Friday night

Right now I'm sitting on the couch,, snuggling with Miss Emma, watching Beauty and the Beast for the millionth time. :)   Gary is in his room,, Jess is out at a basketball game.   Ben's at work,, Friday nights arnt to exciting around here since he's been on 2nd shift.  Sometimes it gets me down but I know he doesn't have a choice in the matter of working and this is just the way it is.  I'm actually getting quite used to him being gone in the evenings now.  It's hard and a lot of days I feel like a single mom but I know I'm not and I'm thankful he has a job.  I mentioned to him today about me feeling like I have no friends,, he says he should be all I need.   I dont think he gets that sometimes guys just don't get it.  Most of the time when I tell him things I worry about he just tells me not to,, its not my life just don't worry about it(his words).. Its not that easy for me.  Although there is some truth to what he says, I have a caring heart so naturally I think of others and hurt when others are hurting.    I worry about others and I just can't help it.  I wish I could shut it off sometimes.   Oh well...

on a different note,, I've been making blankets for lots of people.  They are the new sew fleece tie blankets and they are so cute and warm!  I've made on for each kid,, myself,, I'm making one for my 2 babysitting kids, and making one for a surprise for Bennie!  When I was buying the fabric I asked him if he wanted one and he said no,, but every since I've been making them he's been stealing mine(which is giraffe print on one side and hot pink on the other. lol),, plus I guess he's said to Jess that he now wishes he would have had me make him one so I went out and bought him some fabric and made him one.. Its wrapped up under the tree, I hope he likes it.. His is camo,,,he will look much better in that one than my pink one. Hahaha

9 more days til Christmas!  I can't wait to see everyones faces when they open there presents!

Where did they all go?

At what point in life do you give up on a friendship???  I used to have friends,, I used to have people who I could talk to about stuff in my life and they would talk to me about stuff in their lives.  Somewhere along the lines those friendships have faded.  I honestly dont' get why but whatever,, I know that with kids life gets crazy and we are all busy.  What bothers me is just being blatantly ignored,, when I do try to make contact with people most don't even respond.   I really think I am a nice person,, easy to talk to,, not quick to judge... I just don't get it!     I dont even have a good relationship with my sisters,,,,  we love each other and talk when we see each other but they dont confide in me.. They don't come to me for advice about anything in their lives,, and I'm the older sister!   It makes me sad because I want a close relationship with them.   I just dont get it.  

I'm just lonely and sad that I dont have anyone anymore.   I have my husband who I cant talk about everything with, and my oldest daughter who I shouldnt' talk about everything with.   :(   I just don't understand where I went wrong and it bums me out.   I know its not normal because I hear about others who have lunch dates, dinner dates,, actually do things with other people.    I sound like a big whiny mess but I just had to get this out its driving me crazy!

Anxiously awaiting

Thought I'd sit down for a quick break and blog.  I've been doing a bit of decluttering today.  Cleaned off my counter top to make room for my new mixer!  It hasn't arrived yet but it is supposed to come today and I'm still hopeful.  I think I'll make some blueberry muffins tonight to break it in,, and tomorrow I'm going to try it out for making my pizza dough!  Its a little silly how excited I am for it to arrive. 
It has been so fun lately having packages delivered to our door....Christmas presents for the kids I've been ordering online.  I'm getting very excited about Christmas and seeing there faces light up up with joy while opening their presents. :)   I can't wait!
The three little girls here right now are playing nicely,, the only problem is they are dragging things all over the house that I've been cleaning all day..   Emma just walked in here to the living room and said she was going to get married to her daddy.  :)  So cute! 

My new Mixer is on its way!

I got the email that this is shipping out to me today!!!!   Yay!  It's a Kitchenaid Pro 600 Mixer!  I'm so excited!  I've wanted on for about as long as I can remember, but with the cost of them it been out of the question.  Well hubs knows how I've wanted one and he told me I could order myself one for Christmas,,, I had declined  because of the money but then yesterday found out about a amazing Cyber Monday sale that amazon was having.  The normal cost for this bad boy is $499.00.  I got it for half that plus a $50.00 mail in rebate! When I saw that I called him in to show him and told me to go ahead and order it!   I know it will get good use here in our house and I'm really hoping it will last a long long time!  Now I can ask for some of the awesome attachments for my birthday!  They have ice cream maker, pasta maker, food grinder,,,all different cool attachments you can get to go with it!   I'm just so excited for it to get here and start using it up!  Just in time to whip up some goodie treats for Christmas!
Anyone out there reading this have one?   Do you love it?  What do you use it mostly for?

I'm alive

Just wanted to say I'm still alive.   Pretty much same old same old around here.  Can you believe it is less than a month until Christmas??  I've been doing quite a bit of online shopping this year because it seems so hard to get to the stores especially without the kiddos.  We've set a spending limit this year and are going to stick to it(we dont have much of a choice this year because the bonus that hubs was supposed to receive before Christmas isnt coming now :( ,  the kids will still be happy though.  It's not about the presents anyways right?  We put up our little tree over the weekend.  It's cute... nothing fancy and a lot of homemade ornaments on it but thats ok,, it makes it special.   I'm going to do my best tomorrow to get on here and tell you about my amazing present for myself that hubs let me order today!  Here's a hint...there will probably be a lot of baking going on around here!

Money question and colors

As if making hubby go to second shift wasn't enough,, his employer has now decided that he will be working12 hour shifts for the next few weeks while another boss is out recovering from a surgery.  This means because he is supposed to be there 30 minutes early and stay 30 minutes late, that he will be working from 9:30am-10:30 pm.   Lovely.   The good thing is he should be getting a few really nice paychecks along with the extra hours.  I'm gonna do my best to be smart with the extra cash and either pay off some more bills or build up the savings.   That's my dilemma right now,, we don't have much in savings and I'm really not comfortable not having anything to fall back on,,, so do I bank the extra cash now or pay off other things?  I know Dave Ramsey would say bank it for the emergency fund first,, what's your all's opinion? 

