Thrifty Thursday

Here is my attempt to throw out the tricks of the trade for thrifty spending in the Lipsey household. I'm not sure how many "Thrifty Thursdays" there will be, but was pretty excited about my latest trip to the mall :)

Tip #1: Shop Off-Season

So, if you haven't heard, Old Navy is currently having their 50% off lowest ticket price on summer clothes. I'm not generally a huge fan of Old Navy, but for playclothes and at a good price - sign me up! I picked up a dress, 2 shirts, and a skirt for Meredith and 3 shirts and a pair of shorts for Russ for a grand total of $15.84. However, the BEST part was that I had a mechandise check from last Christmas for $26, so I got all this stuff for nothing out of pocket and $10 off of my next purchase (whenever that might be).

Tis the season to be thrifty!

Red Spider Lillies

While on my blogging break, the fall equinox came and that means its time for these very usual and quick flowering plants to pop up. The red spider lily, also known as the naked lady, made its appearance in our front flower bed. Almost like magic, the stem pops out of the ground without any leaves and blooms for about a week at the end of September. It will leave behind a bit of ground cover, but its so easily forgotten that these plants are even under the ground for the rest of the year.

I love the visual reminder that something unusual and beautiful will pop up at the right time.

Busy Bees Are We

These first few weeks of fall have been super busy for this clan. Here is a little catch up on our life and times.

First, we had a great time with the Smith's in September. I hope that we were a calming influence during that crazy time with them. If nothing else. at least the kids took our mind off of things in Houston! Kristina put up some cute pictures of the kids and the wedding, so head over there for some more tidbits from that journey.

We have been REALLY busy with church stuff these past few weeks, so I think that is the main reason for the blog-vacation. The sweet 1st graders received their Bibles from the church a few weeks ago, and that is always such a special time for the kids, parents and teachers. I can still look over my shoulder and see my rugged and older KJV Bible that was given so many years ago. I pray that these young students will be able to have that legacy of faith in their life! I've also been a flute sub for the past three weeks in church, and got a chance to play last night on a song with the Ouachita Singers from Ouachita Baptist University. What a sweet group of singers, and it was amazing to hear "Our God is God' with that many voices.

The kids have been busy with playgroups and library story time. If you read The Sports Gal on ESPN (Bill Simmons' wife), you can equate Russ with 'Destructo.' Toys, books, pots and pans, laundry, etc are no match for our creeper (still taking a few steps, but not walking all the time). However, he is a good independent player - and that helps mommy and daddy out. He has cut 4 new teeth over the past 3 weeks. So, a little fussy - but still our sweet boy.

Meredith has had a pretty good few weeks as well. The vocabulary explosion continues to amaze us. I think my favorites lately are "Super Bubbles," "wash the dishes," and "brown banana" (brown bananas are actually chocolate covered dried bananas - yum, yum).
Hope you are all doing well!

What day is it? I don't know.....

I just wanted to write on the blog and say that we are still here, but we have been busy with our Houston friends Kristina and Brinley. Our Hurricane Ike refugees planned to come into town for just a few short days, but have found themselves stuck in the natural state until tomorrow. We have had a GREAT time, but know that they are ready to get back and see their loved ones and all the damage that has taken place in Houston - as well as get back to their own beds.

I'll recap the trip later, but for now (while all three kids are down for a nap) I'm just going to take it easy and just veg out with one of my dear college friends.

Woo Pig Sooie

It had been a while since my last in person football game, so a special day was had by Matt and me at the Razorback game in Little Rock this weekend. As you can tell, we got the cheap seats in the upper corner but had a nice view of the field (and most, if not all the points the Hogs scored, were down on our end, so it ended up being A-OK).

When we walked into the game, the AR Department of Homeland Security was handing out Emergency Preparedness guides. Bad omen, you think --- well, at least this game was pulled out in the 4th quarter - and the rocks did not rumble to cause a massive earthquake that the pamphlet expressed was going to happen. Good thing too, because I am apparently woefully unprepared for an emergency of that magnitude. However, when Arkansas was playing very poorly, I did brush up on my "to do" list in an emergency, and tried the block out the fans around me yelling only what I am sure, in some other language, was positive reinforcement. I'll have to work on always having a 1/2 tank of gas.

