We're Outta Here!

As of tomorrow morning, we're outta here! That's right... Our Griswold Family Summer Vacation is finally here!!! WOO HOO!!! Some might say we're a bit crazy, traveling over 2,000 miles with 3 young children across 5 states. But we say, "Crazy is as crazy does." No, no, no! That's not what we say. We say, "Nothing ventured, nothing gained!" :-)

Many of you have asked me to post an itinerary, of the sites we hope to see on our road trip to and from South Dakota, as well as the places we plan to visit while in South Dakota. So, you asked for it, you got it!

Traveling into Oklahoma...

In Arcadia, Oklahoma, we plan to stop at Pop's, a convenient store/gas station, which is home to the World's Largest Bottle of Pop (errr... Coke, for all you Texans out there). They also have over 600 refrigerated varieties of pop/soda/coke. And if that isn't crazy or exciting enough for you, after we visit Pop's we plan on visiting another attraction just a couple of miles away... The OK County 66 museum. This quirky little place is home to such oddities as a VW Beetle stuck in the ground (the creator's homage to Texas' Cadillac Ranch), as well as another VW Beetle inside, which sticks halfway out of the second floor, next to the balcony. Visitors can crawl into the driver and passenger seats for a hard-to-capture photo op. Big, quirky fun!

Traveling through Oklahoma into Kansas...

Once we get back on the road, we're heading into Dodge City, Kansas. Oh yea, people! I told you this was a Griswold Vacation! In Dodge City, we're planning on touring the Boot Hill Museum, and we hope to have an old-timey picture taken. Are we having fun yet?!?! By the way, we plan on spending the night in Dodge City.

Traveling through Dodge City, Kansas, into Goodland, Kansas...

You're probably wondering what is in Goodland, Kansas. Well, only the World's Largest Easel, which has a 24' x 32' reproduction of Van Gogh's Sunflowers painting on it. The kids actually voted to see this. I was amazed and proud at the same time. My kids actually want to see art. And the fact that it is on an 8 foot tall easel has nothing to do with it... At least, that's what I'm telling myself. :-) But just in case you thought The 5 Aces were getting a little too refined, do not fret, dear people. Because after we see the easel we're heading into Nebraska to see Carhenge! YES!!! Seriously, how cool is that?

Traveling through Nebraska into South Dakota... Where we will settle into our little cabin in the woods. Isn't it cute?
In South Dakota, we plan on spending our first full day at the Crazy Horse Memorial, and then at the Mount Rushmore National Memorial. Mount Rushmore has their fireworks display on July 3, not July 4. And both memorial sites have tons of activities all day long. At sunset, we'll get to see something similar to this. I CAN'T WAIT!!!

Our next few days in South Dakota, we plan on doing lots of cool things like this, this, and this. We want to go to Custer State Park to see wild buffalo roaming around. And we also want to go into Wyoming to see Devils Tower.

We also plan on going to Deadwood, South Dakota, to see the World's Largest Rocking Chair (scroll down to the bottom of the page after you click on that link). Now, I'm not quite sure how to know for sure whether or not this rocking chair actually is the largest in the world, since I also found this, this, this, and this. But we're going! We're also going to stop at Boondocks for some really good 50s style dining, but we will more than likely skip the kangaroo ranch.

But alas, all good things must come to an end. I mean, eventually we must come home.

Traveling through South Dakota into Nebraska...

On our way home, we plan on stopping at Wall Drug Store, simply because we MUST take our picture on the giant, saddled, fiberglass Jackalope. We also hope to stop at the Corn Palace. After that, we'll drive into Nebraska. And this just might be the only part of our trip that I am not going to share with you all right now. I found something, and I want to keep it a secret. It's nothing huge. In fact, it's quite small. I will share more after we return home.

We plan on spending the night in Hebron, Nebraska. Why? Well because we simply have to see the World's Largest Porch Swing, of course! And because there isn't really any other town in Nebraska to spend the night in, within like a 100 mile radius. I'm exaggerating just a bit, but it was really frustrating trying to find a place to stay. I went to high school in a small town, but Hebron is REALLY small. And it's the biggest small town for miles and miles and miles. Needless to say my choice of hotels was, well, really no choice at all simply because Hebron doesn't have any hotels. They have 1 Budget Host motel though. So that's where we're staying. Note to self, pack the Lysol! Are we livin' it up now, or what?!?!

