Can you believe it is 2009?

I am so shocked that 2008 is just about gone and we are starting a whole new year...2009!

I started to reflect on the things that I had said I wanted to accomplish in 2008, I wanted to see which ones I actually succeeded at, so below are just a few of the 2008 resolution list items:

* Lose weight -- well, ya that happened. Then I gained it back, then lost a little again, then gained it back. CLEARLY, my method of weight loss was not good for 2008. 2009 also holds the same resolution, but I am changing my methods and incorporating some new exercise plan (I hate to exercise, but just gotta do it!)

* Be more financially secure and have more in savings -- again, did not happen.

* Spend more time with family -- I succeeded at this one and we plan to continue this into 2009!
* Send everyone a birthday card before their birthday -- succeeded to a point. November and December were pretty much a wash. I totally did not send one birthday card out! Poo Poo on me!

* Get school stuff organized so I quit missing deadlines for school things for the kids -- this so did NOT happen. I can not seem to find a good system for this.

My 2009 resolution list isn't quite complete yet, but what I decided to do was downsize-- so I am making a list by quarters -- you know "First Quarter of 2009", "Second Quarter of 2009", etc. I am hoping that by setting smaller goals that I will be able to reach them? One can hope, right?

Happy 2009!

Door-to-Door Salesman

I was home with the kids one day last week and I wasn't feeling well so I was in bed while the kids played games on the bed beside me.

The door bell rings.

I go down to answer it and there is a gentleman standing there with an air freshener (a Renuzit kind or something similar) and he asks me if I am the lady of the house. I said yes and he hands me the air freshener saying "Here. This is a gift for you."

Then he proceeds to say he isn't selling anything (ya, whatever.) and that he just wants to clean a whole room in my house and get my opinion of the product.

Before I can say anything, he steps inside my home and I asked him to step back out also saying to him "I don't really have time for this. I am not feeling well and we have some errands to run soon."

He says: "well, this will only take a minute." I said no again as he is unloading his stuff on my front room floor. Finally, I said: "My husband will be home soon and we are leaving to run errands as soon as he gets home."

As soon as I said that, he packed up grabbed "my gift" and walked out the door. He took my gift. What a jerk. March into my home -- uninvited -- then take back the gift you gave me? Sheesh.

Seriously folks, he creeped me out!

Check out this...

I totally need to win this! Remember my wish list for Christmas? Well, I didn't get a coffee maker so now is my chance to win one!

The SITSa's are hosting this giveaway... go check it out!

Tossing the "lovey" aside

My mom gave Lady Bug a soft pink doll before she was ever born. Then at about 6 months old Lady Bug really took a liking to this doll, whom she eventually named Dolly, and carried her everywhere. Dolly went with her in the car, to daycare, to bed, even to the table sometimes. I soon realized I needed to get a second one so we could wash one while she carried one around. There was only one store that sold this doll and the day I went to the store, guess what happened? Dolly got lost from the car to the store.... eekk! So we ended up buying 2 (they were also on sale that day!)

One day when she was about 2 yo, she found BOTH Dollies. Which started a new "tradition", she now needed both Dollies where ever she went!

Now, at the ripe ol' age of 3 1/2 Lady Bug needs Dollies less and less. They usually stay in her bed and they rarely come out to visit the rest of the family anymore. When she sleeps in her sleeping bag downstairs with the boys she rarely needs Dollies. When we go visit grandma, no longer do we need to make sure the Dollies go too (in fact, Lady Bug will usually tell us to just leave Dollies home). Poor Dollies. I really feel sorry for them. Once they were Lady Bug's everything and now, well now they just are there. Poor girls.

The other day, I was emptying my bathroom trash and noticed one Dolly in the trash can. I asked Lady Bug if she put Dolly in the trash and she said "Yes. She has a hole and I don't need her anymore."

I was shocked and really didn't know what to say.

I told Mr. Man about it and he said "Don't throw it out. I will save it for her Time Capsule!" (When we had our first child, Mr. Man decided to make a Time Capsule of popular items from that year. The day we (the royal we!) went into labor he bought a newspaper and some magazines for the Time Capsule. That tradition has carried on for each child. We plan to give them their Time Capsules probably when they are 18 yo)

Lady Bug still has the one Dolly but it doesn't seem to be as important to her these days, in fact when we were packing her bag to go spend the night with her aunt and cousins I asked if she wanted to take Dolly and she said "Nah, I don't need her. She can just stay home with you and daddy."

My baby is really growing up! *wahhh* (as I cuddle Dolly and cry on my bed)

No more holiday chaos!

So the holiday madness is over and things are settling back down. The kids are still on holiday break, but Mr. Man and I are back to work. I had a terrible cold over Christmas but some how managed to get through it all.

Santa brought me some nice gifts and so did my kiddos. Lefty made me an ornament at school with his picture in it and Spirit picked out some new table clothes for me. (I use a table cloth for every meal, for one thing I like to pretty up the table but the main reason for using a table cloth... I have 2 messy eaters and when things get spilled the table cloth soaks it up and I can continue to eat a hot meal!) Mr. Man bought me a set of plates and some new drinking glasses (we seriously had no glasses - we were drinking out of the recycled Chili's kids cups... how sad is that??)

I hope you all had a nice holiday weekend and are gearing up for 2009! I am off to do some catching up on my blog reading - it's been awhile!

Potato and Cheese Frittata

This is so yummy! It makes a great breakfast or brunch meal! Even the kids eat it!

Potato and Cheese Frittata
INGREDIENTS:

2 tablespoons olive oil (vegetable works also)
1 bag of cubed hash brown potatoes (I don't use a whole bag, but I just add them until it "looks good"!)
1 medium onion, diced
salt and pepper to taste
1/4 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
1/4 cup shredded Colby-Jack cheese
4 eggs, beaten
**(Can also use diced ham if you wanted to)


Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Heat oil in a 12" skillet over medium-high heat. When the skillet is hot, add the potatoes, and fry until crispy and golden, about 15 minutes. Reduce heat to medium, and add onions. Cook, stirring, until onions are soft. Season with salt and pepper. Pour potatoes and onions into a greased baking dish. Pour eggs over the potatoes and onions and place dish in the oven for about 10 minutes, or until eggs are firm. Remove from the oven, and sprinkle shredded cheese over the top. Return to the oven for about 5 minutes, or until cheese is melted.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

FROM MY FAMILY TO YOURS!

HAVE A GREAT DAY AND A

WONDERFUL NEW YEAR!!!

Giant Polar Express fun

A couple of years ago we started a tradition of watching The Polar Express movie on the night we put up our tree (and since we use an artificial tree we can do it early December). Then we watch it periodically throughout the month of December. In January, when we take down the Christmas decorations, we put away the movie also until next year.

Every year a local mall has these giant snowglobes on display. They usually contain movie scenes, like one year was the Chronicles of Narnia. You can walk through some of the globes and then Santa is close by. It is just a really cool thing to do.

This year the Snow globe display is The Polar Express! How cool is that? So we decided to go walk the display and then go home to watch the movie! There were so many people I couldn't get any pictures, but the snow globes were so fun! The last one we walked through was "snowing" (little foam pieces or something) and they got stuck in my hair! I couldn't get them to come out! LOL!

When we got home, I popped popcorn and we had hot chocolate. We all sat in our jammies with the fire going. It was just perfect! I love family time!

"All I Want for Christmas Is..."

I am posting this in hopes that Mr. Man will take a gander here for some ideas:

I would love to have my microwave hung up above the stove

I would love a coffee maker

I would love my own sweatshirt so I don't have to wear Mr. Man's anymore

I would love a new pair of black shoes

I was also thinking a new car --- prime time to buy one. End of the year. It should be snowing today (salesmen are always ready to make a deal in a snowstorm... right??)

