Here we are...

have you been missing us? I'm sure! :) haha
this first pic is for my friend Jennifer~it's her little boy at school one day~cinco de mayo I think


caroline has gotten the self portrait thing down~she is always grabbing for my camera and taking pictures of herself


Last week I went to Dallas with Tyson while he was doing some training for work I played in the big D~here's me on the first day


I know that's a gross picture! I've gotten so fat lately, so I've finally decided to do something about it. I want to lose 36 pounds by my 36th birthday~that's a doable goal I think right? (work with me here!!!) The first day I went to Sam Moon's and some fabric outlets! Did you know they had these in Dallas?

it's a fabric lovers haven especially if you are doing bridal gowns or prom dresses! I didn't buy anything at the fabric stores though just bags at Sam Moon's!


The kids and I on Saturday after being gone from them all week! I really missed the lil' darlings until we walked in the door and they all started fussing! haha


here's another of Caroline with the camera! I told you she ROCKS huh? Her hair is all crazy looking b/c there was some pumpkin spray on the bathroom counter and she thought she saw me using it in my hair so she put it in hers then her head started burning so she put her head under the sink to rinse it out! lol crazy girl!



another gross picture of me~but I told Tyson and the kids that I wanted a pic of me with the kids for mother's day! I told them they didn't have to get me anything else but that~well you see that Caroline cooperated huh? I did get an Ipod Touch and tyson & the kids served me breakfast in bed and then Tyson took the kids to the zoo while I napped! It was a great Mother's Day!!!


My new calling at Church is the Activities Chairman and so I was in charge of the Mother's Day celebration (it's a long story and it involves lots of church drama!) lol



But I made the centerpieces for the tables
and the Elder's Quorum provided muffins/milk/lemonade! Thanks Justin for all your help!!! I really appreciate it!

On our way out of Dallas I begged Tyson to let me find this running store called Run On b/c I wanted to get fitted for some new running shoes! He was game for it and I was so excited! I hit the pavement for the first time tonight and I was so excited!


They aren't nike+ shoes but I can tuck my sensor inside the top and it works perfect! On my way to 36 lbs!!!(hopefully)

SO I think that's about a wrap! Only 13 more days of school left!

*Update*

I've been making this



and this



and two of these



and in between all of these projects I've done a few more on my machine!

I made Caroline's cinco de mayo skirt b/c you know she needed one! haha

Here's her dancing at Cinco de mayo



I didn't get to see it b/c I was in a parent conference.:(

I'm off to dallas for 3 days to hang with Tyson! :) See ya on the flip side!

What I've been up too?

I'm so glad school is ALMOST over~don't get me wrong I really enjoy my job but I'm ready for a day or two (or maybe 10) that I can sleep in and not have any commitments!

Here's the first thing I have been working on~Tyson's aunt called me and asked me to make her a shirt. I had the NANA part done but then I was having computer/machine troubles so I could get the Asa part done. FINALLY, got it done! I am happy with the way it turned out! Thanks Rachella for your help!


We had Caroline's birthday party this afternoon. We had planned on renting a bounce house but it's been raining here for 2 days so that was out! We just hung out inside and had a great time! I can't believe my baby is going to be 6 tomorrow! AWWW!!!

OK an update

I know I've been MIA around here, but things have been so crazy and my computer has been on the blink so NO blogging!

Tyson has found a job~YAY!!! He's going to be working at a place called CMC Recycling~hum, I wonder if that means I need to be better about my GREEN movement around here. They do Commercial recycling I think though, so maybe I won't be under the radar too bad! LOL

Tyson is almost finished with school~his last day is May 5~I'm sure in honor of Cinco de mayo. haha.

Heather has one more cheer competition in a couple of weeks. It's been a good year! It's hard to believe that she'll be starting at middle school next year (in just a few short months). We have her dress for 5th grade graduation. ACK!!!! how did that happen already?

Jed decide this year that he wanted to try playing baseball. He has really enjoyed it. He's actually a pretty good little player considering he's never played before.
I can't believe he'll be a 3rd grader soon!

Caroline is having a great time in Kindergarten! She's FINALLY learned how to read and she has great teachers! 1st grade here she comes!!!! She's having her birthday this weekend and she is SOOOOO excited!!!