Traveling through Nebraska into Kansas...

I think Kansas just might be the state with the quirkiest road side attractions. Because when I found this, I just knew it had to be somewhere in Kansas, and that our trip would not be complete if we did not stop. Indeed, this attraction IS in Kansas, and we ARE stopping. Yippee!

We're hoping to eat lunch at a restaurant in Salina, Kansas, called The Scheme. On display at this restaurant is the letter that the owner's great grandmother wrote to Abe Lincoln, asking him to grow a beard so he would be elected president. Also on display are pictures and letters written by the owner's great grandfather (Wild Bill Hickock's Friend) about the Civil War. Very cool!

Traveling through Kansas into Oklahoma...

As luck would have it, we will be driving straight through the city of Avery, Oklahoma. I'm hoping that there will be some sort of sign saying "Welcome to Avery" or something cute like that, where we can stop and take Avery's picture. I think she will really get a kick out of it. And Avery, Oklahoma just so happens to be really close to Stroud, Oklahoma, where there's some weird shoe tree. I'm thinking at this point that the kids (and the parents) might be tired of these quirky sites. But hey, as of today it is on the itinerary. :-)

After we leave Stroud, we will have 1 final stop before we arrive home. We plan on stopping in Ardmore, Oklahoma, to see a very Tiny Chapel. I figure at this leg of our trip, we'll probably all really want to crowd into a tiny space and say a prayer of thanks, for all the many hours our family was able to spend together on our vacation. :-)

And then we will be home! I can't wait to get home, to tell you all about our adventures! Until then...

Happy trails to you and yours,

The 5 Aces

One For One... TOMS Shoes

Do you love shoes? Do you love cute shoes... as much as I do? :-) Well, here's a really great shoe company with a wonderful story, that supports an awesome cause. I would welcome you to click on this link, and read about TOMS Shoes... how the company was founded, and what makes this company just so special.

http://www.tomsshoes.com

A More Recent Update on Maisy

I heard back from our vet about Maisy's tests. The first round of test results came back with very bad news. The vet was concerned that the test results may not have been accurate, so he ran the tests again because he was concerned there may have been some human error while conducting the tests. Sure enough, the 2nd round of tests came back with much more positive results. Not great results, but better than the 1st results. As of right now, we know that Maisy does not have thyroid problems. That's the good news. The bad news is that Maisy seems to be having problems with her adrenal glands, and her kidneys and liver seem to be failing. Unfortunately, I was out of town when the vet called, so I wasn't able to speak directly with him. He left all this information on my voice mail.

So, where do we go from here? The vet wants Maisy to come back in for another test to see if he can determine the cause of Maisy's problems. It was so hard to follow what the vet was saying on the voice mail, and by the time I got the voice mail the office was closed for the rest of the weekend, so I couldn't call to get some clarification. But, from what I could tell, it seems that there could be 2 potential causes for Maisy's problems; 1) she was born with this condition, or 2) she developed this condition as a result of steroid use. Once he finds the cause, then we can discuss treatment options. The problem is, we are leaving to go on vacation next week and the test requires that Maisy stay at the vet's office for 24 hours (overnight). They give her some type of drug, wait 24 hours, then take blood and run tests to see what effect the drug had on Maisy. That should tell the vet the cause. I hope to talk with the vet tomorrow to see if all of this can wait until after we get back from our vacation, or if she needs to go in and have this all done now, before we leave. We shall see...

I just wanted to say thank you to everyone who has emailed me or called or just expressed heartfelt concern for Maisy. She is a member of our family, and I'm so appreciative to everyone who understands that... The past week has been difficult. There is still so much hope that Maisy will come through all of this and get the proper treatment, and be just fine. Things are looking up, but we are still not out of the woods quite yet.

More Baby Bird Pictures

I hope no one is getting tired of seeing pictures of our baby birds, because I'm posting some more pictures today. The first 2 pictures were taken last week.


And now the babies have emerged even more! Last week they were only walking out from their nest onto the green area. The next 3 pictures were taken on Monday, when I noticed that they were starting to "hop" around, and they didn't look as clumsy with their walking.


They seem to have lost their soft downy grayish-brown feathers and now have their black feathers.

