This Is It!!!

Wow!  Can you believe how fast the year has gone by?  I remember this time last year thinking "when things slow down I am going to get.....done".  Haha  right, I am still waiting for it to slow down. 

Have you made any goals for the new year?  I have made a few.  To include of course my weight issue.  I have set a REALLY big goal on that.  I started at it this Monday and so far so good.  I also set a goal to not sit around so much and than protest I don't have time.  Another goal is to stop committing myself to too many things.  I think all of these items will really curb my stress levels.

I have two great posts planned but they involve a lot of pictures so it will take a little while to get them done.

Happy New Year everyone!!  Be safe!

Victoria's Secret Catalog and Chips with DIp

Yes folks when I say things have been bad around my house - things have been bad. So bad in fact that I am "slowly" approaching my baby weight - with no baby. My husband sweetly took the chips away from me tonight and I realized what I was doing - TORTURING myself, with Chips and dip and flipping through a Victoria's Secret catalog. It was at that moment I realized that when things get bad I really like to see how bad it can get. Well lots of pounds later a broken heart and well maybe this is as bad as it gets.

Sorry to be Debby Downer but I just needed to express some of what I am going through. Sorry about my inconsistent and random posts and lack of comments on some of my favorite blogs.

Oh not sure I need to mention this but South Beach is not going so well.  Time to pick myself up and get back to business.  I will leave you with this, my favorite quote of all times.  It is a great reminder.

“Courage does not always roar. Sometimes courage is the quiet voice at the end of the day saying, “I will try again tomorrow”.
Mary Anne Radmacher

So tomorrow I will get up and try again.

Christmas Time at the Post Office

The other day I drove up to my neighborhood post office.  I usually can park right up front - not that day.  Not only did I have to park in the way back, I had three cars in front of me looking to park. (And being a little slow about it.)  So I ask you friends is it okay that I had an overwhelming urge to speed into a spot, race out of the car and run inside so I could stand behind three less people?

The only thing that stopped this urge was the fact that this post office is the SLOWEST place on earth and so I would probably be red faced and panting while waiting in line for an hour with the three people in line behind me staring at me like I was crazy.

X-Mas

AAAAWWWWW!!! Did you just scream reading that? I did. This will be a little of a rant but it bothers me and I need to express that.


I understand everyone is not a Christian and I respect other people's religious views. However Christmas is a Christian holiday and it completely offends me when people write "X-mas". As I said I do not concern myself with others beliefs but if you do not believe in Christ call your holiday something else that is not so disrespectful to our holiday. Call it just a holiday or winter solstice if you like but if you choose to celebrate Christmas, even just because it is a tradition, have enough courtesy to call it what it is - Christmas.

I would like to say, I do not mind businesses calling it "The Holidays", I feel it is being respectful of the other religions with their holidays during this time. It is the people with trees, wanting gifts and calling it X-mas that bugs me.

Sorry for my little outburst, it just drives me bonkers!

Holiday Dreams - Strange Traditions

I don't talk about my hubby often enough on here. He is pretty awesome! On to my story. Every year the last six years we have been together my husband has one holiday tradition - AMEX holiday giveaways. Okay so they are not really giving anything away but they sell things on the cheap - as in dirt cheap.


Hubby is not a dreamer. He is a realist - I am a dreamer. I dream of things all of the time and he brings me back down to earth. However when AMEX holiday giveaways comes around he is a dreamer! It is fun to see. His mission today? To get me a Land Rover! This is completely his idea but he is very determined. So determined he even remembered today was the day. So wish me luck! (That I can afford to gas it up.) And wish him luck he deserves a win after all of these dedicated years!!

Hope everyone's Christmas plans and shopping are coming along smoothly!

Not Loving It

As I have mentioned in previous posts my 3 year old has a WHOLE LOTTA personality.  I haven't always called it that but a friend at work always says she has a big personality and that sounds really sweet.  LD's new thing is to say "Mom what's taking so long to get me...".  Seriously I thought it was so funny and cute the first two times and now I am over it.  I know I sound like a horrible mother when I say sometimes I feel like screaming - "get it yourself if you don't like my timeline".  But in all fairness I sometimes forget in the process and get side tracked so it is a good reminder.  LD used to just start screaming about not having whatever I was geting her.  I could write all day about LD antics - she is so dang funny.  Instead I will leave you with this.

Sorry about the food in her mouth, but I thought this was a great picture to go with the topic.

Going Back to Bed

Ever had one of those days where you get out of the shower and think I can't do this, I am going back to bed.  Well I had one of those days and it is not because I am depressed it is because it is COLD here in Colorado.  Like 0 degrees cold.  My toes are freezing as I sit here typing. 

Here is a look out my front door at 7am this morning.  It is so cold outside the sun can't shine.

Everyone stay warm today.  If you happen to live somewhere warm, think warm thoughts for me!

Getting Ahead....

......Can this phenomenon ever be achieved?


Every now and then I do something way ahead of schedule and yes I get a little uppity about - strut my stuff. Only to find out something has changed. Friday I got off early so I went and did my grocery shopping for this week. Every time I have done something this weekend I have found out we needed something. Did the dishes, we need dish soap. Changed the baby, need wipes. Did laundry, we need laundry detergent. The list goes on and on, but guess what, I already spent my grocery budget this week. Oh well, the week will be over before we know it and I will get those items then.

Yikes!

It has been a LONG time since my last blog post. Sorry for the absenteeism. As I mentioned, um a month and a half ago, there have been a lot of changes in our household. Everyone is well now. The baby will be 7 months tomorrow! Holy cow!


I accepted a full time job. I was working part time for a non-profit organization and they offered me a full time position. It has been almost a month now and I LOVE my job. The organization offers free one-to-one tutoring for children that do not read at grade level. Our mission is to build success through a foundation of literacy. I am the Director of Development. Some of the things I do are write grants, finance, and some event planning.

I am very excited if you can't tell! Now that I am getting more into a pattern of our everyday routine I have been pushing to get to the gym most days. The saddest thing about the baby being 7 months? I look like I gave birth yesterday. Boo! So I am trying to make small changes, to include serving a vegetarian meal once a week. If you have any great vegetarian recipes, send them my way please!

Hope everyone is doing well!