The list could go on and on, but I'll stop there for now! :o)

Winter break from school & an UPDATE!

The boys are on "Winter Break" from school. Their last day was Friday, the 19th and they don't go back until January 5th. Of course Mr. Man and I still have to work and Lady Bug still has preschool (except for the holidays in there of course), so we had to arrange daycare for the boys.

The after-school program that they usually go to was offering sessions during this time, but it isn't a full day or the full week. My dear MIL offered to watch the boys (I say offered, but in reality we begged her) so what we did was this morning dropped them off at grandma's (which is 40 minute drive in the opposite direction from our work) but they will stay the night with her and grandpa tonight. We will pick them up Tuesday evening after we get off work.

Mr. Man has Christmas Eve off so he will be with them all day, then I have Christmas day and the day after off. Of course we are all home together over the weekend, then Sunday night my SIL (who lives an hour away) is taking all 3 kiddos to spend 2 nights with her. She is so crafty and cooks and bakes and she enjoys having them there with her. The kids have so much fun whenever they stay with her. It should be a good time for all and should make the winter break a little interesting, but this momma is so sad that the kiddos are going to be gone.


UPDATE:
Remember this post? Well, yesterday we fulfilled his request (although it isn't ALL he will be getting it was a very nice gift for him!) We arranged it about a week and a half ago and kept it a secret this whole time. Mr. Man kept teasing Lefty that he was going to find one of his presents soon. I caught Lefty looking in closets and under beds just to see if he could figure out where his present was. You should have seen the look on his face when we told him yesterday morning that she was coming for waffles! He giggled and then of course started bouncing off the walls with excitement! We served waffles, bacon, fresh fruit, applesauce, juice and milk. We had a really good time! I think it meant a lot to Lefty!

Monster Cookies

One Christmas I sat and ate, and ate, and ate these until I literally threw up -- I knew I was throwing up from too many cookies, so I was actually laughing. I kept thinking "You idiot!" Usually when I throw something up I can't eat that item again, not these! I still love these cookies. This recipe makes a ton so they are good to bake to give away to neighbors and whatever!

Monster Cookies
INGREDIENTS:
12 eggs
4 c brown sugar
4 c sugar
1 Tbls vanilla
18 c oatmeal
1 Tbls corn syrup
8 tsp baking soda
1 lb butter
4 1/2 c peanut butter
1 lb chocolate chips
1 lb M&M's candies

Mix eggs, sugars, butter, syrup and vanilla with a mixer. Add remaining ingredients and finish mixing by hand. Drop by teaspoonfuls about 2" apart on cookie sheet. Bake at 350 for 12 minutes.

Tis the Season...

Tis the season of long lines, grumpy crowds of people, even grumpier cashiers ... and the list goes on!

I was at Target last night, to pick up a few things. Seriously I had 3 or 4 items. As I walked through the store, people grumped. People were mad when they couldn't find what they wanted. I accidentally brushed some lady with my purse.... just brushed her... I said "whoops. I'm sorry." She huffed at me and marched off. Sheesh.

At the registers, of which there are only 10 lanes in the whole store open. I pick a line. I wait for 10 minutes maybe 20 minutes maybe it was even a half hour (oh, I kid. It was probably 10)... it was a long wait. Then the cashier comes out from behind her register and analyzes the line. She randomly picks someone to be the last person. I was the last in line and there was one other person in front of me. Why not just make ME the last, that is only 2 more people. Anywhoooooo, I started looking at all the lines. All of them were really long and I just didn't feel like waiting anymore. So I literally dropped my stuff at the end of one of the registers and left.

I was probably wrong for doing that because it means I was sucked into the grumpiness of others, but oh well. Too late now!

I won!! *blowing kisses*

* I received two awards in the last couple of weeks (I know, I know, I have been so crazy busy with holiday stuff that I haven't had time to pass the awards on!)


The Smile Award came from the Mommy Lounge! I feel so honored! And the second award -- Kreative Blogger Award -- came from Blogging Mama.


First off...
The Smile Award:
Here are the characteristics of the SMILE Award: ~You must display a cheerful attitude.
~You must show love to others.
~You must make mistakes.
~You must learn from others.
~You must be a positive contributor to blogging.
~You must love life.
~You must love kids. Here are the rules for the Smile Award: ~You must post the rules if you are a recipient.
~You must choose 5 people to pass the award to.
~You must fit the characteristics of the award.
~You must post the characteristics of the recipient of the award.
~You must create a post sharing your win with others.
~You must thank the giver of the award. Thank you Mommy Lounge for such an honorable award!


The Trieffesons
Trying to Stay Calm
Lions, Tigers, and Boys, Oh My!
Outnumbered
Rainy Day in May



Secondly...
Kreative Blogger Award:
List seven things I like and then go tag 7 people:


1. I like my coffee, oh yes I do!
2. I like me some yummy sweet tea too!
3. I like books and reading with my kids (and without them is awfully nice too!)
4. I like to do crafts, some with kids and some without
5. I like to snuggle by the fire
6. I like to cook
7. I like to spend time with friends


The seven people I am going to tag for the Kreative Blogger award:
Aubrey
Tara
Pixie Dusted
Ramblings of a crazy woman
Megryansmom
Andy and Kelly
A Moms Life

The 2nd fiddle

Lefty tends to be a little more quiet and reserved than his older brother, Spirit. I notice when we have guests over that Spirit engages in conversation, where Lefty sits back very quietly. When we go to a party or any new situation, Spirit jumps in with both feet and Lefty hangs back with me.


BUT, with the awards last week, Spirit had a really hard time being the one in the shadows. He was lashing out and being very much not himself. We sat him down to talk about it and he burst into tears:

"You guys are giving so much attention to him over that stupid award he got!"


That is one of the toughest jobs of parenting. I don't want Lefty to feel like we think his award is just so-so, also I try not to go overboard with the high-fives and pats on the back. On the flip side of that, Spirit received an award too and I wanted him to know how proud we were of him...BUT Lefty's was a "bigger" more "prestigious" award than what Spirit got. I was SO very proud of them both but how do you express that without one feeling left out! UGH.


I honestly don't think we were out of line with what ever attention we gave, but if we were the damage is done. *sigh* (** just for the record we have started a fund to save for all the therapy they will need one day!)

My kids will probably need therapy

Since when is a G-rated Christmas movie violent? Has anyone ever seen The Flight Before Christmas movie?


Last Friday night, Frosty The Snowman was on TV, followed by Frosty Returns, followed by The Flight Before Christmas. We had finished dinner and then we got jammies on and rolled out sleeping bags, started the fire, popped popcorn and got ready to watch the movies. I decided the kids could watch the movies while I made cookies, Oreo bark and Turtle Pretzels in the kitchen. I was just finishing up for the night when The Flight Before Christmas started. The kids were glued to this movie. I grabbed myself a bowl of popcorn and plopped down on the couch to watch with them. I was kind of excited about this new flick.


Then, all of sudden there are these very black and scary looking wolves chasing an innocent reindeer saying things about how they like to eat children and then to a squirrel they say "shut up nutboy".... what? Isn't this a kids movie? Isn't this being played on TV at 8:00 at night. Yikes??? At this point Lady Bug jumps up into my lap saying she doesn't like the movie.


We continue to watch as this poor reindeer, Nicko, is apparently on the hunt for the North Pole, although he keep saying he is headed to "Santa's Ville" (or something like that) but Lefty thinks he is saying Santa's Hell and he asks me why Santa lives in hell. (Nice!)