I've been keeping myself busy with housework and kiddos...the story of my life really. LOL   I've really been focusing a lot of my attention lately on working with Emma on some learning stuff,,, for the most part she enjoys it but she does get tired of it now and then.... She will tell me  " I don't want to learn my colors right now MOM"!   :)   Of course were working on more than just colors but for some reason she still doesnt have them all down and I really want her to get it.  

2nd shift

ok,, yea so I say I'm gonna start blogging again and then go a week without a update.  LOL  Sorry.   Lots of stuff on my mind, I"m just trying to be mindful of what I put out there, ya know?   I think today I'll talk about a new chapter in our lives that will be starting next week.. Its not one I'm excited about.  Ben(hubby) is getting put on 2nd shift...for him that will mean he leaves the house around 1-1:30pm and returns around 10:30pm.   He's not happy about it at all.  Either are me and the kids,, it wouldn't be so bad if they were all young and not in school but Jess and Gary are at school through the day so he's really not gonna get to see them through the week at all.  He'll be sleeping when they get up for school and then he'll be gone to work when they get home.   Plus he wont be able to go to any after school function, soccer games, he wont be home to eat dinner with us,, to tuck them into bed...the list goes on.   I already have my days where I feel like a single mom,,, now I think I'll really feel like that with him gone every evening.   OH well,, thats life I guess and we must roll with the punches and try to make the best of it.   I know there are people out there right now that would give their right arm to be able to have a job on any shift so I'm trying to think of ourselves as lucky.  Listening to this song and watching this video helps me realize that. 

 So anyways, I've been trying to think of some things to help turn it around into a positive,, here's a couple I've came up with....I think we actually might save some money because I really don't like going out without him so unless its necessary we probably won't be leaving the house in the evenings...staying home equals not spending money.   Also I can fix whatever I want for dinner,, I can do more meatless meals, he gets upset if there isn't a meat with dinner so since he wont be here our meals can be simplified a little bit.  I've even considered dropping our cable since he wont be here in the evening to watch it,, although the kids arnt to thrilled about that idea so I'm not sure about that one.. Those are the couple of things I've come up with so far.  I know I'm gonna really miss him in the evenings though and so are the kids,, Hopefully this will help him spend quality time with them when he can. 

Busy days and other thoughts

 Man, how time flies by,,, seriously everyday I think I will have time to sit down and blog for awhile but my days are consumed with cooking, cleaning, childcare...lots of childcare!  My work is never done,,and thats ok, it sure can be exhausting sometimes though!  

Our weekend went well,, super busy.  Saturday morning the kiddos had a dentist appointment... That went well!  NO cavities,, although the dentist did say that we really need to get the 2 older kids in to see a orthodontist.  I knew this but had been putting it off but now that the dentist has said it I feel like we really need to get started,, I was trying to get a few other things paid off before we have huge ortho bills.  Gary has a tooth that should be through but isnt coming through though, and Jess has teeth coming in in crazy places due to lack of space in her mouth.  So the time is now I guess. 

 After the dentist we went straight over to my moms for my step-dad's birthday party.  That was fun,, he had sat up a 9 hole golf course in the yard and we all did that,, we also did some jump roping,,, hilarious and fun!   Then Sunday the kids and I went with mom and Dave, and Grandma and Grandpa  to Stone Trace,, its a historical site and there is lots of booths set up there and very educational...the kids loved it!  Here is Jess stirring and making apple butter like they did in the old days. 

 Emma getting her face painted

 We didn't go bowling this weekend but I felt like I needed a pic of Gary in here and apparently he sneaked out of all the photos this weekend. :)

Life is hard but good.  I'm so thankful for what we have and have been trying to make the most of it.     I remind myself daily to appreciate what we have and try to not want so much more,, we are so blessed for what we do have!
I'm also working hard to not get upset over Ben(hubby's) crazy work hours, and other commitments he has,, not to get upset over his lack of enthusiasm over what we do have and his constant wanting more and more.  Leaving it in God's hands to help him realize these things.  My constant nagging gets us nowhere but in arguments.   I must go on and try and have a cheerful attitude!

I'm back!

I just couldn't stay away.....  Things are on my mind through the day or the kids do cute little things and I dont have anyone to share with besides the great big web!    So I've decided to start blogging again,, also its so neat to look back through my blog and see pic of the kids or what we were doing on cetatin days... Its like my own personal journal,,accept the whole world can read it. LOL

A lot has changed since Ive blogged last,,, one of my childcare kids left me to go off to full day kindergarden!  She's the one I've has since she was 13 months old,, and she's 6 now!  We miss her and I wonder how she's doing everyday... I also had a new addition to my childcare buissness,,, she is 3 and is fitting right in with the rest of the crew.  The neat thing is she shares the same name as me! :)   I am really enjoying the group of kids I have right now.  Two 3 year olds and a 2 year old,,,along with the 3rd shift girl that I still have.  We are working on our own little "preschool" and trying to learn some new things.  It going good and the kids are having fun!  I just love watching them play,, they are so adorable and creative.  Emma's new thing is singing...she turns everything into a song...I love it!

As the norm around here financial times are tough....I think I've been blogging for around 3 years now and thats been the one constant thing,,,there was a short period of time where we seemed to be doing well but then I had some medical issues and now am having to pay the bills for that and we're very tight again.    When things were going good instead of indulging ourselves and getting some things that we had been wanting for awhile  I guess we should have just banked that money.   Lesson learned!  Now I'm trying to get us back on track again. 

I'm glad to be back,,,just wondering if I have lost all my readers,,, if you do see this give me a shout out so I know who I'm talking to. :)

Done for now

I've decided I'm done blogging for now.  I'm just not into it anymore.  I am going to leave my blog up for now, just in case I ever change my mind.  For all those that have continued to read  thank you.....

Signing off...........

Weekned and our menu for the week

We had a pretty good weekend.  It went by way to fast.
Friday night Ben worked, so he slept Saturday for a while,
while he was sleeping I was cleaning.  Then Saturday
evening my sister and her husband came over for dinner and to hang out for awhile.  It was fun.  Emma just

 loves her Aunt Dawn and Uncle Johnathan.  I made taco salad and tacos for dinner.  Then we just hung out, sang karaoke and had a camp fire.  We were up late so Sunday was a lazy day.  We slept in and layed around for most of the day.  I did manage to get out and get some groceries for the week. 

