Sunday Snapshot: Money Money Money Money

I love to shop.  Apparently I have passed that love on to Braeden.  For the past week he has been begging to use his money to buy Legos, his new obsession.  But he doesn't just want any little Lego set.  He wants the big set.  So, after much nagging pestering asking Amy and I finally gave in and let him go for it.  He researched what he wanted online with Amy and found the price.  Then we counted the money in his money jar.  Money he had received from birthdays, chores, and Tooth Fairy visits.  We reminded him that once it was gone, it was gone and he would have to save up again if he wanted anything else.  However, he was adamant about his plan and stuck to it.  So, Saturday morning we took his coin money and traded it in for cash and headed to one of our favorite places - Target.  Not to be left out, Jack took money from his jar also so he could make his purchase.  It seemed as though Braeden closely examined every product Lego makes, looking for just the right purchase.  Finally the decision had been made and we headed to the check-out.  He was extremely proud of himself, they both were really, as they handed the cashier their money, took their bags, received their change, and said their thank yous.


Once we returned home they immediately opened their toys and he got to work assembling his police vehicles.  A day later, with some assistance from me, everything has been put together and played with.  He remains proud of himself for the whole process, as do Amy and I.  It was bittersweet to watch him throughout it all.  Pride as he managed his money and made his calculated choices.  Sadness as I realized he had reached another milestone in growing up.  It made for a fun and memorable weekend and I was lucky enough to be granted access from him to photograph the entire thing for this post!


All is well, picture perfect, in Drosche Land.

 Nearly the entire life's savings of a five-year old!

 Proudly displaying his money!

Examining the selections

Proud of his purchase!

Jack and his bag of goodies!

 Money well-spent!

 A TON of tiny little Lego pieces!

 Carefully put together by little hands

 Instructions closely followed

 One piece done!

 Jack and his Lego person, he loves the people the best!

 Lots of hard work, but worth it!

 

      

iWait

So, another event from last week that I forgot to mention was the fact that the iPad 2 came out on Friday.  I know you all had your calendars marked and reminders set (I did!).  Anywho, Amy and I have been awaiting this because we finally decided to get one.  Obviously the main reason is that we wanted one, duh!  The other reason is that we think it will be extremely useful for our trip to China to pick up Margaux.  Pictures, video, emailing, Facebook, and blogging would all be much easier with an iPad rather than via our iPhones.  That way we can update and keep in touch during that leg of the adventure.  See, we really did need one right?  I know, whatever validates it for me.

So, in addition to ordering the iPad we ordered a wireless keyboard, a cover (of course), and the camera connection kit.  Little did I know that everything would come seperately!  Over the next coming weeks we will be receiving several packages for Apple, ironically the last of which will be the iPad.  We will end up having our accessories here, taunting us, before it is actually delivered.  But, waiting is something we have become pros at lately right?  If we can wait months for Margaux, we can wait a couple of weeks for an iPad.  I can't wait though to play with our newest techie toy!  Of course now that it has been ordered and is on its way here, our anticipation shifts to the iPhone 5!  Hopefully by summer?  Woo hoo!  I just love me some Apple products!

All is well, iOrdered, in Drosche Land. 

Deal!

So, on the way home tonight we had one simple errand to run.  The boys needed new shoes and Braeden needed some shorts.  Since he is perpetually in a phase where he only wants to wear athletic shorts we headed to Academy.  Turns out, as I have been beginning to realize lately, we don't have babies anymore.  Nope, we've officially got kids on our hands now.  No matter how many times this fact rears its head, I am still taken by surprise.  So, into the "Boys" section we headed.  6 pairs of shorts (5 for Braeden and 1 for Jack who of course had to try on and get his own!) later we were set.  Braeden chose every color available in the soccer shorts and Amy and I talked him into some burnt orange basketball shorts!  Hook 'Em!  Then we headed into the shoes where Jack can still fit into toddler sizes but Braeden once again had to go to the "Boys" section as he now wears an 11.  Jack was easy to please and quickly picked out a pair, Braeden on the other hand took his sweet time debating which shoes he wanted, walking up and down the same aisles.  I have no clue where he gets it from!  Ok ok ok, stop pointing at me, I give in, maybe he takes after me, a bit!  :)  So we finally picked out shoes for Braeden and headed home.  But that is not the best part of the story (I know it has seemed routine and mundane up until now but I had to give you the whole story, you know me!).  We were looking at the sale rack and I came across the cutest Longhorns dress!  In a size 3T!  I know Margaux will be adorable in it!  The price?  You will never guess.  At first I thought it was a misprint, but a quick jaunt to the hand dandy price checker proved the tag to be correct.  Scroll down and take a gander at the dress before I tell you the INCREDIBLY AWESOME deal we got.  Go ahead, I'll wait . . . . . Ok, you ready!  $.88!  Yes folks, that decimal is in the right place, we're talking 88 cents, less than a dollar!  Can you believe that?!  I am still stunned honestly so of course I had to blog about my great deal.  Amazing.  So head to Academy if you are in search of a Longhorns dress and only have about a buck to spend, that or if you are looking for some deals.  

