Black Friday. Great Bargains ???

Thanksgiving was the best time to eat and visit with family and eat some more.. In the week preceding Thanksgiving I did some  rummaging thru the Black Friday.info ads trying to decide if it was really going to be worth the horrible crowds of rude, pushy people. In talking with a couple of my friends I decide to take the plunge and join my friend Tammy ( my garage sale / thrift shopping  partner in crime ). We had discussed all week which stores we wanted to go to and what items we were wanting and tried to come up with a plan. Another friend of ours, who mind you likes to strategize the whole shopping trip, changed who was going and where to start several times trying to come up with the best plan. As Thanksgiving approached I still wasn't completely convinced it was worth the hassle but was on board for whatever the plan was..

Thanksgiving night on our way home I called my Tammy to get the details of what time to be ready and where we were to start.. She told me she wanted to leave our comfy little town of Wilton, IA and head to Wal mart in Muscatine (for those of you who don't know Muscatine is about 20 mins.south of Wilton) around 3:00 or 3:30am Yes that's right AM before the sun is even shining. I am not a morning person at all so I kind of  whimpered a little at the thought of getting up so early. Knowing that there was a deal out there I headed to bed at 11:00 pm knowing that after shopping I could take a nap.  My objective was to grab a Cricut Expression (priced for just $188.00) at Wal mart  that was over half off the $400.00 price tag at Michael's Crafts or on the nice little infomercial  I sometimes watch and drool over like a kid who sees the best toy in the world. That is all I cared about . I have saved for this Scrapbooking  Heaven of a machine for a month now in the hopes it would either go down in price or be in the lovely little Black Friday ads on sale.  I was so excited to go now and I even get to pick the color(blue, red, green, or silver).

At 1am my phone was ringing and it was my  friend calling to tell me that she went to Walmart in Davenport at midnight and was in line for a E Machine laptop computer that was being offered to those lucky enough to get on for $198.00. She said that they were all sold even tho  you couldn't even purchase it until 5am. She was telling me that all the good stuff was going fast and that I had better get a move on if I wanted anything in particular. I went back to sleep. Tammy then called me at 1:30 and said we should get a move on cause our  friend called her and told her the same thing.. I still went back to sleep until 2:30 whaen Tammy arrived to get me. There was hardly anyone therewhen we got to Wal mart but figured we might as well find out where the items we wanted  were placed.. I found the line for the laptop my  friend was wanting and there was only 9 people in line so I called her and offered to stand in line and try to get one for her.. Call me crazy but I stood in that line for 2 1/2 hours.. The things I do for my friends.. As the store started to fill up I started to panic about my prize, the Cricut Expression. What if they sell out of them before I get a chance to get one??

At 4am one of the employees at the store was walking down the line I was standing in and assigned a number while another followed and wrote down names.. I was number 10 and they received 21 of the laptops .  Whoo hoo I got one.  People were still lining up to get one so another clerk stood in the area I was in and was telling people they were sold out . I was looking thru the ad and when I came to the page of the prize. I looked at the clerk and asked if she knew the location of it. She noticed it was an all day item and said "you can get one now if you want." I got excited for a moment when I realized I didn't want to lose my place in line. She  told me to tell the other clerk that I needed to go to the bathroom and me being honest said that I didn't have to go, so she went and got me a bathroom pass which held my place in line and told me to go.  I got over to the spot and there they were so I called Tammy and asked her what color she wanted cause she like me had been wanting one as long as I have and she wanted to make sure she got one too.. I walked back to my spot with not one but 2 Cricut Expressions( 1 red and 1 blue ) and 2 cartriges( that were offered for $30.00 and they normally run $69.00 each.) and the biggest smile on my face. At 4:45 they started to hand out the laptops and I was able to get one.I met up with Tammy and we finished picking up the rest of the things we wanted and headed to the check out ..

We headed to Davenport and shopped until 4:30pm. Needless to say I was able to get almost all of my shopping done and have fun. I have just one more gift to purchase and I am officially done.. So that is the end of the Black Friday experience and I actually enjoyed it, in the stores there weren't that many rude, pushy people but waiting in line was long and probably the part I enjoyed the least. Yes, there were some great bargans but you need to be both patient and yet persistant in order to get them. I will probably do it again. I am crazy I know..

What's A Mom To Do???

I thought I would update since I haven't posted in awhile. (The days are flying by and I can't keep up.) The photo is of Dakota with her " fave dance teacher ever Miss Sammy" at the end of this past years recital.. We Love you Sammy :) Sam has been very understanding and full of advise since this all started..

Dakota has made it thru the last 2 weeks of dance class without the tears. Woo Hoo!!  It seems to me that all the "counseling" at school and at home has helped. She continues to work with Ms S. every Tuesday and tries to touch base on Wednesdays. Dakota informed me today that the girl that gave her the anxiety in the first place has been very thoughtful and kind. She maintains social distance but is working on the "forgiveness" part. It is hard for her because this had been so traumatic for her and wants to forgive but can't fully open herself up to more damage.

She told me today that she has been talking to another friend and that this friend has offered a lot of good advise and offered to listen and be there for her if she needed someone to talk to. This friend has surprised me in a lot of ways. First for being an understanding and compassionate person ( I had her pegged wrong) and second by giving some pretty good advise.

Dakota's passion for dance has returned and she isn't the 11 year old with the huge dark circles under her eyes. She has returned and is now dancing, singing and talking our ears off.

The power of prayer does make a difference and yes people he does answer just in ways that we don't expect. God sent Dakota a friend that normally you wouldn't expect to be there much less count on but I think it has been good for Dakota.

