Score!

Mom and I spent the day shopping in Jacksonville. We were looking for a dress for her to wear to my brother's wedding this summer and we started at the Dillard's Clearance Center. If you aren't familiar with this store, it's fabulous. We have been shopping at the one in Arlington for years. It's the store where Dillard's stores from all over the region send their clearance merchandise when it doesn't sell. There's a lot of junk to look through, but there are also some great buys. Everything is at least 50-70% off original price and most things are 75% off. This weekend everything was also an additional 50% or 30% off, depending on department.

My favorite part of shopping this kind of sale, (other than wearing my fabulous finds) is adding up the original prices and finding out how much I saved. Today's savings were 83%! My total before sale price was $995.98. This included a purse, a jacket, a top and two dresses.

I found several great things, but one highlight was a great Lilly Pulitzer spring jacket. It was originally $398 and I got it for only $49.75. It's the perfect statement piece that's a classic style I can wear for years. My other favorite find was a HOBO bag that was marked down to $65.94, from $318. I've been eyeing new purses for a few weeks now because my everyday bag is getting pretty worn. This style should hold up really well for several seasons and it's the perfect style and color for my wardrobe.

What do you think of my finds?

Showered...

I mentioned that my mom has been here for the last couple of weeks. Other than being great company and Luke's personal assistant, (He pretty much thinks she is at his beck and call.) she is fabulous at putting together a beautiful shower. It worked out perfectly for me because I was helping to host a shower for 3 girls at my home last Saturday. All three moms are due in April or May and it turned out beautifully.

There are few things that my mom has taught me and I have learned doing showers:
1. The little touches make the difference. We had a mix of boys and girls, so we chose to use all yellow and white. So I found small yellow ducks to place around my house to add touches of "baby". I also used some of the boys old gifts to decorate with. I wouldn't regift them, but they are perfect for using in decorations.
2. Consider hosting a display shower. This doesn't work for every occasion, but when it works, it can really make your shower pleasant. If you have a large number of invites or multiple guests of honor, you can make the shower "display only" and not open presents. We made a note on the invitation that you could choose to bring your gift unwrapped for display or wrapped for each mother to open later. Each mother had her own table for her gifts and there were a mixture of gifts to look at and gifts that were wrapped. The mothers-to-be loved not being the center-of-attention and the guests were relieved not to have to sit through opening 30+ gifts.
3. Elegant most often is simple. We tried to keep our food and table very simple. We chose to make double recipes of several dishes instead of making 6-8 different items to serve. It made the food easy to arrange tastefully on the table and easy to serve. We also chose to stick with a simple color scheme. White and yellow were mixed with clear glass and silver pieces. Not everything was "matchy-matchy" but it still looked as if everything belonged on the table together.

What do you think ?

Use serving pieces of different heights to add interest to your table. We even used a box and a second table cloth to elevate our cake.

Placing all your beverages in a different room than the food helps traffic flow and keeps people mingling.

Wooden blocks that my boys already had added an extra touch to several areas.

I replaced my usual coffee table items with toys and a hurricane full of blocks.

For my gift, I made each mother a diaper cake using their nursery colors and theme. It helped to distinguish each table and personalize their gift. I also made closet dividers that I'll be detailing on Today's Housewife this week.



I created a baby carriage from a watermelon to help dress up the table.

Tim sent me daffodils the week of the shower that were perfect for our color scheme. (He's so good!) And we filled a small vase with seasonal candy for guests to guess the number of pieces. The closest guess got to take them home as a prize.

Off the Grid...

It's been a while, I know. But we've been enjoying a little Mimi time the past couple of weeks. My mom had planned her 3 week visit around Tim's underway schedule before he switched subs. He was originally going to be at sea now, but his whole schedule has shifted with our new boat. But Mom decided to come anyway - and we are so glad she did! We've had lots of fun and, as usual, she's been a big help around here. I threw a baby shower with some gals from our "old" sub and we had it here. Her expertise in hosting beautiful events was such a help. (More pictures to follow.)

It hasn't been all work though. She's had plenty of time to spoil her grand babies and have a good time with us. We've been to the zoo, to take Easter pictures, to shop, to eat local shrimp and tomorrow we headed out (just the girls) to find a dress for Mark and Meghan's wedding. It's been a great visit and we will all be so sad to see her go next week!

Sliding at the zoo with Mimi

Surprisingly, Mark chose the Merry-go-round over the train for this particular zoo visit. The boys had a great time though and I think he might choose it again.

Maybe I should reconsider my business...

Why should I reconsider my business?  Well, because I have now branded myself with the Pampered Chef logo.  Apparently, if you take a hot quiche out of the oven and grab the Pampered Chef pie crust shield in the wrong way, it will snap upward and over your hand searing your arm with 375 degree aluminum band.  Maybe if Southern Living at HOME doesn't work out I can explore other direct sales companies...  

Those Tricky Leprechauns!

