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It's Thrifty Thursday once again. Leigh isn't home, but she promised we'd still celebrate the day, thanks to Chandy.
Again my "thrifty" post will be a mix of thrift and "not so much." BUT - - - it will have a theme. I'm all about a theme, because a theme indicates a pattern, and we of OCD tendencies love patterns. Love them.
I'm sure if I've mentioned it once, I've mentioned it a gazillion times - I am from Wisconsin. My origins are the northwoods. Those are woods in the north for those of you who may be wondering.
Since I haven't lived in my beloved state since I was 18 (and that was back when the dinosaurs were roaming in the northwoods) I have tried to bring little "touches" of northern Wisconsin into my midwest habitat.
First this:
Which, though I DID pay full price for it, was to me a thrifty buy because it brought the feel of Wisconsin into my home without me having to move. Moving would have cost A LOT more - - - so thrifty it was.
Now, I REALIZE this border is supposed to depict vineyard country, probably in northern California or Europe or somewhere. But that didn't matter IN THE LEAST to me because it has the FEEL of Wisconsin farmland. I can almost hear the cows moooooooo-ing and smell their manure. Ooooops, that's not their manure, that's the dirty dishes in the sink!!! But I digress - - -
And I ALSO REALIZE that wallpapers and borders aren't in vogue anymore. Know what I say to that???? Vogue Schmogue. I LIKE my border on the soffit, so there.
And, to further enhance the Wisconsin feel, I brought these cute little guys home with me and placed them lovingly on the kitchenette table:
Now they WERE a thrifty deal, and from a DIMESTORE in Hayward, Wisconsin. Yes, I DID say DIMESTORE. Did you forget what about those???? Well, they still have the same DIMESTORE (I think it's a Ben Franklin) in Hayward where I shopped as a child. Besides the regular five and dime items, they have little tourist knick knacks. Bingo - - - I'm now a tourist, so I LOVE the knick knacks.
And in my downstairs bathroom I have this border. (Repeat disclaimer about borders from above.) And oh mes amies - - - I was a baby in a home that only had an out house, so how could I resist these:
True, I was too young to actually have to brave the -40 degree winter weather (Yes I did say NEGATIVE 40 degrees) to USE it, but my mama and papa did!!" I was still using my widdie biddie diaper at the time.
To continue the theme - - - and in the same room where one must "bare" it - - -
I have this little mama bear reading to her cubs. I love this because I was that mama bear and I read to four cubs over a span of about sixteen years.
And this little guy is BEARing hand soap. Yep, you guessed it, all these bears came from the same Ben Franklin in little ole Hayward.
But not this one:
He too came from Hayward, but not from the Ben Franklin, and he was not thrifty at all, even though the shop owner DID knock $$$$ off his price. But:
From the moment I saw him,
I knew he was mine
Because how better to wipe
Your bare behind????
And that is my Grin and BARE It (or BEAR - - - you decide) Thrifty Thursday post.
Ta ta, y'all!!!
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She was fierce,
Mackinley "steppin' up"
Serious fan
Hubby cuts a rug with our baby girl, Korie
Keri and her brothers
Auntie Korie with Kaeleigh and Mackinley
How cute is this?
This IS normal Kelly behavior
"Lady" Bug for all the ladybugs
Kelly and Matt
Can you see the problem? Do you see how DEAD it looks? 
Funny thing, the heat/central air doesn't work too well under these conditions.
Several of you have commented about my football flip flops. I believe I even heard a little bit of envy going on!!!
We hadn't gotten to see our granddaughter, Kaeleigh, for weeks and weeks due to "technical difficulties." Then, just in time for her fifth birthday, those technicalities cleared up at least long enough for us to have a party.
Miss Piper Renae was sporting a new pink sundress. She and big sissy were more than happy to pose together - - - just like models - - - for my camera.
Piper needs just the tiniest bit of support to stand by herself - - - it won't be long and she'll be running all over the place.
Happy to be sitting in daddy's lap.
Kaeleigh loves to show me her "treasures" in her room. I wish I had a tent just like this!!!
Kaeleigh and Mackinley had a hard time WAITING for cake time. Mackinley kept sneaking into the kitchen to climb up on a stool just to "look" at the cake.
Finally it was present time. First present - - - a jump rope!!!
A new PINK outfit - - - Kaeleigh is all about pink!!!
In this case, it was Piper who had to pay - - - - - WITH MY CHECK BOOK!!!!
Oh yes he did.
He mangled his knee in every way imaginable earlier this spring, and is only about two weeks post-surgery. 
In honor of the NFL draft, my feet "sported" these "kicks" all weekend long!
Chari over at "Happy to Design" is hosting Sunday Favorites where we can link to each other's favorite post reruns. I am LOVING this idea. I spent more time trying to decide which post to rerun than I would have spent making a new post!!!! Oh but such fun.
He got his little car, put on his best smile, and headed out to Papoo and Kamma's house to see Uncle Kyle and help him celebrate his graduation.
At Kamma's house he found MORE than just a party!!! There was a cute young chick named Maddie. He paused long enough to CHECK HER OUT!!!!
Pretty soon Uncle Kelly arrived and he was MORE than happy to stuff Macky with yummy bites of graduation cake. Macky was especially fond of the bright red icing which he not only ate but also wore.
Uncle Kelly, being very inexperienced at feeding toddlers, was kinda messy and dropped cake crumbs all over the floor!!! Macky cleaned them up by rubbing them into the tiles with his little hands.
Next Macky went out onto the deck where he played peek-a-boo through the bars with his mommy. It was great fun while it lasted, but soon he began to feel a little restricted by those bars, so he decided he'd head - - -
out into the great wide world where he felt completely free!!! The green grass tickled his little toes.
Andrew brought a motorcycle - - - a GREAT BIG MOTORCYCLE!!! Little Macky could hardly believe his luck!!! 
With a little help he explored every inch of that bad boy!!! 
He liked the feeling of the wind in his hair and began to consider trading in his little car for a bike of his own.
He sat on the couch, had a lovely little snack, and told his daddy all about his adventure in the great outdoors!!!
Immediately I thought her son on the right looked a lot like our son Kelly looked "back in the day."
This is what Kelly looked like in about that same age bracket. (Sorry about the picture quality - - - it was blurry to begin with and making it digital didn't help matters in the least.)
Shannon and I taught together 
Which, though I DID pay full price for it, was to me a thrifty buy because it brought the feel of Wisconsin into my home without me having to move. Moving would have cost A LOT more - - - so thrifty it was.
Now they WERE a thrifty deal, and from a DIMESTORE in Hayward, Wisconsin. Yes, I DID say DIMESTORE. Did you forget what about those???? Well, they still have the same DIMESTORE (I think it's a Ben Franklin) in Hayward where I shopped as a child. Besides the regular five and dime items, they have little tourist knick knacks. Bingo - - - I'm now a tourist, so I LOVE the knick knacks.
True, I was too young to actually have to brave the -40 degree winter weather (Yes I did say NEGATIVE 40 degrees) to USE it, but my mama and papa did!!" I was still using my widdie biddie diaper at the time.
To continue the theme - - - and in the same room where one must "bare" it - - -
And this little guy is BEARing hand soap. Yep, you guessed it, all these bears came from the same Ben Franklin in little ole Hayward.
He too came from Hayward, but not from the Ben Franklin, and he was not thrifty at all, even though the shop owner DID knock $$$$ off his price. But:
"And God saw everything that He had made,
