RockPoint Coed Softball Team Dominates

This weekend was Greg's Co-ed Team’s softball tournament. On Saturday, they won all 3 of their games and advanced to the championship game on Sunday. It was a double elimination tournament, so the opposing team would have to beat Greg's team twice to win.

Please welcome, my guest blogger, Greg Hull. **applause**

Here is Greg's summation of Sunday's games...

"After hitting well and playing excellent defense Saturday, our bats went cold and we lost the first game. We had to play a second game in which we came from behind to win the championship. In the 4 seasons we’ve had this team, we have won the championship twice and played in the championship game 3 times. I think I smell a dynasty.

One more stat, I am 2 for 2 on anti-climactic championship wins. The first time, the lights turned out early on us, so we didn’t get to finish the game. On Sunday, I thought we still had time for 1 more inning, so on the 3^rd out while we were out in the field, I just ran in like we were going to start another inning, but the game was over and we had won. Next time, I will be throwing hat and glove and starting the dog pile."

We Painted Today.

Today, Nathan and I worked on a project together. As we wrapped it up, I set up the camera to take this picture. Despite my disheveled appearance, I love that you can see how much paint Nathan got on his arms and legs during our project. He's soo cute!

Grass so Green

We got grass! Grass has never looked greener to me after looking at brown dirt for so long!

I'm sorry...

Nathan, I'm sorry I wasn't there when you fell off the swingset today - I should have been there.

Funny, haha

A jumper cable walks into a bar.
The barman says "I'll serve you, but don't start anything.

hahaha!

Losing...

momentum on this fun little challenge to the point that I'm actually backdating my posts so I don't lose a day. How sad is that? Welcome to my world!

Working Mom Woes

As a working mom, I have a lot of guilt for not being a stay at home mom. Some stay at home moms might think that sending your child off to an in home daycare 8 hours a day would provide a much needed 'mommy' break. I get that. I understand needing a mommy break. But if I were to measure my day out by percentage of a mommy break, it only makes up about 25% of the day because the other 75% of my day is made up of the stress of work AND good old fashioned GUILT.

Guilt drives me to do things I might not otherwise do. Here is a perfect example of a guilt driven project. One day I felt that I was not doing enough to 'teach' my one and only son the things I feel are important. When this thought settled in my mind, I was packed and on the train with a one way ticket for a guilt trip!

As a result of my guilt trip, I decided to create this very elaborate 'Learning Center' to teach my one and only son about things that I figured I should probably be teaching him; Months, Days of the Week, Special Events, Scripture, etc.



We've had this in place for a couple of weeks now and most days, my one and only son is eager to learn about the day. On those days, I feel like a good mom. I've done well and my efforts have paid off! Pat on the back.

Then there are days, where my one and only son could care less. Then I'm bitter because I put a lot of time and hard work in creating this stupid board. And he won't even muster up a little effort to stand there and move the cards around. Then I realized the hidden blessing in those days...it lessens my GUILT- it doesn't matter because he doesn't even care! Pat on the back anyway, I tried.

Beauty Secret Revealed!

All right calling this a 'Beauty' Secret is probably stretching it but here is some information you probably didn't know which makes this.....(watch video clip)


Earlier this year, by chance, I met a licensed Esthetician (skin care specialist) and I asked her what brand of facial soap/makeup remover could she recommend that would not cost me a small fortune. She passed on this Brand New Information! to me.

She recommended this soap, which is also recommended by dermatologists. You can find it for $6-8 at almost any store. She said it is equal to the expensive stuff you buy at department or specialty stores. Found it, bought it, check!



I also asked her about ex-foliating (removing dead skin) and she then recommended this next product and said it's the same as the $60 jar of some-high-dollar-brand-name, which now escapes my memory. Talk about a secret! Found it, bought it, check!


I've been using both of these ever since! They are inexpensive products so I've saved money. They are easily accessible and I can pick them up at almost any store. You'll hear no complaints from me! Seriously though, I haven't had a pimple this year. Just saying.