Ok, so I realize the kids will need therapy for a whole host of other reasons and I let them continue to watch. It isn't my kind of warm, fuzzy Christmas movie, but whatever. We keep watching. Nicko and a couple friends make it to a somewhat scary looking North Pole, not the cozy, friendly place I have always envisioned.


As they enter into the village, here come Santa's reindeer pulling a sleigh but Nicko causes them to crash and a Santa dummy is thrown about and catches on fire!! At first you have no idea that it is a Santa dummy, and my poor 3 yo thought it was the real Santa. (Nice!....again!)


There were points in the village where the wolves get in and are trying to eat Santa's reindeer! The wolves also talk about eating others and surrounding their victims. There are other equally as fun parts of the movie: there are several avalanches, Nicko and his friends jump across a scary river and at another point fall into a huge canyon onto rocks and almost go over a waterfall, huge icicles fall and almost crush the animals, one of Nicko's friends pokes one the wolves in his behind with a icicle and my favorite part is near the end when Wilma (a little forest animal) is with Nicko and Santa's reindeer, she starts singing this song in a voluptuous voice and shaking her hips, caressing the squirrel, all the while the reindeer are drinking mugs of what appears to be beer and then belch loudly -- what???? Oh yes!

Also, the whole movie is about Nicko going to find his dad who is one of Santa's reindeer (Prancer I think it was). Apparently, his dad, Prancer, had a "one night stand" with his mom. She never had the chance to tell him that they had a baby. Ok, I realize the movie is about some fictional characters, but kids don't always make that distinction -- especially a 3 yo. Also, there are hints given about “The Flying Forces” taking out ladies all the time.


Needless to say, I found this movie disgusting. I was expecting a cute, corny Christmas movie that had sweet values. However, it glorified being disobedient, had violence and hints of sexual situations, and didn't live up to its message about family.


I advise all of you to steer clear of this horrible movie and am so sad that it is linked to anything Christmas.

Google knows what I NEED

Ever used Google to find out what your needs are?


I got the idea from some other bloggers and wasn't really going to blog about it, but the responses Google gave me cracked me up so I just had to blog this!


So I went to Google and typed in "Annikke needs" and here are some of the responses Google provided:


Annikke needs help [of course I do... I need help with laundry, I need help with dinner planning, I need lots and lots of help!]


Annikke needs more room [what is Google trying to tell me? I gained too much weight?]


Annikke needs a home [unless Google knows something I don't know, then I am quite content in my little home!]


Annikke needs a bath [What?? I showered this morning! Sheesh, Google is really not boosting my ego right now!]


Annikke needs something new [I always NEED something new!!]


Annikke needs to buy sugar and cookies [well, this is true, sort of - I need to buy sugar cookies for a party on Saturday!]


Annikke needs some fresh lovin [umm, well ok. If Google says so!]


Annikke needs bras and knickers without holes in them [ya, well how does Google know what my bras look like?]


then the clincher popped up for me ... are you ready for this ... it isn't a need but Google said:


Annikke gets a diet and a budget [do those two really go hand-in-hand? and who "gets" a diet, start maybe but get??? heck, I never even finish a diet!]

BLT Bites

This is that time of year when we are hosting or going to parties like crazy. These stuffed cherry tomatoes are a fun appetizer and are very tasty. These always go quickly!

BLT Bites
INGREDIENTS:
16-20 cherry tomatoes
1 lb bacon, cooked and crumbled
1/2 c mayonnaise
1/3 c chopped green onions
3 Tbls grated parmesan cheese

Cut a thin slice off each tomato top. Scoop out and discard pulp. Invert tomatoes onto a papertowel to drain. In a small bowl, combine all remaining ingredients and mix well. Spoon mixture into tomatoes. Refrigerate for several hours before serving.

Award

UPDATED TO ADD THE PICTURES:

I got a phone call last week at work saying that Lefty was going to get an award at school. There are only two of this particular award school wide! I was told not to tell Lefty because they were going to surprise the two kids (keep in mind that my little Lefty is not a big fan of surprises - unless they are the wrapped present variety!)

Then, on Monday I went to the school to pick up the kids and Spirit's teacher told me that at the awards ceremony Spirit is also being recognized for his exceptional behavior -- again don't tell because it is a surprise.

We invited my MIL and FIL and a dear family friend of ours to attend the event! It is so exciting! I am leaving work at lunch time to attend this fine event and will be back to work later in the day.

When I get back, if I have time I will post some pictures! Otherwise I will get them posted tomorrow! I am beaming with excitement and pride!

The Principal trying to settle the kids down so we can start the awards ceremony!

Spirit getting an award for Exceptional Attitude!

Lefty receiving his "CARE" award for being an exceptional role model to other students by being respectful, well-behaved, always showing a good attitude and the most helpful.

Grandma and Grandpa P

Lefty proudly holding his CARE award!

Ornament Swap

I participated in a Secret Ornament Swap with many others over at Abbilyeverafter I got my ornament in the mail from Sterlingirl ! I knew as soon as I read her sweet card that I was sure to like whatever I got:

Merry Christmas!

Hope you get a kick out of

your ornament. I can't

be from the Memphis area

and not honor The King.

So I gathered everyone around to open it! I carefully unwrapped the paper and look what I found!

Is that the cutest thing E.V.E.R.??? The kids really love it and are fighting over who gets to hang it up next year...I finally I said "I do! It is mine ya know!"

THANKS JANA AT STERLINGIRL! We love our new ornament!

I participated in this same swap last year and really had a good time so if she does this next year (and I hope she will) and you didn't participate this year then you have to participate next year! It is so fun!

Words of wisdom

I was folding clothes the other day when in marched Lady Bug with Lefty in tow quickly behind her.

She said in a very sweet, soft voice:
"Mom, I accidentally broke this off one of the snowmen."

I looked at the poor snowman's arm that she was holding and said it was ok, and I would glue it.

She handed it to me and said
"Ok. Sorry mom." as she hung her head down.

I assured her it wasn't that big of a deal and that the snowman was fixable.

As she and Lefty turned to leave my room I heard Lefty say
"See. I told you that as long as you are honest mom is very forgiving."

President and PTO

Mr. Man and I try to get involved in the kids' school as much as we can (sometimes that can be hard with both of us working full time, but we do what we can). Last year Mr. Man was a PTO member and attended most of the meetings and we chaired some events and got involved whenever/wherever our schedules would allow.

This year...Mr. Man was elected Co-President of the PTO. I laughed so hard I almost wet my pants when he came home from a meeting and told me! Not sure why I found it so hilarious but I did!

Because of this fine election (**Insert the U.S. Presidential theme song here!)--last night we were up until 1:00 a.m. tallying candy bar fundraiser money. Calculating how many candy bars to order and what kinds, along with how many prizes to order for the kids.

Some of the orders were turned in all nice and neat, well organized...others -- not so much! Some of those we couldn't tell what the person was ordering because there was a check mark then a scribble then a circle over that? What??

One little girl's order was turned in with $20 worth of stuff marked off, but there was $80 in checks in the envelope, so we had to track down her teacher to send it back home!

So, in addition to our late night, Mr. Man also spent almost all day Friday working on this fundraiser and other PTO items. Yep, presidency is hard work people!

Another recipe to use left over turkey

I don't know about you but I am getting sick of turkey in every meal! BUT, if you are still trying to figure out what to do with left over turkey? Why not a turkey potpie?

This potpie recipe is so easy, looks beautiful and tastes delicious too!

Click here for my chicken potpie recipe. Prepare this exactly the same, just substitute cooked turkey for the chicken. For a fun top, you could use a leaf shaped cookie cutter and cut out a bunch of leaves for the top. Then arrange them to create a fun "collage" of leaves for the top crust. (I have never done that, but it could be done for those of you creative ones!)

