What's Going On....

So I've taken a bit longer of a break than I had planned. I've just been going through some emotional issues and blogging makes you have to think about things that sometimes you would rather not. So I took a break... and I guess you want to know where I've been... what I've been up to... and what the heck is going on here... or maybe not.. but if you do... here's the scoop....

I've been farming over on Farmville.... cooking over on Cafe World... tending a pet over on Petville... and I even have have a couple of islands of my very own as well.... really exciting stuff... right???.... lol... ok... maybe not... I got lost on Facebook playing these games because it's just easier than dealing with my thoughts and emotions... and it's fun too...

As far as other goings on... we made it through the holidays... I have a new Grandson... Sarah is now in a band and doing well.... Jordan is still living here with us... and lil Steffie is growing like a weed and way too smart for my own good.

And the big news is.... that we are probably moving to New Orleans... whether I want to or not is beside the point... looks like it will happen... and soon. Adrian went down last week for some interviews and he has already gotten a job offer that he needs to either decline or accept by Monday.... after that they want him to start in 2-3 weeks. He will most likely accept the job.... which means that things will happen pretty fast... and will also leave me with tons of packing and all else that goes with a huge move. We have started a new blog together to document our move and our feelings about it etc which you can find here:

So I'll be busy... but I'm hoping to get back to a regular blogging schedule... it's about time... and I've missed all of my bloggy friends that I haven't been hanging with over on Facebook :)

A Lil Enchanted,
~LaShan~

Today's Thrift Store Finds

We made it to our favorite thrift store today for Half Price Saturday and I was surprised to find that we were the only ones there since last month it was packed.... maybe because it was a beautiful day today and people were just out enjoying the sun... I dunno.... but it was great for us!

Cottage Thrift is located here in Lil Hicktown in a small old house.... so it gets crowed in there pretty easily. But I love this store! The prices are already awesome... $1 for pants and shirts... $2 for dresses and coats... the toys and books and other items are really cheap too... so it's like shopping a yard sale instead of a thrift store. And all of the proceeds go to a children's charity so that makes it even better :)

Steffie came out really well... as usual... with 5 games

A Barbie nightgown, Disney Princess PJ's, 2 pairs of pants, 2 shirts, a pair of socks...


A few assorted small bathtub toys and 5 books....


And 2 outfits for her dolls.... for some reason the pic won't show up... but they're cute lil sleepers. A strangely nice thing happened though... I told Steffie I was going to look at the games before we left.... they are up on a very high shelf above the clothing racks so they're not easy for her to see... I have to use a coat hanger to actually pull them down from the shelf... that's how high up they are (aren't I creative???lol) .... anyways... she said "will you get me a Strawberry Shortcake game?". I told her it wasn't likely that they would have one... I've never seen a Strawberry Shortcake board game. I get in there and look up.... and there on the shelf is a Strawberry Shortcake game! I couldn't believe it! I really don't think she saw it before or she would have been excited and asked me to get it down already. So how is that for asking and receiving???

I also got some goodies for the new Grandbaby coming in March....

Two heads up car seat covers... 2 blankets... 2 sleepers... a bib... and a hat...


3 onesies.... 4 shirts.... and 3 pairs of pants

Now I have to get it all washed up :)... I didn't find anything for myself this time but that's pretty normal and I really didn't need anything anyways... I need to clean out my closet!

The final cost of our lil shopping spree??? $12 !!!

A Lil Enchanted,
~LaShan~

Fun and Educational Web Sites!

I found a few web sites that Moms and especially homeschoolers might be interested in... check them out and see if you and your kids might find them fun and useful.


Visit Kid Concotions to find a fun monthly science experiment. At this time you only get one each month but maybe in the future they will give access to past experiments... that is my hope for this site anyways. And it's free to join the club so go ahead and sign up!





Visit Childrens Storybooks Online offers books that your kids can read online. So if you're going on a trip and you have a laptop this is something your kids might enjoy doing to keep them entertained. Each story also has riddles and games. The kids can have fun while they learn!






A to Z Teacher Stuff is a huge source of free teaching materials. You can search based on grade level, subject and theme so you're bound to find something useful for whatever lesson your are working on. This is great for homeschoolers... but also for Moms who just want to find a fun project for your child... or who wants to give their child a lil extra tutoring on any subject.


Have Fun!

~A Lil Enchanted~

Monday... Monday....

Remember that song? It rained and stormed all weekend.... so it was just a lazy kinda weekend... not getting much accomplished.... or doing anything fun either. We just kinda hung around the house for the most part. Now it's Monday and there is tons to get done.... mainly cleaning my kitchen floor which has been put off for way too long.

I got the dishes done between playing computer games with Steffie. She loves her games... and at 3 1/2 has recently learned to use the mouse... so now she can play most of the games without any help.... but of course most of the time she insists I sit with her and watch her play them. We started playing computer games with her when she was just barely 1.... at that time she loved Elmo and Sesame Street so we played those games with her. Of course she needed lots of help.... but she loved Key-Board-O-Rama and learned her letters by playing that game.... and of course from the many ABC books that I read to her.

Her next favorite.... when she was 2..... became Dora the Explorer and several other of the Nick Jr shows... like Go Diego Go and Ni Hao Kai-Lan.... of course she still needed lots of help.... but she loved these shows and the games.... and I'm amazed at how much she has learned from both. We also read tons of books and we play board games as well.

She currently loves the Strawberry Shortcake games over on www.agkidzone.com along with one that we bought her. Her favorite shows right now are Strawberry Shortcake and Hi-5.... she loves anything musical.... and if you combine music with kids she's all about it. She loves to sing and has even learned a Strawberry Shortcake song called Strawberry Jammin in German by watching the videos on You Tube! Yes!.... she even surfs You Tube! With supervision of course.... to make sure nothing inappropriate pops up....



So now at this point she is really becoming too advanced for the Sesame Street games to hold her attention.... she still plays them.... but for the most part she has surpassed them and they are just too babyish for her. So I'm continually looking for fun and educational games that are on her level. I would say she is more on a Kindergarten level than a pre-school level at this point. She already knows her letters and numbers... is learning phonics... can count to 100 with a lil help.... has an amazing vocabulary.... and I've begun teaching her to read (we're taking this very slowly).... and we're working on her fine motor skills.... cutting, writing and drawing etc... of course this is all fun and play to her.... we do it through games and art activities and reading... she loves books!

And you know they say that children shouldn't watch alot of TV.... even educational children's shows.... well she has been watching these shows since before she turned one and I am convinced that they really taught her alot. She doesn't sit and watch tv for hours on end... but I do keep the tv on her lil shows all day and she watches for a few minutes when something catches her attention and then she wonders off to play for awhile.... then it's back to the tv for awhile... and so on. I don't think she would be nearly as advanced if it weren't for watching these shows. But I *am* pretty picky about what I let her watch.... nothing that is violent or scary... we try to stay away from shows with nasty villans etc.... and we're careful about we watch ourselves when she is awake.... we save most of our own tv watching for when she is asleep.


Well I *really* need to get to that kitchen floor


~A Lil Enchanted~