While Mark was playing this morning the St. Patrick's Day Leprechaun's visited us and played a few tricks.  He was very impressed with what they did to our breakfast...

Our milk and Cream of Wheat was green!

Today also happens to be our favorite aunt's birthday.  Happy Birthday Aunt Lindsy!  We love you!

My Mamma's Boy

People told me that having boys would mean that I would get mamma's boys.  But Mark Garrett has always been the kind of child who wouldn't even sit still long enough to hug you, much less cuddle and be affectionate.  Even in this picture you can see that I'm restraining him to try and take our Christmas photo.  But things seem to be changing around here - and I love it!  He wants to hold my hand everywhere we go.  There's no more running ahead or trying to escape me.  When I leave him at school or church, he wants a full-on hug and kiss before I go.  And in the morning when he wakes up he wants to get in my bed, snuggle and "share Mommy's pillow".  There is no sweeter way to wake up than lying next to your little boy who is giving you kisses on your hair and giggling because they "sound silly".  I'm trying to store up all these moments because I know it won't be too long before he no longer wants me to kiss him at school and he wouldn't be caught dead holding his mother's hand.  But for now, I'll take my mamma's boy.  And all those slobbery, silly kisses he puts in my hair...

The Stuff Musical Dreams are Made of...

Apparently we are behind the times.  The boys don't watch a lot of television so we really aren't aware when new shows come on.  The boys watch Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and Bob the Builder, but I just DVR them and we watch them at our convenience.  So, when my friend, Sandra, mentioned the Imagination Movers on her blog not too long ago I paid attention.  She has two boys who are very close in age to mine.  And, most importantly, she has excellent taste in music.  I knew that if she recommended something it couldn't be too annoying.  

So I finally remembered to DVR it this week and Mark has been asking to watch it non-stop.  It's definitely his new favorite.  Luke even seems to like it.  There's lots of singing and they are always solving problems.  I also like that the guys aren't portrayed in a wimpy way like a lot of kids shows.  If you have preschoolers I'd definitely check it out one morning on Playhouse Disney.  

I have always wondered one thing though.  Do guys like these dream of being a children's band?  Or does it just sort of happen?  Or maybe they just see it as the best way to make some good money?  Seriously though.  Do you think as 15 year old musicians they thought they'd be performing to 4 year olds in blue jumpsuits?  It must pay well or They Might Be Giants and Barenaked Ladies wouldn't have made the leap to this genre too, I guess.  What do you think?  

It's About Time!

We've been working on our taxes the past few weekends. You'd think they'd be fairly straight-forward, right? Tim's an active duty military member so his home of residency is considered Texas no matter where we get stationed. Unfortunately, that is not the case for me. I am considered a resident of the current state in which we live. In 2008 I was resident of 3 states. That means we get to prepare and file 4 separate returns. Yes. You read that correctly. 4 returns. My self-employment status means that I must file my business income in all three states in which we lived, plus a federal joint return. (Can anyone say Fair Tax please!?!)

Thankfully, there is legislation being introduced to fix this complication of military life. Representative John Carter (R-TX31) introduced the Military Spouse Residency Relief Act on February 25. This is actually the second time he has introduced this piece of legislation. It was passed by the House last fall but died in the Senate and did not become law before Congress adjourned in December. This simple legislation would allow any military spouse to claim the same state of residency as their husband or wife serving in the military.

What can you do to help? Please take a moment to call, email or write your representative and senator. Ask them to co-sponsor and support Senate bill 475 and House Resolution 1182. Military families make a great deal of sacrifices for our country. This is one very practical way you can show them your support and appreciation.

A Little of This and That...

This week at Today's Housewife we are writing "15 Things" about ourselves. You can read all about me here.

One more thing you may not know about me is that I love "reality television." I know, it's not really "real" but I still love watching it. I've written about The Bachelor before, but I'd like to take just a moment to publicly say last night might have been the most painful 3 hours of television I've ever seen. I can't believe anyone with a soul would break up with their fiancee on national tv and that any producer or television executive with a conscience would air it. Nice job ABC. Very classy. I hope I never run into Jason Mesnick on the street. I just might go "crazy submarine lady" on him...

On a completely unrelated note we took Luke back to the allergist yesterday. We tested him for chocolate and tomatoes. He had an allergic reaction to something when we were home in January and I thought I'd narrowed it down to one of those two things. But thankfully he was negative for both. That means he must have reacted to one of his other known allergens and I just didn't know he'd come into contact with one them. (Milk, eggs, peanuts and cashews.) We did not test his levels on any of his other allergens but will do that when we go back in June. Hopefully he will start outgrowing them soon. We also are going to start him on Zyrtec to try and control his environmental allergies. He is allergic to dogs but we are hoping to control it enough to be able to keep Lonestar and not have to replace the carpet with other flooring. Please remember to pray for his safety with these foods and for an improvement in his environmental allergies.