As you all know, a week or two ago we celebrated my husbands birthday. It’s always really hard to think of something fun. This year was no different, but since he and the brother in law were planning a trip to “Biker Week” in Sturgis, ND, I thought it would be fun to look into used Harleys. They really aren’t feasible in our situation in life at the moment, but he really likes them and really would look kinda sexy on one. Maybe after the kids are married off, I’ll let him rediscover the days of his lost youth!
This time last year I blogged about an upcoming Alzheimer’s Memory Walk that I had been wishing I could take part in. We were in the middle of moving at the same time, and juggling kids going to school in the new area while still living in the old one. I remember at that time I decided that I would do it “next year”. Well….next year is now!
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My grandfather passed back in 2002 after a long and wonderful life. Sadly, the last several years of his life were lived in a blur for him. I was married and out of state when the full ravages of Alzheimer’s hit him, but before I moved I did have the heartache of having to introduce myself to him whenever I had the chance to see him. He held my first born, although I’m not sure he ever really knew him and possibly didn’t remember him shortly after we left. How sad is that? This is a disease that robs people of their memories, of their families, of their lives! We have got to do something to push the search for a cure, and the Alzheimer’s Memory Walk is a great way to do it. They are looking for Team Captains, if this is something you are able to do…sign up! If it’s something you are unable to do…sign up to walk. It’s 2-3 miles with the promise of so much more. I may just throw my 3 year old in a stroller and take him along for the ride!
This morning they had a water party at church. That just meant that the kids got to dress up in their swimming suits, and get wet. There were little splash pools, a slip ‘n slide, and water balloon launchers. My kids got soaked, but they were immensly happy. Lunch was lemonade, PB&J’s, chips and watermelon with popsicles for dessert.
It was pretty toasty outside, so it made for a perfect day to get wet. And honestly, aside from a few loaves of bread and a watermelon or two, there really wasn’t much involved in the way of costs. Not a bad party for anyone on a budget!
My husband finally broke! He’s been the one thing keeping me sane on NOT replacing our tattered furniture just yet! The kids are still kind of young, so I was trying to hold myself back until they were out of the ‘destruction’ years, and he was my main cheerleader helping me! Well, last night he caved! He sat down in his tattered old recliner and it crunched underneath him. Not that we can blame that one on the kids, but since he LIVES in that chair when he’s home, we can’t live without it! So if we are replacing that, it’s cheaper to just get the whole matching set! I love the new modern furniture! I haven’t gotten to pick out new furniture in nearly 10 years—so these coming days will be too fun!!
My husband is losing one of his key managers. He’s taking over one of the hotel properties on the East coast. I’ve always wanted to move to the East coast, just for a little while. Of course, if you follow the blog at all, you already know that! The thought of a cross country move right now seems more than my energy level can stand. I would have to find a mover NYC to help out because the husband isn’t home nearly enough to get anything out of him! I’m quite content where we are right now, but it is always fun to see new parts of the country that you just don’t get to experience on a quick vacation!
I wish I was more handy around the house! There are things going wrong, but I don’t have a clue how to fix them. Our bathroom fixtures leak. Not all the time, but if you lean back against the toilet tank even a little, water hits the floor. It wouldn’t be such a big deal, except that it’s getting underneath the tile, and I’m sure rotting the floor boards! One day, I can just see whoever happens to be sitting on the pot when it goes, plummeting through the ceiling! How fun will that be? I’ll call the plumber on Monday!
Any of you that read my sisters blog know that she’s been using acne treatments for the past month or so. Hoping to finally get her skin to clear up. She’s had freckles her entire life practically, and now she is suffering with the little irritating bumps as well as the zits. She’s nearing 40 and is wishing it would all just go away! They say that most acne can be blamed on hormones, so maybe after Menopause she’ll finally get some relief!
Is there such a thing as “legal steroids“? I know there are ways to bulk up at the health food stores, but is there really something to help you grow taller? I remember when I was younger, the idea was to drop iodine in milk to kick start a growth spurt. I never did it, but with my boys entering that stage where they seem to be the last ones getting taller, I’m starting to wonder! Mother Nature will kick in any day and they will be the height they are supposed to be someday, you just hate to see them constantly be the littlest ones in their classes!
My husband celebrated his birthday yesterday. We spent the afternoon in the pool before leaving the kids with his parents and heading out for a quiet birthday dinner together. It’s funny the things that come to mind at odd moments. We had been in the pool, and I was trying to come up with birthday gift ideas and at that moment Nautica watches. Timing is everything after all. It just struck me funny because I know that my husband doesn’t wear a watch. Not even on ‘dressy’ occasions. I’m not sure he likes the feeling on his wrist, but his excuse…I don’t want a watch until I can afford a Rolex! OK, good luck with that one, Sweetie!!
We have been looking into VoIP Services for the past few months! When you add together our phone bill from our horrible phone company…yes, you’ve all heard of it…and our wireless phone bill, the total is over $300 per month! That is absolutely absurd! The only problem I’m finding is that our DSL is through our phone company, and you have to have your phone hooked up with them in order to keep the DSL. Once we find a private DSL service, we will be moving to a new VOIP site, hopefully like Trillion! Trillion is a VoIP service that provides their services to K-12 districts all over the country. If it’s good enough for our schools…it’s good enough for me!
I have been raised around golf. I don’t remember a time when my dad didn’t go golfing. He got my younger brother into it and eventually even made my husband a set of golf clubs. They weren’t Cobra golf clubs by any means, but they were custom and he loved them. Now my oldest, 11, is looking to get into the sport as well. I know he won’t be a Pro or anything, but I’m happy to see him taking an interest in something healthy.
Have you ever bought a new house and after the other person moves all of their stuff out, you are left with all of their electronic cords and Cat5e Keystone jacks that you have absolutely no idea what to do with? We have at least 10 of these jacks, and I don’t even know what you use them for. It’s almost as though our house isn’t living up to it’s potential! We only know enough ‘electronic’ stuff to be dangerous–and I am clueless when it comes to these things. I almost need my brother in law to come and give me a tour of my own house! Part of them have something to do with surround sound, and others are strictly internet or something. It’s like a bionic house and I’m so not worthy of it!