Enjoy!

My babies are growing up!

After listening to the boys comments about wanting their own rooms we have decided (although they don't know it yet) to let them have their own rooms.

When we bought this new house we decided to use the 4th bedroom as a playroom...mostly because this momma wasn't ready for one child to be on a different level from the rest of the family - but also because the boys wanted to share a room. Win-win situation!!

Momma was hoping we could wait until our oldest was at least 10 years old before moving him to his own room, but lately both boys have been making comments that they would like their own space. We thought they could share a desk, that isn't working out. We thought they could share a dresser but that doesn't work out very well either. The room is too small to add a second dresser and desk. We thought maybe the playroom could be a place one of them could go to when he needed space, but Lady Bug's things are in the playroom too so then she goes in and bugs them.

Plus, little did we realize that the different personalities they have make it hard to share a room. Lefty is clean and organized. Spirit is more like his dad and his a slob -- I'm kidding about being like his dad (well, sort of kidding!) So Lefty will literally kick Spirit out and clean the room, even Spirit's stuff. Then if Spirit starts scattering things I can hear Lefty scolding him about it!

Mr. Man and I talked it over last night and decided that for Lefty's birthday (which isn't until April) we will get him new furniture and re-organize the playroom. We will move Spirit into the playroom and give the current boy's room a makeover for Lefty.

Momma is still a little worried about this change but I still have 4 months to prepare myself.

THE PICTURES WERE TAKEN BY LEFTY - THEY ARE GREAT AREN'T THEY???

A yummy dip recipe

I know I usually post recipes on Friday, but this one is too good I had to share it now.

I am taking this one to a party we are going to on Saturday. I also made this one for Thanksgiving snacks and everyone loved it! It is a nice Christmas dip though because of the red and green in it! I also gotta tell ya I am not a big fan of frozen spinach but this dip is really good!!!

I found it on the Kraft foods website (they have a ton of yummy recipes on there!) I made a few adjustments though. Here is my version of their dip:

Cheesy Spinach and Bacon Dip
INGREDIENTS:
1 pkg. (10 oz.) frozen chopped spinach, thawed, drained (why is this such a pain to do?)
1 lb. (16 oz.) VELVEETA Pasteurized Prepared Cheese Product, cut into 1/2-inch cubes (Do NOT use store brand... there won't be as much cheesy flavor - trust me!)
4 oz. (1/2 of 8-oz. pkg.) PHILADELPHIA Cream Cheese, cubed
1 can (10 oz.) RO*TEL Diced Tomatoes & Green Chilies, undrained
8 slices of bacon, cooked, crumbled (I did 8 originally but think I will do maybe 10-12 slices because with 8 there really wasn't enough to even know bacon was in there)

Krafts version said to microwave all ingredients in microwaveable bowl on HIGH 5 min. or until Velveeta is completely melted and mixture is well blended, stirring after 3 min. Serve with tortilla chips and cut-up fresh vegetables.

I did mine in a crock-pot (so I could take it with us warm) and just let it cook on low until cheese was melted.

A tangle with the copier

I am hoping that this isn't one of those "you had to be there" sort of stories but here it goes anyway:

Yesterday at work, I was copying a 150 page set of exhibits. I needed this copied 4 times. I set the copier and was standing there waiting. I started to lean over to check on the stacks and I tripped over my own high heeled boot and fell! I knocked all 3 sorting trays off the copier and was laying under them while copies continued to pour out and land on my face. I couldn't even get up because I was laughing so hard! My boss came running in and he couldn't help but laugh. He did, however, ask if I needed help up and if I was alright! Then we both laughed and laughed! It took me 2 hours to sort out all the pages that went flying!

*NOTE: I was not injured in this fall, other than my pride.

Merry SITSmas!

I am here, along with many others from over at The Secret is in the Sauce, to wish you all a Merry SITSmas and Happy Holidays!

2008 in my house:

Our family was busy in 2008. We spent several months shopping for a new house. That wore us out physically and emotionally. Spirit took up guitar lessons. We lost our nanny (mutual decision for her to go) which meant Lady Bug started preschool and also that meant the boys would have to go to the after-school program. Lady Bug had always had a nanny so this was huge for all of us! With the move into our new house, the boys had to start a new school also (and adjusted very well, in fact they love it!) We took a family road trip to Oregon (for my niece's wedding) and the kids got to see the ocean for the first time. It was a hoot! We even went camping along the coast with my family and Spirit and Mr. Man hung out with my BIL on the boat fishing for crabs. Spirit still talks about how much fun that was! Mr. Man was elected co-president of the PTO at the boys school and I am chairing some events for the PTO. We made and canned applesauce as a family this year, which was a lot of fun!

We are looking forward to 2009 but really don't have any expectations of what it will or won't bring us!

Below are just a few of my favorite blogs that I found through SITS (there are too many to name!):

Pixie Dusted

Our Piece of Quiet

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Thanksgiving day re-cap

Every family has one. Right? Someone every family member talks about and that person has been labeled. Like the neurotic one. The late one. The prompt one. The perfectionist. And the list goes on and on. Right? Well, maybe it is just our family...

Both sides of our families are huge so our list of "the one" is really, really, really long!

I have 5 siblings, who all have spouses and kids. Some of those kids (my nieces and nephews) are married with children of their own.

Mr. Man has 4 sisters who are married with kids. Some (most) of those kids (his nieces and nephews) are married with kids of their own.

Needless to say, Thanksgiving isn't about the WHOLE family (from either side) getting together for the holiday. We used to spend it with just my father. Then about 5 years ago that all changed and since none of my family live close we usually spend it with one of Mr. Man's sisters or we just do our own thing.

This year we spent Thanksgiving at Mr. Man's younger sister's house. We have never done Thanksgiving with them before (read this post for the reason why!) It was a lot of fun!
My SIL is very crafty and an excellent decorator and is also a clean freak (and I do mean freak - the woman washes her WALLS regularly!) Her label? Yep, you guessed it - "The clean freak" However, her house does look like a show home and it really is inviting and cozy - and very clean. I love going to her house!

Anyway, back to the point - Mr. Man has an aunt and uncle who are serious tight-wads -- their label? Yep "tight-wads". They hate to pay for anything. He delivers food for a local food bank and what gets left over they let the volunteers take. Whenever we have a get together this aunt/uncle show up with 3-day old (or older) food that they want us to eat. Sometimes it is moldy bread. ew! (*I know this is a huge digression, but one year they actually showed up on my birthday with a week old cake that was horrible looking - and tasted worse!*) So anyway, back to my story - I was talking with my SIL on Wednesday before Thanksgiving and we were discussing the menu. She told me what she was making and who was bringing what and she said:
"Aunt A is bringing the dessert."

I was silent.

She said: "I know, that is scary so I already have a pie just in case and some other desserts if we need."

I arrived to my SIL's early so that I could help her get set up and ready. When Aunt A showed up she had a 2 day old pecan pie and a pumpkin pie that didn't have a date on it so I have no idea how old it was - but it smelled ok and tasted alright too (although I drown mine in whipped topping so who would've known anyway!)

Other than that, we ate like pigs and man oh man was the food de.lish.ous!

Before dinner we had cheese ball, salsa and chips, a bacon/spinach/cheese dip, chocolate covered pretzels, fudge, popcorn balls, other kinds of candy. Then for dinner we had turkey (of course), mashed potatoes and gravy, stuffing, green bean casserole, corn, fruit salad, blueberry dessert, pumpkin pie, pecan pie. It was so yummy. Of course I stuffed myself - but don't regret it!

