:: Birthday Boy! ::

:: Today is my biggest little boys 4th birthday! ::

:: It seems like just yesterday we were going in to be checked, far overdue with our first bebe. He came quite (understatement of the year) late! But he was worth the wait! ::

:: Happy birthday to my most favorite Jacob, you are a darling boy and could not imagine our life without you. You are genuine, sweet, passionate and know exactly what you want and we love you more with each passing, day & year! ::

:: All our love, Mama, Daddy & Coley ::

:: We've been ::

:: Trippin' ::
:: Road trippin' that is ::
:: Us and our '88 Citation headed South towards a big rock and a few waves ::
:: Oh, us and our Hula girl - can't forget her! :::: Here is where we landed ::
:: Here we are at Manzanita Beach flying our kite, our adventure was truly amazing, a family trip was just what we needed! ::

:: We've been back for a few days, but drowning in family wedding celebrations, cakes, birthday celebrations for our big 4 year old boy, cakes and more cakes! Ha! ::

:: I'll be back soon to update on the rest of our trip as well as more mother's day celebrations! ::

:: Happy Weekend Y'all - Hope it's filled with plenty of Joy and Love ::

:: Saturday Savings ::

:: So, you may have heard via the Facebook vine, or other blogs about "couponing" - not that it's an actual term but...it explains what it is! ::

:: Want to see what I can get for $7.62 (including 12% tax)? ::

:: Okay, so it doesn't look like very much but here it is broken down for you (with some items on sale!) ::

Snickers Bar $1.19 (I had a buy one get one free coupon) - I paid $1.19

Old Spice Deodorant $3.99 x 2 (I had $8 in coupons) - that makes these two items free

Pantene Hairspray on sale from $6 (who on earth would pay $6 for hairspray) for $3.99 (I had $7 in coupons) - I paid $1

Cascade Action Pack $5.99 x 2 (I had a buy one get one + $4 in coupons) - I paid $2

So all together I paid (without tax) $4.19 + $1.96 in PST + $1.52 in GST = $7.72 out of my pocket

Without my coupons this is what my total would have been: $30.32 + $1.96 + 1.52 = $33.80

{here is the picture of my bill to prove it!}

:: Get this my total savings was $26.18!!! ::

:: Now that is some killer savings! ::

:: Now since I've got you all oogling over my savings and of course you now want free stuff too...message me and I'll get you in contact with the girl that taught me how to do this ::

:: Here's to saving money and Saturdays! ::

:: XO, *S ::

:: My Name is Shawna ::

:: And I buy my sunglasses from the dollar store. Why? Why would I do such things? Well, let me tell ya, they are just sunglasses no.1...no.2 I loose them...and if I don't loose them my children sit/stand/loose them. It's a hideous cycle ::

:: So here is my $2.00 pair of sunglasses I purchased from the dollar store, I could have gone to a more expensive joint and purchased some, but reality bites and my reality is that they may last for 5 months, but no further...cause see in this post, those lovely nautical sunglasses that I paid $15+ for aprox. 5 months ago - vamoose, gone, no where to be found! Ugh. Welcome to my life! Ha Ha Ha! ::

:: Okay, now I know that probably sounds totally cheap, as most people will lay down $45+ for sunglasses and I'm complaining about a $15 pair gone astray, well let me tell you. I can't handle seeing moola go to waste when I could have spent a 1/4 of the cost and lost the $2 pair just as easy! And yes, I'm frugal. That is a fact. So kill me. ::

:: Picnic Time ::

:: Since the boys had fallen asleep on Mother's Day and didn't wake up for what seemed like a year, all of the preparations that Mr. L had made were put back into the fridge. So I decided that I would throw a picnic for two of my most favorite boys, and oy, were they excited! ::

:: Look, even Woody was taken care of! He even had his own "wrap" aka: bread stick! ::

:: So great to see my little ones not fighting, biting, punching, hitting or kicking and just enjoying each other...currently it's a rare occurrence but it's one that's treasured! ::

:: Welcome to Spring! ::

:: Favorite's ::

:: Because I totally love learning about what people love, what they are all about, you know...what makes you, you...I thought I would share a few of my simple favorites {pleasures} with you today ::



:: Here they are all together, My favorite cup, my favorite tea & my favorite flower {in no particular order} ::

:: The tea I first tried when I was at my parents place, first of all it's green tea and I just LOVE green tea, secondly jasmine blossoms smell like Hawaii...and Hawaii is where my heart feels at home, so that's why it's my fave! ::

