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Halloween 2011 = Best Halloween Ever if You Ask My Boys

2011-11-01T21:49:00.000-05:00

There have been a lot of firsts for Halloween in our family this year:

First pumpkin carving (we're not especially creative, so we've always just drawn on the pumpkins)

First preschool party for my littlest guy.

First elementary class party for our kindergartner & costume parade.

First brothers wearing brothers costumes.

First Dad with a mustache. Hehehe

First ending of the night with their glowing pumpkins!

A very successful Halloween and we're all excited for the Holiday season upon us!

So, Yeah...

2011-09-03T08:08:00.000-05:00

I've basically failed at yet another challenge, meme, what have you. I just don't know why I can't buckle down for just 3 weeks to do a blog challenge. There are parts of days 8 - 21 that I have done and even drafted partial posts for, but never got around to posting about them. I will probably address them later in the blog and I really do want to do all 21 days at some point even if it's not in successive days. Even if I never finish all of the days and blog about them, I definitely think doing the Gratitude Challenge (albeit only half-heartedly) has been a success for me. I've learned to be more grateful for what I have and to let those around me know that I am grateful for them. Now I just need to keep it up!

Gratitude Challenge Day 7 - Photo of Gratefulness

2011-08-15T12:58:00.000-05:00

Today's action is to take a picture of a thing, person, place or moment that makes me feel grateful.

This photo does that for me.

I am so grateful today for these two little dudes. As we move into the next phase of our family life with a kindergartner and preschooler I am so excited for the future. They were both so happy walking up to the school and having E see his big brother off for the day. The moment we had as we walked is one I will never forget.

No matter what else gets handed to us in this life, I will always know that I love these boys and they love me.

Phew...all caught up!!

Gratitude Challenge Day 6 - Appreciation of Others

2011-08-15T12:49:00.000-05:00

Day 6 of the Gratitude Challenge (which was yesterday) asks us to call someone we haven't talked to in awhile and let them know how much we appreciate them.

I didn't actually do this one quite the way it asked. I talk to most of those close to me on a very regular basis either by phone, email, facebook, texting, etc. I also try to tell them how much I appreciate them as much as possible. It means so much to me that my mom, my friends and my closest family members want to talk with me and spend time with me. Having their support means the world to me.

I think it means more to continually be grateful for those in our lives and to let them know that often, instead of just calling them out of the blue.

Gratitude Challenge Day 5 - Grateful for My Blessings in Photographs

2011-08-15T12:36:00.000-05:00

I'm a little behind with posting the Gratitude Challenges. We had a very busy weekend preparing for our son's first day of kindergarten today!!

Day 5 of the Gratitude Challenge was to take stock of all of the blessings I have instead of longing for what I don't have.

My wonderful husband

My awesome stepson

Our determined kindergartner

Our mischievous preschooler

Our wonderful families (pic from our wedding almost 7 years ago!)

Our one vehicle with low mileage and minimal maintenance

Our rental home

So many other blessings too!!

Gratitude Challenge Day 4 - Thankful for the Negative

2011-08-12T22:46:00.000-05:00

The Gratitude Challenge for today is a message of thanks for some of the "negatives" in my life. It's tough to be thankful for the negative as a general pessimist these days, but here goes nothing.

I am thankful that we are not in a position to own a home at this time. As renters it is wonderful not to have to worry about home/appliance repairs when our bank account is already stretched. It is also nice, not to worry so much about job loss in such a high unemployment period because we don't have a mortgage that we would be worried about covering.

I am thankful to have moved out onto our own in Nebraska and away from almost everything/everyone we know. I miss my family and friends desperately some days, but this is so good for us as a family. We have a lot more time as a family since my husband works from home and I stay at home with the boys. We've been able to dig out from some debt since the move and that is so freeing.

I am thankful for my temper and penchant for going off the handle. I like to think of it as passion, but I know it's not usually a good thing. I have watched my children start to imitate that behavior though and it has taught me to be more patient and take a step back. I do not want my children to have a temper like I do or overreact like I do.

I am thankful for every part of my life, good or bad, as it has shaped who I am today.

Gratitude Challenge Day 3 - Money in the Bank

2011-08-11T23:18:00.001-05:00

Today's activity for the Gratitude Challenge is to write about something I am grateful for in my life today. It may not be much, but I'm grateful for money in the bank these days. A huge reason for our move last year was to get us out of debt and out of the red every month. My husband and I were both working full-time jobs (my husband even had a couple part-time jobs over the past couple years) and we still struggled to pay the bills every month.

With two boys in full-time daycare, two vehicles to maintain with 50 mile daily commutes on both of them and student loans to pay off we were sinking. A good portion of what I made went to pay our childcare expenses and it just didn't add up. We chose to make a leap of faith and move somewhere that might make it easier for us to save some money and provide a better life for our children.

We don't have a lot extra now since we live on one income, but we made some sacrifices. We traded in our vehicles that both needed a lot of work done and we still had a payment on one for ONE newer minivan. It can be tough to be a one car family, but it's working for us and financially saves us a ton right now. The little extra that we do have now though is such a blessing. I can go get my haircut and not worry if we have the funds or take the boys out for a fun day and amazingly enough we can pay our monthly bills on time, not when the late fees start adding up worrying that our services might get turned off.

I am grateful for that money in the bank, even if it's no fortune.

Gratitude Challenge Day 2 - Boy, Do I Need It

2011-08-10T23:34:00.002-05:00

I have been in a terrible mood today. I don't know why, but everything seems to be setting me off. I am grateful today for this challenge, because I can sit down now and focus on the task for Day 2 - making a list of things I am grateful for using the alphabet:

A -- AUTUMN - I can't wait for my favorite season to begin. The changing leaves, wearing sweaters, the cool in the air, the smells of baking - I love it!
B -- B, my stepson - Such an awesome big brother and a great kid.
C -- My other home, COLORADO - I miss it something fierce sometimes and love how often we can make trips back to visit family and friends.
D -- My DAD - The strong and sometimes silent type, he's such a fantastic dad.
E -- E, my littlest dude - He's so cuddly, sweet and mischievous. I just want to snuggle with him all day.
F -- My FRIENDS - Some I've had for years and years and some that I've become unbelievably close to in a very short time, I love them like sisters.
G -- GOD - My faith in the Lord is my rock.
H -- My HUSBAND - My biggest cheerleader and loves me always even in my crazy moments.
I -- The INTERNET - How else would I stay in contact with all my loved ones back in Colorado?
J -- My husband's JOB - It allows me to be a stay at home mom for now.
K -- Sweet KISSES from my boys, even if they wipe them off as soon as I walk away!
L -- The LIBRARY - I've gotten back into reading the past couple years. The relaxation I get from it is kind of a getaway for me.
M -- My MOM - She's my best friend and is an amazing listener.
N -- N, my kindergartner - He is so compassionate with others and has the most awesome facial expressions! He cracks up everyone he meets.
O -- Being an ONLY child - I got lots of attention as a child and was able to experience and try out many things since my parents didn't have other kids to provide for.
P -- The POOL in our complex - It's wonderful to have it available every day to enjoy with the boys to cool down and wear them out!
Q -- The amount of QUIET time I get late at night when everyone else in the house has gone to bed, one of the benefits of being married to a morning person when you are a night person.
R -- Our RENTAL home - not owning a home at our ages can be hard to swallow sometimes, but home is what you make it.
S -- The SCHOOL district here in Omaha - My son will be starting kindergarten in 4 days. Full day kindergarten for free, no fees (besides school lunches) and only a requested donation for school supplies. We're very grateful as a family on a budget.
T -- My children's future TEACHERS - After a summer home with them and I realized I am not cut out to teach them what they need to learn in school. I am so grateful for those who choose to teach all our children.
U -- Comfortable UNDERWEAR - If my underthings are comfortable, then so am I and I carry myself better.
V -- VIDEO games - I love the downtime I get when I play some Super Mario Bros and the family time we get when we all play the Wii.
W -- I am looking forward to WINTER - It has been a very hot, humid past couple of months and I am ready for to the cold and snow.
X -- The movie/song XANADU - It's the ringtone my mom has for me on her phone, because I used to love watching that movie with her as a child. I love that she still thinks of that.
Y -- Memories of YOUTH - Facebook and other Internet connections have allowed me to remember and appreciate what a fun and blessed childhood I had.
Z -- The Omaha ZOO - It's probably the best zoo in the country apart from the San Diego Zoo. We love taking the boys for the day.

That took a lot longer than I thought it would, but it was very refreshing and opened my eyes quite a bit. Here's to another day of being grateful!

Gratitude Challenge Day 1 - Welcome Back!

2011-08-09T23:03:00.002-05:00

I have been considering trying to revive this little blog for awhile, but I couldn't really figure out how I wanted to do that. A few days ago a friend started the Gratitude Challenge, a 21-day project to think about the little things in life that we are grateful for. I find myself every day getting more negative and less positive. I tend to worry about anything and everything in my life, so optimism hasn't come naturally to me. The pessimism though...that's kind of new. I don't want to be unhappy and I want to take time to "smell the roses" and not to "sweat the small things" every day.

Therefore, Challenge ACCEPTED!

The first day of the challenge is to sign the contract and commit to take note and give thanks over the next 21 days. My goal at the end is that I might find a little more peace, patience and optimism with where my life is and is going. I hope that 21 days of this project will also get me in the habit of blogging regularly.

Excited for Tornado Season!

2011-02-09T15:37:00.000-06:00

Actually, no excited is not really the word, more like terrified.

We knew that one of the things we would have to deal with by moving to Eastern Nebraska would be more chance of tornadoes. I'm pretty scared of them and the one we had back in Aurora last year was definitely way too close for comfort. My fears are not nearly what they were when I was younger, but they still put me in a bit of a panic.

What brought me to this topic while we're still in the middle of winter and tornado season won't start for a few more months? I had a crazy dream a few nights ago about being in the middle of a horrible tornado filled storm.

I remember looking out the window of my home towards a huge empty field, there was a crowd of people standing on the sidewalk out in front of my house looking at the same field. A massive, black cloud shaped like a spider was hanging there in the sky. I heard the sirens and screams next, we began throwing blankets, pillows, the radio, the computer, flashlights down into the basement. We shuffled the kids and dog down next. Then I looked out that same window again and saw one huge storm cloud over the field with funnel cloud after funnel cloud forming on it. That is when the panic set in...it's also when my alarm clock woke me!

I did not like that dream and I was grateful for the yanking of my subconscious from it. I am also grateful for the dream though, because we really should prepare for what these kinds of storms could bring. I am currently working to put together an emergency home kit for our basement, any suggestions for what we should include?

I Love Blog Giveaways!

2011-01-28T17:28:00.000-06:00

I love reading the reviews of new products/companies, checking out those products/companies, entering the giveaways and especially winning blog giveaways!

In the past year, I've won a few different giveaways:
- A gift card for an online store and products from a direct sales company (both won from Katie Talks About)
- A dieting/healthy living book (won from Stretching the One Income Dollar)
- A set of pots and pans (from 3 Kids and Us)

It's so fun to play and hope that you get an email that you've won.

I just won my first giveaway of 2011 from 3 Kids and Us, a coupon for a free Sara Lee dessert product, cool!

All of the above linked ladies offer some great giveaways, as well as, other awesome posts throughout the week. Please check them out and sign up for their giveaways, it's so fun to win!

Life sure does change in a year

2011-01-27T18:39:00.000-06:00

It has been just over a year since I last posted here and my life is completely different.

A year ago - We lived in Metro Denver.
Now - We live in eastern Nebraska.

A year ago - I was working full time at a job I desperately wanted to quit.
Now - I am a stay at home mom to my two youngest boys and working to finally start my own business.

A year ago - My stepson lived with us every weekend.
Now - We only see him a few times a year, because his other family also made a huge cross country move.