We watched some funny videos and football of course. Then my niece and nephew decided to go to a coffee shop without us old folks so we gabbed and caught up on each other's lives. So, all-in-all, dinner with the clean-freak and the tight-wads was a hoot! Ha!

Turkey Enchiladas

If you are here in the U.S. I hope you had a great Thanksgiving yesterday. We did. I will post pictures later!

Whether or not you celebrated Thanksgiving yesterday, here is a good recipe. It can be made with chicken or turkey. My mom made something similar to this when we were kids using left over turkey and I adapted my mom's recipe to come up with this one.

Turkey Enchiladas
INGREDIENTS:
Leftover cooked turkey or chicken (either white or dark meat pieces will do, I usually do a mixture of whatever I have)
1 can cream of celery soup or cream of chicken soup
1 can diced green chilies
1 reg. size pkg. plain tortilla chips, crumbled
1 (8 oz.) pkg. Cheddar cheese, grated
1 (8 oz.) pkg. Monterey Jack cheese, grated
1 sm. onion, chopped
1 jar jalapenos (optional for additional "kick")

Saute onions in butter or margarine in medium skillet until golden brown. Add green chilies, soup, and 1 soup can full of water. Stir and simmer until heated. Crush tortilla chips. Spread a layer of chips in bottom of baking dish (about 1/2 of the bag). Scatter a layer of cooked turkey on top of chips. Spoon a layer of 1/2 of soup mixture over chips. Add jalapenos, if desired. Sprinkle with 1/3 of both grated cheeses. Repeat with remaining chips, turkey, and soup mixture; top with grated cheese. Bake in oven at 350 degrees until thoroughly heated and cheese is bubbly.

NOTE: This can also be cooked in the microwave oven by heating at medium high power until thoroughly heated and cheese is bubbly.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING

I am not really here... I am probably gorging myself on appetizers and junk food before I gorge myself on turkey, stuffing, mashed taters and pumpkin pie!! YUM!!!

I just hope all of you are having a great day, where ever you are and whatever you are doing!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

Songs we've heard over and over this week

Lady Bug has two new favorite songs:


Do You Know the Muffin Man
Do you know the muffin man, the muffin man, the muffin man
oh do you know muffin man
All around the town


Notice how she goes from the Muffin Man to The Wheels on the Bus song? Kinda makes the Muffin Man sound like a real player, a Romeo if you will! Too funny!


BINGO
There was a farmer had a dog and Bingo was his name-o
B-I-N-G-O
B-I-N-G-O
B-I-N-G-O
and Nemo was his name-o.


Yep Nemo was his name, even though she spells out Bingo. When I asked if the dog's name was Bingo or Nemo (thinking she would say "oh Bingo") she proudly announced "Nemo."

The handwriting expert

Lady Bug started preschool this year and they have been working with her to write her name. She does pretty well, but 2 out of the 5 letters in her name are not recognizable. I was preparing some stuff to send to my mom and in there was a piece of paper with Lady Bug's handwritten name on it. When Spirit saw it he started laughing and saying that her name didn't look right and on and on -- just like big brother's do, right? (**Lady Bug wasn't in the room so she didn't hear him) I was telling Spirit that actually, for her age, she writes her name very well. He just smiled at me and moved on.

Earlier that day,

Spirit found a math work book from last year (when he was in first grade) and he was erasing all the answers and re-writing them. I asked what he was doing and he said:

"Do you see my handwriting? It is terrible!"

When I remembered the work book incident I went looking for Spirit. I reminded him how he didn't like his writing but the more he practiced the better it got, I also told him that Lady Bug will need more and more practice to really make her name look nice. He laughed and said "I know. I just now realized that."

Weight Gain... and it isn't even Thanksgiving Day yet

I overeat in attempts to make myself feel better, I think they call it an emotional eater or something like that. I overeat in an attempt to make my problems seem less huge and also in hopes that they will go away. My problems lately are no different than anyone else's - Christmas is coming and where oh where are we going to find the money to provide for the kids the way we want to??

So, I know... get over it, move on.........

Anyway........

Yesterday I ate the following:

• A piece of toast with peanut butter
• A piece of cinnamon/sugar toast (and everyone knows in order for cinnamon/sugar toast to be really good it must be slathered in tons of butter)
• A large cup of coffee with cream and sugar
• A few peanuts
• A bottled water
• A few goldfish crackers
• A half piece of chicken
• Some corn
• A pop
• A Twinkie
• Another pop
• Handful of potato chips
• Meatloaf and potatoes
• Chocolate milk
• A spoonful of cookie dough

ARE YOU KIDDING ME? Gee I wish I were! I seriously ate all that in one day. And guess what, my problems are still here today! So all that the overeating did was cause some serious digestive issues, bloating and weight gain. Nice. Now I have one more problem...how lose a gazillion pounds before Mr. Man's work Holiday Party???

Biscuits and rolls

Biscuits and Rolls for your holiday gathering or for any ol' meal!

The biscuit recipe I got from my sister years ago and the roll recipe is my MIL's recipe (my husband's favorite rolls!)

Basic Biscuits
INGREDIENTS:
2 c flour
3 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1/4 c shortening
3/4 c milk

Stir flour, powder and salt together with fork. Cut in shortening. Add milk and stir. Knead dough on a floured board 10 times. Roll out about 1/2" thick. Cut with glass (do not twist). Bake 10-12 minutes at 425 degrees.


Dinner Rolls
INGREDIENTS:
1/2 c sugar
1/2 c oil
1 c milk, hot
1 egg, beaten
1/2 tsp salt
2 pkg yeast (I like to use Rapid Rise yeast)
1 c warm water
Approximately 7 c flour

Mix sugar and oil together in a bowl. Add milk to sugar mixture and stir well. Add egg and salt to sugar mixture. Mix yeast with water and stir until dissolved. Add yeast/water to bowl and stir well. Add flour, 1 c at a time until desired consistency. Let rise to doubled in size.

Bake at 375 for 8-10 minutes.

Some much needed family time

Mr. Man has had to work a lot lately... for instance ...


last Friday he worked 8:00 am until 9:00 pm. 13 hours
Saturday he worked 7:00 am until 6:00 pm. 11 hours
Sunday he worked 8:00 am until 12:00 pm and then had to go back at 2:00 pm until 4:00 pm. 6 hours
Monday he worked 8:00 am until 6:30 pm. 10.5 hours
Tuesday was 7:30 am until 9:00 pm. 13.5 hours


(THAT is a lot of hours there!!Whoa!)


So, I called him yesterday afternoon at work and asked if he needed to work late again. He said no. I said let's just hang out as a family. He agreed that would be a good idea.


We didn't do anything fancy. I made dinner. We read together. We worked on homework. I gave the kids showers and then we went to bed. It was nice to be together though. No craziness. No whining kids who missed their dad. No naughty kids picking on their mom. No grumpy, stressed out mommy!

All I want for Christmas is...

Lefty (who is 6 and in 1st grade this year) told his dad that all he wants for Christmas is to have his kindergarten teacher come over for waffles.

He was in love with his kindergarten teacher and so were we (mostly). She was great for him. She gave him just enough push to really make him strive for more and more.

Oh, I battled with her on some things. Click here and here for more on those issues. But overall, she was so good to Lefty and he enjoyed her!

So I am thinking we get her over for waffles A.S.A.P., put a red bow on her head and that takes care of one present. Viola! Just like that!

I am kidding of course! (sort of!)

A Birthday Party Gala you won't want to miss!

You know how there is always that one kid whose mom & dad put on the grandest of grand party and no other family can top what they did?

Well, this past weekend Lady Bug was invited to four birthday parties. Three of them were on Saturday and one was on Sunday. **For the record I don't recommend putting a 3 year old through such emotional stimulation in one weekend** At the end of the 3rd party on Saturday she had a complete melt down! Through her many tears she said "Please momma just take me home. I wanna go home now!"


