A Thrift Store Risk

I've been lacking in the jean department lately:/ Mostly because I'm not at a place where I'm willing/able to really invest in really great jeans.

So I went thrifting with 4 kids on toe... sounds positively choatic but it wasn't too bad:) A girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do!! We were in the area of some thrift stores and I had to take along my entourage or not go!

But you can imagine when I found "my" size in a decent brand:) I was soo excited and they fit wonderfully!

And then I looked down and saw it...

a line across the front of BOTH legs:/ Really??? How do you get a line across both legs with ink?

Normally, I would have put them back on the hanger and then brought them to the front as "damaged goods". But they fit soooo well!

So when I went to check out, I asked for a discount:) Yes, at a thrift store I ask for a discount:) It was a risk  to bring them home not knowing whether the stain would or could be removed... grr!

So I took the challenge.... either to get the stain out or change the jeans into something usable! And everyone thought I was crazy.... LOL... my kids, my husband and yes probably even two people I called for a "pep talk" once I was home.

After some googling and reading, I decided to try what I already had... start with the easiest thing possible... non-acetone nail polish remover.

Since I couldn't work with the pants from the inside-out (the ink didn't go all the way through...a good sign), I just stuffed the leg with a towel so it wouldn't leak onto the side. And proceeded to dab the ink with nail polish remover on a cotton ball.

At first it was hard to see if it was really coming out or if the jeans just were getting darker because they were damp. But I did one leg and then threw the jeans into the washer for a cool wash.

When they came out, I air dried them overnight! And sure enough the ink on the leg I worked on was completely out. The ink on the opposite leg was not as dark too. So I got to work with the remover and cotton ball for the other side;)

I was almost giddy... LOL!! I know soo very silly!! But to think that I had taken the challenge and invested very little time to give these jeans a new life in MY closet:)  I was willing to put forth a little effort and get a great pair of jeans for a super price!

And the weekend before last I went thrifting with the girls and came home with two awesome crochet-like sweaters for Anna... soo bummed they didn't fit me;)

Yep, thrifting works for us:)

My Model Reviewer

As a Mommy reviewer, I don't work alone;) Besides the fabulous and super motivating ladies at SIMPLE... my kiddos are my best partners and I couldn't review products without them:)

Recently I go to review a clothing line called French Toast:) I received a couple of items for Chris (to help with his lacking wardrobe)! These pants are the "super kid" pants.... they have doubled knees (for wear), adjustable waist AND an extra hem that can be let out.... perfect for this age when they seen to grown an inch every season;)

But to really "complete" the review I needed him to WEAR the clothes to get some decent pictures;)
I honestly dreaded having to go through the "photo shoot" process...

but to my delight Chris was the model model:)
He loved skipping his nap to help me out and he really got into the part.

























He enjoyed the one-on-one attention!!

Does he not look soooo grown here  :(

And he liked the clothes.. he's picked them out twice to wear to church... and that is amazing for my usually shirtless, wind pants little boy:)

Yes, he can be a tough cookie sometimes... but I was super thankful for our fun time together! A time that could have been very stressful was instead super fun;)

Gotta love my little reviewers;)

And to see the final pictures... head over to the review on SIMPLE:) Oh, and sign up for the giveaway :)

More Wordless Wednesday at  NapTime MomTog, 5 Minutes for Mom,  Mama to 4 Blessings, Go Graham Go

and any other linkys I find !!!

It Shouldn't, But it Does... my skirt:)

If you know me "locally" you know I am not the best dresser:) LOL!! I have a few tops and pants/shorts that I wear out constantly because I think they look good on me or aren't stained. No, I am serious!!

And I'm totally aware of the fact that my value and beauty isn't based on my clothing choices... but wearing clothing that I don't really like or aren't sure looks good on me, does affect me!

Whether it should or not, isn't the issue... it does!

I'm thankful for my husband who is soo very generous and encouraging to me in my style flaws!! He's always willing to give his input; when I ask and say "honestly, I can take it!"

This all came up during our recent vacation. My sweet in-laws told us to "Get out for a bit" to have some Brian & Kelly time. Neither of us knew what to do with time to ourselves so we decided to shop for some clothing that we thought the kids needed.

Our first stop was a new Goodwill... and I immediately got distracted looking for new jeans. And then I stumbled upon some jean skirts. By chance I found a knee high length and thought I'd try it out!! And I fell for it...

I have worn this skirt for tooo many days in a row:)
I have worn it with dressy shirts, tank tops, t-shirts!
I have worn it with wedges, heels and flip flops!
I have worn it with jewerly and with none.
I have worn it traveling and on a date with my hubby:)

This skirt has changed my wardrobe :) And I have that piece that gives a little more "fun" to my clothing choices :)

And it's nice when we walk out the door and my husband asks if he's "under-dressed"!! I laugh and say, "We're only going to Burger King!!"

Your Opinion: Vintage or Ugly?

When he outgrows this outfit...

do I keep it or toss it??