My sister purchased one of those new little video cameras. It’s really very cool. She had it at a family party this afternoon, and I have to say, I would LOVE one. I don’t have the greatest memory, and with my kids growing up so fast, I would be so happy to have something so small and compact that can catch all of those cute moments with my kids. They are growing up so fast and I’ve missed so much, soon my little ones won’t have little voices anymore, and it will break my heart not to have it on tape to look back on when they are all grown up.
We are getting new carpet in our living room and dining room. It’s about time! This carpet has been in our house since they day it was built, and that was 12 years ago, and it totally shows. Sadly, when the new carpet gets in I know it’s going to make the furniture look just as shabby as it really is. Hey, there are four kids in this house with a great big dog, NOTHING looks good anymore. I would love to have the hubby look at a couple of furniture catalogs with me. I don’t need anything huge and expensive, just non-holey and minus the stains. I would rather not have a huge cherry red couch, but I’m not closing my mind to anything!
I was talking the other day about looking into a diet pill to help kick my body into the weight-loss mode. I just found out that you can get Phentermine without a prescription. That’s big news! I don’t know if it’s the one I will choose, but I thought it was amazing that it’s now available to anyone. My thyroid is dead so it definitely needs a jump start and I haven’t found something to do it that doesn’t make me jittery. There is nothing worse than that! I will have to look a little more into this, and I’ll let you know what I find!
Colon cancer runs in my family. I just found out that my uncle nearly died after a botched Colonoscopy, they perforated his colon. My mom goes in for the same procedure every two years and my aunt goes in every year. All of this because it’s quite possibly what killed my grandma. It is what killed my sweet aunt, and my other uncle has had half of his colon removed. I wonder if something like a colon cleanse would help with this at all. At least cut back in the frequency of having a Colonoscopy.
I recently bought some diet pills online. They were supposed to be really good, but as usual with me–they make my head hurt. I don’t know what it is, it’s part of the jitters that most people get, but somehow it affects my head. Because of that, I stopped taking them. I was supposed to be taking four pills in the morning and four pills in the afternoon, so I think I will try cutting it in half and taking 2 and 2. Or even 4 and then 2. There is caffeine in them, so I have to be careful just how late I take them or I have a sleepless night! My husband’s twenty year high school reunion is coming up in October, and I would like to look a little better by then!
Do you have a burial policy? I think that is such a morbid thing to call it, but as morbid as it is…it is so necessary these days! The cost of everything is going up, so why not the cost of funerals and burial needs. We are looking at getting life insurance policies for both my husband and I. Just to cover us both in the future. With four kids, it only makes sense.
We are taking the kids back east this summer. Originally we were looking at North Dakota for Biker Week and then a trip to South Dakota for Mt. Rushmore. Sadly, Biker Week fell through for us, which makes driving 1000 miles for 1 thing a little long. So now we are looking into a car rental to drive the opposite direction. Right now there are amazing deals going on over at Advantage.com. In fact, the deals are so good, it’s actually cheaper for us to rent a car from them and drive it the 1500 miles for the trip than it would be to load up our mini van for the same trip. Don’t believe me?? Check out their Specials & Discounts page—and you’ll be amazed too! Plus, right now they are even offering up to a 50% discount on Luxury cars and convertibles.
We are heading to Philadelphia, Washington D.C. and New York City. It’s not a short trip, but saving the wear and tear on our own car is invaluable during this harsh economic times. Now I just wish I could find the same deals on some of the motels we’ll be staying in!
We were lucky enough to spend part of our Fourth of July weekend at Rib Fest in Naperville. We try to go every year especially since my brother in law is the Executive Chef at Sweet Baby Ray’s and they have a booth there. This year was really amazing because Sweet Baby Ray’s took the first place trophy for their ribs and the second place trophy for their sauce. It was AWESOME!! The trophies were both bigger than my kids. It was quite an honor!
Several months ago, I signed up online for a trustedtours.com newsletter. I am a planner when it comes to vacations. I want to make sure I have found every discount and the lowest prices possible. That’s where the newsletter comes in handy! You can find discounted tickets to the best sightseeing tours in 23 cities across America.
This summer we were looking at heading to Sturgis, ND for Biker Week! My husband was going to cook and the kids and I were going to stay at the ranch and ride ATV’s all day and sit around a campfire by night…HEAVEN! On the way home we were going to hit Mount Rushmore, which is kind of cool in and of itself. However, my husband now has to work during Biker Week, and it doesn’t seem cool to drive 1000 miles for one mountain. So I remembered back to my childhood and found the coolest vacation for us.
We had started in Pennsylvania and drove through Amish country. Very interesting for a young ‘tween, but I would be excited to see it again as a grown up. Then we headed south for some Washington dc sightseeing. After a day or two we headed back up to Philly and saw the sights there as well as the coolest stop…Hershey’s. Oh that place was cool! Free chocolate samples and a roller coaster. I bought one of my most treasured sweatshirts there. Then we headed north to New York and even into Canada to see Niagra Falls. It was amazing, and even 24 years later, I still remember so many parts of that trip. I want that for my kids! So that is my plan this summer.
There are so many things to do in New York that that is my one dream spot. I know my kids would love to see the Statue of Liberty and the Empire State Building and Philadelphia is only 666 miles from Chicago. I’ll need to check out a few online travel guides before we leave, but I truly think this will be a trip of a lifetime! I just wish I could sign up for the TrustedTours.com newsletter again…because anyone who signs up is entered into a drawing for a free GPS system…and since we will be driving on this vacation, it would totally come in handy!
We just got home from the street festival where the kids were ANGELIC! And well, Dennis Deyoung was pretty darn awesome himself! My husband was supposed to stop on his way to work and set down our blanket…but he forgot. So we were miles away from the stage, but it was still fun to hear! I have one particular favorite STYX song, and of course, they didn’t play it. So on the way home we blasted “Show Me The Way” about 6 times to make up for it!
The kids each played one game each, and rode quite a few rides. We had Chinese food for dinner (it wasn’t great) but all in all, it was a beautiful evening with good friends and good music!
I have been getting ready for my son’s 11th birthday this past week, and I have to say…I’m exhausted! Sadly, I did far less for this party than any of the other ones. Usually I make each and every invitation to match the selected theme and send one out to every family member and friend, cursing the fact that we have sooooooo many! This year, I sent a picture in to VistaPrint.com and ordered directly from them! I was out of address labels as well, and picked them up at the same time. Since shipping is free on orders over $50.00 I got my favorite note pads. These are so convenient to sit next to the phone or by the fridge. As messages come in, or if I need to add something to my shopping list, it’s right there. I don’t have a custom design need–so I get the cute city skyline (cause it’s red and matches my kitchen) but if you wanted to create one—you could totally customize your design…and it’s a whale of a buy!!