We left the house at 8:45 am on Saturday, just Lady Bug and I, and headed to the store (nothing like last minute shopping for said birthday parties). We didn't get back home until 5:00 pm. That is a long day for a little girl (and her mommy too!)


SATURDAY:
Party #1: 10:00 am to 12:00 pm (leave a little early to get to party #2) - skating party


Party #2: 11:30 am to 1:30 pm - bowling party (louder than a Chuck E Cheese party, yes I said Louder!)


Party #3: 2:30 pm to 4:30 pm (arrive 1/2 hour early because there isn't enough time to go home after party #2 before party #3 started) - Princess Ballerina party with makeup and glitter and everything girly-girl!


SUNDAY:
Party #4: 2:00 pm to 4:00 pm - Chuck E. Cheese (enough said there!)



Sunday, after Party #4, we are driving home, just Lady Bug and I. Here is our conversation about birthdays - keep in mind this is after skating, bowling, a princess party and tons of fun at Chuck E Cheese:


Lady Bug: "I don't like cake anymore."


Me: (Laughing) " I don't blame you. You had a lot of cake this weekend didn't you?"


Lady Bug: "Yes. When is my birthday?"


Me: "You have 3 more months."


Lady Bug: "Maybe we can have my party at the gas station!!"


Me: "A gas station?? What would we do at the gas station for your birthday party?"


Lady Bug: "Wellllllll, we wouldn't get gas."


Me: "Really. What could we do there for a party though?"


Lady Bug: "Eat snacks and stuff. They have games there."


Me: "Like lottery tickets or what?"


Lady Bug: "Sure! OR we could go to Wal-Mart for my birthday!"


Me: "Wal-Mart or a gas station? Done deal girl. I'm on it!"


Lady Bug (with big smile on her face): "OK then!!!"


So, I am on it. I am busily preparing invitations to the grand gala to the gas station (or maybe Wal-Mart if we feel like really going all out for this big shin-dig!) Oh the other mothers will be so jealous they didn't plan such a big event! Yes, folks my daughter will be the envy of all other kids!

DIY Project - Dinner in a basket

I am not a teacher, nor have I ever been , but I am close to some people whose occupation is teaching in the public schools. So I know from talking to them that they work hard and put in lots of hours that we (as parents) don't know about, especially during parent/teacher conference times. They sometimes are pulled away from their families during conferences and sometimes until late into the evenings for these conferences.

So this year I decided to make each teacher a little "Dinner in a basket" gift. I picked up a few baskets at the thrift store. Then I prepared some homemade chili, stuck in some crackers, a couple apples, a few biscuits (just from a can), Mr. Man made some salsa that we packaged up and I stuck in a jar of homemade pumpkin butter. I attached a note that said "With the stress of parent/teacher conferences, please enjoy dinner on us tonight! Thank you for all your hard work!"


We are going to put together a few of these for some neighbors this year for Christmas gifts. I am thinking of spaghetti noodles, a jar of sauce, garlic bread and some homemade cookies with a note that "With the stress of the holidays, please enjoy dinner tonight on us!"

Gidget

Gidget, the new dog, (click here and here for more about the dog) did so well the first two weeks in our house. She never pooped or peed on the floor and always told us when she needed to go out. At night, we would let her out just before bed, then she slept in the boys' room all night long. About 6:30 she would wake up and need to go out.

Then we had her spayed and things changed. She wasn't feeling good, or eating right for a few days. Then when she got back to herself she would eat so fast it was scary to watch!!

There are many things that could be a factor to the dog suddenly pooping/peeing in the house:

1. Although we told the kids not to feed her "people" food, I am sure they have dropped stuff and she was eating whatever they drop.

2. If it is cold she doesn't like to go out to go potty. (She is so short that her little "wee wee" touches the cold blade of grass LOL!) If there is snow on the ground...forget about it. She would rather die than go potty out there! But if I go out with her she will find a place to do it, she does it as quickly as possible and then runs back in the house!

3. The kids let her out to go but if she doesn't want to go potty they don't force her to. So she meanders back in the house and proceeds to pee on the floor (and sometimes poop too!) When I let her out, if she tries to come back in before she goes potty I say "No. Go potty." and she will look at me like "Fine. But I'm not happy about this."

4. She is sneaky little thing. She will wait until we aren't paying attention and disappear into a room not being occupied at the moment and potty.

Here are some things we have done to help with this problem:

• We take her out a lot. Like as much as every 20-30 minutes.
• We put her on a feeding schedule. She gets fed at the same time every day. (this took her a few days to adjust to, but now she knows when it is time to eat and that's that.)
• We pick up her food and water at 7:00 pm.
• We take her out just before bedtime (since she sleeps with the kids, this is usually about 8 or 8:30 pm).
• We take her out again first thing in the morning.

This is working so well! We are so pleased. We had also been encountering a problem with her needing to go out several times during the night. Since we implemented our changes she is once again sleeping through the night! Phew!

Water chestnut stuffing

As I prepare our Thanksgiving menu and grocery shopping and guest lists, I thought I would post my aunt's yummy stuffing recipe. My family loves this stuffing! The sweeter your onion the tastier the stuffing is, but it is good no matter what.

Water chestnut stuffing
INGREDIENTS:
1 c diced celery
1 large onion, chopped (1 cup)
3/4 c (1 1/2 sticks) butter
1 c peeled canned water chestnuts, drained and chopped
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp poultry seasoning
1/8 tsp pepper sage to taste
8 c bread cubes (about 1 lb. loaf, works great with white bread -- even Wonder Bread)
2 eggs
3 Tbls milk
raisins to taste

Cut bread cubes and sprinkle with sage. Saute celery and onion in butter just until soft. Stir in water chestnuts, salt, poultry seasoning, sage and pepper; add raisins and saute 3 minutes longer. Pour mixture over bread cubes in a large bowl; mix lightly. Beat eggs with milk in a cup; drizzle over bread mixture; toss until evenly moist.

**Notes from my aunt: Usually a loaf of bread is over 1 lb so I add extra butter, more onions, celery etc. I usually make the stuffing the day before and pack it into a bowl, cover and refrigerate. If all of it won't fit into the cavities of the turkey, I either wrap it in buttered foil or put it in an oven proof bowl and drizzle a little chicken stock over it to make up for its not getting the turkey juices as it cooks. Probably no more than 45 minutes for the extra to cook through.**

"Grandma B reminds me of Queen Elizabeth"

Spirit was watching a PBS Special about Queen Elizabeth II. About mid-way through he says Grandma B reminds me of the Queen. I asked why and he said it was because they looked a lot alike and they talk alike.

I have never heard my mother speak in an English accent, but she is quite a classy lady (I think so anyway!) My mother is also about 12 years younger than the Queen.

Here is my mom on her 70th birthday (she is the one on the left -- hee hee and for the record the cute girl isn't me. That is my neice!):

I would say it is an honor to have someone say you look like the Queen -- and I bet when my mom reads this she will indeed be honored!

A little bit of this and that for this fine Wednesday

Many of you asked where my pictures were from yesterday's post... well I had the stomach flu so the post was the best I could do! Sorry. I am still not feeling 100% today but I promise I will get some pictures up as soon as I can! Thanks for your patience!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Last night -- as I was laying in bed getting bed sores from being sick -- I heard Mr. Man in Lady Bug's room singing with her. He was singing to the tune of "Where is thumbkin, where is thumbkin...." and here is what I heard:

Mr. Man: "Where is Gidget? Where is Gidget?"

Lady Bug: "She is our dog. She is our dog."