Swine Flu and Changes

Okay I am really very over all of this swine flu business.  My oldest has had the swine flu for 2 weeks now.  What I find strange and a little "chicken little" about this situation are these items; a) any flu is called the swine flu right now because we are not in the regular flu season b) the flu test is coming back with a 50 -60 % false-negative c) the actual "treatment window is a 24 window at the first sign of symptoms and the studies only show the symptoms lasting 4.5 - 6 days vs. the standard 6 -7 days - what's a half day? or a day?  This information was all given to me from the doctor at the emergency room.  AM had a temperature all weekend and had passed out.  I knew the passing out had to do with dehydration but went to the hospital any how for a number of reasons.  The two top reasons being passing out and the 5 month old.  All of this information just seems so ambiguous to me.  I do not plan on getting my kids the swine flu vaccine because I do not feel like it has had enough time to be tested properly.  **The list is what I heard from the doctor and the vaccine is my own opinion - you should make your own!**  AM is still sick as I said but last year she got sick and was sick for about the same time.  So I am unconvinced about all of the craziness over this swine flu stuff.

As you may have noticed I have not posted in a while.  Sorry!  As I mentioned I am in a bit of a slump but we also have a lot of change going on in our house.  I will post more when everything has been finalized.  I mean this in a working sense - nothing too serious!

Hope everyone has a great weekend!  Sorry again for being so neglectful!

What's That Smell?

Does anyone else play this game?  I am sure it is my laziness or my pursuit of avoidance, but there is always a smell.  No kidding.  Everyday I feel like I am playing the "What's that smell?" game. 

Today the smell was coming from the fridge.  A nice change because I knew where the smell was coming from but gross all the same.

I have the sense of a bloodhound.  People think I am crazy because I can always pick up on the scent of rank.

Anyways back to my fridge.  We got back from Vegas on Saturday night - Late.  On Sunday I happened to open the fridge and instantly I shut it.  I think the scent from the fridge leaped out and grabbed my uvula, because it caused a gag reflex.  Now I have to say I keep pretty clean bathrooms but I totally avoid the fridge.  The thought of old food and mold makes me gag.  When you avoid things in the fridge they just become moldier - and I avoid them more.

So finally today I had avoided the smell as long as possible - it was time to clean out the fridge.  I am not sure what the smell was but I had bought a lot of produce at Sam's a week or more ago and most of it was sitting in my fridge decomposing.  I filled half a trash bag of mostly produce.  Not only did the smell make me sick but the thought of all that had been wasted made me sick.

I will end with saying the smell is not usually from my fridge, I have three kids and the "What's that smell?" game rarely ends the same.  Happy Hunting! ;)

Slump

Sorry I have been so infrequent with my posts.  I am in a bit of a slump.  Not just for blogging.  I just can't seem to find the motivation to do anything.  We leave for Vegas on Thursday.  I am hoping the small break will help reenergize me.  I will try to make a post before I leave, but I am not sure I will get it done.  When i get back I plan on having more of a plan.  Have a great week.

Meal Plan

I mentioned that I have been making weekly meal plans.  I thought I would share this weeks with you.  I have found if you make a meal plan and make your grocery list you can go grocery shopping and still pay the mortgage!  Yay! ;)  As I mentioned I do not assign a certain meal to a certain day.  My friend suggested this to me and it makes things much more flexible.

Another suggestion; if you have a small family, break your casseroles up into two smaller dishes and freeze one.

Here is what is on the menu this week:

Chicken Enchilada Casserole
Frankfurter Creole (Hot Dog Crudo) with corn bread
Greenbean Casserole/ fruit
Salad with Grilled Chicken
Pizza Night
Salmon/ grilled red potatos/ salad
Left Overs

Have a great week!

Burr

It is fall in Colorado. It is windy, cold and dark today and freezing in my house. Colorado’s temperature fluctuates dramatically so I don't want to turn on the heater yet. So I am doing what my mom made us do - putting on more clothes. The other thing? Oh right it is September and we are supposed to get snow tonight. That’s right - SNOW. So long summer.


This weekend we did what we are best at and were totally lazy. Hubby has declared that next weekend is Fall Cleaning. He just wants to through things out, which makes me cringe.

We did go to the zoo this weekend. I made hot wings last night, they were not from a freezer package and they were delicious! Also this weekend AM went to her first boy/girl party. Yes I am compulsive and I called her a couple of times and texted too. Don't judge, it was nerve racking. Yup my baby is growing up.

Does anyone do meal planning? I have been reading a lot on this. I make a list of 7 meals for the week but do not assign days for each meal. So my goals for the week are to get my meal planning a little tighter so I can cut down the grocery bill and to finish my Household Management Binder.

Happy 100th Post Seersucker Scrapper! Lilly Style

Seersucker Scrapper has hit the big 100 - posts that is.  She is having a fabulous giveaway.  Go check it out, here.

Have You Ever Been So Desperate?

The other morning I was going about my morning routine (with my eyes mostly closed).  I got to the coffee making part and realized I was all out of filters.  Fortunately I am lazy and the filter from the day before was still in the coffee maker.  What's a girl to do?  Well empty out the old filter of course and reuse it.    Maybe people do this all of the time but it was very strange to me.  Have you done this before?  What other items do you reuse?  And how desperate have you been?

4 Months

I have been wanting to post this for awhile and just have not gotten it done. Just seems to be how things are going right now. Oh well, I am doing it now and I hope you enjoy.

AL is 4 months (4.5 really) and she is an angel. Really. We had a rough start but now that we have everything figured out she is an absolute delight. Rarely will you find this baby not smiling - all the way to her toes. She smiles even when she is in the middle of a cry. Although she rarely cries. She just hangs out playing on her mat (smiling). Looking at her you can't help but smile too. Here are some pictures. The flash is so bright and has a delay so it makes her not smile.

 

AM and LD love her to death!  They are always wanting to hold her or play with her.  It is cute.

At 4 Months AL is:

Eating bananas and cereal before bed.

Bedtime is 8pm.

She sleeps 12 hours.

She sucks her thumb - SO CUTE!

She can hold herself up for short periods of time.

Pull herself help.

Rollover to her side.

Laugh.

LOVES to swim.

Loves baths.

Sorry about the quality of the pictures I am trying to figure out the different things with my camera.

Just Say No To 3 Year Olds with Mixers....

Seriously this will be the outcome:

I was trying to get some work done at home today. I could tell LD wanted some attention so I did what any good mom would do and ignored her. Yeah I know, mom of the year. Earlier this week I bought her a kitchen appliance set that "works". She was playing with the mixer, came over and put it on my back while it ran. I'm not going to lie it felt super good, until she decided to brush my hair. The above picture is the result of her brushing my hair with the mixer.

