new years eve PITY party

okay dont read this if you dont wanna. i shouldnt even be typing it. i know im being a whiny baby and that is why i am typing without punctuation--to try to make it look as insignificant as it really is--but this sux. i am sitting here at home on new years eve checking my email in my jammies bored out of my mind. matt is reading the news paper in his recliner. brooklyn is playing a spongebob video game and grant is hopping around on one of those big balls with the handle that you sit on. we went to church watched a BOGUS movie. it was more of a documentary--by ben stein about evolution and darwinism. 99% of everything that was said in the thing was over my head and what parts i could understand--totally didnt interest me. besides that, i think that a discussion like that is just unnecessarily opening up a can of worms. if a person isn't wrestling with the concept of creation, then why present a 2 hour discussion on the subject--and especially one that isnt even presented from a strong christian standpoint? (though ben stein is jewish).
anyway--just totally NOT what i was expecting to be spending my new years eve doing (watching). then on the way out of church-got in a little spat with my other half and now we're keeping to ourselves. that's just sucky. i know the right thing to do would be to have a little heart-to-heart with myself and get over it and my little pity party and turn the rest of the evening around...but im not sure i care enough to bother. maybe ill just play a game with the kids and then go to bed.
we tried to get my parents to come over and "celebrate" with us...but they're fuddy-duds and think it's "too late" to do something if its anywhere near the 9 o'clock hour. (rolling my eyes).
you know what else i wanna complain about while im at it? on new years day-why do classes at the gym have to be cancelled? couldn't that very possibly be their BUSIEST day of the entire year? everyone is anxious to get in shape...and what better way to get started than to go on Jan 1st and take a group fitness class? i tell you, if i ever do pursue becoming an instructor--you can dang sure bet ill be having class on Jan 1st.
okay, enough is enough. i'm starting to tick myself off...so thats not good. i promised the kids a game -- better go make good on that while we're all still awake. hope you're having more fun than i am--no wait--thats dumb. of course you are. hope i end up having more fun than im having currently. there-thats better.
sorry for the negativity. what a lousy way to end 2008! I should probably just delete this whole post--but then i would have spent the last 20 minutes typing for nothing--so im posting. sorry if you read it though. okay-really-goodnight.
Here's to a much happier mood when I wake up in 2009~!

Who are they?

I want to know who the people are who have big parties on New Years Eve and wear fancy dresses and festive hats and drink champagne and kiss at midnight? Where do they live?
I want to be one of them!
I'm bummed--its New Years Eve and we have NOTHING to do tonight. No parties to go to--no gatherings with friends--not even a fun see-in-the-new-year night at church. We are going to church and they are showing a movie tonight (which is cool) but we'll be out of there by 8:30-9 pm and then what? Come home and go to bed like every other day? Blah!
I know some would say "well you should have planned a party then" and that's true--I could have taken the initive. Should have probably. But it's too late for that now. (Maybe I'll make a note of that in my brain for next year though!)
Anyway, I'm trying to think of something we can do around here to make it feel exciting--like a celebration. So far, I've come up with helping the kids make a "Happy New Year" banner and blowing up some balloons...but other than that...I've got squat.

I was watching the morning news yesterday morning while I was making Matt's breakfast and the lady on there was at a party america store showing all the different varities of New Years party supplies they have. Wow! There is a whole entire isle of party stuff just devoted to ringing in 2009! It all looked and sounded like so much fun--but I don't know ANYONE who does it. Never have known a single person who has done anything much for New Years Eve. Not to say that I haven't rung in the new year at some totally fun gatherings with friends--because I have. But we never had any of that cool party stuff to really commemorate the coming year. We've never dressed up and wore fun hats all kissed at midnight like you see on TV. I wanna do that.

So what are you doing tonight?

The Christmas Post

First of all, here is our ginger breadhouse. It was our first attempt. It was perfect and SO cute until I tried to move it off the white tray and onto a really pretty silver tray....BAD IDEA! The whole thing fell apart and I had to try to "glue" it back together with what little bit of icing I had left. It was looking more like a gingerbread shack when it was all said and done...but oh well. We still had lots of fun and the best part? I got it on clearance for only $4.00!!

The weekend before Christmas, we went to our little hometown to celebrate Christmas with Matt's family. Dec 20 is also Matt's mom's birthday so we did birthday/Christmas together. Here are some pics from that:

This is all the grandkids standing below their stockings at Nana's house (Matt's mom).

Brooklyn about to hand Nana her birthday present.

Matt and his little brother Cale sharing a laugh.

Nana with all her grandkids in front of her birthday cake.

Brooklyn wearing the birthday crown since her birthday is coming up next!

Me and my hubby---still infatuated with each other! Gross, I know..but hey--it's better than the alternative!

Matt's grandma, Nane, with all of her GREAT grandchildren!

My handsome hubby posing for a picture for his camera-crazy wife! :o)

___________________________________________________________________
We had a wonderful Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. We had 20 in all at our house on Christmas Eve (4 of which were kids) and we played Family Bunco. It was lots of fun and I loved it that we ALL did something together! Afterwards we played Dirty Santa and did an ornament exchange. I'm sort of anal about having the whole evening planned out, but I didn't want people to start segregating into little groups. I wanted us to all be together for the whole evening--and we were and it was perfect! I didn't get any pics of it though because I had the video camera out instead. Got lots of video footage that will be fun looking at for years to come!

On Christmas morning we slowed down and let the kids open their gifts one at a time first before us adults started opening ours--one at a time. It took us about 2 hours to open all the gifts but for the first time ever, we were all able to see what each other got. I loved it! We will definitely make that a tradition from now on!

Here are a few pics from the all the fun!Here is one during/after most of the present opening was done! What a MESS! We are such a BLESSED family. Not just because of all the material things...but because of all the LOVE!

Me and my daddy! Do you see the resemblence?

Me and my daddy--how we usually look. He's big on affection--which is probably why I am the way I am. If you love someone---I say SHOW IT! I love this picture! Brooklyn got a "spa" for Christmas and she wanted everyone to take a turn getting their feet done! Here is Matt being a good sport!

And of course, I can't end this post without one last pic of my favorite Christmas present of all--Kinley! (Thank you SO MUCH honey for letting me get her!) She slept on my chest almost all night last night (on the couch) and I think we bonded. ahhhh....bliss!

We also gave her a bath today and she looked SO cute!

And right now, as I type this...she is right here next to my keyboard just snoozing away! tee-hee-hee (ohhh...ignore the MESSY desk!)

Shout Out

I have to give a little 'shout out' to my daughter~Brooklyn~for updating her blog today. I typed while she talked. It's pretty amusing although I'm not crazy about the way she describes me! ha ha (note to self: work on the stress level!) Anyway, you can check her blog out at www.brooklynismyname.blogspot.com
Don't forget to leave her a comment! You know how special that makes us all feel when someone takes the time to read and comment on our blogs!
Thanks peeps!

Our Family is Complete!

Matt, Jenni, Brooklyn , Grant and now introducing our newest member: Kinley!

We had such a great Christmas and I have so much to tell....but again...I don't have time right now. However, this just could NOT wait. I had to share our newest addition with you all! As you can imagine, I am in total LOVE! She's 3 months old and 2 1/2 pounds. After MUCH debate, we decided to name her Kinley!