The invitations themselves were so cute, perfect really! The party is tomorrow, and I’m hoping everything is just as easy with the day as it was with the invitation order…then I will be stress-free for another 2 months, before it’s time to start planning the next birthday party! Why do we parents do this to ourselves??
STYX is coming! Well, OK, Dennis DeYoung is coming to play the music of STYX, which is a heck of a lot closer to actual STYX music than any tribute band–so Saturday night we will be at Frontier Days in Arlington Heights to enjoy an evening of STYX and BBQ ribs! The kids are working for tickets in order to play games and ride the rides, but for me, I’m looking forward to an evening out with fun carnival food and good music!
Good News!!! We are going to leave the in laws for a post or two and focus on the ‘other’ soap opera going on in the extended family!!
This morning my brother in law got home from a romantic weekend away with my sister in law. Sounds pretty normal, huh? That’s where you would be wrong…and where this twisted ‘love affair’ turns Jerry Springer on us all! My brother in law is my brother in law because he is my husband’s oldest brother. My sister in law is my sister in law because she is married to my husbands MIDDLE brother!! That’s right folks! My brother in law is sleeping (and vacationing) with his brother’s wife! Woo Hoo, wasn’t that fun!
Mind you–all of their kids are screwed up! The brother in law has a son in jail for the umpteenth time, and the sister in law has two daughters (un-married) with two babies (different fathers), and honestly–it’s not hard to see that the apples don’t fall too far from the tree!
What in the world is my husband’s family coming too! It’s like drama everyday. Honestly, I should be taking notes and developing a night time soap opera to rival the likes of Dallas!! Sad…Scary and Sad!!
No worries…stay tuned, and I’ll keep you posted on this whole sordid freak show!!
I wrote a few days ago about the ‘bridge’ loan my in laws were taking out on their older home to pay for their newer home. With this loan, there has been enough money included to finish fixing up the house. I was over there today and my father in law and brother in law were in laying tongue and groove laminate in the kitchen. It was looking really good. So much better than the crappy floor we had to live with! After the flooring is in, they will fix the front door and put it up for sale. We are all hoping for a quick sale, but here in Illinois, that isn’t always what happens, and with 3 other homes on the block for sale…it might be a long wait!
I’ve gotten a few comments about my previous post. My in laws do own two homes. Both outright at one time, but due to some really poor financial choices, they are losing one. They do have the paid off home up for sale, but it is an older home closer to the city of Chicago. It has a tiny front and back yard, and the garage is too small to park a car in. That leaves you parking on the street. There are two bedrooms in this home–and honestly, old as it is, it’s a nice home. However, prices in that area have dropped considerably and they wouldn’t be able to get the amount out of this house that the owe on their house. But worst of all is the fact that homes aren’t selling in this area nearly fast enough to save their home.
Since I wrote the last post however, they have come up with a possible solution. I’m a little wary of it, but if they plan to keep the home they are in, their hands are tied. They are taking out a $50,000 loan on the home that is for sale. This will pay up the current loan on their house–as well as finish off some of the repairs they need on the other home. Neither mortgage will then require a payment for a year and the home should sell within that time frame. I’m wary because these people don’t move on things! They had 2 years before they got into trouble with the home their in. I pray their house sells, but if not–they will be walking away from this house as well as losing the home that is currently for sale. At that point, the only thing I will have left to offer them, is the boys bedroom upstairs. And I will be LIVID if it comes to that!!
My husband is a big time sports fan. It doesn’t matter what it is, if it’s considered a sport-he’s interested. One sport that I actually enjoy more than him is tennis. I’m not a big follower of his golf, he’s not a big follower of my tennis. But with stars like Pete Sampras and Andre’ Agassi what blue blooded woman isn’t going to be excited about tennis?
The biggest event yearly is Wimbledon, and it’s coming up the end of next month! I would LOVE to find Wimbledon debenture tickets and snag the man over to England for a week to truly watch and be a part of the action, partake of the Strawberries and Cream in true English style. Big hats and Mint Juleps for the Kentucky Derby and Strawberries and Cream for Wimbledon…I could get used to both of them!
What is most exciting about Wimbledon, from an American point of view, is that before 1968 most of the winners were European or part of the British Empire and post 1968 most of the winners have been American. With Pete Sampras and the Williams sisters really making Wimbledon their own.
Just once before I die, I would like to actually sit in the stands and watch the event live. Being half a world away, I don’t think that’s too much to ask!
Today was the last Wednesday that the kids have school. They would normally finish up the year on Friday, but they have 2 snow days to make up next week, so next Tuesday is IT! I’m looking forward to this summer with my kids. Normally I’m a bit intimidated by the prospect, but I’m hoping to make this one really fun and relaxing for all of us.
As far as plans for a summer vacation go, well, I don’t have any! My sister is taking her family up through the Dakota’s and home and that sounds like a nice trip, especially the Sturgis, North Dakota portion during Biker Week! This is my last summer with my daughter before she starts Kindergarten next year and my 3 year old before he heads to Pre-school. So it needs to be jam packed full of memories!
No, I don’t mean your kids. I mean your recipes! As you’ve noticed throughout the course of this blog, I tend to share some family favorite dessert recipes. I can’t help it, it’s what I love to make. However, today I found a new site that helps keep all of my recipe posts uniform, and I like that! Take a look at the widget below and then look at the recipe in the post right before this one.
It took less than 2 minutes to sign up, and about 5 minutes to add my photo and my recipe, and voila, a professional looking recipe card to share with all of you! Let me know what you think. Better yet, get online and upload your own recipes, and share them with all of us!
I found out today that my in laws are most likely going to be losing their house. It’s a heart break, but there is nothing in our bank account to help them with. My father in law hasn’t even told my mother in law about this, and I think holding on to this alone is literally killing him. They have a home to move into. It’s completely paid for, and a very nice home for the two of them. It ISN’T however, their home! They’ve lived in this home for 9 years and have loved every minute of it. They have a huge yard with a swimming pool for the kids. But they have been helping two of their sons and that help has ruined them financially.
