Lou's Room

Every time we asked Lou what color she wanted her new room painted, she said blue. Blue is her favorite color. This presented us with an exciting challenge as to how to paint a little girls room blue ... not pink or purple. If you haven't heard of the site, www.houzz.com, we highly recommend it. You can type in a search for anything and thousands of room designs will come up. You can also save these designs in a folder, kind of like Pinterest (or so I'm told, I haven't joined yet ... huge shock, I know). For Lou's room, I typed in "toddler girls room" and I browsed through pictures until I found one that gave me a good starting point. The room had flower stems painted on the walls, and actual "fake" flowers on top of the stems. Seeing that room reminded me that I saw some 12" round Gerber Daisies at Hobby Lobby so the idea was formed. I used some paint we already had for the stems so they are lighter than I would like them to be. I plan to darken them at some point.

I call this the "Field of Flowers" room because it reminds me of the song I Want to Fall in Love with You by Jars of Clay. I sing these lyrics often when I'm in Lou's room and these words are my prayer for all three of our girls:

"In open fields of wild flowers,
She breathes the air and flies away
She thanks her Jesus for the daises and the roses
In no simple language
Someday she'll understand the meaning of it all
He's more than the laughter or the stars in the heavens
As close a heartbeat or a song on her lips
Someday she'll trust Him and learn how to see Him
Someday He'll call her and she will come running
And fall in His arms and the tears will fall down and she'll pray,
I want to fall in love with You."

Amen!

In case you missed it, Lou still sleeps in a crib. It's awesome! She has no idea that she can get out of it so we aren't changing it. We are geniuses! Bailey slept in her crib until we took the side off between 2 1/2 and 3 years old. Praise the Lord our kids aren't climbers because Lou sleeps with enough stuffed animals to easily climb over the side.

The following two pictures are the inexpensive vintage pieces we found on eBay for her (this goes along with our idea to put something vintage into every room in the house). We just did a search for "Lou" and here is what we found. We then framed the pieces with frames laying around the house. The first picture is the cover of the book Skip to My Lou, and the second picture is the sheet music of Skip to My Lou. These are cheap and easy ways to personalize your kids rooms.

The next picture is her piggy bank. I showed Parker's so I have to show Lou's since they have similar piggy banks, but in different colors. Her piggy bank is actually sitting on the Skip to My Lou book that the framed cover came on.

Of course, Lou also got her name framed from Aunt Shelley and Cousin Ashleigh. In case you didn't know, Anberlyn, is her real name. :)

And here is the girl herself ... Sweet Lou!

Conquer the Gauntlet - More Than a Crazy Run!

Today, we ran the Conquer the Gauntlet run in Tulsa. It was 4 miles and 31 obstacles on a course that had been soaked in a steady morning rain. For one of my best friends and I, this was more than just a crazy run. This was the first steps to completing a promise we made to each other over 4 1/2 years ago.

At the time the promise was made, I was pregnant with Bailey and we made a pact (that I also made with a few other close friends) that we would not let each other get out of shape. That no matter how many kids we had, or how much weight we gained during pregnancy, we would help each other lose that weight so that we could be the "cool moms." Ok, so now that we've had kids, we realize that we are no longer cool, but a girl can dream can't she?!

Kris and I met when we became roommates in college. She played on the basketball team and I played on the volleyball team. We were in great physical shape. We were athletes. We are still athletes. It's just that after having kids, our athletic bodies have taken on a new form. We know how to push each other to do our best because we know what each other is capable of. We don't have a lot of sympathy for each other. We tell it like it is, and that's what true friends are for.

I've had three kids, Kris has had two kids, and we both have some weight to lose. Not to mention, Kris just had her second baby 9 weeks ago. Yes, 9 weeks. She's insane! And I ran with a fractured rib. We were quite the pair! Along with support from our awesome husbands who also ran the race, we Conquered the Gauntlet. It wasn't easy, but we did it!

If you want to know the definition of a true friend, then here it goes:

• Someone who pushes you to do an obstacle that you didn't think you could do, and then cheers for you as you succeed.
• Someone who walks/runs the entire race with you and never leaves you behind.
• Someone who pulls you out of a water filled mud pit because you can't get out by yourself.
• Someone who high fives you after each tough obstacle that you survive as a team.
• Someone who gets their shorts caught on barbwire (on the top of an obstacle) and rips them as you cut your butt cheek on the same barbed wire.
• Someone who verbally tells you that they are proud of your accomplishments multiple times during the entire 4 mile run.
• Someone who pushes you out of your comfort zone.
• Someone who Conquers the Gauntlet with you.

