Barnyard Praise

Can you stand how cute these little praisers are?


My little horse is closest to the center and my cowboy is the closest to the center with the red bandanna.

If the video doesn't load for you, go here to see it directly!

Massage Envy!

This is my sweet friend, Gery, and her adorable son, Evan. Aren't they beautiful?

I met Gery almost two years ago. Our kids go to the same daycare.

Actually, it goes a little deeper than that ...Our kids are in love.

Oh yes, I'm speaking of Gery's son, Evan, and my daughter, Piper. And, yes again ... they are both 4. But, believe it or not, their love has lasted longer than some married couples I know. Nearly two years.

Evan is about 6 weeks older than Piper, so if it came time to move Evan to a new class and not Piper - even the daycare workers knew that they would have to wait. They can not be separated! Both of them would cry so pitifully that it just wasn't worth it.

Luckily, they are cute and charming and downright adorable. Otherwise, it would be disgusting.

Thankfully, our families have gotten to know each other. We enjoyed a great New Year's Eve together and have had a ball reading each other's crazy Facebook status'. (My husband, Don, and Gery's husband, Bill, could get into a lot of trouble if left unattended for any amount of time!)

When I was told that I got to visit a local Massage Envy and that I could invite a friend, I immediately thought of Gery. As fellow working moms, I made our appointments made for the day before Mother's Day. I figured we could start celebrating/pampering ourselves a little early.

Our appointments were at 1:00 PM, so we arrived 15 minutes early to fill out our paper work. One of the "check boxes" was to indicate whether you wanted "light," "firm," or "deep tissue." I wasn't totally sure of what that meant (I've since looked it up on the Massage Envy website), but I thought that "Deep Tissue" sounded good, so I went with that.

From the lobby we went into the Tranquility Room and waited for our therapists to get us. Gery's arrived first, and mine (Julie) was just seconds after.

The therapy room was dark and definitely relaxing. Julie asked me several questions so that she could tailor the experience to exactly what I was looking for. A huge plus for me was that the bed had a bed warmer. I am so cold natured ... this was heaven for me!

The 50 minutes flew by. Deep Tissue was definitely the right choice for me. I didn't have any knots or soreness, so it felt heavenly to me. I can never seem to fall asleep during a massage, but I was certainly more relaxed than usual. It really was wonderful!

Gery and I met up after we were done. We were noticeably more relaxed. We talked on the way home about how we should do this more often. I think most all moms are guilty of putting themselves last in the pampering category. So, this was a great Mother's Day treat for us, and a good reminder that we have to take better care of ourselves in order to be the best wife and mom that we can be.

Something that I learned at Massage Envy was that they offer monthly plans! I had no idea. For a very discounted cost, you can get a one-hour massage each month. I'm definitely considering it. AND, the contract is good at any Massage Envy location!
It was a great day. Thanks to the manager, Stephanie, and to all the great therapists out there that have loved on all the Mommy Bloggers in the past week.

Thanks to my friend, Gery, for being a great sport and coming with me.

And, special thanks to these little cuties for introducing us :)

Ok, let's talk Jon and Kate

I know it's on your mind ... let's just fess up. Are you following/wondering about Jon and Kate Gosselin? What's the truth? What's not?

Here's what I think ...

I think it stinks.
I think that no matter what the truth is, people are hurting.
I think that their marriage will suffer - regardless.
I think that children are sensing tension which is not healthy for them.

I hate that this is happening. I have opinions on what I think of Kate and what I think of Jon, but those have to be thrown aside. They are a married couple. And, in my opinion, once you make your vows "before God and these witnesses" - you are married regardless of personality conflicts, how you grow apart, or whatever else life throws your way.

I would hate to think:
(1) that Jon would even fathom being with another woman OTHER THAN the mother of his 8 children,
(2) that this is truly a misunderstanding and this family has gone through this pain for nothing.

We all have to agree that the Gosselin kids are the cutest children ever. I could just scoop them all up and kiss their little cheeks!

We need to pray for this family. How they handle this crisis could be an example for many people in a similar position. I hope they handle it honestly (with themselves, not "the general public") and I hope that they can keep their family intact.

I think they're going to have a rough road either way.

Mommy Makeover Day

It was Mommy Makeover Day at Avery's school. I went into this not having the first idea what this would bring, but SURE that Avery wanted me there. I made arrangements to be gone from work and headed out. The event was from 1:30-2:00 which is funny to me because it takes me 50 minutes to drive there - 30 minutes for the makeover - and 50 minutes back to work. Nevertheless, I laughed and went. Avery was so excited that I was going to get to come.

As I pulled into Avery's school, I was amazed at the number of cars. I love that his school has a high percentage of parent participation. They are able to do some cool things with the kids because of this. As a working mom (and dad, for that matter), we don't get to do EVERYTHING we'd like to do at the school. We have to pick and choose the events that we attend. For example, today is Field Day. We can't do it ... Friday, is "Ranger Science" - we can't do that either. Not this time. But a week from Friday is Popsicles with Pop. Don will be there. Events with a specific parent focus, we never miss.

I got my visitor sticker and headed to Avery's classroom. He was SO happy to see me. He is so proud of his classroom and his area. He's always eager to show me all of the things he's done. On each table, there was a platter filled with lotions, barettes, hair-ties, mirrors ... all the things you need to be beautiful. We were told to bring our own make-up, so I had my full bag with me!

Avery started by brushing my hair. He was so gentle. He talked about how his combing made my hair look very pretty.


