Pass It On, Baby!

So I ran across a pretty cool blog today during my "web searching" and wanted to pass it on! Pass It On, Baby is a group of 2 ladies who have started a charity helping families in need get clothes for their children. Moms and Dads from struggling families can write to Pass It On Baby (PIOB) and tell them the sizes of clothes they need. Then PIOB posts the size & gender on the site and generous people (like me & you) can say - "hey - I have a whole bin of boys 2T down in my basement" and pack up a box for the family to receive. There are lots of charities out there who will accept your gently used children's clothes, but I thought this was really neat for a couple reasons...

1) It's a little idea from 2 Moms that has BOOMED and is helping out so many families right now.

2) You get to know you are helping a particular family & little one. You know you're sending 2T boys clothes - so probably for a 2 year old little boy.

3) It's a great lesson to teach our own children... "we're helping a 2 year old little boy so that he has nice clothes to wear everyday"!

4) The ladies in charge of PIOB have stated on their blog that a very large percentage of the families that have received clothes are so touched that they write back to PIOB and offer up clothes that their children have outgrown. It really is a "Pay It Forward" experience.

I know a lot of us are keeping our baby clothes for more upcoming babies we may be having, neices & nephews, but do keep this site in mind if you have an abundance of a certain size. I am going to be watching their "immediate need" list for a size I can contribute to.

We all struggle in life in one way or another and I think this is such an uplifting blog and I admire these women for taking on this huge task of helping other Moms and families out there who really need it right now!

So pass this site on... maybe you know a family who could really use the help of PIOB right now... or maybe you know someone who has clothes piled high throughout the house that would love to donate through PIOB.

www.passitonbaby.blogspot.com

Slippin' & Slidin'

We got out the Slip & Slide over the weekend. Jenna had a GREAT time! Bryce, on the other hand, was a bit overly tired and ended up inside for a nap while Jenna played! He wasn't "feelin" the slip & slide this weekend! We'll try it again later!!! :)

She looks so big and grown up running down to splash in the water!

It was VERY cold water - but she didn't seem to care!

The kids really love the deck and are out there all the time. Here they are being goofy in the bag chairs! They scooted as close together as they could!

And you aren't going to believe this.... but my husband already got to sing the "I told you so" tune!!! It got VERY windy today and the wind knocked my umbrella over!!! Luckily it blew it through the crack on the table and didn't knock over the table & break the glass. Bryce & I happened to be at the grocery store, so I'm not 100% sure this wasn't a scene that had been tampered with!! Cory took the picture... hmmmm... suspicious!

Holy Buckets of HOTTNESS!

HOT, HOT, HOT!!! It's been so hot this week! It finally started to cool off this afternoon! Summer is definitely here! The air conditioner is having problems at my office.... not a good week for that to happen! It was over 90 degrees in my office earlier this week. I've been coming home to work the afternoons from my house. I wish I could just do that all the time. It's nice to come home and make lunch and work the afternoon here! Maybe someday! Hopefully the AC will be fixed soon!

I grabbed another garage sale bargain this afternoon! Got this patio umbrella as I drove past a garage sale on my way home from work today. You have NO idea how long I've been wanting an umbrella for the patio set! I was so excited to find one that was in good shape and matched my patio set for only $20 with the stand!! :)

It even tilts to the side so you can block the sun! Love it!!! :)

The kids like it too! Now I just have to remember to put it down each night so that my husband can't say "I TOLD YOU SO" when it blows away!!! :) heehee!

We got the kids umbrella out too and they had a great night playing on the deck!

They look so cute together and really play well together for being "brother & sister"! :)

An update on my accident... The van is definitely totaled and we're working out the details with the insurance company to get a check so we can pick out a new van. I also found out the other lady is doing ok. She has some type of medical condition that causes her bouts of pain and apparently this hasn't helped that at all, but overall she is doing good. So that is good news. I'm still just very thankful my little Bryce is ok and wasn't at all hurt or scared from the incident!

