Signs of Spring

Yesterday was so nice outside here.  Well, actually, it looked a lot warmer than it really was but we were still able to take a walk for about 45 minutes.  On our walk we visited the "farm" that is down the street.  The house is over 100 years old and has been in the same family the entire time.  Because of this, they are able to have animals that others are not.  They have chickens and my children love going to visit them.  They want to go see them every time we go for a walk.  On our walk, we also saw lots of bulb sprouts.  I pointed them out to my daughter and she asked "the flowers that you blow on, like the ones in our yard?" (referring to dandelions)  Ummmmm.....not quite.
Another sign:  Last spring I bought a calla lily at the Eastern Farmers market downtown.  After it flowered and died I just put it in my garage.  The other day I saw little sprouts.  I was so excited because I didn't think that it was going to re-sprout.

Hop on over to anikaburke.com today and check out the daily deal.  They are a cute little boutique that is selling a mystery grab bag of 12 accessories for $12 (plus $5 shipping).  I might have to pick up one for myself, their stuff is really cute!

Shopping and thrifting with my sister

Today I got to spend some quality one-on-one time with my sister.  This is a very rare occurrence because either I get to see her for a whole three minutes or there are babies trying to steal all the attention.  She goes to MSU so I don't get to see her very often in general.  Today I got to spend a whole FIVE hours with her!!!!  It was so good to catch up.  We were able to get in some shopping and went to Joanns, Target and Salvation Army.  Here are some of the FREE items that I was able to pick up at Target:

I love getting free items!  I actually found a coupon for the free Advil at the bottom of the shopping cart.  At first I thought it was on of those buy one get one free coupons but upon further examination, it was just free without a purchase.  Score!

I found these cute little teacups at the S.A.  This year I have decided to do a homemade Christmas.  Basically I am making my gifts.  I love trying new crafts so what better way to do it than make gifts for others.  I need to start thinking about it now because I am not sure how long some of these gifts might take (especially if it's knitted).  I am also not completely sure what to do with the teacups but I was thinking maybe make into candles??  I would love to hear your ideas.

friendly visits

Today we got to see my sister-in-law Kelly for lunch.  It was so nice to catch up with her because we never really see her even though she only lives an hour away.  We haven't seen her since Christmas Eve, which is kind of crazy.  Busy lives.  This past Tuesday we also met up with some friends, Heather and Erick, that were visiting from out of state.  They came with their new baby, Braden.  Here are some pictures from their visit:

 

Sometimes it's nice to see and catch up with friends/relatives, even if it is only for a few hours.

Happy Spring!

Today is the first day of Spring! I am really looking forward to some nice spring weather.  My daughter loves this Strawberry Shortcake movie and this song.

Happy Spring!

Happy St. Patrick's Day

Today is St. Patrick's Day.  I found some interesting facts out about St. Patrick.
      -He was originally from Britain and when he was 16 captured by Irish raiders and sold into slavery in Ireland
      -March 17th is the date of St. Patrick's death.  He was in his 70's when he died.
      -He escaped slavery and went back to Britain to study.  During this church study peroid, he had a dream that he needed to go disciple to the people of Ireland
      -He used a three leaf clover to explain the Trinity
      -His name prior to sainthood was Patricus Magonus Sucatus

For dinner we had corned beef sandwiches.  The weather was so beautiful and we went out to play after dinner.  This was the first time we have been out this year and the kids loved it.  I am so looking forward to summer!

Happy Pi Day!

Today is Pi day! (3.14)  In celebration, I bought a blueberry pie and some whipped cream.  Can't have pie without whipped cream!  I was going to make a strawberry pie but didn't get to the store until the evening.  So I guess I will just have to make my strawberry pie later this week.  While at the store, I spent $62 and save $62.  I am definitely getting better at couponing thanks to Bargains to Bounty!  If you are into couponing and in the Detroit area, check them out.  They match up all the coupons with the major store deals that are going on. 

Today was kind of a lazy, crazy day.  The kids schedules are way off because of the time change.  Here are a few pictures of them acting goofy:



Playing in Alyssa's kitchen



Little Daddy!



Lent and a giveaway

Today is the first day of Lent.  That means that yesterday was Paczki day!  Happy belated Paczki day!  This is the history behind Paczki day (according to Wikipedia.com).

 "In Poland, pączki are eaten especially on Fat Thursday (the last Thursday before Ash Wednesday). Many Polish Americans celebrate Pączki Day on Fat Tuesday (the day before Ash Wednesday). Traditionally, the reason for making pączki was to use up all the lard, sugar, eggs and fruit in the house, because they were forbidden to be consumed due to Catholic fasting practices during Lent."

Since I am like 50% Polish, I definitely celebrate Paczki day!  Who doesn't love a good donut??  For Lent, I will pretty much be giving up sugar and fatty foods, except for the occasional treat.  I am also going to make a point to be more dedicated to my workout. 

On a side note, one of the bloggers that I follow, Suze, from Miss Vinyl Ahoy is having a giveaway!  Make sure to check it out here!