Safety First!

Nathan standing at the front of a Firetruck.

One weekend, Nathan and I went to Target and we stumbled upon our town's Safety Fair completely by accident. Having no other agenda for the day, we stopped.

It's kinda funny when something that is meant for the 'kids' ends being cool to you as the adult parent. For example, the Police Department opened up a SWAT truck for everyone to sit inside and check out. It was very cool for me to see something that I've only ever seen on tv and in movies!


They also had a display table with gear and artillery.






They also had a helicopter, super cool to me since I've had a long standing fascination with helicopters. Unfortunately, Nathan doesn't share this passion with me, he seems to prefer the helicopters stay in the sky.


Sitting at the wheel of the big red firetruck was Nathan's absolute favorite part of the day.


I love how the hat fell over Nathan's face in this next picture.


They also had a Bomb Squad truck on display, I captured this brief video of the Bomb Squad's robot that they use for disarming dangerous bombs.


What an unexpected, surprisingly fun time for both of us! And it was FREE!

Creature of Habit

If Greg had a blog this is what he would post about, per Greg Friday morning. Greg is such a Creature of Habit that when I'm able to get Honey Nut Cheerios at .97 cents a box and I buy 14 boxes. It makes him very happy. :o)

There's no greater disappointment for a Creature of Habit then heading to the kitchen for your daily bowl of Cheerios and then remembering your OUTTTT. For the Creature of Habit, it throws the entire day off and if the Creature of Habit was in a good mood as he headed to the kitchen, it's been soured just a bit because of the Habit has been interrupted.

Fourteen boxes for the Creature of Habit means he won't be running out for at least 2 months!

So glad I could make my husband happy with something so simple. :o)

Hull Family Pictures 2009 - Not a Bust!

Does anyone remember this post from last year? Hull Family Pictures a BUST for 2008!

Well, this year our family pictures were NOT a Bust and I am over the moon kind of happy!
The picture above is my absolute favorite of all the pictures and it's the only one I'm planning to show right now. hahaha! What a teaser huh?

I have looked at this picture over and over and over. I love it because I feel it totally encapsulates the specialness of how I feel about my husband. If I were a real writer, I would be able to put words around what my heart feels when I gaze at him. The admiration, the respect, and awe...yet it's so much 'more' than that. So much more. I don't know how to explain that I could look at him every day of my life and just 'appreciate' him. I can't imagine that anyone could possibly understand what I'm trying to explain but I can 'see' it in this picture. So because the words fail me, this picture will just have to do.

You are Totally Busted!

Little boy, you are totally busted for getting into Mommy's makeup!

2 more down, just 360 to go!

Wow.

I can't believe what I've been missing all these years.
I had no idea how good these are!

Coupon Phenomenon

In my copious spare time, I've picked up a new hobby. Saving money. Greg is thrilled. hahaha!

Here are the groceries I purchased today, regular price $77.69. Diapers, Diaper wipes, Batteries, Milk, Bread, Eggs, 10 boxes of Kleenex with Lotion, Jelly, etc.


I paid $34.58. Here's how I saved $43.11.

1. Loyalty card, it's easy savings. I saved $34.11 with the loyalty card. Easy but it gets more complex when you introduce some key coupon strategies.
2. Stacking Coupons = Using a Manufacturer coupon PLUS a Store coupon. See Example 1.
3. Multiple manufacturer coupons = Having more than one of the same coupon. See Example 1 & 2.
4. Coupon Doubling = When a grocery store doubles the value of your coupon. Today my grocery store valued any and every coupon at a $1.00. So any coupon I used, no matter the face value, equaled a $1.00 when I checked out. See Example 2.
5. Store Promotions = Special promotions like Buy 10 of X products, save $5 off your total bill. See Example 2.

