MelissaStuff

So we arrived back at port yesterday morning and I was able to rejoin the technological world with access to my phone and the Internet. (I secretly think that is the reason my husband is so fond of taking cruises on vacation.) I was excited to find out that Plum District had issued a 25% off code - MOM25 - and that they had some incredible deals to use it on. Here are a couple of the deals I think would be worth purchasing (all prices are AFTER the additional 25% off): $60 for 6 Months of Drop-In Childcare (Up to 2 hours per day) $12.75 for a Shellac Manicure

  $18 for Tickets to FC Dallas (Games on 4/25 or 5/6) $35 for Tickets to Both Games (4/25 or 5/6) If you're a soccer fan you don't want to miss out on this deal. It ends Monday night so grab these $18 tickets while you still can. Previous Plum District customers can use this link - I'm a Plum District member .

Taking a quick trip - without kids - along with three other couples. Super excited. We've been looking forward to it, counting down the days in fact. Dropping off two munchkins today with the inlaws ... and enjoying one of our favorites things about Waco.

We took our kids to the circus tonight. We've been to Ringling Brothers at the American Airline Center before . . . and if it wasn't for my blog, we would never be able to afford that circus. It's not only fairly expensive for tickets but everything they sell there is an arm and a leg. $12 glow necklaces and $7-$8 cotton candy. Seriously C~R~A~Z~Y expensive for a budget like ours. But tonight we attended the Carson & Barnes traveling circus at its Garland location. I wasn't sure what to expect. You could see the carnival lights and the big top as you approached the intersection of Shiloh and 635. Garland must have strict signage policies because there weren't a lot of signs pointing in the right direction. As a result, we parked behind the circus and took our own personal backstage tour trying to find the front entrance. LOL We arrived early - about 6:50 - and the circus wasn't officially open yet. Glad we didn't come any earlier than that, althou...

When we love people, we invite their brokenness and mess into our lives. Mess is inconvenient; it takes our time, energy, and sometimes money to make it better. Despite our efforts, the mess can not be fully contained. It spills over and touches the people who dare to stand near.  This quote by Lisa Qualls was shared by a friend of mine. It is absolutely, 100% true.  The other night I asked my husband if it bothered him that he married someone who is always wanting to "fix" things. I've most definitely been criticized for that before, and I wondered if the person who is closest to me and is most affected by it was bothered. I can't tell you how I felt when he responded, "I don't think it's about having a personality that wants to fix things. I think it's about loving people like Jesus." He couldn't have given me a higher compliment. That is most definitely my goal but generally I just feel like a hot mess.  And then when I read th...

Congratulations, Amy Dawn Horton!

If you're looking for a good deal on some local attractions . . . here are a couple I think look good: FC Dallas Tickets + Promotional Items and On The Field Pre-Game Experience April 25 or May 6 - $18 each ticket Both April 25 and May 6 - $34 together This Friday through Sunday (April 20 - 22) the   Carson & Barnes  Circus   is coming through town. You can ride elephants and camels, watch the acrobats, clowns and jugglers, or visit the Midway games and rides.  This is a great way to get up close and personal to the circus the way it used to be. You can get   2 adult tickets, 2 children's tickets, 2 rides on an elephant or camel, and $20 in Carson Cash good on the midway for just $39!

This weekend was crazy busy as my baby turned 2! I still can't believe it and I find myself a little sad that my baby isn't such a baby anymore. We had a great day on Saturday. It turned out to be the perfect way to celebrate this little one. Here's why: 1. We had a small party on Saturday morning with just immediate family from both sides and a couple close friends. 2. Instead of cake we celebrated with the best donuts! Aren't they beautiful? And they taste as good as they look. I got them at the little donut store right next to Chuck E. Cheese at Mcdermott/75. It cost me only $14 for this box. (You can preorder at 214-383-9573.) 3. Everyone invited knows my son well and he was THRILLED with every gift he received. Lots and lots of sports themed presents. 4. The party was short and we went from there across town to a cousin's baseball game and then ate dinner at Babe's. Again, all of which were big hits with my little one. Hope ...

If you're looking for something to take your kids to do - I have a great option. Next weekend, the Carson & Barnes Circus is coming through town. You can ride elephants and camels, watch the acrobats, clowns and jugglers, or visit the Midway games and rides. This is a great way to get up close and personal to the circus the way it used to be. In addition, you can get 2 adult tickets, 2 children's tickets, 2 rides on an elephant or camel, and $20 in Carson Cash good on the midway for just $39!

Exposing your kids for FREE . . . to Art! Fun art. The Cottonwood Art Festival is coming up the first weekend in May.    10 AM – 8 PM Saturday 10 AM - 6 PM Sunday May 5-6, 2012 Cottonwood Park, 1321 W. Beltline Rd., in Richardson, TX 75080. For over 40 years, this festival has drawn over 240 local, regional and national artists as well as local and regional bands performing the best music in rock, country, jazz, band and swing. While my husband will be all about that part of the festival, I'm most excited about ArtStop - the kids area at the Cottonwood Art Festival. This hands-on, interactive area is staffed by more than 100 volunteers. Check out some of the activities your little artists can participate in: Crazy Cool Caps-  Let the kids show off their pint-sized personalities by creating their own over-the-top hat! There's plenty of glitter, feathers, pompons, ribbon and foam shapes for all to use! Throwin' Mud-  It's ok for the kids t...

