Did you see what I saw?

My first black Friday shopping experience was a success! We started Thursday around 11pm and I was home by 5:30am. Although there was only one item I really wanted, I ended up getting almost all of the girls Christmas. (Thanks, Amber for waiting and grabbing that Leapster for me) I had a lot of fun with two of my favorite people, we laughed, shopped and laughed even more. Love you girls - LOL!

When I got home, I locked all the stuff in my closet so that Alex could see it and then we were going to put away. To set up the following story, I had just told Lillie on THanksgiving that if she peeked at any of her toys, and I found out, they were going to be taken back to the store.

I was cleaning the bathroom on Saturday and Lillie comes running in and says, "Mom, Gracie's in the closet looking at what you bought!" I rushed in and said, what did you see? Her reply was simple, "Just my vacuum cleaner." The rest of the items were in bags, so I am pretty sure that is all she saw.

I told her that I was going to have to take the toy back. She just cried and cried. I explained that when you peek at stuff you know you aren't supposed to see, then that is what happens. I also said, that if she wanted a vacuum cleaner now, that she would have to ask Santa, because Mom and Dad weren't getting her one.

I was disappointed, not in her since she is only 3 - but that I had to tell her that and she cried. The closet was locked, but just didn't get pulled shut all the way and that is why she was able to get in. :(

Sunday morning, I was getting ready to put Gracie in the shower and she looks at me and says very sweetly, "Mommy, I am sorry I saw my vacuum cleaner yesterday. Did you and Daddy take it back to the store already?" Mommy, "No, Dad will on Monday." Gracie, very sadly, "Mommy, I didn't know I wasn't supposed to see it, I won't peek again."

Sunday afternoon, she came to me with a piece of paper and asked how to write vacuum cleaner. I wrote on one page, and she copied it to her letter. She then gave it to me and said that is her letter to Santa. Very cute!

I am not really going to take it back, and she will still get it, but not from us. She will get it from Santa. However, I am curious as to what you all would do in this case. She is only 3 and I don't believe that she went into my closet just to find the toys, but at the same time she also knew she was not to go in there. How would you handle this? :)

Yes we did

It is before Thanksgiving, and we have our tree up! With the all that is going on in the next week, today felt like the best day to do it.




The girls were so cute while decorating. The tree is definitely not professionally done, but it is done with love (I know cheesy). We don't have a lot of decorations, but enough to enjoy putting them up. I still have to do the lights outside and a few inside.

I have quite a bit of Christmas shopping done, and have paid for very little. We earned a $25 gift card for participating in a survey when we were in Disney last May. With that I was able to purchase 2 presents each for just over $2 out of pocket. Using a Sony gift card we found, from like 2 years ago, we were able to pick up a movie for the girls for free! I have $70 in amazon gift cards just from searching the web (I would have had over $100 but spent part of them for travel games when we went to Disney). I plan on using that to purchase some things for the girls too. This past Tuesday I went to Radio Shack and found Lillie's big present from Santa - Nintendo DS Lite on clearance, saving me $40.

I have never had this many items bought before Christmas and actually it feels really good. I am thinking that I need to start my shopping earlier. I may shop Black Friday, but I am still undecided on that. This would be my first year to shop then, and I am not sure I am ready to take that plunge. lol

Bits and Pieces

It seems like it has been a long time since I have last posted. I think many times - "Oh, I should post that" but unfortunately I don't. :( Hopefully, I don't get too random, but here goes a little update.

Lillie had her first JBQ (Junior Bible Quiz) meet this past Saturday. Her team got 4th place. She has worked hard on the questions, but she was not quick enough to the buzzer. I will say the ride there and back was entertaining as we rode with one of her best friends, Josiah. I love listening to their conversations. Too cute!

School is still going great. She has learned many things and floors me with how quickly she picks up new subjects. I love seeing her excitement as she accomplishes new things. Her favorite subject is science - which has always been my favorite too. ;) She is able to read short sentences and is really good at sounding out words, as long as she is in the right mood. There are days, that are harder than others, but overall I am loving homeschooling her.

Gracie has picked up so much through watching her sister. I have been working a little with her about recognizing numbers and letters. Although I think that Lillie has taught her most of what she knows. Lillie, not only is a good student, but a good teacher! Both of the girls love the website www.starfall.com and I would recommend it to anyone with little ones. It is a fun way to work on letters. It is a fun treat for the girls once in awhile.

We have gone trick-or-treating. Lillie was pretty little cowgirl and Gracie was Jessie from Toy Story.




We are getting ready to put up our Christmas decorations this week. The girls can hardly wait for that. Who am I fooling, I can't wait either! One thing I am excited about is all the really good deals I have gotten so far for the girls. I have several presents already purchased and have spent less than $10. YAY! Maybe I will post later this week about those.

You have probably have had enough to read of my life, so toodles until next time! :)