A year ago - My husband was working as a glorified telemarketer for a company that only cared about the top few salespeople.
Now - My husband has the outside sales job he has always dreamed about.

A year ago - We were drowning in debt and barely keeping our heads above water.
Now - We are gaining ground on that debt and looking to finally purchase our first home later this year.

A year ago - I could never see that this was our future.
Now - I am so excited for all the possibilities.

Just a Quick Funny Today

2010-01-19T13:57:00.002-06:00

My 3 1/2 yr old, N, woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning. He did not want to get out of his jammies and get dressed. He cried and cried and cried about keeping on his jammies. He was actually pouting in the corner and his little brother, E, started to cry a little for who knows what.

All of a sudden N stopped crying and said, "I'm crying, not you, you're fine!" He didn't want to share in his misery this morning, I guess...

Weight Loss Motivational Points

2010-01-14T14:23:00.002-06:00

I have been on this weight loss journey before, but I've never been super serious about making the changes needed to change my life. This time is different, this time I'm going to do it! I am fed up with being so embarrassingly large, completely uncomfortable, always tired and feeling like crap all the time!

What are my other motivational points for finally making this change?

- I want look better on the outside (no more thigh-rubbing, clothes to fit better, feel attractive)
- I want to feel better physically (be stronger, live longer, have more energy)
- I want to feel better emotionally (more self-esteem, confidence, prove to myself that I can do this!)
- I want to be more active (play with my kids, outdoors activities with my family)

I am making changes a little at a time. I know myself too well and if I would have jumped in with both feet by completely giving up soda and unhealthy food, along with, starting an intensive exercise regime, I would have given up almost as quickly as I started. Oh, and by intensive exercise regime, I mean pretty much any exercise as I am really sedentary. I'm start with a change every week to my lifestyle, sometimes they'll be big changes and sometimes they'll be small changes. I'm figuring by the end of February, I will be living the way I plan to for the rest of my life!

I actually started my weight loss journey last Monday, January 4. New Year, New Resolutions! I'm using an awesome resource for my journey, SparkPeople. This site offers so many things from an actual planned diet to exercise tracking to message boards and teams of others trying to lose weight and get healthy, I could go on and on. Please check it out if you want to make a healthy change in your life!

My goal/change for last week (the first week of this journey) was to get 64 oz of water every day!! I only actually made my goal 2 out of 7 days, but I'm still proud of myself. Before that week, I only drank water occasionally, maybe up to two glasses a day, but more often than not I didn't drink water AT ALL. I may have only hit goal twice last week, but two other days I got 3/4 of the way there and I consider it a success. This week is looking to be much better with water intake.

My goal/change for this week is to track through SparkPeople all my food/beverage intake every day. So far, so good. It's pretty eye-opening when I see how many calories, fats, carbs I eat in one day.

Major Goal #1 for 2010

2010-01-13T13:45:00.003-06:00

I am still doing the 101 in 1001 days, I just haven't gotten a chance to post it on the blog yet. I'm still tweeking a couple of the items in the list. In addition to the 101 in 1001, I also have some major goals to accomplish this year. Actually, not really in addition to it, but included in the 101 things.

My first major goal for 2010 is to finally lose an extra 75 pounds I've been carrying around for soooo long. I am super tired of being so tired and feeling like crap. It's time to finally do something about it, so I've started on my way to get there by my birthday in September. I know I can do this!!

One of my friends/fellow bloggers is also on a mission to lose 75 pounds and has started an event on her blog called "75 to 0 in No Time Flat!" Check it out at thinkPINK. She'll be doing product reviews and giveaways throughout the event that will help you lose weight and get healthy!

Stay tuned here too as I update what I'm doing to shed the pounds and get healthy, so I can grow old and watch my kids grow up!!

Not Making Any Promises...

2010-01-02T15:14:00.010-06:00

It's a new year and I'm trying to restart my 101 in 1001 Days, so I've decided to try blogging again.

The past few months have been pretty busy. M got a second job to help our financial situation since sales in his market are down right now. I miss him (so do the kids) when he's working, but I'm so thankful to have a husband that is willing to work so hard to provide for the family. We hosted Thanksgiving at our house with my parents and my in-laws, including my brother-in-law. B and E's birthdays are both in December, along with both of my parents, so birthday celebrations kept us busy, too. B is officially a teenager and isn't that fun. ::please note the sarcasm:: E turned 2 which feels so unreal! I can't believe that it's been two years since this amazing little boy came into our lives. Then came Christmas! We hosted M's family on Christmas Eve and my family on Christmas Day. The boys all got some great stuff and so did we! New Year's celebrations were limited to relaxing at home and watching the ball drop at midnight. Now I'm looking forward to some much needed downtime.

In December we had family pictures done by my good friend, Ann of Ann Goldenberg Photography. Such great photos of the whole family!! It's unbelievable the amount of patience she had with our insane little boys that day. (I'm sure it had something to do with the fact that she has three boys 4 and under herself!!) If you would like her to take your family pics, just let me know and I'll pass along her info.

Here's B, amazingly the teenager was the one smiling through all the craziness of the little guys.

Here's N, he was quite the handful that day...

...and here's E, he was also quite the handful that day!

So here's to an amazing 2010 and more posts from me!!

3 months passed...

2009-08-26T11:30:00.001-05:00

So, I'm just going to dive right back into this as though I haven't disappeared from the blogging world for 3 months. I could blog about a million excuses, but it's just not worth it. No one wants to read that. If you're here reading my blog you probably want to know what is going on with my kids or me or both. So I'll just sum up our summer so far...

- working tons
- lots of rain, which is fine by me I do not like heat AT ALL
- Some visits to the zoo
- baseball for B
- Attempting potty training and failing MISERABLY so far
- Finding out that strep throat is actually a great diet aid (lost 4 1/2 lbs over the last two weeks, YAY)
- Watching my boys grow up so fast
- Beginning of junior high and football for B

Our Disneyland vacation didn't happen, which turned out to be a huge blessing. Myself and the two little goobers did a short trip back to Nebraska in the late spring and that solidified for me that they just aren't ready for a big, busy vacation. Maybe next spring/summer!

The other big news we have going on is that my parents (whom I've never lived more than 30 minutes away from) are moving to Nebraska very soon. I am super excited for this new adventure for them, but really bummed that they won't be nearby. Where they are moving to is only 3 1/2 hours away, so at least it's a quick trip. My dad got a job offer he couldn't pass up that will give my parents the chance to retire at a reasonable age. I do look forward to sharing the fun of visits on my blog though and I plan to keep updating at least for my mom to know what is going on here.

Freedom!!

2009-05-30T20:37:00.002-05:00

The worst month of every two years is finally over at work! Time with my husband and boys has been at a premium when I wasn't at work, so they have been my focus for May.

Not a whole lot else has been going on for the past month. I really hope to be blogging more now.

Off to watch my husband's cousin play in the College World Series for softball. Go Sun Devils!!!

A lot of time with my boys this past month

2009-05-03T21:42:00.003-05:00

Our last month has been hectic with a capital H. We've had baseball...

blizzards...

curiosity...

a trip back to Mommy's roots where N found some of his dad's roots(see hat)...

and the trip back home...

Happy Easter - He is Risen!

2009-04-12T10:44:00.004-05:00

Because the Lord died on the cross for our sins and rose again, so we will have eternal life if we believe in him...

We celebrate this today on Easter.

We also had some fun with kids and did an Easter egg hunt and they got Easter baskets.

They are definitely enjoying the sugar high this morning!!

Praying for Stellan

2009-03-25T12:43:00.002-05:00

I have become a regular reader of this sweet little boy's mom and I can't get him off my mind ever since he went into the hospital. Please pray for him and his family. You can click on the link below to get to her blog.

Wednesday, What's a Wednesday?

2009-03-19T14:15:00.002-05:00

I have officially decided that Wednesday's no longer exist on my calendar!

The past two Wednesdays have been BAD days for us. Last Wednesday was probably worse than yesterday since it included an Emergency Room visit, but they were still both really bad days in my book.

Last Wednesday, N fell on the front porch and did some damage to his mouth. We originally thought he had knocked some teeth out and/or put his teeth through his lip. By the advice of our ped's office and our own feelings we headed to the ER. Fortunately, he just bit into his bottom lip really hard on both sides and scraped his chin. Unfortunately, he did loosen one of his top front teeth and this might not have been a big deal, except for the incident last night. I'm getting ahead of myself though, back to last week... He did need one stitch, for which he was very squirmy (do you know a 2 1/2 year old that would enjoy being held down like that?). He was such a trooper though and got to eat two popsicles!

As if that wasn't enough excitement for the night, when we were getting into the van after leaving the ER he bonked his head on the door and gave himself a nice knot on the forehead!! M even wondered if we should have just gone right back inside to the ER for this (we didn't because this isn't the first time he's gotten a bump on his head and we knew he'd be okay).

Fast forward one week to yesterday...
A week of healing from the incident last week behind us,
Stitch appears to have dissolved as it was supposed to,
Scrapes are healing,
Bump on the head is gone with just a little bruise left,
AND then...

My little dude takes a faceplant into the deck in our backyard! Out runs Mommy to find that N has lost the loose tooth! Now thankfully that is pretty much all that has happened. At first, I really didn't think it was a big deal, I just figured, oh well, he'll just have a missing tooth until his adult tooth comes in. However, shortly after it happened I had to run an errand and I was all alone. That's when it really hit me what happened and I lost it. I just want to keep my little guys safe and I felt like a failure because two weeks in a row my son really hurt himself. I did eventually talk to some girlfriend's, some with little guys too, and realized that I'm going to deal with this for the rest of their lives!

Next Wednesday will not exist for me. I don't know how I'm going to get rid of it, but I just know I can't make it through another Wednesday!

Planning the First "Real" Family Vacation

2009-03-10T21:37:00.003-05:00

We've been married for 4 1/2 years and haven't taken a true family vacation in that time. Yes, we've done a few trips back to NE to visit family, but I don't consider that a vacation per se. Yes, we've gone on a vacation to Seattle, but that was just M & I.

I got a wild hair last week and decided it was time to start planning that first family vacation. We have been wanting to take the boys on a vacation for some time. Where are we planning to go?

Why that would be...

DISNEYLAND!!

I am so excited to be planning this trip! We are planning to go this June/July and what a great time to plan for. All of the attractions don't charge for children under 3 years old, so as long as we go before mid-July we've got two boys that we don't have to pay for. We already know that the two little guys might not remember anything from the trip, but we want our oldest to see Disneyland through a kid's eyes with us (he's been to Disney World, but that was with his mom and stepdad's family).

We also know we are going to have our hands full. That's why my parents are planning to come along!! YAY!! I am so super excited.

Who's super lame?

2009-03-06T14:15:00.001-06:00

Why, that would be me!!

I was informed by a girlfriend last Saturday night that I need to get back blogging and she's so very right, but it has still taken me almost a week to post anything. I haven't been very good about blogging regularly and I've got so much going on (in life and in my head) that I really need to be blogging.

I constantly start posts, but never end up publishing them or even finishing them. By the time I get back to it, I'm so far past the moment it I can't even remember what I was going to write about or how to finish the post.

So even though this is super short, I just wanted to say I'm still here and I really do want to keep blogging. I will be back soon when I can find something cool to write about!

Anonymous

2009-02-12T14:45:00.000-06:00

There are those times that I really wish my blog was anonymous. Now is one of those times. I have so many things going on right now that I really need to just get it out of my system on here, but I can't. Too many eyes around and too many opportunities to be found.

I find myself feeling any one of a number of emotions lately. Frustrated, sad, untrusting, tired, angry, anxious, concerned, hurt...the list could go on and on. I have tried to stay positive on the blog because I don't want to sound like a whiner all the time. I also know that the Internet is huge and anyone in the world could see this.

Just know that if you are reading this that I could use some prayers to find some patience and some guidance. I know he is up there listening to me, I just need to be quiet and listen for him.