I think it’s imperative that my mother in law finds out and finds out soon. I think she would much rather have her husband stress free and live with the disappointment for a year or two until they are back on their feet and the real estate market is better. Then they can sell the older home and buy something beautiful again. These may just be the last few years of this man’s life, lets try to remove some of the stress from him. She will be disappointed of course, but again, I think she would rather have him happy and alive then hiding this secret from her while he tries to figure something out!
Last week was my birthday. I have to admit, the older I get, the more I look forward to them. Not necessarily for the gifts or the cute little cards made by my kids, but to honestly revel in the day. It’s the one day of the year you hear from anyone who is special in your life, and that just makes it the best. I got birthday cards from my parents, husband and kids, my little brother, a couple of neighbors…you name it! They had me covered!
The next birthday coming up is my dear friend in Arizona. She sent me not only E-cards but also a greeting card mailed to my house. Little does she know that she’ll be receiving an E-card an hour.
In the past I went to great lengths to create beautiful greeting cards for every occasion. But after baby number 4, I decided that I could have as much fun with the card, if I could find ones that I think are beautiful, and then customize them. This beautiful card above does just that! It looks like something I would have tried to create, and then I can edit everything I want to on the inside.
If you are like me and send out a ton of cards and invitations, check out this website and see if there isn’t just something for you as well. They have a huge selection and at around half the price of a store purchased birthday card–and if you have as many friends and family members with birthdays coming up as I do, it’s a budget saver as well!
The best thing about the kids making Mother’s Day gifts at school is the fact that come Friday (two whole days early) the kids are so excited to share their treasures, that I get my gifts early! I just got mine from my oldest. It’s a book that has the beginning of sentences pre-written, and then the kids have to fill in the blank. My book made me cry. It reminded me just how forgiving our kids can be of our faults-and I have many. But this book was filled with heartfelt treasures. I told my son that the next time he told me that he hated me and that I was the worst mom in the world, I would just read his book. At 11, he’s mastered the ‘eye roll’ previously set aside for 13 year old girls.
Well, not really! I just wanted a powerful “spark” related word for my title!! Anyway, a month or so ago I was able to sign up for the beta program on Social Spark. Who knew it was so fun to be in on the ground floor of something new? I’ve taken a couple of opportunities for Social Spark, and really like the layout of the site. You can choose from sponsored posts (like this one) or blog sponsorship. I haven’t tried the blog sponsorship yet, but it looks like it could be kind of fun as well.
Now after our little Beta experience, SocialSpark is now open to the masses! You heard me, everyone is invited to participate. Not just in the money making side of it, but in the Social Spark community as well. Every blogger can add their own profile and you can search among them all and find your favorites as well as request friendships, just like with other social networking sites. I love this part because the blogging community as a whole, is made up of some really great people. Including this blogger profile. It happens to be that of my sister, and anything she’s involved in, has to be cool!
My sister has battled depression the last several years. Probably longer, but she didn’t notice it until after her daughter was born. She went into the doctors office with 2 older boys and a newborn and mentioned that she thought she was suffering from depression. With all of the news on post partum depression she really thought she would walk out with something to help. She was surprised to end up with an appointment for 2 weeks later to do a blood work up. That’s right, they offered her no immediate help!
It was around that time that I heard about the The Sedona Method and about how you could use it to ‘transcend the pain body’. I thought it might be helpful to her until she could get into to a real doctor to get the medication she needed. I’m happy to say that she learned a lot from it and was able to find the inner peace that she needed to take care of life with 3 small children.
Where A New Earth meets The Secret is the Sedona Method. It is a tool that shows you how to master the law of attraction while still letting go of ego. This is a cancer to the soul and finding the ability to master yourself and your emotions is the one way to truly find peace in your life.
After watching this method work in the life of my sister, I’m really curious about just what else it can do to help us all out in our daily lives!
We spent the evening at my in laws house. The kids had the day off of school and my mother in law was off in the evening. We both have terribly busy evenings this weekend, so this was our shot. We took the kids and headed to their favorite restaurant, The Old Country Buffet, for dinner. It was so nice to see my father in law teasing my kids and laughing with them. It’s been so long since he’s felt ‘light’ enough to play with the kids and to really enjoy them. I think my kids have been a little shy around him because he has been so quiet and stand-offish lately, but today they just giggled with him and wrestled. It was just so nice to see. It was visible that the weight of the world has been lifted off of his shoulders!
Speaking of my 2 year old, he has a birthday coming up soon. He’s not really excited about it, because he knows he loses his beloved possession at three. That is for another post! He’s grown up so much in not only size but also his mental abilities. Last year we had an Elmo birthday party, and it seems like just yesterday he still loved all things Sesame Street. However, we’ve now grown a bit and love The Doodle Bops. So you guessed it! I’m looking at a Doodle Bop birthday party. I’ve searched everywhere for birthday invitations and will most likely be getting them custom made. I normally do anyway, I like the look of something a little more special than just a run of the mill birthday invitation.
I usually get my custom paper orders from VistaPrint.com. They have everything I’ve ever needed. Checks, address labels, sticky note pads and even custom ink stamps. My sister runs her own business and swears by them. She’s the one that introduced me to the site and I have to say, I’m sold! I’m not sure I’ll be creating a Doodle Bop invitation in and of itself, but I can upload my own photo’s of my beautiful baby and he’s much cuter than those strange characters on the show.
With graduation coming up in just a few weeks, you will love the selection they have. Or create your own. With free shipping on orders over $50.00, you can’t go wrong there either!
It’s been a really nice week this week. Not so much on the sun-shiney type “nice” week, but not wet, but still cool. These days are perfect for me. I sat outside yesterday with my 2 year old and marveled at the fact that he’s grown up so much in just the last couple of weeks. He was running across the yard yelling to me exactly what he was doing. Running and talking?? My baby? His legs have suddenly sprouted into these long extremities that carry him where ever he desires to go with no problem at all! He even tried climbing the tree out front. He will need about 5 more inches before that was possible. Every time I would see a car in the distance I would call to him, “Car’s Comin’” and he would run back as fast as he could to sit next to me before the car made it to our yard. He beat it every time. It was just a fun afternoon out with my boy!