On Sunday our cable box stopped working completely. :(   So until we can get someone to come out and fix it its just netflix in the living room for us.  Its not to big of deal for me.  I've been hinting around to Ben that we have been having so much trouble with our cable company we should just cancel it completely.  He doesnt agree though. LOL.   This week is our towns fair.  I think were going out to it on Tuesday night,, thats kiddie day so all rides are just a dollar.  Besides that I dont think we have any plans.  I really need to start limiting our trips into town so we can save our cash.  I need to fully focus really hard on building our savings and paying off debt.  I've not been doing so well with that lately so I'm gonna be going gung ho!!   
Here's my menu for the week:
Monday-B-zucchini muffins, sausage pattys
              L-hot dogs, mac n cheese, frozen fruit
              D-BBQ ribs, baked potatoes baked zucchini sticks, peas
Tuesday-B-cereal
              L-make your own pizzas
              D-? not sure if we will eat at the fair or not
WednesdayB-waffles
                  L-noodles
                  D-sausage lentil soup
Thursday B-cereal
               L- tater tot casserole
               D-BBQ chicken, pasta salad, green beans
Friday-B-pancakes
            L-homemade version of hamburger helper
            D- hamburgers

What I want to be

 

 

What I want to be....

-A patient, kind, loving mother, even in times of stress and chaos.

-A loving wife that's never to tired to pack his lunch, and all those other wifely duties. 

-happy and cheerful, full of energy

-a great cook that can whip up something out of nothing

-an amazing homemaker that has a clean tidy organized home and doesn't get upset or angry when others are constantly making messes

These are just a few things about myself that are bugging me as of lately,  I know I'm not a bad mom or a bad wife,,, but it would be so nice if I could be all of these things all of the time.   I feel like there is not enough of me to go around.  I can concentrate really hard on one or two of these things but when I do that then I seem to fall short on some others.    Why is it so hard for me?  

I really need to get out of this funk I'm in.  Things just keep happening making it hard to see the bright side. 

The blues

I'm feeling so down lately.  I feel like things are spinning out of control.  Nothing major huge has happened its just little things that seem to be piling up and bringing me down.  Issues with money,, its getting very tight, doctor bills are coming in from when I had to have a CT scan a couple months back, bank accounts are lower than they have been in a long long time.  I'm now not able to be so picky about the food I am purchasing due to the fact that I just can not afford to buy what I have been right now.  That makes me feel bad,, it ws easier before when I didnt know all the things that I do now.  Our days are pretty crazy now that its summer and all the kids are home from school,, it can get pretty loud and sometimes I feel like I'm leading a three ring circus most days. LOL,, I love em all though.   I also have been feeling like one of my kids is trying to grow up way to fast,, I decided that I have to lay the law down now and had a discussion with her tonight,, now I'm sure she hates me.  I sometimes wish phones and computers were never invented,, life as far as kids go would be so much easier I think.. We didnt have problems until the cell phone was bought for her and facebook came into play. She doesnt understand why I don't want her to do certain things, she thinks its just me being mean.  I dont' want her to fall down the wrong path, and I'm the one that is supposed to help show her the right way right?  I'm scared if I sit back and dont do anything now what will become later of things.    Being a parent is so hard., I thought it was supposed to get eaiser as they got older. :(  
I'm just so sad,, this all probally sounds like a jumbled mess but I had to just get it out there. 

I'm really hoping for a good week, and hoping that everything works out and that my kids dont hate me for trying to be a good parent.  ugh...

Bathroom pics

So after much hard work we're finally finished in the bathroom.  I'm very happy with the results, the only thing that bothers me about it is even though Ben patched the old holes we apparently needed to work at it a little harder because after painting you can still see ever spot,and every time I look at it it bugs me,, but not enough to start over now so that is how it will be until we repaint again which hopefully wont be until were ready to move out. :)  Here you can see the sink with the updated faucet.   I picked out the dark brass,, It looks a lot fancier than the standered silver hot cold one that was on before. I love it.
 We also replaced all the towel holders, toilet paper holders and shower curtain rod with matching brass and theres a new curtain and some matching towels. :)

 Ben replaced the worn out floor for me. I'm really happy with it

 There are a few spots on the floor that look dirty,,but its not, thats how its supposed to look.LOL  guess thats a good thing, it will help hide any actual dirt spots that might show up. :) 

Actually I doubt there will be any dirty spots,  I'm so happy with it it gives me a lot of incentive to keep it nice and shiny!  Now I'm so excited to redo the kitchen but that will have to wait a little while so we can save up some more cash.   After we finally got done I decided to make the hubby happy and we went to the lake to fish for a little bit.  It was really fun,, we didn't catch much but it was nice to sit and relax.   Then we came home and bbq'ed and ate outside.  Emma loves to be outside.  AS soon as she wakes up she wants to go outside and play,, she doesn't understand that mommy has inside work to do to.  Poor thing,,, now that the big kids are out of school though they can help watch her out there in the fenced in yard when I cant be out there.   I love summer and all that comes with it!

Tennesse trip

Well were back from Tennessee.   We had a amazing time there!  It truly is beautiful, the mountains, the rolling hills, very peaceful too.  Our cabin we rented was great!  Plenty of room for us,, it had 3 bathrooms, 2 king sized beds, a jacuzzi tub, a hot tub, 4 decks outside!
We kept pretty busy while we were there, here we are at the welcome center in the smokey mountains.

 Then we went to hike up the hill to Laural Falls,,, on the way up we saw a bear!!!  It was so cool, it was hard to get a good picture of it but here you can see it walking away from us(much better than too us I think, LOL). 

 And here is the beautiful waterfall.

 We let the kids take there shoes off and wade in it a little bit.

 Then we went to Ripley's Believe it or not Museum,, here is me and the kids in a really big chair.  They had some really weird things there and Emma was a little scared a few times but overall I think everyone enjoyed it.

 Then back to our cabin,, we turned the heat down a little and let Emma "swim" in the hot tub,, she loved it.

