Birthday

My Jesse turns 6 today. Happy Birthday to my sweet boy! It seems unreal that just 6 short years ago he was my little (big) 9 lb baby. He's grown in so many ways. He is kind and considerate, although we do have some sibling rivalry at times. He is my cuddle bear, lovable on the inside and out! He loves his family but most importantly he loves God! Jesse, grow strong physically, intellectually, morally and spiritually. I'm proud of you.

Good News

Loren called me at lunch excited with good news to share. He had a manuscript accepted, with minor revisions, to the Journal of Applied Meteorology and Climatology. This is good news as he is working on his application for tenure. It has also been quite a few years since anyone in the Department has had an article published in this journal. I'm so proud of him.

Other good news, I am in the process of transferring my volunteer financial responsibilities. The process is a lot of work and once it is finished I'll breathe a big sigh of relief and look to new horizons.

Rebecca, my little one year old, is holding onto my fingers and taking steps. Oh, she's growing up so fast. I'm beginning to wonder about how many comments I get that she is SO small, I think she's just perfect. Everyone has their opinion.

coupons

Things that make you go hmm. I had an interesting trip to the grocery store. The store was sold out of the reusable bags, so I had some unhappy children as I put back the 3 bags of Doritos. Pepsi had a deal where you bought 3 products you got a free bag in honor of Earth Day.
At the checkout I also discovered that my Kroger doesn't accept computer printed coupons any more. It wouldn't have been such a big deal, but the clerk really made me feel like a thief. Funny how different tones make words sound different. We can not accept THESE coupons. My first thought was, WHAT, I *know* I checked all the expiration dates. I've had no problem on past trips. I asked the clerk if it was a new policy and she said, "Our company has never accepted THESE type of coupons." I was tired and in a rush trying to get back so Loren can keep the children and I make my dental appointment. I had hungry cranky children (remember the ones who were not happy about the Doritos..) Plus there were 2 church members in the store in nearby lanes. Must keep my Christian witness. Looking on the positive side, I guess I will be saving myself some ink. There are really a lot of good coupon deals online like here and here.

Update on my dental visit, Loren had a meeting that ran late so I ended up taking all 4 children with me. Rebecca started crying when the receptionist offered to hold her so I ended up nursing Rebecca in the chair while the other 3 squeezed onto the bench and colored. Guess what! The crown did not fit for the third time. I almost wanted to cry, Rebecca cried for me, she really didn't like them messing with my mouth. Loren did arrive at the clinic and took the children. Good thing because the dentist had to really work at getting it to fit. I'm still not quite back to normal, hopefully I'll adjust to it soon.

Blogs I read

I discovered this blog a couple of months ago, Be Thrifty Like Us, and have it in my blog reader. They are a husband/wife blogging team who blog about being thrifty and various free or rebate items they discover. It takes a lot of legwork out of searching for deals. Today is their Bloggy Giveaway and I'm linking to them to enter :-) It's always fun to get freebies.

A Weight Lifted

A big volunteer job I've held for the last 3 1/4 years is leaving my plate. I made my decision official today in a committee meeting and guess what, someone stepped up to the plate. I was honest about the job and how much work it entails. We also found someone who'll do the conference treasurer job, I've been doing both for the past 2 conferences and really they are 2 big jobs. I've burnt out on conference and even though it is going on right now and for the next 2 days, I've not even made plans to attend any sessions. I'll pop in and out to do deposits and socialize a bit, but that is as far as I'm going. One of the attendees was almost jumping up and down in excitement at hearing our speaker, and I'm just so unmoved. A weight has been lifted and I feel so good.