My sister and I are going to be starting an exercise circle. You know, you get a bunch of ladies in your area to get together and walk every morning. The more the merrier! My problem with this is the fact that I don’t own a good pair of walking shoes. I know, four kids and no walking shoes! I go for comfort more than structure and when you walk, you need them both. My sister pointed me to these cute tsubo shoes online. They not only look great, but they look like they offer support for my feet as well. I have really high arches which makes shopping for shoes difficult at times. I would love to wear a cute pair of minnetonka boots but I’m never really sure if I can get my feet into them. I love the ’strappy’ look of these seychelles shoes, but that’s where I get into trouble.
That cute little strap of leather that goes up the top of my foot–wouldn’t fit my foot, and I hate it. I have to have open top shoes, and they have a great selection of these at InfinityShoes.com so I have a number to choose from. But there are still days I would love to put on a cute pair of strappy sandals and actually fit the fashion scene.
Right now you can get free shipping on your order over $59.98, which gives me the perfect reason to shop. And if I order these shoes now, they will be here in time to start our walking.
If you are looking for shoes there is a huge selection of them right at your finger tips, and with free shipping how can you go wrong? I think the kids are going to need new gym shoes for summer camp coming up in a few weeks. Now that’s an even better excuse!
It is currently time to start planning our annual venture into the world as a family. We try to make this the most fun event of the year for our kids. Most of the time we end up at Disney in Florida or somewhere else with a beach. Last summer we spent most of our time playing on the beach. My kids were towheads by the time we got home after spending 6-8 hours everyday soaking up the sun. Playing in the sand reminded me of something funny. When I was younger (and single) I was in love with a guy. He will always be the one that got away, but he was NOTHING that my parents would ever have approved of. But to me, he was heaven sent. I remember as a family we went on vacation to Cancun and oh how I missed that boy! So much that I actually wrote his name in the sand surrounded by a great big heart! I took a picture of it and then remembered something about words coming out backward on film. But I wasn’t sure, and I certainly didn’t want this once in a lifetime photo to be ruined by my own stupidity. So just in case I wrote the same thing but backwards! Same heart, same name, just mirrored. It was pitch black by the time I finished with my heart. I got home and sure enough, I had one image correct and one image backward. Sadly, I don’t know which was which! So there’s that for my whole teaching moment!! Sorry!
This summer I would like to hit the east coast as well, but start in Washington D.C. and work our way up the coast! My 11 year old would love the capitol, my 8 year old wants to see the Statue of Liberty and I know my husband would really love to see Boston. I was surprised at how many Things to do in Boston there are for such a small little state. I really want to walk the Freedom Trail and really just see the city.
I was happy to see that they have a Trusted Tours & Attractions in Boston and New York. My husband and I took one of their sightseeing tours while in San Francisco and we loved it. You really get a chance to see the city you are visiting with these tours. Right now, if you sign up for the Trusted Tours Newsletter, you will be entered to win a hand held GPS system. I need one of those just driving around my neighborhood, I can’t imagine how amazing it would be to have while we drive across the country!
I have been taking a bit of a break from blogging lately. This is about the only time in the year when my body can stand to be outside working on the yard. Not to far off from now I will not be venturing out much at all. I have taken a few before and after pictures over the past week, and I have to say, I can’t wait to be able to get them up, it’s amazing how much nicer the yard looks just by clearing away the old wet/mildew stained leaves and other remnants of winter. I even pruned the raspberry bushes and I’m actually planning to jar some homemade raspberry jelly. I can’t wait!
I am really bad! I was introduced to PPP/IZEA through my sister. She was a seasoned pro by the time I started, so all of my questions have been directed to her. If she didn’t have the answer she would hop over to the boards and ask the question for me. That’s how she learned the ropes. If there was a question, there was a huge, fun community to help find the answer. Because of this, she has MANY friends in the network. She’s met many of them IRL. When we were in Vegas she knew everyone, and even though I didn’t get to meet all of them she was able to point them out by name and even by their blog. I was impressed, but I also felt a little sad that I had missed out on the same opportunity. I now visit the boards daily, and have even ventured out a few times to ask and answer questions on my own.
There has recently been a “re-vamp” to the old boards, and the new ones are shiny and streamlined. This makes for a really cool new look. There were so many threads, under so many different categories and now there are a number of threads, but fewer categories. I find this both good and bad. First, I now can find everything new that has been put out. Before if someone added something to a section of the boards I never visited, I wouldn’t even know it was there, even if it was something I would be interested in. So that’s nice. I go to one place and everything is there. The downside of this is that there are now thread after thread of things I wouldn’t mind not seeing. But that is just me being an organizational freak, and I really do need to let up on some of that!
If you haven’t been over to visit the new boards, you are really missing out. Not on just some great information, but on some really great friends as well!!
I spent the morning pulling down wallpaper in the kitchen. Since no one ever comes to visit I’m going to be doing it “little by little”. That way as I pull the wallpaper down for that section I can spackle and paint that section only. Then, when all of the sections are done, the kitchen is finished! Otherwise, I would pull all of the wallpaper down, spackle and sand the whole room and then paint! Mind you, it would take just as long, it’s just easier for me to get it done this way. Plus, there is no way I can get the whole thing finished in a week or two–so this way I get one section done, and the rest of the kitchen is still finished and not living in a state of “forgotten” for too long!
I’ve been a stay at home mom for nearly 12 years. It hasn’t always been good times, and I’ve had to find things I could do to earn money at home. I’ve done it all, from day care to data entry, but the best thing I’ve found for mommy bloggers is SocialSpark. Not only has it been fun to discover and write about many new products, but I’ve actually used and purchased many of the products and services that I’ve had the chance to write about. Many of my friends and family members are involved, but besides them, there is a whole community of friends out there to talk to. Most of my favorite blogs are involved in Social Spark as well.
But it really is the added boost to the paycheck every week that really does make it a life saver. Yes, we still have to budget. Yes, we still don’t spend money like crazy. But that added income allows my kids to be involved in programs that we wouldn’t normally be able to afford. Baseball, T-Ball, Ballet, and summer camp. A little extra money in the bank, and time for myself! Now that’s what I’m talkin’ about!
If you are a mommy blogger and would like an introduction to money saving ideas, friends and some income every month, then Social Spark is something for you as well. It’s been nearly a year since I joined, and I’ve loved every minute of it. Head on over and check it out!