More free stuff :)

Man I found yet another giveaway that my other blog fave Winn is hosting (she is awesome too)..Winn is giving away a very cute pair of earrings from TheresaJ's shop on Etsy..  Check it out oh and let her know I sent you :)

http://www.wendiwinn.com/2009/11/giveaway-13.html

Giveaway! I love free stuff !!

Since my cousin Amber is hosting her very first blog giveaway. I feel I should share this with everyone even though I would rather keep it to myself for shear selfishness. Simply put, I want to win it. It is a beautiful locket created by Indie Creations on Etsy.

Amber has turned me into a lover/stalker of Etsy not to mention she finds the coolest thing on Etsy. What is Etsy you ask? Well let me tell you.. Etsy is a whole other world of awesome, cool, eclectic homemade items from soap to jewelry, clothes to pottery and so on. You can find just about anything on Etsy. Amber (acrudele) has a shop called Confessions of a Crochet Addict on Etsy http://www.etsy.com/shop/acrudele. Check it out too because she is also having a huge $5.00 shop sale. She love to crochet things and is very creative.. I know I am kinda partial to her handmade goodies since she is family but honestly she has beautiful items.. Stop by and check it out and visit her blog What The French, Toast? http://confessionsofacrochetaddict.blogspot.com/

What's A Mom To Do???

We made it.. This week Dakota actually made it thru dance class with only a few tears..

Last week I finally broke down and called the Primary Interventionist at school and asked her for advise. She advised and offered to talk to Dakota. When I picked her up from school her first words to me were "You called and talked to Ms S. didn't you?" I asked her if she was mad and she told me no.. We chatted a little about the conversation and she let me know that she was bothered by the fact that one of the girls she goes to school with made a comment about her dancing around all the time and was kind of making fun of her for it.. It bothered me a little at first only because it was killing her love for dance and dancing is her life..

The next day I received a call from Ms. S. and she told me that Dakota seem to become anxious the day of dance class each week due to a comment that was made by a fellow student. She also mentioned that several times in the conversation Dakota expressed her disliking of her size and making comments about her being short and tiny. Thank goodness Ms. S. (also being a small framed and shorter when she was younger) was able to connect with Dakota's situation and feelings. Ms. S shared stories of being teased herself. Ms. S. is also going to work with Dakota each Tues the last 15mins of school to prep her for dance class and ease the anxiety.

I feel relieved that I now know what part of Dakota's problems are. Hormones also came up as a possible culprit for the meltdowns on top of everything else.  UGH!!! I tell myself she is to young to be going thru this already but that is just me being in denial.. I am not ready for my baby to grow up...

The Saga Continues - What's A Mom To Do??

The picture to the left is of Dakota when she was 2.. Small and happy and not a care in the world. Her biggest worry was when she would get to cuddle next..

Ok so last week we had the "melt down" at dance class. This week we were "sick with a headache" about 15 minutes before dance class.. I let that one go and kept Dakota home for fear she was actually getting sick..

Tonight is Youth Group night at our church and we get to the church. I went in to talk to Pastor Daniel ( the Youth Pastor) about the up coming Youth Convention.  I head back out to the van and there stands Dakota's friends, who just a few hours before she was making plans with to meet up at youth group. Dakota was about in tears sitting in the van and the girls told me she had a headache. So I took her home with me and as her friends ran off to meet up with everyone else yells "We hope you feel better."  So being the nosy mom that I am I start to pry. To no avail I get no where. Nothing.  Not a single peep. Complete silence all the way home.  I proceed to tell her that this is a little much and not sure what to say or do if she won't talk to me. I ask her if she wants to just stay home and not get do anything or is it that  she needs to get into the doctor or chiropractor,  she needs to let me know. I fear that  this is the start of a pattern I do not like. It is to much of a coincidence that she starts not feeling well just before these activities. Maybe I am just reading to much into it and maybe I have failed her in some way. I don't know what the answer is but the one thing I know is I WANT MY DAKOTA BACK !!!! I feel a though I could just scream at the top of my lungs.. I just want to fix this and make her happy. What kind of advise do I give? Who do I turn to ? Do I find her a therapist? Do I whisk her away for a overnight and see if I can get her to open up? I need help!!! Terry is now getting concerned but not to the point I am..

Girls are tough to raise and I now feel sorry for all the mothers of girls out there. You deserve the highest praises for the tough job you have. I have heard more than once that boys are a breeze. Hard to say, but I do know that I have a feeling I am in for a long hard next 7 plus years. I just pray that God shows me the way...

I think this is going to turn in to a weekly segment.. Thanks in advance for the support...

Breast Cancer Awareness Month!!

So today I was reading one of my fave blogs and the subject was pink. When I think of pink the first thing that come to my mind is sweet smelling baby girls. Then my mind wonders to the whole pink and brown craze, and then I am reminded that Pink is really for HOPE. Hope that one day women won't have to worry that they might discover that they have that nasty unthinkable thing call Breast Cancer. I myself have never had a close call but I have 3 yes 3 wonderful, giving and accomplished women I hold near and dear to my heart that have had not one but both of their breasts removed because of breast cancer. Horrifying. I feel a mix of emotions when I think of them. The first is their courage and strength to fight and then I feel blessed to not be the one facing it..I know how selfish of me. To think that this isn't just a fight for the moment but a fight for Life..I just want everyone who reads this to take a moment and think about what "Pink" means to you..

Check out the blog of my friend Winn, http://www.wendiwinn.com/2009/10/giveaway-11.html. Her giveaway this month is a set of three of these amazing little soaps in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness! They are cute and are scented with sweet pea fragrance oil..

Thank You Winn for the awesome opportunity to make me think pink..