Luckily my good friend Julie could come over and help me get the mixer out of my hair. The mixer was stuck towards the back of my head, not easy for me to maneuver on my own. When Julie got there she proceeded to get my hair out and it hurt! I thought of the alternate solution - cutting the beaters out and was instantly okay with the pain. It didn't take her long to hit the button that looked like a beater eject button (THAT I TRIED) and the beaters ejected and the hair came right out - no ripping.

I was instantly regretful it was not Wednesday - what wisdom I have gained today. 3 year old 1 - mom 0. Thank god hubby will be home tomorrow.

Let's Clean Tomorrow

I know I promised cleaning today but after an AMAZING concert last night and cleaning 6500 sqft today and the need to do some of my own cleaning; I can't bear the thought of thinking about anymore today. So let's clean tomorrow.

I will say the Killers concert was AWESOME. If you have ever heard of Red Rocks you know it is an amazing venue but a little bit of a hike. If you have not heard of it look it up and find a show to go too - you will not regret it. I have lived in Colorado forever and I got a little woosy from the altitude when we got there and feel pretty bad today. But MAN what a show. They are the oddest looking band but they but on one good show.

Has anyone found the spell check on the new editor? I am cutting and pasting into Word to check mine.

Day 3

It is 7am on day 3 of no hubby and the 13 year old threatened to ruin my good run. Not 12 hours from my previous post and the title was almost lost.

Is it so hard to be considerate of others? You know the other people that live in the house with you. The ones you huff at, change the channel on and storm away from. Hubby insists I need to not react to her every sound/attitude but I just can't help myself. I am reactive. When I can control my reactions things seem to be easier but I swear the last few days she is actually gunning for me. The teenage years are tough and the next time I get to do it there will be two of them! I may start day drinking when that time comes or just set up one big room for them in the basement.

Tonight we are headed to see the Killers at Red Rocks. Red Rocks is outside, it is an amphitheater cut into the rock. It is pretty amazing. I got the hubby tickets for he, AM and I for his birthday and he doesn't get to go because he had to go out of town. So bestie will be sitting in for him. I am sure it will be tough on her but she is a good friend so she will suffer! haha

I was going to do a post tomorrow on how to clean like a maid. I can clean a 2500 sqft house in about 2.5 hours. That is scrubbing top to bottom, bathrooms and kitchen and all floors. Geez I am tired just thinking about it. See you tomorrow!

Day 2

The hubby left for a business trip yesterday. He will be gone for 6 days - leaving me alone with 3 kids. GULP So we are on day 2 and I am proud to report the kids are all still alive and I am still alive! I am pretty proud - next stop a plant. Haha yeah right let's not get crazy. The kids are pretty fortunate to get watered and fed, can't imagine the same could be said for something that can't scream. I would like to add that my kitchen is also clean.

I have to go feed the baby now and I may just strut my stuff on the way! haha Hope everyone else is having the same success I feel I am having.

Umm where did spell check go on the new editor? And there go my sails. Sweet.

I am Shocked and Amazed!

Some of the blogs I follow are written be some truly amazing women! These women can make something out of nothing. I have been so inspired that today I finally made it out of my house with coupons and saved a total of $27. It may not seem like a lot but considering I used to snub coupons it is a big deal. I used to think - $.40? hardly worth my time. But seeing how they all add up - I am making it worth my time. Who thought I would ever clip coupons?

Next stop is some diy action. Inspired by all the bloggers making miracles from old items (junk) and a can of spray paint. I have an old book shelf that is ugly dark "wood" that I am planning on spraying in a white gloss and lining the back in a pink/green demask patterned wrapping paper I got on sale for $.87. I will post a before and after picture when I get it done.

What have you been inspired to do through the blogs you read?

I Like Pretty

Unfortunately when buying items based on the "pretty factor" it has not always worked out well for me (or us). I start to read the information on a product and I completely go numb and glaze over. Seriously I am sure it is visibly noticeable.

When deciding on what baby items we would need with our new addition we figured LD was old enough to walk so we could get away with using the stroller car seat system we had with LD. It is pretty. Gray stroller and car seat with pink and grey little tiny flower patterned fabric. Being home with the kids and taking them to the mall, to the zoo and a few other places I have realized we were dead wrong about not needing a double stroller. LD is 3 1/2 and I have carried her down the hill at the zoo while pushing the big stroller every time we have gone to the zoo. The zoo in our area is on the side of a mountain. It is a great zoo but it is not so fun carrying a 35 pound child while pushing a huge stroller.

Now the problem is finding a stroller that will work long term. I know with LD I got sick of lugging the big stroller around and changed to the umbrella stroller. So do I buy a double umbrella stroller, a sit n' ride stroller, the double car seat system stroller or a double jogging stroller. I pretty much will not kid myself about the double jogger. So this still leaves me 3 options. Does anyone have a stroller suggestion? How do you research products you are interested in? Or do you just shot from the hip and find the wow factor?

Could I Be a Bigger Baby?

Okay so the hubby and I FINALLY went to see the Time Travelers Wife. We have been waiting for this movie a very long time. It is the first book my hubby recommended to me and the first and only book on cd I have listened too. I listened to this story on my first trip to England. This trip has a lot of meaning to the hubby and I. We had only been dating 6 months I think and it was truly an amazing trip. I love this book, Snow Patrol and all things English because of this trip. Anyhow at the movie last night I cried like a baby! I even had one little sob out load but was able to stiffle the others. So as far as I can remember I have officially cried at every movie I have seen this year. The most recent movies include, UP!, Star Trek (yes Star Trek), Harry Potter, and now Time Travelers Wife. Can you imagine going to Star Trek and crying? Or even HP? I am a huge baby and it was really the previews that got to me. Does anyone else cry at movies? I hate it and I had a miserable headache last night.

