Pages

Monday, December 31, 2007

Menu Plan Monday


Check out Menu Plan Monday at Organizing Junkie to join in or get some great dinner ideas!

Monday
- Sloppy Joes, green beans

Tuesday
- Garlic Chicken Pasta, salad

Wednesday
- Pasta Roni, peas

Thursday
- Spaghetti, garlic bread, some veggie

Friday
- Leftovers

Saturday
- Hamburger Helper, corn

Sunday
- BBQ Ribs, asparagus

Sunday, December 30, 2007

Sunday Saying

"The safest road to Hell is the gradual one--the gentle slope, soft underfoot, without sudden turnings, without milestones, without signposts."
- C.S. Lewis

Very well put I think. I don't think most people suddenly decide one day to just do bad things and stuff. It starts with doing one little thing and then the next time that little thing isn't so hard so they do something worse and so on. I really shouldn't do this so late at night, my thoughts aren't as coherent as I'd like lol.

Car Angels

Car Angels is a company that takes donations of cars, boats, and more and uses the profits from them to help those in need. They make movies that help kids and teens and have already given away over 2.4 million videos. Check out boat donation to see how you can donate a boat to help out, and see what else you can do to help. You can also view their movie clips on YouTube. The one here is called Donkey Ollie Journey to Jerusalem.

Cool cars

A few months ago Hubby went down to a car show in Las Vegas and brought back some pictures of the cool looking cars. There were some pretty awesome cars there. And there were some all tricked out with stuff like big spoilers, billet grilles and stuff like that. I don't know how guys can keep all that car stuff straight, knowing the years of cars just by looking at them and what horsepower and stuff means. Is it just a guy thing? I know I don't understand any of it lol.

Bedtime

I really wish I could sleep better. I don't know if it's my bed or just my overactive brain but I just don't sleep well. I'd really like to try out the adjustable beds out there, like the ones that you can adjust the pressure, or the ones that can be moved up and down and stuff. My father-in-law bought one last year that can move up and down and stuff and I've heard that they love it. Too bad I can't just try every type of bed out for a week to see if it helps lol.

Saturday, December 29, 2007

GO PATRIOTS!!!

The New England Patriots have set a record and come away with a perfect season! 16-0! Undefeated! WOOHOO!!! Way to go Patriots! There were also records beat by Tom Brady for touchdown passes in a season, and Randy Moss for touchdowns received in a season, and a record for the amount of points made in a season.

We are huge Pats fans here and it is so exciting to see them have an undefeated season. The Giants played a great game tonight too, they really fought and were ahead for half of the game. Both teams had some great plays. On to the playoffs!

Friday, December 28, 2007

Friday's Feast


Appetizer
Name 2 things you would like to accomplish in 2008.

- Exercise more, have another baby

Soup
With which cartoon character do you share personality traits?

- Um, I have no idea whatsoever.

Salad
What time of day (or night) were you born?

- 12:25am

Main Course
Tell us something special about your hometown.

- Man, I am just drawing a blank today. Something special about where I live...hm...yeah, can't think of anything lol :D

Dessert
If you could receive a letter from anyone in the world, who would you want to get one from?

- You know, my brain is not working well enough tonight to answer these lol. OK, let me think. Anyone in the world...hmm. How about Prince William. Not only is he royalty, but he is pretty hot :D

Thursday, December 27, 2007

Potty Training Update

I don't think I've updated on Jason's potty training for a while. Mostly that's because I pretty much gave up for a few months lol. He does best when we let him run around without a diaper or underwear, and whenever we put anything on him he'd just go in it, but we've finally gotten to the point where at home he can wear underwear and only has maybe one accident a day. I'm still not brave enough to take him out of the house without a diaper on, but we are getting closer! Hopefully soon he will be fully potty trained.

Christmas Recovery

Wow, where is everyone? Still recovering from Christmas? Not as many people blogging lately, or visiting and leaving comments. I'm busy with the kids, trying to keep up with the messes, but failing lol. The kids are much quicker at mess-making than I am at cleanup. Sigh. And I've got a headache. I think I'll send them down to the playroom, since it's already a mess, so I can get the main area under control again.

Thankful Thursday

Today I am thankful for the wonderful Christmas we had. The boys had a great time with their presents and I had so much fun watching them. I'm thankful for the lazy day I had yesterday. Jason and Jakey spent the day at grandma's and I didn't have Little T so it was just me all alone until Hubby got home from work. It was so quiet! Then we picked them up last night. I am thankful that we got our dead Christmas tree taken down last night and the living room back to normal, it feels so much bigger without a big tree taking up one side of it lol.

What are you thankful for this week?

Wednesday, December 26, 2007

Christmas Pictures

Here's some pics of our Christmas. I made the Patriots PJ Pants for them to open Christmas Eve. They had fun opening presents Christmas morning. It was a really good day and I enjoyed watching my boys have fun.





Tuesday, December 25, 2007

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

"And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn." Luke 2:7

I wish all of you a merry Christmas and happy holidays. I hope that you will have a joyous celebration with your family and friends. I am excited to see my boys enjoy their gifts in the morning. Tonight they got to open the pajama pants I made them today and then we told them the story of Jesus' birth. I've been trying to explain to Jason that we celebrate Christmas for Jesus' birthday and that we share gifts like the wise men did. Since he's only 3 he doesn't understand it all much, yet, but hopefully next year he will more. Jakey still doesn't understand the concept at all lol, but he will still have fun with his presents.

Have a wonderful Christmas!

Monday, December 24, 2007

Menu Plan Monday


Check out Menu Plan Monday at Organizing Junkie to join in or get some great dinner ideas!

Here's what we are having this week:

Monday- BBQ Chicken

Tuesday- Christmas, dinner at the inlaws

Wednesday- Pizza

Thursday- Grilled Cheese Sandwiches and Soup

Friday- Not sure, having missionaries over for dinner

Saturday- Hamburgers

Sunday- Turkey

I want a memory foam mattress!