This year is the 60th anniversary of War Memorial Stadium, and many tributes by the band, players, and stadium staff helped make it memorable. I loved how the band made a 60 and played Happy Birthday.

Typically, War Memorial is a very loud place; but I think that the life was just sucked right out of the fans until the rally in the 4th quarter. It was hard to watch, but even harder not to think about what the season may look like in October and November. You want to be an optimist, but those pesky realist thoughts are staring right at you on the field.

It was nice to revisit the game that I spent many Saturdays attending while in college. The traditions, the crowd, and the loyalty rushed me back to a time before kids, jobs, and marriage that I rarely drift away to in my daily life of potty breaks and toy playing. It does feel like a lifetime ago, but then again it was 10 years since I first arrived on campus. Man, I am no longer a spring chicken :)

Quick Question to Kristina and Shannon - Do either of you guys have the picture that we took with the Old Fan with the Scooter our freshman year? The guy that we never saw again, and we assumed that something must have happened to that devoted fan? I think my picture is gone for good :(

Pray for Leighton - Updated

One of my sorority sisters just gave birth to a little boy ten weeks early with a heart condition. You can visit their blog here. Say a little prayer for Leighton and his family today and tomorrow, as he is having his first surgery tomorrow to help repair his heart.

I am planning on putting a NICU survival kit together for her like the one here. Let me know if you would like to help out.

UPDATE: I talked to Laine today, and they have had a great past few days since the successful surgery on Thursday. I dropped off the care package at the hospital, but missed them. Hopefully, I'll see them all soon.

Bye Bye Summer - Hello Fall

It's September already! We are left with the feeling of a fleeting summer, but gladly welcome in the football, pumpkin, and apple season that is quickly coming upon us. I think I'll use this post to update you readers on Lipsey News.

Russ

Matt and I both agree that Russ has really grown up this summer. Back in June our little boy was an immobile, but happy baby. Now we have a crawling and creeping baby who is getting better by the minute with standing on his own. All before the 9-month anniversary of his birth! So, I don't really think that we have the "2nd child will do things slower,' at least not in this regard. He is also eating everything in sight. Obviously, the young man has found the great southern love of corn on the cob; but he is not picky about his food. Just cut about anything up for his 3 teeth to chew, and he is good to go! A happy toy player, and a good sleeper. The ultimate low maintenance boy!

Meredith

Our little love bug has had such a fun summer, and it has been wonderful to watch her learn more skills like doing floor puzzles, singing whole songs, and helping make cookies. Our sweet girl has moved up to a new hall at church - again showing us how she is growing up to become a wonderful young lady. She is obviously still very silly - and has enjoyed new games like being pulled on the red blanket through the kitchen and other hard floor, sitting on mom and dads shoulders to touch things, and the frog song. She still likes her favorite books, Little Einsteins, and counting the balloons by the car dealerships. She is starting the questions phase of toddler hood, so we constantly hear "What is it" or 'Who is that" everywhere that we go. She is generally a cooperative and caring big sister.

Mom and Dad

Aside from herding our flock of two, we have been busy with general housework, job work, and starting a new school year at church. Matt has recently joined another bridge group, and I think will enjoy playing with other people of his own gender :) Other than gearing up for Fantasy Football and College Football, we have been half-way paying attention to political coverage (we tend to be like most Americans and find our most digestible news coverage from The Daily Show and The Colbert Report -- sad, but true).

As for me, playgroup has been going very nicely and we are hoping to get out for a field trip soon with the kiddos. Library story time starts this week, and Bible study starts in two weeks; so I finally feel like my routine is getting back to normal. The new 1st graders are a wonderful group, and we have averaged about 9 in our first three weeks with them. I am currently taking a sabbatical from orchestra to teach the pre-k choir up at church. This is also a good sized group (12) who keep me on my toes for an hour on Wednesday nights

I think that this gets you updated on our life and times! I pray that your new school year has started off well.