This is not our first race, and it won't be our last. This was just a stepping stone in the right direction. Kris and I told each other that the next time we run this race, we will both be at 100% and we will Conquer it like we were meant to Conquer it.



Ecclesiastes 4:12 - "Though one may be overpowered,  two can defend themselves."

A Preventable Accident that was All My Fault

Yesterday morning the girls and I were getting ready to run some errands. The girls were dressed, but I had a few more last minute things to do to get myself ready. In the living room, the girls got a little rough with Parker on the floor and she started to fuss so I picked her up to move her to my bedroom. I put her on the bed between a pillow and a pile of clean laundry. Lou quickly jumped on the bed to be near her little sister and Parker got excited. I knew as I laid her down on the bed that I should put her on the floor (I call those God moments), but I chose to ignore the warning inside my gut because I was in a hurry. Stupid.

I walked into our bathroom and was about 6 feet from our bed. Within seconds, Parker rolled over the pillow and off the side of the bed. Thankfully, I kept my eye on her the whole time so I was able to react quickly. I dove for the floor as she fell from the top of our bed, probably a 3 foot drop. I caught her just as she was about to hit the carpet floor so she had a soft landing. She cried briefly because of the scare. I cried too. What an idiot. Who does something that stupid. This is my third kid and I knew better even with my first kid. What was I thinking?!

I humbly share this story to let you know that if you've ever done something like this then please know that you are not alone. Even the mom's with the best intentions make mistakes. Most of you know what kind of a parent I am, and this was a huge mistake. It will never happen again, and I hope that my mistake will keep you from doing the same thing in the future. In the end, I'm more hurt over this incident than she was. I regret that Parker could have been seriously injured, but I'm extremely thankful that I was able to react as quickly as I did.

I don't listen to Country music anymore, but these lyrics came to mind as I was writing this story. These words are from the song Angels Among Us by Alabama:

"Oh I believe there are angels among us.
Sent down to us from somewhere up above.
They come to you and me in our darkest hours.
To show us how to live, to teach us how to give.
To guide us with the light of love."

Thank you, Lord, for having Angels in our room yesterday and everyday. You knew that we would need them.

This is another confirmation as to why I pray daily for the healthy and safety of my family. I'm truly blessed.

Parker's Room

We were excited to finish Parker's bedroom last week. Warning - this is not your typical pink and purple girly girl room. :) The entire room was designed around the below piece of art that a friend painted so the main colors are green and orange. We saw this piece at an art gallery that she held last Fall and we knew that we had to have it. Our friend said that as she was painting this piece that she envisioned it going in a child's room. She was right!

(Pardon the unkept changing table, but this is a real bedroom and that's a daily occurrence.) Greg picked the paint color for the bottom of the room and it was a great match to the green in the painting. Thankfully, Parker's new room had a chair rail because this color would have been too much for an entire room. It's bold and it's bright, and we love it!

Once the room was coming together, we remembered that we had a painting that my great grandma (Parker's great great grandma) painted 43 years ago and that it would look pretty good in her room as well. Below is that painting. It's signed by my great grandma and it was painted in January of 1969. We took off the original frame, that was gold, and spray painted it black to match the furniture in the room.

While designing the girl's playroom, we were inspired to throw something vintage into each room in the house. So, in Parker's room, we found the following items. The first picture is two items that I found very cheap on eBay and then framed them with frames that we had around the house. The top one is an old ad for Parker's Tonic (cough medicine) and the bottom one is the top of a pencil case with the brand name Parker. The second picture is a sign that my late grandparents had on their farm in Krebs, OK. Parker is named after these grandparents so we were grateful that my mom and dad still had this sign and that they gave it to us to hang in her room.

The next picture is Parker's piggy bank (all three girls have the same piggy bank but in different colors) and lamp that are on top of her dresser. We purchased both of these items to match the tree painting that started the whole design. Between the piggy bank and the lamp is a monopoly mug with Park Place on it. This was also at my grandparents house back in the day, and it brings back good memories.