Ever since I was a teenager I have had a hard time sleeping. It takes me forever to fall asleep. And then a few years ago I was in a car accident that caused me to have back problems. Now it is so hard for me to get comfortable to sleep. Combined with my insomnia and two young kids, and that makes it so I hardly ever get good sleep. I am always exhausted and my back and neck constantly ache. I have heard that memory foam mattresses are really helpful, especially for those with back problems. I would love to be able to have one and see how it could improve my sleep. Bedinabox.com is a company where you can get a memory foam mattress, and at really good prices. Right now you can get a queen size for just $459! That is a great price. I would love to get one of these. Check out my little video. :D

Manic Monday: Joy


Today's Manic Monday word is Joy.

As much as I loved Christmas as a kid, as a parent it brings me so much Joy to see my children enjoy it. It is so exciting to celebrate with them and teach them the story of Jesus and share traditions with them.

Here are the two little boys who bring me so much Joy.


Sunday, December 23, 2007

Sunday Saying

The following story is one I got at a Relief Society Christmas dinner a few weeks ago. In the hustle and bustle of Christmas we often forget the real reason we are celebrating. Hopefully we can remember to keep Christ in Christmas this season.

Mary's Dream

I had a dream, Joseph. I don't understand it, not really, but I think it was about a birthday celebration for our son. I think that was what it was all about. The people had been preparing for it for about six weeks. They had decorated the house and bought new clothes. They'd gone shopping many times and bought elaborate gifts.

It was peculiar, though, because the presents weren't for our son. They wrapped them in beautiful paper and tied them with lovely bows and stacked them under a tree. Yes, a tree, Joseph, right in their house. They'd decorated the tree also. The branches were full of glowing balls and sparkling ornaments. There was a figure on the top of the tree. It looked like an angel might look. Oh, it was beautiful.

Everyone was laughing and happy. They were all excited about the gifts. They gave the gifts to each other, Joseph, not to our son. I don't think they even knew him. They never mentioned his name. Doesn't it seem odd for people to go to all that trouble to celebrate someone's birthday if they don't know him? I had the strangest feeling that if our son had gone to this celebration he would have been intruding.

Everything was so beautiful, Joseph, and everyone so full of cheer, but it made me want to cry. How sad for Jesus - not to be wanted at his own birthday celebration. I'm glad it was only a dream. How terrible, Joseph, if it had been real.

Christmas Church

I hope you are all having a great weekend! Today's church Sacrament Meeting was really nice and the speakers gave beautiful talks about the meaning of Christmas and we had some beautiful musical numbers. I love church meetings at Christmas-time, I love singing the songs and hearing the special messages.

Saturday, December 22, 2007

Bedtime yet?

I swear it feels later than it is. It's only 8pm but feels like I should have gone to bed already. I think it's just because it gets dark so soon so it seems like it should be later. Even though I slept in today I still feel exhausted already. I'll probably head to bed early. We went to Denny's for dinner tonight and I had yummy cherry strudel french toast, mmm. I might go eat my leftovers before I head to bed.

Hide the TV

When we first got our big TV the boys would not leave it alone and were always getting it so dirty. We finally got a wall mount for it to keep it out of reach but they still occasionally get up on the table under it and can reach the TV and get their dirty handprints all over the bottom of it. What I think we need is one of those plasma lifts for flat-screen TVs. They are so cool. You can press a button to get it to hide in a mount or for it to come out, that way when you aren't using it you can just hide it away. Yeah, I think that would help a lot lol. Until the boys figure out how to get it to come out. :)

Birthday Planning

I'm on a bunch of messageboards for ladies who have kids my boys' ages. It's fun to keep up with them and see what all their kids are up to. But I also see how different things are between people. We don't have birthday's for the boys until June and September, but there are some people already planning their kid's next birthday! Now me, I usually have no idea what we are doing for their birthdays until the week before, but some of these ladies are already picking out their kids party invitations and party themes and guest lists and everything! Either I'm just way too simple or they are overdoing it a bit lol.

I'm ready!

Today is going pretty well. My migraine got better after some Tylenol PM and getting to sleep in, but my head still hurts a bit. We went out to finish some last minute shopping for stocking stuffers, and the stores were so crazy! Now we are all done with our Christmas shopping, just need to wrap a few things. I'm so excited it's in just 3 more days!

Well, I need to go eat some lunch, and later I'm going over to Michelle's to watch her girls while they go out. I hope you are all having a good weekend and having fun getting ready for Christmas!

ETA: Nevermind, won't be heading to Michelle's later. So now I get to stay home and clean. Guess I better get started on the laundry!

Friday, December 21, 2007

Pretty good day

Today has been a pretty good day :) The boys haven't been too crazy. And after Little T's mom got home we went to their house for an art project and the boys had fun playing over there. We got good mail, a rebate and Christmas card and DVD and stuff, which is much better than just bills and junk. But now the boys are tired and whiney and need to go to bed and I have a migraine and can barely look at my computer screen cuz it's making it worse. So I'm going to get them to bed then take some medicine and go to bed early. Hubby had to go out of town to get a present, I don't know when he'll be back, hopefully soon.OK, gotta go before my head explodes.

Movie Review: I Am Legend

Last Saturday Hubby and I went to see "I Am Legend". It stars Will Smith, who I love. He's a great actor. The film is based on the short story of the same name by Richard Matheson. I read the book a few months ago after I saw the previews for the movie. I really enjoyed the story so I was excited to see the movie. The story is about a man, Robert Neville, who is the last man alive after a plague turns everyone else into vampires. The book and movie had quite a few differences. In the book he was a factory worker in England in the 1970's, in the movie he was a military scientist in New York in the near future. And that is just the beginning of the differences between the literature and the film, the whole story was filled with them. The ending in the book is more dramatic, instead of the happier ending Hollywood gives it; not that all ends happily, but in the book the ending is a bit more final. Despite the differences I highly enjoyed the movie. The action was great, the vampires were terrifying, and Will Smith did an excellent job, as always. Hubby complained that I scratched up his leg from constantly grabbing onto him during the scary parts. If you like scary movies but don't want a ton of sex and swearing, this is a great one. I didn't notice much swearing and because he was pretty much alone most of the show there was no sexual scenes. If you have read the book you may be a bit disappointed that the movie does not follow the story much, but I think you will still enjoy it. If you haven't read the book you will probably enjoy it even more since there will be nothing to compare it too. Either way, it is a great movie, and one we will likely buy when it comes out on DVD.