(Ps. Please no harsh comments. I've already had 2 of my closest friends ridicule me for getting yet "another dog" and it stings. Yes, I've had some unfortunate times with my dogs this past year...but I didn't ask for that. I still want a puppy very badly, and now I have one. Just be happy for me, okay? :o)

I promise to be back in the next day or so with lots more stuff to tell!

This is not really a post

I am writing to tell you I won't be writing. I have a hundred things to say on here that I'll probably never remember when I actually have the time to type them out...but for now, I just can't blog. I have 19 people coming to my house tomorrow night and I have LOTS of planning and cooking and cleaning to do before that happens. It is 11:23 pm right now and I can hardly see straight. I've been going since 5:30 am this morning (after only getting about 5 hours of sleep) and I feel like a zombie. I know I've been neglecting my blog...but it'll have to wait a few more days. I have lots of pictures though to share and stories. I hope you all have a very wonderful Christmas, full of last-a-lifetime memories! Take a minute and slow down--enjoy every second of it--as if it were your last Christmas. This will be our first Christmas without my grandma and I realize now, more than ever, that life is so precious and fleeting. It can be taken from you at any second--so it really is important to make the most of the time you have! I don't want to ever look back and say "if only I'd___________".

Anyway, don't know exactly where that came from---okay, yes I do. That is what is in my heart this Christmas. I want to BE IN THE MOMENT this year. I don't want to be the busy hostess who is only getting things for everyone else and behind the camera the whole time--cleaning up messes and washing dishes and when I finally take a breath, realize that I missed the whole thing. No. This year I want to be in the middle of the action. I want to see the looks through my own eyes and not the camera lens on the faces of my children when they open their gifts. I want to actually read the Christmas story from the Bible like we did when I was a kid and even though we've heard it so many times---take some time to remember what this is all about. I want it to be clear that it's all about Jesus--HIS birth and HIS life that we are celebrating.
Okay...enough of my preaching...I really need to get to bed. Anyway, as I said, hope you have an amazing Christmas Day cherishing your loved ones!

Merry Christmas!

A babysitter!! Hooray!

Okay, I have not had a babysitter in YEARS! It's probably been a good 2-3 years since anyone has watched my kids except my mom. But today, I hit the jackpot-so to speak. A friend of mine is a teacher at our high school and I mentioned to her that I would like to find a babysitter. She just called me with a girl who is a junior at the school. She said she is a Christian and is WONDERFUL and is her top choice for a babysitter ever! She said she is so sweet and is on the leadership team and loves to play with the kids. I feel like I am in HEAVEN! I am so super-dooper excited. Now my parents get to go out WITH us tonight! (We are going to go see the movie Four Christmases--thanks to all your recommendations!) Only one problem...
How much do I pay her????
The last time we had a babysitter was when Grant was still taking bottles and sleeping in a crib. At that time, the girl who sat for us was only 15 and didn't drive. Since I had to go pick her up and take her home, I paid her $4/ hour--with a minimum of $15 with every visit.
Now tonight, this girl will be coming for 3 hours. I don't want to "cheat" her but I also don't want to spend a fortune. What do you guys pay? What is a reasonable rate?

I did this last night!

At the mall last night, they had this thing set up. It's called "The Trampoline Bungee" and I knew the kids would love doing it. It was $7 per person so we splurged and let them do it. They had a blast but when they were done, the guy running it said, "Ok, now it's mommy's turn. Mommies get to go for free." Well, if you know me...you know he said THE magic word--FREE! I do anything that is free! ha ha So, off went my boots and on went the harness. There I was in the middle of the mall in front of tons of people bouncing 30 feet in the air, doing flips, making a fool of myself probably...but I didn't care. It was fun and it was FREE! hee hee

Also very interesting last night: As we were letting our kids run around in the play area--a fight broke out! The story goes:

Mr. X's kids were hitting Mr.O's grandkids. Mr. X wasn't paying attention. Mr. O sat there and watched his 2 small grandchildren (about 2 and 3) get hit by Mr. X's kids several times. Eventually Mr. O got up and went over to Mr.X's little girl (about 5) and pointed his finger at her face and said something like "Little girl don't hit these kids anymore!"

At that point, Mr. X looks up and sees little old Mr. O with his finger in his daughters face and apparenty Mr. X forgets he is an adult in a childrens playground. He abruptly goes over to Mr. O, sticks HIS finger in Mr.O's face and proceeds to tell him "Don't you EVER put your F-ing finger in my kids face again!" over-and over-and over, louder and louder and louder. Poor Mr. O--just a little old grandpa there by himself with his two toddler grandkids stands his ground to big, mean Mr. X and tries to calmly explain the situation. Well, this goes on for at least 5 minutes--meanwhile everyone has stopped playing or talking. There are at least 50 spectators standing around. Mr. X and Mr. O are now almost nose to nose and Mr. X's voice is getting louder and louder. Every child in there has a look of fear on their face. (oh and in the process of Mr. X acting like an idiot--HE knocks over his little girl who hits her face on the side of the hard plastic slide and starts to cry--which he COMPLETELY ignores). Anyway, about this time, I threw Matt my purse and took off running to the nearest store yelling "Call Security!!" By the time I turned around and got back to the playarea--the security guys were there. Of course, people were everywhere going "What's going on?" and we ended up talking about it for another 20 minutes or so with all the other parents and spectators. CRAZY!

Then on the way out, we stopped for some fruit fondue. While we were sitting at the tables right next to the mall exit doors a middle aged man (probably in his 50-60's) comes walking quickly by carrying a 4-5 year old boy with no pants on-just underwear- who is SCREAMING "I want my mommy!!!"

The boy is wrestling to try to get out of the man's arms but the guy just gets a stronger grip on him and carries him on out of the mall. I knew what was going through my mind...but when I looked over at Matt--I could see he was thinking the same thing. He mouthed the word "Kidnapped" to me and I nodded. Who knows for sure. But it is pretty freaky and there IS a bathroom just around the corner from the doors. AUGH! I hated to just sit there and not do anything...but I guess it very well could have been the kids grandpa or something.

Anyway, I'm not sure we found "the Christmas Spirit" at the mall last night---but we certainly got our share of entertainment!! :o)

Need me some "Christmassy"

I just don't feel Christmassy yet. I want to sooo bad, but nothing I do brings it on. Matt and I have said almost every evening for the past week, "What can we do to get more in the spirit of things?" and neither of us has any ideas.
We have been to plays, several Christmas parties, went to The Christmas Train, listen to Christmas music 24/7, watch a Christmas movie almost every evening (thanks to ABC Family's 25 days of Christmas), bought and wrapped all our presests, I've been baking like crazy, we read the kids Christmas books every night before bed, the whole house is decorated up-inside and out....etc.
I just can't think of anything else we could do to get more in the Christmas spirit.
T. mentioned on her blog that the mall felt "like Christmas" so we're actually thinking about going tonight just to let the kids play in the play area and mabye get some dippin' dots or something. (no shopping).
Has anyone seen the movie Four Christmases? I just wondered if it's any good.
Okay, well, I better get off here. If anybody has any ideas for feeling Christmassy....pass 'em on!