And as of today, they are sitting up on the green railing, and they are learning how to fly. I must tell you all, this was quite a sight to see! It literally brought tears to my eyes, watching the babies taking leaps of faith off the railing, and soaring through the air. It really was awe inspiring. This has been such an amazing experience for our family. From the first time I noticed the parents checking out the house as a potential nesting place, all the way to today, seeing the babies take flight."He who would learn to fly one day must first learn to stand and walk and run and climb and dance; one cannot fly into flying." ~Friedrich Nietzsche

Update on Maisy

Maisy, my 9 1/2 year old dog, has always been a sickly dog. She's also always been an energetic, affectionate, smart, loyal companion. Maisy is a member of our family. A few years ago, I noticed that Maisy was having what I thought was severe seasonal allergies. I took her to our vet, who gave her a cortisone injection, and sent us on our way. The next summer, Maisy's allergies flared up again, which led to another trip to our vet and another cortisone injection. By the 3rd summer, Maisy's allergies came on stronger than ever. I asked our vet if there was anything that could be done to help Maisy in the future, before her allergies became severe each summer, and he basically told me no, gave her another cortisone injection, and sent us home. It wasn't until I started asking around, to friends and family members who have dogs with allergies, that I realized that there was A LOT that could be done to help Maisy before she started having her allergy symptoms, and that cortisone shots could actually be harmful to dogs if given on a regular, on-going basis. I switched vets and found a new one that I really liked and seemed to take Maisy's health issues (and my concerns) seriously. He started her on medication, and Maisy slowly-but-surely got back to her old self again. It was great!


Unfortunately, after only 2 years of being on that medication, Maisy started showing signs that the medication was no longer working. I asked the vet to refer us to a vet allergist, and he said that there was no need to do that. I asked him to try another medication. But instead, he gave Maisy a cortisone injection.


Last summer, Maisy did great with her allergies. This summer, actually starting back at the end of April/beginning of May, I noticed that Maisy was scratching a lot. Then I started noticing big clumps of hair on our floors. I tried to treat it at home with things that have worked in the past, but after a few weeks and nothing seemed to be helping, I called our vet and was told that he couldn't see Maisy for 3 more weeks. I made the appointment, but after only 2 weeks of waiting I knew that Maisy couldn't wait any longer. I called another vet and got Maisy an appointment. Her appointment was this past Saturday, and poor Maisy did not look well at all. Her appointment was at 11:00, and the clinic was supposed to close at noon. We were there until 2:00. The vet was very nice, as was everyone on staff. The vet told me that he sees this in dogs far too often, where vets only treat the symptoms and not the cause of the problem in the animal. He told me that Maisy either has something that could be easily treated with inexpensive medication, or that she has something that would involve a long-term, very expensive treatment. And that even with treatment, there would be no guarantee that she would make it. This condition is almost always fatal.


Heartache...


I was supposed to get the test results back by yesterday. I actually winded up calling the vet today when I hadn't heard from them, and the vet tech told me that the vet had ordered Maisy's tests to be re-run because he was concerned about the results. He wants to make 100% sure they are accurate. As of right now, I am waiting to get those new test results back. But the first round of test results are not good. They indicate that Maisy more than likely has both conditions. In addition to having severe allergies, her thyroid is not functioning properly, and her internal organs are failing, more than likely caused by being given all those cortisone shots.



Anger...


Frustration...


I asked the vet tech what I could possibly anticipate in the way of treatment for Maisy, and he told me that I was jumping the gun. He assured me that I would get a call back by the end of this week. Once the vet is absolutely sure what's going on with Maisy, then we can discuss possible treatments. This is one of those times that I wish I had all the money in the world, and that we weren't in an economic recession. This is one of those times that I wish I didn't have 2 other animals. This is one of those times that I wish I didn't feel the need to shelter my extremely curious and perceptive daughter from the pain I am feeling every time I think about what is best for Maisy and for our family. This is one of those times that I wish Maisy had another owner who didn't need to think about whether or not to go forward with a very costly treatment (that may not even help), or whether the time had come to let Maisy's wonderful, full life come to an end.


Uncertainty...