No Friday's Feast

I'm bummed that there's no Friday's Feast today :P Oh well. I should probably clean and stuff instead of spending the day feasting :D I really need to get the playroom cleaned up, it gets messy so fast! And I'm thinking I'll move all the presents that we have under the tree up to the office where I can keep them locked up, I am so tired of rewrapping and keeping the kids away from them. We don't have much to do today. The roads are bad and we have nowhere to go so we are staying in. I might see what material I have and try to make the boys some pajama pants for Christmas. I also need to work on the hats I'm crocheting some more, when the boys nap. Hubby has to drive to Idaho Falls after work to pick up one of my presents, and return another. I hope the roads are okay. Well, gotta go see what my little guys are up to in the kitchen. Hope everyone has a wonderful weekend, and if you are going away for the holidays drive safe and have a good time!

Thursday, December 20, 2007

Cute Dog Tag

I just received this really cool dog tag I ordered from www.quicktrophy.com and it is really neat! I had it made for Jason, because I knew he'd love it. It was so easy to make too. On the site you simply choose the dog tags you want, then customize the color and what you want them to say, it is so easy! Because we are big New England Patriots fans here I had "Go Patriots!" put on it with a little football, and Jason's name (last name blocked out for privacy purposes). He was so excited when I showed it to him. He calls it "My nek-wuss" lol. Quicktrophy has great customer service as well, they contacted me with any info quickly and let me know when the dog tag shipped. I was going to save this for a stocking stuffer for Jason, but I couldn't resist giving it to him right away, I was so excited to get it :D You can find them at www.quicktrophy.com.

Thankful Thursday

Today I am thankful that my head isn't hurting as much. And I am thankful the Jakey is napping right now, 1 down 2 to go! Little T only napped for an hour this morning, so I hope he takes a better nap this afternoon. And Jason is upstairs being quiet and hopefully cleaning his room. I am thankful that Christmas is soon, so we can finally get the presents unwrapped and the tree out of here so I can have my living room back!

What are you thankful for?

Wednesday, December 19, 2007

My Head Hurts

Ugh, I have a headache. It's pounding right behind my eyes and every time Jakey yells or bangs things (like his bottle) on the coffee table it sends a sharp pain into my head. Good thing it's almost bedtime. And I just remembered that I haven't finished 2 of the 3 hats that should have been done a month ago for my giveaway winners. I'm so sorry! One is done, and it is cute, and I meant to get it sent on Monday but haven't. One is half done and one isn't even started. It really should only take about 2 hours per hat but this time of year gets so busy and I have other things to do and keep forgetting. I feel horrible about it too :( The only peaceful time I can work on it is at church. I would work on them tonight but my head is already pounding so hard, so once I get the boys to bed I'm going to take a hot bath then head to bed early.

Pump It Up

Lately on the news there has been a lot of talk about steroids. There was something about baseball players that use steroids and the recent issue of Marion Jones' having her Olympic medals taken from her after she confessed to using steroids. So that makes me wonder, are ther legal steroids? Or are they the same thing? Are some steroids allowed and some not? Or do some competitions allow them but not sports? Like bodybuilding, obviously there are some of them who must use steroids to reach their unnatural strength. I'm obviously clueless about this.

Ch-ch-ch-chia!

You know what I don't get? Chia pets. When I was little I always secretly wanted one of those grassy animals. I can remember them on commercials ever since I was a little kid. And I think around Christmas they show even more commercials, because, you know, that's on everyone's list. And lately I've been seeing commercials for the herb garden chia pets. Now those do look pretty useful, I could grow a parsley covered lamb on my kitchen windowsill. Hm, well, maybe that wouldn't be a good idea, my cats love to eat plants and I'm sure a flavored one would be quickly devoured lol.

Search Results

So usually once a week or so I check on mybloglog to see what brings people to my blog. I especially love seeing what some people search for, and because I'm just that bored, I'm going to share some of my recent reader's searches with you :D In the last week I've had such things as 'font of sweeney todd' (among other variations of the same), 'North Carolina land for sale', 'nameyourloan', 'birthday letters for someone special', 'things that start with k', ' out for garbage toys - buy - shop - kaufen' (wth?), 'hey! it', 'smoochcom', and '+ tara+ yahoo.com+ hotmail.com+ aol.com in 2007/ 8' (wth? again lol). I'm sure there are more, but that's just the tip of the list. I really don't know what some people were trying to get to that brought them here lol.

Netflix Contest

My friend Michelle won a 6 month Netflix trial a while back and ever since then I've wanted to try it, she really loves it. Well, 5 Minutes for Mom is holding another contest but this time for a 12 month subscription plus a year of popcorn coupons from Orville Redenbacher. This would be so cool to win since we never get to rent movies.

Tuesday, December 18, 2007

Daily naps

OK, it's time. Time to try getting all the boys napping at the same time. Well, it probably won't happen lol. Jakey is already asleep and I'm going to get Jason down for a nap soon, but Little T probably isn't ready for a nap yet, maybe in a half hour. That should give me a little overlap time where they are all sleeping. The key word is "should". Invariably at the moment they are finally all asleep one will suddenly wake up. But that's ok, 2 out of 3 isn't too bad right?

Tuesday To-Do

Today I need to do:

* Dishes

* Clean up playroom

* Do some laundry and fold

* Return library book

I really need to return my overdue library book, but I think I'll do that after Hubby gets home so I don't have to take all the boys. The playroom is a big mess like normal, it's almost not even worth it to clean it lol. Dishes are neverending :P Same with laundry. They just pile up so quickly. So that's about it for today!

What are you up to today? Cleaning, Christmas shopping?

Monday, December 17, 2007

Are you ready?

So, Christmas is just a little over a week away, are you ready? We are mostly ready. I need to pick up a few stocking stuffers for the boys (and a few more thing for Jakey to even things out a bit, lol, he has one gift and Jason has 5 or so) and waiting for one of Hubby's presents to arrive. One of my gifts arrived broken so Hubby has to go get a new one sometime this week, he's not trusting them to ship it again so he has to drive almost an hour to Target to get it. I might try making some pajama pants for the boys if I feel like it. My family always got pj's to open on Christmas Eve and I want to do that with my kids. And we got a children's Bible from a lady at church so I'll read the story of Christ's birth to the boys on Christmas Eve too, even though they don't understand yet. :)

So are you ready for Christmas?