:: This is my favorite cup {mug}, I love it, if you ever come to my place you'll notice that it's always out, very rarely does it even hit the dishwasher as it's constantly being used. I received it as a gift from my SIL Jenn for Christmas two years ago along with some Starbucks coffee. I had oogled this cup in Starbucks but didn't buy it for myself, and I'm glad I didn't as it wouldn't mean as much if I just bought it for myself! Oh and the chip in it is from one of my kids throwing a sippy cup across the kitchen. Nice. ::

:: Now the lily of the valley, I first smelled lily of the valley when I was in London. And it has forever been etched in my memory that moment in time. I was on my way home to Hawaii from Albania and Kosova. Why I have lily of the valley is because my neighbour across the way gave me some of her shoots that were just going crazy in her garden. We had tried to transplant some last year and they didn't take, so you can imagine my excitement when I noticed the blooms coming up at the end of April...ugh, and the scent of it was outstanding! Geesh, God was so smart when he created the world! ::

:: Here's to a new day, a new simple pleasure and noticing things that make you smile and mean something to you! ::

:: Happy Wednesday Y'all! ::

:: What we're up to tonight ::

:: Truthfully we're not holding out much hope that our home team is going to make it to the next round but we're here still cheering them on! ::

:: I hope y'all have had a great day, it was a beautiful one here and I can feel Summer is right around the corner! Oh goody! ::

:: XOXO, *S ::

:: Welcome Zachary ::

:: Back at the end of February one of my best girlfriends had a bouncing baby boy {after two bouncy baby girls} -- I hosted a "Sprinkle" shower for him ::

:: We all went in on a group gift for Lisa which included a baby sling and a whole bunch of pre-made foods to stalk her freezer ::

:: Here are some of the details of the event ::

:: We had a great time of fellowship and baby snuggles, children are truly a gift and Zachary is proof of God's love and gift of life ::

:: Mother's Day 2010 ::

:: We had a great day in our home celebrating Mother's Day, my day started off with me running out to a store at 7 am, wasn't exactly my idea of fun, but it was a beautiful day so why not enjoy some peace and quiet while my brood was at home preparing for the day ahead and getting ready for church ::

:: When I arrived home there were two cards and a small bag waiting for me, as well as two very excited little boys! ::

:: I got two very sweet cards and another addition to my little blue box collection...a matching bracelet to my two "push" presents from having the boys in 2006&2007 :::: I LOVE it but unfortunately it didn't fit my viking size wrist! Ha! So it will have to be returned and the bigger size purchased, ah well, I love it! Thank you babe! :::: After church we headed to the local golf course to enjoy Mothers Day brunch, it was lovely and for the most part the boys were very well behaved ::

:: Here is my Marm with my SIL Lindsey :::: We enjoyed the beautiful blooms throughout the grounds :::: The boys took a walk down memory lane to the infamous pond..ha ha ha :::: Me and my boys :::: The boys entertaining themselves with their cars at the brunch :::: The plan was to go home have the boys nap for a couple hours and head off to enjoy the sunshine down at the beach. The boys ended up sleeping from 2pm - 3.30pm and then they both woke and ended up with me on the couch until 6.30 pm. Not really sure if going to the beach would have been nicer than having both my babes sleeping on me :::: I had such a nice time celebrating last night (with Paul's Mum) and today with my Marm as well as being celebrated by my boys ::

:: Marm, thank you for raising me to know right from wrong, to know who Jesus is & that through Him I can accomplish anything and to be a nurturing mother myself. I couldn't do life without you! My cup runneth over ::

:: Mum, thank you for raising Mr. L to be the wonderful Godly man he is, I am blessed to know you and to share in life's adventures with you. Thank you for taking me into your family those 11 years ago...y'all will never be the same ;) ::

:: My sisters, you are both fabulous examples of motherhood, HAPPY MOTHERS DAY! ::

:: Giveaway Weeeener! ::

:: Geez, your guesses were good...however most of you were way off! Ha Ha, I though it would be a super easy contest because you could see a slight reflection of the tulips in the bottom of the . . . ROASTING PAN! ::

:: Now you can see it hey?!?! You can see the flowers reflection and my camera to the right of the flowers ::

:: So, I'm going to give the lotion to the closest guesser ::

:: MELISSA ::

:: She guessed it was on the edge of the sink, which was closest as it was a metal object it was on and it was in my kitchen! Ha ha, I've got my own rules for all of this giveaway nonsense! ::

:: Congratulations Mo! Email me your addy and I'll be sure to get this to you ASAP ::

:: Hope y'all are having a better hump day then me, ha ha, mine has been a doozy! ::