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Friday, March 26, 2010

Good idea to make sure you have ALL the ingredients first

Ugh, so I was planning to make some more cinnamon-sugar bread today, but I screwed up. I forgot I don't have enough yeast! So all the rest of the ingredients are sitting in the bread machine ready to go with no yeast. After the baby wakes up from his nap I'll have to pack up all the kids and go out in the cold to make a quick trip to the bank and WalMart to pick up some yeast, cuz I want my bread! The weather has been so up and down. Even today it keeps going from sunny to snowing over and over and it's driving me nuts. I hate being cold. My feet are freezing and the laptop fan makes me feel like a Minka Aire fan is blowing on me, so I'm going to get off before I freeze lol.

Wednesday, March 24, 2010

To do

Man, it's only 7:30 and I am so ready for bed! For some reason I am just not sleeping well lately. I wake up a ton at night and toss and turn, plus with the time change making it still dark at the time I normally get up that makes it much worse. I have a hard time pulling myself out of bed when it's not light yet. In fact I have a hard time getting up when it is light out, the dark just makes it worse lol. I guess an earlier bedtime would help a bit, plus if I was eating better (no more homemade bread smothered in butter!) and exercising I might feel better and thus sleep better. Guess I should add all that to my list of things to do along with cleaning the cabinet above the kitchen desk (it is like a junk drawer but worse, full of tools, papers, vitamins for men and women, medicines, batteries, mugs, yarn, etc), organizing the playroom (again), and mopping. That list gets longer every day. Well, if it was an actual list it would. That's why I don't make lists, then I can't be as overwhelmed by what needs done and can live in denial and procrastination a little bit longer lol.

Cinnamon-y goodness

So my cinnamon sugar bread didn't turn out quite like I'd hoped. I should have cooked it a few minutes more. The top was still all doughy, and I didn't realize it until I'd taken it out of the bread machine. But the rest was still great. The boys loved it. Didn't even have to add anything to it and it was yummy. I even saved some for Hubby to try when he got home and he said it was very good. I'd like to try using that dough for cinnamon rolls. Mmm, I love cinnamon rolls. Not good for weight loss, but definitely good for lifting a person's mood! My favorite cinnamon rolls are the ones from Ikea, mmm so good! Just ask Hubby about my love for them, he'll tell you about how I get all happy and drooly and soon as I have those yummy warm rolls in my hands. Anyway, maybe I can make some that are just as good so I don't have to drive 30mins to Ikea to get some lol.

Points

I can't remember if I mentioned it here or not, but Hubby's work is currently doing a health contest where the people who earn enough points are entered into a drawing to win a cruise. The employees spouses can also participate. So I'm doing what I can to help earn us some points. I'm drinking a lot more water to get my 64oz a day, which I've done pretty good at. I also am trying to eat more fruits and veggies. I should also be exercising, but I haven't been (except all the hours moving furniture and ripping out carpet last week, I counted that!). The hardest thing though is not eating candy. Each day we don't eat candy (including cookies, cake, etc) we get to check off a box and once we get 30 we get points. Well, in a month I have only checked off 4 boxes. Yeah, sad. So I'm doing the body fat loss contest they are doing for the next 2 months to get more points. Although I don't need to lose weight, I do need to lose fat. I've let my muscles disappear and be replaced by fat. Hubby is also doing it, and he could lose a couple pounds if he wanted. He's not fat, he doesn't need the best diet pills for men or anything like that, but he has put on a little bit of weight in the last year to the point where he is technically slightly overweight (not that you'd notice at all). Anyway, both of us could probably do with a bit more exercising. I've been meaning to get out my Slim in 6 DVDs and use them, but can't get up early to do them, can't do it during the day while taking care of kids, and am too tired to do it at night. I should make it a bigger priority though.

Homemade

I love homemade bread. I don't know a single person who doesn't. A nice thick slice of bread fresh and hot from the oven, slathered with butter, is just a perfect snack, especially on a cold day. I usually use a simple recipe that came with my bread machine, and it's really yummy, but I've decided I'd like to try out some new recipes for variety. Yesterday I made a recipe that I found at allrecipes.com and had really great reviews, but I didn't like it as much as my normal bread, and it tasted too salty even though it used the same amount of salt as my other one. Today I looked up a cinnamon sugar bread recipe at recipezaar.com and it's cooking right now. It also got great reviews and sounds delicious. I can't wait to try it. Of course all the carbs and butter is probably not good for the body fat loss challenge I'm participating in lol. If I'm not careful I'm going to need diet supplements to counteract all the calories. Or I could just start exercising, which I really should be doing anyway.