Update on the 101 List

2009-02-06T13:00:00.000-06:00

I haven't done an update in awhile on the progress of my 101 list. Unfortunately, I haven't done spectacularly and I think I may have been a little too agressive with the list. I am trying to be a more positive person though, so I will choose to focus on what I have done/completed, instead of where I'm lacking. I still have 900 and some odd days left for this.

So here we go...

#4 My list says 3 times a month, in January I went twice. One of those two times I was actually at Women's Retreat with my mom for the weekend, but I'm counting it. I'm pretty disappointed I didn't make it more because I am really interested in the topic our pastor presented, EcomoME. Fortunately, our church's web site has all the sermon's on audio and video to download. I am looking forward to at least watching one of the sermons I missed this weekend.

#8 Monthly email or love letter to my hubby, I wrote it today. I am excited to share it with him and I think I might hide it in his wallet tonight, so he will find it unexpectedly. I would be shocked if he reads my blog, so I'm not worried that I just gave it away.

#17 This is the second of my tasks that I completed from the list. I got email addresses set-up for the boys and I am going to sit down this weekend and write my first of hopefully many emails to my kids.

#28 We haven't done this yet, so I didn't check it off the list. We are planning to take the boys to the zoo tomorrow as long as the weather remains comfortable. I am really looking forward to it. Packing up the wagon, a cooler of food and drinks, seeing all the animals, what's not fun about that?

#54 Our Crock-Pot meal for the week is currently in the slow cooker. It's a cheat meal though, one of those prepackaged frozen meals, Meatballs & Stroganoff. I'm going to make some Bisquick biscuits and a veggie when I get home from work to go with it.

#75 This is the first item I have completed. It's private, but let me just say I am very proud of myself for completing it.

#81 I posted 5 blog entries in January. I had really hoped that it would be 10 every month, but I'm working on it.

#86 I read "For Women Only: What You Need to Know about the Inner Lives of Men by Shaunti Christine Feldhahn" in January. It was recommended to me a few of months ago by a couple in our bible study group. M is reading the guys version of the book right now. I liked the book, but it wasn't as enlightening as I had hoped. It was a quick read and I enjoyed discussing it with my husband though. I think it would have been more interesting had we used it for our small group to discuss (there are available discussion books to go with it).

#87 We watched "Forgetting Sarah Marshall" in January. It was funny, but it had a lot of inappropriate themes. I realized after watching it just how insensitive we as a society have become to crude language, sex in movies and even though the movie wasn't violent, it did come to mind. Even though I get mindless fun out of these movies, I know it's not glorifying to God if I watch it.

That's it for now. I'm very happy that I have actually completed two things. Now I just need to put aside $20 for #93 on the list.

ETA: If you notice my water consumption numbers that's not really all the water I've had since January 1. It's just the amount I've actually remembered to track on SparkPeople.

Organizing our play room

2009-02-01T11:06:00.007-06:00

I sat down and organized our play room this week and it was requested by my good friend Ann to blog about it. So cool to have someone request a specific blog topic!

Our play room is also the front room of our house, so it's important for the room to at least be presentable. As anyone with toddlers can attest, we have a buttload of toys. If I had known I was going to blog about this I would have taken some before pictures, unfortunately I don't. I do have after pictures to share though.

The first thing I did was put up this hanging storage organizer.

It's originally from IKEA and they no longer carry the 6 compartment units, but they do have 3 compartment units. I've also seen similar items in the Dollar Spot at Target recently. I filled the top 5 compartments with stuffed animals and the bottom compartment holds all their small toy balls. That way the boys can get to them without needing my help.

We put all the big toys that would fit in their toy chest.

As you can see we do still have some toys out. We keep all the large toys on the perimeter of the room, so they are out of the way. We also have a small table in the play room for coloring, puzzles, crafts, etc.

We also have a couple bookshelves in the play room. We keep their books, puzzles and cd player in one. We keep a couple larger toys and bins of small toys in the other. One of the bins contains all of their blocks and the other contains their little random toys.

It's certainly not the perfect system and I have a lot more I would like to do (I received the Real Simple: The Organized Home book for Christmas and now have some great ideas for our home). However, it's at least a work in progress and not embarrassing when we have guests.

Why you need a Carbon Monoxide Detector in your home

2009-01-19T15:32:00.002-06:00

I wanted to pass on this story in hopes that everyone will get a Carbon Monoxide detector. The woman that this happened to is an acquaintance of mine and it's so scary!! (I took their names out for their privacy) This happened a few days before Christmas here in Colorado and sadly we had a few occurances right around the same time that did not have a good outcome. Please share this information with anyone you know.

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Just wanted to shout out that if you don't currently have a carbon monoxide detector in your home PLEASE get one. After hearing about the family in Aspen that died my husband and I talked about getting one. Being the procrastinators that we are, we didn't do it yet. When our furnace broke yesterday we confirmed that we "definitely need one". Well...that was TOO late.

Yesterday my daughter and I were home alone - like normal. I put her down for a nap and about 45 minutes later I heard her screaming. When I went upstairs to check on her she was still asleep but appeared to be in pain and her eyes were open but rolling back in her head. I thought I needed to call the nurse line because it didn't seem like my daughter at all. By the time I left her room I was feeling VERY ill. I stopped in the bathroom to get sick and woke up on the bathroom floor after I had apparently passed out. I crawled to the bedroom (still not making a connection that my daughter and I were both behaving oddly, as I was clearly already "out of it") and tried dialing my husband at work. It took 3 tries before I got him and I could barely form a coherent sentence. I told him I thought I passed out and asked if he could call me back in 15 minutes to check on me. I also told him our daughter was behaving oddly. He called back in 15 minutes and there was no answer.

My husband immediately left work (also not making a carbon monoxide connection - he thought I just passed out). 5 minutes after leaving he remembered that our neighbors (the girls who babysit our daughter) have a key to our house. He called them and the high school age girls were home. He asked them to check on us and call him back. When they arrived at the house my daughter and I were both unconscious. They took my daughter out of the house and called 911 from their home. I didn't come to until they were working on me in the ambulance (very surreal experience). I spent a portion of the night in a hyperbaric chamber and my daughter had to spend it with oxygen on (due to the quick thinking of the girls in removing my daughter immediately from the home she had less exposure than I did). Getting a 2 year old to breathe oxygen from a mask is no picnic.

Anyway, we are both safe now, due to a series of happy miracles - me waking up after originally passing out and being able to call my husband, him thinking to call the girls next door, and them being home (this was the ONLY day this week they would have been home at that time), we are safe and doing pretty well. We are obviously shaken up as it is very clear that with even a little more exposure my daughter and I easily could have been brain damaged or dead. My poor husband had to pull into a cul-de-sac filled with firetrucks and ambulances. He saw them carry his unconscious daughter and wife into an ambulance and understandably is completely freaked out.

So...after this VERY long story - PLEASE don't procrastinate like us. If you don't have a carbon monoxide detector GET one NOW! I NEVER smelled gas. I didn't even feel remotely bad until I stood up to check on my daughter. Within minutes I was so sick I was almost incapacitated. It happens FAST!! Learn from our mistake!

Sorry we were late, but it was Houdini's fault

2009-01-10T21:57:00.002-06:00

Apparently I gave birth to a magician.

I was getting ready to head out to a birthday party with the little guys and we couldn't find our 2 year old. We checked both kids bedrooms, our bedroom, the bathroom, we even checked to see if he got out of the house somehow. Then we heard some wimpering coming from B's room. My husband went into the room where he realizes N has closed himself in the closet. Not a big deal, right? Well, it wouldn't have been a big deal if the crazy people that lived here before us had not put a locking doorknob on the closet. A front door of your house locking doorknob..with the lock on the inside of the door...that requires a key to unlock from the outside...which the crazy people did not leave behind when they moved out!!

I'm trying to get N to unlock the door, but he just doesn't understand what I'm saying. I said he was a magician, but I never said he was a good one.

So here is where I start to panic, but hold it in to figure out how we're going to get our son out. He was actually pretty cool throughout the ordeal. Occasionally he would cry out for me or say it was scary, but I was right there the whole time talking to him. We finally got the pins out of the hinges, but couldn't get the door out. A few more crazed minutes and we got the door and N out.

That door is now leaning against the wall and won't be going back in until the knob is replaced. Who the heck puts a locking door knob on a closet!! Weirdos.

We're finally leaving the house for a 20 minute drive at the exact time the party is starting. Oh well, no big deal. But then just a few blocks from home, I look in my rearview mirror and what do I see? A sweet little boy face looking back at me! Now he's shows his Houdini side. I pulled over immediately, put him back in his car seat (which my husband did not tighten the straps on enough), had a little chat with him on why that was dangerous and we were on our way.

I felt awful getting to the party late, but I guess what do you do!

Excuses, Excuses, Excuses

2009-01-02T22:42:00.006-06:00

I decided to suck it up and realize that I need to get off my butt. I've been carrying around extra weight since high school. After going to college, getting married and having two kids the scale has steadily gone up. Now it's time for the scale to go down!!

I've had it with feeling like this and looking the way I do. I have three boys and I can't keep up with them now and if I don't do something, I never will be able to. So I made the leap and I'm working to drop this extra weight.

Unfortunately, I also have a ton of excuses. I can't exercise because:
- We just don't have the money to join a gym.
- With it being Winter here (or so you would think in January, but when it's almost 70 degrees you start to question if you actually moved to Arizona in your sleep)... Oh, sorry about the tangent, back to what I was saying... Since it is Winter here in Colorado it's difficult to plan for outdoor exercise.
- My work and home schedule would require me to exercise before 6 am or after 8 pm and if I'm exercising outside that's just dangerous.
- No space in the house for big, bulky exercise equipment.

I could go on, but I think you get my point. I always have excuses and I finally decided to kick those excuses to the curb. I found what I need:

Hip Hop Abs

I've seen the infomercial for these videos a couple times before and the music is what drew me in. I'm not really a hip hop listener, but for some reason when I'm exercising it's what I need to keep me moving. I have wanted to buy these DVD's for some time now. I finally sucked it up, ordered the DVD's and waited patiently for them to show up at my door.

(By the way, I actually ordered them from QVC.com. I read that a lot of people had problems with the company that distributes it charging people for stuff they didn't buy or trying to do add-ons when they did buy. So even though I didn't get the deal of making three separate payments of $20 and had to pay the entire $60 up front, I'm very happy with my decision.)

The DVD's came today and I am psyched to get started this weekend!! I'll update once I've tried it out.

Today I missed...

2009-01-02T22:15:00.003-06:00

- Sleeping in
- Breakfast
- My boys
- Lunch
- Taking down the outside Christmas decorations
- Cleaning up a blow out after N's nap!!

I was honestly in tears as I pulled away from the house this morning. N was just standing at the door watching me drive away. It killed me. I just wanted to stay home and play with my munchkins.

Going to work today wasn't all bad. It was quiet and I got a lot done. I had a little time to myself and had I been home that definitely wouldn't have happened. I didn't have to climb on a ladder to take down the Christmas lights. Plus I missed the explosion in my sons room after naptime!

A New Year

2009-01-01T12:30:00.006-06:00

It's the beginning of another year today and I can't believe how quickly it has come. 2008 was a busy, crazy year for our household.

N has gone from being a little toddler to a full blown little boy. E was just a tiny baby when we rang in 2008 and now he's walking, playing with his brother and starting down the road of learning to talk. I have gone from being a stay at home mom to a full-time working mom. M has gone from a job that treated him well, but paid very poorly to a the job he has been searching for forever that has an awesome commission structure. B is probably the most constant of the year, I guess 11 year olds don't change that much when they turn 12. I'm sure he'll change a lot this year though when he becomes a teenager!!