Mommy Days

Now that my schedule has been in place things are going pretty good. I have Mondays and Fridays all day with the kids. I have Wednesday with them too but I clean 1 house each Wednesday and they come with me. On Mondays and Fridays I try to do something outside of the house with the two little ones. We have a YMCA membership and a zoo membership. As we are trying to cut back these are the two go to options. Monday I took the girls swimming. The baby is at absolute peace in the water. No matter how cranky she is she totally relaxes in the pool. She is so relaxed she just floats to the top. She does not even scream when water gets splashed on her. LD loves going to the pool but she is anything but relaxed and no two visits are the same. Some days she will have no fear and jump off the side into the pool the next visit it is like getting a cat into water. She literally clings to me, it is like peeling plastic wrap apart after you have torn it off and it clings to itself. No matter how the trip goes I thoroughly enjoy the time with my girls. What activities do you do with your family that you enjoy no matter what?

Who Is Ready For Fall?

This baby is!

Yes it was so cold in Colorado last weekend that I had to bundle everyone up to go to the store. Luckily I hit a sale at Carters the week before and bought the cutest fleece outfit with little bear ears!

The foggy cool weather and the lack of summer has me really in the mood for the fall and the holiday season. Growing up I loved the holidays, the feeling, the Christmas pageants, just the whole mood shift the holidays seemed to bring to people. I am not sure I really experience the mood shift anymore, I live in a much bigger city than I did as a kid, but I still want my kids to have memories only the holidays can bring.

The Christmas traditions I remember from my childhood are Sunday dinners and lighting the Advent Wreath and opening one gift on Christmas Eve. My hubby hates the one gift idea and we do not have an Advent Wreath. The last two years I have been gung ho about creating traditions for my kids and I feel like I have not been very successful. Last year we made cookies and gingerbread house. Seeing as I am a horrible baker the end product came out less than I dreamed. So this year I am getting an early jump on things and looking for some traditions to create. I have a few in mind but will be doing more research. What traditions do you and your family have? Are any of you in the same boat as me?

Wisdom Wednesdays

Today I was thinking about balance. I am big on having a balanced life. Not that I am always successful but I really try. This is one of the reasons my hubby and I travel alone (as often as possible). Today I was thinking about it in terms of children. I have read a few parenting books and honestly I have to say most of them are crap. Yikes. Yes I feel this passionately about the topic. Many of them talk about holding your baby way more than I think is a good idea. Don't do this, don't do that. Do lots of this and lots of that. While I believe you can take a little something from everything it is important to make it work for your family. Trying to mold your life and family around the principles in a book just seems forced to me.

The reason I think this has to do with balance for children is because the most recent book I read said to hold your child the majority of the day or the period the baby is awake. I think this is a HUGE mistake. My experience is if you hold a child the child will always want to be held. How does anything get done and how do you have a break if you are always holding a baby? Sounds like a recipe for crazy, to me.

I think kids are like adults, they need schedules and they need life balance. They need a balance of time being loved, discipline, playtime, quite time and even a small amount of responsibility. I will admit I have a hard time with the responsibility part and I tend to want more quite time than is realistic. I always strive for balance in both my life and my children's lives.

Take One and Pass It Around

Over at La's Blog, she's doing a great little idea that was passed along to her! I love little things like this and I haven't done a give away yet so here goes!

So, here's how it works.

The first five people to respond to this post will get something made by me, especially for you. This offer does have some restrictions and limitations!
1. I make no guarantee that you'll like what I make but hopefully you like it!
2. What I create will be just for you!
3. I have a year to get it done; cross your fingers it doesn't take nearly that long!
4. You have no clue what it'll be.

The catch? You must re-post this on your blog and offer the same to the first 5 people who do the same on your blog! So, the first five people who post, and are willing to pass it along, will get something handmade by me!

Please get me your email address if I do not have it.

Ahhh Sweet Release

After what seems like forever trying new things (and doing a lot of whining) we have finally gotten a little break in LD's sleeping issues. We have not had a night terror episode since shortly after my post about night terrors. We tried several different things to get her to go to sleep nothing seemed to be working until last week.

Have you noticed when you get most desperate you come up with the most sensible solutions? Here is what worked - a "Good Girl Chart". LD loves it when we tell her she is being a good girl or that we are proud of her. On the Good Girl Chart I made columns for the days of the week and than made rows for each daily activity. There are just a few, she is only 3 and as much as would have liked to add things like; did the dishes, swept the floor, vacuumed and dusted, I decided to start out slow. So her daily responsibilities are; stayed dry all day, good bedtime, good nap time, picked up toys, brushed hair and teeth. She has done really good earning her stickers. I also made the stickers by punching hearts out with my heart punch and running them through my sticker maker. She isn't as into making the stickers as I thought she would be but she loves her chart and each week she earns a toy for "lots" of stickers.

There is an initial small fit when putting her to bed and the pick up toys category has yet to get a sticker but I learned a long time ago to choose your battles. The other items on the list are much more important to me. Do you have chores for your kids? What are some of their chores? If you do not have children, did you have chores as a child? What were they?

I am Such A Dreamer

As I have mentioned things around here have been out-of-control crazy. I have been saying, I will do this and that when things settle down after the holidays. Well now we are headed back into the holiday season and guess who has not settled down. Eek! I am starting to accept that one more child can add this much more to your life and this is just how life will be - for the next 18 years. Eek again.

I remember when the holidays were my "busy season" and things would actually calm down after the holidays. Oh well truth be known I like being busy. I also like breaks, thank goodness the hubby and I have a Vegas trip planned for October. We need it!

The busier I get the more I day dream. I love to day dream. About traveling mostly and what my home will look like when the kids are gone and I turn each of their rooms into places for me (CLOSETS!). Maybe a smoking lounge. Just kidding I don't smoke - but there are days I consider it.

I have big dreams of holiday projects, I will share them as we start doing them. Did anyone else notice some of the craft stores putting out Christmas stuff last month? Apparently they have given up on summer just like I have - on to the holidays.

Super Clean - Super Green

**EDITED** See below.
As I mentioned on Tuesday I wanted to share with you a product that I use ALL the time. When I first started cleaning it was a gift from a friend who has cleaned houses for many years. This thing is AWESOME!! Many of my clients have purchased their own and they last a very long time. I have had mine for about 2 years now. It is called The Super Cloth - seriously it is Super. The best part is you do not use chemicals with it and you can use it to dry things like tubs and sinks after you clean them. So no more paper towels either.


picture from supercloth.com

On Sunday hubby had to go into work so I started to clean. It is so easy to clean with this Super CLoth that I ended up cleaning my windows throughout my house and even the window sills. The Super Cloth cleans windows and mirrors with just a few swipes and does not leave streaks. It cuts down on cleaning time by a big margin.

