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Monday, April 30, 2007

Hi, I'm Kara, and I'm a spend-aholic

I have revoked my own shopping privileges, unless I am accompanied by a responsible adult. Today I made the mistake of going shopping when I was very hungry. I even had a list with me and planned to stick to it, but once I walked in the store my stomach promptly took control and turned off my brain. The main thing I needed to get was milk, and that is the one thing I did not buy. I got to the checkout with my cartload of kids and food and looked over my list once more and discovered the most important item on the list didn't even get remembered. I was mentally kicking myself as my brain took control again and realized I had to pay for all that junk that I truly didn't need. Among the items I shouldn't have bought were Oreos, donuts, popcorn, crackers, and shirts for the boys. I think about $15-20 of what I spent I didn't need at all.

So now I am not allowed to shop alone, I'm just too dangerous.

Oh, and to top it off, as I was coming out of the store, the donuts that were sitting on the bottom rack slid out and got ran over by the cart. I almost cried. I've been wanting chocolate covered donuts for some time now, and I'd smooshed half of them. I guess I'm just getting started on our diet plan, right Michelle?

Monday Madness

Today looks like it's going to be a beautiful day. I need to jump in the shower quick while the boys are being good, then we need to head to the store and the library. We are out of milk, and I know there was something else I needed to pick up, I hope I can remember it. Need to return books and movies to the library and check out new ones. Then I might take the boys to the park and let Toddler play for a bit. Hope everyone has a great day!

Kara needs to...

I got this from CrAzY Working Mom. You just type "(your name) needs to" in Google and see what it says! Fun huh?

1) Kara needs to go, go, go! (I really should go to bed, it's past midnight)

2) Kara needs to be removed from the situation to calm down. (Well, there have been a few times this week that I've had to remove myself from Toddler's meeses to calm down lol)

3) Kara needs to gain some weight. (OK, who's been talking to my mom?! She always says that!)

4) Kara needs to stay in her suburban home safe and sound and leave the "rough" city to the real hockey fans. (LOL, well, I guess that sounds about right)

5) That said, Kara needs to go. (I know already! I'll go to bed soon!)

6) Kara needs to be trained by the Amazons to help forge her into the perfect warrior. (Hahaha! Got me giggling)

7) But when it's damp Kara needs to be washed to really get her coat clean again. (LOL!)

8) Kara needs to repay the loan at a 15 percent annual interest rate. (Thank heavens I don't have any debt with a rate that high)

9) Kara needs to hook up with a regular guy to help ground her character. (Done and done)

10) Kara needs to return so history will work out the way it needs to. (Woohoo, sounds like I'm important!)

Let me know if you try this, it's so fun!

Saturday, April 28, 2007

SMART Habit Saturday

I did really well most of this week. I'm starting to do better at cleaning each day, and a little better on getting to bed by 11:30. Dishes and computer time are also going pretty well. And I am doing great on the laundry and saying my prayers twice a day. I'll keep those on there another week before declaring them habits, but they are pretty close! I've been doing good on most of my other habits, though I've been slacking on my crunches so I'm going to add that back to my goals list for a week or two to work on some more.

This week my new goal is going to be to have dinner ready or cooking when DH gets home, at least 3x between Monday and Friday. I've been really lazy about having dinners cooking since when I was working I was rarely home at that time, so I want to get into the habit of making dinner more instead of leftovers all the time lol.

Here's my Joe's Goals and goal list:

#1- Clean 1/2hr a day
#2- Keep up with dishes
#3- Brush teeth once a day
#4- Read scriptures daily
#5- Toddler bedtime routine
#6- Bedtime 11:30pm
#7- 50 crunches a day
#8- Take vitamins every day
#9- No computer for 1hr after work, church, or Hubby gets home from work
#10- 1 load of laundry each morning, put away by bedtime
#11- Daily prayers, morning and night
#12- Have dinner done or cooking when DH gets home, 3x during the week

*Green=habit

Go to The Lazy Organizer to learn how to join in SHS!

Saturday Saying

"Work is the greatest thing in the world, so we should always save some of it for tomorrow."
- Don Herold

I think this will be my new motto! I think most work is better saved until tomorrow :D LOL I procrastinate so much. There's always something I should do instead of sitting here typing, and sometimes I go do it, but sometimes it just doesn't matter if I pick up the toy cars now or later, cuz no matter how hard I try they don't stay in their box longer than 10 minutes anyway.

Friday, April 27, 2007

Toddler-isms

After reading this post by Beth, I wanted to share some cute stuff my Toddler says. Whenever we leave somewhere he likes to say goodbye to all the inanimate things. For example, we were at a park the other day and as we left he yelled, "Bye sweens!" (swings) "Bye gass!" (grass). We left Michelle's house once and he had to say bye to the "bocks" (blocks). We leave the house and it's, "Bye cahs! Bye bocks! Bye chaiw! Bye hat!" (cars, blocks, chair, hat lol) I just think it's so cute.

Friday's Feast


Appetizer
How fast can you type?

- Not sure, it's been a while since I've tested it. Anyone know any online places I can do that? ETA: I took a test and it's 65wpm with 98% accuracy :) not bad

Soup
What is your favorite online game?

- I don't really play many games online. But on my computer I like Spider Solitaire :)

Salad
On a scale of 1 to 10 (with 10 as highest), how intelligent do you think you are?

- I'd say maybe a 7, a bit more than average maybe.

Main Course
Name three of your best teachers from your school years.

- Mrs. Moss, Mrs. Boberg, Mr. Dolizol

Dessert
What are your plans for this upcoming weekend?