I read this online today, and it really made me laugh. I was such a better mom before I had kids. You know, I had lofty goals and ideas on just how life would go. I think it went something like me having fresh baked muffins every morning before the kids headed to school. Or me being the “cool” mom in the neighborhood, out playing football with my boys and their friends. I’m not even sure they think I’m cool enough to invite to play, and I’m certain my ’skillz’ are outta date as well!
Not much of my original blueprint is in tact. Rarely do they get anything I thought would be so fun. In fact, most of the time, I’m just happy their actually fed before their heads hit the pillow at night!
This past weekend we attended the baptism of my nephew Grayson. It was so neat to see all of the family there together. Grayson looked darling in his little outfit, and now he wants a suit. What a kid!
After the service we went to dinner at my brother in laws restaurant, and all I can say is YUM! We ate in the private dining room which made it a lot easier to chase my kids. We had threatened all of the kids with corporal punishment if they left the room.
I had some St. Louis Ribs, roasted chicken and of course, my favorite, the Red Beans and Rice!
Do you do anything fun in your family to celebrate this “odd” little day? I have to admit we go all out in ours! We have a leprechaun that comes and messes everything up! The kids have a hard time finding their backpacks on the 17th of March, the pesky leprechaun has hidden them underneath the rocking chair. All of the couch cushions have been moved to the kitchen table–and oddly enough all of the milk has been dyed green along with the eggs and waffles! The older kids (in the know) have a lot of fun watching the delight of the younger kids as they discover the strange tricks that have been played on them by the friendly leprechaun! They then find their best green to wear for the day to keep in good graces with the leprechaun so he doesn’t take it out on them next year!
What does your family do?
I just got off the phone with my mother in law. Good news finally! My nephew has been in and out of jail and drug rehabilitation for several years now. He keeps getting back into the drug scene and his father keeps reporting him. I don’t blame him, I really do want the best for this boy. But at the same time, he is on his final shot. One more relapse, and he’s in prison to finish out his 2 year sentence. I’m not sure I could turn him in with that staring at me. Anyway, enough about me! This boy is out of rehab, and back into a halfway house. He seems to be doing really well and is currently working two jobs. In the last halfway house he was in school and doing really well. This current one doesn’t offer schooling, but hopefully when he is out in a month or two, he can get himself back into school. I’m so hopeful for him again, but at the same time, we’ve been here before. Send him “happy thoughts” if you could!
This is my niece Blake. I was given a sample of some pretty cool hair product, but everyone in our family has really short hair. So we decided to test it out on Blake’s beautiful hair. She’s darling in any picture, but you can see her hair in the first picture is a little duller and kind of stringy. Desperately in need of a good shampoo. The after picture you can just see the shine and silkiness that has been brought to her hair.
There are a couple of things I really like right off hand about naked naturals shampoo. First off, it’s an all natural shampoo. Every ingredient that is included is natural and can really look to strengthen and nourish your hair at the same time as clean it. The other thing I love, especially for me, is that the scent is lavender which brings with it some of the natural aroma-therapy that you get with this scent, and that is calming! It quite literally relaxes you. When my kids were little you could put them in a lavender bath and they would be sound asleep just a little while afterward. In the picture it looks as though Blake is about ready to head to bed herself. So as a night time routine including a hot shower or bath, this scent could be HEAVEN!
If you have longer hair that you would love to have back in control, shiny, silky and smelling fabulous…head on over and pick you up your own. I’ll definitely be doing that for myself!!
I found this video over on Marissa’s blog, and it was definitely blog worthy! The woman got a standing ovation when she was finished, and I tell you–she deserved it. I would love to have the words to this thing–I say every one of the lines several times a day! Great job!
As we were driving out of the cul de sac this past weekend we noticed that our neighbors trampoline had bit the dust. They leave it up and together all year long, and this year with all of the snow, the frame finally buckled. It’s a death that is just killing my kids! There is nothing in this world they want more than a real life, BIG trampoline–not the mini trampoline we have in the basement. Although, I have to say–they adored that thing for the longest time. But as with all things–they’ve grown up to bigger ideas of fun! I’m not sure I would ever get a full sized trampoline–both my husband and I were hurt when we were younger jumping on them…it’s a wonder we are both still around!
There is a man at my husbands hotel that is finally getting married. We aren’t really sure where he met this woman, but she must be amazing if Doug is willing to settle down. He is a wild man! He’s always been so much fun because he’s so crazy! He’s the type of guy that would have a beer pong table in his living room. We’ve been invited to the wedding, and my husband even a garnered an invitation to the Bachelor Party (so not sure he’s allowed to go!!), but I’m just stumped as to what to get them. Do you go traditional? Do you go wild and crazy? Do you go the easy out with cash?? Honestly, I’m just praying that they register because I’m clueless!
A few months ago we were over at my husbands grandparents home helping his parents clean it out. The fun thing about cleaning out these types of homes is the history you find deep inside. There was depression glass, antique toys and these little old fashioned espresso contraptions. They were so amazing in a couple of ways. One-they didn’t look like they would actually work–even when they were new, and two, they were in perfect condition. These were older than my mother in law, and there wasn’t a scratch on them. We’ve visited my mother in laws house since then and have seen these little things sitting on the top ledge of her stove. She love espresso, but hasn’t figured out how to work them. Kind of funny. She has these two cool little things, but for her birthday in a couple of weeks we are looking at modern espresso machines for her. One that comes with directions anyway.
There are so many events going on this month at the Art Institute, and what makes it better…It’s FREE!
Everyday throughout the month of February you can enjoy all that the museum has to offer. There are even fun things for the kids to do. Family Fun Times are from 11 am until 3 pm. Here is just a sampling of their scheduled events:
Artists Studio, Drop in between 11:00-4:00;
Story Time 12:00-12:30;
Gallery Drawing Station, Drop in between 1:00 and 3:00;
Gallery Walks, Me and My Museum, 2:00-2:30.
For other information you can contact the museum directly, or through their website, Art Institute of Chicago.
What are your plans for Valentine’s Day? Living in the Chicago area there are a ton of things to do and plan. You can go your whole life without duplicating a Valentine’s Day! Unless you are boring like me! I don’t need a lot of hoopla–I just enjoy a quiet evening out with my husband. It doesn’t happen very often so it makes it extra nice to be able to drop the kids off and head out as adults.