Monday Madness

So today is going pretty much like normal. Jason and Little T are napping and Jakey is driving me insane lol. But I guess that's ok, he's not feeling well today. He's had a fever around 101* so I've been cuddling him and trying to keep him happy. Now that his medicine has kicked in he's acting much happier and tormenting the kitten. Speaking of kittens, I don't know if I mentioned that we got rid of them all. Well, the one we have, Tiger, is spoken for but we get to keep him until Christmas Eve, he's a present for one of Hubby's coworkers little girls. The runt, Monkey, was taken in by my mother-in-law and they love him to pieces, he's doing very good with them, plus we'll get to see him once in a while. And my favorite, big, fluffy, Junior, we took to the local pet store and they took him in. I hope a nice family adopts him. So after Christmas we will once again have just our 3 adult cats. Kind of sad, but we really couldn't afford to keep the kittens.

Well, that's my day, pretty much normal :) I'm so excited that Christmas is next week!

Menu Plan Monday


Check out Menu Plan Monday at Organizing Junkie to join in or get some great dinner ideas!

Here's this week's dinner plan for us. I haven't printed out this month's menu so I keep having to look back at previous week's to see what we are having lol.

Monday
- Hamburger Helper

Tuesday
- Baked Potatoes with Chili

Wednesday
- Pork Chops

Thursday
- Grilled Cheese Sandwiches and Soup

Friday
- Leftovers

Saturday
- Hamburgers

Sunday
- Lasagna

Manic Monday: Carol


Today's Manic Monday word is Carol.

One of my most favorite Christmas carols is "Oh Holy Night". It is such a beautiful song, and I usually break into song at least once a day with it during this season. I especially love Amy Grant singing it. I wish I had one of her Christmas CDs, I love her. But I couldn't find a clip of her singing it to put here, so here is Celine Dion singing it.



Sunday, December 16, 2007

Win a cool Insignia® Shelf System

I can't believe I forgot to enter this contest, and I got reminded just in time since it ends today. It is for an awesome Insignia® - 75W DVD/CD/HD Radio Compact Shelf System with USB Port from Best Buy and it is being given away at 5 Minutes for Mom. Today is the last day to enter so head on over and sign up! This would make a great Christmas present for someone special.

Saturday, December 15, 2007

SMART Habit Saturday

Wow, I haven't posted for this in a month! Probably because I'm doing so horrible with most of the goals lol. I haven't even read through my goals since then, I just did and wow I'm not doing most of them lol. The only ones I do good on almost all the time are making dinners (now that I have a monthly menu plan it's easy) and getting to bed before 11:30. The bedtime has gotten a lot easier since it gets dark so early I feel tired sooner. I really want to focus on reading my scriptures every day. I feel so bad that I stopped doing that. Hopefully with the start of the new year coming up I can get motivated to do these better.

Goal recap:

*Clean 1/2hr a day
  • Make bed
  • Keep up with dishes
  • 1 load of laundry
  • Clean office
  • Bringing dishes to kitchen
*Bedtime routine
  • Read scriptures
  • Lotion
  • 50 crunches
  • Take vitamins
  • Brush teeth
  • Floss
  • Bedtime 11:30pm
*Toddler bedtime routine

*No computer for 1hr a day when Hubby gets home

*Daily prayers, morning and night

*Dinner 3x during the week

*4 cups of water a day

To join in SHS go to The Lazy Organizer.

Friday, December 14, 2007

Going green

live greener productsHave you ever thought about the amount of waste we humans create? We have cars that chug down gas that can't be immediately replaces and spew toxic gasses into our atmosphere. Then we use disposable products (yes, I am guilty too lol) like diapers, plastic and styrofoam packaging, all these going into our landfills and just piling up. Many of them take hundreds or even thousands of years to decompose. Food gets wasted all the time. I feel horrible when I clean out my fridge and end up throwing tons of containers of moldy food out. The amount of food my family wastes could feed a whole other family who doesn't have food. For a while we used cloth diapers because they are better for our babies and our environment, but I admit I got lazy and went back to disposables. Nowadays though there are many ways to go green and be eco-friendly. Greenandmore is a company dedicated to making, and using, recycled and eco products. They make stuff like solar powered electronics, bedding made from organic fibers, and furniture made from recycled plastic lumber. They also use only recycled products on site. You can find a lot of information on going green on their website from the US Department of Energy and the EPA. They also have a blog where their staff and the community can share stories about how they are going green. And get 10% off your order from greenandmore by entering GREEN10 at checkout. Go green with Greenandmore.

No diamonds for me!

It's so funny- when I see other women's Christmas wish lists they are nothing like mine. They usually have jewelry like diamond necklaces, pearl earrings, gold bracelets, and stuff like that. But I very rarely wear jewelry and could really care less for that stuff. I'd probably slap my Hubby is he spent money on something like that for me lol. I'd rather have gift cards to places to eat, or WalMart, or for clothing stores. I'm probably the only woman alive who would be disappointed to get diamonds as a gift lol!

Running out of space

I wish we had a real entertainment center for our dvd's and dvd player and satellite receiver and stuff. A stereo cabinet would work perfectly for it. Right now we have a coffee table with drawers and shelves, and it's nice neough, but it is too big and doesn't match our other coffee table and end table. Plus we are getting short on space in here, with the tree in here now. We can't do much in the living room right now cuz we barely have room to walk.

Friday's Feast


Appetizer
Make up a word and give us its definition.

- Leadilizer: turns anything into lead.

Soup
What is currently your favorite song?

- I don't really have a favorite song. One of my favorite Christmas songs though is O Holy Night

Salad
What’s at the top of your Christmas wish list this year?

- Anything, I'm happy with getting any gifts :) Money is good.

Main Course
Name a scent that reminds you of someone special in your life.

- Hm, well my brother used to use this certain cologne and I loved the smell. Sometimes I'd borrow his leather jacket because the smell was embedded in it.

Dessert
Who is someone on television that you feel probably shouldn’t be, and why?

- Nancy Grace. She drives me nuts! I really can't stand watching her show.

Thursday, December 13, 2007

My new Hamilton Beach® Mixer is here!

