"Spring" Break

Riiiiiiiiight.

This is the view from my mom's back porch the other day. Doesn't look very "springy" does it? I told Duke the other night that I'm about sick of the snow- just for this winter. He said I was being ungrateful. I told him I'd be a lot more grateful for the moisture if it was someplace where I wasn't. LOL

Looks like we won't be hiking that trail we've been wanting to try out for a LOOOOONG time yet. In the meantime, though, I'm getting a lot done around the house, and I've been practicing the piano. I've just about got "Carry On" down. That one's a toughy.

So- how was your spring break? Anyone actually get any sunshine? :)

More Gas and Grocery Savings

Some of you may recall my recent shout out to Maceys for their fuel rewards program. I'll admit that I've become a bit obsessed lately with saving money on gas and groceries. So I was super excited when Duke told me about about a way to $600 a year in rebates on gas and grocs, plus get extra savings and rebates from other stores I shop at, like Costco and Target, through thEZmall.com. There's a membership fee, just like at Costco, but what you get back is far more than what you spend. The way it works is this: you register online and choose one grocery store and/or one gas company to shop/fill up at. Then you do your normal shopping (or fill up your tank) just like you would any other month. Save your reciepts, and if they total $100 (who doesn't spend at least $100 a month on gas or groceries?? I'd like to meet them.) mail them in with a voucher you print off at home, and the next month you get a $25 Visa gift card in the mail. That's it!! So simple, right? I'm really amped about it! I'm doing both the gas and the grocery programs, so that's $50 a month, $600 a year! Right now thEZmall is running a half price special (through Wednesday only), so you can get both programs for $100 a year- no pesky monthly fees or anything like that- AND get to shop on their online mall which launches at the end of April. That's less than $2 a WEEK. Pretty sweet, no? Anyway- check it out at thEZmall.com It's not MLM (whew!), but you do get referral bonuses for referring your friends and family. And Duke is one of the co-founders of the company, so you know it's not some crazy internet scam I got duped into. lol :) Happy Savings!!

This kitteh will EAT you while you sleep

Apparently the kids have been taking pictures when I'm not looking. And provoking my mom's cats' homicidal tendencies.

Yeah... and a bass drum

Today in the car:

Spencer- "Mom, this car would be cooler if we had a microwave in it."
Hannah "Yeah! And a guitar. ... And a bass drum."

LOL I didn't even think Hannah knew what a bass drum was! :)


**Also, please don't forget about my previous post regarding private blogs. :) Thanks!!

Private Blogs

Okay- everyone is going private lately! I'm missing out on freinds' and families' blogs because I can't remember all the URL's and they don't update in my Reader when they go private. Whine! lol So if anyone who reads MY blog has a private blog, PLEASE leave a comment and give me the URL again. I'm a space cadet, I know, I'm sorry. I promise I will make a bookmark list for them and I'll never ask again. Als0- comments will be moderated on this one, so you know it will be private. :) Thanks gang!

The Squirrels Did It

Hannah is my cuddle-bug. Such an easy going, simple, happy child. :) Fun kid, that one. Today she ran up to me, in a state, shrieking "MOM! There's milk and CEREAL on the TABLE!!(EVERYTHING is super dramatized in Hannah's world.)" I told her that it was okay, and that she could clean it up and she replied, quite calmly, "I didn't do it. The squirrels did it." We're always dealing with those crazy squirrels. Oh, and the lions and tigers and baby bears and spiders and kittens and every other creature under the sun. Hannah loves animals. And babies. :) She is a natural born mother. :) What great kids I've got.

Aspen turned seven in February (I can't remember if I mentioned that already or not) and recently lost her seventh tooth. :) How coincidental. She's doing really well in school. We're considering home schooling her next year, just to keep her busy enough. That kid is as sharp as brass tacks. Jacob is getting ready to compete in the Hershey Track Meet next month. He's very excited. This morning he woke me up, fully dressed, and said "Mom! It's 6 o'clock! Let's go running; we have to practice!". Ha! That crazy kid. Spencer is gearing up for kindergarten this year. I think the teacher he gets had better be a stalwart soul. That boy is a big ball of energy. I, for one, will be happy for a break. lol Then it will just be me and Hannah for a few hours every day. What will THAT be like??

In other news, I tore through my LAST pair of contacts Monday night. Allergy season has kicked in for me and all the eye-rubbing is hard on those little guys. Seeing (haha- SEE what I did there?) as it was my last pair, and I don't have glasses, I was forced to go in and finally order a pair. Thank goodness my prescription was still good- for eyeglasses only, unfortunately, not contacts. So I'm back to specs; I've actually kinda missed them. :) They'll get here in a week, and in the meantime, the lady at the vision center was kind enough to give me one last trial pair of contacts to get me though. Whew!! ShopKo ROCKS!

That's it, I guess. We don't have any major news to report. We're excited for Easter this weekend. Our Easter tends to last all weekend, since we made a deal with the Easter Bunny. He comes to our house a day early (Friday night) so we can spend Sunday focusing on Christ, instead of finding our baskets. So glad that he's flexible like that. :) What Easter traditions do you have?