- Well, Tomorrow we will be working in our backyard moving rocks. Sunday we have church. Other than that should be a pretty boring weekend.

Thursday, April 26, 2007

Win Adorable Hair Accessories!

5 Minutes for Mom is holding another great contest. You can enter to win some really adorable hair clips from Madison's Room. These clips are sooo cute! At Madison's Room you can also find a lot of other cute clips, bows, bands, and caps. If you have a little girl I know you will love to check it out!

Clean up in Aisle 2!

My house smells like spices. If you walked in right now you would think I have something yummy cooking in the oven, maybe a turkey or perhaps a roast. But you would be wrong. I have nothing cooking, no delicious dinner simmering away.

I was up here typing away while I thought Toddler and Baby were down watching Cars for the bazillionth time. I suddenly hear the sound of something being poured out. I wasn't sure what and quickly ran through what might be pourable downstairs in my brain, but couldn't think of anything that would make that particular sound. Turns out black peppercorns make that sound, and I got to the top of the stairs just in time to see Toddler dumping my parsley flakes all over the ground, along with the onion powder, lemon pepper, and tons of other seasonings layering the kitchen floor. I yelled "Dang it!" which Toddler knows means he's in trouble. He got a quick spank on the bottom and sent to the couch while I swept up the pile and sneezed through the cloud of spice dust. Luckily, he only completely emptied 4, and only one of those I use regularly, the others I have extras or rarely use. He partially emptied another 8 bottles. There was about a pound of spices, which is quite a bit for spices.

So that is why my house smells like I've been cooking, and why Toddler needs to be watched at all times!

Sidenote

What is everyone having for dinner today? I can't really think of anything I want, except fast food, but that costs money lol. So give me your best quick easy dinner ideas. Cuz if it ain't quick and easy I don't make it lol. Maybe I could make hamburgers. I'd have to make sure the buns are still good.

Thankful Thursday

Today I am thankful for:

1) Elmo- I don't want to watch him, but when I need some time to do things my Toddler loves to sit and watch "Emmo"

2) Hot Showers

3) Instant Oatmeal

4) My Baby starting to walk

5) Ice Cream Cones

Man, I'm tired today. My eyes just want to stay closed. That's why I'm grateful for hot showers, to help me wake up a little. My boys are downstairs watching Elmo to give me time to finish up here, then I need to get them dressed so we can go to Michelle's :)

Wednesday, April 25, 2007

Green thumb?

Today I decided to do some gardening. When we bought this house last year it had beautifully landscaped flower beds with pretty flowers growing. Unfortunately I had just had Baby and with getting the house all set up and everything, gardening was not on my to-do list last year, and weeds grew, leaves gathered, and so they weren't quite as nice as they used to be. I promised myself that this year I will at least keep them weeded. So I got the boys both down for a nap, grabbed some gloves and garden tools and headed out.

Now, some background on my gardening experience. The extent of my gardening knowledge is basically just stuff I've read online. As a teen we had to help mom weed, and I remember we all hated it because she woke us up early so we could get it done before it got too hot. And that's about all I ever learned. My birth mom loves to garden, every year she brings everyone tons of veggies she's homegrown. For some reason she must think I got some of her talent, because when we moved in she brought over a potted plant, gardening tools, gloves, flower seeds, and a small flower box for me to plant in. Everything but the plant was hidden in the garage the next day and not brought out again until today. The plant was dead by about a week later. As well as 2 other plants we got as housewarming gifts. It turns out I have a black thumb, no matter what I did they just withered away.

Fast forward to now. My friend Michelle started growing some tomato plants and I decided it would be fun too. I told Hubby the idea and he just gave me that look that says "Ha! That'll be the day!" He reminded me of my past plant murders and didn't put much confidence that I could grow more than a weed. So to prove him wrong I went and bought some tomato and onion seeds. I was going to grow something if it killed me!

So back to my weeding. Yes, I know this is a long disjointed story, I have Baby sleeping on my lap and my brains a little fuzzy from the sun lol. OK, so I go out and tear out a bunch of old dead stuff, not sure if they are weeds or flowers, and not really caring. I found out that a beautiful flower bush thing that grew last year was starting to sprout up again beneath the carcass of last year's bush. I have no idea what it's called so when it finally blooms I'll have to post and ask you all. I raked all the detritus into a pile and left it there to throw away later, but now the flower beds are cleaner looking. And I found out that they have great soil, so I grabbed some plastic cups and filled them with soil to plant my tomatoes in. Now I have beautiful cups of dirt sitting in the windowsill above my sink (where I won't forget them lol). Crossing my fingers at least one of the 18 seeds I planted will live.

Hopefully in a few weeks I'll have some pretty plants growing and some yummy tomatoes in a few months!

Here I Am!

OK, I don't know if I've ever posted a really good picture of me. That is partly because I'm usually behind the camera, and partly because I think I look terrible in pics. But today I'm going to show me off :) Not sure why, but here goes!
So, what do you think? Hot mommy blogger or ugly hag? LOL Personally I don't think it's the best pic of me, but better than usual! And considering I had to put it on self-timer and try to pose myself it was hard to get a good pic lol :D

Works-For-Me Wednesday: Sunnynotes.com

What works for me today is online notes. There are many times I'll be doing my blogging and think of an idea for a post, WFMW, SMART Habit Saturday, or other random ideas but I forget them quickly because I forget to write them down since I'm busy blogging. Well, this last week I found a way to keep track of my ideas and be able to access them from anywhere. Online notes. I found a site that offers a free account where you can keep and organize all your notes. It is www.sunnynotes.com. It is so easy to use and now I can write down and remember my ideas! You can set up as many different categories and sub-categories as you need to keep it all organized too. Here's what mine looks like for an example:And that's what works for me! Check out Rocks In My Dryer for more great tips!