I am so excited! A few weeks ago I entered a contest to win a new Hamilton Beach® Eclectrics® Mixer, and amazingly I was chosen! After seeing how cool they looked online I was so excited to see how it looked in person. I've been waiting anxiously for the UPS man for the last few days, and finally today my waiting paid off. Mr. UPS Guy probably thought I was insane as I jumped up and down saying "Yay, it's here! Thank you!" (Doesn't help that he's our neighbor that goes to church with us lol.) I immediately brought it in and dug my new Hamilton Beach® Mixer out of the box. I had heard it would be yellow so was a bit worried that it would be banana yellow and be too bright for my drab kitchen, but it is actually a very mellow soothing yellow and looks so sleek and smooth. I assembled the parts and plugged it in to see if it really was quieter than my old one and it is, it rotates quietly and smoothly. And I'll tell you, this thing is sturdy! Solid and heavy, which means it won't try "crawling" off the counter. I had a lot of fun making this little video about my Hamilton Beach® Stand Mixer and even talked Hubby into being my co-star. Enjoy!

No sleep and no break make Kara something something...

Boy am I tired today! Last night was awful. Both boys woke up at 2:30 and cried off and on for the next 4 hours! Ugh. So none of us got much sleep. Jason was saying he had an owie and pointing at his face, but I didn't see anything, hopefully it's not a toothache. But at least we will have dental insurance starting next month to get him a checkup. I have a headache and need to go take some meds. Jakey has a cough and feels warm. Jason has a very runny nose and looks sick too. So we decided not to go to preschool today. I need to remember to do that with him later, since we didn't have it last week either.

Thankful Thursday

I'm thankful for Little T's mom who gave us a cute Willow Tree ornament for Christmas (and some candy). And I am thankful that I got the boys' room and the playroom both cleaned this week so I feel much better about that. I'm thankful for the beautiful roses Hubby got me for my birthday and that Michelle is going to babysit the boys so we can go out to dinner and a movie this weekend.

What are you thankful for this week?

Wednesday, December 12, 2007

President Bush Cares More For War Than Poor Kids

OK, so I went over to cnn.com to look at headlines and the first two on the page just set me off, because they are just so wrong.

Headline 1: Budget deal would probably give Bush victory on war funding
"Democratic lawmakers and staffers privately say they're closing in on a broad budget deal that would give President Bush as much as $70 billion in new war funding."

Headline 2: President Bush vetoes child health bill again
""What a sad day that the president would say that rather than insuring [millions of] children, 'I don't want to raise the cigarette tax,' " said House Speaker Nancy Pelosi."

Does that seem a little backwards to anyone else?! Our President wants to spend $70 billion more on a war for another country but he won't allow a bill that helps poor children in the USA? That is just sad, sick, and wrong. There are millions of kids out there who cannot get the care they need and he just doesn't care. This is the second time he has vetoed that bill. Ugh, I am just so ticked off at this that I can't even think straight right now! Please tell me I am not the only person who thinks this?!

Clean for a moment

Today I spent a few hours cleaning the playroom in the basement. I organized toys, even got out the 2 boxes of toys in the storage room to go through. I have a box full of toys to give away. If nobody on freecycle wants them I'm donating them to the thrift store tomorrow. I also filled a grocery sack with broken toys, garbage, etc. That left us with one tote of toys to put back in the storage room (mostly baby toys, or just not in use right now) and a much cleaner playroom. There is the small bookshelf with it's baskets of organized toys and the few bigger play toys. Of course I know it won't stay clean too long, but it was nice to actually get to the floor to vacuum and have it look nice for a few moments. Plus the sorting and purging makes room for new toys they will get for Christmas.

Wordless Wednesday- Christmas Lights



Tuesday, December 11, 2007

True Fit Jeans

Want to win great fitting jeans? I do! I only have 2 pair of jeans that fit and don’t have holes in them, I really need some more. And at True Jeans you can get jeans that are made to fit you. All you do is enter your measurements and they find the best fit for your body. And you can win a $200 gift card from 5 Minutes for Mom to True Jeans! Isn’t that awesome?! I really really really want to win cuz I need new jeans so bad and it’s so hard to find some that fit right.

Itty Bitty Living Space

Our kitchen is kind of small. The table is shoved in a corner by the sliding door that goes out to the porch. We'd love to remodel and put in more counter space, but that still leaves the problem of too little table room. What I think we might do is just build an island that has a lower spot to eat and have bar stools to sit at. We like to go to Lowe's and check out their little mock kitchens, we saw a setup we really liked a few weeks ago and want to do something like that in our kitchen eventually.

What does that do?

So my Hubby likes tools, like most men I know, so occasionally I check out tools at the store and online to see if there's some cool gadget he'd like. I thought I knew what the basic tools where, but I came across the term festool and had no idea what it was. I was searching through tools trying to figure out what the heck a "festool" was and what it did. LOL, turns out it's a German brand of power tools and they look pretty cool too.

Second Day In A Row!

Wow, for the second day in a row all 3 boys are napping at the same time! I’m practically in shock! The peace and quiet is soooo nice. :D I really hope they keep this up. Now I’m going to try to lay down. Yesterday I didn’t get a nap when they did cuz I spent too much time online, then by the time I did lay down Jakey woke up, so I better do it now!

Update: Well, unfortunately Little T woke up shortly after I typed this :P I did get a few minutes of rest while I gave him a bottle and tried to get him back to sleep, but he was wide awake, and Jakey woke up soon after.
ZWANI.com - The place for myspace comments, glitters, graphics, backgrounds and codes

Happy Birthday to me! Happy Birthday to me! Happy Birthday to meeeeee! Happy Birthday to me!

Yep, it's my birthday! Today I am 24 years old, and don't look a day over 18 :P lol, jk, though when I worked fast food last winter everyone thought I was 17 :D Anyway, it's been a great 24 years so far and hopefully will have many many more to come. I'm about where I expected to be in life by this point, married with kids and a house and pets. I have great family and friends and am happy with my life. Here's to another great year!

