Y is for the Yellow Room

In honor of the Y post, our background is the color yellow. . .  
Are you one of those parents who have been there done that?  That no matter what exactly your child may try to pull over on you, you most probably have already done it bigger and better than they ever imagined?  While it's not obvious (everyone always said how "perfect" I was) there are plenty of things that I have done that yes, at some point I may even have to share with my children, in order to make a point. The yellow room is one of them.

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X is for eXcuses and eXplanations

Sorry readers, it's been a busy month and in addition to our sister sites of Money Saving Parent and A to Z Learning Tree we had all our regular work to do.  Ok, so I'm a cheating a little bit on the X factor but my rule of thumb is to write the first thing that comes to mind.
eXcuses and eXplanations
Oh we have millions of them, some of them good, some of them bad.  Some of them need to be said and some of them don't.  Here's the trick though, finding out when you need to use your excuses.

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T is for Toilets, Tickets and Tuition

One very expensive month of toilets, tickets and tuition.
First there was the ticket - now that was an experience and an expense I really don't want to relieve.
Then there was the toilet.  You know that awful groaning sound that toilets make with they need "rebuilt" or as I so delicately put it new "guts."  Well out upstairs bathroom had been making that noise for some time but we ignored it. After all hardly anyone uses that bathroom anyway.  The other night I found that someone HAD used it and forgot to flush (yes small children in the house) and after hearing the GROOOANN that this toilet made that night I worried about further damages if we put this home repair off any longer.  Next day the plumber is here to tell me yes, we need a rebuild AND a new emergency shut off valve.  Apparently the toilet was running all the time, but since it's upstairs we didn't really notice.  This was an expense that needless to say simply wasn't anticipated, (one repair yes and I was actually almost perfectly correct in my estimate of how much that repair would be but TWO repairs?)

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S is for Super Stupid Silly Mistake

So here I was trying too hard to be "supermom."  The kids were in the car, we are driving home from Spring break and I am doing the driving during this leg of an almost 1200 long car trip.  Of course the husband wants to talk (after all we are in the same place at the same time) and the kids need some attention every few minutes as they fight over their toys, coloring books, Leapsters and movies. Did I mention this was the FINAL leg of our journey from Texas to Florida and back again?

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R is for return on investment in kindness

New clothing - new to us that is! Return on investment - seem's like a strange topic to find on a mommy blog doesn't it.  But in this post think of the phrase "return on investment" as similar to the words "pay it forward" or "what goes around comes around," or "you reap what you so" - it's all the same thing depending on your beliefs. Today I received a really amazing gift, what some may call a blessing.

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Q is for Quilt: Grandma's Quilt

Grandma's Quilt Grammy's quilt my daughter's call it.  They fight over who gets to use it, because even at the young age of four they can feel some sort of special comfort and healing from the quilt that my grandmother made when I was a little girl.  It's a patchwork quilt made with pieces of this and bits of that. 
My grandmother was a very special supermom.  I can't ever remember a moment in her home when her hands were not busy.  I remember her peeling potatoes, breaking beans, stirring a pot.  I remember as she made her quilts the great big frame that hung from the ceiling to be lowered for her to use.  No sewing machine for her, each and every stitch was lovingly made.  I remember her lips moving as she prayed over each square.  What were her prayers? I wondered. 

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M is for Money Money Money- Money!

Today's post is brought to you by my daughter's piggy bank . . .
My youngest daughter said to me these evening she wants a lemonade stand.  She wants to make money.  I mentioned the May 1st Lemonade Stand Day, that maybe we could get involved and raise money for a worthy cause.  She said, "No mommy, I want my money to buy toys with. I'm going to put it in my piggy bank until I have enough." 

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