Tuesday, April 24, 2007

It had to happen sooner or later...

Well, I knew the day was coming sooner or later. I've waited with anticipation, and a bit of dread. At times I tried to convince myself it wouldn't happen soon, but alas, the day has come.

My Baby is walking!

It started last week when Hubby called me downstairs saying Baby had taken 1 step. I watched as again he took one little step before falling into my arms. I was so proud of him. For the last week he's only taken 1 step here and there so I felt confident that it would still be awhile before he was really walking.

And then today he decided to prove me wrong. While babysitting, I decided to see if he could still take a step. Much to my surprise he took 4! I kept trying and got him up to 7 steps, all by himself. He's not going to be running any marathons anytime soon, but I have a feeling he'll be walking all over the place faster than I can keep up! I'm so proud of my little guy, but sad that he's growing out of the baby stage.

Tuesday To-Do

Well, here's what's on the agenda for today :)

* Babysit Michelle's girls

* Go to storytime at the library

* Hopefully make some yummy strawberry freezer jam

* Clean, since I didn't yesterday lol

* Um, nothing else important I can think of!

If strawberries are on sale Michelle and I are going to make some freezer jam. We did it together last year and it was fun and I had a year's supply of yummy homemade strawberry jam. Mmm. Now I'm on my last jar so time to make more!

Monday, April 23, 2007

New sites added to my favorites

This last week I've had a few new sites to My Favorite Blogs. These are:

Simply Chumly- He describes himself as "Round jolly ol elf with a kind spirit, but not into dressing like Santa." His posts are very funny and have a unique sense of humor. Always good for a laugh!

To Do: 1. Get Hobby, 2. Floss- Mist is very thought provoking and interesting. Again, a blogger with a unique sense of humor. I find her both seriously sarcastic and witty.

VBAC Adventure- This is a blog dedicated to providing information on VBAC (Vaginal Birth After Cesarean) while also telling Kendra's story of her journey to get one. I've had a VBAC so I am happy to see her providing such good information not just for women wanting a VBAC but pregnancy and birth in general.

I've also taken off a few blogs that either didn't keep my attention and/or never visited me in return. If you want to be added to my favorites, leave me a comment and I will check out your blog :)

Monday Madness

Well, today should be a good day. I need to go to the library, I'm pretty sure I have a book or 2 due today. Yep, I do. And a few movies too. Too bad the weather is overcast and chilly, or we'd go to the park too. Need to go to the store to get milk for Baby. I guess I should clean a bit too. The boys room and living room both need cleaned. Oh, and I'll probably make bread today too. That's about it in our exciting life!

Saturday, April 21, 2007

SMART Habit Saturday

This week went pretty well with my habits. I'm getting better at getting to bed by 11:30 (though evidently not tonight since I'm writing this at midnight!) and am still working hard on that. Cleaning's still a struggle. Dishes, well, they usually get done but a few days they didn't. I'm doing great with the computer time thing, only missed it once. I've done a load of laundry every day this week and it's so nice not to have an overflowing hamper. There was only one day I didn't get the load finished. And I'm happy to report that I have said my prayers twice a day every single day this week! Tuesday I didn't get much done cuz I was gone pretty much all day. My other goals that became habits are mostly doing good, though I did slack on doing crunches and taking my vitamins most of this week, but I'm working on them again. Still reading my scriptures and brushing my teeth every day.

This week I'm not starting a new goal, I'm going to keep working on what I have right now. One day cleaning will become a habit! I hope :D

So here's my Joe's Goals sheet and goal list:


#1- Clean 1/2hr a day
#2- Keep up with dishes
#3- Brush teeth once a day
#4- Read scriptures daily
#5- Toddler bedtime routine
#6- Bedtime 11:30pm
#7- 50 crunches a day
#8- Take vitamins every day
#9- No computer for 1hr after work, church, or Hubby gets home from work
#10- 1 load of laundry each morning, put away by bedtime
#11- Daily prayers, morning and night

*Green=habit

Remember if you join in for 3 weeks this month you are entered into a drawing for a cool book! Visit The Lazy Organizer to learn how to join!

Saturday Saying

Bart: "What do you need church shoes for? Jesus wore sandals."
Homer: "Well, maybe if he'd had better arch support, they wouldn't have caught him."

- The Simpsons

I love The Simpsons :D My mom would never let us watch it at our house so I rarely saw it growing up. And then I met Hubby who LOVES it so we have almost every season that's out on DVD (except the first cuz it sucks lol).

Anyway, I have a little question to go along with this. Do you think it is appropriate to wear sandals to church? What about flip-flops? I usually wear open-toed heeled sandals, but I know some people who only wear dress shoes because they say sandals are too casual for church. I don't where my flip flops (mostly cuz they are bright green and don't really match my church attire lol) but I've seen many girls, mostly teens, wear them to church. What's your opinion?

Friday, April 20, 2007

Nobody likes me, everybody hates me...

...guess I'll go eat worms! Just kidding, I'm sure there is somebody out there that still cares about my little blog. Right? I haven't had hardly any comments this week, except for Friday's Feast, but that's a given. Where did my buddies go? I used to get at least 2-3 comments a post, but now I rarely even get 1 :( I know I should be doing this for myself, I shouldn't care about comments, blahblahblah, but I do care! I like feeling like somebody cares about me :) So come back! I need you! I'll even make cookies! hehehe

Friday's Feast

Appetizer
What is your favorite kind of bread?