Tuesday To-Do

Here's what's on my list today:

* Dishes

* Wash and Fold Laundry

* Vacuum

* Clean up playroom

That's about it. For once I don't have "Clean boys' room" on there, because it actually got done last weekend! So today I mostly just need to do laundry and try to get it all folded and do a load of dishes. I have to vacuum at least once a day now that we have our tree up. The playroom gets so messy so quick, it's almost not worth it to clean it up lol, but I will anyway. I really should go through the toys and purge stuff they don't use.

What's on your agenda today?

Monday, December 10, 2007

Hallelujah!

I love it when I can get all 3 boys napping at the same time! It is truly wonderful :D It doesn't happen often lately, but today the stars aligned, Jakey napped late, Jason napped period, and it was just Little T's naptime, so I got them all to sleep and now I'm going to lay down for a bit while they sleep, though I don't think I'll get any sleep, I'm a horrible napper lol, but the rest is nice. Yay for napping boys!!!

Monday Madness

Well, not much to do today. I only watch Little T. Little I's mom came by yesterday and let me know they are having another friend watch him because that friend needs the money. I'm kind of sad because I was enjoying having a little baby to cuddle and the money would have been helpful. I'm still their backup and they don't know if the situation will be permanent or temporary. Sigh. My boys are playing and Little T is napping so I'm just chilling. Got some laundry going and need to fold laundry today. I finally got the boys' room cleaned yesterday, they have a floor again! A clean floor! Very nice. Now I just need to get my room under control, the baskets of clean laundry and dirty laundry on the floor are starting to take over, I'm afraid that one of these days it'll come alive and eat us in our sleep.

Menu Plan Monday


Check out Menu Plan Monday at Organizing Junkie to join in or get some great dinner ideas!

Here's what we are having this week:

Monday- Spaghetti

Tuesday- Meatloaf

Wednesday- BBQ Chicken Sandwiches

Thursday- Taco Ring

Friday- Leftovers

Saturday- Hamburgers

Sunday- Turkey Divan

Manic Monday- Ornament



Today's Manic Monday word is Ornament.

We have had our Christmas tree up for a week. We put up the ornaments last Monday, and within 24 hours the bottom half of the tree was stripped of ornaments by the cats and kids. It is really sad. Also, the boys seem to think that glass bulb ornaments are balls and are supposed to be thrown. I think they've broken nearly 10 already. We also have a bunch of plastic ornaments and bells and things that they like to play with and leave around the house to be stepped on.

Sunday, December 09, 2007

Go Green

live greener productsThere has been a lot of talk these days about the need to conserve resources and use natural and recycled products. I completely agree. I especially think using recycled products is very helpful. Green and More is also dedicated to the use of recycled and environmental products. They offer eco friendly products like solar powered electronics, bedding made from organic fibers, and furniture made from recycled plastic lumber. They also live what they sell; for example they use only recycled products on site. I think it is very important that companies like this recognize the importance of conserving resources and using all-natural products. Things like that will assure that our natural resources will remain for a good long time. You can find a lot of information on going green on their website from the US Department of Energy and the EPA. They also have a blog where their staff and the community can share stories about how they are going green. Learn more about how you can go green by visiting www.greenandmore.com. And right now they have a special offer. You can get a 10% discount off your entire order by entering the code GREEN10 at checkout. Go green with Green and More.

Silk Flowers

When Hubby and I got married we decided to have silk flowers instead of real flowers because the cost of even wholesale flowers can get very expensive for a wedding. Our Bishop's wife works with silk flowers and so she did ours, all for just $100. And they were gorgeous too. Plus they will never die so I can see my bouquet forever. Yes, I know I can't see them if they are stored in a box in the attic, but if I wanted to see them I could :P

Sunday Saying

"Once we assuage our conscience by calling something a "necessary evil," it begins to look more and more necessary and less and less evil."
- Sydney J. Harris

I think this saying is a good one for how desensitized people have become to violence and sex in life, especially in movies and TV shows. Just a few decades ago shows that are now PG-13 or even PG would have been rated R. There are even some G movies that I think should be rated higher.

It also is a good quote for how we do things we shouldn't and come up with excuses why we had to do it. Eventually we allow ourselves to do worse things and are able to convince ourselves that it is ok. It is very sad.

What are your thoughts on this?

My favorite job

I never knew how hard it would be to manage a household. I have to keep track of what we need, take care of the kids, clean, cook, decorate, etc. Moms have a lots to do. I should have majored in family finance or corporate performance management or business systems or something lol. On the job training can be a real pain lol. But it's the best job ever and I love it and my family.

Home Sweet Home

I'm so glad our house isn't any bigger. Yeah, I know, most people say the opposite lol. But really, i have a hard enough time keeping our 1640sq ft home clean, I don't know how people with luxury homes keep those huge houses clean. Actually I do, they have housekeepers lol. But even if I could afford a huge house with a housekeeper I don't think I would get them. I don't see how I would ever need that much space. I like my comfy little house. It's perfect for our little family.

Moving on up

Jakey just started going to the nursery class at church, instead of staying with me. So far he seems to be enjoying it. Jason is in the class with him and he gets to play and have snacks and color. Very fun, I wish that was my class :D But next year Jason moves up to the Sunbeams (3 year olds) class and Jakey won't have him with him anymore. I hope that he'll still do ok without his brother with him. And I hope Jason likes his new class, he won't get to just play and eat snacks anymore.

Working hard

I never liked working outside of the home. Of course my work experience consists of fast food, call centers, and a graveyard shift sorting mail, it's not like it was rocket science or plasma cutting or something, but I still didn't like it. Actually the mail sorting job wasn't too bad. It was good money, mentally easy work, and the people I worked with were great (one was my brother), but the fact that I was pregnant, going to school, had a toddler at home, and it was a graveyard shift standing on my feet for 8 hrs were just too much. I slept about 2 hrs a day for 2.5 months, it was so exhausting and it wasn't good for me to be doing such hard work (on my feet and lifting things for 8 hrs) while pregnant. Anyway, so I'm glad I get to work at home now. Sure having 2 extra babies every weekday is tiring, but I definitely prefer it over the fast food job I had before it.

