partly cloudy with a chance of fun.

It started out a cloudy and rainy day, but the clouds did part to allow for a little sun, fun and friends.

and oh my gosh some cuteness...

the pink, the polka dots, the tutu, the perfect little curls...seriously.

our teacher gatherings have changed with all the new tiny little stylish swimsuits running around. (and I'm not talking itsy bitsy bikinis for us)

smiles. sun. love. fun.
a great day.

crafts, projects, and possibilities.

My classroom is all packed up. Life with baby has long settled in. Road trip journey is through. It officially feels now like I am a stay at home mom. and yesterday I made my stay at home mom to do list. All the crafts, diy projects, and organization that I want to try and conquer.

Budget is first on my plate and Todd and I have been and still are working very hard at this. We have always been very good at saving together, and now the challenge has stepped up a little for us. We are officially a one income family. scary but we know we are up for the challenge, and it is so worth it. We know many sacrifices are ahead, less get togethers as we watch our gas budget, no eating out, entertainment at home, no new clothes or fun accessories for a while (well...for us, it's hard not to have anything for a growing little girl :). all this among many other things. but it is a time unfortunately that everyone is cutting already and shifting to one income means cutting even more.

Today I made the decision to bite the bullet and downgrade ourselves to basic "just those few channels" cable. I love my tv entertainment so this was a hard one, but not too hard... I love my time with quinn way more. I called the day before to research our options. Then I called today with my decision ready...and somehow I got more than 200 channels, HD, ondemand, and DVR for only $10 more than just basic cable (about 25 channels). How did that happen?!?
I was pretty excited! Got to keep our little entertainment at home since we are saving money by not going out anymore and we are saving an extra $43 a month (and getting more than we had before). So...if you have been considering calling a service provider to get a better deal...do it! Today I threw an extra $513 into our savings account for the year and somehow managed to get more than what we had. Time and effort well spent.

Cable is only one of many things we are doing to save a little money. The market is discouraging, but we are ready to face the fact that we need to have more money saved than in past decades in order to move into a little bit of an upgraded home. It takes lots of time, patience, and sacrifices, but it isn't completely out of reach. dreams are still possible. Todd and I picked out our dream house this week (it changes and evolves constantly) but we have one. our charming and cozy bungalow sits on our desktop to remind us to save, save, save. (pictures of quinn help to tell us the same with all that we want to provide her future with :)

My new full-time job fills my days with new possibilities. Instead of markers and glitter on me, I am covered in drool. :) I am excited to try to tackle some money-saving DIY projects (especially gathering for whenever a new home comes our way). I have a list ready and when the budget allows, a fun little project and craft will be tackled. Many ideas can be found on the sites I have marked in the left sidebar. yay for new crafts!

By far the most gorgeous little craft I've we've ever made.

even with food all over, so kissable.

my little love and my new little full-time job.

love this picture, look closely for two little bottom teeth.

To many days filled with...

kisses, giggles and squeezes.

five.

five. our nephew aidan is already five.

where did the time go?

Happy Birthday to our blue-eyed juicy cheeks, you will always be. :)













Birthdays are so fun to celebrate and a great reason for more cherished family moments. I love capturing moments on film. These are definitely capturing moments... no captions needed.