Shoes, shoes, shoes!

Anyone who has kids knows that the single most expensive thing we buy them every year is their shoes!  I cringe at the thought.
However, you all know I am a big bargain hunter so I always have my eyes peeled for some major savings.

Today while grocery shopping I bought 8 pair of girls summer shoes, several different sizes, which should cover my kids for a couple years.

Here they are...

If I had paid full price for all these, my total would have been $114.00.  But you know I did NOT pay anywhere near full price.  My total for 8 pair of shoes was...

$29.00

The mocassins were $4 each, and the "Mary Jane's" were $3 each after all discounts.  I love a good clearance find, especially when I'm not expecting it!

Hello Kindergarten, Here I Come!

Yesterday was Tia's first day of Kindergarten.  There was a lot of excitement and anxiety leading up to this day. Tia even asked me earlier in the week if I could just cancel kindergarten for her and let her stay home with me.  Forever.

I knew as soon as she got there she'd love every minute of it, and I was right.  Phew!

Here are a few pics of the big occasion...

All dressed up and ready to go!

The big bus

My baby's very own cubby

Awwwww

Oh, that seems like a crazy number!

I met the bus at school, as most kindergarten parents did, and walked her into class.  I made it quick, like a Band-Aid, just rip it off and get it over with!
I held it together pretty well and didn't cry.  Well, that is until I turned around to sneak one last peek at her and she was flashing me the "I LOVE YOU" sign.  Ugh, stab to the heart. Good thing I was on my way out or I might have started to blubber all over the place!

I was so excited for her to get off that bus and tell me all about her day.  I asked a lot of questions, and heard a lot of  "I don't remember" responses.  That's OK, as long as she had fun, which she did.
In fact, she said "Mom, I can't wait to go back tomorrow!".  That's good enough for me.

Bittersweet...my baby is growing up.

The Final Fling of Summer Fun!

I've been having mixed emotions about Tia heading off to kindergarten tomorrow, mostly because she won't be home with me ever again after this!  I know, I'm a drama queen but think about it.  She'll be in school full time for at least the next 13 years, and hopefully there's college after that.

Because of that realization, we started a new tradition in our family today.  I decided that since it's the last day before school starts, we should have a "fun day" to celebrate.  We started the day off with some bowling.  The kids have been asking to go all summer and we just never got around to it.  We can NOT start out the school year with regrets!  We had the best time.  SO much fun.

Ready to Roll!

Knock 'em down Tia

With Cousin Jennifer

Tia wants to know if she can buy bowling shoes to keep at home because they're so comfortable.  Can you imagine!?

Then we headed off to lunch at Famous Dave's  for some awesome BBQ.  Yumm-Oh!

Gia thinks everything is a photo op

After lunch we went shopping to pick out hats for Disney.  Well, we really went shopping to walk off our lunch, but bought hats while we were there.  Did I mention how awesome that lunch was?

And then, of COURSE, no summer day would be complete without ice cream.

LOVE those blue eyes

Ice cream faces are so kissable!

It really was a fantastic fun day, and a great start to a new tradition.  Tia's already asking what we'll do for next year.  I think that means this idea was a big hit.

Happy Back to School everybody!

Fashion Show!

Nonna (D.R.'s mom) was here with us for two weeks.  It was fantastic having her here.  The girls loved every minute of it and have informed us they would like her to move in with us forever!
She brought along several dresses that she made for the girls.  She's getting VERY good at this sewing thing, the dresses just keep getting better and better.

The kiddos wanted to put on a fashion show to model the new dresses.  It was hilarious!  Here are a few pics of my crazy kids strutting their stuff and posing for the 'crowd'.
Girls are so much fun!

working the cat walk

it's all about the accessories!

Sassy!

Oh, she's too much!

If you want to see the dresses closer, just click on the picture to make it bigger.  I love all the details.
Too bad I won't let them wear those fancy shoes out in the real world.  Bummer!

The Tooth Fairy Has Arrived!

Tia has been waiting for weeks for her little front baby tooth to fall out.  She woke up very early yesterday morning and announced that she was going to 'work on this tooth for a while'.  Sure enough, she got it out!  She was so excited.
Here she is, missing the tooth...

Cheeeeeese!

The 'tooth fairy' has been prepared for this moment for a while.  The only concern was getting caught.  Luckily Tia is a very sound sleeper and slept through the exchange.  Here's what she got, along with a few coins...

Pencils and Markers

This is such a big, exciting day in our family.  Tia has informed us "I'm not a little girl anymore".

Can I go cry now?  My baby.  My first born.  *sigh*  Not a baby anymore.

Fun with Family and Friends

We took a quick, unplanned trip back home to Rochester last week.  We haven't visited since Christmas.
We decided to take a few days to run back and visit our family because hubby got a new job and they wanted him to start almost immediately.
It was a great visit, but much too brief!  We tried our best to see and do as much as possible in 4 days time.

Here's a recap...

Of course BFF Sheila stopped by and we finally got to meet her grand baby Bella.  So sweet!

She's such a good sport!

We have a new cousin who was born 6 months ago and I hadn't met her yet, so that was tops on our priority list.  Here she is.

Gia just loved this baby!

And I got to visit with a couple of my aunts and an uncle (I have too many to count so we see them in rotation.  No kidding.)  Here's my Great Aunt Ann, she just turned 84.  Love her!

She used to change my mom's diapers!

We managed to squeeze in a park day with friends.  It was a fantastic day.

SO much fun!

BFF Michele and I were pregnant at the same time with these two kiddos.  I can't believe how fast the time has gone.

Aidan, AKA "Gia's first crush"!

Later in the day my favorite sister (also my only sister) hosted a girls night at her house so I could see all my girlfriends in one place.  Would you believe I didn't take a single picture there?!  Pure craziness.

We had a great time and lots of amazing dinners with Nonna and PaPa.  They so graciously open their home to our very loud family with no complaint.  Here they are with D.R.

Patio time at the Kelly's

Then my sister and brother in law hosted a nice picnic for even more family and friends.  We all had a blast!

The oldest of my 4 nephews

Tia and our sweet Isabella

My one and only Niece Jennifer

So how's that for a picture overload?!
It was a whirlwind of a week and we all had a great time.  I'm sad that we probably won't be going back for Christmas this year, but maybe it's time to start new traditions.

We miss you all Rochester folks!