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!