*remember*

If you have an extra 3-5 minutes, go read this post a fellow-blogger friend of mine did:
http://mile283.blogspot.com/2008/12/to-military-wives.html

sssNOOOOOOOOOOw days

Well, here we are again..no school. This is the 3rd day so far. My attempts at a "better day" were unfortunately very unsucessful yesterday. Today, I'm getting us out of the house. I don't care if I have to drive 5 mph the whole way and start brakeing 1/2 a mile before my stop---fine. I just can't stay here cooped up in this house with these kids for one more minute. Actually, I am enjoying being at home and could spend another week at home--BY MYSELF---but the kids are restless and bored and going from their normal-fighting and irritating to a level that is beyond tolerable.
Matt and I sat in bed last night and had a good, long talk about "stuff" and we know it's time to make some changes around here. We've known for quite some time...but neither of us has been very committed to it, so our feeble attempts just flop. The attitudes coming from our little redhead are just unacceptable and the bigger she gets---the bigger her attitude problem gets. I honestly don't think ANYONE (except me and Matt) have totally seen this side of her. I guess I should be grateful for that--just imagine if she acted this way towards others!!! But sometimes I feel like people don't realize how serious (bad) it is because they haven't seen "it."
Anyway what we realized last night is that this is going to take some SERIOUS committment, dedication and self-less-ness from us to accomplish. We need to look at it just as seriously as we viewed beginning P90X. It is going to have to be our FOCUS. When a discipline situation arises--everything is going to have to be put on hold during this time. Meaning, I will abandon my half-cooked dinner, stop the car, quit mid-way through my grocery shopping, hang up the phone even if the other person is in the middle of a story, get off the computer, etc....
We both realize that we are bad about just hollering threats from our seat on the couch or me from the computer, etc. When we are distracted by something we want to be doing, they get away with just about anything and everything. It's time for no more distractions. Nothing--absolutely nothing--is as important as this. This is their future. It will be determined by the choices we make right now, and what we commit to teaching them.
Eating habits, spiritual lives, tv habits, attitude problems, disrespect, hobbies/interests---these are all areas that need attention.
One thing that drives me crazy is that we built the whole upstairs suite so that they could have their own space--to play, be loud, be messy-whatever. And no one EVER goes up there. Ever. We haven't been up there since the day we cleaned it about 2 weeks ago! So, beginning today I am going to put a bed upstairs for them to start sleeping on. I honestly think if they are sleeping up there, they will become more comfortable with being up there--and will begin to actually play with their toys. No wonder they're bored all the time...nearly every toy they own is upstairs--where they don't/won't go!
I am also going to question Brooklyn about what kind of activity she is interested in and then I am going to enroll her in something. "nothing" is not an option. Because we live in the country and don't have neighbors really, she doesn't have any friends. She has "friends" at school, but no one she has gotten close enough with to have over for a playdate or anything (per her). She doesn't have ANY friends at church that she feels close with, which is SO sad to me. The only place she interacts with other children really is at school, then she comes home and has to amuse herself for the rest of the time. I think if she could be a part of something--a team or a group or a club--she would develop some closer relationships and also have something to focus on, and spend some of her time doing.
Spiritually, I have been a lazy example to her. I'd hate to hear what she thinks "being a Christian" means based off my example. Probably "volunteer all the time, listen to preaching and go to church" because basically that is all she sees me do for my spirit man. We do pray together every morning before school and I treasure that (and I know she does too). But she needs to KNOW (and see) that Christ is at the center of EVERYTHING in our home. HE is the reason we volunteer, listen to Christian music, monitor the tv and movies that come into our house, pray when someone is sick or gets in trouble, etc....
So..I'm sure this is all a lot for you to read..and take in. Probably pretty boring if you're not living in my house...but I like to get this all out on here sometimes, for myself...so I can look back and remember what I was thinking and planning-and see how far I've come.

I do have to share one little thing that happened yesterday that was enlightening and encouraging. The kids heard on tv that it was "opposite day" and somehow that provoked them to have us all change our roles. I was going to pretend to be Brooklyn. Grant would pretend to be Daddy. Brooklyn would pretend to be mommy.
When it got to her turn to display "mommy" for us...she said,
"oh honey, come here sweetie baby, let me give you a big wet sloppy kiss--oh, mmm-mmm I just love you SO much! Now come on everybody, let's exercise! Let's do P90x. Let's do some push ups. Oh look, we're eating green beans tonight. Yumm!! Let's have some carrots too!"
and then she proceeded to CRACK HERSELF (and all of us) UP!!
All I could think was 'hmmm...well at least I am 1)Loving 2)Fit 3)Eat healthy.' :o)

Oh no! Not another one!!

Yesterday was a "snow day" here--meaning no school. No snow either for that matter---but we did get some sleet on Sunday night that turned into a solid sheet of ice on every surface outdoors. And our temperatures are in the single digits...
Speaking of temperatures, we set a record on Sunday here. We went from 75 degrees at 2 pm (and wearing shorts and t-shirts outside) to 15 degrees by 10 pm that evening (and ice everywhere)! That is a 60 degree change in the temperature, which was a record in our state.
Anyway, it was a long day yesterday--me and the kids--stuck in this house with nothing interesting to do. Of course, I did my usual stuff (cleaning, working, bills) but they were crazy-bored. Now...today...we are out again! AUGH! What am I going to do with them ALL DAY LONG? I know some of this morning will be taken up by the routine chores...but I really hope I can come up with an agenda for us for the afternoon hours because I don't think I can endure another whole day of arguing and bickering and boredom (for them). Guess it's time to break out the craft supplies and get our creativity on. Wish me luck!

Oh and to update you all on the whole dog thing--Emmie/Macie. Well, the people who adopted her won't answer their phone or return the calls from the pound--so the lady at the pound thinks that they are probably worried that they'll have to give her back so that's why they are avoiding them. Whatever. I suppose since she's safe and happy and ALIVE that I will be fine with that. Truthfully I was afraid that if we did somehow get her back---how could we be sure that she wouldn't slip out of our fence and get lost again!!??!! It's probably for the best--the way it turned out--but I still feel like I have a little empty spot in my heart. One about the size of a yorkie. :o)

gettin' jiggy wit it...

na na-na na na nah-na, na na na nah-na na.
okay, I have no idea what that title means...but it was the first thing that came to my mind when I was trying to think of a title for this post. :o)
Anyway, my sweet friend Amanda over at http://aproudmommyof4.blogspot.com/ is gettin' me all fixed up with some totally happenin' looks for my blog. She's been working her little heart out making me headers and backgrounds and such and soon--very soon, you will get to see the fruit of all her labor. I tried to apply the header she made me...but I didn't do something right...which is why it's teensy tiny. But rest assured, the girl is fast and good and she'll have me up and going in no time.
Meanwhile, hang with me. You may see some weird things until it's all just right!
Ps. THANKS Amanda!!

You know you live in a redneck town when...

..you overhear the guy at the table next to you at the local pizzeria say to his son, "Come o're here boy and lemme clean that dirt out from unner yer nails with these hur clippers wall we wait fur our pizza."
Guh-ross!!
And then he really did it! He proceeded to use a pair of monstrous clippers to dig the gunk out his kids nails over the table they were about to eat their dinner off of.
I just had to shake my head and think "you know you're a redneck when..."
I guess I should count my blessings, at least he didn't try to do his toenails right then too!

Excuse me????!!!

Okay, I just got home from the kids school. Tomorrow is our big fundraiser of the YEAR and I went to help get stuff set up. When I approached the PTO president to ask what she'd like me to do, I couldn't help but notice her shirt covered in skulls and crossbones which blared the message: La Dee Freakin' Da
Okay...am I over-reacting...or is that totally NOT the kind of example we want to be setting for our 4-10 year olds?