For anyone who knows me, you already know before I type this out... I am not handling this well. And even though the final test results are not in yet, I am preparing myself for even more bad news. I know how silly it is to pray for my dog, but I really am praying that I will get the test results back and that it will be good news and that maybe there was some human error on the test results the first go-around. And so, for now, I wait.

Dad's Day

Happy Father's Day, to all the dads out there. And Happy Father's Day to the World's Greatest Dad (aka Hector)!

As with most celebrations in our family, today centered around simply spending time together as a family, and eating tons of great food. The kids and I all agreed that Hector works really hard, and he is a great dad. So we tried to give him a well-deserved day of good food and relaxation!

We started out this special day by making homemade banana pancakes for breakfast. They were quite delicious, if I do say so myself. And even though Hector asked for only 1 pancake, I made him 2 because, well, I know him... By the way, he gobbled them both up. :-)

After that, he opened his gifts. I saw a commercial last week that claimed that the average American consumer spends $90 on gifts for Father's Day. And while I know that Hector is worth every bit of $90, and so much more, I also know that I am a thrifty person. I knew there had to be a way to get him great gifts that he truly would love, while being true to my thrifty nature. Enter Vista Print.... Have you clicked on the link for Vista Print to the right of this page yet? Because it's there for a reason. :-) The reason being that I LOVE Vista Print! Why, you might be asking yourself? Because they love a great deal just about as much as I do! I got this t-shirt and the hat in the pictures below, both from Vista Print. They normally would have cost me over $30, but because I got on Vista Print's email list years ago, and subscribe to their email newsletter full of great online deals, I knew that both of these items were on sale. And I got both items for my absolute favorite price... That's right, people! I got them both for FREE! Maybe you should wonder on over to the right side of this page now, and click on that link. :-)

Yes, the kids really do think their Dad rocks!

Avery and I went grocery shopping yesterday to get food for Hector's Father's Day Dinner. Maybe someone out there can answer this question for me, because the butcher just looked at me like I was insane... I understand that brisket is a big hunk of meat, but why can't they cut it down into smaller portions? I mean, if they can cut down a roast, why can't they sell me an 8 pound brisket? Why do they need to keep these 20 pound hunks of meat fully intact? Because I do not need that much meat! But I digress... So, I walked away from the butcher's counter with my 16 pound brisket (the butcher searched in the back for the smallest one), and chopped it in half when I got it home. Avery thought it was SO funny, the way I went after that hunk of meat with the meat cleaver. But again, I digress...

Today after church, Avery and I made the marinade for the brisket, and into the refrigerator our big slab of meat went for dinner.
And after that, everyone in the family (except Samuel and I ) decided to participate in Hector's all-time favorite weekend activity... the afternoon nap!


After walking around and seeing everyone in my family napping, it made me stop and think... what in the world am I doing awake, typing this blog? So, off I went to Miss Nappie's House. The blog can wait... :-)

So, after a good nap Avery decided it was time for a snack. She wanted to make Purple Cow Jumped Over The Moon Milkshakes. So, that's exactly what we made. To make your own purple milkshakes, mix 3 cups vanilla yogurt with 1 cup milk, 1/3 cup frozen grape juice (undiluted), 1 teaspoon lemon juice, and 1/4 fresh berries. Blend until smooth. They were really filling and super easy!

There were lots of things that I wanted to make for dinner, but I decided to make what I knew Hector would want. It was HIS day, after all... The picture looks a bit strange. Perhaps it's the brown food on the blue plate. I don't know... It might look strange but it all tasted really good!

After I put this picture on here, I chuckled a little at poor Molly dog, peering through the French door, anxiously waiting to be let back inside to lick up the food that my messy kids dropped on the floor! :-)

And finally, for dessert we had a plate full of yummy strawberry shortcake! :-)
So, how did you spend your father's day?

Baby birds...

...Emerge!

Avery and I saw 2 of the 5 babies moving around outside of the bird house, on the green "sidewalk." They went into the "apartment" next door. I guess it was getting crowded in the original apartment. Isn't it amazing, how big they have gotten in only 2 weeks?

A Letter To The Tooth Fairy

Avery decided that she wanted to keep her tooth, and asked me if it was okay if she wrote the Tooth Fairy a letter instead. I am so bummed that my scanner won't work, for some reason I can't quite figure out... I wish you could see her little note - it's so cute. This is what she wrote.