Other than that we've just been working on projects around the house~and that has been keeping us busy! You know how it is you start one then you find something else to do and it just keeps going! lol We'll never be finished!

FINALLY!!!

Here's the latest project I've been needing to work on~I'm pleased with this one! Sorry the picture isn't the greatest but I had to take it with my phone! The m's are outlined in red and the o is a baseball~just in case! lol

My MasterPiece

I found this link

15 minute Bandana Dress

and decided to make this



I'm not quite finished I want to monogram a C on the front in hot pink and put some hot pink trim around the bottom.

*Wait a Minute~What are we talking about here?*

STOP.THE.PRESSES.

I know what you are thinking~what in the world? Are you sitting down because this one my friends you are NOT going to believe!!!!

I actually used something out of my food storage. I know, huh? MIRACLE!!!! Now I know you are sitting there asking what in the world did I use?

DRUM ROLL PLEASE.....




that green bucket is my 25 lbs of flour~when I first put it up I had no clue what I was going to do with it, I mean I really don't use flour b/c I don't cook from scratch but Kristi at Everything's Pink has posted about these homemade pretzels several times & I've been wanting to try them so I got the gumption to do it the other night




They actually turned out! The kids helped me roll them out and make them so they look kind of funny! The only thing I was missing was pretzel salt, but I picked some up at the store so we'll have it the next time I make these.

So for once I'm actually excited about Food Storage! So I'm sharing THIS secret with all my peeps!

I found this FABULOUS blog the other night and I really can't remember how.





Food Storage Made Easy
And the girls over there have put together all their information in a nifty binder for us!!! I'm so excited!! I think their website ROCKS because for me it has to be EASY!!! So scoot on over there and check them out!!!

the GRRRR update....

Ok I'm trying not to be gone for so long these days! So as you know Tyson has been laid off for over a month now and guess how blessed we've been by the unemployment office~you guessed it ZIP! ZELCH! ZERO! NADDA!!!! They keep finding some crappy piddly reason to kick back his claim~I mean you have to be a rocket scientist to be able to fill out the stupid forms!!!! And of course when you try to call you have to wait on hold FOREVER!!! all the while, you are supposed to be making 5 job contacts a week trying to find a job~it's a catch 22 I tell you!

Ok I promise this is going somewhere~we have however been blessed in other ways and so far we are good! so really I can't complain, but DANG! someone needs to get their act together. So then we move on to the Workforce Solutions who is supposed to be helping Tyson get his school paid for~but no one can tell him if this semester is going to be taken care of. And of course Tyson doesn't push the issue, So I got on the phone yesterday to the director of financial aid at the college and found out that the school will be taken care of for this semester if the stupid workforce office will fax a letter stating they aren't going to take care of it. UGH!!! Even the lady I talked to at the college yesterday was frustrated.

So then I came home and looked up his claim status online last night and it said that he will be getting back pay for the last month and we should have it by Wednesday!

WOOHOO!!!! I know their game they want you to get frustrated and forget about it but HA! I've got them figured out and we are going to beat them at their own game!!! I know I'm awful!

So, the best exciting news~we cashed out Tyson's 401K because we had to do something with it and this was the best option for us right now! and now this



is mine all mine!!! I'm so excited because it will free up a large amount of money each month and it's actually paid for before it quits! haha

Today we took Jed and a few of his friends to Laser Tag to have a birthday party. He requested these cupcakes.


I thought they turned out cute.

Here's the latest project Tyson has been up too~he's had big plans for this area of our yard since we moved in 2 years ago and since he's got all this free time on his hands these days he's been working on it.

here's the before




here's the afters







Of course Tyson isn't bored enough yet to replace a part on my car that I've had for um, like 6 months! haha We'll see how long it lasts!!!

*Where have I been?*

Ok Ok I know I've been AWAL but it's been crazy busy (isn't it always?) Anyways, in our Church when the kids turn 8 they have the opportunity to choose to be baptized so Jed turned 8 at the end of February so he was baptized a couple of weeks later. We had lots of famiy come in for his baptism, then at the last minute we decided to go to Oklahoma for Spring Break. Tyson helped my uncle do something things. While the guys were working the girls played and had some fun. We took the kids to the Omniplex which is a Science Museum. The kids got to play on this big tree house and loved it~me on the other hand~I left with a headache! Guess I hate science!!! haha


We really had a good time visiting with cousins and seeing everyone!