- Homemade white bread, dripping with butter

Soup
When was the last time you bought a new pillow?

- Um, a long time ago. We were given 9 for our wedding so I have plenty

Salad
Approximated how many hours per week do you spend surfing the ‘net?

- I'm not even going to try counting, let's just say more than a lot and less than all the time.

Main Course
What’s the highest you remember your temperature being?

- 104.1, I remember cuz my bro forgot to pick me up at school and I was sick and had to walk home in scorching heat in a long-sleeved shirt, I was about to faint and throw up by the time I got home.

Dessert
Fill in the blank: When I ____________ I _____________.

- When I get really mad I cry.

Check out the Friday's Feast HQ to join in!

What to eat?

We need to go grocery shopping. Bad. I've been living off Ramen noodles and homemade bread for 3 days. OK, not quite that serious, but we do need groceries. Not that I don't like munching my bread all the time (it is pretty good!) but for one thing, that's a ton of carbs I'm packing away, two, we are almost out of butter and I cannot have my bread without butter, and three, we are out of yeast so in a few slices I will be out of bread. Luckily we get paid today so I can finally go shopping tonight or tomorrow :) Yay for food!

Thursday, April 19, 2007

500 Posts!

I totally forgot that I passed 500 posts yesterday! That's kinda crazy to me since when I started this blog I didn't really imagine myself posting much lol. I also passed 5,000 visitors on my stats counter in the last couple days. Thanks to all of you who visit and comment, it means so much to me :)

Win a Philips Digital Photo Frame!

5 Minutes for Mom is holding another great contest! They will be giving away a 9" Philips Digital Photo Frame! You can see all your digital photos in this cool frame. I would love one of these since I'm so bad at printing out pictures, this way I could show them off right from my memory card! Go check it out and sign up!

Thankful Thursday

Today I a thankful for:

1) Baby is starting to sleep better at night, not waking up as much

2) Tomorrow is my last day of work!

3) I didn't work yesterday and I don't work today

4) Although I hate snow, I do like how pretty it looks

5) Hubby helping clean

I am so glad Baby is starting to sleep better. The first 2 months of his life he slept great, only waking once or twice, then after that it went quickly down the drain. At one point he was waking up at least every hour, sometimes 10x a night. That went on for 7 months. 7 loooong months of no sleep for me. It slowly started getting better though, and now he is only waking up 1-2x a night and it is so nice! The only bad part is, I only nurse at night, so the less he wakes up to nurse the less milk I have, looks like soon might be the end of our nursing days. Kinda sad, especially since I wanted to make it until he's 1 with breastfeeding, at least at night.

Wednesday, April 18, 2007

Stupid Idaho Weather

So, for some reason the season here in Idaho aren't quite right. Winter normally doesn't really get bad until January, and Spring is still trying to make it's way through snow. That's right, snow! It's mid-April and it snowed today. I HATE snow, especially outside of it's season. It better warm up pretty quick or I'm not going to be too happy! I feel so trapped when the weather is bad. I want to be able to get out and go for a walk or take the kids to the park. I need sunlight before I start glowing in the dark from being so white!

Works-For-Me Wednesday: Trash Tip

My tip today is something I've learned at my fast food job. I've found that I am more likely to get a job done if there aren't a lot of steps. One thing that I sometimes don't like doing is taking out the garbage, cuz then I have to put another sack in which means opening up the childproof cupboard under the microwave. Just too many steps! (Yes, I know I'm lazy lol.) Anyway, what I started doing is to put extra garbage sacks in the can when I take the garbage out. We do this at work so that if we are busy and the trash needs taken out we don't have to stop and put new sacks in. For example I will line it with 5 sacks so that when I'm in a hurry and the trash needs taken out I can just grab it and not have to worry about putting a new sack in, makes it much easier. When I run out, I just put 5 in again the next time. Very helpful when I realize I need to take out the upstairs bathroom garbages and I don't want to run downstairs to get a new sack.

Check out Rocks In My Dryer for more great WFMW tips!

Tuesday, April 17, 2007

No more credit cards!

We finally go all our credit cards paid off! I am so happy! We canceled some yesterday and get to cut them up and throw them out. It will help so much not to have those bills to pay every month! Credit cards are evil! I just love cutting them up, such a satisfying feeling :D

Sidenote

Have you seen the movie "Curious George"? I just saw it for the 1st (and the 2nd time cuz the kids wanted to watch it again lol). It was so cute! I think I'll see if our library has some Curious George books I can read to Toddler.

Tuesday To-Do

Today I get to:

* Go babysit Michelle's girls :)

* Maybe make cookies with 4 kids under age 3

* Go to the library, I have a movie overdue

* Work at 5

* Hopefully get some more sleep somehow

Last night we went to bed a little earlier than normal. I though "Great I'll get more sleep!" Unfortunately that doesn't work for kids. They go to bed earlier means they get up earlier :P Instead of 7am, which is hard enough on me normally, today they got up at 6am. I tried my best to get them to go back to sleep, but they would not do it. I finally pulled myself out of bed when the alarm went off at 6:50, after spending the last hour telling Baby that he's much cuter when he sleeps in.

Monday, April 16, 2007

Mommy's Love

It's amazing how we are so excited for our kids to reach each milestone. As babies we can't wait for them to smile, clap, crawl, walk, etc. Then they learn to talk, then letters, numbers, and so on. Each milestone, we cheer them on and shower them with praise. And then in our hearts we cry. They are growing up, each milestone makes them less dependent on us, and we can never go back to savor them as babies. As proud of them as we are, we know that one day they will be all grown up and independent, making their own choices.

