When our son was little, we enjoyed hanging out in our backyard as a family.  We had the typical swingset, however a wooden swing set would have been really nice.   Little Tyke toys were also a part of our backyard toy supply.  My favorite part was one of those heavy plastic swimming pools that was probably six feet long, four feet wide and one foot deep.  Our daughter, Christi, and I would get in the pool and splash around, too.  I had several potted flowering plants plus Crepe Myrtle trees and Cana Lilies in the backyard, so it was like being in our own little mini-tropical area.  We had a lot of fun playing, relaxing, and enjoying our backyard together.

If you’ve taken a cruise before, I would enjoy hearing how you liked it, whether it was on Royal Caribbean or another cruise line.  Personally, I’ve never been on one and wonder if I would be one of those who would be seasick.  It’s nice to know there’s nausea medicine to eliminate that problem.

Our son-in-law and his family went on a cruise several years ago back when he was in high school, I think it was around then, and they really enjoyed it a lot.  The food sounded so amazing, especially all of the fruit.  If you did go on a cruise, what was your favorite part?

Happy 4th of July to everyone here in the states!  Hope you have a wonderful weekend and enjoy being together with family &/or friends.  To those of you in other countries, hope you have a great weekend too!

I wish we could sit down at my table and have some homemade chewy fudge brownies and fresh-made lemon tea together.  I would tell you about the Mickey Mouse high chair that you can see in the picture.  It was our daughter’s and then our son’s high chair many years ago.  The last couple of years, it was used by our grandson “J,”  and then baby “C” came along and “J” graduated to a booster seat.  So now, “C” sits in the place of honor where his mommy sat 28 years ago.

Then I would probably show you the blue pottery between the plant and lamp.  Our son-in-law made that for me one time, I think for my birthday.  It’s one of my treasures because it was handmade by him.   There are a lot of other things we could talk about and I would love to hear about you!  That’s one thing I miss about the internet.  Everything is usually so fast paced and people are so far apart.  But I’m thankful that I’ve gotten to make new friends, and at least we can “talk” to each other online.

Here’s an easy recipe for the reduced-fat brownies you see pictured.  You cannot tell they’re reduced-fat. Our son (college age)  even commented that they were good brownies! (I used to always make things from scratch, but this past year I have gotten to the point sometimes of needing something easy and quick.  Walmart had these mixes on sale for 75 cents a while back, so that was really a great deal.)

Here’s the recipe:

INGREDIENTS:

• Duncan Hines Chewy Fudge Brownies mix for 13″x9″ pan
• 1 egg  (instead of 2 eggs – these were gooey brownies so you might want 2 eggs if you prefer a more cake-like consistency)
  
• 1/6 cup unsweetened applesauce
  
• 3 tablespoons water (instead of 1/4 cup)
  
• 1/4 cup oil (instead of 1/2 cup)

Mix the above ingredients until well mixed, about one minute.  Bake in greased 13″x9″ pan at 350 degrees according to directions on the box.

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CONGRATULATIONS  GRADUATES!

Do you wonder what to give someone who has graduated from high school and is going on to college?  Well, I have a great idea for you.   I’m having a giveaway for a $50 Gift Card to Family Dollar.  (Go here to enter the giveaway.)

These are some of the items that a college bound student might want to get if they receive the gift card:

• Area rugs ($20-22)
• Lamps
• Storage containers
• Stackable  plastic drawers
• Bathroom items
• Cleaning items
• Paper goods
• Snacks
• Non-perishable “college food” (Ramen Noodles, Mac & Cheese, microwavable foods)
• Cereal & breakfast foods
• More snacks
• Cokes, water, etc.
• Popcorn & did I mention snacks?
  

NEWS FROM THE HOME SITE:

This has been a good week filled with many blessings. There have been many spiritual blessings every day that assures me (us) that God is taking care of us and loves us unfailingly!

I was invited to an end-of-school party the last day of school in one of the special ed classes I have subbed in many times this school year.  I love those kids!

And this has also been a week of freebies and winning items for our family:

• I won a package of 3 ring pops from Happy Mom of 5.
• We went to a store where a radio station (KLTY) was on location having drawings for prizes.  Our son won a CD and then ten minutes later, I won a CD by Brandon Heath who has some really great songs.
  
• We were walking away after winning the CD’s and we heard they were having one last drawing so we turned around.  They called my name AGAIN and I won 4 tickets to the new movie, Marmaduke, that just came out in theaters this week.
• After winning the CD’s and movie tickets, we left to go get our free sandwiches at Chick-Fil-A (hope you made your reservation a week or so ago to get a free spicy chicken sandwich)  We were going to buy fries to go with them, but the boy waiting on us said that we got fries and drinks free, too.  Awesome!
• Yesterday, we took advantage of Bank of America’s “Museums on Us!” (which occurs the first weekend of every month), and we went to the Dallas Museum of Nature and Science.  Since each one of us had our own Bank of America card in our name, all three of us got in free.  Tickets are $10 a piece, so we saved $30 on tickets.  We thoroughly enjoyed the museum!  (I’ll write more about this later…dinosaur exhibit was fantastic)

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Thanks to Chick-Fil-A, we enjoyed free spicy chicken sandwiches for dinner this evening.  My husband, our son, and I all went to their website a few days ago to make our reservation for the free sandwiches.  We were all impressed with this new addition to their menu which is to be released to the public on June 7, 2010.   The chicken was very tender, and the breading was minimum in relation to the thick chicken breast fillet.  If you like spice, I  think you’ll like this sandwich!  (And, of course, we had to have their famous waffle fries, too!)

*Note – If you read the comments below, you’ll see how two different Chick-Fil-A’s gave more than free sandwiches this week.

“Happy Mommy’s Day” is what our son guesses that his nephew, J (our grandson), is probably saying today.  I can imagine J saying that.

To all of you mothers out there, hope everyone has a Happy Mother’s Day and can enjoy being with family.  To all of you young mothers like our daughter, Christi, there is hope for sleep in the future.  I was thinking this morning how Christi has not had a full nights sleep in the past two and a half years (actually 33 months) except for maybe a dozen times.  (Is that accurate, Christi?)  That shows the love and commitment of a mother.

Here’s a picture of Christi (Frugal Novice) and me taken a couple of weeks ago.  Thought it would be appropriate to have a picture of mother & daughter bloggers for Mother’s Day. Thinking about Mother’s Day brings back happy memories not only of my own mother but also thoughts of how proud we are of our own two children and son-in-law.  They’re all such a blessing!  Our daughter, Christi, is a mother herself of two of the most adorable, most precious little boys (our grandsons). And that reminds me of a song my husband used to sing before Christi was born and throughout her life.  I must admit the song brings tears to my eyes sometimes.  Here’s part of the song:

Where are you going, my little one, little one

Where are you going, my baby my own.

Turn around you’re two, turn around you’re four

Turn around and you’re a young girl going out of the door.

Turn around, turn around,

Turn around and you’re a young girl going out of the door.

Where are you going, my little one, little one.

Where are you going, my baby my own.

Turn around… you’re small, turn around… you’re grown.

Turn around and you’re a young wife with babes of your own.

Turn around, turn around

Turn around and you’re a young wife with babes of your own.“

Here’s a picture of Christi and me taken 28 years ago.  Isn’t she precious!

HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY TO ALL THE MOTHERS WHO ARE READING THIS!