OMG!

Okay, I am really bummed that I don't have more time because I SOOOO Badly want to tell you guys the whole story...but I just can't spend that long on the computer this morning. Anyway, I also couldn't WAIT to tell you this ...so here is the "Short" version

3 exciting things happened to me yesterday:

1. I burned 1034 calories in 2 hr and 14 min. at the gym yesterday and when I stepped on the scale I was at 133! That is 2 pounds down since Thanksgiving and a total of 15 down from February!)

2. While I was getting my hair colored today, a friend of mine texted me and asked if we wanted her tickets to The Christmas Train as well as 4 free meal tickets for last night! Well, I know most of you don't know what The Christmas Train is--and sorry--I don't have time to tell you right now...but it's somewhere we've been wanting to go for YEARS but either can't afford the tickets--or else it's always sold out! So, I went and picked up all the free tickets and we went last night and it was SO FUN! LOVED it! Hooray for free--unexpected fun! Thanks SO MUCH Joyce!!

3. AND--while I was racing around town running my errands, I had to stop by the Library to drop off some books and THERE taped on the library door was a picture of my dog Emmie!!! (Macie) She'd been picked up by the pound! I could not believe it. I'd been calling the pound weekly since she disappeared and had finally given up about 3 weeks ago because I figured it'd been a month and if she hadn't been found--she was probably gone. Anyway, so I IMMEDIATELY called the number on the paper and the lady tells me, "oh yes, that dog was given away last week." I'm like "WHAT????" "I've been calling you and calling you (even talking to THIS particular lady) and you told me you'd keep her on the list as missing until I called to take her off---and then you find her and then immediately give her away to someone?????????" I was so flustered at that moment. So I asked her if there was anyway we could get her back and she said she didn't think so but she'd check into it and let me know tomorrow (which is now today, Friday). Brooklyn immediately started bawling when she saw the sign with her Emmie's picture on it. I know this whole ordeal with losing Sadie and then Emmie was really hard on her emotionally.
Anyway, I don't know what is going to happen--but I have totally settled it within myself that if we don't get her back, it's okay. If she is with a family who loves her and is taking good care of her and that she is comfortable with--then I'm THRILLED. I'm just SO HAPPY to know she is alive!
Anyway, I know that was short and sweet...but I have GOT to get off here and get on with my day.
Hope to tell ya'll more about what happens with the dog and all about our Christmas Train experience when I have more time!
Happy Friday!!
O. M. G!!!

Why you don't argue with a 4-yr-old about the DVR

Grant: "Mom, I don't like this Hannah-Tanna commercial. I am going to fast-forward it. "

Me: "Grant, honey, you can't fast forward it, you don't have any time saved up." (meanwhile Grant pushes the pause button).

Grant: "Yes I can."

Me: "Grant, that is the PAUSE button you are pushing not the fast-forward. " (meanwhile Grant pushes the fast-foward button)

Grant: "See! Look, it's fast-forwarding! I TOLD YOU!!! Ha ha, you were wrong mom!"

grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr....

Can I gettah Whoot-Whoot

This is what all I got done yesterday between the hours of 8 and 4:
my work - scooped about 50 piles of dog poop - bathed, brushed out and dried the dog - vacuumed the house - mopped all hard floors - cleaned the bathrooms - put all Christmas boxes back up in attic - detailed the inside of my van - washed the outside of the van - did 20 minutes on the elliptical machine while holding 5 pound weights in each hand and doing arm work - 1 load of laundry - 1 load of dishes - printed my Christmas letter, enclosed picture and sealed up my Christmas cards - showered - cooked a quick dinner. I think that's it. Not too shabby. (and that's not even counting the normal stuff I have to do before 8 am and after 4 pm). Whoot-Whoot!

RAD!!

(I feel so Junior High saying that word!! Rad!!! ha ha)
Anyway, while I was sitting here browsing through my e-mails, I came across one from Matt's insurance company. As I looked over it, I realized that we were both eligible to redeem a $100 mastercard gift card from his company's wellness program for completing our yearly physical! Woohoo! How exciting! All I had to do was click "Redeem My Reward" and voila--$200 is on it's way to us! I just have to give glory to GOD for this...because we were just TODAY discussing how we didn't know where we were going to get the money to be able to buy Christmas gifts for each other...and now we know!
God is SO GOOD!!

Something Special

So, Kuckie started this on her blog and I've decided to follow. Join us if you wish!

We are spotlighting some of our special holiday decorations for you all to see!

This one here is an ornament my mom had made for us a few years back. It's one of my favorites because it has all of our names on it and I'm big into the whole "personalization" thing.

R U Kidding Me?

I LOVE these shoes! (but who would pay $232 for them?? not me!)

Wise Owl

Here lately, I've become obsessed with Owl's. I don't know why or when it started, but I just think the new stuff they've come out with featuring owl's is just adorable. Anyway, when I came across this beanbag cover at Pottery Barn Kids the other day, I couldn't pass it up. And it was on sale for only $29.00!! And to top it off, I also had a $25 off of a $50 purchase coupon for there...so I just put a little baby gift with the Owl beanbag and only had to pay $25 for all of it! Woopee!!
Sam can't quite figure out what to make of it! He just keep staring at it! ha ha

Warning: This is a post of me whining like a 2 year old!

I woke up this morning thinking "What the heck have I been doing?" All of a sudden I am overwhelmed with things to do. I still haven't gotten the house put back together from our big family gathering. I haven't even touched the upstairs which is a complete disaster! Toys and games and pillows and blankets and empty food containers and empty Capri-Suns EVERYWHERE! AUGH! It's time to pay the bills again (such a big job these days), the laundry is building up at monsterous rates now that everyone is wearing layers and thick hoodies. I need to finish making my Christmas cards, get our holiday picture printed, envelopes addressed, letter printed and all that stuff wrapped up. My car is FILTHY. It's downright embarrasing. The kids have written me messages in the dirt on every flat surface!
On top of that, we did get the house decorated for Christmas...but all the empty boxes and plastic tubs are stacked up in the garage making it nearly impossible for me to get in and out of the car.
I have bought what seems like a million Christmas presents and they are all jammed into the floor of my closet and I have no idea what I've bought or who for or what else I still need to get. I know I still need to buy for the kids and Matt...but I'm fairly certain there are a few more people getting left out. Once I get all that figured out...I need to wrap all those (million) presents. (remember how many people I have in my family? I have 40 names on my Christmas shopping list to buy for!--and that's not even counting teachers and co-workers!)
I am signed up to bring some kind food item to 6 different gatherings in the next 3 weeks. And I feel pressured to bring something unique and cute because I always do--and I can't let everyones expectations down, now can I? ;o)
I need to plan a Christmas party for Brooklyn's class at school, type up a letter to the parents and get that sent out asap...and I haven't even started thinking about ideas for that yet.
I put our Christmas Advent calander out and the kids are STILL waiting for me to put their treats in it so they can get them out each day. Here it is Dec. 3rd and I haven't even bought the stuff to go in it yet! Wonder if I could just pack that thing back up and they'll forget about it? No, probably not. They ask me about it every night.
I have abandoned working out for the rest of the year with the exception of my classes at the gym. I just don't have the time.
I need to go to the grocery store every stinking day for something. It's really very frustrating. Forget on-demand movies...I need on-demand groceries!
On top of all that, there's the daily stuff like cooking and cleaning (ha ha...my house is feeling neglected, I'm sure) and taking a shower and getting "ready". I haven't had make up on or fixed my hair since Sunday at Church! Hmmm...maybe that's why Matt's been keeping his distance at bedtime! hee hee

okay, well, I'm sure I could go on and on and on...but I'm sure that's enough for you all to see that I am wigging out. I feel like I'm on a treadmill and Jillian is standing there beside me upping the speed faster and faster and any minute now I'm gonna fall flat on my face.
Anyway, guess that's just what goes with the month of December. How're ya'll dealing with everything? Anyone else feel like I do?