***I found it in Nate's draw and stuck him in it today. I know we had it for Chris, although I don't remember him wearing it. I know it was handed down OR from a thrift store. As I put it on him I just couldn't decide if it was cute or ugly? So your opinions will be fun to read;)

Our Little Princess

My little Anna is getting more and more selective about the clothes she wears! I'm not sure when the change from contentment with whatever we laid out to "opininated" happened.... but it did:)

She needed some winter dresses (that she would actually wear) and so while we were out last weekend we let her "shop". I helped her pick out a few dresses that were reasonably priced and her size and then she tried them on a told us what she liked.

She used to love little dresses like this:) In fact, Lydia still loves them... bright, comfortable:)

But her "style" has definitely matured... LOL!!! her choices of dresses were very different:)

This what she picked out* and wore to church this morning;)
She was definitely our Little Princess:)

*We got the dress at JC Penneys for $15!! Much better than the orginial price of $50!

My New Switchflops

This morning I posted over at SIMPLE....

I got the opportunity to review the new heel style of SwitchFlops!! I LOVE these sandals!! They are soo cute!! I like the little heel... I was definitely needing some more feminine shoes!

I also have a pair of basic flipflops from Switchflops for over a year now!! They are really comfortable!

I did a little bargain hunting and found a couple of online boutiques that also sell these shoes and they had some good deals going on... like buy a pair of shoes and get a free strap... pretty cool!!

Can you tell my Picasa still isn't working....LOL!!

Chores in Undies

Maybe because we're still in the potty training mode, or because he likes "swimming" (AKA taking off his clothes until his BBP and all the couch cushions and doing cannon balls into the stack of cushions... the couch- our inside trampoline)...

But I can not keep clothes on Christopher!! The other day the kids were "helping" me with chores and this is what I saw:



Ha ha haaa!! The good thing about him and Lydia wearing less clothing is that my laundry doesn't get piled as high:)

BTW... teaching 3-year olds chores is fun!!! They still want to "copy" us and so he thought it was a treat to sort the silverware:)

Off to get cleaned up for my date night with Brian:)YAY!!

Foreign Clothes & My Cute Kids

Since my dad started working overseas, my parents have been quite the world travelers.... And Grammie, being a grandmother, always wants to pick up cute clothes and little gifts for the kids!!

So this afternoon the kids decided to have a foreign clothes "fashion show" and their MOmmy (me) brought them outside in the middle of winter to get a cute pic or two:)


BTW.. I really don't think Grammie intended for the girls to wear the sweaters and skirts together. But being the good little self-dressers they are, the girls found them in the same bag and figured they went together:)

Here is Chris in his little Nepali hat trying to take a pic of ME!! Or so he thinks:)

Would you dress your girl like this...... for church????

She's got on her sister's 6X long sleeve shirt, her yellow jacket, her brother's size 3T pants rolled at the top and bottom and her cute little white Mary Janes:)Dresses in the random articles I had tucked into the diaper bag!! ahahhaa

In my own defense (although I shouldn't be on the defensive) I took her to church in a really cute dress but she wet through it ALL. I'm not on the defensive because I think it's MUCH more important to take your kids (and yourself) to church regardless of what you all are wearing!!

While I do think there is a line of respect and modesty in all of our clothing choices, I do not think God is impressed with us by our choice of dress. Scripture clearly tells us that we should be worshiping "in Spirit and in Truth" . On Sundays or when gathering for a service, we should be seeking the Truth or preparing to worship in Spirit and Truth versus worried about our clothing:)

So, here are my two little church skateboarders (hahhaa)


Here is the whole kiddie crew.....


I love Sunday after church photos:) Especially on beautiful days:)

****I'm trying out some photo editting... such a newbie, don't have the eye for it:) So be gentle if you leave critiques:)

Another Exciting Day... haa haa

We didn't actually have anything extra planned today.... just get some cleaning done, laundry and schooling.... hmmmmm??? Maybe today I am supposed to be learning that I can handle more than I want to... when I rely on Him, my faithful Lord.

So it started at about 3:30am when Anna came in saying she couldn't sleep and while tucking her in I felt she was burning up.... kind of like Christopher on Friday...gotta' love those "family" germs:)Needless to say she's been on the couch or in bed all morning... she tried to do some school but "hurt too much" to do anything... so we'll read later and push stuff back a day...

Lydia has been semi-potty training for a month now:) When we put her in diapers she either takes them off to pee-pee or pee-pees once in them and throws them away... so we've been going thorugh some diapers.... and she's demonstrating that she's ready to potty train. So this week I was going to focus more on potty training Lydia. More stick to my plan and not give in to diapers soo quickly (after soo many accidents).

But don't you know as soon as I started really focusing to Lydia pottying this morning, Little Man decided he wanted to join in the fun.... he liked getting the gummy bears (2- one for pottying, one for pottying with a happy heart)!! But then I had to remind him about pottying again and he was done :)

And just to add to the growing choas, I had my sweet husband bring down all the little boy clothes so I could finally get them sorted and put away in plastic bins instead of the cardboard.... which I've been meaning to do for over a year now....

Hahhaa.... girls' stuff is next... they grow like weeds:)But it had been nice to have everything soo organzied with the girls stuff, so when I need a certian size or season for Lydia... it's right there in the labeled bin:)