Wedding Ring

After Hubby and I got engaged we went shopping for wedding rings together. It was a lot of fun and it made sure we liked what we got to wear for the rest of our lives. It is so much easier picking out guy rings though. There were so many pretty wedding rings that I had a hard time choosing mine, but once I saw it I knew it was the one. Hubby's is a simple band, and I had it engraved on the inside "Today, Tomorrow, Forever". I really need to have my ring resized though, it is always falling off. Even when I was pregnant my fingers never got swollen, it was actually looser, I almost lost it a few times. So one of these days I need to take it in to get it resized about 1/2 size.

Housing

I think it's so interesting to see how much houses cost in different parts of the country. Some parts of the country have cheaper real estate, some are about the same as here like Wilmington NC real estate, and some are way way way more expensive, like in New York and California. I don't know how anyone can afford those houses. We have a pretty good priced market here, it's not too expensive, a house with 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, a garage, and around 1600 square feet is around $140k.

Time Change

Boy, I'm so glad next year we won't have church at 9am. We get to go at 1pm instead. That will be great, we might actually get there on time! It's hard for me to get us all ready to go before 9am so we are usually late. Though we did make it on time today amazingly. Hubby hates 1pm church though, especially on Fast Sundays. I also will need to make sure Jakey naps before we go then, because otherwise he'll be really grumpy in church.

Saturday, December 08, 2007

Good friends

My birthday is coming up in a few days and today two of my friends, Michelle and Melissa, surprised me at home and took me to lunch. I had no idea they were coming (or I would have showered!). They had even conspired with Hubby to make sure he'd be home to watch the boys and he didn't tell me. It was fun, we ate at Mrs. Powell's in the mall, they have yummy soup and bread. Then we just walked around the mall a bit. It was so sweet of them to surprise me and take me out. I'm so glad to have good friends.

I spy with my little eye...

Ugh, my eye is bugging me so bad! I think I have a stye in my eyelid from what I looked up on webmd. I had an eyelash in my eye the other day and think it scratched my eyelid and caused it. It really hurts and my eye is burning and watery :( Hopefully it'll clear up on it's own. I wonder if the leftover eye drops from when Hubby had an eye infection would help?

Yay for Saturday!

I'm so glad it's the weekend! It's nice to have Hubby home to help with the kids. I don't think we have anything planned for today, so I don't have to go out in the snow. We only got an inch or so but it should snow more today. I think I'm going to make myself some hot chocolate and lay down for a bit, maybe read a book.

Car Bedding



We really need some more bedding. We have two queen beds and only 2 sets of bedding, so I'd like to have more to be able to switch them out sometimes. Vision Bedding has a lot of really nice bedding sets. One I really like that would be great for my boys' bed is their Race Car Bedding. There is the Fast Car Art set that is really cool. Jason loves cars so I know he would like it. Vision Bedding has so many different styles of bedding to choose from, you can even get one of your pictures made into bedding, now that's cool.

Friday, December 07, 2007

Friday's Feast


Appetizer
What was the last game you purchased?

- I think, hm, wait. I am not sure. Maybe Uno?

Soup
Name something in which you don’t believe.

- I don't believe that my tree will last until Christmas :D

Salad
If you could choose a celebrity to be your boss, who would you pick?

- Hm, well since I am a stay-at-home mom and my own boss, does that mean I get to be a celebrity? LOL If so can I be Angelina Jolie? If I had a boss I think I'd go with Brad Pitt, cuz man, he is just hot!

Main Course
What was a lesson you had to learn the hard way?

- During birth, interventions increase your chance of c-section. Wish I'd known that before I had one.

Dessert
Describe your idea of the perfect relaxation room.

- A room with lots of windows and french doors looking out on the ocean, a hammock, lots of plants, and a warm breeze blowing in.

Thursday, December 06, 2007

Hey, it's snowing in here!

What do you think of my Christmas theme? I love it :D I need to make a new header, but too tired tonight, I'll do that tomorrow. I had a long day and am exhausted so I'm heading to bed. Hopefully I sleep better tonight than I did last night.

I need more sleep

I get really really grumpy when I don't get enough sleep. Everything pushes me over the edge. Today is one of those days. I didn't sleep well last night and have been sour ever since I woke up. I keep yelling at the kids and getting angry at the little messes and things they normally do. I need a break to calm down, but of course won't get one. I'm stuck with the kids all day, and tonight we have to go to Hubby's work's Christmas party, which will be nice but not really what I need. I need a nice hot bath with a good book, a massage, getting to bed early, and allowed to sleep in. Just some time alone to relax. Yeah, like that ever happens! When Hubby gets home I'm rushing to the library before we have to leave for the party. I have movies overdue and need to pick up some books I have on hold. If we get back early enough tonight I can take a bath. I'm so glad tomorrow is Friday.

Thankful Thursday

Today I am thankful that I started watching Little I this week and he has done really well. He's at the age where he still mostly just sleeps and eats, and he's not usually fussy. And Jason and Jacob love babies so they are doing good with him. And I'm tahnkful I don't need to go anywhere today with 4 kids from 2 months to 3 years old lol.

What are you thankful for?

Wednesday, December 05, 2007

Christmas Music

I love Christmas music. I have Trans-Siberian Orchestra playing Carol of the Bells on my computer right now. I find myself randomly bursting out with O Holy Night and Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer frequently. The boys just laugh. Music really helps get me in the mood for Christmas. I'm sure I'll be tired of it in a few weeks, but right now I'm enjoying it.

It's a Miracle!!!

I think I can actually hear angels singing hallelujah. At this very moment I have 4 napping little boys. That's right, all of them are napping at the same time! :O It's crazy! I'm not used to this much quiet, just the clickity-clacking of my typing, it's so odd. If this happens every day that would be even better, but I'm sure it's just a one-time fluke.

Wordless Wednesday: Yeah, they are the cutest


Win some cool Parents® toys

I love the giveaways that 5 Minutes for Mom has, they give away some really awesome stuff! Right now they have a giveaway for a Parents® toys giveaway with a prize pack with lots of cool things for infants to preschoolers. Some of the fun stuff includes a pretend mp3 player that plays classical songs, a mom & baby fitness dvd, and a cute garden counting puzzle. I know my boys would love this stuff. Go check out this giveaway.