My boys are growing up. Baby has just learned how to climb stairs and wave hi. Pretty soon he'll be walking and start talking. Toddler is learning his letters and loves saying the ABCs, he can almost count to 10 with help. He knows some colors and lots of shapes. He loves to color and I love watching his imagination go wild. I'm always amazed at how fast they are both learning and growing. As I followed Baby up the stairs yesterday I cheered him on, but on the inside I was sad. Not just because I have to watch him so he doesn't fall down them now, but because I realized that was one more step to him getting older and not needing me.

On the brighter side, I know I must be doing something right when Toddler learned to say "I wuv you Mommy" and Baby knows he can crawl to me anytime he wants loved. I've learned that not a day will go by that I won't worry about my kids, but also I learned that being a Mommy is more rewarding than I ever imagined. I thank God every day for blessing me with my boys.

"Done" List

I'm going to write myself a "done" list today so it looks like I've done something lol. "Done" lists are much better than to-do lists, becase yousee what you accomplish rather than what you don't :D So far today here's what I've done:

* Got up, got dressed
* Ate breakfast, fed kids
* Changed diapers (and need to again lol, they stink!)
* Did some blogging, read messageboards
* Cleaned up boys' room
* Picked up toys all over house
* Picked up in office
* Switched laundry around, folded some
* Ate lunch, fed boys
* Worked on puzzle
* Babysat Michelle's girls
* Let Toddler play outside
* Folded more laundry
* Worked on puzzle more

Monday Madness

Well, somehow our house manages to get so dirty on weekends. Maybe it's because Hubby is home? I dunno, but it's a mess! So we are going to be cleaning up today. I need to pick up toys all over the house, clean up the living room, boy's room, do dishes, and the office needs picked up too. Good thing Toddler can help pick up his toys. I work at 5 today, hopefully this week will be better than last week at work.

Looks like it's going to be a beautiful day, maybe if we get done cleaning early enough we can go to the park :)

Saturday, April 14, 2007

SMART Habit Saturday

Welcome to another week of Smart Habit Saturday! Today's episode is brought to you by the letter R, the number 6, and contributions by viewers like you!

Ok, I might be just a little tired lol, plus if youhave a 2 year old you will understand that I have to watch more PBS shows than I care to remember. Also I am writing this when I should be in bed so my brain is no longer functioning, this is my subconcious talking to you.

Anyway, on to another oh so exciting update on my goals :) This week got off to a rough start, my kids were sick Sunday through Tuesday so I didn't get much done those days. Kinda hard with a fussy Baby who refuses to be put down. But the last 3 days I've done really well. Cleaning is starting to go a little better. I've been spending a bit less time on the computer so miraculously have more time for other things lol. Still no a habit, but doing ok. Dishes got done most days. Toddler's bed routine is pretty much a habit now too, usually only gets missed on nights like tonight when I get home from work and he's already passed out on the living room floor. My bedtime is still not going too great, but I'm going to work harder on that since next month I will need to be getting up at 7am every weekday to babysit. Crunches is a habit now too, the only one I didn't miss at all this week. The computer time thing is off and on, but I'm really trying. And laundry, well, got off to a bad start but now it's going really well. I only mark it as done if I actually get the load I start in the morning folded by bedtime.

Here's my Joe's Goals:


I will be taking off Toddler's bedtime routine and crunches since they are mostly habits now. I have been doing well keeping up with my other habits as well: reading scriptures, brushing teeth, and taking my vitamins are all still going strong.

My new habit for the week is going to be daily prayers. I'm usually good at getting my prayers in at night, but I want to work on praying when I wake up too. So I'm shooting for prayers twice a day.

Goals:
#1- Clean 1/2hr a day
#2- Keep up with dishes
#3- Brush teeth once a day
#4- Read scriptures daily
#5- Toddler bedtime routine
#6- Bedtime 11:30pm
#7- 50 crunches a day
#8- Take vitamins every day
#9- No computer for 1hr after work, church, or Hubby gets home from work
#10- 1 load of laundry each morning, put away by bedtime
#11- Daily prayers, morning and night

*Habits

It's never too late to join in SHS at The Lazy Organizer. Remember, if you participate for 3 weeks this month you will be entered in a drawing for a signed copy "The 5 Lessons a Millionaire Taught Me".

Saturday Saying

"What if this is as good as it gets?"
- Melvin, As Good As It Gets

This quote really struck me today. It made me think a little (but not too much cuz I just got done with a long tiring day, I didn't want my brain to explode). No, I don't think this is as good as it gets, I think there is always something more a person can aspire too. What I think is important about this quote is that it suggests the idea that we shouldn't always be lusting after some loftier goal, and we should remember to make the most of what we are given now. Make the most of every day, live life to it's fullest with what you have now, and in so doing it probably will get better all by itself.

Friday, April 13, 2007

Friday's Feast


Appetizer
When you were a child, which crayon color was your favorite?

- Blue, that's always been my favorite anything lol.

Soup
On a scale of 1 to 10 (with 10 being highest), how likely would you be to change jobs if it required you to move?

- It depends on the job and where (and of course it would be Hubby changing jobs not me lol). If it was nearer my family and paid at least as well, then I'd say 10.

Salad
Take all the numbers in your birthday and your phone number and add them up, one by one. What’s the total?

- 45

Main Course
Have you ever “re-gifted” anything? If so, what was it and who did you pass it on to?

- Yep, George Forman grills and waffle irons, we got more than one of each for our wedding, gave them to my brother and his wife and another couple who are our friends.