 Jess and I. :)

 The game room was really cool there,, everyone enjoyed it.  Gary asked to go in there first every time we got back to the cabin. 

 Sunday we made the steep hike up to Clingmans dome,, it is over 6500 feet tall, the highest mountain in the Smokies.  We drove most of the way up then its a three quarter mile hike up to the top dome,,,let me tell you what,,,,I am outta shape!  It was tough and I was huffing and puffing the whole way because it is so steep.  It was well worth it though,, when your at the top you can see either 3 or 4 different states,, your also higher than some of the clouds,, it was really cool!

 This was at Ripley's aquarium,, that was really fun for the kids.

It was such a great trip, and none of us were ready to go home!  It's so nice to get out and away from normal everyday life.  I am so thankful that we are able to do things like this!  If you want it bad enough I believe you can make it happen.  We defiantly don't have a lot of money but we made it work for us.  We have another thing to look forward to now,,, in a week and a half Bennies mom will be coming out to spend the week with us from California!!  Its been a year since we've seen her and we cant wait!!

Crazy busy day

Oh what a day,,, and its not over yet. :)    This morning I got up as usual knowing I had lots of work to do....you see,,, I'm a bit of a procrastinator and still hadn't packed for our trip that were leaving for tomorrow morning.  Sometimes I think I work better under pressure, plus I knew that its really not that big of a deal to pack,, especially since this vacation is only gonna be for 4 days and our last one was for 14,,,easy peasy.  Anyhow,,, got up, made the coffee, let babysitting kids come in, took a shower, woke up my kids,, all the normal stuff.  When I woke up Gary(the 10 yr old) he got dressed then came out and said he had a rash,,, he lifted his shirt and from his neck to his waist line was covered in a rash,,,so much that his sides were completely red and covered in the bumps and hes chest and back were all dotted up....  OK I said to myself,, my kids seem to get rashes all the time, no biggy,,,but this one did seem pretty bad.  I called my mom at work to see what she thought and to see if she thought I should send him to school, (yes even though I'm 30 years old and have been a mother for 12 years I still call my mommy and ask for advice quiet often,,,usually she's right on, she works in a hospital and had 3 kids of her own).  Anyways I told her he had a rash and what it looked like and she started freaking out,, said do not take him to school and get him to the doc right away!  I guess measles have been going around and what I described to her sounded a lot like those same symptoms.  He's been vaccinated for all that stuff but she said to take him in anyways....  that was the point I started getting really worried.  Our trip we are supposed to go on is non refundable and already paid for and we can not be taking  a kid with the measles through 3 states!!!    Luckily Bennie had decided to stay up and not sleep today so he would be able to sleep tonight and drive tomorrow so he took him in to the doc for me.   My stomach was in knots awaiting the phone call,,,,,,,,   finally he called and said it was not measles and was probably just a allergic reaction to something.  Whew!!!!  They put him on prednizone and told us to give him Zerteck until the rash goes away and he was fine to go back to school and to Tennessee!!! Boy was that good news.  
So the rest of the day I've been packing and cleaning and getting all our readies together.  Going pretty smooth so far.  WE have a soccer game tonight then when we get home will load up the car and we'll be taking off bright and early in the morning.   So I'll be back on Tuesday hopefully with lots of fun pictures.  Have a great Memorial Day weekend. 

Backyard fun

It's a beautiful day outside today, the sun is shining, its 72 degrees outside right now.  We had to get outside.  Here is a pciture of my lovely new fence and garden.

 I can not wait to see what comes of it this year.  I have high hopes,, we have over 20 pepper plants, 4 cabbage, 4 broccoli, cucumbers and green beans to grow up the fence you see in the middle there.  Also green onions, kohlrabi, radishes, carrots, lettuce, garlic, tomatoes, basil, cilantro, and chives!  I'm hoping we get a good harvest!

The girls have been having a fun time this morning.  They found a toad!  They've been playing with it and making a temporary home for it,, here you see them all huddled around the bucket with the toad in it.

 I found another use for our gazebo we put up,,, it makes a lovely clothesline. LOL

 and here is my real clothes line. 

I just love sitting in my backyard!  It can feel so peaceful,,(as long as the neighbors poodles arnt out barking at us and driving me crazy!)

Karaoke and cookout

Another fabulous weekend under our belts!  Saturday morning the kids had a soccer game and both did awesome!  Then later in the day we all went to my youngest sister's house and had a cookout!  Her husband made some yummy rotisserie chicken on the grill and we had mashed potatoes and green beans!  They're neighbor has a basket ball court in their backyard and the kids got to play on that which they really enjoyed.  Then we sang karaoke and had a little campfire,,the kids wanted smores but they're was no graham crackers so they had chocolate marshmallow and chocolate. LOL  a sugary dream. :)  It was really fun to just hang out and visit with them.  We came home with lots of mosquito bites though,,Emma looks like she took a bath in them, her poor little face is covered in bites.
Sunday we were pretty tired so we just hung out at the house.  I ran to my moms real fast to pick up a couple of suitcases since we will be leaving on Friday for Tennessee!!!  I'm so excited to hang out at the cabin and relax.  Gary is really hoping to see a bear since we'll be up in the mountains.   I've got lots to do this week to get ready.  Still need to get that camera card,, I really want to post some pics of my garden.

Make sure you check out the poll on my sidebar and give your opinion..