The remainder of the night was crazy though as we ventured home from our eventful Academy experience.  See, we've sworn off eating out.  Last week was so crazy with the opening of the new building and all we were tired (I know, crazy concept) of eating out and were ready to eat at home.  Well, the best laid plans.  Turns out there was a streetlight out on Fry Rd (which seems to be the case far too often) so our trip home turned into a ridiculously long ordeal.  By the time we were even near home there was no way we had the time, energy, or patience to get home cook, serve, and clean up after a meal.  So we gave in (slightly grudgingly) and headed to our favorite stand-by - La Finca!  You'd think they would know us there by now.  So, better luck with eating at home tomorrow I guess.  Seriously, we are swearing it off, if we could just make it home at a decent time!  :)  

All is well, can you believe my deal on Margaux's dress?!, in Drosche Land.

LOVE IT!  And just $.88!!! 

Sunday Snapshot - Shopping

Okay, so it might be kind of early to shop for Margaux (I'm so happy I just blogged about her name so I can refer to her now!) but we are excited.  Sometimes a little retail therapy does wonders right?  So, this week's post again focuses on getting ready for her.  We haven't bought a lot yet, we can't get too many things for obvious reasons (sizing, length of time until we get her) but we can, and have, gotten small things here are there.  The first picture is of an adorable little tutu dress Amy and I bought for her, technically the first article of clothing we have bought.  It's sized 36 months so we should be able to use it.  The others show things Amy bought while at the conference this past couple of days working her Scentsy booth.  We have crosses for each of the boys for our cross wall, so obviously she needed one too.  The others are fun girlie accessories!  Can you tell we're just a tad bit excited?  I know, we need to hold off and not go crazy, yet, but a little fun here and there won't hurt!  Enjoy!

A little skirt with white and gold tulle and little gold flowers?  How could we pass it up?

 Margaux's cross, from one of the vendors at the conference.  In the middle the plaque reads "Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart" Psalm 37:4.  Quite appropriate for our little desire.

Handmade hair bows?  Enough said!

 

 Possibly our favorites.  The orange headband stretched out to fit around her head.  The white hat is just beautiful.  The cupcake and ladybug clips are removable and also can serve as hair clips!  Love it!

Gobble Gobble Shop

Well, Thanksgiving has come and gone.  Turkey, pie, dressing, green bean casserole, we had it all!  We had a lot to be thankful for this year.  In addition to the usual things: family, friends, jobs, etc. we also were thankful for the fact that this was the first full year of our freedom from debt!  It has been an amazing year and we have come so far.  We also were thankful for this because we are so close to starting the adoption!  Next Thanksgiving we will (hopefully) be fully into it and possibly thankful for some great news!

In addition to the great food, we also got to experience Black Friday for the first time.  We headed out into the cold and rainy night to wait in line for deals at Toys R Us and WalMart.  We then headed back out at the crack of dawn for more fun at Target and Costco.  We ended up saving tons of money and had a blast doing so!  Definitely started a new yearly tradition.  I am also happy to say that, in reference to the above portion about Dave Ramsey, everything we bought was paid for with cash!  Woo hoo!

Lastly, what Thanksgiving would be complete without Christmas decorating?  We actually began last week but really got into it today as we put the tree up in the loft.  The kids had a ton of fun decorating it and then decorating the mini one in their bedroom.  Tomorrow we plan to head out to cut down the tree for downstairs and that will conclude our decorating!  I'm smelling a Sunday Snapshot!  Speaking of pictures, I took loads of all the cousins playing together on Thanksgiving.  Below are two of my favorites of the boys!  All in all it has been an excellent vacation, one everyone here in Drosche Land definitely needed!  I'm excited about tomorrow!  I am totally in the Christmas spirit now thanks to the shopping, decorating, and Christmas music playing on the radio!  Just 29 short days!

All is well, will a lot to be thankful for, here in Drosche Land.

Braeden always knows how to stop and pose for me!

 

  Jack was also willing to oblige!