Blog Overload

This is my 7th post this morning! It's been busy and is about to get busier so while I had a minute, I thought I'd catch the blog up. I know it's a lot though, so don't feel like you have to read it ALL and comment on everything today...just take your time. This will probably be the last post I do for the next several days...so you can take it in doses if you wish! :o)
HAPPY THANKSGIVING! Remember to thank God for all your blessings! (especially the little ones running around your house driving you crazy!)

Gobble, Gobble, Gobble

My little turkey (in the middle) with 2 of his friends from school.

Here is the whole class singing "The turkey on the farm goes gobble, gobble, gobble...."(to the tune of The Wheels on the Bus).

My little Tiger Cub

This month Brooklyn was awarded the "Tiger Cub of the Month" at her school! It's a pretty big honor and she was quite surprised to hear her name be announced. (I knew ahead of time but she didn't). They had the assembly yesterday and I went to cheer for her and take some pictures. Here she is walking up through the kids and all the teachers giving her a High-5.

This is her and her teacher, Ms. Flowers who we LOOOOOVE!!! (she also works at the Gap and gives me special coupons--enough said! :o)

Alexis

Alexis. Oh how I love this little girl! She is my neice, Toni's, daughter. I don't see her very often, as they live in Dallas...but for some reason, I have this "thing" for her. Something like infatuation, I think. She's rolly and soft and just as sweet and cuddly as they come. I had pretty much made up my mind I was going to do whatever it took to get her "used" to me again when they got here. Thankfully I only had to stoop so low as to give her a few peices of candy (before dinner) and she was all mine! She'll be celebrating her 2nd birthday on Dec. 5th so I wanted to have a little celebration for her while she was here. I made her the chocolate chunk cake from www.jensyummyfun.blogspot.com/ and it was A-MAZE-ING! (as is everything I make from that blog--but more about that later!)

Anyway, here are a few shots I took of her while she was in my care (her mommy and daddy left to go eat). Isn't she a doll? Here she is giving her baby a bath in the sink. And then playing on the AquaDoodle.

The gang's all here!

Well, for the first time in about 8 years, we had the whole family together--meaning both parents and all 5 siblings. Originally the head count was going to be 35, but at the last minute several of the grown-grandkids had to work and weren't able to come. We ended up with 29 people total. There are only 26 in this pic though because 2 went for icecream and one (boyfriend of one of the grandkids) was taking the picture. I REEEEEEALY wish I had a good camera because it really SUCKS that we finally get a group shot like this and it's crappy because of my cheapo camera...but oh well...at least it's proof that we really were all together!

After the "big" shot, the girls were still on the couch so I jumped in with them to take a silly shot. I know...I didn't make a silly face--but hey with all those pretty teenagers, I had to do whatever I could to look good next to them! he he

The "Puma" Pumpkin Pie

Friday night before our big Thanksgiving meal on Saturday, we took an inventory of all the foods and desserts we had and we discovered we didn't have anything pumpkin--which is Matt's favorite. So...I ran through my recipes and came across one for a Pumpkin Cream Cheese pie. Although it was late and I was tired, I stayed up and baked this pie (including crust) from scratch. I knew I didn't have to, but he was being such a sweetheart letting my HUGE family stay with us, I wanted to do this for him.

So the next day I'm loading all the food into the car to take down to my mom's house. Grant is buckled in, Brook is buckled in and I am bringing out the last casserole when Grant lifts his foot and says "look mom" in a totally non-challant tone. I look over and this is what I saw:

There went the Pumpkin pie. Guess it didn't matter that I had told him NOT to get up because there was food all over the floorboard of the car. Grrr...

Thankfully my SIL has an amazingly wonderful personality and she helped me to just CRACK up about it instead of get mad. :o)

As Seen on TV

This weekend Brooklyn sat down at the computer and typed out her Christmas List (with the help of my mom). The first 5 things are "as seen on tv" products. She has 1. Pix-O 2. Spa thing for feet 3. Moon Shoes 4. Moon Sand 5. Bendaroos. So, this morning I googled these products and I'm just not that impressed. First of all, they're all pretty pricey ($29-$40 with shipping) AND they just don't seem that great to me. I know how those infomercials can draw you in, believe me--that's why I bought p90X. Thankfully that WAS a good purchase...but this stuff she wants just looks like something she'd play with for an hour onece or twice and then toss aside never to be touched again. We've actually had moon sand before and it is pretty cool, but I can get that at Wal-Mart.
The rest of the items on her list are pretty amusing too. Here are some of them: #6 was a flat screen TV, #7. CD Player, #8. Ipod holder (she doesn't even have an Ipod! ha ha) #9. Karoke machine for TV. #10. U-Dance pad, #11. High heel black boots with diamonds, #12. Jewelry. #14. Clothes and the remaining 5 items are board games that she saw in the Wal-Mart weekly ad (sorry sliders, connect four, battleship, mechanical monopoly, trouble)
Anyway, after all that..I still have no idea what to get her. Do I go against my instinct and order some of the "as seen on TV" products just because she wants them or do I just ignore that stuff and buy what I think is practical?

I'm SO addicted!

Okay so today Kate over at www.missgotwings.blogspot.com posted a youtube of a Zumba routine and it just re-sparked my fire. I go at least twice a week and it is my all time favorite way to work out. Usually I just save this sort of stuff for my fitness blog (www.p90xourjourney.blogspot.com) BUT....I wanted you to ALL see what Zumba is all about and maybe, just maybe I can encourage you to give it a try!
Here's a video of one of my favorite routines!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O20VZinNwY0#
Now tell me that isn't more fun than regular old squats and weights? :o)

Hey Goodlookin' Watcha got cookin?

One of my instructors at the gym told me about this girls recipe blog. I thought it was going to be healthy recipes. HA HA HA HA HA!
Nevertheless....there are some fabulous recipes on here and I actually tried my first one last night and we all loved it. It was the chocolate chip brownie bars which turned out EXACTLY like her picture looked.
Anyway..just wanted to share the wealth.
www.jensyummyfun.blogspot.com

I take it back

#1: I take it back: Everything I ever said about being a "tough girl" does NOT apply when cold weather is involved. I do NOT enjoy the cold. I am a total "sissy" when it comes to temperatures below 50 degrees. I can handle "cool" (between 50 and 70) but when I start to be able to SEE my breath....then it's time for me to hibernate for winter! I love the things that come with winter---like snow and warm fires and hot cocoa and sweats. Oh yes...that stuff is delightful. Doing anything outside is just plain miserable. I don't care how bundled up you get, there will still be some part of my body that is freezing -- and its usually my BUTT. It seems like if we go outside in the cold for any length of time, my butt and hips are the first things to freeze and it seems to take HOURS of being back inside in the heat before they finally thaw. (unless I'm lucky enough to cuddle up against my heater of a hubby and get warmed up in a fraction of the time!)

