Spooky on a Budget

Last night Bella wanted to start decorating for Halloween so I went to drag out all of our fun spooky things and to my surprise we only had a table cloth, a stuffed bear, and a mummy. Yep that's it. Needless to say it didn't go too far.
My first reaction was, " I'll just go to the dollar store and spend 30.00 on all the things we need." Crap!!! Dave Ramsey!!! So now what? Time to get creative. My friend MeLisa shared with me last night of a Christmas she had where all she had was money for the tree. She made all of her ornaments from construction paper and dye cut shapes. I flipped the script and did the same for Halloween. Funny how creative we become when we have no money. I am not done yet but this is what I have done so far.

Cold Front means Fall Shoes!!!

Last weekend was the last weekend of summer. Tonight we had a rain storm and now it's in the low low 70'1!!! You know in Texas if it's in the low 70's high 60's you can officially switch to fall fashion.
There are so many new trends for fall boots and I am dying for them. The ones that I am most in love with is the ankle boot and the peep toe boot, To die! Did I mention I am in the process of doing Dave Ramsey???? I don't think trendy fall boots are in the game plan but I did indulge in looking at the pictures. It's official I need a boot fund!

Bella's Bathroom



Chalk lamp with a lace skirt. Granna got this for me. A true treasure

Such a sweet little tin. Another Granna find

New Friends

Tonight I saw a glimpse of God right outside my front door. I started praying today asking God to show me the direction I should take in my decision of moving. I sometimes feel like this is just way too much house for me and I would love to redo a small house and have more money in the bank each month. Some opportunities have come up in the last few weeks that have really had me thinking. I have to admit I have not prayed about it until today.
Bella and I finished dinner and decided to take Gerdie for a walk. As soon as we went out the front door we saw a family walking by. A mom, a little girl Bella's size, and a dad holding an infant. Bella kept asking " can I go say hello to that girl mom?" Before I knew it we were walking side by side with the family. The little girl, Brooklyn is almost 4yrs old and lives one block away from us. We walked all the way to their house and while the adults were outside checking out their awesome house(they just moved in 4 months ago) the girls had disappeared into Brooklyn's room. BELLA FINALLY HAS A FRIEND!!!! The parents were so down to earth and friendly. They are having a birthday party in the near future for Brooklyn and we are invited. So so happy, but wait it gets better.
We are walking back home when I see a young girl sitting with a little boy Bella's size. She comments on Gerdie so I asked how old the little boy was. He's 4! His single dad just moved in a couple weeks ago and he has his son every other weekend. His name is Jayden and his babysitter is Allie. Jayden and Bella were also instant pals. They raced up and down the sidewalk and talked to each other like they had known each other for years. So now Bella has two little friends walking distance from her. She is always wanting someone to play with her and Mommy just can't hang. I always say my neighborhood is the best place ever but it continues to get better and better. Thank you God for new friends and the most amazing place I get to call home.

More House

Rain Rain Go Away

This weekend it rained the ENTIRE time. It was nice to go to sleep with the sound of rain Friday night, nice to wake up and be lazy Saturday morning and it was even nice to take a nap that afternoon with the sound of raindrops hitting the window. By Sunday afternoon I was going insane. I have thought of and executed every creative craft possible and I was out of ammunition. I have to admit. The television watched Bella all afternoon and evening.
I on the other hand have an increidibly clean house. My rugs are cleaned, laundry done, I even freecycled some of Bella's clothes and toys. My closets couldn't get more organized and my linen closets would bring tears to my Grandma Sally's eyes.
The bad thing about being cooped up in the house is that I think I put on about 5lbs. eating everything in site. It's amazing how creative you become when locked up.
So that was my weekend. I am posting some pictures of my house to share. Hope you like them.

Mommy Daughter date night

What a night... totally unplanned, unscripted, and uneventful. From a mom that likes to plan everything down to break time I had a great night with Bella. It was a gloomy Friday night with not a lot going on. I thought Grapefest was this weekend and "planned" on going there for a little bit. Turns out it's not till next weekend. I sooo did not want to cook and sooo did not want to sit in the house so I made it a date night. I must say I do know how to throw a great "girls" date night. So we set out!!!
First we were going to go to a hibachi grill, "fire place" as Bella would call it but we ditched it when we drove past P.F Chang's and Bella saw the HUGE horses outside. My car made a quick right and we found ourselves dining in a cozy booth in dim lighting. Wow how much better could it be!!! We ordered the orange peeled chicken with brown rice. Bella used her chopsticks like a pro and we scarfed down our food way faster than if I was with a sneaky boy. After dinner we walked outside to discover it was raining. Yes it just got better. With no umbrella we had to snuggle up and run for the car giggling the entire way.
When we got home we were greeted by the cutest little black fur ball that has the worst manners. She jumped in our faces and clawed our legs. Did we care? Of course not because we both love her. Okay maybe that's just me. It was good to get home though because we had big plans. Wine and a movie??? Oh noooo, massive sheet tent and barbie time!!! Spent the rest of the night playing with my sweet baby girl in a tent that got no air! Best date I have ever gone on. Best part of it is that my date is knocked out in her bed snoring and I get to go get in my own bed and snuggle with my black furr ball.

BYOP

It's that time of the year. Even though it is still 95 degrees outside I can feel cooler air coming. I can already see my neighbors coming out more often. Longer walks with Bella and Gerdie and the HOLIDAYS!!! Like it or not it's about to be game on.
I have decided to throw a pumpkin carving party for my neighbors. I am surrounded by the best neighbors I could ever ask for. It seems that I know and love all of the people that surround me but I seem to be the common denominator amongst everyone. Go figure. Could it be because I am just so charming??? Anyhow, I thought it would be a great time for everyone to get to know each other since we are all so fabulous. I did not want to go through the trouble of a formal dinner and I didn't want everyone in my house. What could be better than a pumpkin carving party!!! I will provide the tables, carving tools, votive candles, and maybe some lite snacks and drinks. Everyone is responsible for bringing their own pumpkin, (BYOP) because we know how exspensive they can be. I am thinking we can have a few contest on the scariest, cutest, and most detailed. I will give away three small gifts to each winner and of course take pictures of everyone and their pumpkins. After the party is over everyone will get an email with their picture along with everyone else's picture and email addresses. Hopefully this will encourage everyone to keep in touch.
I am blessed to live in the best house and best neighborhood I could imagine.
God has strategically put wonderful people around me and my little family. I feel that it is my duty to do something with it.

Back to the Future

Soooo.... Finally after over a month without a computer I am back to the future. Or should I say back in the now. I have felt so disconnected from the world and there is just something about checking emails and trying to be inspired from my cell that just doesn't work for me. The sad reality check is that life did go one. I still woke every morning and still had wonderful and terrible days.
Over the last month Bella has been sick with a cough. It started Aug 7th and we are still holding strong. 7 days of mucinex, two weeks of abuterol, two weeks of pulmicort and singulair. Yes, I know what your thinkng, didn't I take her to the doctor? Yes I did and my lovely pediatrician chalked it up to allergies. A month later, a nasty call to the medical assistant at the peds office, several nights of no sleep, 103.00 fever, 500.00 pn meds that weren't covered by insurance and did not work, and last but not least a trip to the urgent care clinic and she has finally been diagnosed with bronchitis and double ear infection!!!! May I please have the antibiotic now???? I will now be changing pediatricians and would really like to call her office and tell her a few words that are not so nice. All I can say is she better be glad I have Jesus in me because Satan was and is ready to over rule when I heard my poor little Bella's diagnosis.