Spring cleaning

Now that the majority of my house looks so nice and new and clean, it makes me really notice the things that could use a good cleaning. Today I was thinking that the cupboards under my bathroom counter really really need to be cleaned out. There is so much junk under there that I never even use and just takes up space. There's tons of lotions, body washes, and stuff like that from random birthday/Christmas gifts, as well as mostly empty bottles of similar stuff. And there's the baby stuff like nursing pads, baby oils, and cocoa butter stretch marks cream stuff that doesn't get used often that either needs thrown out or at least organized. Maybe I'll tackle that tomorrow when I don't have any extra kids. Or I could even do it tonight since I have nowhere to go later. I really need to make a list of the spring cleaning stuff I'd like to do.

Monday, March 22, 2010

And the winner is...

Thank you to everyone who entered my giveaway! Thanks to Pampers one lucky winner will receive a pack of new Pampers Cruisers with Dry Max and a cute Liz Lange diaper clutch (valued at $50!).

I used Random.org to choose a number and the winner is...


Comment #14 is Jessica! She said: "Being a parent is one of the most fulfilling roles a person can take on. The blessings far outweigh the sacrifices. Every day there are a million reasons to be thankful, that is why I love being a mom. :)"

Congratulations! I will send you an email to get your mailing information and diaper size. Thank you everyone who participated!

Remodeling Done!!!

We are so happy to finally have the tile, carpet, and everything done! Last week was so so busy but now it's finished. It looks SO wonderful! The whole house looks brighter and cleaner.

Family Room
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Back Entry
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Living Room
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Front Entry
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Hall Bathroom
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Master Bathroom
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Master Bedroom
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Jakey's Room
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Jason and Nathan's Room
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Friday, March 19, 2010

Exhausted!

This weekend is just so crazy! I'm so sore and tired and it's not even over! Yesterday we spent the whole day moving all our furniture and tearing up the old carpet and pad. I also had a dentist appointment for a cleaning. This morning Nathan had a dermatologist appointment and Jason and Jacob had dentist appointments, where they screamed and cried and were awful, but at least they got their new toothbrushes, floss, and toothpaste and were happy with that. We rushed home to let the carpet guys in, and they set to work getting the new pad installed and the carpet cut and ready. Tomorrow they will be back to finish installing the carpet. This evening I went to my brother's fiance's bridal shower, which was a great time. Tomorrow after the carpet is done we will be spending the rest of the day moving all the furniture back and cleaning, cleaning, cleaning. But at least I get a girl's night at my friend's house for a New Moon party, that will be fun! I'm off to bed now cuz the carpet guys are coming early and I'm exhausted!

Wednesday, March 17, 2010

Pampers Cruisers with Dry Max Review and a GIVEAWAY!!!

I recently had the opportunity to try out the new Pampers Cruisers with Dry Max and give my review. As I posted before the new Pampers Swaddlers and Cruisers Diapers with Dry Max are a high performance diaper that uses 10% less material but still locks in wetness up to 12 hours. 12 hours people! And believe me, we put it to the test.

SIZE- As they said, the diaper is made thinner than ever with their new Dry Max technology. I was worried that such a thin diaper couldn't live up to it's claims of absorbency. I was happy to be proven wrong.

ABSORBENCY- My baby Nathan normally soaks through a regular diaper in just a few hours, not to mention how wet he gets at night. Even if I changed his diaper in the middle of the night he, and his bedding, would still be soaked by morning. I was getting tired of constantly washing his bedding. The Pampers with Dry Max really lived up to their claims and I was pleasantly surprised to wake up the first morning after using them to a dry baby! The diaper itself was so full I'm surprised it wasn't leaking all over the place, but it really locks in the wetness.

ODOR- The diapers are scented, and this is the only point of the diaper I wasn't completely happy with. I felt the scent was too strong, especially when first opening the pack of diapers. It wasn't a bad scent, there was just too much. On the flip side, the diaper also locked in bad smells really well. My baby can really stink it up, and when he's messy everyone can tell, but there were many times I didn't even know his diaper was messy because I couldn't smell it until I took the diaper off.

Overall, I loved these diapers. They were exactly what we need in terms of absorbency and odor control and we plan to continue using them.

And now on to the giveaway!

One lucky reader will be winning an awesome Liz Lange Diaper Clutch (retail $50!) and a coupon redeemable for a week's supply of new Pamper's Cruisers with Dry Max! (This giveaway is restricted to U.S. residents only, sorry!)

The Liz Lange Diaper Clutch is a stylish way to carry around diapers and wipes. Made of 100% polyester and genuine leather trim, this clutch is beautiful and practical.

TO WIN:

Just leave a comment here telling us why you love being a parent! You do not need to be a blogger to enter this giveaway, just make sure you have an email address I can contact you if you win.

Extra Entries:

Do any of the following to earn extra entries into the drawing, and leave a comment letting me know you did it! Make sure to leave separate comments for each entry.

