simply brookes:

May 13, 2012

May 7, 2012

sixteen

sweet sixteen

believe you me

your little girls grow up on you

before your very eyes

my beloved little girl

turns 16 today

she is

more than i could

have hoped for

she is self disciplined

she loves to watch TLC's: life in the ER

she is a newly certified lifeguard

she runs a 5:50 mile

she puts up a fight

(when she believes in a cause to fight for)

she is in the national honors society

she is not afraid to sing in her room

to the latest jb songs

on repeat ad nauseum

she sneaks spoonfuls of peanut butter

when she's craving a snack

she can open any jar you put in front of her,

which is why we call her 'man hands' sometimes

i love who she is every single day

(even when she is feisty)

she's my girl.

she stands tall

and knows who she is

she is my girl

i love you,

madison pie

happy 16th birthday

April 17, 2012

ready. set. vacay.

destination

charleston

orlando

psst.

this post was supposed to go out

2 weeks ago.

better late than never

this is what i do

as i ready myself for

fun filled family vacay

spring break style

1. PACK SUITCASE

here are two of my suits

for poolside d-world.

blog

confession:

i try on every outfit before it goes in

the suitcase.

little did i know not everyone

does this ritual.

call me cray cray.

2. NAILS READY

this time i tried a new fan dangled nail process:

shellac

what do you think?

i'll let you know if it lasts through

1 road trip

2 theme parks and

2 water parks...

3. TICKETS

thanks to many military discounts

we can make a trip like this.

go navy!

4. PROMO LUGGAGE TAGS

might have gotten some big sighs

from the teens when i tried to put

these bad boys on their suitcases.

too old for that?

perhaps?

but not me...

5. SCHEDULE OF EVENTS

too regimented?

naaaaah

6. CAR SNACKS

we always get each car traveler

one salty

and

one sweet

for the car ride.

can you guess who picked

raw almonds and red wine?

7. LOAD THE CAR

good thing mr. man has good

spatial awareness.

he is able to pack multiple carryon bags,

one dog,

one dog pillow,

three teens,

two parents and

even a grag

in one 14 year old

ford expedition.

stay tuned for more destination photos.

yes...

this is just the prep.

tell me how you prep

for a family getaway?

March 28, 2012

debt diet and replacing cars: how to pay cash for a car

it has been 6 months

since i celebrated this day

the day we could officially

declared at the top of our lungs

that we

had

credit

card

debt!

i swear i never ever

want to be in that place again.
ever.

we now pay off everything monthly,
sometimes sooner
and we
prefer it that way

(again, thanks to
this man and his book
can't say enough about it)

so with 6 months of

dutiful financing underneath our belt

we must think about the

inevitable

it is time.

it is time for us to upgrade the vehicle.

now most sane, normal, everyday americans

go through this process every 3-4 years.

some wait even 6-8 years.

die hards will make it 10-12 years.
(the average is about every 5 years)

not sure what category we fall into.

we have been driving our beast for

14 years.

crazy?

i know.

this is us the year we bought our car.
the twins are 5 months old and big sis is just two.

it truly has been the greatest car ever.

many treks to our beloved disneyland
back in the day.

this was the girls
all geared up for a dad's-only
camping trip.

not sure where the time goes but it has gone

so now the search has begun.

let me add,
after we paid off our last car
(probably in 2008)
we continued to pay our car payment
to ourselves.

**this is the key, peeps.
continue to pay yourself
allowing at least 4-5 years of this
and before you know it.
your pile of car payments to yourself
is now equal to writing a check for your next car.

i know you want to celebrate
when you make that last car payment
with a big steak dinner and
more moolah for you.

but instead,
start that 'car fund',
stash it away
and watch it grow.

not a bad gig
really

lo and behold,
we have a small stash of cash
ear marked just for that.

mamma needs new wheels.

so i must ask myself,

what do i want to still be driving

in at least 14 more years?

i have some ideas...

hint, hint...

ever pay cash for a car?

would love your thoughts, strategies, car ideas.

all of it.

March 23, 2012

bracelet love

been stalking bracelets lately

of all kinds:

silver

gold

beaded

pave

bangles

even stainless steel

i think you could

say it's my new obsession

what do you think about stacking bracelets

and clinking down the street

with your wrists all

blinged out?

well, apparently,

it's my new thing...

March 15, 2012

trending: what i learned from my teenage daughters

you all have probably

already discovered this

new trend

creative

nail polish

patterns

isn't pinterest

dreamy?

so my three,

ever fashion forward girls

have been all over this

latest nail trend

ssshhhh,

the girls get a ton of inspiration from

this little lady,

ahem, i mean,

style icon.

check her out for even more

fashion trends

atlantic-pacific

here is my

43 year old

soccer mom

version

verdict?

tell me about your latest fashion trend?

March 14, 2012

48

i must beg your pardon

please

excuse my delay

guess we have been off in la la land

enjoying every second having

daddy'o back on the scene

i just couldn't pull myself away
for one single second
to record a thing

so let's catch up:

today is a special day over here

today marks

mr. man's birthday

i know.

first homecoming,
then birthday

big

celebrations

all

around

can you see the smiles

plastered on our faces?

the girls and i tried to get

as dolled up as we could

for the big welcome

this was us a little over a week ago

obviously off in

family land

enjoying all the wonderfulness that

having the five of us together again

soccer

track

eating in

eating out

daddy's weekend waffles
big bed

non-stop laundry cycles
*thank you, honey, for being the laundry guy.
we and our clean clothes thank you
morning notes

and that's just off the top of my head

now we get to wish him

a happy birthday