The last picture was a Christmas present from Aunt Shelley and Cousin Ashleigh. Every little girl needs her name framed so this was another great addition to the room.

Thank you to everyone who contributed to this room whether is was from a painting 43 years ago or from an item recently given to us! We are blessed to have been able to put all of these pieces together to make the perfect room for Parker to grow up in ... at least until she decides to decorate it herself!

Here is our beatiful girl ... Miss P!

Buy & Sell Name Brand Kids Clothes

Sept. 16 - Sept. 20
81st & 145th
Behind Bank of Oklahoma

I heard about Rhea Lana of Broken Arrow one year ago. My mom saw a flier about the sale so I stopped by to check it out, and of course, I purchased some adorable things for the girls. Rhea Lana is a consignment sale for gently used children's clothes, toys, games, shoes, maternity clothes, etc. It's held twice a year (in the Spring and Fall) and they only accept items that are in really good condition. You can tag and sale items yourself, or you can opt for the VIP Consignment. Last Spring (and this Fall) I signed up for the VIP Consignment. Meaning, I box all of my items and one of the owners stops by my house to pick everything up and label, price, and sale the items for me. All I have to do is pick up a check the day after the sale ends. This is a Godsend for someone with three kids under the age of 4 and a part time job. Sure, I make a little less (50% instead of 70%), but it's worth it to me when I would have just donated these items to Goodwill in the past. And, if an item sales for $1.00 (for the sake of this example) then I'm ok with making $0.50 instead of $0.70 especially when I didn't have to do any of the work. I'm usually pretty stingy, but this time I see everything that I make as a bonus so I can afford to get $0.20 less for less work on my part. :) And yes, I still donate everything that doesn't sale. They will donate the items for you, or you can pick them up after the sale and donate them to the place of your choice.

So, if you have small kids to teenagers and you haven't given Rhea Lana a try, then I suggest that you check it out. Here is the official info below...

Rhea Lana's (pronounced Ree-Uh Lawn-Uh) of Broken Arrow is a community event that benefits families all over the Broken Arrow/Tulsa area! We LOVE what we do! Our mission is to add value to the lives of families by providing the highest quality consignment experience possible. We hold two consignment sale events each year! This upcoming event will feature HIGH QUALITY Fall/Winter children's clothes, shoes, toys, books, DVDs, furniture, baby equipment, teen and maternity clothes, and much more! Some of our favorite brands are Baby Nay, Old Navy, Mini Boden, Ralph Lauren, Janie & Jack, Gymboree, Gap, Justice, Hollister, Childrens Place, A Pea In the Pod, Motherhood, Potterybarn kids, and many others. Brands are not required but sell well because moms know and trust their quality and style. We accept all children's clothing in excellent condition so you know your items will be high quality.

Consignors:
* Prepare, tag, price and enter their items into our easy to use online system. Go to our website www.brokenarrow.rhealana.com for Merchandise Preparation tips and for a list of acceptable items
* Take prepared items to event location during 'Drop Off Days'
* Make 70% on sold items & up to 80% with referrals (see Incentives below)
* Review personal sales online and from your mobile phone in real time during the event
* Collect consigning check and unsold items at end of week on 'Pick-up Day'
* You may choose to leave unsold items and we will donate them to charitable organizations in our community
* All items are GUARANTEED against loss

CONSIGNOR REFERRAL INCENTIVE
EARN RHEA LANA SHOPPING BUCKS!

Special Consignor Incentive- (This sale only!)
Want to Earn RL Shopping Bucks?
Earn $5 RL Shopping Bucks for every new consignor you refer to Rhea Lana's of Broken Arrow! Tell your friends, family, co-workers, ANYONE about us and get them to consign at least 30 items and we'll give you $5 RL Bucks. No limit on referrals! Plus, as always, you will still earn 75% of your sales if you refer 3 consignors or 80% if you refer 5 consignors! You do not have to be a consignor to participate. Email Kristin@rhealana.com to let us know who you referred. Pick up your RL Bucks when you come to shop!

VIP Consigning - Too busy to consign but still want to earn extra cash while cleaning out your closets? We have the perfect solution, be a VIP Consignor! We do all the work and you still earn 50% of your sales! Deadline is August 29th. Contact Debbie at (918) 557-5008!