1) Become a subscriber or follower of this blog.
2) Twitter this giveaway and link to it.
3) Post and link this giveaway on Facebook.
4) Blog about it and link back to this post.

This giveaway will end Monday, March 22, at 6pm Mountain Time. Winner will be drawn randomly and notified by email.

*I received no monetary compensation for this review. I was given a pack of diapers and asked to post my honest opinion of the product.*

Tuesday, March 16, 2010

Soon

Although I want a new phone, I really hope mine lasts a few more months until we can get new ones. We want to get all the new carpet and tile stuff paid off first before buying expensive phones with an expensive plan. So far my phone is still managing to hand in there after it's double dunking a few weeks ago. Sometimes I wish I had a cell phone signal booster though because it has problems cutting out once in a while. Oh, that reminds me, I need to get all my contact info saved somewhere in case it gets dunked again and dies, and just because I don't have anyone's numbers memorized and don't want to lose them lol.

Oh and stay tuned for an exiting giveaway! I'll try to get it up tonight, but maybe not until tomorrow.

Handed down

I remember growing up we always got new church clothes for Easter. I loved waking up and finding a pretty new dress waiting for me with my Easter basket. Although I think that's a nice idea, I don't see how that makes any sense for us. Having 3 boys so close together means I already have plenty of church clothes. Of course after 3 boys they are getting pretty beat up, so by my next boy (cuz let's face it, I don't seem to be able to make girls lol) I'll probably need new stuff again. I'd like to get one of those cute onsies that looks like a tuxedo vest or the ones with the tie on them. I think those are adorable. But the bay hardly ever gets new clothes since everything gets handed down. The only one we ever need to really buy clothes for is Jason since he's the oldest. We do buy new stuff for the other 2 occasionally too though, so they aren't in just hand-me-downs, but not very often.

Sunday, March 14, 2010

Nathan's ABCs

I finally got a video clip of Nathan singing the ABCs. The quality isn't very good but it's the best I could get. Any time I pull out the camera he just gets a big cheesy grin and stops doing whatever I want to get a pic of.

And then here's some cute pics of him after eating a chocolate covered donut.


I love my cute little boy! He's so adorable and fun. I can't believe he's already 16 months old!

Saturday, March 13, 2010

New Look

What do you think? I figured it was about time to switch up my template. I love the free templates from Delightful Dots, they are so cute!

I've been meaning to post more recent pics of my cute kiddos, but I've realized that lately I haven't taken many pics at all. I'll have to see what I have and maybe post some. I should get a video clip of little Nathan singing the ABCs, it's so adorable! The problem is any time I get out the camera he stops whatever he's doing and just grins at me lol. I'll see if I can sneak up on him.

Friday, March 05, 2010

Renovations have started

I'm so excited our tile is being laid now! And the concrete guys came and fixed our family room floor this morning (it was sunk a bit in one area). A few spots need ground down a bit, which our tile guy says he can do for us, and Hubby is filling the cracks with some cement crack sealer stuff. Our front entryway is already looking great, just needs grout, and tile is going down in the hall bathroom. We are currently showerless because both upstairs bathrooms have the toilets removed and sitting in the shower. Good thing we have a half bath on the main level, just have to go without a shower for a few days, good thing I got one in this morning. It's quite a bit of work going on here, but easier than long distance moving. And hopefully we can get all the tile done by next weekend so we can get the new carpet in. It's going to look sooo nice! I'll be posting the before and after pics and soon as everything is done.

It's alive!

Yay, my phone is working! I was getting worried that it might be really dead after 3 days of drying and still not working, but tonight I tried again and it works! Woohoo! I really need to get all my numbers written down somewhere in case that happens again. Meanwhile I need to keep my eyes open for a sale on iPhones. It'll be so nice to have new phones in a few months! Until then I am going to be keeping close watch on my phone to avoid further mishaps.

Wednesday, March 03, 2010

Baby vs Phone

So, I'm pretty sure my baby has it out for my cell phone. On Saturday morning I left a glass of water on the coffee table while I went out and Hubby stayed home with the boys. I came home to a dripping phone and Hubby told me the baby had dunked it. We were in a hurry to go up to Idaho for the weekend so I threw it in a baggy of rice and off we went. It still wasn't working the next day so I thought it was a goner. Luckily Monday morning it started working again. Just one day later guess what happened? Yep. *SPLASH!* I turned my back for one minute and my phone took another swim. It's sitting in a bag of rice again, not working yet. I'm really hoping it starts working again. I'm using an old phone we had lying around for a backup, but all my numbers are on my phone! We are planning to get new phones soon, once we get our new carpet paid off, but that's a few months down the road and I'd like my phone to work until then.