The Reading Chair

I have not been able to go to garage sales the past two weeks. I sure have missed it! So today I thought I would share with you one of my BEST garage sale finds ever.

I got this fabulous green chair for $5.00! It is in great condition and the size is perfect for the S's room!

So there you have it, one of my favorite finds and best deals ever!

Want to see more thrifty finds? Check out Rhoda's Party to see what other people found on their garage sale adventures.

Big Girl Bed

My sweet little M has moved to her BIG girl bed.



I cried when we took down her crib and I am not ashamed to admit it!

I told Scot that the next time we will set up the crib will be for our grandchildren!

It is a hard transition for this momma, one that I cannot think too much about or the tears will be falling again! For now, I will just try to remember the excitement on her face, as she enjoys the freedom of a big girl bed!

The Matching Chair...for FREE!

You are NOT going to believe what I scored off the side of the road!

Isn't she great?! The best part is that a month or so ago I got the MATCHING chair for FREE too!

Remember the Tale of Two Chairs where my daughter spotted a couple of chairs in the trash? Well, this new chair came from the same ladies trash! Now I have BOTH of them! I could not be happier!

Here is the funny part of the story. The lady, who threw out these beauties, is a neighbor down the street. One night as E and I were out walking, I saw this chair under her carport. I wondered what she was going to do with it and why she kept one and not the other. I have patiently been keeping my eye on it every night as we go walking or when we are driving by her house.

Well, yesterday, on the way to the dentist, the chair was moved to another spot under the carport. Then when we came home from town, it was loaded in the back of their truck. I was disappointed, but at least I knew she had no intention of trashing it. Then, a couple of hours later, as we were doing school, I glanced out the window and saw the chair by the road!

I will not go into details of how I looked like a crazy women trying to get down there FAST before someone else snatched up MY (yes, I already claimed it!) matching chair.

I can't wait to get them reupholstered!

Here is my question, Have you ever reupholstered a chair yourself? If so, any advice or tips? I know so many people around blogland have reupholstered these type chairs and I want to try it, but the tufting makes me nervous.

For you locals who read this, if you know someone who does reupholstering, will you email me? I would like to consider my options.

Note: I am adding this to Rhoda's Thrifty Party...go check her out!

Happy 3rd Birthday, M!

Today is my sweet little M's birthday...

My baby is turning 3!

Happy Birthday, M!

E's First Client

This weekend E baked cupcakes for her first real client.




My cousin Billy paid E to make 45 cupcakes for Philip's surprise birthday party. She was so excited!

She made red velvet cupcakes (his favorite) and decorated them with the Alabama "A".


I think she did a fantastic job and I am so proud of her! She found a way to earn some extra money doing what she loves to do!

Philip's Surprise Party

We had a fantastic time at the surprise birthday party for my cousin Philip.

Waiting out by the road for the guest of honor to arrive!

Surprise! Friends and family welcoming the birthday boy!

My cousin Billy rented 2 gigantic water slides and a large slip and slide. It was SO much fun.

I think the bigger "kids" had as much fun as the younger ones!

Making History Fun

My kids love to read. We make several trips to the library each month. Recently, while looking through the shelves of books, I found a great series called Discovery readers.

They are like mini biographies for kids. I am using them this year to supplement with my history curriculum. We have read several so far and the kids have enjoyed learning more about the famous Americans we are studying in school.

What I love about these books is that they introduce them to historical figures and gives them a ton of information in a easy to read book.

The Childhood of Famous American series are great too! We used them last year and enjoyed them as well. They have tons of books for the older kids like the one below.

They also have these short stories for the younger readers. These are about specific events that happened in their lives.

My little ones loved to hear these stories. It really made specific events of history come alive for them and they could see history unfolding through the eyes of the famous American child!

The library is such a great resource for us homeschooling families. There are so many books out there that can really help make history and science fun! Go see for yourself!

What series of books do your kids enjoy? We are always looking for new ideas!

Kitchen Chairs

I was finally able to finish the kitchen chairs. Can you believe I did not take a before picture? They were a blond wood color. I think the black looks SO much better!

First Day of School 2009

Today was the first day of school. Was it just me or did the summer zoom right past us???


Here is my little man on his first day of 1st grade.



My sweet little S is starting 2nd grade.


E is starting 5th grade.



As you know, we are a homeschooling family. This year, for the first time, we are doing the internet streaming for E. It will free me up to teach the other kids and more importantly will give me the peace of mind that E is learning everything she is suppose to in 5th grade. She is loving it!

E's Fabric

E picked out fabric for her new room. We have lots of projects going on for her new room - desk, chair, bed, pillows, paint, etc. I can't wait to show you the end result! Here is a sneak peek.

We are going to do the lime lattice fabric for the seat cover for my $1.00 chair. It looks so much better painted brown.

She has a solid brown comforter so we are going to make pillows for her bed using all 3 of the fabrics.

We found a desk on the side of the road. You will have to see the transformation! It is unbelievable! I hope to be finished with it tonight to show you!

Celebrating 13 years and Counting....

Happy 13th Anniversary to my adventurous, brilliant, crazy, daring, energetic, faithful, genuine, handsome, interesting, joyful, kissable, loving, manly, nice, oh-so fabulous, patient, quick-witted, radiant, silly, talented, understanding, vibrant, wonderful, xciting, youthful, and zealous husband!

I love you!

A Southern Treat

Down South we LOOOVE boiled peanuts and my family is no exception! This afternoon we boiled a little more than 3 pounds of peanuts. It took about 2 hours to boil and about 20 minutes to devour!

I should have taken more pictures, but I was too busy eating my southern treat before they were all gone!

The following is a basic recipe that you can adjust according to the amount of peanuts you will be boiling.

1 pound peanuts
2 Tbsp salt
4 cups of water


Rinse raw, unshelled peanuts.

Put all ingredients into stock pot. Bring to a boil. Cover and boil for 2-3 hours, until peanuts reach level the level of softness that you like.

Drain. Eat while hot! (You will notice the pictures look a little blurry...that is from the steam from the peanuts!)

Just for some humor, I have to repeat what my little M kept saying....

"Look my peanut is tee-teeing on me."

If you have eaten boiled peanuts before, you will understand!