Get away from Winter

I hate winter. I hate being cold. I only like snow on Christmas day, other than that I would be perfectly fine not seeing it at all. Winter is the perfect time to go on vacations to warm beaches and caribbean cruises to get away from all the cold. Last January we got to go to Cancun for a week and it was so nice to get away from the snow and freezing temperatures and hang out by the beach with the nice warm air and beautiful blue-green ocean. Ah, nice. Unfortunately we aren't planning anything like that this winter, but hopefully next winter. :)

Gift Giving

So, I get magazines occasionally and of course at this time of year there is always an article on the "perfect gifts" for this season. Usually the list a bunch of expensive stuff like Louis Vuitton purse, Cartier watch, designer clothing, etc. Stuff I would have to give up my mortgage payment to buy. Luckily they usually have a "cheap gifts" list too lol. I think it's ridiculous some of the things kids expects to be just given to them these days, like cell phones, laptops, iPods, expensive clothes, etc. This makes me sound old, but when I was that age and wanted expensive stuff I had to work for it, I didn't just expect people to get it for me for no reason.

Do you have it?

I am so glad we have life insurance, though I would hope not to need it any time soon. I know that some people don't have it, but I think anyone who provides income to a family should have some, I think the common agreement is to have ten times your annual income in life insurance. And if you own a home it can be a good idea to have mortgage life insurance. I think we also have insurance on our car that pays it off if Hubby dies. Of course I'd rather make payments forever than have him die, but it's nice to be taken care of if something does happen.

Tuesday, December 04, 2007

I Love Thanksgiving Leftovers!

So, we didn't have Thanksgiving leftovers since we had it up at the inlaws, which is awesome cuz less cooking and cleanup, but I really like having the leftovers. So for our dinner Sunday I made a turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes and gravy, and corn. A little mini Thanksgiving. It was delicious and now I have yummy leftovers! Or had really lol. I've eaten all the potatoes and stuffing, but we have plenty of turkey. I put a bunch in the freezer to be used in other meals and left a bowl in the fridge to make turkey sandwiches. It is yummy turkey too if I may say so myself, nice and moist and tender, mmmmmmmm. Next Thanksgiving we are going to my family's house so I am going to make sure to learn how to make my mom's stuffing and my dad's gravy cuz they are the best (even though my weirdo Hubby doesn't like real stuffing :P I make Stove Top for him).

Heads or Tails: Three

Today's Heads or Tails theme is Three.

So let me think of a few things having to do with three. Well, right now I have three sleeping little boys, somehow Jakey, Little T, and Little I all are napping at the same time. Jason is down playing in the playroom, a little noisely and I keep having to count to three to get him to be quieter (though I'm pretty sure he doesn't know the definition of quiet). I've had to "Shhh" him much more than three times.

Head over to Skittles' Place to join in Heads or Tails.

Tuesday To-Do

Let's see what I need to get done today:

* Fold laundry

* Clean boys' room

* Vacuum- done

* Dishes

* Mail rebate form

I really need to get laundry folded today, it's taking over our bedroom. I already got the living room picked up and vacuumed, but will probably need to do it again at the end of the day. Now that we have a Christmas tree up we need to vacuum up pine needles all the time. I should get pics of our tree up soon, once we get a new stand so it stops falling over. Hubby says he'll do the dishes when he gets home, so I'm not going to worry about them. The boys' room has been on my to-do list forever, but it's not really a priority.

Monday, December 03, 2007

20,000 Visitors!!!

So yesterday I passed the 20,000 visitor mark! WOOHOO! Thanks to all of you who have visited and commented. 20,000 in less than a year is awesome! (I started my stat counter Jan 1 of this year, so I've actually had more visitors from before that but never counted). I hope you all keep coming back!I love blogging and it's one of my favorite hobbies now.

Menu Plan Monday


Check out Menu Plan Monday at Organizing Junkie to join in or get some great dinner ideas!

Here's what we are having this week:

Monday- Sloppy Joes

Tuesday- Garlic Chicken

Wednesday- Pasta Roni

Thursday- Spaghetti

Friday- Leftovers

Saturday- Hamburger Helper

Sunday- BBQ Ribs

Sunday, December 02, 2007

Car Angels

Do you have an old car sitting around that you don't know what to do with? Check out Car Angels. They accept car donations as well as boats, RVs, even houses, and use the profits to help those in need. They have made over 2.4 million DVDs to help single mothers, orphans, homeless, teen and adult rehab, and prison reform. They have free pickup and title transfer, all you have to do is call and donate your car and they will take care of everything else, and you can get a tax deduction for your donation. I think it's a great program.

What's that name again?

Have you ever noticed that celebrities only wear things that have big hard-to-sound names? Like Dusseldorf, Audemars Piguet, Manolo Blahnik, and Louis Vuitton. And the harder it is to pronounce, the more expensive it is. You can't be a popular designer with a name like Michael Johnson, you'd probably have to change it to Mikal Johannassen to get anybody to take you seriously lol. I'd need a translator just to go shopping in one of those high-end designer boutiques.

Wish I got paid sick days

I stayed home from church today because I am still sick. I've had a small cold since Tuesday, which now has added on a stomachache and lightheadedness. I am tired and if I'm up too long doing stuff I get nauseas. I hate being sick. Luckily the sore throat part of it is going away. And I'm glad the boys didn't get it, though Jason did get a little bit of the cold but not bad, just a runny nose. I think it's about time to take some more meds and drink some orange juice or something.

House Flipping

I love watching those shows like Flip That House and Property Ladder and Real Estate Pros. They are so fun. I love seeing how they take an old run-down house and remodel it to be updated and beautiful and make thousands of dollars off it. It's a good money-making thing, real estate or land investment, and usually the ones they show make a good profit. I think it would be fun to flip a house one of these days. I've always loved building stuff and doing stuff with my hands, I even wanted to be a construction worker when I was little lol.

Christmas Lights

Yesterday we took a trip up to the inlaws. We had to stop by Hubby's aunt's house to pick up his brother. Wow, I thought my Hubby had an addiction to Christmas lights! His uncle has the whole house covered. There were extension cords coming out everywhere! He actually had to rewire his breaker box to have all his Christmas lights have their own breaker after he blew breakers to all the power in his house lol. It was fun driving through their neighborhood, there were so many lights all over the houses, yards, mailboxes, trees, flagpoles, everything. Too bad the kids were asleep in their seats by that time, they would have loved it.