Procrastinating

Do you ever feel like you are being torn in a million different directions?  I've been feeling like that lately.  There is so much I need to be doing right now,,, but here I sit blogging. LOL   I think sometimes people thing that when you don't work outside the home life is so much easier.... It's not!  Especially when you run a business in your home,, and double when that business involves little kids that love to run around and make messes. :)   I love my job and I love the kids that are here, I wouldn't trade it for anything but it comes with lots of work and cleaning because I believe in letting the kids play and not constantly nagging them about not making messes.  What we need to work on is teaching them how to clean up their messes. :)   
I've said before that laundry is my favorite household chore......well its not anymore.  Even though Im constantly doing it it never seems to get done!  Especially when I have a little girl that seems to have accidents every single day during nap time and kids that change their clothes 50 times a day.  OH and the latest thing around here is the little girls have been playing "Florida resort".  Over Christmas break we went to Florida, Emma has not forgotten about it and now every single day she plays Florida and finds a bag and "packs", Packing includes taking all the clothes out of her drawer and shoving them in the bag then toting it around the house getting in the pretend car and driving to Florida.  It is actually very cute and I love seeing them use their imaginations but the dragging the clothes out every single day is getting quite old.  When I try to put the clothes away she screams and tells me thats her Florida clothes. 
We are actually leaving for Tennessee next Friday for a little vacation so I have a feeling Florida resort will turn into Tennessee cabin after we get back. :)  I've got lots of work to do before we leave for TN,, I haven't even started thinking about packing yet and then theres getting the house all sparkly before we leave,, I like to come back to a clean house after time away. When we get back the kids will only have one week of school left then they will be on summer break!  Yay for them!   Let the craziness begin. :)  
The other thing I've been struggling with is this food journey I'm on.  I've mentioned before that we are trying to eat healthier and real foods,, not the processed stuff.  We still had some snacky type stuff and the kids have been eating that but now we are pretty much out of it all.  So its up to me to make everything homemade.  That takes a lot more work,, I feel like I spend so much more time now in the kitchen cooking and then cleaning up.  But I guess its worth it for our health.  

Whew,,,, I hope you all don't think this was a big whiny complaining post.   I can honestly say I've been so happy with my life lately.  I feel so blessed with my kids and husband.  He and I have been getting along beautifully lately!  I just feel like there are not enough hours in the day. :)  Now its off to work. 

quick post

Just a quick post to say life is good!  We had another good weekend.  Friday night we had my daughters and sisters b-day parties.  Saturday was soccer then Bennie helped put up a fence at moms house and we hung out over there.  Sunday it rained but my husband still went out and put up our new fence around the garden to keep the critters out.  I'm really happy with the way it looks!  It makes me smile and I cant wait to get the rest of it planted!  I'm hoping to get a new camera card soon so I can post some more pics on here!

Getting outside,,,finally!

I can not say enough how much I LOVE that we have been able to get outside every morning and afternoon this week!  Its been beautiful outside.  It makes the day seem to go by so much faster, when we get out in the morning the kids seem to go down for nap soooo much easier, and its just plain nice to get the fresh air! 

We went out this morning and I worked some in my side flower bed.  It still needs more work but the  5 year old day care kid kept complaining about being hot!  Hopefully I can get back out there later and finish the job.... I've got a few thing planted in the garden and today I noticed radishes coming up and a couple of green onions popping through! Sooo exciting for me!  We need to get some dirt so I can plant the new addition to the garden we have added this year so I can get some more things planted.   I love the thought of growing our own food. Its so much fun and I know exactly where its coming from.  

Yesterday was my oldest birthday. She turned 12!  We took her out to Pizza Hut for dinner(her request) and I mentioned to the waitress that it was her birthday.  Well as we were finishing up our meal the whole pizza hut crew came over and sang to her and brang her a little cake.. She was so embarrassed, it was funny.  And super nice I thought cause we didnt ask them to sing and they didnt charge us for the cake.   I think she had a good birthday.  She set up her own facebook account, which she has been waiting for 2 years for. LOL,,, of course I have her password and we are friends on there so I can monitor what she is doing.. You just can't be to careful now a days.          I need to go make lunch for the hungry kiddos now, have a great day everyone.

A great mother's day

Another lovely weekend was had here!  Saturday morning the 2 oldest kids had soccer games.  They both did amazing.  I'm really proud of of those 2.  They have both improved so much over the years and they both enjoy playing soccer a lot!  I also went to the farmers market Saturday morning and got some fresh eggs, meat, jalapeno mustard(which is very yummy!), some more rhubarb, and a dish scrubby thing. :)   After the soccer games we picked up Jessie's friend so she could have her birthday sleepover.  She will be 12 tomorrow!  I can not believe I will be the mother of a 12 year old that is going into the 7th grade next year!  It's so hard for me to wrap my head around.  I still feel pretty young at heart and to think that I've been a mom for 12 years is crazy~  The girls had fun,, they made and decorated some cupcakes all by themselves

Arn't they cute!   Then after that we took them bowling which was pretty fun.  Jess is a pretty good bowler, she beat me the first game!  She must take off after her daddy. 

Sunday was Mother's Day.  Hubby had asked me what I wanted to do on mothers day and I said I didnt want to cook or clean.  Well for the first time in 12 years he really tried hard to make it a good mother's day for me!  He let me sleep in!  And when I woke up he had cleaned the kitchen and living room and was in the process of cleaning the bathroom!!!!!!!  Then he made us all omelets.  We went to a local lake/park and met up with my mom, grandparents, and sisters and we hung out and let the kids play and got pizza and had a picnic.  The sun was shining and it was a beautiful day outside.   I was happy that hubby was able to fish while we were there because he had worked so hard here at home, he deserved to get to do something he likes to do to.  We came home and he then cleaned the bedroom!!!!    I can not explain how wonderful this all was for me and how amazed I am that he did all this. .Anyone that really knows my husband knows that this is very not normal!  I am so proud of him and love him soooo much!    The kids had made a few things at school for me and gotten me a few seed packets of flowers.  So I planed them in a few pots out in the front yard.   We also got some seeds planted out in the garden.  I can't wait til they start popping up and we can have fresh veggies we grew ouselves!   

So I can defiantly say this was my best mother's day ever!  It's so nice to feel appreciated every once in a while and he said that thats why he did it, so I know that even though he doesnt show it he really does love and appreciate everything that I do!!

HOMEMADE TORTILLAS

Have you ever looked at the list of ingredients on a package of tortillas in the store?  Its a long list of words I can't pronounce.  I decided very spur of the moment yesterday try out making some on my own.  After a bit of research I found one I liked that used only 4 ingredients(and I could pronounce all of them). 

white whole wheat flour
salt
butter
water

Can't get much simpler than that!  Here's what I did:

1. Mix together 2 cups flour and 1t.salt

2.Cut in 1/4 cup of slightly softened butter (you do not need a fancy pastry cutter for this.  I took 2 butter knifes and held them together and cut the butter in) til it starts to look crumbly

3.Then add you add 1/2 cup water.  Mix and toss with a fork, then kneed for a couple of minutes.  Then u take it and put it in the fridge for at least 4 hrs. 