Dessert
Name something you need from the store.

- Ketchup

You can join Friday's Feast by going to the FF Homepage.

Thursday, April 12, 2007

I wish I could write

I used to hate English classes in high school. Especially research papers and, well, any paper more than a page long lol. I would put them off until the last minute. Seriously, I would stay up until 4am the night before they were due, having just started it that day. In college I wrote a paper on procrastination, which I wrote 2 hrs before class after 2 weeks of having the assignment. I just never liked writing. Except for poetry, I did like writing poetry (although I would also put it off until the last minute, usually in the 5 minutes before I had to stand up to read it lol).

Somehow though, I managed to get perfect A's in all my English classes. I hated it but I could B.S. like nobody's business. How many people do you know who could write a 10-page paper on taking care of the environment in 3 hrs the night before it's due and still get a 95%? So although I hated writing, I did pretty good at it.

Now I have the reverse problem. I want to write, but it seems that every creative bone in my body got broken in the process of having kids. I can get an idea, but it can't get any farther than that, I just draw a blank. They lack embellishment, supporting stuff, and the all important B.S. I used to use so often. I'm all B.S.'ed out. Sometimes I wish I could write a book, but although I can think of a story I can't think of anything to fill it with. I read a lot of books and just think of how much genius these writers have, and I know I lack whatever it is they use in their brain to come up with that stuff.

Does anyone have any ideas on how to breath life into my dying creativity? There must be something I can do to get my brain in gear.

Sick Bear Contest

5 Minutes for Mom is so neat, they are constantly doing contests to give away stuff and help promote work at home moms. The new one is for an item called "Sick Bear". This is a cute bowl with a bear on it and two handles for your child to hold. Can you guess what it's for? Yep, for your kids to be sick into lol. Go check it out :)

Thankful Thursday

Today I am thankful for:

1) Medicine

2) The boys aren't sick anymore

3) Laundry almost done

4) Easter candy, mmm

5) Baby slept better

I am so glad the boys are not sick anymore, they are so much happier and I am able to get more done around the house and get a little more sleep. I'm getting back on top on laundry and dishes, though Toddler feels well enough to make more messes now lol.

Wednesday, April 11, 2007

Sidenote

I sure could use a nap right about now. Luckily the boys feel better today so Baby slept better last night, but I'm exhausted from being up the 2 nights before that with Baby. Unfortunately the house is a disaster from having no time to clean the last few days so I need to take care of that before I even think about napping.

Works-For-Me Wednesday: Babysitting Swap

I'm so glad I live by my friend Michelle, we like to help each other out. One thing we do is watch each others kids. She needs a babysitter while she's in class and I need a babysitter when I go to work, so we just help each other out for free.

If you have a friend or neighbor you can do this with you can save lots of money by not paying for babysitters. I've even heard of babysitting co-ops where a group of people take turns babysitting everyone's kids so the other couples can get a night off.

Check out Rocks In My Dryer for more WFMW tips!

Tuesday, April 10, 2007

Tuesday To-Do

Today I need to:

* Do a load of laundry and fold the 3-4 loads sitting at the foot of the bed.

* Do dishes

* Clean up my disaster of a living room

* Watch Michelle's girls :)

* Work at 5

So it sounds like I have a lot to do, but I really don't know if most of the cleaning will get done lol. I'll be at Michelle's during most of the morning, and at work most of the evening, so I might not have much time to clean, plus I'd much rather try to nap lol!

Monday, April 09, 2007

Monday Madness

Well, we had a very good Easter weekend. The weather was beautiful Friday and Saturday and Sunday started out cloudy and cold but turned sunny. On Friday we went to an egg hunt my friend Michelle organized. It was very fun. Then we went to her mother-in-laws to see some cute little sheep they have. The kids enjoyed playing on the swings and slides and seing the sheep (though they didn't much like the sheep trying to see them!). Then we had a bbq that night. Saturday we went to my Hubby's grandparent's house where his aunt had put together a family egg hunt. It was so much fun! She did a great job organizing it and the kids had a blast and got soooo much candy. Then we had another bbq that night for some of Hubby's friends, but only 1 showed up. It was still fun though.

Yesterday when the boys woke up I took them downstairs to get their Easter baskets. We got them some candy, a few toys, and each a new shirt. Baby dumped his basket all over the floor immediately, and Toddler took Baby's toy lol. We went to church, but Toddler was brought to us from the nursery because he was stinky and crying. He was also really hot so he stayed with us the rest of church. We got home and took his temp and it was 102*! Poor little guy. So we gave him some medicine and the boys napped. When they woke up we dyed eggs and had a little egg hunt in the yard. Dinner was good and we were just lazy the rest of the day. It was a pretty good weekend. Toddler is feeling better today but now Baby has a cold and kept us up most of the night. I'm hoping they nap good today so I can get some rest.

Sunday, April 08, 2007

Saturday, April 07, 2007

SMART Habit Saturday

This week went ok. Did well on some of my goals, not so well on others. Read my scriptures and took my vitamins every day. Brushing my teeth and computer time I only missed once. Dishes and bedtime only got missed twice. Toddler's bedtime routine and doing my crunches missed 3 times though. And of course I'm still not doing good on my cleaning goal lol. The first one I started and it's still the worst. Can you tell how much I hate cleaning?! Saturday and Sunday I was at my family's house, so that is why Saturday I didn't do much. The rest of the week my only excuse was being tired lol. Though I'm pretty proud of myself for doing every one on Monday.

