$ales!!!

I have decided that next to Thanksgiving...this is my FAVORITE time of year!  Christmas has come and gone and things get back to normal.  The stores  are clearing EVERYTHING that I need out in preparation for the next big thing...which for me, means SAVING!!!  I LOVE buying things on clearance!  I just went shopping and purchased enough clothes that if I needed it to..it could be her entire winter wardrobe and I only spent about $40.00~  I never have done this with Zack and Jacob because I am never sure what their sizes will be from year to year...but I really may have to just take the chance, bite the bullet and try it, It should at least work for ONE of them right?  I was able to buy a $40.00 coat for Emma for about $10.00 (which still was kind of expensive).  I LOVE knowing that I am set for Emma's birthday if I need to be, all she would get is clothes...but she will only be 2 and at that point in life I really don't think you care what you get.  I did this last year also and it was such a relief to look in the bin under her crib and realize how much we HAD rather then how much we NEEDED to still get!
     I saw a coat for the boys at Shopko that was normally $115.00 on sale for $50.00!  I could go and get two coats for cheaper then the original price of one!  Isn't that exciting???  It is to me!

NO REGRETS!

Sometimes I wonder where the time goes and why it must go so quickly!!  Today is the 10th of January....and my Christmas tree still stands in my living room.  I really am not normally one to keep it up this long, and if I had my way, it would not be there!  Life it seems, just gets incredibly busy at times and right now, we are in a busy time!  With Emma ruling the house during the day and Zack and Jacob's crazy schedules ruling our evenings, it seems as though NOTHING gets accomplished!  I am having way too much fun enjoying Emma while I have her all to myself during the days.  I know that this time will go much faster then I want it to and I don't want to look back and have any regrets!  When I had the boys it seems like such a blur looking back on it all.  When Zack was born I was only home with him for 6 very short weeks before returning to work.  I did not want to go back to work but at the time we felt like we could not afford for me to stay home.  We got ourselves into a routine and had just started adjusting and what seemed like 2 seconds later I was (unexpectedly) pregnant with Jacob!  Zack was just barely 4 months old when we realized I was pregnant.  After struggling with infertility, any child that comes into our lives is an added blessing. We were scared to death wondering how we were going to manage with two babies under the age of 2 but somehow, we did manage.  We just don't remember how LOL!!
     The things that I see Emma do and just the time I get to spend with her one on one is so precious to me and I feel so blessed to be able to have this time with her.  I kind of feel like the boys got cheated a little because with both of them running around, there was a constant chaos (there still is sometimes).  When Zack was little tiny, I was pregnant with Jacob, so my energy was probably lower then normal, then when Jacob came along and Zack was STILL not sleeping through the night I REALLY had no energy!  I was literally going from one baby to the next all day and all night long (I really don't know how mom's handle multiples)  We were in survival mode, just trying to make it from one minute to the next.  Now having Emma, and knowing in my heart that she is the last baby we will have, I am choosing to ENJOY my precious time with her!  So...for now, my Christmas tree can stay in my living room, and the laundry can continue to pile up because these moments will be gone far to fast.  Homework WILL get done, Zack will have a ride to scouts and back and Zack and Jacob WILL be at all of their basketball practices and games, and if you happen to come to my house...hopefully you will understand why my tree still stands...fully decorated~