I am really excited about the year to come. I'm looking forward to starting over on so many things in my life:
- My relationship with God, I guess that's not really starting over, but a fresh start to how I relate to God and how I live my life
- My relationship with my husband and trying not to let the stress and business of life come between us
- My relationships with my kids and actually being the mom that I know I can be
- My 101 Things Project, I didn't get off to a very good start last month and it's time to really buckle down and do this for ME
- My career aspirations, I really want to be self-employed and I am going to work very hard to make that happen this year

So I don't have true resolutions, just a list of 101 Things to do over the next 3 years!!

Starting Over

2008-12-30T20:27:00.002-06:00

So I've decided to start over on my 101 Things Project as of Thursday, January 1, 2009. I'm not doing this as a New Year's resolution or anything. I'm doing this because December was just too darn busy for me to really focus on the project.

For now, I am going to go hang out with my boys and relax. On the 1st I will be back and ready to go!

Well, hello

2008-12-27T11:20:00.002-06:00

I'm not doing a very good job at this whole blogging thing. I don't have a lot of time right now, but I just wanted to stop in. I'm going to be changing the names I use for my family members. Some friends have said that they have trouble figuring out who I'm talking about since the nicknames I use aren't names I really call them. From here on out they will be referred to by their first initial, it will be easiest I think. Stay tuned for updates of our Christmas.

Morning off

2008-12-10T13:02:00.002-06:00

The boys babysitter is sick today and Bucky had an important meeting at work. So I stayed home for the morning and I'm heading into work in a little while as soon as Bucky gets home. We had a lot of fun this morning just playing and we baked some cookies. The boys were watching Monsters, Inc like this:

Yep, they're sitting in a plastic tub we use for toys. LOL Woody looks like he really likes his little brother in this picture. Unfortunately, as soon as I got done taking the pic he was trying to shove him out of the tub and trying to choke him. Brothers!!

Haven't been following my list well

2008-12-09T23:20:00.000-06:00

So I'm just now checking in on my list since last week and I haven't done horrible, but I am missing a few things that I really need to work on. So to address the things I'm missing first or the things I've done good on, hmmm... I guess I'll start with the things I'm missing, just to get them out of the way.

-- I didn't do any devotionals last week, none, nada, zilch. I knew this was going to be a difficult one for me since I haven't been doing them for a long time. However, this is one of the most important items on the list to me. I am going to strive to do a devotional every day the rest of this week.

-- My water consumption is awful!! I only drank 48 oz of water in over a week and I wonder why I feel like crap all the time. At least seeing the number out there is getting me motivated, as of 4:30 pm today I've already drank that much in one day.

Okay, now onto the good things and some pics to prove it!

-- We went to church Sunday and the topic was "How the Grinch Stole Christmas - How Stress Stole Christmas." It was a great sermon and really made me reevaluate everything that we have going on this month and all we have to do. With two kids and two parents with birthdays in December our schedule gets jam-packed! I am going to consciously watch how I'm feeling and if it just gets to be too much going on, well then, we'll just have to say no to something.

-- I made my crockpot meal for the week last week, it was my mom's chili recipe. So easy, so tasty and quite a bit of leftovers. Here's the recipe if you're interested:

Mom's Chili

1 lb COOKED ground beef/ground turkey
1 packet chili seasoning
1 can pinto beans or kidney beans with juice
1 can stewed or diced tomatoes with juice
1 large can (46 oz) tomato juice
1 container of Johnsons Chili (usually found near the sausage/bacon in the grocery store)
Onion to taste

Dump it all in a crockpot (6 quart size would be best) and cook on low for 8 hours. It can cook for even longer and still be fine. Ours cooked for about 10 hours and was delicious.

-- We've already gotten pics of the boys taken for two weeks in a row. Saturday night we celebrated Bruiser's 12th birthday.

Sunday night we took Woody and Bubba to Winter Wonderlights. My parents took us and I'm so glad they did! We had a wonderful time seeing the lights, playing with some fun inside stuff for the kids, seeing Santa and meeting a couple of Santa's reindeer. Bubba really liked Santa, at least his beard anyway. Woody gave him a high five and a fist bump, but really didn't care too much to sit on his lap.

First day of the Project is done

2008-12-01T21:23:00.001-06:00

Nothing completed, but at least it's gotten me thinking. Thanks for all the good luck wishes I've received. I'm really excited about doing this, I feel like it's going to help guide me and give me some structure for our very chaotic lives.

I did not do well on my first day with water, as I only drank 16 oz. That's definitely one I'm going to be watching closely.

First day back at work after the holiday. After 4 1/2 days off that was quite a change of pace, I really would have liked to have one more day off.

I have finally completed my 101 Things on 1001 Days list!

2008-11-30T20:38:00.004-06:00

Before I post my list, here is the info for the project (also found here):

The Mission:
Complete 101 preset tasks in a period of 1001 days.

The Criteria:
Tasks must be specific (ie. no ambiguity in the wording) with a result that is either measurable or clearly defined. Tasks must also be realistic and stretching (ie. represent some amount of work on my part).

Why 1001 Days?
Many people have created lists in the past - frequently simple goals such as New Year's resolutions. The key to beating procrastination is to set a deadline that is realistic. 1001 Days (about 2.75 years) is a better period of time than a year, because it allows you several seasons to complete the tasks, which is better for organizing and timing some tasks such as overseas trips or outdoor activities.

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And without further adieu, here is Angie's 101 Things in 1001 Days...
(this full list can be found in the right sidebar at all times, too)

For my faith --

1. Pray every day
2. Read the entire Bible
3. Do devotionals 4 days a week (0/572)
4. Attend church services at least 3 times a month (0/99)
5. Start tithing to our church
6. Help bring at least 2 people to the Lord
7. Volunteer for childcare at church once a month (0/33)

For my marriage --

8. Write my husband a love letter or email every month (0/33)
9. (PRIVATE)
10. Do 100 of the ideas from 444 Ways to Say “I Love You” book (0/100)
11. Use spa GC for a massage day with hubby
12. Take a carriage ride during Christmas time downtown
13. Go on a 5th anniversary cruise with my husband
14. Read a travel book on Italy to begin planning our 10th anniversary trip

For our kids/family --

15. Start a savings account for the boys
16. Open a 529 for the boys
17. Setup email addresses for the boys (0/3)
18. Send a monthly email to each son for them to read when they grow up (0/99)
19. Spend a whole week without TV or Internet (excluding work use of Internet)
20. Have a board game night once a month (0/33)
21. Buy a Wii and Wii Fit
22. Potty train Woody
23. Potty train Bubba
24. Get professional family pictures done
25. Take photos of the kids at least once a week (0/143)
26. Put together a photo album for every year we’ve been a family (0/8)
27. Get handprints of the boys made in clay
28. Take the boys away from home to play once a week (0/143)

For our financial future/family security --

29. Create a family budget
30. Get our will done
31. Do a home inventory for insurance purposes
32. Organize bills and important papers in filing cabinet
33. Take the Financial Peace University course through our church
34. Start my own business
35. Make enough money at home to make it my sole source of income
36. Fund a $1000 emergency fund
37. Pay off medical debt
38. Pay off credit card debt
39. Pay off car loan
40. Get a 3 month emergency fund fully funded

For our home --

41. Furnish the master bedroom with a new king size bed
42. Buy a new desktop
43. Clean out basement
44. Set up play area / guy space in the basement
45. Have a garage sale
46. Buy new patio furniture
47. Purchase a mail/message center for the household
48. Redecorate the boys room
49. Paint kitchen cabinets and put hardware on the doors
50. Put together emergency kits for the cars
51. Put together an emergency kit for the house in case of being snowed in

For our love of food --

52. Eat vegetarian for a full week
53. Organize favorite recipes in recipe binder
54. Make a meal in the crockpot once a week (0/143)
55. Make a new dinner recipe twice a month (0/66)
56. Make homemade trail mix
57. Learn how to make my grandma’s turnovers

For my health --

58. Buy a pedometer
59. Walk, as exercise, 1040 miles (equivalent of walking from my home now to my hometown and back) (0/1040)
60. Drink 50,000 ounces of water (0/50,000)
61. Get to my goal weight of 160 lbs
62. Go one week every quarter with no soda (0/11)
63. Go to the dentist twice a year (0/6)

For our love of Colorado --

64. Go camping with the kids
65. Take a long weekend and go see the sights of Colorado Springs with the kids
66. Take the boys to the Colorado Railroad Museum
67. Take the boys on a train ride in Colorado
68. Drive up Trail Ridge Road in Rocky Mountain National Park
69. Go see the Colorado National Monument
70. Go see the Maroon Bells
71. Take the boys to the Parade of Lights
72. Go white water rafting

For Me --

73. Learn to speak Spanish
74. Quit biting my nails
75. (PRIVATE)
76. Pay for the person behind me in the drive thru
77. Clean out newsletters folder in email
78. Clean out recipes folder in email
79. Visit Laura in Florida for a girl’s weekend
80. Get my passport
81. Post on my blog at least 10 times a month (0/330)
82. Post a comment on a blog I haven’t commented on before twice a month (0/66)
83. Get CPR and first aid certification again
84. Write a thank you card for every gift received
85. Read a book on clouds
86. Read a new book every month (0/33)
87. Watch a movie I’ve never seen every month (0/33)
88. Take a course through the University of Nebraska so I can say I went there
89. Take the plunge and chop off my hair
90. Become a brunette for awhile
91. Participate in two charity walks/runs per year (0/6)
92. Collect $101 in change (0/101)
93. Save $10 per item finished
94. Take myself on a new clothing spree with the saved money to fit my new slimmer body in at the end of the 1001 days
95. Buy a new, great purse that costs more than $100
96. Donate or clean my wedding dress
97. Go through all of my clothing and discard any unneeded items
98. Donate 101 items to Goodwill, Salvation Army, etc (0/101)
99. Donate $101 to a yet to be determined charity ($0/$101)
100. Delete my Myspace page (I’m too old for that and don’t have the time)
101. Do another 101 list for the next 1001 days

I start tomorrow, December 1, 2008 and my project will end on August 29, 2011!! Wow, that seems so far away, but I have a lot to do in that time. Wish me luck!

The boys showing off their moves!

2008-11-28T19:12:00.001-06:00

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

I am so excited for the holidays this year!

2008-11-20T15:45:00.005-06:00

I don't know what it is, but I am so ready to celebrate the holidays AND decorate AND make yummy foods AND wear cheesy holiday themed sweaters AND sing Christmas songs all day long and on and on and on...

I don't know if it's the idea of having all my kids around to have fun with OR if it's the fact that Woody will finally understand some of it this year OR if it's just the pure joy of the holidays. I really don't know what has made me this way.
I can tell you this, it's certainly not been the weather. Up until today it's been almost like summer out. 80 degrees in mid-November, are you kidding me? We've only had one real snowstorm this season and it really wasn't that much. I'm actually glad that it's cold, overcast and was drizzling this morning. That's what it's supposed to be like in November in Colorado. However, I was not excited about the thick layer of ice on our windsheild this morning :(.

I really realized how excited I am while at lunch with Bucky today. I found out this morning that my boss is going to let us leave early next Wednesday to start our Thanksgiving holiday a little early! At lunch today, I was kind of zoning out (sorry honey, I really didn't mean to ignore you) and thinking about how excited I am to pick up the boys early next Wednesday and spend 4 1/2 fun days celebrating Thanksgiving and getting ready for Christmas.

On another note, I know that I have been in quite a funk lately. That's the main reason I haven't really been blogging. I didn't want this blog to become my whine and complain blog, not the kind of stuff I want to look back on in the future. Believe me, there was many a day I had a blog post all typed out and ready to post, but I just couldn't do it. I need this to be mainly a positive place. Don't get me wrong, there has been and will still be some days I can't hold back, but hopefully that will be few and far between.

Hopefully this season and my soon to be posted 101 Things in 1001 Days Project will bring me out of that funk. I am very excited about what the future holds and I'm trying very hard to be more positive about everything in my life.