How to use: Rinse in water and squeeze out excess water. You do not need to use chemicals.
What to use it on: You can dust with the super cloth, use it on tile in the shower, mirrors, fixtures, windows. I also use mine on on the TV and Computer screen but I make sure the cloth has been rung out very well. You can also dry things after you clean them.
Warning: If not rinsed and laid out to dry it can start to smell. You can use a little dish soap or hand soap to freshen it up.

I promise you will NOT regret this purchase. I have touched on some of the uses for the Super Cloth, if you have one already let me know what you use yours on. When you get yours let me know other ways you use the Super Cloth.

*EDIT*
What it is: The Super cloth is made of Polyamide base. It feels like rubber/micro suede. That is the best description I can think of. It works almost like a squeege to wipe water towards a drain. It does absorb water, so as you dry an area you wringe it out to get rid of the excess water and continue drying. I believe the reason it works so great on so many surfaces is because of the texture of the material. The texture is soft enough to be used on windows, mirrors, computer screens, tv screens and tile. It gently scrubs off things such as soap scum on tile or toothpaste off of a mirror. The cloth also works great on shower doors! After you have cleaned an area you just rinse, wringe out and keep going. I hope this information helps.

Hello - Anyone There?

Yes I am here but I am BUSY! I have not been posting often lately, sorry. It has been crazy but I think things will settle down soon. What I mean by settle down is there will actually be a set schedule. I can handle almost anything - as long as there is a schedule.

Before I had the baby I had my own cleaning business. I was not going to go back to work but have decided to take back a few of my houses. I actually really like the alone time involved in cleaning and the houses I clean are all people I have known a long time. On top of this I was offered a position doing bookkeeping/office tasks. It is a great position with a non-profit organization that provides children tutoring for reading. I am really enjoying the work so far and my co-workers. A great part of the job is that I can do 90% of the work from home. So I will be at the office a few hours 1 day a week and clean 2 days a week. SO the girls will be in daycare 2 days a week. This is a great arrangement because my daycare provider does a great preschool program so LD will have school 2 days a week. I also love planning special things to do 2 days of the week versus 5.

So this is where I have been I have some post ideas for this week to include the miracle cleaning solution - that is green!

I Feel Like Tacos Tonight.......

Sorry for the delay and I promise these tacos are awesome! Now just so you know I do not measure things - I do it to taste. I will put some measurements down but before you serve make sure to taste it.

Here is a picture of it in the pan - not real exciting but they were so good I never got a picture of them in the shell and served.


Taco Surprise
1 or 2 TBS - Olive oil
1/4 c - onion
1 TBS - minced garlic
1 # - lean ground turkey
1 tsp - cumin
1 tsp - chili powder
1 tsp - oregeno
1 tsp - onion powder
1 tsp - garlic salt (I like the grinder)
1/2 c - tomato sauce
1/2 c - 98% ff chicken broth
1/4 or 1/2 c - chopped pineapple
Saute onion, garlic in the olive oil. Add turkey brown slightly and than add the seasonings, the tomato sauce and the chicken broth let simmer until the turkey is completly cooked than add pineapple and let simmer for 5 to 10 minutes.

I served mine on white corn tortillas, Taryn at The Colorado Desert has a Whole wheat Tortillia recipe if you like. These are pretty healthy so whole wheat would be a good option. Also I had the usual taco toppings, lettuce, cheese, jalepenos, tomatos and guac. My guac was made fresh - and it was AWESOME!!

I also thought that crab or shrimp would be amazing with these. Hope you enjoy them! Let me know what you think.

Tacos Tomorrow - 8th Grade Today

I know I promised everyone tacos today, but it was poor planning on my part. I officially have an 8th grader in my house. I wanted to share some pictures because everyone knows how crucial the picking of the first day outfit is. I got invited - but vetoed. Oh well I still got the invite to help.

How cute is she? I LOVE her new haircut! And her cute outfit.

Okay so tacos tomorrow - I PROMISE!!

Control - Even I Need Some

Hi everyone! Well I am back and I am not going to lie, I did not make it. However I did limit my computer use to an hour a day. Which is a MIRACLE! Seriously it was getting really bad, I had to get through my reader everyday and I tried to get a lot of commenting done. While I still want to read and comment I just have to stick to a time limit. Hubby put a timer on AM's log in so she gets 1 hour a day during the week and 2 hours a day on weekends and after that time the computer kicks her out and she can not log back in. I was afraid he was going to have to put one on mine! So now I think I have it under control and I am also getting my schedule under control.

Onto my baby. Look how beautiful she is! (and how long!) Her little personality is really developing and I love it. She is doing a new press lip grin and it melts my heart. I will try to get a picture. She is now 3 months old, well and 2 weeks. I have been meaning to do this post for well 2 weeks and haven't. So here are some photos of my big (little) girl.





Tomorrow I will post a recipe to the tacos I made last night. You must check back, they are healthy and they have a surprise ingredient. Hubby LOVED Them!

Wisdom Wednesday

Okay today's wisdom is more of a pattern I have noticed on other blogs. I think it is a great idea and really could encourage us all to get a little more done in a day. So how many people have become a slave to their reader, or their email or their FB/Myspace account? I have! Yes not proud of it but I certainly have and you know what happens? I turn into a zombie! I swear I can not get off the couch. The walls around me could fall in and I would still want to clear out my reader! It is great that I have found so many fabulous blogs, but I need to do something about sitting around. So today I am shutting down my computer and will not turn it back on until Friday - Saturday if I can - but realistically Friday. Yes I am getting cold feet as I type this but it must be done! I know we are all busy but we should all make an attempt to get away from the computers and the TV and enjoy our final days of summer. (Although I am in Colorado and still waiting for summer). Good luck to everyone, I am off to find stuff to do with the kids!

Goodnight Already

Okay so I was going to title this "3 Year-Old For Sale". Seeing as how I don't want to go to jail, because I am kidding, I thought better of it. Let me paint a picture for you. Imagine a time when all the children were asleep by 8pm every night during the week. Dishes were done and the hubby and I could climb into bed and watch our shows on Tivo or read a book - Alone - Together. What a lovely time it was. Now fast forward to 3 months before my due date approximately the same time someone turned 3. LD has not willingly gone to bed since that time - 6 months ago. LD is currently up and screaming - in front of the room the baby is sleeping in. It has been so bad I was actually relieved when allergy season was here and I could give her Benadryl. Not that it actually had any affect, but I can dream can't I?