4. Take dough out of the fridge and let it come to room temperature.  Make around 8-10 balls depending on how big you want them.  Flour a surface and roll the balls out until they are as flat as you can get them.  I rolled out then flipped over and rolled some more.  Heat a ungreased griddle to 400degrees and place tortillas on it for about 20 seconds until they start to brown and bubble on that side then flip them over until the other side it browned.  

It's that easy!  Eat right away or store in fridge or freezer!   I only made this one batch yesterday, but next time I think I'll double or triple the batch.  My family LOVED them.  I also figure them to be a lot cheaper than the good whole wheat ones you would buy in the store.

Here is the stack I made,, mine were not perfectly round,, but really,, who cares?

And here's one with some goodies in it.

My three year old helped me roll out the little balls and had a great time. She said it was like playing with play dough.  I made these with the intention of making enchiladas but Emma and I just had to taste one before we rolled them all up and covered them with sauce.   Yummy!

Rhubarb Crisp

Yesterday afternoon I made my first trip to the farmers market!  There wasn't a whole lot of booths due to it being a weekday but they said Saturday morning there will be lots more.  I bought some fresh rhubarb and came home and made rhubarb crisp for the first time. It was very yummy and my family gobbled up every last bite!  Here is the recipe that I got it from, I used the second one down called Crumbly Topped Rhubarb and I made just a few substitutions.

Ingredients:


3 c Young Rhubarb; Unpeeled And Diced

1 T Unbleached White Whole Wheat Flour

1/2 c Organic Sugar

1 t Cinnamon

1/8 t Sea Salt

1 T ;Water

6 T Butter
6 T Unbleached White Whole Wheat Flour

1/2 c Organic Brown Sugar; Firmly Packed

1/2 c Rolled Oats;
Preheat the oven to 350 Degrees F. In a 9x13 baking dish, combine the first 6 ingredients (this made a very thin desert, next time I might try a 9x9 pan). Cream the butter with the flour and brown sugar, then stir in the oats. Sprinkle over the rhubarb. Bake in  oven, 350 Degrees F., for 40 minutes or until the rhubarb is tender and the top is brown.


Like I said, it was great!  I might play around with it next time and try and replace the sugar with honey or maple syrup for a more natural sweetener.  

I'm going back Saturday and hoping to buy some free range farm fresh eggs and some local meat.  The people that were there last night were quite expensive and I know of another lady that is supposed to have her meat a little cheaper. I'm hoping she will be there Saturday.  I also bought a bar of homemade natural soap which is delightful!  

Weekend recap and more

I had the most amazing weekend!  Last Wednesday at about 9pm my husband called me and said he was asked to bowl a state tournament in Richmond (which is about 3 hrs away).  The guy that was supposed to bowl ended up getting sick and hospitalized so he needed a replacement.  It was already paid for so he would just have to pay for a hotel room cause he would need to bowl Saturday morning at 10 and Sunday morning at 8:30am.  He said he really wanted to go and he wanted me to go with him.  At first I was very hesitant because I only had 2 days to find a babysitter for all 3 kids, plus the two older would have a soccer game Sat. morning,, and little Emma has only stayed away over night about 3 times total in her whole 3 in a half years.  He told me not to worry about it and just call my mom cause he really wanted me to go with him.  So the next morning I gave her a call and she said yes!  I booked us a room and told the kids(who were actually very excited). 
We left super early Saturday morning so we could drop the kids off and be there by 9am for check in to the bowling tournament.  The tournament went well and after that we couldnt check in to our hotel til 3 so we found a mall and walked around there for a little while.  Then we checked into our hotel and relaxed for a little while.  There was a Red Lobster right across the street so we ate there for dinner then went back to the hotel and just hung out, enjoyed a few drinks, and had a blast just being with each other alone without the kiddos.  It makes me so happy that after 13 years we can still have so much fun together.  When we are home we do tend to argue more than necessary.  I think its just the pressure of life, kids, work and all that other stuff cause when you get us away and alone we are like 2 kids just having fun.  The next morning we were up bright and early to be there by 8 and he bowled some more.   It totally reminded me of the first few years of our relationship when I used to go and watch him bowl.  It was just plain FUN!   After that ended it was time to head home and pick up the kiddos.  They had a great time at nana's house.  They made their own kites~   Then we had to go to Hacienda at 5:30 for my mom's birthday dinner.  That was a good time too. 

All that eating out did me in though cause somehow over the weekend I managed to gain 7 pounds!!  Makes me so mad, but it also goes to prove eating healthy and at home and not all that over processed junk is the right thing to do!  Hopefully most of the weight is from all the sodium cause I dont think I really gained that much...hope not anyways.    One thing about not eating so much processed stuff is it leaves little room for snacks.  So I'm on a quest to make my own.  Over the next week I have plans to make a homemade goldfish type cracker, granola bars, and mini chocolate chip muffins made from whole wheat flour.    I'm having issues finding a store bought bread that we actually like to, so right now I've got some dough working for me in the bread maker and am hoping this turns out to be a recipe we enjoy and that it can replace our store bought bread.   I'll keep you all informed on how these new recipes turn out!

Emma's checkup and our weekend

Today was Emmas 3 yr old check up.  My "little" girl weighs 42 pounds and is 42 inches tall.  A pound for every inch. LOL.  She is such a big girl now!  She really doesnt look chubby anymore though because she is so tall.  Shes beautiful and I love her!   We do have some worries about her still not recognizing her colors.  The doctor gave her a eye exam and she didnt do to well.  He told me to continue working with her and call back in 6 months and if she hasnt improved any he will refer her to a pediatric optomologist.   Hopefully it is just her being stubborn and there isnt actually anything wrong with her. 