The last 2 weeks we have been trucking through school wishing our lives away waiting for summer!

I *FINALLY* bought an embroidery machine from my friend Rachella! I was so excited to get it but I really haven't had much time to play with it. I've been working on this for a friend and ran into some trouble so Rachella came to my rescue! Thanks so much!!!!


Sorry it's crooked but I'm having problems with my computer!!!!
I think it turned out supa cute!!! I'm going to make one for Caroline next b/c her birthday is next!!!

*Wal-greens Trip*

I actually didn't have to wait until Saturday to figure out my deals and go shopping. Since we are hanging out at my mom's and everyone is at work, I've had plenty of time. I took Tyson over to my uncle's this morning and I stopped at Wal-greens on the way. Here's what I got~some of the deals (actually I think all of them) will only be GREAT if you have the coupons from the last few weeks paper.

Wal-greens is running a deal this week on Listerine, floss & toothbrushes buy 3 for $9 and get $6 back in Register Rewards. There was a coupon in the paper for $3 off any 3~so I got Listerine, floss & a 2-pk of toothbrushes for FREE!!!!

then they have buy any 2 allergy products and get $3 back I bought 2 children's benadryl @$3.99 each and get $2 RR~so $3.99x2-$2 in coupons- $2 RR~so I paid $4 for 2 things of meds. WOO HOO .

Then I did the deal again but got visine ($4.99) & sudafed ($3.99) and had $3 off visine & $1.50 off the sudafed so $4.99+$3.99-$3 coupon-$1.50 coupon-$2 RR I paid $2.50 for visine A and sudafed

then I bought a tube of cologate toothpaste on sale for $3.49 - $2.50 Easy saver coupon -$1.50 coupon from the All You magazine. This should have been a money maker but they manager wouldn't give me more than what i was paying for the product so I asked her if she would adjust the coupon down to make it FREE!!!

The last thing I bought was 2 things of degree deodrant they were on clearance for $1.79 and i had 2 .75 cent off coupons not quite free but cheap enough for me.

If I figured right I paid $5 something for all of these things since I got $10 back in RR~I am excited! :)

now I need to get my CVS items together! haha

Blogger Confessions...

1)What is your blogger name? You Are My Sunshine

2)When is your birthday? November 6~bet you can't guess where my momma got my name huh?

3) How long have you been blogging? since 2005~wow, that's a long time!

4) Who tagged you? Kristi~well she didn't tag me personally but I picked it up off her blog!

5) Tell me your 5 most favorite body parts? hands, ???

6) What do you wish most for your birthday? being pampered

7) What color are your nails now? clear

8) Any depressing thoughts lately? yep, yesterday when my hip was killing me~I thought it sucks to be getting old

9) What's your next 1 month's plan? hum, start walking/running again, work my my food storage, get our garden going, get Jed's room together

10) At what age did you have your first crush? 1st grade i think, philip smith

11) Did you attend any school reunion after you graduated? yes, I went to Tyson's 10 year reunion with him but haven't been to any of my own. really don't care to go to any

12) Are you a clean freak? well i play one! haha

13) Which era do you wish you were born in? 1950's

14) Are you a vegetarian? nope

15) How many pillows do you sleep with at night? Just one

16) Are you a light sleeper or I-don't-care-if-there's-a bomb sleeper? I-don't-care-if-there's-a bomb sleeper

17) Do you secretly wear comfortable grandma panties when your husband is not around? No man is worth passing up comfort!

18) What is your ultimate dream job? a crafter that actually sells her wares? lol

19) What is it your hubby does that annoys you the most? he acts like a perfectionist over crap that doesn't really matter!


20) What is your dream car? convertible mustang

21) Do you easily wake up in the morning? nope~i hate mornings

22) Do you like hairy men? goateed men? no to the hairyness~i guess i have to say yes to the goatee b/c tyson has one

23) What would you prefer? two hour spa, two hour foot massage, or 2 hour Thai massage? 2 hour spa

24) Have you ever wished you had a different name? Yeah, but I really can't remember what it would be~I'm good with Autumn now~it's kinda grown on me


25) What is the most extreme sport you have ever done? really? I think I'm pleading the 5th on this one!

