, shopping, and relaxation.
Now that I'm married with kids... well, I just never thought about Branson being a vacation destination. But with attractions like miniture golf, go-karts, Silver Dollar City Theme Park, Ride the Ducks, and even cave exploration I know that my boys would be in hog heaven! The prices are very nice too! If Hank and I wanted to plan a trip for just the two of us, we could go for $423 on the Platinum package. That would include 3 days and 2 nights in the Welk Resort Hotel, 2 tickets to the Grand Country Jubilee, a $30 gift card to Olive Garden or Red Lobster, a $50 Tanger Outlet Gift Certificate, and a coupon book with over $1500 in savings! The other packages are just as good!

GOLD PACKAGE $451 Total Cost Per Couple
3 Days/2 Night Clarion
2 adult tickets to:
Pierce Arrow
Mickey Gilley

SILVER PACKAGE $465 Total Cost Per Couple
4 Days/3 Nights Grand Oaks
2 adult tickets to:
Silver Dollar City
Baldknobbers
Legends in Concert

BRONZE PACKAGE $551 Total Cost Per Couple
5 Days/4 Nights Branson Settle Inn
2 adult tickets to:
Magnificent Seven
Dixie Stampede
Shoji Tabuchi

FAMILY PACKAGE $925
4 Days/3 Nights Presidential Condo
2 adult & 2 kids tickets (ages 4 - 11 yrs) to:
Darren Romeo
Ride the Ducks
Hamner Barber Variety Show

GREAT AMERICAN PACKAGE $454 Total Cost Per Couple
4 Days/3 Nights Welk Resort Hotel
2 adult tickets to:
Magnificent Seven with Dinner
Legends in Concert
Veteran's Museum

TITANIUM PACKAGE $683 Total Cost Per Couple
4 Days/3 Nights Clarion
2 adult tickets to:
Legends in Concert
Hughes Brothers
Incredible Acrobats of China
Shoji Tabuchi
Red Lobster/Olive Garden Gift Card

I also came across one of the events that will take place in Branson that sparked my interest. At the end of March, they are holding the 15th Billboard World Song Contest Awards Presentation Show & Performance in the Mansion America Theatre. That makes me want to look into the contest and see what kind of music they showcase!

The other thing I really like is that if one of the packages above doesn't work for me and my family for one reason or another, we could design a custom package to suit our needs.

Look out Branson! Here we come!

X No Service X

My family makes anywhere from five to seven trips to Valdosta, Georgia a year. The majority of my husband's immediate family lives there and that makes it a gathering place for the rest of us. We've been making this five to six hour trip for three years now, and have finally managed to find a quicker way to get there. We travel on rural roads and cut-throughs, sometimes traveling a full hour without seeing another car! And although it cuts off about an hour of our travel time, I sometimes wonder if it's worth it. One of the major drawbacks to these rural thoroughfares is the lack of cell phone service. We ride for up to two hours with no service, and when we finally get it back... it's always a challenge to make and maintain phone calls! My family and my husband's family constantly try to call us to make sure everything is all right. I'm sure they have nightmares about us having a wreck and being unable to contact help.

These worries prompted me to look into a universal cell phone booster. This particular one is manufactured by Powerful Signal... just the name alone gave me hope! I mean, imagine traveling on roads where this is one of the only places to stop: Honestly... "Draft Beer To Go?" Who wouldn't want to get a universal cell phone booster just to be sure you didn't have to deal with whoever thought it was a wise business move to sell beer to go? We stopped just to take this picture after Christmas. My husband wants to send it in to Jay Leno! Not only would it be great if we could get service on our trip, but Powerful Signal also claims to extend the life of your cell phone battery! Wouldn't that be great? Especially for this mom of three who constantly forgets to plug in her phone!

If all goes well, I could be letting you know just how great our new universal cell phone booster works on our next trip to Valdosta in a month or so!

Curtains, please

Okay, all of the furniture in our house is in place... the boxes are unpacked or hidden (smile!)... and everything appears orderly. Now it's time to address those naked windows. Hank and I have actually made a few trips to area home good stores to look for the right curtains for the Formal Living Room. This has become our favorite room in the house, and we want to find just the right dressing for them. It's an eclectic room with a fun mix of vintage and new. So I thought I would browse online through some fabrics. I found some Robert Allen fabrics that just might work!
What do you think? My only concern would be that they are little too heavy of a fabric for the windows cause we like the natural light in that room. But if it is, then we are planning on finding one more vintage style chair to go in that room, and we could use it to cover the seat and/or arms!

Party Mode

Tres and Bryant have been busily planning Bryant's fourth birthday for months now. He had a choice this year between having a party or going to Disney for a long weekend, since we have annual passes. But, in the end, the party won out! Somthing about cake, presents, and a pinata that swayed him, I think! Wink!! I wanted to find some super cute stuff for his party this year. He has determined that he wants a Super Hero party. He wants all of his little friends to dress up, and he wants to be Superman. This was the best part to me... the other day in the van, after a lond discussion, Bryant announced that he wanted to have his party at the park down the road from our house. Why, you may ask. Because it's called 'Heroes Park!' Isn't that just clever of them? Anyway, I found a good site for goody bags and party favors, but wasn't thrilled with their invitations... they were a little too generic for me. But I found this killer site that specializes in all kind of invitations...birthday invitations, baby shower invitations, thank you notes, party invitations... you name it, they got it! Here is one I found for Bryant's party: While I was on their site, I also found the PERFECT invitation for my sister-in-laws baby shower!!These are the exact colors she's using in her nursery for little baby Brody! Then while I was at it, I checked out their first birthday section... and I can't choose between the following! The prices are not that bad! A set of 10 for $12.00 in most cases... and they are personalized for your party! I love this site!

Hmmmm.... I wonder what's wrong with this picture!

"Memories... in the corner of my mind...

misty, watercolor memories of the way we were!"

I'm sitting here at my dad's office today filling in for my Mom. I've been thinking back on what it was like when I worked for him. I used to bring Tres to work with me. From the time he was 6 weeks old on, he was a 'shop baby.'

I brought Sophie with me this morning and she was fine... except that she kept 'talking' when I was on the phone. It was very distracting! And she only napped for maybe 20 minuntes... so I took the little stinker home at lunch and put her to bed there where Crystal was watching Bryant for me.

Tres had his field trip to the Children's Theatre to see 'Jack and the Beanstalk' today. He requested that Hank go with him, so Hankie switched shifts with someone, and was able to go. I think it was a fun time for both of them.

When I went home at lunch time, Bryant was too busy playing with Crystal to even acknowledge dear old mom! :) That's a good thing. And a good reminder to me that I don't have to be everyone's all in all.

Well, folks... the time is fast approaching when I will no longer be in my twenties! One week from today, I turn 30. How is that possible, when I don't feel 30? I keep telling people that it's just a number, and that is honestly how I feel! But seriously... how is it possible?

I have my first volleyball tournament this weekend, and I think my little team is going to do so good! I have some really sweet girls on my team. And I have been able to take Tres and Bryant individually to be my assistant coach to different practices. But say a prayer for Hankie... this will be a long weekend for him with all three kids. Thankfully, my tournament is in Hoover and he can bring them up to see me or bring Soph to eat if he needs to. This is a trial run for the rest of the tournaments. Only two are out of town, so that much is good news! The other 4 are in Bham.