Dear Tooth Fairy,

I want to keep my tooth. I hope you are not upset, but I love it.

Avery


The Tooth Fairy's Response...

Dear Avery,

I could never be mad at you. I completely understand, because I love teeth too! I bet you were very brave when you lost it, and you didn't cry at all. Because you were so brave and honest, I am going to let you keep your tooth, and I am going to leave you this very special coin.

Love,
The Tooth Fairy

And the Tooth Fairy left her a very special quarter from South Dakota. How on Earth did she know that we're going to SD in a couple of weeks? That is so cool! :-)

A Text Message To The Tooth Fairy

Dear Tooth Fairy,

You need to stop by the ATM on your way home from work.

VBS

The kids are attending Vacation Bible School this week. Everyone seems to be having a great time. The kids all have tons of stories to share with me every afternoon too. Yesterday, I loved listening to Samuel's and Avery's versions of the story of Jesus helping Peter when he walked on the water. I heard 2 entirely different perspectives on this story, which was really interesting...



Today, I went around to their classrooms to see if I could snap a few pictures of them "in action." I winded up going into Avery's class first thing this morning, and it turned out to be perfect timing. Her teachers had the kids singing and moving to Father Abraham. It was SO CUTE! I loved watching every minute of it.




After visiting Avery's class, I went to Isaac's class. He was having a little snack with his friends. Honestly, how cute is this?

I unfortunately couldn't catch Amanda or Samuel in their classes. But after VBS today, I snapped this picture of them sporting Australian Aboriginal Body Painting (their art project for today). They did this by themselves. Love it!

Tomorrow is our last day of VBS. And then it will be time to start packing for our summer vacation... The summer is already going by so quickly!

How have you been spending your summer days?

Taken Advantage Of

I'm sure that Hector knew this blog was coming. You see, blogging for me is like therapy, and I need to vent. I apologize to all of you, in advance, for this venting session.

While in the process of planning our summer vacation, a friend recommended that I go through http://www.priceline.com/ to reserve our hotel rooms. We need hotel rooms to stay in for the trip up to South Dakota, and for the return trip home (it's a 2 day road trip each way). My friend got a really great deal on a hotel through that website last summer (she paid $98/night for a hotel that normally rented for $199/night, right on San Antonio's River Walk). So I went on the website, did a little research on other websites, and then submitted a bid on a hotel room. Oh, for those of you who don't know how this website works... It's kind of like those last minute deals you can get on flights through airlines like Southwest for $49... As the date of your stay gets closer, and hotels realize that they are not going to be renting their rooms, they start accepting lower bids on the rooms through websites like Priceline.com, because they figure that getting something for a room is, well, better than nothing. So the customer winds up getting a nice room at a great deal. At least, that's how it's supposed to work. Unfortunately, this is not how things worked for me.

I put in a bid for a hotel room, and was given a CHEAPER room!!! The charge for the room was processed on my card, and on their website it said that they could not change my reservation in any way. When I called Priceline's Customer Service Department, I was told the same thing... there was nothing that could be done to change the reservation, and that they could not cancel it. Regardless of the price per night to normally rent the room, the price I was paying for the room was the price I was paying for the room. When I pressed harder, and explained to the representative that I was basically being ripped off because I was being charged more for a room than it would normally rent for, and the whole point of the website was to SAVE me money, he insisted there was nothing he could do about it. And then I did something that I knew would make my husband cringe, if he knew I was doing it. The words that were about to come out of my mouth (love you, Honey!) would have sent chills down Hector's spine. I told the representative, "I need to speak to your Supervisor, now!" Little piece of info. here for those of you who don't know... My hubby is a "Supervisor" for a well known company's Customer Service Department. He doesn't really like it all that much when a customer's call gets transferred to him, simply because he feels like anything he could possibly do to resolve the matter could have, and SHOULD HAVE, been done by the representative in the first place, if the representative was doing their job correctly.

