Shattered Sun

(better viewed large)

Today, little Z hit nine years old. Man, was he thrilled! It’s not every day that he has a birthday (duh) but being the person he is, he relishes his day more than I’ve seen anyone. With the exception of maybe me. But I digress! He is a nut today. Was just in a fabulous mood and had a fantastic day. And we didn’t get him much (he didn’t really want much) but we did get him balloons. Lots of them. You see, for my birthday I got a balloon with my flowers and that’s all he really wanted. I told him, ok, we’ll see. That’s pretty much my standard response to his requests. (Which could be considered lame, but he’ll hold me to anything that’s not completely vague.) And today, I did exactly that and then some. We got him 1 huge balloon and then 12 small balloons. Oh, and J had picked him up a different balloon before he picked me up from work, so really, the kid got fourteen balloons for his birthday. He was thrilled beyond words. I’m going to see if I can take him to the nearby park tomorrow and get some pictures with his balloons. They’re supposed to last long enough, so I’m hoping that if I go in the morning hours, I’ll be able to get some different shots. Here’s to dreaming!

One of my unspoken goals this year is to find photo opportunities everywhere. That’s my hope, anyhow. I’m looking to loosen my control and be more creative. I just feel a spark and I really think this is my year. We’ll see, right? By the way, Z’s hands up there holding the blueberries. He’s very patient with me. Gosh, I love him.

Z’s new favorite word is phenomenal! He asked me on Monday how my day was going and I told him that it was phenomenal. He didn’t know the word but has

taken an immediate liking to it. It’s so cute hearing that big word out of the mouth of a little kiddo.

I’m finding that there are two things in my world that are currently eating away at what little spending money I have. One is photography props and the other is clothes for the Terrors. Thankfully, with a little bit of scouring these handy online shopping coupons, I’ve found a few ways to help myself out! I caught some Back to Basics deals (I’ve got my eye on 35% off the foam blocks!) and some Old Navy savings (because we all know how much I adore Old Navy!) Seriously, school is only 2 months away and the Terrors are just growing like weeds. I need money saving deals where ever I can get them, so thank goodness for places like Coupon Chief for helping me stretch my bucks!

Overheard on the weekend while at QT:

J (speaking very fast): 2 sodas @ yada, 2 frozens @ yada, 2 hotdogs, and 2 sandwiches. Clerk: Cool, got it. Terror One: Man, how did you go so fast? Clerk: Well, it’s called QuikTrip not SlowTrip, people kind of expect you to be quick…

Terror One was not amused when I laughed and said he was “pawned by the clerk”. LOL.