Another Week Down

Thank goodness for Friday night when you can relax and just write on your blog!  God was pretty smart when he made a day of rest.  We sure need it.  As I mentioned in my previous short post, it's been a busy week, at least during my evenings.  On Tuesday evening, I was very relieved to finally finish my driving course.  It's a 4-hour on-line program which unfortunately, although it makes sense, you can't speed through (speed, ha!) at a faster pace.  At the end, they give you a 40-point exam and you have to get an 80% to pass.  Being the good, diligent student that I am, I spent probably a good 45 minutes of time reviewing everything I had just gone over and made four pages of detailed notes (there are a ton of statistics).  Ahhh, dumb me (please note I did not say "stupid" as I've already been reprimanded once today by Calleigh for using that word).  I clicked on to start the test and they gave me 180 minutes.  Well, when I was finished, there were still 176 minutes left on the clock and I had looked at my notes once.  I got a 100%.  This is what the questions were like on the test, "It's important to pay attention to your surroundings while driving.  True or false."  Glad I wasted all that time studying.  Anyway, for the next week or so, until my brain forgets everything, I'm an expert on Florida driving laws in case anyone has a question.

As far as the girls, Monday we did some errands and then ended with play time at Phelps Park.  You can tell by Calleigh's tank top dress (top picture) that it's definitely warm weather time here.  Indeed, as I look at the forecast, Sunday says it's will be 92.  Yikes.  I'm not quite ready for that yet.  But the real yikes will be next weekend when we're in Maine and it's a high of 44.  Monday night I did a circuit of Walgreen's to buy some make-up products that I didn't need so that I could make $4.50 each time.  I won't go into a lot of detail on it because it's Sabbath but needless to say, I spent about $12 out of pocket and have made about $70 of profit in coupons that can be redeemed on anything (yes, anything, so it's virtually like having cash.  No minimum purchase required) at Walgreen's.  And that my friends, is how you save money.  I'm not done yet either.  The sales end tomorrow night and I still have more coupons to use on the makeup.  If anyone wants a lesson when I come up north next week, just let me know!

Tuesday is our usual library/storytime day but Aubree had felt a little warm on Monday night so I opted to skip the library.  During our dumpster, er recycle, bin dive, we had gotten a bunch of McDonald's coupons for a free frozen strawberry lemonade (no purchase required) so I cut out three and the three of us went for a little treat.  It's funny because the McDonald's is like two minutes from my house and I've lived in this area for what, nine years, and I had never stepped foot in that McDonald's once.  The internet said it had a playplace which is what I was hoping to entertain Calleigh with while Aubree and I sat and relaxed, but alas, it was not to be. Oh well.  We still enjoyed our freebie.

Wednesday was my doctor day and Yolanda asked to have the girls come to her house.  We had Grandma lined up but couldn't resist the allure of other girls to play with as Yolanda's older girls, Hannah and Alyssa, were on spring break.  Their family has been sick for the last few weeks so we were especially anxious to get together.  So I dropped them off and then off to the doctor I went.  Things went well and since the little scare from last week, I've felt plenty of moving and kicking so that's been a relief.  The doc said I was measuring just right and I could hear the heartbeat thumping away (of course, I had just drank all the sugar water so I'm sure he was pretty excited.)  I'm now up to 20 pounds of weight gain so if I do it just right, where I gain one pound each week for the next 11 weeks, I'll come out at the same place I did with Aubree.  As I drove down the road from the doctor and came up to the intersection at Aloma Ave, I noticed some police motorcycles had the other side of Aloma blocked off.  I thought it was a bit strange...maybe there was an accident or a funeral or something.  But then as I started driving, more and more police motorcycles were driving by the other way with their lights flashing.  And I mean, many, many, many motorcycles.  There were police cars, emergency vehicles, you name it.  Since I witnessed George Bush coming to FH when he was campaigning for president back in 2000, I was pretty sure this entourage meant someone important was coming.  I did see a stretch limo go by with an emblem on it but I couldn't tell what it was.  A quick call to the in-laws and I discovered that Vice President Biden was in town for a fundraiser.  So that was him.  I'll tell you, it was a great time to commit a crime if you were so inclined.

Aubree and Hannah

Back at Yolanda's, things were going very well.  The oldest girl Hannah, who is nine, was very taken with Aubree so that two of them were good pals.  Yolanda whipped up some of her pasta sauce that I LOVE and we had a great lunch and then there was extra for me to take home.  Thus, I've eaten pasta every day since then.  Emma turned four on Monday so we had some cake and brought her a gift.  Calleigh has asked several times about Braelyn and Emma being older than her now that they're four.  I've thought that maybe she was going to make a little fuss or something but she seems okay with it.

Exhibit A of how my girls don't like to look at a camera for a picture.

Yesterday was unexciting in that we went to Walmart and that's it.  It was just one of those days.  I do look forward to Thursday evenings, however, when I can plan my yard sale route and work on my Publix list.  It just always makes for way too late a night.  I need to somehow work that out better.

This morning Grandma came with us to yard sales.  I didn't find much in the way of baby clothes but I did find two beach umbrellas and a beach chair.  Yup, it's getting to be that season, for sure.  I'm sure we'll be using them before May, but we've booked a 3-day weekend trip down to St. Pete Beach just after the girls birthdays.  We're renting a condo down there with Ron and Elaine and we're really looking forward to the getaway.  The impetus behind it is that they're having Disney on Ice in Tampa that weekend and I thought it would put a nice topper on their birthdays.  Plus, I found a coupon for 50% of the tickets so it's pretty affordable too.  After our yard sales, we met Grandpa at Panera for a birthday lunch as it's Grandpa's birthday today.  A lot of March birthdays and more to come.

I think that covers our schedule.  As far as activities, one of the things that the girls are into this week is playing "Kate and Ava."  I know the Kate comes from Calleigh Kate but I have no idea how or why Aubree has been dubbed "Ava."  Just a name that Calleigh evidently heard somewhere.  Playing "Kate and Ava" mainly consists of them just running around calling each other those names but apparently it's lots of fun because I hear a ton of giggles.

In closing, as I've been sitting here writing this, every now and then I've heard a noise that sounded like change moving around.  We have a change jar sitting on the counter and I've been thinking in the back of my mind, "Hmm, why is that change making a noise?"  but I never actually looked over there until it got really loud.  What do I see?  I little lizard running around in there.  Calleigh will love hearing about this in the morning!

Happy Sabbath!