Something Old....Something New!

Yesterday Mary Alice went to a swim party. While she was there, I had a few hours to kill with the Maje, so we went on a little date. There is absolutely nothing to do and nowhere fun to go with a little boy at 10:00 in the morning around here. We weren't hungry. Sadly, the mini golf place (still his favorite) went out of business a few months ago. There was no bowling/roller skating/anything recreational nearby. He definitely didn't want to run errands. I definitely didn't want to be outside. So... in an act of desperation, where should we go but to The Goodwill Superstore.

I gave Major a dollar and told him that he could buy anything that he wanted as long as it was under a dollar. You wouldn't believe how much fun we had on this little date. First of all, there were lots of unusual items around, which led to lots of funny discussions and jokes between the two of us. When we walked in the door Major looked around and said, "Mom, this stuff looks kindof old." We walked through the aisles, picked up various things and made silly comments to each other. I found lots of things that would be treasures if found by the right person. I was pleasantly surprised at the quality of the clothing in this Goodwill store. You could save a bundle by buying your kids' clothing there. There were also a few items that I think belonged in the city landfill. For example... We found a naked baby doll with a broken leg and ratty hair... Who would want that??? Oh, and did I mention it was 75 cents, which was the same price of the brand new Peter Pan movie DVD that was still in the wrapper? Also... We found a remote control monster truck, minus the remote control, minus the antenna, and minus a wheel and front bumper. You could buy this for the low price of $1.00. What?!? Other than a few minor pricing issues with toys that should be discarded, we thought the wares that they were selling were pretty good. Major finally settled on the treasure of his choice, a 75 cent plastic sword. He was very excited and spent all day today playing pirate with his new sword.

As we were perusing the book aisle...LOOK what I found!!!



This is a 24 volume set of The Family Creative Workshop. This is the neatest encyclopedia of creative and crafty projects that I have ever seen! It is an A-Z how-to book for any kind of craft/art project you can possibly imagine. Some of the ideas are typical (making a gingerbread house, paper mache, etc.). Some of them are crafty type projects that I would never ever come up with on my own, but would be excited to try out some time (necktie dying, cheese making, making your own vinegar and vanilla, making your own makeup). I thought that it would be a really fun book to look through for inspiration.

Yesterday, Mary Alice looked through the book and found a section on clothespin dolls. She got out my craft box and went to town! Look what she made (other than a huge mess, I mean). I thought this was sweet.


From left to right...This is Marie Antoinette, Marie Antoinette's servant, and Miss Frizzle. When Josh saw what Mary Alice had named them, he asked why Marie Antoinette still had a head. :)

Okay... I have more interesting news than our recent trip to the thrift store... We went to the doctor today for our big sonogram and found out that everything looked healthy and that we are having another sweet baby girl. We are so thankful that things looked good. Here is the story. After the sonographer had checked all of the body parts and told us that they were looking good, he looked up at Mary Alice. He said, "Mary Alice, since you are the oldest, I am going to whisper into your ear if the baby is a boy or a girl. Then, for the rest of your life, you can always say that you were the first one to know. Does that sound like a good idea?" Mary Alice smiled, got up out of her chair, and walked across the room to the sonographer. He whispered the gender of the baby in her ear. Then....Mary Alice proceeded to calmly walk back across the room and sit back down in her chair, saying NOTHING!

The sonographer said, "Well? Aren't you going to tell your family if you are having a little brother or a little sister?"

AND SHE SAID..... "No. I think I will just wait to tell them until we get home." Just like that...

Josh said, "No way! Tell us, Mary Alice."

So Mary Alice said, "IT'S A GIRL!" All of us were smiling and laughing. Then....we looked over at Major. He was not smiling. His head was hanging down and he had a very sad and defeated look on his face.

The sonographer asked him, "Aren't you excited that you are going to have a little sister?"

Major shook his head sadly and said, "No." It was pitiful, but also very funny. I think he is already getting over it, though.

Tonight, as I was putting the kids to bed, Mary Alice sang to my belly and Major leaned down and kissed it and said, "I love you, baby!" I think Major just felt like he'd just lost some competition or something.

So there is our news...

Also... as I am typing it is now Friday morning, August 8th. 10 years ago today I married my perfect match. Happy Anniversary to us!!!