As far as gifts go, I tend to go more on the practical side. New robe, slippers, hockey jersey–you know–”guy stuff”. My husband has surprised me on a number of occasions with jewelry, flowers and even organic gift baskets. I have to say, I’ve enjoyed all of the above. It’s just really fun to open the door to the delivery man holding a box filled with a fun Valentine surprise! Even if you don’t spend a lot of money, that moment of opening the door–or the one just following that when you are pulling beautiful blooms out of the box and arranging them in the vase, it’s just fun and girly. I don’t know any girl who doesn’t love that!
How was your Christmas? Ours was busy! Really it was stressed out crazy! My father in law had gone into the hospital for a quick (yeah right) angiogram and ended up being admitted for many days in order to get him stable. It was a close call for quite awhile, but I’m happy to report that he is finally home and resting comfortably. We had Christmas really, really late on Christmas day. My poor kids were such troopers. Most of us were just really worried about grandpa–so we are all thrilled that he’s feeling better!
I found this cute little quiz through the Alexa Project over at Lynne’s blog. I thought it was so funny that at the bottom it says I’m goofy enough to put “A” Christmas Tree ornament on your tree–when one of my answers to the questions was…”I put so many ornaments on the tree that it tilts to one side”–ha ha! And some of them are indeed Christmas Trees! Yes, I am goofy!
My mother in law has many relatives in Italy. One of them, Nita, has been trying to plan a trip to America for the holidays. She used to live here, but moved home to Italy about 15 years ago. She hasn’t been back since. She’s been calling around for flights to USA, but they are easier to find online. She doesn’t have that kind of experience so she called my mother in law, who called me.
I wasn’t able to get her here too early, but she arrives on Sunday and they will pick her up and spend most of the day Monday downtown staying until evening to see the Christmas lights. We will have her with us for Christmas day and then she has the week to explore before going home on January 2nd.
She’s older so this really may be her last trip to America. I wish we could take her around to a few more places, but downtown Chicago is pretty amazing at Christmas time, so that will have to do!
Can you believe that today is the last Friday before Christmas? I just don’t know where the month (or year) has gone! Tonight we are making the traditional pilgrimage downtown to see the lights. I don’t know why this is a tradition, it’s always a miserably cold mob scene, but it’s tradition.
Today is the last day of school until January 7th. That sounds like such a long time. Normally I’m a little worried about this time and keeping the kids occupied, but mainly I’m really excited to get to sleep in. I’ve been exhausted lately, and I’m not really sure why. So possibly a trip to the doctor’s office is in order as well!
How is your Christmas shopping coming? My sister is done already! Over a week early, I’m so jealous. In fact, she isn’t just done shopping, she’s got everything but the Santa gifts wrapped and under the tree. She even found several cool things for her husband which is honestly the hardest part of Christmas shopping.
I am getting into the Christmas mood. I haven’t been blogging as much recently due to the fact that the kids have been busy with different holiday productions, and I’ve been trying to bake to get my neighbor gifts out. It’s so nice not being the new ones in the neighborhood anymore. We actually have friends to talk to rather than that awkward meet and greet phase!
It’s snowing, again! I barely got the shoveling done yesterday and now there are four more inches. Why oh why didn’t I head out and buy that snow blower yesterday?
My oldest started to help me out yesterday, which was really sweet of him. But then before he was finished he was pulled away to his best friends house to build snow forts. Now I’m all for the fun of childhood, but sadly he took the only snow shovel we have and he left it there. So tonight when my husband got home and needed to shovel, we had to wake him up, bundle him up in his coat and boots and send him outside to find the snow shovel. He was not happy, but neither was dad, so it all balanced out!
How Fun! I got tagged today by Karen. It’s cool, I rarely get tagged at all–and by Karen! I actually have laid eyes on this person–isn’t that so bad! In Vegas at Postie Con–I was sooooooo sick, that I only caught the afternoon session of the conference and part of the after party at Tao–but Karen really was really nice. However, I am such a boring person, that I have no idea what to say! So…
Here’s how it works:
You have to come up with seven “facts” about yourself and post these rules:
1) Link to the person that tagged you, and post the rules on your blog.
2) Share 7 facts about yourself.
3) Tag 7 random people at the end of your post, and include links to their blogs.
4) Let each person know that they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.
So…here we go!
1. I come from a family of SEVEN. In this crowd, (including spouses there’s 14) there are two Robyns and two Kellys.
2. I met, got engaged to and married my husband at work.
3. I want to get a little Jackapoo named Wasatch.
4. I met a sister I hadn’t seen in over 25 years last summer. She’s a blogger too.
5. I have a niece that shares my same name. Her name is Blakelynn Kate, my name is Blake and my daughterss name is Kate.
6. I follow my sister Robyn from one state to another. So far we’ve lived in Utah, Arizona and now Chicago.
7. I would love to be an ultrasound technician if I ever needed to get a job outside of the home.
I killed myself today! I finished all of my Christmas shopping for all but one child–and he’s pretty easy. But when I got home from shopping, it was time to shovel the walks. OH MY ACHING BACK! I definitely want a Snow Blower for Christmas now…this was MURDER! The bottom of the driveway is total ice, and I will have to go tomorrow to purchase the ice melter before I actually head out to take a hack at it! As for now, I’m heading up to bed with my hot water bottle!
I have to pick Daniel up. I just got a call from the school that he is not feeling well. Poor thing! Out of all of my kids, he handles being sick–the WORST! I’m glad it’s this week though, instead of next week. It’s bad enough Rob has to drive the two oldest boys to school a half hour away everyday and then pick them up after school. But to have to stick a daytime trip in when one isn’t feeling well is just asking too much!
Apparently he has a fever and is complaining of a sore throat–so I believe we will be at the doctors office later making sure it isn’t Strep Throat–with three kids to keep healthy, strep would be bad right about now!
I’m taking the kids in later this week to have their Christmas portraits done. This is always an exasperating time because there are four of them. It’s never easy to get four kids (including a 2 year old) to look good at the same time. Rob is pretty smart. She just takes individual pictures of her kids and then puts them together in a grid for her card. Every child looks amazing, and the sitting isn’t nearly as exhausting.
However, I love the look of a family portrait-or at least a portrait of all four faces in one. So I brave the Kiddie Kandids year after year, hoping for the best! I’ll let you know what we come up with!