I know I wrote about this very recently but I had not wrote about the bliss that was once our evening routine. I miss that routine and I really need that 2 hours every evening alone with my hubby. It is our time to reconnect from the day and it helps us be a strong parenting team. Instead I am dealing with kids from the second I wake up to the moment I fall asleep and sometimes in between.

I am so tired lately I am drinking coffee and Red Bull almost everyday. I brought a Red bull to church on Sunday and our pastor said hi to us after service and said he hoped my Red Bull helped me stay awake during his sermon. Sigh.

Back To School (BTS)

It is Back To School time. Today AM gets back from her trip to DC. Sounds like she had a lot of fun and she got to do a lot of her BTS shopping in our nations capital.

Back to school time is almost like the holidays, so much to prepare for. School clothes shopping, supply shopping and than trying to cram in some last minute summer fun.

I always have big dreams of life settling down at some point but it just never seems to. A lot of that is my fault. My husband has stated that if I see a 10 minute gap in our schedule I will decide to re-shingle the roof. Yes I am that bad. I don't know if it is because I am getting older or if it is because we now have a family of 5 but I am feeling very overwhelmed these days. I just can't seem to keep up like I used to. When I feel overwhelmed like this I really crave making lists and making schedules. So with school being back in session next week I am going to attempt to really set priorities about what I commit myself too and setting a schedule and even set some goals. How do you remedy being overwhelmed? What are some of the things in your life that start to overwhelm you?

Summer Fun - On the Cheap

With me staying home we are trying to cut back. I have to say in some aspects it is kind of fun. Did I just say cutting back is fun? Yes actually I did. It sounds strange but when you are not always thinking about the price of things you do the typical things, amusement parks, shopping, movies, going to returants - the expensive things. And frankly doing any of these things no longer feels like a treat. Trying to find inexpensive things to do actually forces a person to be creative and to do some research.
As I have said I have been home with the girls this summer. Finding things to do for a 13, 3 and 3 month old is not easy. AM (13) really likes to just hang out with friends so I do not have to entertain her often, that is mostly a chaufering gig. I still want to make sure we all do things together. So with LD I have been taking her to different neighborhood parks. I actually drive around looking for them. This is pretty fun I have to say.
Two weeks ago we drove up to Arvada to see one of my dearest friends. We went to an indoor recreation center in her neighborhhod. We had such a great time! The older kids played in the deeper pools and the bigger water slides and LD played in the kid area. My friend was kind enough to switch with me watching LD and watching the babies. The best part is all of the kids had a great time and it cost $5 - $6 per person!

Just a little background before the pictures. Our oldest kids are a few months apart. And we were pregnant at the same time with the newest babies and we had them on the same day! How weird is that? So here are some pictures of our day. I just have pictures of the younger kids. I did not feel comfortable posting pictures of the older kids in their swimsuits.

Great Giveaway!

I am so excited about this giveaway!! Amy over at Chapters is giving away one of these!

This baby is currently on my wish list. I love to track things and with my weightloss journey I feel this would be a great tool for tracking and being in the know for all of my activities! Good luck everyone!

What Day Is It Anyways?

I am so sorry I missed my Wisdom Wednesdays post, I have been a bit out of sorts. I didn't realize until late last night what day it was. LD our 3 year old has been giving us trouble at bedtime. This began just before AL was born and has not improved at all. Some nights I finally just give in and let her sleep on the floor next to our bed. Seems a little cold hearted I know, but I am trying to detour her from sleeping with us. LD and AL share a room so I am always worried about LDs screaming waking up the baby. (Or my screaming if we are going to be honest ;)) Does anyone have any advice for me on this topic? She is so dang stubborn I bring her back to her room every time and she still gets back up. I take things away from her just nothing works with her. SO I guess my Wisdom for this week is no matter how long you have been a parent there will always be struggles you need help with from fellow parents.

My Daughters Love For Her Daddy

I talk about my 3 year old a lot. It is because she is so dang full of personality. Today like many other days I fell in love with LD's love for her daddy. They have a very special relationship. She calls him on her phone all day to tell him what she is up to and to see what he is doing. First thing in the morning, on weekdays, she wants to know where daddy is. When she discovered what a best friend was she stated daddy was her best friend. I think I love it because it shows what a great dad my kids have!

Domestic......cated?

I have been loving being home with my kids. I feel almost like a Domestic Goddess. Haha, it even makes me laugh typing it. I am more like a Domestic Drunk. No no I don't drink all day. What I mean is I feel like I am just stumbling around trying to do all the right things - like dancing. Yes I clean, I cook. But is my house ever clean? Is there dinner on the table? I am sure the answer to both of these questions is yes a lot more than I feel it is yes. I try, really I do. As soon as the last load of laundry is done, someone changes for bed. As soon as the last glass is washed and the dishwasher is started, some one has finished their milk. *Sigh* What are you going to do but keep washing clothes, keep doing dishes, and keep fixing dinner. It is a big pill to swallow for someone like me. The moral of the story? These chores will always be around but your kids will not. Enjoy your kids, not only will they only be little once but it really does not last as long as you would like. I don't mean to be depressing, I just mean - Remember to Enjoy It!

Being Shushed by My 3 Year old..

...I love it. HAHA right. My 3 year old has many important phone calls throughout the day and insists on shushing me when they come in. For example today her "best friend daddy" called, just before going into a meeting so I needed to be quite so they could talk. (He really didn't but this is her use of her toy phone, and the scenarios she makes up.) Um Mickey Mouse called today and so did grandma, all times I needed to be quite so she could hear. I am also being shushed when she puts her babies to bed. Did I mention she has the loudest voice ever? So it is more of a yelling to tell me to be quite. She is so dang goofy, she keeps me entertained to say the least.

Success!

I know I have written about South Beach before with very little success but I am writing again because I have had success. Let me start at the beginning. I have had a major struggle with my weight since my early 20's so about 10 years. As I wrote in a previous post, my struggle really concerns me because I have three daughters. One in particular that is 13 and watches my every move. I feel I am teaching her bad habits and an unhealthy cycle. My goal during my pregnancy was to finally get in control of things. In the past (after my pregnancy with my 3 year old) I only had success with South Beach. I began South Beach 3 times total since I gave birth in May and did not have success the first two attempts. I was not having any success because I was working out and keeping up with 3 busy kids, all of which you need carbs to do. So what I decided after vacation was that I was going to take a break from the gym to get through the two weeks of phase 1. I discussed this with my doctor and she thought it was a great idea. She feels that after the first phase the diet is a very healthy way of living. So here I am in phase 2! I have been South Beaching for 3 weeks now and I have lost a total of 13 pounds! I am really excited and I feel really good. Next week I will begin back to the gym. I plan to hit my goal weight by January. (I have a lot more than just baby weight to take off.) While this time I have set a number goal my true goal is to wear a bathing suit and to feel good.

