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!)