We spent the afternoon and early evening doing the yard work. Whipped it in to shape, so to speak! We have 6 yard bags full of leaves–and that is more than I’ve ever had. When I was a kid we lived in a house with so much scrub oak. Every fall we would have to load the leaves into bags and take them down to the bottom of the yard and dump them out. My dad would then go through with his tiller and mulch them all. After many years of this we got smart. We got bed sheets for a king size bed–and we would rake all of the leaves onto the bed sheet and pull it down the path to the bottom of the yard. It saved HOURS of work! Oh how I missed the bed sheets yesterday!
Wow—the night before Thanksgiving–and we are getting SNOW! How fun is that! If it wasn’t so dark, and so cold, I would send the kids out to frolic in their first snow fall of the season!
Hopefully it will still be on the ground when they wake up in the morning. The first snow is such a treat!! I can’t wait to get out there and enjoy it with them!
We purchased this movie when it came out–and I have yet to watch it. My kids and my husband watched it last night–and they all thought it was a wonderful movie. One of the best animated ones yet. My sister’s family loved it as well-possibly because her husband is a Chef-so this is right up his alley!
I guess it is up to me to join the fun, and watch it this weekend!
We are traveling today! I still can’t believe it! We never go anywhere, especially during busy travel dates. But my husband would like to spend Thanksgiving with his family, so we are heading to Wisconsin today. It’s not too bad, it could be a lot farther–but it really limits the amount of left overs I’ll be able to take home with me! Silly, I know-but isn’t the turkey sandwich at midnight the very best part of Thanksgiving? Honestly, it doesn’t get any better than that!
This is the view from the deck at the Venetian. Isn’t it amazing! I sat and looked at this all night long. I didn’t feel well, and the noise and lack of light inside the night club only worked to exacerbate the problem–so I clung to the exterior portion of the club. Honestly, as cool as the club is on the inside–the patio is just as awesome! A view of the strip as well as the gondola ride below. That is one thing I didn’t get to do that I wanted to—but when you are sick to your stomach–a ride on a boat–isn’t a wise move!
I made it all the way to Vegas–but then I was knocked out! I was supposed to sleep for a little while and then head over to the convention center just a little late. I didn’t make it before lunch! Too bad!
My sister and aunt did come pick me up and we made it back to the convention just a little late after lunch. I’m really glad I made it for the last portion of the day. I got to hear the advertisers as well as some of the shining stars in the blog world.
I didn’t feel great–but I managed to make it to the big party at Tao that evening–and here is a photo of our Fearless Leader–Ted. This was the first chance I’d had to meet him, and he was very nice–just what Rob had always said. That made the evening–and even the hellish day, all worth it!
I think all of this “World Travel” has left my body drained! We all got sick after the last trip–then last weekend in Vegas, I was bamboozled!! Flat in bed–so sick to my stomach, I was dying!! I missed most of Postie Con, stuck my head in for the last couple of classes, and of course the Argus Roll Out–boy was that sweet! I made it to the Tao after party–which was amazing and so nice to have little appetizers. That way I could add one to my tummy, see how it handled it, and then add another one! It was not the first time I was happy that I don’t drink however! I’m afraid that would have been the last straw and poor Tao would have had a big mess on their pretty red carpet!!
There is one thing to be said about spending your days in bed. You get to catch up on ALL of the good, the bad and the ugly on TV. Have you heard of this horrible new kids show called Yo Gabba Gabba? It’s HORRID! My two little ones hung out on my bed with me because I couldn’t chase them around the house and we watched this:
I’m sorry, but this is just terrible! People mocked Barney and the Teletubbies–I know, I was one of them. But this one takes the cake. I can’t imagine anyone acting in this, making it or paying for it to be on the air. It’s just unfathomnable!
Why is it when you spend a couple of weeks away from your kids–and then you come back and you catch everything going around the elementary school? We got home last week from our trip and everything seemed fine–until Monday! I have been so sick since then, I’m honestly wondering if there is an internal organ that still desires to be a part of my body! I have thrown up, coughed up everything I’ve tried to eat since then. I missed Trunk R Treat, I missed Halloween parties at school, and I missed Halloween.
I know to most people that isn’t a big deal, but to me–it’s my favorite time of the year. I thought I would just push and get there–but there was just no way possible. If I was upright I was sweating and faint and vomiting. If I was sitting up, I was sweating and faint and coughing–either way–they wouldn’t have let me anywhere near the school!
We spent the other evening with my nephew for his third birthday. It was so cute–he’s gotten to that fun age where he understands what is going on–and everything excites him. He ran around the entire party singing Happy Birthday to himself–actually, most of the time he was yelling it–but hey, he’s 3!
The cutest part of the evening came when we were opening presents. As with most little kids, he would open one gift and run off to play with it. His mom and dad would corral him in, and get him back to the task of opening his other presents–and it would happen again and again. Finally, he opened a Mickey Mouse sweatshirt–and wanted it on. His parents said no, but he wouldn’t listen. He finally just started to take his shirt off while running around to avoid capture. Finally he won, and the new sweatshirt was on! It was so cute!
I know most people don’t have Halloween until Wednesday, but our church has a yearly Trunk R Treat. That is tomorrow night, from 7 until 8 at the church. The kids go into the gym at church for crafts and games–and then outside to “trick r treat” around to the trunks of each car. It’s also nice because it isn’t just candy on top of candy on top of candy! There are the toothbrushes, and pencils, personalized pens and novelty teeth. Although my kids favorite is really easy…they love the stickers!
So here we are, one day away from our first Halloween event–and my youngest doesn’t even have a costume! Can you guess what we will be doing this afternoon and evening??
Yep–you can tell by the title–we are back home! I’m exhausted–but reinvigorated to be home! It will be an early night, but not nearly as early as I thought it would be when we got off of the airplane.
I planned to spend my week seeing the sites, snapping some pix and blogging! All but one of the above actually took place! We were out early everyday, and in late–there was just too much to see and too much to do to even take a moment to jump online but the two or three times that I did manage it!
I have a ton of photo’s and thought it might be kind of fun to make a puzzle of it! You know–snag a little piece of one of my pictures–and give some clues as to were the photo might be from! Then of course, there would have to be reward for the correct guess! So I will jump on into that fun project tomorrow!! I’m just going to veg and surf and blog tonight!!