26) Do you prefer traveling in Europe or Asia? Never been to either

27) What is your favorite food? Mexican~isn't that a food group?

28) What is the most embarrassing moment you had on a date? hum, the 5th again? no really I can't remember any~so maybe that means there weren't any!

Tag your it!

Another Random Post...

Hum, let's see I guess I'll start with Tyson..He is officially unemployed, he has received his last check and his great severance package (haha). He has several projects going on around the house that kept him busy this week, along with school. He passed his EPA Certification class, so he's done with his Mon/Wed class~WOOHOO!!! His garden is starting to grow pretty good and we already have sprouts~it won't be long! He got his first practice A/C job last week when ours froze up. These are the coils before

see that little piece that is pulled away kinda~yeah that's how thick the crap was on the coils.

After


No wonder the thing didn't work. While we were trying to figure out the problem Tyson was letting it thaw out and it leaked into Jed's room on the carpet, so we had to pull up his carpet~(creating another project for ourselves!)
Jed is starting baseball this week and he is excited about that. He is also getting baptized on Sunday~he is very excited about this!

Caroline is well, just Caroline! She's reading up a storm and enjoying school.

Heather's cheer team got 1st place at their competition this weekend. She is getting ready for all of the fun end of the year stuff for 5th grade! It's hard to believe she'll be going to middle school in just a few months!

We are all looking forward to Spring Break next week! It can't get here a minute too soon! The kids are going to OK for a few days & I haven't decided if I'm going or not!

*Saturday Shopping*

I really don't have time to coupon during the week so I save it for Saturday's since we aren't really busy anyways (usually)

So today I hit Walgreens & CVS~I did pretty good.

Here's my Walgreens haul:


I spend $10.07 from my Gift Card on these items. The foil made me a few cents b/c it was .89 cents then I had $1.00 off coupon for each of them. For the Oust I had a coupon that was buy 1 get 1 free then I can get $2 back on my card! The best deal was the Secret deodrant~it was on Clearance for $2.59 and I had a $2 off coupon! I have never found deodrant that cheap! The calendar was on clearance for a buck and I needed a new '09 calendar so I splurged!

Then I went across the street to CVS I spent quite a bit more there but I was please with what I got.



The Chips Ahoy cookies were B1G1 free, then I had a coupon for $1 off when you buy the cookies AND 1 gallon of milk so I did that for both gallons of milk. The wheat thins were B1G1 free and then I had $2 off/2boxes. Then the cereal was the same thing B1G1 free then $1 off 2 boxes so it made my cereal $1.39ish a box. I did that twice. The South Beach bars were 2 for $5 then I had 2 $1 off coupons so that was $1.50 a box. The shampoo was $4.99 but it was a rebate so that was FREE!!! The toothpaste was .88 cents and I had .75 off so I paid .13 cents for that~not quite free but close enough for me. The contact solution was $14.99 for the double pack but then I got $3 ECB's back. I usually buy it at Wal-Mart but this was a much better deal and I didn't have to go to WalMart! The pita chips were $1.65 on clearance and I had $1.50 off coupon. I'm not sure if they will be any good but for .15 cents I figured we could try them! My original told was $64.something then I walked out paying $24 after coupons & ECB's. I had to walk out of the store with a basket b/c I had so many sacks. I was so excited!

The Sink Window and a few other things

So I ran back to HL tonight to get some more trim so I could finish the window above the kitchen sink. I knew if I didn't get it done tonight it would never get done.

before



after



I'm just tickled PINK! haha I am going to start looking for a new bedspread so I can be on the lookout for some fabric so I can Mis treat my bedroom windows since they have no curtains either.

Another project we worked on tonight is this megaphone Heather got a couple of weeks ago at a cheer competition



She wanted to put feathers around it so I let her



the turquoise doesn't really go with her room but that's what she wanted! We are going to put her name on it in wooden letters also.


The last project we worked on before going to bed is pulling Caroline's loose tooth. It's been loose forever~



We also signed Jed up for baseball~He's pretty excited.
All in all it's been a busy day!