I have been tagged - My Book Shelf

2008-11-11T11:15:00.005-06:00

I have been tagged by my good friend, Cyndi and here is the challenge:
Go to your nearest bookshelf. On the top shelf (or highest shelf with books) what book is fifth from the right and why did you love it? Now go to the bottom shelf (or lowest shelf with books). Tell us about the fifth book from the left. Then tag five of your blog buddies to do the same- link please! - to do the same. Be sure to link to the person who tagged you too.

Now first of all, I'm going to tell you that since we moved in last year I have not unpacked most of my books. Also, funny enough, both of the books I will be talking about are on the same shelf since it's the only shelf I have books on right now. Onto the challenge...

Top Shelf (only shelf in my house), fifth from the right:

Contagious Generosity by Barry L. Cameron. I actually have not read this book yet. We received a free copy of it at church earlier this year and I have not taken the chance to sit down and read it. From what I can gather by looking at it briefly it's a faith based book on giving and finances. I think I might eventually read it, but honestly there are many other books I've got on the list first.

Bottom Shelf (again only shelf in my house), fifth from the left:

Love You Forever by Robert Munsch. This is the sweetest childrens book I have ever read. The story is simple, a young mother with her baby boy and ends with that boy, now a man, taking care of his elderly mother and his own baby. I cried the first time I read it. This is a wonderful baby shower gift!

And now I’m tagging the following five people.

Amber, Melissa, Ali and Lex

(I've only got four because I think all the other people I know have already been tagged)

In Honor of Halloween

2008-10-31T13:44:00.000-05:00

I've been meaning to tell the story about my friend that came after me with a knife that was mentioned in this post. What better day to tell it than Halloween?

In 6th grade, I had a friend named Debra who lived up the street from me. She had a brother that was a couple years older. One night we were downstairs watching TV at her house and her brother was in his room down there. All of a sudden we heard footsteps upstairs and then a basketball being bounced in the garage. This is scary because no one else was home! So Debra and I got her brother and we all went upstairs to check around. No one was home and when we went out to the garage, all of the balls were put away. So this was the first weird experience in their home.

A couple of weeks later, Debra and I were again downstairs playing or watching TV. All of a sudden she got up and walked over the this really dark painting they had. It was a picture of stampeding horses in the twilight, they were all dark and very angry looking. It always kind of gave me the willies. She just stood there staring into it and wouldn't respond when I talked to her. She turned around after some time and walked right past me as if I wasn't even there, walked upstairs and came down a minute later with a knife in her hand. She was walking right towards me. At that time, I thought she was possessed. I was screaming at her to put the knife down and ran past her as quickly as I could. I ran out her front door and ran home.

The next morning Debra was taken to the psych ward of one of the hospitals. She was there for awhile and her family moved shortly after that. I don't remember if I ever saw her again.

Now honestly, at this point in my life I really don't know what to make of what happened. I believe that demons do exist. I do believe that spirits exist. I really can't explain what happened in that home.

I do think I now know why that stupid horse at DIA freaks me out so much!

I promise I'll return with more posts soon!

2008-10-22T12:09:00.002-05:00

Our laptop crashed earlier this week and I have been dealing with that. I've got some great posts lined up, but have been too busy with the kids and trying to salvage what is left on our laptop. I also have been working diligently on starting a 101 in 1001 days project for myself. Check out what that is HERE.

See you soon! (Hopefully from our new laptop)

Something to think about...

2008-10-10T09:15:00.001-05:00

I received an email forward recently that really grabbed me. I don't always read forwards, but for some reason I felt compelled to read this one. I won't repost the whole text, but the following is what made a huge impact on me:

"Are you aware that if you died tomorrow, the company that you are working for could easily replace you in a matter of days. But the family you left behind will feel the loss for the rest of their lives. Come to think of it, we pour ourselves more into work than into our own family, an unwise investment indeed, don't you think?"

I have been struggling with the reality of needing to work outside of the home, but feeling like I'm not giving my children all they need from me. We leave the house every morning by 7 AM and usually aren't home with the boys picked up from the babysitter's until after 6 PM. They go to bed by 8:30, so that gives us a little over two hours everyday for dinner, baths and the bedtime routine. Where is our playtime? Where is our bonding time? Where is the time to just be a family?

I miss my boys. I miss my husband. I miss just knowing that I was giving my babies everything they needed. I really think now is the time for me to start thinking about becoming self-employed. I already know what it is I want to do and have a plan. Bucky is doing great at his new job and it means a little more money in the bank every month.

When we made the decision last year for me to become a stay at home mom, it was difficult financially. But God led us there. We had prayed for a long time asking him to show us the way. He gave us so many examples over that time that home was where I should be. So we did it, we took the leap of faith and I will never regret it! Staying home with Woody full-time for 8 months was the best 8 months of my life.

It's time for me to start praying again about his mission for my life and my family's life. I certainly don't feel like I'm doing what I was made to do now.

I cannot believe how busy I've been

2008-10-09T15:00:00.002-05:00

So I've been away for a little while, it has been chaos at work and home the past couple of weeks. I've also had a lot of stress/anxiety lately and it causes me to be really unable to focus. I have actually started a few blog postings, but I couldn't concentrate long enough to form coherent thoughts or finish it. I think I might have actually been mildly depressed.

We had our church small group this week though and our topic was on anxiety. It really helped, more than I think even I realize. I am finally coming out of this funk and feeling much better. This week is still chaotic, but I'm looking forward to a long weekend and trying to get back into the swing of things next week.

I have made a small change to the format of my blog and just wanted to point it out. I decided that the 5 things a week was just too much for me. Instead, I have added a 5 things list to my sidebar. I will definitely still mention them in posts and I am hoping that this will actually take off with me. I don't have high hopes for it, though. =P

That's all I've got for now. I hope to be back to regular scheduled blogging by next week!

PS -- Today's our 4th wedding anniversary!! I really cannot believe how fast time has gone or how much has happened in our lives in the 5 years we have known each other.

5 Things for Sept. 21 - 27

2008-09-23T09:20:00.001-05:00

How did I do on my 5 things from last week? Well, let's see...

1. I have over 400 emails in my folder for newsletters. My goal for the week is to cut that down to no more than 200 emails by the end of the week. NOT COMPLETED - I forgot about new newsletters, but I did go through over 100. I feel good about that.

2. I want to cook one new recipe for dinner this week. I plan to make Super Sloppy Joes. COMPLETED - It tasted okay, but I put too much pepper in it. I think I will look for a different recipe next time.

3. Get that budget nailed down to start really focusing for October. NOT COMPLETED - I just plain forgot about this one.

4. Make a list of clothes needed to buy for fall/winter for the family. ALMOST COMPLETED

5. Easy one, enjoy my 31st birthday on the 20th! COMPLETED - Had a really great day!

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Now for my new list:

1. Continue cleaning out newsletter folder in email. Going for a more attainable number of 300 messages left at the end of the week.

2. Finish budget and fall/winter clothing list. I'm blending these into one because they are almost done.

3. Clean the boys room and box up clothes that are too small.

4. Clean desk in bedroom and go through old mail that is piled up on top of it.

5. Post at least three blog postings this week. I have been missing posting.

I've been tagged!

2008-09-17T09:46:00.004-05:00

Angelika tagged me!!

The Rules:
1. Link to the person who tagged you
2. Post the rules to your blog
3. Write 6 random things about yourself
4. Tag 6 people at the end of your post and link to them
5. Let each person you have tagged know by leaving a comment on their blog.
6. Let the tagger know when your entry is posted.

Okay, here goes...

1. I am a Nebraska native, the Cornhuskers are my team, but I am not an alumni. However, I am actually considering taking a course through University of Nebraska, just so I can say I went there.

2. When I was a teenager I pierced my belly button, all by myself! I was trying to rebel against my parents. It ended up getting very infected and I had to take it out. I was very dumb!!

3. I had a friend when I was younger that, we think, had a psychotic break and she came after me with a knife when we were in 6th grade. She ended up in the pysch ward for awhile because of it.

4. I lived alone for 2 years when I was in my 20's. It was the best thing I ever did for me.

5. I love going on vacation with my parents, even to this day. I am very close to my folks and they have taken me to a lot of places all around the country. One day, we hope to all go down to Disney World together.

6. I faked sick all.the.time in elementary school. I wanted to be laying on the couch watching tv instead of at school. My parents really caught on the day that my two best friends and I all went home sick from school. The school nurse called all of our parents because everyone at school knew we were best friends. I got in sooo much trouble!

People I am tagging...

1. Amber
2. Lex
3. Ali

And, that's all I've got too. All the other blogs I read have already been tagged.

Singing Pug -- Too cute not to share!

2008-09-15T23:14:00.001-05:00

I saw this on another blog I read and just thought it was too funny!!

5 things for Sept 14 - 20

2008-09-14T22:00:00.000-05:00

YAY! I've decided to try again with the 5 things list for this week. Let's see if I can actually keep this going. I am going to do small things for the first couple weeks in hopes of actually reaching my goals. So here goes...

1. I have over 400 emails in my folder for newsletters. My goal for the week is to cut that down to no more than 200 emails by the end of the week.

2. I want to cook one new recipe for dinner this week. I plan to make Super Sloppy Joes.

3. Get that budget nailed down to start really focusing for October.

4. Make a list of clothes needed to buy for fall/winter for the family.

5. Easy one, enjoy my 31st birthday on the 20th!

Well, here goes.

Creepy, Supernatural Story

2008-09-13T22:23:00.002-05:00

So, my good friend, Amber, had a weird occurrence in her home this week. Click the above link to read what happened to her son. She has asked all of her blogging friends to tell a story of their own on their blogs. I actually have two stories that I can think of right now. I will keep one of them for the future to write about. So here goes...

I was having a sleepover for one of my birthdays when I was a young teen. Just a bunch of girls hanging out and talking about boys! After my parents went to bed we decided to drag out their old Ouija board. I was never really serious about playing with this thing, I know that messing with a Ouija board can be very bad. I was around 14 though and didn't think about that kind of stuff then.

After a little while of messing with the Ouija board and freaking ourselves out plenty we decided to put it away. My parents had a tri-level home, so we were in the family room and it had an opening with railing up to the dining room. When we turned around to put the game away we all looked up into the dining room. We could see my balloons sitting on the table and in a reflection on the balloon was the shadow of a man sitting at the dining room table!!

It was so freaky. We immediately put the game away, turned on all the lights, popped every balloon and stayed up all night, afraid to sleep.

I told my parents about it the next day. They sold the Ouija board at their next garage sale and I will never, ever, ever touch one of those things again!!

Reading over old posts

2008-09-09T22:56:00.002-05:00

I was just going through some old posts and wanted to comment on a couple of things.

I posted awhile ago about our list of 5 things on our to-do list for the week at work. I had decided to do a 5 things at home list, too which I immediately forgot about and never did. Well, I find it funny that we aren't doing it at work anymore either. That lasted all of about a month. We never seem to be able to stick to a meeting schedule. Oh well. I am thinking about bringing it back for Sunday posts, list 5 things I need to do for the week. We'll see...

The other thing I wanted to revisit was my post in May when it snowed. I was wishing the snow away. Now, just a few short months later, I am hoping for its return. I love snow, especially Autumn snow storms. The snow looks so beautiful with the changing colors. It doesn't get too cold, the snow melts within a day, what's not to love?

To celebrate the soon arrival of fall, here is my favorite picture from last fall. Enjoy!!

How weird...

2008-09-05T17:48:00.000-05:00

So I was perusing a friend's blog a little while ago and she had a link to a yearbook of sorts for her high school. Well, this is the high school I would have attended had we not moved across town when I was starting 8th grade. I was curious to read possible updates on people I had not spoken to in all of these years.

While looking through the list of people from my class, I saw the boy that I had a crush on in 6th grade listed and he had passed away in 2006. I was really surprised that for a moment it put a lump in my throat. I haven't seen or spoken to most of the people from this class since I left in 7th grade including him. It just deeply saddened me that someone I knew as a child growing up was no longer here.