Mr. Man: "But where is she now? Where is she now? I wanna know. I wanna know."

Lady Bug: "She is with mom. She is with mom."

Mr. Man (starting tune over at the beginning): "I love mom. I love mom."

Lady Bug: "I do too. I do too."

Mr. Man(starting tune over at the beginning again): "You love blue. You love blue."

Mr. Man: "No I don't. No I don't."

Mr. Man: "You love pink. You love pink."

Lady Bug: "It is rosa. It is rosa." (**She has Spanish twice a week at her preschool**)

I was pretty impressed with her ability to come back ... in song no less ... in response to what he was singing to her!

It was pretty darn cute!!

"I am so gonna blog about this..."

The other day I got out the camera and was getting ready to take pictures and Mr. Man said:

"Be careful guys, you're gonna be on the internet tomorrow! Mom must need something to blog about!"

He was right. I wanted newer pictures but not for my blog (necessarily). The kids sort of rolled their eyes and appropriately posed.

After I got my pictures taken, I told Mr. Man and the kids that I really was just wanting new pictures but now they forced me to blog about the eye-rolling and muttered comments.


So there family. I blogged about you today! Ha ha.

It's a small world

Beth at A Mom's Life is hosting Miracle Monday. Go check out the stories there.

I am not sure you can call this a Miracle really, but it definitely shows how God works in awesome ways!

This is an incredible story of what a small world this can be and how it changed a woman's life and touched my heart deeply:

I met a woman at the summer Vacation Bible School our church hosted this year. This woman was often my helper and we had several minutes after each group to sort of get to know each other throughout the week.

She told me she had a rough childhood, parents died when she was 4. She never really told me who raised her, but I suspected (based on other things said) that she was in foster care. She told me she had been on her own since she was 16 yo. She said she was into drugs and alcohol and got pregnant young. Her daughter is now in college. She said a few years ago her apartment building caught fire and she lost everything she had, even the few items she had from her childhood.

She also told me some positive things, she had at one time owned her own business, she had been a loan officer at a bank and had recently gone back to school.

Near the end of the week, we had really gotten to know each other. She is such a likable woman. She is so strong. I remember the tears in her eyes when we talked about the baby I lost. This woman didn't know me, she didn't need to cry for me. But she did.

She told me what brought her to our church and her story was so amazing and so touching:

She had been really depressed, started drinking and decided to kill herself. She grabbed a 9mm handgun and started driving to a remote place. She failed to use a turn signal and was pulled over by the cops. She was arrested and taken to jail. She spent almost a month in jail, where she started reading the Bible. One day during her time in jail, a woman from prison ministries came in and they talked a lot about God and the Bible. She said just before the woman left the woman told her "I don't care what you did to get yourself in here, I just want you to know you will be in my thoughts and prayers for when you get out."

After she got out of jail she did two months in drug/alcohol rehab. One day, while at a gas station, she bought a few food items and came up short. The man behind her in line gave her the money to pay for her items. She was thanking him and they got to talking and he ended up inviting her to church. After coming to our church a few times, that man's wife invited her to a ladies Bible study class. She connected with several women there and was attending regularly. After one of the studies, one of the women invited her to go to lunch with her and her mom. They met at the restaurant and she was seated next to the woman's mother. As she sat listening to the mother talk, she thought "I've heard that voice before." Before lunch was up she realized that this voice belonged to the woman from prison ministries! At first neither one could believe it. The mother leaned over, hugged her and said "I never thought I'd see you again but I have been thinking about you and praying for you ever since I met you!"

Can you believe that? What a small, small world.

A Night to Remember

Well, actually I would prefer to forget it and not experience another one like for a long, long time.

Here is how my night went last night:

8:00 pm - while reading books to the kids I feel a headache coming on. Since I am prone to migraines (and you can never tell if it is going to be a full blown migraine until it becomes full blown) I took some migraine medicine.

9:30 pm - fall asleep

11:09 pm - dog starts scratching at the door to go potty

11:14 pm - back in bed but can't fall back to sleep

12:30 or 1:00 am - fall back to sleep and start to have bad dreams

2:31 am - Lady Bug starts crying. I go into her room and she proceeds to throw up all over her bed and into my hands. Nice. I call for Mr. Man to come help because the dog is trying to lick the throw up and I am gagging. We get Lady Bug cleaned up, her bedding changed and into the washer and put Lady Bug back into her bed.

3:00 am - I still can't fall asleep.

3:30 am - not sure if I was asleep or not. If I was, I hadn't been asleep long. Lady Bug cries again. Mr. Man goes into her room. She had thrown up again. He hollers for my help. This time it got in her hair so I start a bath. Then I change the bedding again.

3:50 am - Lady Bug is in bed with us. We just start to settle down when the dog scratches the door to go potty (again!). Mr. Man opens our bedroom door but doesn't take the dog out to go potty. She is gone for a while then comes back. I had a bad feeling about that so I got up and smelled the poop immediately. Guess what? Dog has diarrhea. Nice. So I get that cleaned up and crawl back into bed.

4:15 am - Lady Bug jolts up and says she is going to throw up. False alarm. So we crawl into bed and at some point fall asleep.

6:30 am - boys get up for school and dog is ready to play.

6:32 am - I drag myself downstairs to find some coffee.

So tonight, we are all going to bed early. I am exhausted. Mr. Man has the day off so I bet he takes a nice long nap! Boo hoo for me! **Edited to add: At 2:30 pm I spoke with Mr. Man. He had been at the boys school all day putting together fundraising packets so he didn't get a nap either. I guess we are ALL going to bed extra early tonight!

Now, read the post below this which is my Friday recipe for slow cooker french dip sandwiches.

Slow Cooker French Dip Sandwiches

I made this the other night. It was so yummy on a cold evening. We love these. Or should I say, Mr. Man and I do. The kids grumble about them. They will eat the meat without the bread though. I know, they are weird kids, what can I say?

Slow Cooker French Dip Sandwiches
INGREDIENTS:
3-4 lbs beef sirloin roast
1/2 cup soy sauce
1 beef bouillon cube
1 bay leaf
1/4 tsp dried rosemary
1/4 tsp dried thyme
1 tsp garlic salt
pepper to taste
1 pkt of au jus mix (optional)
hoagie rolls

Remove fat from roast. Place the roast in slow cooker. Add to the slow cooker soy sauce, bouillon, bay leaf, pepper, rosemary, thyme, and garlic salt. Add enough water to almost cover roast. Cover, and cook on low heat for 10 to 12 hours, or until meat is very tender.
Remove meat from broth, reserving broth. Shred meat with a fork, and distribute on bread for sandwiches. Used reserved broth for dipping. If broth isn't flavorful enough (which sometimes Mr. Man says it isn't) then you can add in a packet of au jus mix to broth. Sometimes I do this and other times I don't.

Wall words

I have been wanting to get some of those vinyl wall words, for...well, like forever! I've seen them all over the internet and even a craft store nearby. Then my dear friend Aubrey over at The Fam Five, told me her husband would make some for me. She had been experimenting in her house with them, so I gave her two sayings I wanted. He got the font all set up and got them printed and cut (or whatever he did... I really have no idea HOW he did it!)


Here is one that is from our kitchen, leading to the sunroom.





Here is the one we put at the top of the stairs. It is at the end of the hallway. It looks so cool from the bottom of the stairs from our front room! I am so pleased with how these turned out. Now I am looking for more and more to do!




When I first was telling Mr. Man that I wanted some of these vinyl things he would joke with me -- he would see a blank wall in our house and say "Maybe we need to get a vinyl saying for the wall?!" Ha ha. Very funny.
But now, now that we have them up on the walls, he loves them and is serious about getting more of these things! He was pointing out an area in our family room that he wanted to add some vinyl too and in our laundry area! The vinyl bug has hit our household!