Praise the Lord, He is risen indeed! Hope you are reveling in the sacrifice and miracle that took place for you on this day so many years ago.

I know some of you were feeling left out when I posted earlier this week about the $5 for $40 in Texas Rangers tickets - which is still available by the way! But, now you don't have to feel left out . . . you can get $40 towards tickets to ANY Major League Baseball game. Here's how it works: First, you sign up for ScoreBig with this referral and get $10 FREE credit. Then spend $5 to get a $40 voucher (good for most teams and games - check ScoreBig listings) Once both of these are set up, you can find the game you are interested in and offer what you would be willing to pay for tickets to that game. ScoreBig guarantees at least 10% off the face value of the tickets. You put your voucher code in the promo code blank at checkout, and you will find out immediately if your offer was accepted. If your offer is not accepted, your card will not be charged and your voucher code will remain available to be used. Super fun! Get a great deal and let me know what great ticke...

Seriously. There is such a thing. This week I had the incredible opportunity to go out to the SeaLife Aquarium in Grapevine Mills Mall to see their new Octopus Garden. It was amazingly beautiful. This is Eleanor - the main attraction in the Octopus Garden. She is a giant Pacific Octopus - at only about a year old, her "arms"(not tentacles) extend about 5 feet in each direction. Eleanor is stunningly beautiful when she extends her arms in every direction and exposes her underbelly up against the side of her aquarium. I can't wait to take my boys out to the aquarium to see the amazing sights there. The sunken pirate ship theme will draw them and I have no doubts the wonderful aquarium staff and the fascinating sea life will keep them enthralled. With an ocean tunnel that allows you to see aquarium life in a full circle surrounding you, 30 incredible tanks and more than 5,000 sea creatures the Sea Life aquarium is the perfect stop for your family. Admission is $19...

It's that time of year . . . sniffles, coughing, sore throats and breathing problems. My little one woke up in the middle of the night last night with a dry cough. ERGH! The nice thing was that I already had a couple of natural products in the cabinet that were perfect for this problem. First, I grabbed the Maty's All Natural Cough Syrup . . . Made with Buckwheat Honey, my little one loves the taste and the consistency is thick enough to really coat his throat. In fact, once I gave him a dose of it, he went from coughing about once a minute to nothing. No coughs. I was awake for another hour and I never heard another cough from him. In addition to the Cough Syrup , I also greased his little chest with Maty's All Natural Baby Chest Rub. Seriously, I did a doubletake when I opened the jar and dug in. It smelled like a spa - not like medicine. In fact, this morning I kept cuddling my baby and loving the way he smelled. It is most definitely the best smelling medic...

$5 for $40 in Texas Ranger's Tickets Wow! Today is the Opening Day of baseball season. So glad it's finally here . . . and I'm all over this deal at Plum District today. You seriously pay just $5 for $40 worth of tickets .  For $40 we have taken our whole family to the ball park using ScoreBig, that means you would pay $5 for 4 tickets! That's crazy awesome. Buy it and then share - if three people buy it, you get it for FREE!

If you're a Starbucks addict like me, this deal is a no brainer. Pay $5 for a $10 Starbucks gift card and $3 goes to Create Jobs for USA. This organization was started by Starbucks to provide loans to help companies hire more employees and benefit our economy. This is an E-gift card and can easily be transferred to an existing Starbucks gift card or used in their wonderful app that I use WAY too often. LOL

Okay, kind of a personal topic this morning, but I have to be honest with you. I'm not big on pain nor do I like to spend unnecessary amounts of money. Therefore I had never tried any kind of waxing thinking it involved both and I was doing just fine with my razors. Then someone asked me to try out their services for my blog - so I had a full wax from chin to underarms to legs to Brazilian. It was a different experience. Kind of close up with someone you don't know real well at all. And I'll be honest some of the waxing is a bit uncomfortable at first - kind of like pulling off one large bandaid. BUT it has been well worth it. First my hair grew back much less thick and dense everywhere. It grew back slower as well. And I found a freedom to not have to worry about whether I remembered to shave or trying to cram in a shower so I could shave before I went somewhere. With summer coming, it's absolutely going to be worth it to get a deep bikini or Brazilian wax on ...

Okay, my boys adored these sipp y cups and I'm excited to be able to share them with you . . The best part of these cups in my opinion is that they don't need any stoppers and there aren't any additional pieces that are difficult to clean and always left nasty. The best part in my kids opinion was that they had their favorite characters on them. Now they fight over who is going to get to use them. The cups are available with your child’s favorite Disney characters, including  Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, Disney Princess, Disney Fairies, Toy Story 3 and Cars 2. They now have new BPA-Free Magical Color Change technology will bring fun to every mealtime! The cups make clean up easy for parents too with the exclusive Easy Clean Valve System™, a one-piece lid with a built in spill-proof valve, eliminating the need for extra cleaning. Watch the magic  here . All The First Years Sippy Cups are BPA-free and dishwasher safe and are available in the following styles: · ...

LOL, I know what a lovely topic, right? If you want to read a bit about the potty training travails in our household - head over to the Plum District blog and check out my contribution to today's post!