We had a good Easter weekend.  We went to my sisters Saturday afternoon to celebrate the occasion

 Heres all the troops heading out for the egg hunt

 Do you see the egg?  She doesn't. :)

 And here's Emma checking out all her goodies that were inside her eggs.

We had a nice time. Then Sunday morning we just stayed home and I made a nice big turkey dinner.  It was yummy.  I've been doing lots of going through things and organizing still.  I'm getting quite the collection for a garage sale this summer!

Weekly weigh in and my new way of thinking

I'm very excited this morning!  I don't know if anyone has been paying attention but every Friday I've been updating my weight losses on the side bar.  I've been lucky enough to loose at least a little every week.  So far my total loss is 13.4 pounds, I lost 3.4 just this week.  And guess what??  I didn't count my points for weight watchers.  gasp.....    I actually haven't counted any points for about a week and a half.  I wanted to see what would happen.  So what did I do to lose you ask.  Well I ate healthy, whole foods.  After lots of research, reading and watching a few documentaries, I have decided this is the way to go.  Our bodies want natural foods, not the processed junk that I've been feeding my family for,,,well pretty much thier whole lives.  I have not given up all processed foods but I'm trying my hardest to really lessen the amount that we eat.  I've also learned that all the fat free/low fat stuff really is not that good for us.  yeah they remove the fat but then they usually add all artificial sweeteners and other junk that isnt really all that good for us.  Fat is not the enemy and our body needs some healthy fat in our foods.  When we eat regular food our body feels fuller so we can eat less and feel satisfied.  I lot of my own personal issue has been learning when my body is satisfied and to not over stuff myself.    A lot of my issue has been the cost of things, organic mainly.  But after all the research I've done I've decided that we are worth the little extra cost, and honestly if we cut out buying all the extra junk then the whole thing will problay balance itself out in the grocery department.  
The biggest change for me I think is in the meat department.  I WILL NOT be buying just any type of meat or eggs from the grocery any more.  There is a family farm that I guess is not to far from me and I am going to hopefully start buying from there.  It is horrible and sicking what goes on in our mass food production in this country and after watching horrible videos I can not participate in the cruelty ever again.  The last one I watched was around 13 minutes long and I could only watch about 4 before I had to shut it off.  I will never be a vegetarian but I will not give my money to those people anymore.    I am not trying to change anyone elses views.  People have the knowledge and resources to see and judge on their own.   I can't control what we eat when we are not home and I will still eat whatever food I am served at others homes, I am not purchasing that stuff so in my mind that makes it a little better.      I'm having a hard time getting my husband on board with the whole thing but I Think he understands now that my mind is made up and there is not a whole lot he can do about it.  He still loves me so its all good.  He just says he doesnt want to hear about it. 

Like I said I am not trying to sway anyones views, but I will post a couple of links just in case you are interested:

the movie Food Inc is a great one,,, its streaming on netflix for those that have that
another good one is King Corn
another is Food Matters,,I think all of these movies are on Netflix.
A  good blog is 100 days of real food

I'm not even gonna link to the horrible video that changed my life forever as far as meat is concerned....if you really wanna watch it though let me know and I'll tell ya where to find it. 

Have a great Easter weekend everyone.

I'm still alive

I haven't fallen off the face of the Earth.  Although there was a point over the past week that I was wishing I had.  I had mentioned in my last post the by back was bothering me, well it got extremely bad.  So bad that I went to a urgent care facility and they sent me over to the hospital to have a Cat Scan done on my lower abdomen.  We were all thinking that I had a cyst on my ovary or something was going wrong in that department due to it happening every month but this time was like no other.  I could barely move.  The scan ended up showing no abnormalities so the doc said it must just be a issue with my back.  For over a week I was in extreme pain, worse than anything I had felt before, finally now its slowly starting to get back to normal.  The pain is still there a little but its much better today.  Thats why I wasnt posting, I couldnt hardly sit up long enough to type out a post.   It all still leaves me wondering though if it isnt something more than just a back issue, especially since it happens monthly.  I am just praying that it doesnt happen like this again next month.  I have a appt at the gyno next Tuesday morning so we will see what they say.

Anyways things have been kinda rough here, mainly due to that.  My husband has a weird reaction to when people get sick or are in pain.  He has no sympathy and almost gets mad.  He barely talked to me over the last week.  Its been hard, but hopefully things will start improving now that I'm on the mend.  My oldest, Jess, was a big help but besides that I was pretty much on my own around here. 

I've had a lot more on my mind but I think thats all for today. I mainly just wanted to let everyone know what was going on......soccer season has begun for the kiddos.  Lifes gonna be getting busy!

Quick thoughts

It's getting late and I'm tired.  I'm sitting here waiting for my 3rd shift child care kid to come so I can head to bed.  I'm feeling very grumpy tonight,, I dont like feeling this way.  My lower back is KILLING me.  This has been happening to me every month.  The pain is darn near unbearable.  I'm thinking it has something to do with my monthly cycle because it happens every single month.  It's not cramps, its all in my back but it seems to happen a week or two before my period starts.  Not sure why.  It makes doing almost everything painful and hard.   My laundry is piling up something fierce,, I've  been doing some just havent taken the time to fold or put away.  I have to get on top of that tomorrow. 

Another reason I'm so aggravated is the last 3 weeks my grocery bill has been outrageous!  Since I started weight watchers I've been buying different kinds of foods.  My bill has been crazy.  I've been thinking a lot and I dont wanna buy fat free everything,,, I wanna still be able to make food from scratch, and eat whole healthy natural food.  Not buy processed stuff because its easier to count the points that way.   Ugh,,,, It is working, but I think I could still continue to loose weight buy watching my portions and eating healthy.  I'm paid up for 3 months before I have to renew my subscription again.  I might not do it.  

We have been very loose lately with our spending also.  We have made a lot of big purchased over the past few months..And while we did pay cash and didnt use credit to buy any of it I think its time to buckle down again and really watch  where our money is going.  We have a fun thing planned for Memorial Day weekend and I wanna make sure we have plenty of cash for that and yet still have money in the bank when we come home.  

Well she's here now, so I"m off to brush my teeth, let the doggie out and head to my awesome bed... Some days I really wish I could just stay in there all day and sleep the day away...haha.

