:: Coupons are for Sharing ::

:: Most of my girlfriends know that I can't help getting a good deal, and one of the places I hit when I go down to Bellingham is Big Lots - It's a place that buys extra lots of products from bigger stores that have bought too much to sell. So we save on their products because they buy them for such a good deal. Most of the time I get our hair products from there (except the boys are bought from Dollar Tree in Bellingham), plus our 'oxi clean', clothes detergent, snacks, cereal, tooth brushes, and any other random items that I find are a real good price! ::


:: Well, if it's not a good enough deal to get name brand items for 45% (average) off the regular retail price, Big Lots has a coupon out until the end of January - the only catch is you have to become a member of the "Buzz Club". The coupon is for 20% off your total order - Now that's a coupon! ::

:: Find the coupon here ::

:: Here is the link to the weekly flyer as well --- I think we're going to make an emergency (ha!) trip to Bellingham sometime this weekend....now if Hobby Lobby could just come to Bellingham, we'd be set! ::

:: Why? ::

:: Okay, so this is a random {very random} post about a discussion Paul and I have had over the past year or so... ::

:: This conversation consists of him not understanding why us as women {okay, maybe not all of us, but most of us} can talk about dating/relationships, weddings , homes & babies even after we've done all of these things. He thinks that since we've dated, wed, bought a house & now have kids...why on earth I want to re-live, watch someone doing these things on t.v. or converse about it with a girlfriend! I tried to explain to him in this way; if you owned your dream car {Porsche 911} would you still want to look at other cars, talk about them, hear new info about them, sit in them, try it on for size, watch about them on t.v.? He said it wasn't the same ::


:: I lost the discussion - because I didn't want to fight the issue ::

:: However, for me as a girl {but not an overly girlie-girl}, I love to hear, watch & talk about all these things that we look forward to as women --- is this just me and Mr. L or do y'all have the same stupid conversations in your house?

:: Can't wait to hear what y'all have to say! ::

:: XO, *Shawna ::

:: Family First ::

:: While on my quest to start off my year right and taking my word of the year into account (more on what that is later) -- I went down to the crawl space and took out a few books that I wanted to read through again ::

:: Cause I really have so much time for reading. Ha! ::

:: I do actually make time for reading; I really really really love to read, and I'm one of these people who actually marks up my books and highlights them as I go along ::

:: One of the books I pulled out was Family First by Dr. Phil -- Now I don't, nor will I ever put all of my trust in another human or take every ounce of what they say to be 100% applicable to my life - however I do think that some thoughts and ideas from an outside source is sometimes welcome, especially when it comes to raising a family ::

:: Here is a quote from his book that I read last night, this is truly how I feel and reading this book just gives us the tools to bring our kids up on the straight and narrow path that we are called to walk ::

It is time that as parents we say, "hey, I do not surrender, I do not give up. I will not be intimidated by all the forces tugging on my children and family. I will not accept that disconnected children are just 'how it is' these days. I do not accept the epidemics of oral sex, drugs and alcohol in the middle and upper schools. I do not accept a child that appears 'deaf' when I say, 'pick up your toys and don't hit your sister in the head anymore.' I will not continue to parent out of fear that my kids won't like me if I require more from them behaviorally, academically and spiritually as I teach them that relationship-building is important in life. I will not feel guilty and go into debt trying to keep them in designer clothes and toys/activities from preschool on up! I am not charged with being their friend, I am charged with being their parent, their protector, their teacher and their leader. I will 'rise above my raisin', if necessary, to break any family legacy that may be contaminating how I lead my family and deal with my children. Give me the specific tools, guidance and techniques and I will work to socialize my children in a way so that they become immune to the many seductive promises of instant gratification, false realities and provocative lifestyles of today's fast paced world. I will not let the television or Internet 'babysit' them as I communicate only through emails, pagers and cell phones. I will instead plug in the old-fashioned way and prepare them to deal with the distractions that assault them and blur their vision of self. I will create the pride, unity and loyalty and 'team spirit' that is so critical to a phenomenal family."