Volunteers: Want to Shop Early?
Volunteering is a fun way to earn the ability to be among the first shoppers, get out of the house, and have fun with other moms. The more hours you volunteer to work during or before the event, the earlier you get to shop at the Private Pre-Sale Event!

1 Marketing Effort/Volunteer Shift = Workers Pass
2 Marketing Efforts/Volunteer Shifts or Combination = Early Workers Pass

It Has A Nice RING To It

I usually start all of my blogs with a picture because I'm a visual person, and I like to have a picture to go with my stories. This post won't have a picture, and you will know why at the end.

Greg and I celebrated our 10 year wedding anniversary last May. As year 10 got closer, we talked about getting me a new wedding ring. Well, it was more me talking and Greg listening. This year has been a crazy one. Parker was born in February, we bought a new house in May, we've had lots of medical bills because of 3 hospital stays and 3 urgent care visits, we owned two houses for two months, etc. Those events (called life) put the idea of getting a new wedding ring on the back burner.

However, after selling our old house last month, we decided to set aside some money for a new ring. I was still hesitant to get the ring, but Greg made me do it. Yes, he made me. I'll be honest, I didn't argue with him, but I could think of a million and one things to put that money toward besides a ring. After telling my parents that we decided to look for a new ring, my mom offered to give us some diamonds that had belonged to her mom, my late grandma. Of course, we accepted. Who doesn't like heirloom diamonds! So, with those diamonds we had a ring custom made. If you ever have the opportunity to have a piece of jewelry made, it's a pretty neat process.

Our jeweler called on Monday, about a month from when we sat down to do the original drawing to tell me that the ring would be ready early next week. I was a little irritated because he had originally said that it was going to be ready the week before, and I was already having a bad day. Ugh ... more waiting. What I didn't know was that he and Greg had been texting back and forth for a couple of weeks about the ring. He called Greg that same Monday that he called me and he told Greg that it was ready. Greg told him that I was having a bad day and that he should call to tell me there was a delay and that the ring would be ready the following week. Turds!

Greg then told me that he was going to work late, but instead he went to pick up the ring. So, when we both got home from work on Monday he surprised me with it. The ring is beautiful! And, knowing that my grandma's diamonds are in the ring makes it even more meaningful. I have to admit, I'm having a hard time believing that I deserve something so beautiful. I'm used to putting others before myself and always focusing on the girls, that I don't take a lot of time to do things for me. Especially not in the jewelry department. I do love, love, love it though!

Because I'm not one to be flashy, I will not post a picture of the ring on here. So, the next time you see me, check it out. It's amazing!


Thank you to my mom for offering the diamonds and to Greg for "making" me do something special just for me. You are the best husband that I could ever ask for. I love you both MORE!

My Final Breath

I've mentioned before that Greg and I play coed soccer on Sunday's as a way to stay in shape and have fun, but our last game was one that I won't soon forget. Our team was winning and I had already scored two goals. While going to take another shot, the opposing teams keeper came outside of the box and hit me full speed.

Let me back track a little bit. I play coed soccer. That's men and women on the field at the same time. I've always said that if a girl can't handle playing with the guys then she doesn't need to be on the field. As a girl, you have to be able to hang with the guys even if that means taking a hit once in awhile. I've had bruises, some blood, and even sprained ankles in the past 10 years, but never an injury that I can't handle.

A goal keeper is "allowed" to make almost any play necessary inside the goal box as long as it's not a blatant foul. I'm fully prepared for a collision anytime that I step into the goal box to take a shot because I know that the opposing keeper will do anything to protect his goal. This time, I was outside of the goal box. The keeper actually hit me 3-5 feet outside of the box. I saw him coming at the last second so I turned to my side to avoid a front on collision. After the hit, I stood my ground until I realized that I couldn't breathe. At all. I laid on my back on the ground and felt as if I was laying at the bottom of a swimming pool trying to take a breath. It was awful. I honestly thought for a second that I might die. I know that sounds dramatic, but I have never been hit that hard in my life nor have I had every bit of air knocked out of me. I just laid there gasping for air. It probably took me 30-45 seconds (it felt like hours) to get air back into my lungs. I tried not to panic. I appreciate one of my teammates telling me to put my hands above my head. Greg also came over and held my hand and told me to relax. After a few minutes on the ground, I was able to walk off the field. For the record, the keeper never apologized for hitting me that hard.