Here's my Joe's Goals:


I'm going to take off the goals that are mostly habits now- brushing teeth, reading scriptures, and taking vitamins. My goal sheet is getting pretty crowded :) Also, I'm going to put my crunches back down to 50. 50 is doable, and while 100 is also doable it's not as easy to get myself to do them when I'm tired, which why I only got them 1/2 the time.

My new goal is going to be to do one load of laundry every morning. And I have to get it started before I turn on the computer. Also, I need to fold the load as soon as it's done so it doesn't pile up lol.

Goals:
#1- Clean 1/2hr a day
#2- Keep up with dishes
#3- Brush teeth once a day
#4- Read scriptures daily
#5- Toddler bedtime routine
#6- Bedtime 11:30pm
#7- 100 crunches a day
#8- Take vitamins every day
#9- No computer for 1hr after work, church, or Hubby gets home from work
#10- 1 load of laundry each morning

* One's in green are habits

Go to The Lazy Organizer to join in SHS! Everyone who joins in 3 weeks this month will be entered to win a drawing for a free autographed book!

Saturday Saying

"Every one excels in something in which another fails."
- Publilius Syrus

I thought this quote was fitting for something I was thinking about earlier this week. I often get envious of things people have that I don't, like lots of money, a bigger house, better behaved kids (not that mine are monsters lol), etc. Then I realized that I need to stop comparing so much. Sure, there will always be someone prettier, smarter, richer, etc but likewise there is always someone dumber, uglier, fatter, poorer, etc. I need to remember the things that I have been blessed with and not dwell on the things I don't have.

Friday, April 06, 2007

I like making things more difficult

So today I am taking the boys to an Easter egg hunt my friend Michelle is organizing. Should be fun. Except that I realized our Easter baskets were still in the attic. I tried standing on a chair to get to it, but that wasn't high enough. I didn't want to drag the heavy ladder in from the garage to the upstairs, I can just imagine myself tumbling down the stairs with it and breaking my neck. So instead I decided to get creative. For a while I've been meaning to move a hanging closet organizer from my closet to the boys' to put their clothes in, since when I purged their clothes a few weeks ago their dresser is too big for them. So, first I tackled their closet, took out the bookshelf of toys, moved the metal shelves to the other side, then put in the hanging thingy. I then took their clothes from the dresser and put them in the closet and put the stuff from on top of the dresser in other places. I put the toy bookshelf where the dresser used to be and moved another little drawer cart by it. I pulled the dresser out into the hall so I could get a chair, climb on the dresser, and get to the attic.

All because I didn't want to get a ladder.

And now I have an empty dresser sitting in the middle of my hall, and I have no idea what to do with it!

Friday's Feast


Appetizer
When you travel, which mode of transportation do you prefer?

- Airplane, I love to fly

Soup
Have you ever met a blogging friend in person?

- Well, I have friends that are bloggers that I knew before we blogged

Salad
When was the last time you were really, really tired?

- Ha! Right now. I'm always tired, I haven't had a good night's sleep in a looong time! Tough last night after work I was even more tired, just exhausted where I didn't want to move.

Main Course
If you could have dinner with any one fictional character from a book or movie, who would it be?

- I have no idea.

Dessert
Fill in the blank: One day, I hope to see _______________.

- my kids grow up to be happy and successful.

Go to the Friday's Feast homepage to join in!

Thursday, April 05, 2007

A cwoo, a cwoo!!!

Sweet Toddler loves Blue's Clues. It's amazing how attached he can get to something he's only seen maybe 10 times lol. He calls it "Cwoo's Cwoos" and does the little hand thing they do when they say it in the show. And he loves to color clues and then go "A cwoo, a cwoo!" It's silly, but adorable. He's sitting here by me coloring and drawing random squiggles then going "Is dat a cup? A cwoo!" I love watching imagination at work.

Sidenote

So last night I left a note for my manager giving my 2 weeks notice! It's so nice having an end in sight. My last day will be April 21st. Then I will have a few weeks with no working until I start babysitting my neighbor's baby. Watching him will be more hours, and about the same pay, but at least I get to be home.

Thankful Thursday

I am thankful for:

1) Having Toddler home, even though my house is a disaster again lol

2) Had a nice visit with my family last weekend

3) Homemade bread

4) Got to hold my neighbor's cute baby

5) My last day at work will be April 21st

It's nice having Toddler back. It was good to have a break, but I miss him when he's gone. Of course now my house is a huge mess again lol. I need to go clean today. I think I will make some more bread today too.

Wednesday, April 04, 2007

The yummiest smell

I don't normally bake much, I just don't really enjoy it, too much mess to clean up. Luckily there was some inspired person out there who probably didn't like baking either, but still wanted fresh bread, and they invented a bread machine. I've had a bread machine for 3.5 years. And after 3.5 years I finally got around to learning how to use it 2 weeks ago. There's a few reasons it took me so long to get around to using it. One, I didn't have a user manual so I had no idea how. And two, somehow I thought it would be harder than making bread by hand. I have no idea where I got that silly notion.

Anyway, a few weeks ago I decided that it was time to dust it off and see what I could do with it. I looked up the user manual online (yes, you can find manuals for practically anything online) and realized it seemed pretty easy. So I made my first loaf. It was not good. Hard crust, short and heavy, crumbly inside. I could have given up then and there but I decided to make some changes. I bought bread flour instead of the normal stuff, and I found a different recipe. My next few loaves came out pretty good, though still a bit short and heavy. Turns out my yeast was old so not working like it should. We got some new yeast as well as just making the dough in the machine then cooking the bread in a bread pan in the oven, and now it is wonderful! Big, fluffy, delicious loaves of bread! Mmmmmm! Now every few days I get the most delicious smell wafting throughout the house, I love it! I'm about to go start a loaf to take to the neighbor.