Me

Ok,, just cause mom to 9 called me a meanie(LOL)  here's a picture of my hair.  It's not super diffrent, just got a lot more layers.  So I'm thinking of going with blonde hightlights all around my face. How do you all think that would look?

Monday

It's Monday-----need I say more?  haha

Our weekend was ok.  The birthday party Friday night was super fun. Then we came home and did Karaoke, put the kids to bed, and ended up staying up way to late., again!  It wasnt nearly as fun as normal due to me and hubby getting into a pretty heated argument.  I just wanted to go to bed  but that didnt happen,, he doesnt get that he may be used to staying up all night for work, but I'm not.  It was 4:30 before I finally got to sleep and I had to be up by 7:30 to get ready and go to that 31 party with my mom.  Needless to say I was dragging all day Saturday.  The 31 party was fun though.  I ordered myself a cute little apron.  I've always wanted a cute apron to wear around while I'm cooking and cleaning.  The lady that was hosting the party had the one I ordered on and she looked super cute.  She was a lot smaller than me though so I hope it looks as cute on me as it did her.  I also ordered a thermal picnic bag type thing so when we go to the lakes and on outings this summer we can keep our cold stuff cold.  I spent more than I was planning on but oh well, we've all gotta treat ourselves every once in a while right? 
Then on Saturday afternoon we ended up going to Manards and getting something we have wanted to have forever.  Its kinda like a portable screened in gazebo.  Its got a roof and screens all the way around it that you can zip closed.  We are gonna connect it to our back porch so we can be out there even if its sprinkling rain and stuff , plus it will give us some extra shade in the summer time.  I'm super excited about it. 
We were in bed by ten Saturday night and I ended up sleeping in til 11 on Sunday morning, thanks to hubby.  I really needed that!  Then I took the big kids to see the new Diary of a Wimpy kid movie, I had promised them I'd take them to see it while they were on Spring Break, they both had gift cards to the movies.  So we got that outta the way so I didnt have to hear them asking when we were gonna go all week.  It was a cute funny movie. 
So that brings us to today,, I've been catching up on laundry and all that other fun stuff that comes with this day of the week.  Its raining outside. :(  All the kids are being rather lazy today,, I actually just got Emma dressed and its almost 3pm. LOL  I need to go clean up her room as they trashed it this morning.  OH the joys. 

Random thoughts

-Im so glad its Friday, normally Im full of energy on Fridays but today I'm dragging and have a massive headache.

-Tonight were going to my sisters 26th b-day party at my mom's house and tomorrow morning I'm going to a 31 party with my mom. (never been to one and not quite sure what to expect).

-This morning I watched my neighbors kids for a few hours.  It was fun but I was reminded that having a 1 yr old, 2 yr old, two 3 yr olds, and a  5 yr old is a LOT of work.  There wasnt much sitting down for me here this morning.

-Next week is spring break for the kiddos which means it will be full and crazy around here....really hoping for some nice weather!

-I think I hear Emma messing around in her bedroom right now, this will be the 3rd day in a row that she has not went to sleep during nap time. 

-Today's April Fools day, Ben texted me this morning and told me he had to work tonight( this was supposed to be his first Friday night off in a month),,,,I was to smart for that though and told him I knew it was April fools!

-I got my hair cut last night,  No I dont look like Kesha but I am seriously thinking of going in Sunday and getting something the lady said was called focused foil highlights so the top of my hair will be blonde.  Then I can be the rock star mom that Jess wants me to be. :)

-Jess fully admits to me that all her friends and she thinks I'm totally awesome!  I love that!  But as she is getting older I know there will be a fine line that cant be crossed when it comes to being a friend/mom to her.  I still want to be able to talk openly with her about things but hope she will react well when she tells me something that I dont agree with and I have to tell her no or something to that extent.

-I'm hoping for another fun filled weekend with the family!   I've also been thinking its about time me and hubby had a night out soon.

Have a great weekend all!

Hairstyle rambles

The sun is shining outside!  Its only 44 degrees but it look beautiful out there!  The brightness always puts me in a better mood.  Jess has been begging me to take her and get her hair cut and I need one too so I think maybe tonight well head out and get it done.  I'm thinking for me I'm gonna try and get a style like the one in the Ke$ha tick tock video.  I know, I know, I'm not a young and crazy pop star,,and look nothing like her, but I think I've got the naturally wavy hair to pull it off.  I need something that's gonna be easy and I will like cause I put my hair in a messy pony tail like every single day!  I dont wanna do that,, this style looks naturally messy so maybe I could pull it off. :)   Now,, maybe I'll go blonde too.  hahaha....  I used to be a blonde,, naturally.  Something happened as I got older and it seems to darken every single day!  I hate it....I guess I should be grateful that at least there isnt any grey yet!   

Tomorrow is weigh in day!  I'm doing fairly well here lately so I think it should be a loss.  I'm so ready for it to get warm so I can get out for walks around the neighborhood.     Well thats it for today.  Tomorrows Friday!  Woo HOO

Sleepy Monday

I am so tired today.  My eyelids are heavy and my body feels like a rock.  We stayed up late Saturday night so I only got about 6 hrs sleep, I was tired yesterday but didn't think I'd still be paying for it today :(   Is that a sign of me getting older?  We sure did have fun Saturday night though,  We've been doing karaoke night every Saturday,, we just chill, sing, dance and have a blast.   The kids love it,,,well its not Gary's favorite thing but he tolerates it. Emma and Jess LOVE it though!

I've got a house full today here. They are loud and full of energy,, ornery too!  I'm really wishing it would warm back up again so we can go outside and run around to play.    My grandma that goes to Florida every winter should be arriving home today!  Were so excited.  I'm a  little bummed cause I probably wont be able to get out to see her until Wednesday night though.  The 3rd shift girl I watch is coming early the next two days so by the time my last kid leaves and we got over to granny's house it would be about time to turn around and come back home :(    That's one of the downsides to practically babysitting around the clock.

So anyways, today I'm trying to catch up on laundry and figure out a menu plan for the week cause I need go go grocery shopping.  Really hoping I get some energy soon!