Example 1:

I paid 1.79 for each pack of these Energizer Batteries. Here's how:
Loyalty Card Price:...........................$3.79
Manufacturer Coupons:..................-$1.00
Competitor Store Coupon:...............-$1.00
--------------------------------------------------------
Total Price Paid:..............................$1.79 per pack
Not a bad price for Energizer Batteries. I had 2 manufacturer and competitor store coupons so I bought 2 packs of batteries.

Example 2:


Special Promotion Price:............................$0.99 a box if you buy 10 boxes
Manufacturer Coupons:............................-$0.50 off, when you buy 3 boxes
Competitor Store Coupon:.........................-$2.00
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(10) Boxes of Kleenex:..................................$9.90
(3) .50 off coupons, doubled by my store.....-$3.00
(1) Competitor Store Coupon.......................-$2.00
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total............................................................$4.90
Price per Kleenex Box, 4.90 divided by 10......$0.49 per box
Store promotion..........................................-$5.00 off your bill if you buy 10 'participating products', Kleenex is a 'participating product'!
They paid me..............................................+$0.10 to take these Kleenex off their shelves!

Do you get it?

I also had other coupons as part of this sale. I had a coupon for the the eggs, they were also free and I had a $2.00 coupon for the diapers, a $1.00 coupon for the diaper wipes, etc, etc and it all adds up to a savings of $43.11!

If you want to know more about saving money with coupons, let me know. :o)

Child Labor Laws?

What? There are Child Labor Laws? I have no idea what your talking about.

BRAND NEW INFORMATION!

This is a "Brand New Information!" alert. Did you know that boxes of Saran Wrap and Aluminum Foil have perforated punch-in's to keep the roll in the box when you are pulling the wrap or foil out? Neither did I!



Now I wonder how long have those little punch-in's have been there and I've never noticed? Humph.

If you already knew about this, then it is not brand new information to you. Aside from that, why didn't you tell me?!

Despair.com

I admit it. I love sarcasm. It makes me laugh. I feel that a good sense of humor is the ability to laugh at ourselves, mock our idiosyncrasies and being able to make a joke at our own expense.
I ran across a website that is chock full of sarcasm and it totally makes me laugh. I know in advance, this will not be for everybody. But if you enjoy sarcasm, like I do, read on.

Ever heard of Successories? They have an entire line of motivational products. Their posters have lined countless office walls and thereby inspired the masses. Despair.com is the the antithesis to Successories. They have created an entire line of DEmotivators! Even their tagline is funny; Increasing success by lowering expectations.















That's it.

This Day makes our TOP TEN LEAST FAVORITE DAYS list.

The day started out with a fever of....well, I've taken Nathan's temperature so many times today, I can't even remember what it was. It was high enough to keep him home and let my boss & team know that I'd be taking care of him at home while working. Which means inconsistent availability.

Nathan's fever floated between low hundreds to...107.3 - now let me just say something before I go any further. I already know - and have been told - that Nathan wouldn't have been conscious if his fever were that high. I'm just saying THAT is what I saw - twice - on our Temporal Scanner Thermometer.


We rushed to Urgent Care. Twenty minutes later, Nathan's temperature registered 103.something. At which time I am 'informed' that Nathan's temperature could NOT have been 107. Well, that's what I saw - just saying.

In addition to Nathan's high temperature, the Dr. felt Nathan was dangerously dehydrated. Since Nathan wasn't drinking fluids, an IV would have to be administered. How do you explain dehydration to a 2yr old? How do you explain the necessity of a needle staying stuck in your arm to a 2 yr old? Nathan sobbed and wept for almost 2 hours straight, while that IV was in his arm. Interestingly though, his temperature dropped just minutes after his IV was inserted.







Much later, when the IV was finally removed. The world was a better place again.
Nathan sat in my lap for a little while and just 'recovered', then he eventually made it over to dada's lap and played a little.




His little eyes were so swollen from crying for so long though that his little face was puffy all over.

But if Nathan can smile at the end of the day, then I certainly can to. But this day DOES go on the Top Ten Least Favorite Days list!