Mistreating my Windows (AKA decorating 101)

My bloggy friend Holly at Marathon Bird posted about this great blog The Nester. Over at the Nester, she discusses home decorating at it's finest! Well, I saw the "mistreatments" Holly did on her windows and I have seriously been looking forward to Saturday all week so I could work my kitchen windows over! I have 3 windows in my Kitchen/Dining room and we've lived in our house for 2 years exactly! Here's the befores





Here's the afters



The first photo is the 2 windows in the dining room together! I'm so excited about my new windows (not the blisters on my fingers!)

I have to run back to HL to get some more trim to do the window over the sink!

Thanks so much Holly for sharing that great website! I can't wait to do my bedroom windows!

*Random Man*

Ok so that's a joke b/c on the morning show on the radio they have a bit called *Random Man* but this post is going to be random so it's fitting. haha

I took a picture of this guy at the cheer competition (which I have yet to update about) anyways, I can't remember if I've ever seen a man on stilts before and I thought it would be cool for the youngins'



I told you *RANDOM*

Ok so the most exciting thing in my life these days is on Wednesday nights Tyson will take ALL of the kids to church with him and I get an hour by myself~not much but hey I'll take it! So tonight I sat down with my coupons & visited HotCouponWorld and scoped out a few deals. After they left the casa, I headed out to CVS and picked up a few things.


Here's the details~

I didn't do Fantastically GREAT but I did pretty good if I must say so myself!

cologate $2.99 Get $2.99 ECB's then I had $1 coupon so THEY paid me to take it home.
Suave bodywash~buy$6 get $2 ECBS then I had $2 off 3 so for $2 I got 3 bottles of body wash
Herbal Essences Shampoo~$2.99 each get $1 ECB I had a coupon for $3 off 2 .99cents for 2 shampoos
Gillette Shampoo $4.99 each get $3 ECBs I had a coupon for $2 off
and $1 off
Kleenex~buy 1 @1.49 get one for 1 cent so I bought 4 and then I had 50 cent coupon~not a great deal but they'll get used.
Cereal~buy 3/$10 get $1 ECB~then I had $1 coupon~again not a great deal but we'll eat it.
Oral B toothbrushes~2 pk for 5.49 get 2ecbs & then I had $2 off coupon

When I walked in I scanned my card at the coupon scanner and got $5 off $25 so I used that also.

I ended up spending $26.57 and got 15.99 in ECBS I'm pretty happy! :)

Wow What a Week!

I know I've said this before but there are times I have no clue how we get from Sunday to Saturday~the week just seems to fly by & of course the weekend is ALWAYS too short. And really I can't tell you what was going on this week that made it go by so fast, but it sure was a quick one!

A few weeks ago, Nicole from LittleMissMatched emailed me and asked if I would like to do a product review for them! I was so excited~No one has ever asked me to do this!

She sent this generous package of MissMatched socks for the kids & I~

(I've lost the picture on my computer~I'll find it and post it later)

Thanks Nicole~I think these socks ROCK!!! There's no keeping up with just 2 and they are super soft~I know that may sound wierd BUT they are! I'm browsing the website trying to decide which ones to buy next! Caroline wore hers to school with shorts and several of her kindergarten friends wanted her mom to buy them some! I"ll have to pass along the website! haha

This past week Caroline's class celebrated the 100th day of school~our counts got a little off thanks to Hurricane Ike but they had a great time! Here she is decked out in the cutest 100 day shirt ever~I decided she was the cutest little girl in Kindergarten that day.





You really can't tell but I appliqued 100 on the front then she has 30 foam flowers and 68 bows then bows #99 & 100 are in her hair! See I told you she was the cutest little girl in Kindergarten!

This last picture is a project I did for a friend


I thought it turned out cute!

We had a Mix & Mingle last night with the members of the new Spanish branch that will be meeting in our building starting today. It was kind of a last minute get together but we had a good turn out! They were so friendly! I can't wait to get to know them better!

Friday when I came home from school this is what I found

Yes, my friends that is a garden in the making! Tyson informed us that it was EVERYONE'S garden meaning we all had to work in it! I'm actually kind of excited~I've wanted to do a garden for quite a while now but not quite this big! haha

There ya have it my friends a week in review! Sorry it's been so long in between posts!