Anyway, I spoke to the Supervisor and explained to him that under these circumstances I felt like he needed to credit my account the charge for the room and cancel the reservation. He insisted there was nothing that could be done, and that's when I asked him this simple question: "If you went to a BMW car dealership, and signed a contract for a BMW (it's all I could think of at the time) worth $40,000, and after you signed that contract and walked out to drive your new BMW home, they handed you the keys to a used Yugo (here again, it's the first thing that came to mind), would you feel as if you were getting what you paid for and expected, or would you feel as if you were being ripped off and taken advantage of?" He did not answer the question and proceeded to tell me that he was ending the call, and asked if there was anything else he could do for me. MISTAKE... :-). I interrupted him and said "Sir, I would greatly appreciate it if you could do me one more simple favor." "Yes Mrs. ____ (fill in the blank with my completely butchered last name). What else can I do for you?" "You can answer the question. Would you feel ripped off?" Again, he did not answer my question. I'll admit, my blood was BOILING at that point. Especially when I asked him the same question a 3rd time, and then he said, "Since there seems to be nothing else I can do for you, I am going to end this call." To which I said, "Well, actually there is something else you can do for me. Tell me something, sir. If your wife rented a hotel room for your family's summer vacation that normally rented for $200/night, and she was given a room that normally rented for $50/night, and she was told basically that oh well, sorry, but that's the room she was being given, would she be disappointed? Would you be disappointed? Would you refuse to ever do business with them again, and would you then make a point to tell everyone you know in your family, all of your friends, and your many loyal blog readers, to never give that hotel their business? Because, those are my intentions."

He was silent... And that's when I said, "I will assume by your silence that the answer is yes." He started to re-explain to me that priceline.com makes NO GUARANTEE THAT THE HOTEL ROOM THEIR CUSTOMERS RECEIVE WILL ACTUALLY BE COMPARABLE TO OR BETTER THAN THEIR BIDDING PRICE. But I feared that I was about to lose my composure, so I hung up on him. When I tried to call back I couldn't get through to another representative, because obviously they had done something in their system, so that the phone queue no longer acknowledged my order number. Right then and there I realized that I truly had been scammed.

I truly HATE being taken advantage of! Some might say it's a pride thing. After all, I feel like I am an educated, informed woman who tends to be quite a savvy consumer. So it's extremely difficult for me to simply walk away when something like this happens to me, especially when I feel like I am being ripped off or being made a fool of. Why can't I just let it go? And the answer to that question is that I guess it has a lot to do with the fact that I try my best to be fair to everyone I come in contact with, and I want people to do the same for me. That's not unrealistic thinking, right?!?! :-) I know that there are unkind and dishonest people in the world, but I try my best to steer clear of negative people and situations. But this time, I didn't see it coming. I was blind-sided, and it really stinks.

I'm sure that some of you out there may have used priceline.com yourself, and had a positive experience. But this is what I would like for you all to know. Priceline and similar websites make no guarantee that the customer bidding on a hotel room will actually receive a room that is worth that bidding price, or more. I asked the Supervisor if I were to have bid $1,000 on a room, could I have received a $50/night room, and he said YES!

I suppose I should simply let it go and walk away, knowing that in the grand scheme of things, I have it pretty good. I have a loving God, a great hubby, 3 awesome kids, a supportive family, truly wonderful friends, and you all, my loyal blog readers. I have a roof over my head, clothes in my closet, and food in my kitchen. What more could I want in this world? Well, I really want people to be nice to me, and world peace... That's not asking too much, is it? :-)

No, he wasn't in a fight...

This is just how Isaac looks after his 4th blue bubblegum snow cone...

Our church had a Vacation Bible School Kick Off Carnival last night, and they had snow cones there. Isaac caught on quickly that all he had to do was ask, and he could keep going back for more... He ate 4 snow cones in the span of 90 minutes. Do you think that's some kind of record?

Please Mama, one more snow cone...

Baby birds...

...FED!

Baby birds......FED!

Just in case you didn't notice in the first picture, the mother bird has a dragon fly in her beak. Avery and I both squealed with delight when we saw this, in action! And then the mother bird proceeded to dive-bomb my head. So, I decided that our bird watching was over for the day!

Last Night's Dinner

Everything on the plate, with the exception of the roast and spices, was grown in our garden. Somehow, that makes me feel pretty cool. :-)

I grew this!

And this...

And all of this - kids included! :-)
I promise I didn't put them up to this... Avery did!!!