He was the boy who I mooned after all through 6th grade. I wrote him a note once telling him I liked him and like a typical 6th grader, he hung it up on the wall for everyone to see. I was so embarassed at the time and so mad, but honestly we were kids. What boy wouldn't do that? I'm glad that I can look back on those years and remember him today. I can still see his adorable freckled face and big grin.

Growing up way too fast

2008-09-02T17:06:00.002-05:00

My baby, Bubba, is doing things so much sooner than Woody did. He got his first two teeth around the same time that Woody did (just at 8 months old). For everything else though, it's like he's in fast forward mode.

He's been babbling a lot, nothing that makes sense, but defintely trying to have conversations with me, his daddy and even his brothers. It's too cute when Bubba is in his exersaucer and Woody is standing next to it and they are just babbling at one another.

He started crawling about a month ago and now he's got it down to a science. He can get across the family room floor, through the dining room and into the kitchen before I even realize he's not in front of me. He likes to follow his brother around and Woody has even taken to crawling in front of him sometimes now.

He started pulling himself up on furniture last week. Now he can get to a standing position using almost any support (the couch, a box, my leg, the dog...) and he can even surf around a little. I am so NOT ready for this boy to be walking!!!

I love seeing the brother dynamic play out before my eyes. As an only child, obviously I never experienced the sibling relationship. I am so excited for my boys to be best buddies as they grow up.

I know he's just in a hurry to catch up with his brothers. I wish he would slow down a little. He's my baby and we're 95% sure he's our last, so I want to enjoy it!

Random Thoughts...

2008-08-27T09:10:00.002-05:00

I've been reading up on living frugal and I totally understand the idea of trying to live frugally and save where you can. However, a few things I've read recently just seem way over the top to me:

- Put together a price diary. Who has that kind of time? If I had that much free time to make a list of the prices of everything I buy and where the lowest price was, well then, I'm sure I could find a much better use for that time. Maybe write a 1000 page novel, watch every episode of the original 90210, perhaps even scrub every square inch of my house. I don't care if it will save me a few cents, there is no way I'm spending all my free time making up a price diary.

- Use baking soda instead of toothpaste. WHAT?? Ewwww.

- Use rubbing alcohol in place of deodorant. Seriously?? Ummm, that would be quite painful after shaving!

These are just a few things I've read that just seem crazy. I'm sure I'll be back with more as I read more.

One other thing...

Does it make you crazy when you are thinking about something and then promptly forget it? This morning at home I was thinking about something I need to buy for our family. Then we piled the kids in the car, headed off to the babysitters and promptly forgot what it was I needed to buy. I honestly can not figure out what it was and it is driving me crazy! ARGH!!

Kid Update!

2008-08-23T18:30:00.005-05:00

I realize I haven't posted much about my boys lately, so I thought I would do an update on them...

~*~Bruiser~*~

He started 6th grade last week. He says he is enjoying it and likes his new school (He went to private school for first through fourth grade and then a charter school for fifth). He goes to school over by his mom's house and is with us on the weekends. He also starts fall baseball this weekend. Bucky is his coach, so he loves having that time with his dad. He's really good at baseball, so I think he's going to focus on that for at least a couple more years. He is still really great with his little brothers. He loves to wrestle on the floor with Woody and cuddle with Bubba.

~*~Woody~*~

He is definitely two years old now. So independent and stubborn! I can't imagine where he gets that from...hmmm. His vocabulary is getting more full everyday. Potty training is next on our list. The little I have introduced him to the potty scares me that this is going to be quite the project. He loves to look at books. We do let him watch some TV (I'm a bad mom what can I say ;). He has even started to respond when they ask questions to the kids on shows like Go Diego Go. It's actually really cool to see him understand that they are asking him.

~*~Bubba~*~

He is 8 months old now. I honestly don't know where the time went. He has his two bottom middle teeth. He's crawling some and is even working on standing! I'm pretty sure he's going to be walking by 10 months old. He "talks" a lot and is very vocal when he is hungry. He's still not sleeping through the night, but we're down to usually 1 wake up a night around 2 am.

Woody and Bubba are finally starting to play together. It's quite adorable!!

Totally forgot - I was nominated for an award!

2008-08-18T17:12:00.006-05:00

One of my IRL (that's In Real Life for those not quite in the know about blogger/internet lingo) friends and fellow bloggers, Amber, has nominated me for a Kick Butt (yes, I changed the word) Blog award. It's very cool to be nominated for something and maybe a few others will enjoy my posts from being mentioned in her blog. Although, I'm pretty sure she only nominated me because we've been friends for over half our lives and she feels sorry for me. (BWAHAHAHA)

In all honesty, I think of my blog as one of those Mom-blogs that a lot of people make fun of. I talk about my kids a lot and just generally about my family. But that's okay, cause it's my blog and I do this for me!

The blogs that I read are mostly very personal or the widely known, very popular blogs in the blogosphere. That being said, I won't be sending out links to the private blogs and I will post links for the popular blogs, but I'm not telling those people I voted for them. They don't even know who I am! Here are the top five I would give awards too --

1. K - One of my girlfriends who is going through IVF for her and her husband to have a baby. I love reading her blog and being there as they go through this amazing journey.

2. Amber (giving it right back) - Mostly because when we get talking she cracks me up. We don't get chances to chit chat nearly as much as we used to though, so it's nice to get a chuckle now and then about what is going on in her life. I think you're pretty kick butt, too!!

3. My other friend, A - We were BFF's in elementary school, but then I moved across town and we lost touch for a long time. It's awesome to be able to keep up on each other's lives this way.

4. CFHusband - What an amazing story of a couple going through so much and still having such amazing faith that God knows what he is doing! He speaks through Nate and his wife, Tricia to reach the unsaved every day. I also love seeing the pics of their beautiful little girl.

5. Celebrity Baby Blog - I just love seeing all the babies and toddlers of famous people. I'm kind of a celebrity news junkie!!

Some changes around here and in my real life too

2008-08-18T12:38:00.012-05:00

First - Just let me say, I'm sorry I did not come through with the promise to update the blog last week while my husband was out of town. Apparently, I don't know how much work it is to take care of two little one's all by myself! I barely had a free minute all week and when I did, I just wanted to sleep.

Second - I want to also say thank you to my boys' wonderful babysitter for keeping them overnight one night last week. It allowed me a great night's sleep and some me time for a little while. I don't know if she reads my blog, but if so: J, I hope you know how much we appreciate all you do for us and our boys!

Third - How do you like my new outfit? I decided to go ahead and have a custom blog design made for me. I know I don't blog a ton, but when I started earlier this year, I had the perfect vision of what I wanted my blog to look like and I could never find the right fit. So here it is. I love it! I feel like it really shows who I am and what I am about. One of my good friends suggested another blogger, Lex at Indelible Creations, to help me out. She is awesome and I am extremely happy with her work!! So if you are looking for some blog customization check her out for sure.

Fourth - Today was the beginning of the challenge to work next door to my husband!! It started off pretty rocky with the early morning being way too busy. Here's how crazy our morning was:

- Bubba was up half the night because he's teething
- Bucky took the dog for a walk at 5:15 am or something crazy
- Right when I was going to get out of bed and get in the shower, my husband got in
- My husband sprayed on his cologne and made the bathroom smell like a guy
- Once I finally got showered and ready we still had to get the boys ready
- Woody was being a pill all morning and did not want to get dressed or do anything
- I didn't get their bag packed last night, so still had to do that this morning
- Didn't have time to pack a lunch
- Dropped kids at day care and hauled butt to get Bucky to work on time

The day has gone fine since and I'm looking forward to riding home with my hubby today. But things are a changin' tomorrow! He's moving to the downstairs bathroom and hopefully I can remember to pack up the kids bag tonight. Wish me luck!!

What is wrong with the people in charge at DIA?

2008-08-11T12:57:00.005-05:00

As I was taking my husband to the airport yesterday for his trip, I saw the outline of a large mustang sculpture in the distance. It looked very ominous and quite frankly a little scary. I immediately thought of the four horsemen of the apocalypse. As we got closer, I realized that this thing is quite frightening and it made me feel very uncomfortable. It's huge, blue, visible ribs and veins and has the creepiest red eyes that actually light up! Would you like to see it? Well, here it is...

Honestly, I find this sculpture very demonic and almost like it has some bad karma attached to it. Apparently at night it's even creepier!

The city of Denver actually paid $650,000 for this thing. What a great way to welcome people to Denver!!

The story behind it is so sad, too. The sculptor that was building it was killed when a piece of the torse swung out of control and hit him. It was then finished by others and finally put in place earlier this year.

Now I just worry about what my kids are going to do when they see this!

Past two weeks (Part 2)

2008-08-09T13:21:00.007-05:00

One of the things that has been going on that has kept me away is my husband's job situation. Bucky has not been happy at his job because the commission structure just wasn't cutting it and anyone who knows about sales jobs, knows that salespeople make their money on commissions, not with their base salary. Also, with the rising gas prices and both of us commuting to opposite sides of town our gas bill has been killing us!!

Bucky had been looking half-heartedly for another job for a month or so, when he got an interview with a company in the office building across from my office. He did a phone interview and an in person interview a few weeks ago. They called him for a third interview a few days later. We were kind of at odds at this point. His current job had told him that he would be promoted by the end of the year, his favorite former boss had contacted him about a potential opportunity with her new company and then there was this job. This new job sounded great for commissions and benefits, but the base salary was a paycut from his current job.

Now, to be totally honest, my faith has been a little shaky lately as we have been dealing with a lot in our lives. I really felt as though God had forgotten about me. We ended up having our small group from church meeting the evening before his final interview with the new company. We told the group about what was going on and asked them all to keep us in their prayers as we searched for His guidance on what we should do.

We prayed a lot about it after leaving our small group and asked God to show us where Bucky needed to be. Well, he did just that! When Bucky went in for the interview he met with his direct supervisor and as soon as he walked in his office he immediately felt a connection with the supervisor. This man had Bible verses and other Christian stuff on his desk. His first question to Bucky wasn't about the job, he wanted to know about our family. Then Bucky told him he was a Christian too and they proceeded to talk at length about God and how he works in our lives.

Our biggest concern was that for at least the first two months money would be extra tight because he wouldn't be bringing in any commissions until most likely October. We decided the opportunity couldn't be passed up, we knew God would provide.

Well, when he resigned and gave notice they wouldn't allow him to finish (pretty typical in sales), so that was his last day. He had 6 days of vacation being paid out, so that covered him until his new job started. BUT they are also paying him for his notice time, so basically we are getting over a weeks pay extra!!! This is going to cover us for August & September being tight!!!

GOD IS SO AWESOME, AMAZING, WONDERFUL, I could go on and on.I certainly don't feel forgotten anymore, he was just trying to teach me some patience!! I am happier today then I have been any day in the past few months for sure.

--------

However, I don't know when I'm going to be able to vent to my mom about my husband if he's with me on my commute every day. HAHAHA Just kidding, babe.

He did his orientation for the new job yesterday and will travel to Hot-lanta tomorrow for training. Oh goodness, I'm going to have my hands very full with both boys by myself! I am excited though because I will finally be able to update my blog with our fun June/July activities.

We are so blessed!!

New Web site Recommendation - Ideal Bite

2008-08-07T14:23:00.004-05:00

Ideal Bite is a site that offers daily tips for "Green Living." It's a great way to get started doing better things for our planet and the people on it. I really like getting the little tips it provides. Check it out:

Visit Ideal Bite

It doesn't cost anything and they don't spam you, I PROMISE!!

Past two weeks (Part 1)

2008-08-04T10:10:00.012-05:00

The past two weeks have just been busy, busy, busy. I'll start at the beginning...

Two weeks ago today was Woody's 2nd birthday. We didn't really celebrate that day because we were having a big party the next Sunday. He's two I don't think he really cared what day we celebrated his birthday, I'm quite sure he doesn't even know what a birthday is yet.