My prayers go out this week to a little boy in my community that has gotten bad news about his brain tumor this week. This poor little 5 year old boy has been through a LOT over the last 6 months and I pray that he and his family have the strength to get through this time. My heart aches for them and I hope they are able to feel the comfort from all the prayers that are coming their way from all over!!

Have a great weekend!!

Happy Father's Day!

Happy Father's Day! Hope all of you Dad's had a good day! We got Cory tickets for our family to go to the Cubs game today. It was a very special day and we all had a great time. It was Bryce & Jenna's first Cubs game!

We took a shuttle from a parking lot to the game and it worked out pretty slick. They dropped us off right in front of the stadium. Minimal walking with the 2 kids was ideal!! :)

Bryce & Cory watched batting practice by the dugout. That was pretty cool!

Of course, we had to get the foam hand! ha!

Bryce & Jenna were both VERY good kids during the game and we had such a great day! Jenna was QUITE the hit in her little cheerleading outfit and got lots of attention throughout the day! (I have to admit, she did look stinkin cute!!!!)



We even got Jenna to smile in a picture with me!!


Bryce & Daddy had a really great day together!

Happy Father's Day Daddy! We LOVE you!

One last picture before we leave!

We got to sing GO CUBS GO! That was a pretty awesome experience for Bryce! Check it out on this video!

When It Rains, It Pours!!

It's been a really bad week at my house. Yes, I suppose it could be worse. But I'm definitely feeling the "when it rains, it pours" theory. First we got back from vacation with 2 sick kids and I had to miss a day of work, then Bryce was very sick on his birthday and completely miserable, then I had to cancel Bryce's birthday party and rescheduled for a date that only works for one of his friends, and THEN today Bryce & I were in an accident.

We are fine and not hurt. Thank goodness for that. My van on the other hand is most likely totalled. Bryce was in the very back, 3rd row, of the van and the impact was in the front passenger side, so not near him. (Thank God) He has a little rash on his shoulder from his seatbelt. My airbag went off and hit me pretty hard, but I'm fine. I have a bruised chin and a sore shoulder, but very minor things.

SIGH... It's been a long day. I feel extremely guilty about this whole thing and the situation it puts us in. We relied on that van a lot as our "big" vehicle and reliable vehicle to travel in. Yes, we have insurance, and yes, I'm sure things will work out. But I feel terrible and just can't believe this happened. I know what you're thinking.... it's just a car and the most important thing is Bryce & I are fine. I agree and I know that, but the guilt is still lingering and very strong.

I also feel very guilty about putting Bryce through this. He's young and I know they are resilient, but I hope it doesn't scare him and make him worry about being in the car. I think I will be a little anxious driving the first few times, but soon it will be back to normal I'm sure.

I thank God that Bryce & I are ok and walked away with very minor "scratches". That IS the most important thing. I pray that the other person is ok. And guess we will just "keep truckin along" and push through this setback.

Happy Birthday Bryce!

Happy Birthday Bryce! Yesterday was Bryce's 4th Birthday! I seriously can't believe he's already 4 years old! Before I know it he will be 14!!! :) He had an ok birthday, but was pretty miserable. He was exposed to Hand, Foot & Mouth Disease over the weekend and now he has it. Yesterday he had temps over 103 and lots of sores in his mouth. He was a pretty sad sight, but he tried to have fun anyways!


Do you like our cake decorating skills? We definitely didn't inherit that trait from my Grandma!! :) We had fun though and the cake was super Yummy!!!

Of course we sang and blew out candles! He was very excited about that and opening presents! He got lots of baseball stuff this year!

In this picture he has a couple of his gifts... the batting gloves, the baseball shoes and the tee are all new. :)

Thank goodness my Mom is here helping us this week. I feel bad the kids have been so sick for her, but am so grateful she's here b/c I would have missed this whole week of work. I only missed Tuesday -- so THANKS MOM!