That kind of unsportsmanship was very uncalled for, and I'm thankful that Greg kept himself from laying that guy out. On the sidelines it felt like my entire ribcage had compressed together. I truly wasn't sure if I had internal issues or not. It was one of the worst feelings ever. After about five minutes, I was starting to feel a little better so we got ready to leave. I was pretty sure that I had a fractured rib because I had fractured that same rib about 7 years ago and the feeling was the exact same. If it was fractured, I knew that there was nothing I could do about it, but I was concerned about my internal organs so we stopped at two urgent care centers on the way to my parents house to pick up the girls. Both of them were closed. So, we picked up the girls, went home, showered, got the girls in bed, and then went to the ER after a friend came over to sit with the girls. I'm so thankful that she was available to come over at a moments notice and that she only lives two streets from us. What a blessing!

The X-Rays didn't show any breaks and my lungs looked good so that made me feel much better. The doctor said that a fracture would not show up on the x-ray, but that I would probably know in a few days if it was fractured because the pain would not let up. So, now I wait. Along with the rib pain, I also feel like I have whip lash. My back and neck are both sore.

Will I keep playing coed soccer? I'm not sure. I want to say yes because I'm very competitive and nothing like this has happened in the last 10 years, but I am getting older and these type of injuries are not as easy to recover from as they used to be. What I do know is that I'm participating in the Gauntlet (4 mile run which includes 30 obstacles) in 11 days so I need to get this rib thing figured out quick. Because life goes on...

The Friday I've Been Waiting For!!!

This looks a little bit like the dance that I'll do when I leave the office today. I'm dancing because it's Friday, but not just any Friday. Today is the last day that I'll be working full time. Nine weeks ago, I agreed to work full time to help get us through the busy season. And, we were BUSY. Don't get my wrong ... I love my job ... but it goes without saying that I love my family more.

I can't wait to get back to my "normal" schedule of working 3 days a week. I REALLY miss spending time with my girls, and I want to get in some fun activities before Bailey starts Pre-K in September. So, next week, on my first day off ... what will we do ... swim, lay by the pool, play games, eat ice cream, nap for hours? Oh, the possibilities are dreamy and endless. However, in reality, I will be taking all three girls to Parker's 6 month check up which includes shots, then swim lessons and a haircut that evening. Oh, the life of a "semi stay at home mom." LOVE IT!

Saving A Little Money

It's been awhile since I've talked about couponing. I've been using coupons for a year and a half and I have my system down when it comes to finding good deals and stocking up on things that my family NEEDS - not things that I won't ever use or won't use for a year because my stockpile is out of control - I don't let myself get out of hand like the people on TV.

Yesterday I got a GREAT deal on Pampers diapers so I want to share with you exactly how I got such a good deal. It's easy to say "I saved a ton of money," but it's a completely different thing to give someone the tools to be able to save money themselves.

I got my deal at Target. I combined a sale, a store coupon, two manufacturer coupons, and a money back offer to get this deal. This is one of the best deals that you can get when you can combine all of the money saving techniques (store sale, money back, manufacturer coupon, store coupon) into one transaction.

I bought one box of Pampers diapers with a count of 140, and a second box of Pampers diapers with a count of 156 for a total of 296 diapers. At full retail, I would have paid around $34.99 per box or $0.23 per diaper (34.99+34.99=69.98/296 diapers=$0.23).

Stay with me cuz here comes the fun part (I know I'm a nerd) ...

Target has a deal this week where if you buy two boxes of Pampers diapers on sale for $31.99 then you get a $10 gift card to use on your next shopping trip. I also had two $3.00 manufacturer coupons (one for each box of Pampers I was buying) and one $2.00 store coupon for Pampers.

So, two boxes total $63.98 (31.99+31.99) - 10 gift certificate for buying two boxes - $3.00 manufacturer coupon - $3.00 manufacturer coupon - $2.00 store coupon = $45.98/296 diapers=$0.15.

So, you don't need to buy diapers? No problem! This can be applied to any product. This was just my example and I just happened to be shopping at Target. I get a LOT of my deals at CVS as well so you're not limited to one particular store.

If you have any questions about using coupons, then please email me at morrison25@cox.net. I have a ton of info that I can share with you, and my methods of saving money are SUPER EASY to use.