Next, he rubbed lotion on my arms.


After that, he put make-up on me. He did amazingly well. I, being the adventurous mom that I am, even let Avery attempt to put mascara on me. He got all but one big glob on my eyelashes. No one could believe that I was brave enough to let him even try to put a stick near my eye!

After the make-up it was time for hair accessories, Avery loved putting the accessories in. I left with a scrunchie in the back of my hair, a head band, and 4 barrettes.



As the picture above was taken, he was giving me a shoulder massage. Avery is my compassionate child, he loves doing things for other people. Look at how proud he is rubbing my shoulders. Can't you just see it on his face? Ohhhhhh ... he's such a sweetheart.

The day ended with a song about Mother's from the whole class.


We love mothers, we love mothers,
Yes, we do! Yes, we do!
Mother's are for hugging,
and they are for kissing.
We love moms!
We love moms!

There was one child who didn't have a mom come to Mommy Makeover. My heart broke for him. He was so incredibly sad. A teacher from another class came in and asked him to make her over, but you could tell he really didn't want too. I felt so bad for him.

We have really tried to let Avery know "why" we can't come to everything, but if it is a special event just for Mom's and Dad's - you better believe we'll be there.

I had such a good time with "just" Avery. Rarely do we get time to ourselves. He was so proud of how he had done me up. I was amazed at the mom's who ran to the bathroom to wash everything off, or quickly took out their clips as they ran out the door.

Not me. I came back to work just like I was. Didn't change a thing. Not even the glob of mascara on my face. Because in the life of one 5 year old boy today, I was the most beautiful mom in the world.

A Day In Our Life

I did a video for the Mommy Madness site about everywhere our car goes in a typical day.

I'm worn out just thinking about it!

A Day In Our Life from Stephanie Click on Vimeo.

(If you can't see the video, click here for the parent site.)

Chevy Traverse FAQ

It seems like everyone I meet is asking questions about the Traverse. I LOVE answering them - it’s been so fun to drive this car and find something new every day.

Many of the moms have answered this one already, but I’ll add my two cents for what it’s worth -
Question 1: “Does the Traverse fit in your garage?”
Answer: Truthfully, our garage is so packed with stuff, a snake would be hard pressed to slither inside. We’ve moved two times in three years - we’ve got boxes and furniture galore in there. However, if all of that was cleared away, then yes - it would fit. However, two of them would not.

Question 2: “What’s your favorite feature on the Traverse?
Answer: Hands down the reverse camera. It beeps when you get too close to something, AND it has lights that let you know exactly how close you really are! A yellow light, then a red light, then a double red light when you’ve really gone far enough!!!

Question 3: “How does it drive?”
Answer: I’ve had a minivan before and to me it handles like a mini-van, but drives like a car. Does that make sense? I feel in control all the time, yet I love the feeling of being above the road.

Question 4: “How’s it been doing in the rain?
Answer: It’s been a dream! The windshield is not huge, so the wipers get off a good deal of the rain. On my model, there is a wiper on the back windshield as well. That really helps since the Traverse if longer than what I’m used too.

Question 5: “Is it too big for a family of 4?”
Answer: I don’t think so. We have really enjoyed having the extra space. All of our family lives out of town, so whenever anyone visits - we always have to go places in two cars. (Pain.) It’s been nice to be able to fit people other than ourselves in the vehicle, AS WELL AS the stuff that we always have to take with us.

Question 6: “Would you suggest the captains seats or the bench seat for the second row?
Answer: It’s just a matter of opinion really, but if I were purchasing this car for me and my family situation - I would go with captain seats. I think the kids, as they get older, would enjoy that freedom a little more.

Question 7: “Do you think the Traverse is worth the price?”
Answer: Absolutely. It’s been an excellent car, and with even the standard features, I think it’s a great vehicle. I wouldn’t baulk at anyone shelling out the money for it.

Question 8: “Are you buying the car when the promotion’s over?”
Answer: TBD :)

Grocery Game

Lots of people are asking me about The Grocery Game. Here's a link directly to a post I wrote about it!

Good luck - and please use me as a referral :) stephanie@sassysaving.com

Grocery Game Link

First Trip To the Dentist

I put off taking the kids to the dentist for too long. I'm not really sure why. I carry dental insurance for each child ... I guess it's really just been "out of sight, out of mind".

Yesterday, the kids had their first visit to the Pediatric Dentist. They were a little apprehensive, but came away THRILLED and excited about all the cool things that they got to do while they were there.

I was amazed at the terminology that they used with the kids to get them to do what they needed. For example, when they want to suck the water out of your mouth with the hose, they told the kids to kiss the hose. Genius. It allowed them to get all the water out while getting the kids mouths positioned exactly where they needed it!

By the way, I'm starting an orthodontic fund for Piper today. $10 a paycheck from here on out. Piper's head is too small to accommodate her permanent teeth, so unless she has a tremendous growth spurt - she's going to need braces by the 3rd grade. I had M-A-J-O-R teeth problems ... I wore braces into college and had 6 extra teeth extracted by an oral surgeon when I was still in elementary school - not counting having my wisdom teeth out! I'm hoping she doesn't have near the troubles that I had. I'm REALLY praying that one set of sassy pink braces will fix her right up!

Avery, on the other hand, has dental textbook teeth. Permanent teeth coming in exactly where they should. Why is it always the boys that get the beautiful teeth and long eyelashes?

Here's a little slide show from yesterday to enjoy.