Well, his party was tons of fun. We ended up having quite a few people over. It seems a little crazy for a two year olds birthday party, but we really hadn't had people over besides family in the year we have lived in this house. It was a lot of fun and I'm really proud of it. I think we will definitely be having more get-togethers at our house in the future.

I'll be back with more soon, but until then here are some pics from the day...

Really need to update...

2008-07-27T09:35:00.004-05:00

Well, I have finally downloaded all of the pictures off our camera for the past month or so. I will soon be blogging about all the fun stuff we've been doing and including pics.

However, it won't be today. We have Woody's 2nd birthday party today!! It's going to be a lot of people, with almost half of them children. Wish me luck...

Happy 2nd Birthday, Woody!!

2008-07-21T11:11:00.006-05:00

I can't believe two years ago today, Woody entered the world!! My wonderful little baby...

is now a big boy...

He definitely fits the bill of kid going through the terrible two's. Constant temper tantrums, very demanding, screams at his little brother, etc. However, he is also very sweet, loving and makes me laugh and smile all day long. I love this kid more than I ever could have imagined loving another human being!!!

So...

Happy Birthday, my little man!!

Beauty Brands you are a lifesaver!

2008-07-16T14:03:00.008-05:00

I have been in a real funk with my hair lately, as you may recall from a couple of my other posts. I even colored it light brown temporarily (it was supposed to be permanent, but I used the cheap at home stuff so it faded pretty quickly). I really loved the brown color, but professional coloring just isn't in the budget currently. Heck, a haircut isn't in our budget right now!

Well, this past weekend I heard an ad on the radio for the Beauty Brands Annual Liter Sale. Only $10.98 for liters of salon brand haircare products! If you know anything about salon products, you know that this price is dirt cheap. It's usually twice that price. So I moseyed my butt on over to Beauty Brands and bought some Biolage Shampoo and Conditioner. I LOVE Biolage, but never buy it because it's so expensive.

This morning I used my new products and my hair is so soft, shiny, and smells awesome!! Thanks Beauty Brands and THANKS MOM!!

PS - I know I still need to update on the exciting events of the past few weeks, I promise it's coming soon!

Stay Tuned...

2008-07-09T16:25:00.003-05:00

Things have been quite busy for the last week, so I haven't had time to post. However, I have some fun stuff to post including:

Fun at Gymboree
Fireworks driving my family insane
The kids at the farm - this is the life for me!!

I have some great pics to post and some fun stories, so please bear with me and I will post some updates in the next couple of days.

Ziploc Big Bags Rave

2008-07-03T12:44:00.002-05:00

I've been trying to figure out how to get rid of the clutter in our house. I am a pack rat and have trouble getting rid of anything. Our basement is full of crap: old bills, junk mail, clothes we haven't worn in 10 years, etc. I'm just so afraid if I get rid of something that's when I will need it again. Well, I came to the realization yesterday that I can't find anything in this clutter and that it's time to purge.

Here's the story to explain my realization: Bucky is the coach for Bruisers little league baseball team. For the regular season Bucky could wear shorts to coach, but now he is coaching the all star team and he has to wear baseball uniform pants for their tournament next weekend. We know he has at least a couple pairs of baseball pants already and on our tight budget we really don't have the money to buy him new ones. So yesterday we were in the basement looking through bag after bag of old clothes and couldn't find them. Also, while looking through these bags we were tripping over other boxes and bags.

It really is time to clean this stuff up!! Especially with a house full of boys or soon we will become even more overrun with stuff.

So then I was trying to figure out what to use to separate stuff...

- Use trash bags for trash and donations
- Use boxes for garage sale stuff and large items to keep

- Ziploc Big Bags for smaller items to keep, so that they are easy to see

I love these Ziploc Big Bags. I got them to try out and then spread word of mouth because I am a Bzz Agent. What's a Bzz Agent you ask? Well, it's a company that has agents try out new products, web sites, etc and then use word of mouth to spread the news of new products on the market. It doesn't cost anything to become an agent and you get to try out products, check it out here BzzAgent.

Honestly, I probably never would have tried out the Big Bags if it wasn't for BzzAgent. I just thought they were too expensive and probably wouldn't do a great job of holding stuff. However, they can hold a ton and are very durable. I have only used a couple so far, but I am excited to use them for so many things, like:

Out of season clothing - makes it easier to see what's in each bag than big black trash bags and they seal to keep out dust, bugs, etc
Extra office and school supplies - I have so many pens I could open a pen store
Hand me down toys - Toys that Bruiser is done with, but Woody isn't old enough to play with yet
I could go on and on...

Now, I'm actually excited to clean the basement and get some semblance of order to everything!!

Oh, I just thought of another great use for the Big Bags - to carry wet swimsuits and towels home after a fun day at my aunt & uncle's pool!! Last weekend we used an old King Soopers bag and I was so worried everything else would get wet. From now on, I'll use a Big Bag.

OOOOOOOOO...

2008-06-25T13:03:00.007-05:00

So my husband just called me to tell me that his office building is haunted. Apparently, there is a ghost that hangs out in the men's room! HAHAHA

He was in the bathroom alone when a toilet in one of the stalls flushed and then the stall door opened, but NO ONE was there!! Now this toilet is not a fancy, flush on it's own kind and requires you to actually push the button or lever. So he got the heck out of there. To make it even weirder, he saw another guy by the elevator that said the same thing had happened to him. I told him maybe someone in his building had a cloak of invisibility that they wear to the office!

So my questions are...

Why would a ghost haunt an office building?

Why would a ghost use the bathroom?

JUST WEIRD!!

As a side note - Why does the message board I frequent break down so darn much!!! It makes me crazy when I have something to say and I need to catch up with my girlfriends. Come on, you're listed as one of Time's Top 50 Websites, get with the program!

Happy Birthday Babe!!

2008-06-20T10:32:00.004-05:00

Today is my husband's birthday!! Here is what I got him:

I even stayed up late last night to set it up and get it ready to brew first thing in the morning! So this is what greeted him when he walked into the kitchen this morning. (I also got a pic of him with the bow on his head, but he would kill me if I posted that!!)

It's the Hamilton Beach Brewstation. It brews the coffee inside and doesn't have a carafe. You just put your cup against the silver lever and the coffee pours into your cup. It's awesome!!

When we went to visit my girlfriend in Seattle last year she had one of these and Bucky loved it! Since our old coffee maker was dying I figured his birthday would be a great time to get him a new one.

The kids and I are taking him to the Rockies game on Sunday for his birthday, too. I hope he has a great day today!

Air Guitar Competition, really?

2008-06-20T09:30:00.001-05:00

Seriously, this is the dumbest thing I have ever seen. Well, maybe not ever, but the dumbest thing I've seen this week.

http://www.9news.com/news/watercooler/article.aspx?storyid=93998&catid=337

http://www.9news.com/rss/article.aspx?storyid=94112

To sum it up, Wednesday was the Regional Competition here in Denver for the Air Guitar National Championship. People got up on stage played air guitar to recorded music and were judged based on technicality, stage presence and airness. So these guys get all dressed up 80's-style and go out on stage WITHOUT a guitar and people watch this, am I right? I just don't get it. How is this a talent?

I miss my boys!!

2008-06-17T15:05:00.001-05:00

I am really struggling with working full-time right now. My boys are growing so much and I am missing it!! I enjoyed this weekend so much, hanging out with them and playing. Taking them to the babysitter's yesterday was so tough for me. They learn new things every day and I'm not there.

Bubba started sitting up on his own last night. Woody has a new word in his vocabulary almost daily.

I love their babysitter, she is so good with them. Woody loves having the interaction with other kids. I know I need to have my own time and I know we need the money right now. However, if it was possible for me to be home with them. I would do it in a heartbeat!

Blog Update!

2008-06-17T14:48:00.004-05:00

I have changed the names in my blog to protect the innocent. BWAHAHAHA - Who am I kidding? The innocent, my butt. I have changed their names to protect my family.

No more dumb blonde jokes...

2008-06-13T11:57:00.013-05:00

because I am no longer a blonde!

(Please excuse the totally annoyed look on my face, I hadn't had my coffee yet!)

I have been so irritated with my hair lately. So irritated that I was very close to just shaving it all off! I have contemplated this a few times before in my life, but never actually carried through with it. I think the matchy-matchiness (is that a word?) of my husband and I having the same hairdo (or complete lack of a hairdo in reality) would be kind of goofy. Yeah, that's my reasoning for not shaving my head.

So, I decided it was time for a change. I finally picked up a light golden brown color at the store and decided to try it out. It's a really nice color, very golden with a hint of red, too. The pic above doesn't do it justice. In fact, it still looks kind of blonde the more I look at the picture. Camera phones really suck in the quality picture category.

Now I just need a good cut and I think it will work nicely for awhile!

New to blogging, I've got the book for you!

2008-06-08T13:14:00.004-05:00

I just finished reading "The IT Girl's Guide to Blogging with Moxie" by Joelle Reeder & Katherine Scoleri. It was a great book for starting up your own blog.

They give some great ideas on how to start up a new blog, personalizing and getting readers. It was a very easy read and had some great info. I definitely recommend it if you are new to blogging and want to get started right.

Here are the links to both of the authors blogs:

Joelle's blog - Tenth Muse
Katherine's blog - Pink Martinis

Enjoy!!

No more baths or swimming for my boys!!

2008-06-05T16:18:00.008-05:00

Of course, I'm not really serious, but this article is so sad.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24982210/&GT1=43001

I had never heard of dry drowning before reading this article. I cannot imagine going into my baby's room later in the night and finding my child the way she did her son. This scares the crap out of me!! Woody tends to ingest some of the water when I am rinsing his hair in the bath, now I'm going to be paranoid that he could be a victim of dry drowning while sleeping at night.

Why do I read these articles? Why do I allow myself to think the worst could happen?

I know there is only so much we can do AND should do to protect our children from the awful things in this world. I know that if I overprotect them, they won't ever become independent human beings. I know that if I shelter them from everything in the world that could hurt them they will never understand what fun and freedom is. I know all of this, but still I can't imagine not being a helicopter mom.

Maybe this is something that will pass when they get a little older and more independant, maybe not. Maybe I am just destined to be the mom who worries about her kids day in and day out...

Congratulations ASU Softball Team!!

2008-06-03T22:10:00.005-05:00

The ASU Sun Devils just won the Women's College World Series!!! Bucky's cousin plays for them and scored one of the runs in tonight's win. Yay! What an awesome experience that must be. We are so proud of her.

Jamba Juice how I love thee...

2008-06-02T16:03:00.008-05:00

Caribbean Passion is the yummiest part of my day. I am so grateful to my wonderful husband for giving me a Jamba gift card for Mother's Day!! Their smoothies are my favorite, but their prices are not.

I know a lot of people have the Starbucks Addiction and go to Starbucks everyday. Don't get me wrong, I love a Grande Caramel Macchiato as much as the next Starbucks fanatic, but it just isn't in our budget to go there very much. The same goes for Jamba Juice, just too pricey for a regular activity. However, if I won the lottery this weekend, I would be drinking a Jamba Juice each and every day!!

Now do your work immunity boost! I want this gosh darn cold gone by the morning!!

Husbands say the funniest things...

2008-05-31T23:30:00.006-05:00

CBB has become Woody's stalker during mealtime. He is absolutely certain that Woody will drop something or share with him and he is usually right. Well, breakfast this morning was no different.

Me: CBB, go away - Woody, stop feeding CBB - CBB, get down - Woody, eat your food or I will take it away - CBB, do you want to go outside?

10 minutes of the above banter goes on.

Bucky: CBB and Woody have an agreement. CBB agrees not to bite Woody, if Woody promises to share all of his meals with him.