Bryce will be bummed b/c we are cancelling his birthday party that is scheduled for tomorrow. Well, I should say postponing it. We will still do it, but at a later time. I don't want to expose all of his friends to HFM Disease. It's quite the bummer, but hopefully the bowling alley will be understanding and let us move the date without a hassle! (Fingers crossed!)

Have a great weekend everyone! I will put pictures from our vacation up over the weekend!

Let the Fun Begin!

Last night was our first night of T-Ball! Bryce was so excited! And it's even more fun since Bryce, Sam, Ellie & Victoria are all on the same team! T-Ball lasts 8 weeks for the kids... the first 4 weeks are practices and the last 4 weeks are games!

Here's Coach Brian helping the kids get stretched out! (Bryce is in the White & blue pin striped Cubs jersey)

Running the bases!

Batting practice!

Great practice team! Everyone played hard and had FUN! Go Black Team!

And more fun begins tonight as we leave for our annual trip to the Ozarks! We are sooooo excited!!! Let the fun begin!!!!!!!!!!!!

What can you get for $14?

So this is kind of a copy of my friend Darcy's blog... what can you get for $14!? She did hers with $20 and made fun of our husbands for losing $20 in two card games!! So this weekend Bryce and I decided to do a little garage saling... I was initially going to see if I could find a decent pack & play that I could give to my Mom, but realized the jackpot is in the kids clothes!!

Here's Jenna wearing one of her new pairs of jeans! They are so adorable on her! (and only cost 50 cents!!) My Garage Sale adventure started on Saturday and Bryce & I hit about 7 sales. Most of them were pretty pointless stops, but I found one house that I walked away with 2 pairs of jeans, 2 pairs of pjs, and 4 shirts for Jenna for $4! Awesome! (Sorry no picture of that batch.)

So here it is (above) - that is what I got for $14 today!!!!! I am pretty dang proud of myself! I really hit the jackpot when I went to just one house. Most of the garage sales here are Thur-Friday-Saturday, but I saw that this house was also open on Sunday so I headed over there this morning.... and boy am I happy I did!

For Bryce, I got 4 pairs of jeans/pants for the Fall, one sweatshirt and a Fall jacket. Jenna got a Fall jacket, 2 Cubs outfits, 1 Bears jersey, 1 pair of jeans, 2 Summer outfits, 2 tee-shirts, 1 long sleeve shirt and 3 pairs of PJs! Wow! And I'm a picky garage sale clothes shopper too... this place was full of great deals and very nice stuff with no stains or rips!

Here are a few close ups of some of my favorite finds! How adorable is this shirt for my princess with brown eyes!! :) Love it!

This was probably my most exciting find of the day! I have been wanting to buy Jenna a pink Cubs outfit so bad, but I just can't get myself to spend $30 on a single outfit! It's just insane how much they charge for that stuff! The Dad at the garage sale said he thinks his daughter only wore this once... and it really is in like new condition! I can't even tell it's been worn or washed, it literally looks like the tags were just taken off! NICE!

The Bears jersey is a nice bonus and now Jenna will fit in with Dad & Bryce this fall! Go Bears!

And ANOTHER cute Cubs outfit! This one has never even been worn!

And the last close up I will show is just of some pants/jeans Bryce got for the Fall/Winter. How awesome that I have a start to his Fall wardrobe and 4 pairs of pants for just $2!

So that's it for now. I never did find a pack & play.... well, I did find one, but it was at one of those houses that you didn't really want to make a purchase... if you know what I mean! :)

Hope you had a good weekend!

2 Little Monkeys

Two Little Monkeys Sitting on the Table!

One fell off and bumped her head! Mama called the dr. and the dr. said... "No More Monkeys sitting on the Table!!!"

One Little Monkey Sitting on the Table...

These little monkeys sure keep us busy, happy & having fun!!! :)