#2: I take it back: Everything I said in that last post about having more time. Uh....no--that's over. I have begun the "chasing my tail in circles" cycle again. I made up my to-do list this morning and it was so overwhelming I think I wasted a good 15-20 minutes just staring at it in disbelief wondering how I was ever going to make a dent in it. What the HECK happened to "everything is all caught up" just a few days ago? I think I was in denial, not caught up. Now all of a sudden the house is the PITS, the laundry is stacked sky high, we're out of everything in the pantry and fridge, the bills are due again, etc. etc. etc.

One really positive thing I can say: I had a great date with my hubby this weekend. We went to the Apostles of Comedy Tour. It was an expensive but fun date. We weren't laughing nearly as hard as some people, but there were a few jokes that really cracked us up. One of my favorite ones was the guy who said he'd never liked dogs. He said, "They say a dog is man's best friend but I don't agree. I've never had any of my other friends take a dump in the middle of my living room floor before." Matt and I got a good laugh out of that one! ha ha
We also spent a couple hours having some wonderful, important conversation on Saturday morning and I think that we are headed for some wonderful things in our relationship and lives! It was time to step back and see where we were headed and what our goals were--time to re-evaluate and thankfully we were able to talk constructively and come to an agreement about some important aspects of life that we are dealing with. Hooray!

On a completely side-tracked side note, I went and got my first ever flu shot today and also a tetanus (TDHP) shot. One in both arms. Youch! I have a feeling my weight-lifting class is going to be a little harder than usual tomorrow as both of my shoulders are aching.

Another side note: I got on a Craig's list kick this morning and am selling the kids stuff left and right. Apparently it is a good time for selling clothes. Who knew?!? I thought everyone would be so focused on Christmas shopping right now..but I've already either sold everything I listed or had several bites! (I might actually be able to Christmas shop for my DH after all!)

Today was an official "no diet/no exercise" day for me. I did bad. Baaaaaaaaaaaad. And you know what, who the heck cares? I just didn't want to think about "that" today. I promise to be a good girl again tomorrow!

My entire family is coming for the weekend. 35 people in all! Whew! Between my mom's house and mine it'll look like a battle ground with people laying everywhere. Of those 35, 16 are teenagers so I figure they can all just camp out in my upstairs--like little sardines! Good thing we're all family! he he

It is 7:36 pm and I am SO tired. I have no motivation whatsoever. Grant is on the couch asleep. Matt is in the recliner asleep. Brooklyn is on the couch engrossed in an episode of Sponge Bob and here I sit, barely awake just typing away....and now I can't think of anything else to say. I have a zillion things to do...and yet, I think I might just go change into my jammies and veg on the bed until I conk out (in probably 3 minutes)! Ho hum...
Hey...have any of you put up your Christmas decor yet? Lights on the outside of the house? Just curious...
Maybe I'll do that this next week...of course...that is assuming the temperature will be ABOVE 50! :o)

Too Much Time?

Is it just me or does there seem to be a lot more time in the day since we had the "fall back" time change?
I know I've been getting up a little earlier now (5:30 am) but it seems like the days NEVER end lately. Everything is getting done earlier around here. For this whole week, we have had dinner at about 4:30-4:45 pm and by 5:30 the dishes are done, homework is done and I'm pretty much ready to conk out. I find myself watching the clock all evening thinking "Gosh! It's only 6:30?!" and "Man, it's only 7?!" I feel like I'm pleading with bedtime to hurry up and get here. Last week I was patting myself on the back for getting in bed by 10 pm (my norm is about 11) but this week, I'm starting to think I'm taking it a little TOO far. On Monday I was in bed by 9:45, Tue @ 9:30, last night I shut off the lamp at 9:20 and tonight---well, lets just say I've already been in bed but made myself get up since it was only 8:40!!
I feel like I don't know what to do with myself. The laundry is done, the dishes are done, the house is clean, the bills are paid, I've done 3 pages in my scrapbook almost every day for the past 2 weeks, done crafts with the kids (paper mache even!), I've been blogging, my work is caught up, my workouts have been more intense than ever. I've even been spending more time praying and in the Word than usual.
I honestly think this is the first time since having children that I've EVER felt like I don't have a hundred things to do. Oh sure, I can think of things that need to be done around here (like weeding out old clothes, toys to give to Goodwill, lining my cabinets with shelfliner, etc....stuff like that) but for the most part, my daily duties are all caught up. It feels really weird. Not good like I fantasized that it would. Strangely ironic. Like I just know I'm forgetting something.
Anyway, that's my ramble for tonight. (had to find something to do to stay awake till 9)! I almost hate posting this because I just know it's only a matter of time before I feel like I'm running in circles chasing my tail trying to get "caught up" again...
Anyway, that's it for tonight y'all. It's 9:02---I'm hitting the bed! :o)

I heard...

I heard someone say today "Men don't listen to women well because they can't handle all the drama. Women should try talking to their husbands without any exclamation points."
Huh...!?!?!
I can't imagine life without exclamation points. How absolutely Boring!! (<--see!) So is this what men's lives are like...? Just plain old periods at the end of every sentence and thought? Yuck! I can't even write or type without exclaiming things!! and I especially like to prove my point by putting things in all CAPS so you can imagine HOW I'm saying it and not just what I'm saying.

Anyway, who knows...maybe there is some truth to what the lady was saying. Maybe men would rather everything we say to them be boring and mundane and monotonous.
Hi honey. How was your day. What do you want for dinner. I had a fight with my boss today. We have no money in our checking account. The kids want to play with you. Take out the trash. You look nice. I love you.

How boring.

Parents

Boy oh boy oh boy....

I was going to post this picture of my parents taken this past Wednesday, Nov. 5th...my dad's 59th birthday. (aren't they cute?) :o) I thought I would do a little post about how much I love him.

But....at the moment, I'm a little perturbed with him. We went over to their house for lunch today after church and during casual "table talk" I mentioned something smart-alecky Brooklyn had said to me today. I said something to the effect of "people just don't realize how difficult being a good parent is sometimes." For some crazy reason he saw that as an opportunity to tell me that he's been trying to tell me "we need to get a handle on her" for years and I never have listened so why should he give me any more advice now." and that "when people's kids act like that it is because the parents are too self-absorbed and don't care about anything other than what they like to do, what they look like and what they're interested in instead of the kids being their main focus." and yada, yada, yada.........I listened for a few minutes and then I got up from the table, said "okay, I'm done with this conversation" and then left.

It's just so frustrating because I know he's really not that un-loving--but sometimes he comes across as such a know-it-all who does everything better than everyone else. Some people don't "get" him because he is pretty matter-of-fact about things--but he's my daddy and I know how he is so most of the time I just take whatever he says with a grain of salt and go on. But this conversation today...is different. I've NEVER bad-mouthed him like I feel like I'm doing right now. Even when we left and Matt asked me if I was okay (he witnessed the whole thing) I just told him that "yah, I'm okay--by him saying that to me just proves how i-g-n-o-r-a-n-t he really is." As soon as the words left my mouth, I felt like a traitor. I love my dad more than words. We are very close and have always talked about everything. But today, I found myself avoiding him and when I had to call over there to ask my mom a question, I was PRAYING he wouldn't answer the phone because quite frankly, I don't want to talk to him. I knew he knew I was hurt because of what I said and how I left....so when my mom said "your daddy is concerned that you're upset with him" I wasn't surprised. Maybe it's because I'm getting older---I'm more confident in myself. I'm realizing that although they are my parents---they still don't know everything---especially about raising MY daughter who was definitely cut from a different batch of cookies than most kids. Sweet as she is....she's got enough attitude and sass in her for a whole army of teenage girls. The things she says to me sometimes at SEVEN really does scare me about how it might be when she's 13, 16, 18.