Wisdom Wednesday

Responsibility. As my 13 year old has gotten older I have worried about how much she appreciates what we do for her. So I have tried a few different strategies. This years strategy I am having her babysit for me for a couple of hours a few days a week. The money she earns will be used for school clothes. AM is very into clothes and usually likes to shop at stores that are higher end. I want her to understand the value of a dollar. So I feel if she works for the money she will value it more. It seems to be going well. There are certain situations that come up as a parent that I know what I want the outcome to be but I don't know how to achieve it. Like this situation I know I want AM to be appreciative and to not expect everything when she has not earned it. I think the best way to avoid this would be starting a rewards system at a young age. There are some behaviors that you don't realize are being created until they get out of hand or become obnoxious. How do you teach your kids about money and responsibility. Is this something you and your spouse discussed before you had kids?

What Matters Most?

I am currently reading a book called, "What Matters Most". In short it is about being the best you. A little more detail is, the book goes through exercises to help the reader pare down what truly matters most to them and living a life based on their beliefs. I have read the book before, a long time ago but my life is radically different from that time. I decided to reread the book because of how disorganized I am feeling and how many mixed emotions I have.

So what matters most to you? How does your list of what matters most reflect in your daily priorities/activities list? Do you feel you are living your life through your beliefs?

Baby Shower Gift

My hubby has decided any time I go to a baby shower I need to give the father a cup in addition to the baby gift, with a note stating "trust me you will need this". Ever since LD has been able to crawl she inevitably racks my hubby at least twice a day. Right now she is exactly the right height to do it standing up. She LOVES to run to her daddy and if he isn't paying attention it means big trouble for him. He used to turn green when it would happen but now it just takes his breath away for a minute. Poor guy maybe he is hinting that is what he is wanting? My question is do I attach the cup to the ribbon on the outside of the gift next to the rattle?

Friends Yet to Meet

Growing up our church had a sign above the sanctuary door that read; "No Strangers Just Friends Yet To Meet". I always loved that sign and read it every time I walked into the sanctuary. The sign is exactly how I interact with people. Everyone I meet I assume are my friends. I know this may sound silly but it is just how I am. What strikes me as funny is that my 3 year old is like this too. I assume that all children are like this. I just think it is so funny when we go to the park and she has not talked to any of the other kids but when it is time to leave she cries and says she will miss her friends. Maybe I have a 3 year olds state of mind when it comes to social interaction, but I am just friendly and I am okay with that.

New Cards

My dear friend Margie came over today and played with the kids while I spent a little time stamping. I have not been able to stamp in awhile so it was a great break! I am so thankful for my friend. Here are some of the cards I made. I needed some thank you notes. I am not in love with all of them but I had fun and now I have some thank yous made. I focused on using one stamp set. It was the first time I used it and I really liked it. If you enlarge the cards with the green background you can see the different textures on the green.

White Teeth and Death

Not really but I thought it was funny and had a little to do with my story.

I was at the dentist the other day and they were running a teeth whitening special. When I was paying on my way out I asked about it. She gave me some info and I mentioned that my teeth were whiter when I smoked. The check out lady said well it could be from tea or coffee and I said yes I started drinking coffee two years ago. I jokingly said maybe I should give up the coffee and start smoking again. She thought the coffee was a better idea it wouldn't kill me, although they are saying caffeine is not good for you. My reply was "I have 3 kids, it isn't the coffee that will kill me". She agreed with me.

Wisdom Wednesday

Today I wanted to talk about Night Terrors. Now I am not an expert on this subject but I have been doing some research. LD started having Night Terrors a few months ago. It does not happen every night but it was happening quite often. Here is how they usually play out. We finally get LD to bed, hubby and I will watch a show or two in bed before we call it a night and LD will start screaming and come into our room. She screams sometimes up to 20 minutes. I pick her up and try to console her, I can tell by her eyes she is not actually awake, they are glazed over. She continues to kick and scream and I continue to try to console her or wake her up. Nothing ever actually calms her down so we just have to ride it out. I assumed she was having nightmares and was not fully awake, when I ask her about what she was dreaming about she can never tell me. I remembered my nephews having similar episodes to these and my sisters calling them Night Terrors. Here is what I found out.

• Night Terrors can be more common in families - so I don't want to say genetic but if a family member has them it is more likely for a sibling or relative to experience them.
• Do not try to wake the child up.
• Night Terrors occur during the transition into REM sleep. They are a sudden feeling of fear.
• There is no visual imagery produced during the night terror so the child will have no recollection of what scared them.
• There is not much a parent can do except sit with child to make sure they do not hurt themselves.
• It is believed they can be caused by stress and being over tired so making sure the child has a low stress environment and naps will help prevent them.
• Night terrors usually happen 2 to 3 hours into sleep.

LD usually kicks and screams during her episodes. She actually looks like she is trying to fight somebody off. I have heard of children getting up and running around the house. The episodes are very scary even for the parent. It just has to run its course we have only been successful twice at calming LD down. The first time she suddenly realized she had to go potty and as soon as she went she was awake. The second time hubby waved her blankie in front of her face and she became aware of the familiar "safe" scent and latched onto it and went back to sleep. Since I did my research I have made sure that she has a nap everyday (even if I am not up for the fight) and I am trying to be more calm about her accidents. I believe it has significantly reduced the number of episodes.

I would like to point out that I am not an expert, I am just a mom that did some research and has tried a few things out. Again they are scary for the parents and they are also frustrating because there is nothing you can do. I would also like to mention the Night Terror Tablets or Calming Tablets - the homeopathic ones, did not work for us. Have you dealt with this? How did you handle it?

As I said I did a lot of research and this is the site I found to have really good information that lined up with what we are experiencing.

Newborn Pictures of AL

With all of the craziness swirling around our home I have failed to post these gorgeous pictures of AL. Our neighbors our amazing photographers, they own Trystan Photography, you can check them out here. Kim took these pictures and she did an amazing job.