Sidenote

So my neighbor had a cute little boy 1.5 weeks ago, he's so little! When she goes back to work in May I get to babysit him, which means I get to quit my fast food job, yay! I'm so excited! I don't hate my job but I'd much rather be home.

Works-For-Me Wednesday: Car Edition!

My tip today is from my husband since I couldn't think of any car related posts lol. His tip is when you wash the windows of your car, use newspaper to wipe them, leaving a streak-free beautiful clean window.

Check out Rocks In My Dryer for more WFMW tips!

Tuesday, April 03, 2007

30 Day Organizational Challenge!!!

I'm so excited! The second organizational challenge starts today, hosted by Laura, the Organizing Junkie. Go here to read more about the rules and everything. Basically you get 30 days to organize a space, you can choose a whole room or maybe just a closet or drawer. Then at the end of the challenge there will be judging and prizes!

The space I will be organizing is the closet in our master bedroom. For one thing, it's just too small for what we have in it. For another, Hubby has waaaay too many shirts! Hopefully he will help me out by purging a little. I want to create some shelves in the recessed sides because they are just dark and annoy me. I need to go through my clothes and get rid of stuff I never wear, and put the box of maternity clothes in the storage room so it's not taking up space in the closet. I'll get pics up later so you can see what I'm starting with. I would do it now but I need to leave in 30mins and still haven't gotten myself or the boys ready lol.

Happy Organizing!!!

Tuesday To-Do

Today I get to:

* Go to Michelle's to watch the girls :)

* Dishes

* Go to the store

* Work at 5

Don't have much to do today since I'll be at Michelle's half the day :) I just need to unload the dishwasher and pick up a few things at the store, then I have work for a few hours. Maybe after I get off work I'll clean house a bit, Toddler sure is messy!

Monday, April 02, 2007

What Poetry Are You?

I found this at Wings and Prayers and thought it was interesting. I have no idea what cywydd llosgyrnog is lol. Anyone know? Sounds like it's just something that makes no sense, which I guess could fit me lol. What type of poetry are you?



A cywydd llosgyrnog; I'm one.
"A what?" Well, quite. There'd be no fun
In being understood; I
Thrive upon obliquity.
Don't comprehend or follow me,
For mystery's my ally.
What Poetry Form Are You?

My timing must be off

For almost a week now I've been trying to go visit my neighbor who just had a baby. I'll be babysitting him when she goes back to work. You'd think that since she had a baby just 1.5 weeks ago she'd be home a lot right? Well, evidentely not because I've gone over probably 5 times in the last week and nobody answers! So either she's always napping when I go over, or she's not home. Her family lives about 10 minutes away so I guess she might be there during the day to have help with the baby, but I know she's home at night since I've seen lights on there on my way home from work, I just don't want to bug her that late. Hopefully one of these days I'll catch her home. I had made a nice fresh loaf of bread for her, but since she wasn't there we brought it home and Toddler just HAD to have it lol. So I guess I'll make another loaf tomorrow and try again. :)

I love this age...

I love the ages my boys are at right now. Baby is at the stage where I an leave him alone in a room for a few minutes and not worry (too much). He's old enough to entertain himself with toys, but still hasn't learned to climb stairs, so if I blockade the downstairs stairs he stays confined to the living room and kitchen where he can't really make too much mischief. And Toddler is at the age where he can follow simple instructions, play with Baby and he's always been good at entertaining himself. This let me get a shower today. Baby didn't nap long enough for me to shower during nap time, so I put on VeggieTales, gave Baby a few crackers, and told Toddler to keep an eye on him. Then I quickly showered, worrying the whole time what trouble they might get into. And when I was done the house was still in one piece, Baby was still watching the show, and Toddler was waiting for me, saying "Done? Done?" and then ran down to check on Baby and say "No Baby stairs!" (meaning, "Don't crawl to the stairs Baby!"). So cute that he listens and knows Baby shouldn't go by the stairs. Of course Baby was happily sitting in the kitchen by that time, nowhere near the stairs with their effective blockade of boxes and toys. So I've learned that I can get a shower with both kids awake now, but I think next time I'll bring the baby monitor in the bathroom to give me a little piece of mind so I don't worry the whole time lol.

Monday Madness

Well, today I get to get used to having Toddler home making messes. He's already strewn blocks, cars, and crayons all over his room, I have to clean cereal off the coffee table, and...arg, I just had to stop him from feeding Baby gummy bears. Oh the joys of having a toddler! But it is good to have him home. For one, he plays with Baby so I don't have to carry him around all day. He also gives adorable hugs and kisses. :) Today I need to do laundry, clean up the boys' room, do a few dishes, and make some bread. I want to bring some bread to my neighbor who had a baby, hopefully she'll be home, she's always gone when I go over. I also want to go to the library and pick up some books, and maybe get a few movies for Toddler. I work at 5, like normal, so it sounds like it'll be a busy day.

Sunday, April 01, 2007

Toddler's home!

Yesterday we went to pick up Toddler at my family's home. I walked in the door and when he saw me he got a huge grin on his face and ran to me and hugged me. I asked him if he missed me and he said, "Yeah!" Then he ran to his carseat and was saying, "Go! Seat! Go!" I had to explain that we were staying the night and would go the next day. Occasionally through the next day he'd ask, "Go to Mommy's house?" He was ready to come home! He had a good time down there and we had a nice visit with my family. It's nice to be home :)