**Wanted to add here, in case any of you noticed, that the HOME one is slightly crooked. Well, we are aware of this major problem and I have since begged my dear friend's husband to please make me another so I can take that one down and replace it. um, ya, I bet that will cost me BIG TIME! (Do you think he might take applesauce as payment? Because I have a lot of applesauce!!)

Just when I was ready to throw in the towel...

This morning started off terrible.

First thing - I overslept. I typically like to get up at least an hour before the rest of the family so I can have some "me/mommy time". So since I had overslept my "me time" AND the spare time to get everyone dressed, fed and out the door was gone. I woke up at the same time that we are normally just finishing breakfast and getting ready to leave.

Second thing - I didn't get my morning coffee and I am grumpy.

Third thing - I locked the house up and shut the door, then realized I didn't have my keys. Thankfully, one of my little children forgot to lock the door to the garage so I was able to get back in the house. **Ok, I do realize this is now a positive thing, but at first I was upset!**

Fourth - I didn't get my morning coffee. Period. Or any chocolate for that matter!

Fifth - Lady Bug decided to have a melt down because we forgot her nap buddy for school and since I was late I wouldn't go back. **Yay for the teacher who offered her a Pooh doll. Phew**

All over the sudden, just as I am ready to call it quits, call in sick and go home to crawl back in bed. Lady Bug rushes over to me at the door of the classroom. She grabs my leg and says, in the sweetest little voice "Bye momma. I love you." I bent down to hug her and she whispers in my ear "You're my girl."

Awwwwwwwwwwww, I melted. I kissed the top of her head and that is when I realized THIS is what gets me through the tough days! When I can't figure out how to go on one more second, one of the kids will do something sweet like that and the bad stuff melts away!

Dinner in honor of our country

For those of you who may not know (ha ha), today is the day to vote on our next president of the United States of America.

In honor of our country we are having a dinner party tonight as a family to watch and listen to the polling as the numbers come in.

What better meal to honor our country than a traditional fried chicken meal? We are making my sister's famous oven fried chicken and I am making some mashed potatoes and gravy to go with it. We are going to have applesauce and some corn and then brownies and ice cream for dessert. OH, and of course some sweet tea to drink!

No matter how I feel about the candidates or who ultimately wins I thought it would be fun to get the kids involved a little bit. The boys have been hearing some stuff at school and asking questions about how this process works so why not make a family event and have fun.

Reconciliation

I have said for a long time that it isn't worth holding a grudge. You never know when someone can be taken from you and so you need to cherish every moment. BUT, my husband's youngest sister and I have fought and battled since before I got married, so we are talking 10-12 years. I was holding big grudges with her. I hated going to family functions because I knew we would fight. She would criticize my clothes, she would criticize what I ate, she criticized everything. (I did things to her too, but I'll spare myself that embarrassment!)

One time at one of these family get-togethers she cornered me and screamed at me with her finger in my face for about 10-15 minutes. I cried and screamed things back. It was ugly. None of the other family members stopped, they just let us fight.

So anyway, we have fought and bickered all these years and in the last year or so we started to mend the relationship. Slowly. Little bits at a time.

Last night I had a huge project to conquer before the night was over so at 6:00 pm I realized I could not get it done by myself. Mr. Man was working so I couldn't get his help. I immediately thought of this particular SIL. I called her and I explained what I was working on and when my dead line was. Without me even having to ask, she said "Want me to come over and help?"

We worked together for 4 hours and finished my project. During that time, after I got the kiddos in bed, we started discussing things. The fights we had. The time she screamed at me -- turns out all a big misunderstanding! She heard through the grapevine that I had made a nasty comment about her (translation: the thing I said had gone through many, many people and by the time she heard it the whole wording was flipped around, upside down, backwards and sideways!) So we worked that one out. She apologized for things she said and did, she said there are so many things she wasn't proud of. Then I apologized for things too, I even had to confess to things she didn't even know about (no, I am not proud of those moments!) We hugged. We cried. We hugged and cried more. It was so good in a weird way to get this cleared up and out in the open. Such a relief!

ON a sad, sad note.... there are only 52 days until Christmas....eeeeekkk!!!!!

Some yummy hot drinks for a cold night

Check these out to warm up with! Sounds yummy!

Fluffy Hot Chocolate at Allrecipes.com

Hot Vanilla. Flip-flopped hot chocolate. Warm vanilla drink topped with chocolaty whipped topping.

Thursday mish mash

This post is just a bunch of different things going on. I apologize for the random thoughts and jumpy thoughts too!

First off, I have been BOO'd by Lions, Tigers and Boys, Oh My!

Boo!!!This is how the Blogging Boo will work...
Go to as many friends as you want and tell them they've been "Boo-ed". Have them link back to your blog to pick up their Halloween Treat (picture) and tell them to "Boo" their friends. Then, put the picture in your side bar so everyone knows that you've already been "Boo-ed" and to send the pic to someone else...

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Here are some pictures of the Spirit and Lady Bug (couldn't get Lefty to sit long enough for a picture) sporting their new haircuts:

Mr. Man took them the other day to see his cousin. She owns a day spa/salon and so she got them all spiffied up and I got nothing! wahhhhhhh!

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The poor dog is feeling very violated after being spayed this week! She is still sluggish, but she is starting to come around.


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The kids, well actually just the boys, have been on fall break this week and Mr. Man took time off too. My boss is on vacation this week so I am stuck in the office holding down the fort while my family gets to do fun stuff! Today, they are taking the neighbors (ages 9 and 12) with them to go tour the Denver Mint. Lefty is starting to collect coins so he is beyond exited!

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Funny things heard in my house recently:
Spirit: Dad, how can you tell Gidget is a girl?
Mr. Man: Ummm, welll, er.... ummmm, well you see ... ummm, ok she doesn't have a wee wee.
Me snickering in the kitchen...a wee wee? We've never called it that. That is so funny!
Spirit: What are those bumpy things on her tummy?
Mr. Man: Well, those are what she would feed babies with if she had babies.
Spirit: What are they called?
Mr. Man: I'm not sure. Go ask your mom.
Paybacks for laughing at him I suppose! I probably deserved it! :o)
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Lady Bug: I want chocolate milk.
Me: Ok.
I start to pour it and she starts freaking out and crying. I am looking at her very confused and she says: Why did you make it brown? I don't like brown. Brown is a boy color. Ohhhhhh mom.
Me: Honey, chocolate is brown. So chocolate milk is going to be brown too.
Lady Bug - completely recovered just like that and no more tears: Oh, I didn't know.
Me: Obviously!
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Mr. Man: Honey (to me) I want you to make more homemade applesauce. I bought the apples already. I wasn't sure how many it took.
Me: Ok, how much did you get?
Mr. Man: 100 pounds



Well, we'll have applesauce alright. A lot of it!
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Lefty: Mooooooommmmmmmm! Can you come here?
Me: Ok. Where are you?
Lefty: The bathroom.
Me (opening the door): What do you need? (Thinking he must be out of TP or something)
Lefty: It realllllllllly smells bad in here.
Me (stupidly asking): What does it smell like?
Lefty: Poop. From my butt.


NICE! Boys are so much fun to live with. All this talk about bodily functions and then it is even better when we do the bodily functions at the dinner table (or worse, at the table when Grandma is over! eeek)
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Last night we started making the applesauce. Spirit wasn't feel well so he went to bed at 7:30, but Lady Bug and Lefty were a big help. Here are some pictures of them helping wash apples. Lefty was pulling the stickers off and then Lady Bug would carefully place them in the sink and I would wash them. It was so fun!