 

Snow Patrol and Other Band Tickets $5!!

This is just a quick post just in case anyone is interested. I went online to see if there were anymore Snow Patrol tickets for the Denver show. I was mostly dreaming because we are trying to cut back. The hubby and I fell in love with Snow Patrol on our first trip to England together, we even used one of their songs for our walk as husband and wife down the aisle. Anyhow, when I went to the website they had a Citicard holder special. I got our concert tickets for $5 each!! I was so excited. I am not sure when the promotion ends but there were several other bands for the same $5 special. Check it out at Livenation.com

8wdfhcr4qb

Baby Feet and the Tired Meter

AL has found her feet! It is these milestones that I find adorable! I love to see kids learn new things and how exciting each new thing is to them.

This picture was actually taken before we left for Mexico I just did not have a chance to post. This is actually her first "Foot encounter". She wiggled it and wiggled it and was truly amazed.

My husband calls this the tired meter. In this picture AL is definetly not tired. He used to use this technique with LD too. Look how straight her body is! When the kids are tired they can not hold themselves like that they just kind of go limp. (We actually use their schedule but my husband swears this works. It makes me laugh.)

Speaking of tired, it has been a long weekend. All of the kids are in bed so I am heading the same way. Hope everyone has a great week!

Summer Fun

Just wanted to post a few new photos. I have been trying to get LD to the park during the day. We have fallen into the trap of letting her watch too much TV.

Here is LD at the park. She insisted on wearing her rain boots and she always has a watch on. I found a real analog watch her size at Gymboree. (This is not it.)

Here is AL with her cute sun hat. I was happy to have found the hat in the diaper bag when we got to the park.

In another effort to do some summer stuff before it is over we are going to the lake. It was in the 50's this evening, actually chilly enough for a sweatshirt. I think the lack of hot summer days this year is making me panic about summer being over. Hope everyone has a great, warm weekend!

Wisdom Wednesday

I am starting a new feature called "Wisdom Wednesday". If you have read my blog before you know I have been a mom for a long time, 13 years. Yet I am still learning as I go. All kids are different and different tactics work for each child. What I plan to do with Wisdom Wednesday is just that, write about the new things I am learning.

My wisdom for todays Wisdom Wednesday is this: Arguing with your children is bad business. Both of the older girls love to argue with me - on EVERYTHING. Even at 3 LD is just as bad as AM at 13. It is exhausting. I have learned to tell them "it isn't up for discussion, I gave you the answer that is that" and I have to walk off. I am sure many people think I am a mean mom but as your kids get older you have to have boundaries for them and you. What do you think is acceptable to be doing at what age? If you don't stand strong while they are young than it will be a big battle when they are tweens and teens. Trust me on this, there was a time that I let AM have her way all of the time. There are many times I have to remind her that I am the mother and I am okay with her not liking me. (All teenagers will dislike you on certain days.) When you stand and argue with your kids on any topic this is how every topic will be handled.(Unless they like your first answer) I have also found that standing around arguing with them just makes the mood in the house negative. Like I said this process of arguing about everything is exhausting and this has not always been the way I operate. I am not perfect at it but I am getting better and there are definetly days that I just don't have the energy to deal with it. Stay strong!

How do you handle the situation of your children arguing with you? If your children are not old enough have you thought about your boundaries for when they get older?

Back with Baby

As you know we are back from our Mexican vacation. Back to reality. We came back to a 2 month old little girl. Yes AL turned 2 months the day before we got home. Thanks to my awesome in-laws we have photo's.

AL 2 Months


Hope you enjoy the photo as much as I am enjoying her!

Also I am proud to say she is sleeping through the night! She has been doing this for about 4 weeks now and I couldn't be happier. I know many of us need our sleep but for me if I don't have sleep I become a BEAR. I know, I know, real mature right? It is just one of those things that I have never been able to fight.

This is my secret to getting the kids to sleep through the night so young. I would like to start by saying, sadly I do not breast, I tried, it did not work. So for you nursing mom's it will probably not be the 10 - 12 hour span I get. But any long stretch is nice right? Anyhow the secret is what I call reverse "napping". So although during feedings and a little after each feeding AL is awake, I also keep AL up for 2 - 2 hour periods. Sometimes I do not get the full 2 hours but 2 hours is my goal. I know this is not the only way but this is what has worked for us. What works for you? Did I mention Schedule, Schedule, Schedule? This is also a necessity.

Mexico: Part Two

Here are some more pictures from Mexico. As I said in my last post this was a much needed getaway for the hubby and I. It was wonderful to see oh easy it was to reconnect. Just relax enjoy each other and the environment.

Our First Night


My Bestie and I



Our first dinner and the hubby falls victim to another sea creature. (Last year it was a shoark at MOA).



Me on our way to dinner.



The Hubby Got Me a Floaty


The resort had a lazy river and the tubes were tiny!

It is back to reality now. We are very fortunate to have had the opportunity to go to such an amazing place and recharge!

MEXICO!!

We had an amazing trip to Mexico! It served its purpose for sure. We had a great time with my bestie, her family and friends. What a great group of people. The hubby and I were able to unwind and reconnect which was much needed. Here is a little peek at our vacation. We stayed in the Riveria Maya area, which is on the Caribbean Sea side and the water was like nothing I have seen. I LOVE the beach but this was beyond amazing! We stayed in an Iberostar Resort that was very nice. The service was great the rooms and grounds were immaculately kept. The comforters were a little typical but everything else was beautiful! So here we go

Coming into Cancun



Finally Arrived at the Hotel and Finished Check In



Our Hotel











Ahh the Pool





And the Beach!!





There were a lot of weddings on the beach. This is not BB's wedding, her wedding was much prettier with flowers and colored ribbons on the backs of the chair.

These are the photo's of the things we saw. I will post the pictures of people tomorrow. The funniest thing to me was that they called me "lady". The first time I was completley offended but than it just made me laugh. Even during my AMAZING massage the girl said "lady, roll over now." haha It makes me laugh even now. Two more things. The first is the soda.



Second are the towel animals. The first was a bunny the second was a lump as far as I could tell. I think they skipped a night and than this is the one that is making the blog cut.


Sorry for the long post but there are so many pictures to post! I will do phase 2 tomorrow.

Also I am having a lot of trouble with Blogger this morning, to end the post I can not spell check. So sorry about the spelling I am a horrible speller.