Anyway, I know this whole thing going on with my dad will pass. I'm not one to hold a grudge and by morning, I'll probably have forgotten all about it. I just wonder...how do you guys handle criticism or advice from your parents? Do you always do what they suggest? Do you value their opinions? (more than the opinions of others)?

My (new) OLD buddy

So...crazy as it is...I've decided to become best buddies with good ole Sam for now and quit trying to find a new dog. Surprisingly, I've fallen head over heels for him again (like the way I felt when we first got him at 6 weeks old). I think he thought I was NUTS at first...buying him clothes, petting him all the time, putting him in my lap on the couch, but now I can see he is lovin' every minute of it! Where he used to just look at me like "leave me alone" now he's actually coming over to me to get loved on and scooches closer and closer the more I pet him. Matt just rolls his eyes. I'm sure it does look pretty absurd...me carrying around a dog that weighs half my weight--but he's lazy and stubborn and if you want him to do something or go somewhere...carrying him is the quickest way to get it done! ha ha (not to mention a great workout!)

He already rides everywhere with me in the car but I'm going to try to start taking the leash more often and getting him out to get some exercise. At our house, he can't really do a whole lot of running around because we have HORRIBLE stickers in our grass that get stuck in his paws and all tangled up in his hair. Plus, I will NOT let him out of the backyard EVER again (without being on a leash) because of the cars flying by on this country road. Hopefully if we go to parks and stuff, he can begin to get some exercise and lose a few pounds (like 15!)

Anyway, I took a few pics of him the other day with his new hoodie on (ha ha ha) and I thought I'd share them. I know a lot of you are dog lovers like me...but to those of you who aren't...sorry for ALL the dog talk here recently...I'll try to lay off for a bit! :o)

Pirate Cuties!

Finally posting the pics from Halloween. Both kids ended up dressing up like pirates. We've had Grant's Captain Jack Sparrow costume since last January when I got it for 80% off at the Disney Store...but for months we'd been searching for the perfect costume for Brooklyn. We learned that you can't be picky AND cheap about costumes. The one she really wanted was about $80. HaHaHa! I wouldn't spend $80 on a kids outfit of ANY sort ...but CERTAINLY not on one that is to be worn ONE day of the year for make-believe! (wHo DoEs ThAt?) Anyway, I tried and tried to talk her into Raggedy Ann or Annie or Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz or Superwoman or basically ANYTHING that I could find on e-bay that was unique-ish and reasonably priced (under $20). Nothing was good enough in her eyes. So...the result was...no costume. We ended up running to Walgreen's an hour before it was time to go to pick out SOMEthing. We finally agreed on this cheapo pirate costume. Neither one of us liked it a whole lot---but there weren't very many options. Still, I had to grit my teeth to hand over FIFTEEN dollars for this totally chincy costume. (It actually ripped apart in several places within the first hour of her wearing it!) Anyway, they had lots of fun and got enough candy to last for a couple of years. (we filled up 5 gallon-sized ziploc baggies!!!) Thankfully, I sent some to my teenage neices and nephews with my brother when he came to visit, so I was able to get rid of a lot of it. The rest of it can be found in a big bowl in the pantry or on my hips! I have eaten more of the stuff than EVER this year. Normally I'm not a big candy eater....just a chocolate every now and then and maybe some Hot Tamales or Bit-o-Honey in a blue moon...but this time it is just calling out to me everytime I come within a few feet of the pantry! Augghhh....I have a feeling I am not going to make my goal of being at 130 by Thanksgiving. Even though I'm working out like crazy, I still don't think it's enough to keep up with my candy-habit. So...what's your favorite candy?

So it didn't turn out like we'd hoped...

bummer. I really didn't think Obama would win. I don't know why...but I didn't. So this morning as I found out the news, I am not feeling sad or mad or upset (yet) ---just shocked. I know that is kind of silly seeing as how we knew he had a good chance of winning...but still, I just never entertained the thought that he might ACTUALLY win.
Anyway, one thing I know for certain: My God shall supply all of my needs according to His riches in glory! He is my protector, my comfortor and my all-knowing Father. I take great comfort in knowing that ALL of my hope and trust is in HIM and not in any human being. For those of you who don't share my beliefs---I will pray for you because your future looks grim.

Have a FABULOUS Wednesday everyone!
oh and I can't end this post on November 5th without wishing my dad a HAPPY 59th BIRTHDAY!

Well...did you?

I know, I know...

I know you're all busy and that you "don't have time to watch a video"...I know this because I am the same way. I VERY rarely watch videos that anyone puts on their blogs because quite frankly, I just have way too much to do. I'm good enough just to read about their life---let alone watch some random video. BUT...I BEG you to watch this one. It's only a few minutes. It's worth it! Pass it along!
Ps. It was obviously made by the Catholic church...and while I am not Catholic, I do congradulate them on this amazing video!
(sorry I couldn't get the actual video on here...but just click on this link). Leave me a comment and let me know what you think!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VqzMB-gA6Ro#

Fall Back

So...I hope you all remembered to set your clocks back? I remembered at 6:30 pm tonight...so I figured I better go ahead and switch the clocks in case I didn't think of it again. It was so nice to get an extra hour! :o) Miraculously it went from "almost 7" to "only 5:30"! If only I could do that on days when I REALLY need an extra hour!
Today was a WONDERFUL day. Nothing spectacular in specific...just no agenda. I did what I felt like doing ALL day. Did nothing I didn't want to. Well, okay, I cleaned house for about 4-5 hours this morning and that wasn't like super-dooper-fun or anything...but still, I took my time and let myself get distracted as much as I wanted in between chores. Usually its rush-rush all the time around here, so a fly-by-the-seat-of-my-pants day was totally in order! Tonight we grilled Turkey Tenderloin Mignon's with baked potatoes, corn on the cob, salad, beans and banana pudding for dessert. We had my parents and my brother over for dinner. Everything was perfect. Afterwards, we played a fierce game of Phase 10 and my mom won.
I did terrible on my eating tonight because we got out the GINORMOUS bowl of Halloween candy and all started picking at it. Next thing I knew I had a mountain of wrappers piled up next to me. WOOPS! I really didn't think I was eating THAT much...but I guess when you're real distracted (I was playing the game AND helping Grant do his preschool workbook) it's easy to just keep shoveling stuff in. Anyway, that's probably the only negative thing I can think of to say about this day. I didn't do any specific exercise (other than the house cleaning) and I ate too much junk. Oh well. No biggie---just gotta hop back on the horse and get busy again tomorrow! (Can't let Kate beat me to 130! :o) hee hee
Okay, well, it's 11:36 pm (really 10:36) and I probably should be getting my booty to bed. We're going to early service in the morning and that always comes sooner than we want it to. (gotta set the alarm for 6:30 in order to get there on time!)
Hope all of you enjoyed your Saturday. Can you believe it's November already? Only 54 days until Christmas!!! That's just CrAzY! (25 days till Thanksgiving Kate! YIKES!)

Holey Sheet!!