:: What a stinkin' great statement, and I totally feel that we as parents are called to do just that. Now if anyone knows what 'rise above my raisin' means, I would love to know - cause just in case y'all forgot I was born in the North but I've got roots somewhere in the South - I'm sure of it! ;) ::

:: The other book that I pulled out was Bringing Up Boys by Dr. James Dobson, I have yet to crack that one, but in a few weeks I'll probably post a bit about that one too...do any of you have a great 'self help' type book (other than the Bible) that you could share with me? ::

:: Understandable ::

:: I'm trying to get things done today, things that have been on the "to-do" list for weeks now...it is the 19th of January for crying out loud... ::

:: But my kids are not napping today, last night they didn't go to bed until 10ish, this is all from being out WAY too late on Saturday night, we're now paying for it. Long naps in the afternoon, then no sleep @ 7:00 like normal - I don't really care about them, but I (& Mr. L) need them to be sleeping for 7 pm. So it's easy to understand that I may not get all the things completed off my "to-do" list and that includes blogging ::

:: Because I will be busy cuddling the little gaffer who just fell off my desk because he was dancing a little too crazy to I Gotta Feeling, by the Black Eyed Peas - due to lack of his daily nap. Hopefully all returns to normal tomorrow, but probably it won't. Ha ha ha, at least y'all understand! ::

:: Fly Beau, The Bachelor ::

:: Oh my goodness...the past few weeks have been quite the wild ride with this Bachelor & all his girls! ::

:: I still have (at least until tonight) my eye on Tenley, Ali & Elizabeth --- However all that changed tonight! More on that in a moment ::

:: We obviously all saw the gong show that was last weeks news...Rozlyn being asked by Chris to leave due to her having inappropriate relations with a "staffer". We don't know what this means, but obviously since she didn't fight Chris on the allegations, something improper happened! I felt bad for Jake and for Rozlyn (kinda!), it was a horrible train wreck! ::

:: So this week, I have to admit that I missed the first 3/4 of the show as I was out at a meeting and then dealing with my babes when I got home ::

:: At any rate, there was plenty of action that I did catch! ::

:: There was the amazing date that Jake took Ella on, in the helicopter, to the aquarium and then his surprise...which wasn't such a surprise, her son joining them - it was lovely, but so predictable :::: Then there was all of the issues surrounding Vienna, I didn't really like my first impression of her and it still stands - she doesn't seem true to me, but Jake gave her a rose (that's part of the show I missed) -- I don't think she'll last through next week ::

:: Oh, and sweet Tenley, sharing her heart with Jake, just lovely. Then she had to go and loose points by calling Vienna out after Vienna apologized to the girls..not cool Tenley. But you still gots my vote ::

:: OOpps, apparently it wasn't Tenley that called Vienna out it was Ali...sweet sweet Ali! ::


:: Ali, sweet, sincere, lovely, Ali - not only do I love your name, but I love that you are true to yourself, much more than any of the other girls in that house. Now hopefully he likes you as much as I do! ::
:: Elizabeth, I think you're beautiful, but obviously a little slow. What was all this come here, come here, go away, go away stuff with Jake? Don't play games, you're too beautiful to play around with guys, if you need power over others, become a teacher...don't do it to your man. It's no good for your ring finger, it stay empty forever! Ps. if you don't want to kiss, talking with such vulgar language on a stage in a comedy club will definitely confirm that wish - best of luck to you - bye bye ::

:: Now about, Melissa or was it Michelle??? I don't even remember her name now...and I don't have a picture of her, but oy, she was a crazy!!! She needed Jake to kiss her, he gave her a peck and she was all over him - yuk. She wanted it so bad. He wanted nothing to do with her. She told him that if he didn't want her there, that she would leave. She left. Good-bye ::

:: Here's to next weeks drama...I love it when it get's to the mid point in this show, it always starts getting really juicy once the first 12 are gone and the real battle starts! ::

:: Now we'll return to regular broadcasting, er, I mean posting ;) ::

:: Victoria's Birthday ::

:: We went into the City to join with our family celebrating Victoria's birthday, she's all about the Wiggles so she had a Wiggles cake, a big bouncy castle and we heard Wiggles playing all over the place ::

:: What a great time the boys had celebrating with you Victoria - Happy birthday to YOU! ::