Take a Tip Thursday

Beauty tips... Hmmm... Well, I'll be the first to admit that I don't know much about this particular topic. But I've made it the subject of today's Take a Tip Thursday blog for 2 reasons. The first reason is that I was recently shocked that 2 people in my life (2 very close people in my life) hadn't read a previous blog entry of mine (HORROR!), where I confessed to using a specific baby product in my hair on a regular basis. The second reason is that I am honestly hoping all of you can give me a few tips. So, here are my beauty tips for today's...

Take a Tip Thursday!

I sprinkle baby powder in my hair to remove excess oily build-up. It works! Really!!! I hate washing my hair every day. But if I don't, about halfway through the second day my hair starts to look really bad. One of my aunts shared this little tip with me not that long ago, and it has set me free! All you do is sprinkle a little baby powder in your hair, then comb through it like you normally would brush your hair. Doing this takes the excess oil out of your hair and gives it a "just washed" look. I use this little tip to save myself the time and hassle of having to wash, dry and style my hair every single day.

And after sharing that little tip, I bet you are sitting on the edge of your chair right now, waiting anxiously for my second beauty tip. Well here it is! A couple of years ago, I was out of town for a family wedding. When I was putting on my make-up for the wedding, I realized that my mascara was completely dried out. Out of desperation, I added a couple of drops of water to the mascara tube. And it worked... In the past, whenever my mascara would start to get dry and clumpy, I would buy a new tube and throw the old one out. No more, I tell you! These days, whenever my mascara starts to get dry and clumpy, instead of buying a new tube immediately, I simply add 1 or 2 drops of water to the tube, shake it up a little, and it's good to go, just like new! I extend the life of my mascara by at least 3 more months this way.

Aren't you just overwhelmed with my wealth of knowledge on this subject? Well hang onto your chair again, because I have one more tip! I was recently told by a friend of mine that Visine will take the red out of... nope, not your eyes... your blemishes! My friend swears by this little beauty tip. She mistakenly stumbled upon this little tip one day while putting Visine in her eyes. She missed her eye, but hit the pimple on her cheek instead. Within a few minutes, she noticed that the pimple was barely noticeable. Personally speaking, I can't wait to go to the store this weekend to buy some Visine.

By any chance has anyone tried this product?

Garnier Nutrisse Skin Renew Anti-Puff Eye Roller

From their website: Roll away under-eye puffiness and dark circles for brighter, more radiant eyes. While you sleep, circulation slows down and causes fluid to collect in your lower eye area. Dark circles and puffiness appear. Skin Renew anti-puff eye roller is right for you if you gently want to stimulate micro-circulation around skin's delicate eye area to decongest excess fluid for diminished dark circles and puffiness.

Sounds great! But I'm wondering if it really works. I'll have to get back to you all on that one...

And now it's time for you to leave your own beauty tip. Does anyone out there have a "tried and true" beauty tip they'd like to share? Hope so!!!

Scenes from a birthday party

When I asked Avery what she wanted for her 6th birthday party, she told me that she wanted a tea party with pink tea, a cake shaped like a tea pot and another cake shaped like a tea cup to go with the tea pot, tiny turkey sandwiches, some of that chicken salad that I make that has the mayonnaise in it, dip, watermelon, cantaloupe, pineapple, chocolate candy, and sugar cookies. She also wanted to play a couple of games, and she wanted a pink My Little Pony she'd seen in the store when she was there with her Daddy a couple of weeks ago.

When I asked Samuel what he wanted for his 8th birthday party, he told me that he wanted to go see a movie at the theater, and then maybe get some Chick-Fil-A chicken nuggets on his way home from the movie. That's all. :-)

Wishes Granted!

Playing pin the princess in the castle window.

And for something just a bit more masculine, we also played pin the tail on the donkey. Samuel got really close!

So Avery, how do you REALLY feel about getting the My Little Pony you wanted?

Batmobile cake, complete with chocolate chip cookie tires.

Tea pot AND tea cup cakes. I ran out of foil, so I couldn't cover Avery's cardboard bottom. Oh well... I think that was just about the only thing that went "wrong" though.

Samuel, are you enjoying your cake? Because I can't really tell...

Isaac fell asleep right when the tea party was getting started, but he woke up just in time for cake!

And that's just about the time when Hector and Avery fell asleep...

A great time was had by all. To quote Avery, "It was the best day ever!" And with those 6 simple words, it became the best day ever for me too. :-)