So....I think I figured out the culprit in the whole 'holey sheet' mystery. (you remember my post a week or so ago where I had a big hole in the sheet on my side of the bed?)
Well...last night as I was settling into my "spot" in the bed to fall asleep, I felt my toenails scrape across the sheet. I realized all of a sudden that I actually sleep on my side/stomach most of the time, which means that it's my toenails that are constantly "scraping" across the sheets instead of my heels. It's kind of a weird thing for me to even have toenails that could "scrape" because I am one of those people who keep their toenails cut down to the quick. I have always cut them TOO short...but I'd rather them that way than long (GROSS!) Anyway, here lately (the last 6 months) I've been wanting to do the french manicure look on my toes...but as the pedicurists have repeatedly told me...I cannot have that look if I keep cutting my toenails SO short. So....I've been trying to let them grow out just a little. Anyway, last night at about 11:16, it all came together....the hole in the sheets, my smooth heels, my long(er) toenails....and Ah Ha! I had the mystery solved!
I've yet to buy any new sheets still (waiting on Linen's & Things who is going out of business to get their markdowns down to about 60-70% off first) but I did go and borrow a fitted sheet from my mom's yesterday as the hole in my sheet is now about the size of a 5-gallon bucket! (my legs kept getting caught in it!)
Anyway, I just knew you were all wondering about this...probably using your PedEgg's like crazy....so I wanted to put your mind at rest. You can chill with the PedEgg--just be sure to clip your toenails before they become claws! :o)
Happy October 31st!!

Not coming back...

Well guys, I am officially going to stop hoping, thinking and praying that Macie is going to ever come back. She's been missing for 3 days now and the chances of her still being alive are slim. I'm confused as to why this all happened and have been really wrestling with the whole situation mentally. Losing Sadie was bad enough but then I thought that this was the answer--a way to make our sadness over Sadie diminish and bring back the joy to our lives (that kind of joy and companionship that only doggies give). Anyway, I have to remind myself (as many of my good friends have said) that God sometimes answers our prayers in ways that we don't understand. Even though it doens't make sense ---He is still in control and HE ultimately knows--better than we do--what we need and what is best for us.
What stinks is...now that it is all said and done...I'm STILL without any little doggie to hold and love on. Yes, we still have Sam...and I love him DEARLY...but I promise you it is just downright annoying to him all the affection I try to give him. He looks at me like "woman, would you PLEASE just leave me alone???" He weighs about 50 pounds...so getting him up on my lap is a work out and then he looks miserable the whole time. He's so sweet though--he'll just tolerate me for as long as he has to until I finally relent and give him his space (and his big comfy dog bed) back.
Anyway, I'm going to really try to NOT be "looking" for another dog just yet...but I will certainly be keeping my ears open just in case!
Oh and...Happy Halloween Y'all! Remember: This is the day that the Lord has made! :o)

Macie is gone

I am so overwhelmed with emotions right now I can hardly TYPE straight. Tonight all 4 of us were outside. The dogs were in the back yard and we were outside of the back yard. Matt had repaired the fence where Sadie had dug a hole and gotten out but there was still a tiny little gap between it and the house so I had it all blocked up with a 5 gallon bucket full of water and a big metal dumptruck in front of it to be sure Macie couldn't get out--and she couldn't. Besides, I thought...we're RIGHT here...
Well, I was wrong.
She somehow scooted the dumptruck over and slid through the gate. We immediately saw her and so I started walking towards her calling her name all sweet-like. She took one look at me and took off like a speeding bullet. I ran as FAST at my feet could take me (thank God I had on tennis shoes!!) I ran about a mile down the road until I was about to collapse. Matt finally came up behind me in the truck and we followed her until she stopped and I jumped out and tried to call her to me...but again...one look at me and she darted off again. It has been an hour and 15 minutes that we have been chasing her like this...until she ran into a heavily wooded field where we couldn't go. We went around and around the fence with a flashlight calling her name. But nothing. I called my mom and dad and they set out looking too. We circled the area we last saw her over and over and over until now its so dark we can't see anything so we just came back home. I don't know what to do. I've prayed. I've PLEADED with God to PLEASE not let this happen again. Why do I keep losing my puppies? First Sadie..now Macie? I feel like I'm being punished. How can you pray something with your whole heart and believe completely that God is going to answer your prayer.....and it not happen? I feel like I gave EVERYTHING I had when I prayed that God would PLEASE let her come to me when I called her and I believed with my whole heart that she would. But when I saw her and I was only about 15 feet from her, I called to her and she took off....and that was the last time we saw her. Why?
Right now I'm so upset I don't even know a word to describe it. I'm FURIOUS and brokenhearted all at the same time. I feel horrendous guilt that I should have NEVER let her out in the backyard knowing that there was a gap in the fence...even if I did have it blocked.
THIS IS JUST NOT FAIR AND IT STINKS!!!!!
I know it will be a miracle if she makes it alive. There are cyotes everywhere out here. Plus, she's so little...she's nearly impossible to see on the road.
At this point the only thing I can hope for...is that somehow, someway she'll come back. I know it will be a miracle...but I do serve a miracle-working God.

Scrapbooking--it's not what it used to be

I've figured something out recently about myself regarding scrapbooking. While I LOVE the ornate and detailed pages of my friends and of those I see in various magazines and on websites, I just simply canNOT afford the time or the supplies to do that all the time. So...here's my new plan. From now on, I will scrapbook just "okay" pages as often as I can at home. I don't want to EVER sit down and work and not get at LEAST 4 pages done at at time, even if that means I have to rush through them and not be madly in love with them. On the rare occasion that I get to "GO" scrapbooking with my buddies, I will use those opportunities to slow down and create pages that I LOVE and then I will feel alright about spending a little moolah too, since it doesn't happen very often. It's MUCH more important to me to have them in the book, than for them to be super-dooper awesome and be YEARS behind. So, with that being said....here's what I've been doing in my "spare" (HA HA) time over the past couple of weeks:

There are actually about 8 more pages but I didn't bother posting them all on here. I don't expect you all to "ooh" and "aah" over these pages either...I KNOW they're not fabulous...but what IS fabulous is that they are DONE and now my family can look at them instead of them being tucked away in my photo box with all the pictures I've taken for the whole last year. What a waste! At this rate, I might actually get caught up!!

Meet Macie

Introducing the newest member of our family, little Macie! (formerly Emmie but the kids really wanted to re-name her Macie, which I like too. And, she responds to it just the same as Emmie)

Isn't she a cutie? We adopted her today and she's a little timid right now, not sure about us all yet and this new place but I think in a few days, we'll be inseperable. She is an 11 month old schnoodle (1/2 schnauser, 1/2 poodle). She's small (16 pounds). She's potty trained (although she did have an accident already!) :o{

She's already been spayed and I have her shot records, which are up to date. Of course, you know us, we've already bathed her, blow-dried her hair, put bows in her hair, got her a fancy-schmancy collar and put Sadie's old outfit on her! At this very moment, she is laying in my lap as I type this!

It's kind of strange---to have another dog already so soon after Sadie..but when I saw her go up for adoption, something sparked inside of me...and I just fell in love with her. I've wanted a "lap dog" for YEARS and now I've got her!

Here she is watching the boys play Super Mario.

I was trying to show you how small she is...but then I think she looks kind of big in this pic.

And my favorite of all...here is what she looks like right now...she is sleeping on top of my hand on top of the keyboard as I do this!