Sadly, I believe this to be true. When we first got CBB three months ago he did not like Woody at all. Now, they are best buddies. I'm sure this has nothing to do with Woody giving CBB snacks all day long, nothing to do with it at all!!!

Switching it up...

2008-05-31T12:20:00.006-05:00

I decided to change up my blog with a new template. This one is much more "Me." I found this free blogger template at http://www.simplyfabulousbloggertemplates.com. I feel like I can really become part of the blogging world now.

Sick...again - WTH???

2008-05-29T16:33:00.004-05:00

I am so tired of having a cold. Every time one of the kids gets a little runny nose or a small tickle in their throat I come down with a full-blown, knock me on my butt cold. Here's the back story behind this glorious cold:

- Bubba had watery eyes and a stuffed up nose at the beginning of Memorial Day weekend.
- Halfway through holiday weekend, Bubba is miserable and not sleeping well.
- End of holiday weekend, Bubba is fine...Mommy is not.

So last night I was lying on the couch contemplating how well I could live with no lungs. I was pretty sure I was going to cough up both of mine. All of a sudden, a commercial for DanActive came on the TV. Apparently this yogurt smoothie helps rebuild your immune system and fight off crap like this cold. I will be running to the store tonight to buy some and will report back soon as to how well it works. I really hope it does. I'm beginning to think my coworkers are going to quarantine me to my office, so none of them get sick! :(

Snack Attack

2008-05-27T11:56:00.003-05:00

I have a new snack obsession - Popcorn and Chocolate Covered Peanuts together.

This is weird because just a short time ago I couldn't even think about eating popcorn without gagging. In high school, I worked in a movie theater and had to make popcorn all the time. It really grossed me out and turned me off of popcorn. Lately, I have been eating a bag of microwave popcorn at work almost every day. I have also discovered the deliciousness that is a handful of popcorn with a couple chocolate covered peanuts mixed in. Yummy, yummy, yummy!!

Does anyone know where I can buy these items already mixed together??

I've Been Tagged!

2008-05-23T22:54:00.007-05:00

I have been tagged by Amber's house full...

The rules are as follows:

Each player answers the questions about themselves.
At the end of each post, the player tags other people and posts their name. Then goes to their blog and leaves a comment to let them know that they have been tagged.

What was I doing 10 years ago?
I was in college full-time, working full-time at a hotel front desk and dating someone I know everyone is glad I didn't marry.

Five snacks that I enjoy:
Ritz Crackers
Cheese
Movie Theater Butter Popcorn - I will have a bag of this almost every day at work right now
Pop-tarts - My breakfast of choice lately
Cereal

Five things on my to-do today (I'll do tomorrow's list as it is 10 pm right now):
Making a big breakfast for my family - I love to do this when I have time
Moving rocks in the front yard
Update our checkbook
Go to graduation party for a family member
Read - I just started reading "A Nation of Wimps" tonight

Five things I would do if I were a billionaire:
Financially - Pay off all of our debt and buy a house
Travel - Go on a trip to Italy with my husband ONLY and take our kids to Disney World
Family - Give my parents enough money that they could retire and finally be able to take care of them the way they have taken care of me
Charity - Give a large sum of money to my church, I feel that I am only giving back to God with the amazing gifts he has given to me
Career - Help husband finish his teaching degree so he can do what he really wants to do

Five jobs that I have had:
Appraisal Assistant
Hotel Sales (Sales Coordinator and promoted to Director of Sales)
Hotel Front Desk
Retail Sales - I will never do this again
Babysitter - I just saw one of the kids yesterday that I started watching when he was 4 months old, he's 14 now!!! How did that happen?

Five of my bad habits:
Chew my fingernails, A LOT
Drink way too much soda
Yell when I'm angry
I'm usually pessimistic
Don't exercise, at.all

Five places I have lived:
Northeast Nebraska
Lakewood, Colorado
Aurora, Colorado
Littleton, Colorado
Where I live now, Colorado
(I've lived in the Denver Metro area for most of my life)

Five people I want to get to know better:
I honestly don't have anything to list here - either I am totally self-centered and only care about my own blog, or I'm just too lazy to come up with other blogs to add! We'll go with option two.
If you want to be tagged by me, let me know and I'll edit my post. TEEHEEHEE

Five random things:
I'm going to chop off my hair and go with a whole new color soon, I am so tired of my hair. It's a miracle I haven't shaved it all off this week!
My husband is currently snoring on the couch, as per usual for any night of the week.
I really want to plan a trip to Italy from beginning to end even if I never get to go to Italy. At least the dream of it would be wonderful!
I wish cheesecake was a food group in the daily food pyramid.
I want to have a green thumb and grow beautiful stuff, unfortunately I was blessed with a black thumb and all plants I touch die.

Hopefully, in reading this you have learned something new about me!

I Love My Body

2008-05-19T12:35:00.005-05:00

Up until last night I had always had a hate-hate relationship with my body (you read that right, a HATE-HATE relationship). I’m not a small woman by any means and have had my fair share of irritating medical issues. I have never particularly liked any part of my body. However, all of that changed for me last night. I was reading this article (http://www.goodhousekeeping.com/health/advice/body-love-self-esteem?click=main_sr)
on loving your body for what it is in Good Housekeeping and really came to a realization…

No matter what my body looks like or how I feel in it, my body has done two very miraculous things. It has allowed the creation and growth of two very beautiful little boys! Without my body and the amazing things it can do Woody and Bubba wouldn’t be here. I have a couple of friends that have had a lot of trouble getting pregnant and other friends that have lost pregnancies. I can not imagine going through that and not having these amazing little men in my life.

So from this day forth, when I beat myself up for the way I look, I will remember what remarkable things my imperfect body has done.

Yay for Money

2008-05-09T12:50:00.001-05:00

Sorry, it's been awhile - time got away from me.

We got our money, we got our money!! Too bad it's already spent on bills and such. But without it, we would have to find that money elsewhere.

I am excited to spend a little of it though. We need some stuff for the house and would like to have a nice night out just the two of us. I already bought new bathroom stuff. (I'll post a pic after I get it all up).

A 1st for Bubba

2008-05-01T22:35:00.006-05:00

So we've had a big first happen with Bubba tonight!

We fed him rice cereal for the first time and as you can tell he LOVED it!! I know, I know you're supposed to wait until 6 months to introduce food and he's only 4 1/2 months. However, the doctor did say that if he is still waking up multiple times during the night we could try introducing cereal a little earlier. We're crossing our fingers that this helps him sleep more, we are all quite sleep deprived right now.

I love that he is now able to eat some foods and that he is growing so well. I am very sad though, too. He's growing so fast!! This is probably it for us as far as kids goes, so I'm trying to soak up as much baby time as I can. I'm sure going to miss these days when my boys are both able to do everything for themselves. :(

Is it really May 1st?

2008-05-01T13:12:00.003-05:00

It’s May 1, 2008 and here is what it looks like outside of my office today:

Do you see what I see? Yes, that’s snow on those bushes. Are you kidding me? I thought the phrase was “April showers bring May flowers” not “April showers bring May snow!” Don’t get me wrong, I love snow and living in Colorado you just have to expect it. However, I did not sign up for snow in May. I’m ready for the beauty that Spring brings to the area – blooming trees and flowers, the sweet smell of rain, beautiful green lawns, etc. Now go away white stuff!!

My Caged Animal

2008-04-30T16:16:00.002-05:00

Someone in this household has become a caged animal because they can't control themselves!

I bet you were expecting a picture of CBB, right? Now before you call child services on me, Woody crawled in there himself. He was having a grand old time hanging out in the doggie crate. He's such a curious boy these days and gets into everything. He was really enjoying himself watching everyone through the crate. The dog on the other hand was not too pleased. That's his private space and the blonde creature that follows him around was in it.

Where, oh Where...

2008-04-30T11:45:00.005-05:00

is my Economic Stimulus check??

I know we weren't originally supposed to get ours until next Friday, but since I heard they were going out early I have been stalking my bank account. We are wanting to buy some stuff for the house and yard and we're waiting for that money to buy it. Will you please hurry up and get in my bank account?

I did it!!

2008-04-26T21:23:00.005-05:00

I walked the March for Babies this morning! I am so proud of myself. I did take Woody with me and unfortunately we weren't able to do the whole 10K (6 miles) because it was very cold and windy. He was just too cold and was very unhappy, so we cut out of the walk early. I think we ended up walking about 4 of the 6 miles though. I am just so proud of myself for doing it!

The Team I was on was marching for one of the team members baby girl that was born over 10 weeks early. She is doing awesome now and could go home any day! As a team we raised almost $800 for the March of Dimes!!!

Woodys Words

2008-04-24T14:29:00.008-05:00

So Woody can say many words now -- some understandable, some not so much. Included in these words are:

Mama
Dada
Papa
Hi
Bye
Uh-Oh
Ummm
Yes
No
You
Dude (yes, he really says Dude)
Bath
Bites (for when he wants something to eat)
...the list goes on

However, I am trying to teach him I love you. When I say "say I" he says back "you." It justs seems funny that he knows when I say "I" that to him I am "you." Does this make sense?

Oh yeah, my dad is trying to teach him "Redrum" from The Shining. Nice, huh?

To take Cold Medicine or not, that is the question?

2008-04-22T13:53:00.002-05:00

Cold Medicine is quite an elusive mystery to me. On the one hand it makes me stop coughing and allows me to breathe again. On the other hand it makes me feel like I am floating above my body and that my equilibrium is off. I am trying to decide which feeling I prefer at this moment!

Darn you Airborne, why did you have to go and lie about your effectiveness? The placebo effect you produced was worth it to me!

Shopper's Helper

2008-04-19T18:20:00.007-05:00

Woody is such a good little helper. I had to go to Target and PetSmart today for stuff and he tagged along. I love being able to still have some one on one time with him. He's such a great little helper, he even carried the bag from PetSmart to the car!! (I really should have taken a picture, I'll try to remember to do that next time)

I hab a cobe!!

2008-04-17T22:33:00.007-05:00

This is what I sound like right now. I hate being sick. I am so glad that my little boys are the transporters of icky germs! I thought when kids started going to a babysitter they were the ones that got sick, but apparently it is only me that gets sick.

I guess I can deal with it, since I would rather be sick than have to deal with my poor babies being sick. Why couldn't they have shared their germs with daddy...

WOW

2008-04-14T14:35:00.001-05:00

Unfreakingbelieveable!!! That.is.all for now.

5 Things...

2008-04-14T12:07:00.003-05:00

On Mondays at work we have to do a list of the five things we are focusing on this week, so I have decided to also do a five things list for my personal stuff for the week.

My five things to accomplish this week...

--Take photos of the boys and set up a photo order through Snapfish
--Clean Pantry and make a stock up list
--Get personal budget put together
--Put list together of things needed for the house
--Clean out newsletter folder in email

Okay, here goes...
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ETA on April 30 - I still haven't gotten any of these things done :(

Just an observation!

2008-04-09T12:10:00.002-05:00

Should not be left alone together!

Needing Prayers

2008-04-08T13:00:00.003-05:00

We are needing some prayers right now. I really can't go into it, but please just pray that God points us in the right direction. Everyone is healthy and our marriage is fine. Thanks.

Dollars for Drawers

2008-04-07T11:35:00.006-05:00

My friend's husband is deployed to Iraq. She has started a small donation raising effort for underwear/t-shirts, etc. If you are interested in helping out please check out my link in this post or on the left side of my page to her blog.

http://www.dollarsfordrawers.blogspot.com/

Matthew 6:34

2008-04-01T11:46:00.007-05:00

"Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own."

Bucky left this in a note for me recently. I tend to worry every day about something or another. I am working to live by this verse from now on.

First Post, Hopefully Not the Last

2008-03-30T19:24:00.003-05:00

Well, I've done this before and have only lasted a few posts. My plan for this blog is to update people on our lives. I also want to use it for a brainstorming place for house ideas, shopping ideas, food, pretty much anything! Well, here goes nothing...